Friday Fodder: Declining Moral Values

There are many differing opinions on the reason for the decaying of moral values in our society.  One thing that is mutually agreed upon is that it is indeed decaying.  Or declining.  Some say it is just scriptures coming to past.  Others blame it on television. Maybe it is all the above and then some.  For me, one of the major reasons is parenting.  Moral values go hand in hand with parenting.  Proper parenting ensures that values are instilled in our children.  If we fail to do that, then they grow up barely able to discern right from wrong.  Then they make their own laws.

It’s interesting to note the differences in the problems that schools in the 1940′s faced compared to schools in the 80′s.  Just a 40 year gap.  Astounding!  In the 40′s, the major problems were truancy, running in the halls, talking in class, and chewing gum.  In the 80′s, the problems included teenage pregnancy, violence, stealing, rape, bringing knives and guns to school, drug abuse and vandalism.  And that’s in the eighties!

The students still run in the halls but now they run with guns.  They still chew gum and chew out their teachers and talk back to them.  Yes, I put the blame squarely on the shoulders of parents.  But…but…we can’t control what our kids become when they grow up.  This is usually our whiny and pathetic excuse for our failure to provide our kids with the proper tools to grow into men and women with morals.  In truth, we are too lazy, ill-equipped to teach or just bad parents.  Yeah, there is such a thing.  But how about television? So many bad shows out there and their friends are also influential.  Gimme a break!  No excuses!  Some of us do suck at parenting.

Yes,  sometimes we do our best as parents but our kids still veer off the track.  You can’t be blamed in that case, but when I see so many instances of parents who have apparently thrown in the towel, allowing their wards to do as they please, we have a problem and it’s us.

Then there’s the justice system that seems powerless to do anything to curb youth crime.  Too  young to show their faces in the media.  Too young to name them.  Too young to punish them.  Punish the parents instead if they try to punish their own kids.  Protect the kids at all cost!  Even if that cost is morality.

Just my take.

Related articles

• Did religion help give primitive civilisation certain moral values? (secularnewsdaily.com)
• R.E.S.P.E.C.T and what it means to me.

You Call That Racism? Gimme The Fried Chicken!

After exchanging not-so-nice words, most likely via twitter and everywhere else but to each other’s faces, golfers Sergio Garcia when asked if he would have Tiger Woods over to break bread, responded by saying, “We will have him round every night.  We will serve fried chicken.”  The golfing world got their knickers in a tangle with some calling for severe punishment.

As a black man, I do not find this at all insulting.  Someone alluding that I love fried chicken? That is racist?  It’s the truth!  I am black and love fried chicken very much!  I hate steak and fish.  As a white person, would you be offended if I told you that I would prepare turkey if you came over for dinner? Would you think I am being racist?  I hope not.  Look at it this way, if it’s racist to associate a particular food with a race, how about the term, Chinese Food?  Aha!

So maybe we should all calm down about all this racial stuff.  When we bring each comment under the microscope, looking for hints of racism, we are only helping to keep racism in our society.  It’s an overkill!

And you there bro, if you are black and too upset to eat the fried chicken, pass it over to me.  You may as well get me a slice of water melon also because I love it.  Maybe it’s a black thing or maybe it’s not.

Just my take.

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• Yes, Fried Chicken Jokes are Racist (theroot.com)
• Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia Spat Turns On Fried Chicken ‘Joke’ (atlantablackstar.com)
• Garcia makes ‘fried chicken’ remark about Tiger (cbssports.com)
• Sergio Garcia Has Now Made A ‘Fried Chicken’ Joke About Tiger Woods (businessinsider.com)
• Sergio Garcia Apologizes Over Fried Chicken Joke About Tiger Woods (oldschool955.com)

R.E.S.P.E.C.T, Find Out What It Means To Me

Living in the Caribbean, I was taught as a kid to respect not only my elders but also those in authority.   Respect became a part of my life and I respected everyone until they they wore it out.

Arriving in North America, I was surprised to see that respect was not as forced fed as I was used to it being.  Everyone seemed on the same plain. Old, young, teachers and students, there were no differentiating.  At first I was aghast.  If he said that in my country, he would get such an ass whupping…How could she talk to her grandmother/teacher like that?  Then I got used to it.

Getting used to it didn’t mean I forgot what I was taught and followed the disrespectful crowd.  No, I got used to seeing the lack of respect.  No one seemed to make the obvious connection that lack of respect goes hand in hand with criminal behavior.   Rape, theft, molestation, all direct manifestations of the lack of respect by the perpetrators.  I am not saying that having no respect means one is going to commit a crime but committing a crime is a result of not respecting the victim.  You can’t dispute that.

