Tom Ault
Jefferson City
Dear Editor:
As I was sitting on my back porch the thought came to me that perhaps we spend too much time on things we can't do anything about. We vote for people we think will do what we would like them to do and discover they told us all the things we wanted to hear without caring at all about fulfilling them.
We have moved, during the last 40 years, or more, toward the desire to "get" rather than to "give," to "hate" rather than "love," and "talk" rather than "do."
Am I preaching to the choir? Probably. That includes both people in and out of politics, those that have been raised to believe that all things will come to them if they just wait long enough. Of course, waiting means not planning for, or making strides toward, their goal. They are taught to believe that most things are free. Dad and Mom wanted better things for their kids than they hadright?
Many of us have spent a lifetime going through the actions of practicing our religion. We have gone to church faithfully every Sunday (or Saturday), joined this committee or that committee, or the choir, or became involved in some other opportunity offered by our church or synagogue, or wherever your belief may lead you, but it's what we do, that is when we don't have some other pressing thing to doyou know, like a sports activity, a special on televisionwe all have our weaknesses. We all have them! My excuse has been that after 40 years of serving, it is someone else's turn.
In the past, tribes, cities, and towns were destroyed because of poor communication. Today we have more devices giving us more information than ever before, and yet we pay no attention to what is happening.
Is it better to pretend all is well and not worry about tomorrow, or should we try living right today? No more protests in the street is a good start! Let's teach that greed, desire, lust, hatred, being exhibitionists to get attention, and joining things to get our names on the list, is not the answer!
Our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren are receiving too much information on some subjects, and not enough where it would be meaningful. Our kids need to know right from wrong, and what a conscience is. We all need one!