Play a Victim - Stay a Victim

Victim is a term that seems to be used a lot these days and in my observation too freely.  Listen to the news and there doesn’t seem to be a class, race, sex or orientation that isn’t a victim

Granted there are experiences that people have that truly warrant the term. However, I bulk at the free use and ownership that some people cling to. They wear it like a badge.

Look at me. I’m a victim.

Feel sorry for me. I’m a victim.

Take care of me. I’m a victim.

Society owes me. I’m a victim.

When does this type of person stop becoming a victim?

They stop when they decide to take back their power and announce that their past, situation or experiences will no longer control or define who they are. That is when they take responsibility for how they feel. They forgive and move on. They no longer let an event, person or situation, past or present, control how they feel. That’s true power.

This scares a lot of people, to actually have the strength to let go and stand in total control of their emotions, to forget the past and move one.

You see, it’s much easier to stay in victimhood. It’s much easier to blame others for the results they’re experiencing instead of taking control. In fact, so much so, that all blame for a person’s failures is blamed on government, society, economy or other people, anything else but themselves.

What’s more irritating is when events never actually occurred for a person and yet they use it as a reason for them to be a victim too. What sense does that make?

Victimhood is a state of mind. You can let it define you or chalk it up to an isolated incident and move on. Take ownership of how you feel. Take a stand for integrity and when something bad happens have the wherewithal to realize it’s not you, it’s them.  

What Does it Mean to be Tolerant?

Being tolerant means; showing willingness to allow the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with.

Frankly I’m not seeing a whole lot of tolerance by the media, government officials and celebrities whether it’s about race, political views, environment or abortion. It’s become anything BUT tolerant with name calling when someone disagrees with their viewpoint. It’s downright disrespectful and it sets a bad example for the youner generation. Grow up. This isn’t junior high. What people seem to forget is when someone bad mouths another it says more about the kind of person they are than the person it’s directed at.

What comes around goes around and if you want someone to take your viewpoint seriously you MUST also be open and give them the common courtesy of expressing their viewpoint. It’s the civil thing to do. You may not agree and hold your current views but now you have new information and understanding of another’s viewpoint. However, if all you want to do is bad mouth and dismiss another’s viewpoint than don’t be surprised if you get the same treatment.

It has to end sometime. Be the bigger “tolerant” person.

Bring Back the UNITED in United States

Which would you rather be united or separate? There’s a reason the United States are called the United States. Separate territories united under a common philosophy of how they wanted their new country governed.

Image if that had not happened. What if the original 13 colonies had become individual countries each with its own government and infrastructure? What would the continent look like then? What if the U.S. never purchased the Louisiana Territory? The U.S. would be more like Canada but with a much larger portion of its citizens speaking French. I could go on about the Indians and Mexican territories but I think you get the picture. Our whole country would be different. The U. S. would instead be more like Europe with whole countries the size of one of our states possibly speaking another language.

Instead our forefathers had the foresight to realize the beauty and power of having all the territories come together as a whole. They knew this country would be stronger if it were united instead of separate, which brings me to my next point. There seems to be a tearing apart, to make separate, or highlight differences more in the media and from people of influence than there is to bring people together. This, in my opinion, is a disservice to the country.

What brings people together is their commonalities like the philosophy set forth in the Declaration of Independence or the safety of our children. There will always be differences between people, to be sure, but they can be overcome when people find common ground. It’s the core fabric of our nation. When the World Trade Center towers were destroyed many people came together to support and help out however they could. Everyone now has a common experience to share with others that will bring them together. Just like people remember where they were and what they were doing when Kennedy was shot, people will remember 911 the same. “Where were you when the towers went down”?

Early immigrants came here for various reasons; freedom of religion, the opportunity to own land and thus create a better life, to escape tyranny, to keep the money they earned.  They left their family and friends and risked everything for a chance at a better life. They knew it wasn’t going to be easy but knew it was going to be worth it. They came from many different parts of the world, each with their own cultures and language. But you know what? They all adapted to their new surroundings. Over the years they eventually learned to get along and speak the same language, they had to if they wanted to succeed.

It’s the commonalities that unite us. It doesn’t matter if your black, Asian, Spanish, gay, Republican, Democrat, Tea Party, Pro-life,  Abortion Supporter, women’s rights or environmentalist, in order to be a strong nation we have to stay united. We MUST! Our forefathers understood that. Let’s not blow it.