In my work place, I give due respect to those in authority.  I do not get confrontational unless I feel I have to be, and then I still maintain a respectful attitude.  Unfortunately, many of those who are in supervisory or managerial positions tend to abuse their power.   They expect to be respected by their employees but do not believe that it should be mutual.  Respecting their minions seems weak and unprofessional.  In fact, this is quite the opposite.  Humbling yourself to be able to respect someone who is ‘beneath’ you is a show of strength.  Some consider it sexy.

Respect is dying.  It’s not quite dead yet but it’s terminal.  Unless it is resuscitated, we would continue to be selfish savages.  But again, that’s just MY TAKE.

 

Related articles

• R.E.S.P.E.C.T – Find Out What it Means (zigzagleadership.wordpress.com)
• R.e.s.p.e.c.t. (gonzosoccer.wordpress.com)
• R.e.s.p.e.c.t (sleeplessandthecity.wordpress.com)

My Take Or Yours?

I have an admission.  I was checking my stats recently and noticed that I had quite a few followers.  I was thrilled!  “Look honey!”  I said to my wife excitedly.  “I have almost 300 followers! I am scared.  What should I write?  How do I please all these people?  I am sure to write something that they don’t like or agree with.  How do I choose ‘safe’ topics?”  “Shut up and just keep writing.”  Was her response.  We were lying in bed so she probably just wanted to be left alone.

My wife’s answer sobered me up and I thought of the reason my blog was called ‘My Vuze’.  It wasn’t because I wanted to write what people were thinking or how they felt about something.  It was my opinion, whether popular or unpopular.  How I felt and what I thought.  If I changed that to satisfy my readers, then I would be dishonest.  I would be misrepresenting my blog.

From reading other WordPress blogs, I know that I am not alone.  Some writers double think the content of their posts so as not to offend anyone or even to attract readers.  If that’s your wish, sure go for it.   Not me.  Life is too short for that.  Granted, I won’t be rude, crude or offensive in any way and there may be a topic or two that I may prefer to steer clear of.  Some of my vuze might seem to clash with my spirituality but trust me, God is the ultimate base for my takes and I never claim to be more than human.

I promise never to doubt myself again. I would tell it like it is.  Or like I think it is.  If you don’t agree, feel free to tell me why you don’t.  Maybe your information can sway my opinion.

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Rihanna Doesn’t Speak For Me. At Least Not With Her Butt Hanging Out.

English: Rihanna Live at Target Center on her LOUD Tour. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Dutch glossy magazine, whatever that means,  recently published an article in which it referred to Barbadian singer Rihanna as a Nig**r b**ch.  The female writer who penned the piece has since not only apologized but also resigned from her 8-year post.

Rihanna was understandably not flattered and like all bonafide celebrity, took to Twitter to voice her displeasure.  She accused the paper of being racist and nonsensical in its usage of the English language.  (Even though in her tirade, she forgot that it was not proper to use ‘u’ instead of ‘you’).   She accused the magazine of ‘intent of abasement’.  Rihanna also took the liberty to speak on my behalf, ending her tweet with,  ”On behalf of my race, f*** off!”

I am embarrassed right now.  No, no.  Not because of the nig*** comment.  Such things don’t bother me too much.  That doesn’t mean I condone such racist and derogatory remarks.  I don’t.  I am embarrassed that RiRi elected herself my spokesperson.   Having her speak on one’s behalf is belittling to the person.

Rihanna is not exactly doing too much to uplift her proud black race.  Pardon me but she puts the ‘basement’ in ‘abasement’.  With her increasing erratic and ‘girls gone wild’ behavior,  tweeting topless pics and just recently, tipping $8000 at a strip joint. I am not sure she makes such a great ambassador to any race.  Sorry RiRi!

I am curious about how much Rihanna really hates being called the ‘N’ word since she recently tweeted a photo of her holding a toddler she lovingly refered to as her ‘lil nig**r’.  No word yet on if the kid was offended.  Some of her songs also use the N word liberally.  Maybe it’s just a example of ‘good for the goose’?

So on behalf of all decent women, I would like to say to Rihanna, Gr*w up!

Just my take.

Related:

http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/rihanna-furious-being-called-a-nigga-bitch

http://jezebel.com/5869751/rihanna-does-not-appreciate-being-called-a-niggabitch

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/460508/20130423/rihanna-race-row-calling-toddler-lil-nigga.htm

• Rihanna Shows Off Her Flawless Butt In The Pool – See New Pics (hollywoodlife.com)
• Friday Folly: Who Are You Calling A Ni**er b**ch? Bitch! (funnysideupandscrambled.wordpress.com)

But I Love Celine Dion! Oh, And Rita MacNeil Too!

A few days ago, I was reading the comments on a blog about Justin Beiber’s ‘dissing’ of Anne Frank.  I am sorry but I had no prior knowledge of who she was and had to hurriedly do a google search.  A neat story indeed.  I sided with the Beibs on this one.  Maybe she would have been a Belieber.   But back the comments.  One blogger, obviously a Canadian, said he didn’t like the fact that Beiber was from Canada as Canada is done apologizing for Celine Dion.  Double ouch!

Which brings me to the question, ‘Why do so many Canadians not like Celine Dion?’  She’s a true Canadian icon.  The woman can sing.  My humble opinion of course.  Well and the guys at Caesars too.  Arguably one of the greatest singers in Canadian history.  With the few genuine celebrities we can call our own, we should be proud of Celine Dion.

To understand this phenomenon, you must understand that us Canadians suffer from a sort of inferiority complex, maybe as a result of living in close proximity to the United States.  The self-proclaimed master of the universe.  We hate our sports teams, preferring to support US teams.  I am a fan of the Washington Capitals even though we have our own NHL team in the city.  Even our Canadian born players choose to play in the US than stay in Canada.  According to us, CFL sucks. NFL is the way to go. Our high school and even university basketball games are not worth televising because it can’t compete with NCAA. Our television shows? Well that’s another story.  Why do  you think we own illegal satellites?  We have tried mimicking American reality shows like ‘So  You Think You Can Dance’ and ‘Canadian Idol’ to name a few, but the ratings were so low that they were cancelled.  Who really wants to watch Canadian Idol with some Canadian judges when there were real celebs like Randy Jackson and washed-up Paula Abdul judging American Idol?  A no-brainer for sure eh?  I think our winning idols played a few gigs at malls then went back to whatever they were doing in relative obscurity.  Apparently the Canadian Idol judges tried to copy the antics of their US counterparts.  I am guessing they were never told to ‘be yourselves’.

So, we are an apologetic nation.  We say sorry, whether we mean it not.  We think the grass is greener on the other side of the 49th parallel.  We know more about the US Presidents than we know of our own.  Harper who?  We think Justin Beiber is one of Canada’s biggest embarrassment.  I am not a Belieber but I disagree with that sentiment.  We hated the late icon Rita MacNeil.  Such a sweet and honorable woman.  We diss Celine Dion. Awesome pipes and great concerts.  And there’s more but you don’t have that much time.

While we are apologizing to the States for invading them with our ‘watered-down talents’, they accept our apologies and give us Kardashians, Britney Spears, Honey Boo Boo and whatever they could dredge up from the society’s also-rans. So who should apologize?

It’s just my take, what do I know eh?

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How Sorry Are You Really? And Are You Really Praying For Me?

I watched the caller’s number on my phone as it rang on my desk.  I knew who it was, it was a co-worker.  I wasn’t too busy to take the call but it was someone I just wasn’t in the mood to talk to right then.  The next day, I emailed the caller to let her know I got her message on my answering machine.   I started with, “I am sorry I missed your call…”  Then erased it.  Why?  Because I wasn’t really sorry.  In fact, sorry was the last thing I felt.  So I changed it to, “I missed your call…”  Much better!

Now how many of you can relate to that?  Someone call on you for help and the first words you utter are,  ”I am sorry but I can’t help you.”  Or the classic, “I am sorry but I’ll have to hurt you.”  If you are sorry and you haven’t hurt me yet, then why don’t you just forget about hurting me?  That way, we both win.  I don’t get hurt and you have no reason to feel sorry.   How about the generic auto-reply message on your phone?   “I am sorry but I can’t come to the phone right now.”   If you are too busy to take the call,  you are either ignoring the caller on purpose, in which case you are not sorry, or playing with your kids, still not sorry, or cleaning your house, etc.  Nothing there to be sorry about.  Busted!

“I am praying for you…”  I am guilty of using that cliché myself.  It’s the first thing that comes to mind at the time of a disaster.  Boston Bombing for example.  A lot of my friends’ statuses promised prayers and thoughts.  Mine did too but I am happy to report, I kept my word and did offer up prayers and thoughts.   It’s a bit funny to see some of my friends who are professed atheists saying their prayers are with the victims.  See the confusion a tragedy can cause?  Atheists calling on God and Christians losing their faith…

So how about we bring back the true meaning of ‘sorry’ and try not to say sorry unless we mean it?  Don’t be sorry about the bombing, unless of course you are the bomber.  If you are like some of my friends and offered up thoughts and prayers to the victims of the Boston Bombing but got too busy to follow through, it’s not too late.  Send up some prayers to the Big Guy.  If you are an atheist, then you could…er…hmm… Just think happy thoughts.

Just my take.  I am sorry if you don’t like it.  Praying that one day you will…

 

 

Monday Musings: Are home-based missionaries irrelevant?

Pardon me here, I don’t mean to undermine or question the good work done by those who unselfishly travel overseas, sacrificing themselves and their families in the name of spreading goodwill and the gospel.   Overseas missions are very important in reaching the hard-to-reach places and bringing them hope.  Saying this, I do however, have some questions.

Recently, I was talking to friend about his church and he boasted to me that they had missionaries in 23 countries around the world.  I casually asked him, with no intent to judge, if they had any in Winnipeg, their backyard.  He thought about it and said he doubted it.  I wasn’t about to start a debate on where and how missionaries should answer their calling but I thought to myself,   “Why does it seem that much cooler to do missionary work abroad than in your own backyard?”  The same thing can be said of adopting.  It’s more trendy to adopt say an Ethiopian child than an aboriginal kid from the reservation.  It even sounds cooler too.  Admit it.  It’s gone Hollywood.

So, is sending aid to poor people in Africa worth double or triple that of giving  our local homeless man or woman money to buy food?  I know many of us do so with altruistic purposes while some of us have personal goals and egos to feed.  but again, it’s not for me to judge and that’s not what this blog is about.

We are usually bombarded with photos and televisions broadcasts of the millions of people starving in the Africa but rarely of the guy down the street.  If I step over that guy to reach out the ones that are across the ocean, would that make me a better missionary?  Is it still considered missionary if it’s only practiced in my neighborhood?  If I don’t adopt my cousin’s kid that she abuses and starves, but instead travel to Uganda to adopt the little girl I always wanted, am I still considered an effective missionary?  Also, is it ok if I maintain the outside of my house, keeping it clean and spotless, while inside looks like it was hit by a tornado?

Just my take.

Related articles

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So Who Is Hoarding All The Luck?

“I have the worst luck”,  is a statement you always hear or even say yourself.  Just about all of us are guilty.  What we don’t say or hear is, “I am so lucky”.

You are running late for an appointment and decide to take a shortcut that crosses a railroad track.  As you raced towards it, the control arms come down, effectively bringing your race to a halt and making you even later.  “Drat it!  This always happen to me!”   What you are forgetting are the times when the arms came down just as you crossed over, blocking the unlucky cars behind you.  You probably didn’t say, “Wow! I am so lucky!” did you? Of course not.  Why not?  Well maybe because we expect our lives to be like that, with everything going our way.

What I’m trying to say is that we always remember the hurt but not so much the pleasure.  We remember the bad stuff that happens to us more than we remember the good stuff.  How could you be the unluckiest person because you never win at lottery or you seem to always catch the red light or train when your best friend who already has diabetes, was recently diagnosed with cancer?  I sometimes tell my friends that I have the worst luck or no luck at all because I never win prizes at events.   What I am forgetting is that my mom and  both my grandmothers are still alive and healthy. ( One turns 101 in a few months).  Not too many people my age can say that.

Next time we encounter a small setback,  maybe we should try to not be too quick to play the ‘woe is me’ card.  We could perhaps remember a time when the perceived setback worked for us, like the train track example.  And if you say you are the unluckiest person and I say the same thing, then who is this lucky person hoarding all the luck?

Just my take.

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Oscar Falls On His Blades

Last Olympics, I was moved to blog after hearing and watching the exploits of Oscar Pistorius, the amputee who overcame long odds to run with able-bodied athletes.  He was a role model and a hero.  Read blog here.

This hero and role model is now accused of the brutal murder of his girlfriend.  I was shocked and so was everyone who followed this man in the culmination of his dream.  How could he do this?  He seemed so grounded.   But did we know him?  Do we really know the people we make our role models?  Sometimes if we knew what they were capable of, we might be less inclined to make give them that status.

Role models and heroes are humans with the same weaknesses and desires like us.   Just read the papers or watch the news and you will always find stories where a  hero turned into a villain.  Fortunately, not every hero or role model choose to surprise us and end up being charged for heinous crimes or other criminal activity.  There are actually some that we can look up to but we should still never be too surprised when even these show their human sides.

Oscar is no different than the other stories you hear about NFL players or movie stars who kill their girlfriends or their families.  The fact that he is an amputee perhaps lends a ‘feel good’ touch to his story as we see him as ‘different’ but he’s not.  He is capable committing the same crimes as everyone else is.

Oscar is innocent until proven guilty and no matter what the verdict is, he will still be remembered for being the first amputee to compete with the big boys.  If he is found guilty, then he would have basically ‘fallen on his blades’ as far as killing his legacy.

My take.