"Where we were, where we are, and where we will be ."
As I am a man who still believes in the old days ,and the rules set down by our elders, I am asked by many, both young and old , to talk and write ,about my life, as it was ,and as it is now, and what do I look for in the future. My life as a youngster was one, that prepared me for today. In my time, the rule was to respect your parents, and everyone else, especially our elders. The elders ,who have been through all the hard times , are able to instruct you, on what is the best way to follow. Most of them were of the most credibal type of person to look up to, and want to follow in thier footsteps.. Most of them were already through most of thier life ,on this great earth, and the experience that they had ,would greatly help those who would listen. Many times , the head of the family, was the grandfather or grandmother, who had brought up your parents ,and instilled in them the value of living a good life. And many times, they would say to you to take a good look at your parents, and follow the same path that they are on. In our family, our grandfathers on both sides of the family ,had passed away at an early age, and thus our grandmothers were the ones to talk to. I was truly blessed with having two grandmothers ,who not only had lived a full life, but had a knowledge of all the hard times of life, as it was. So they were the ones ,who could lead us to a full commitment ,of the values needed ,to prepare us for what would lie ahead. I remember many times, when Grandma would come back from the state of Washington and she would bring us gifts. The gifts were some, that she made for each of us , such as shirts and overalls, made by her own hands. Back then ,the only thing bought from a store, was the material to make the gifts. And the gifts were made from the heart. My other grandmother still lived here, and we saw her just about every weekend. She was, for as long as I can remember, a pretty lady with white hair, and a pretty smile. The gifts from her, was also some that she would make, and they also were made from the heart. So I , and the rest of my brothers and sisters ,were truly blessed with not only great parents to follow, but also great grandparents too. My parents had a lot of good friends, who were always there ,for not only them, but for us too. If Dad needed some extra money to make it until payday, it was there for him , and he didn't have to sign for it. Back then a man's word was as good as you can get. If Mom needed help around the house ,when she was sick, the neighbors were there to help us clean up. Back then, the unwritten rule among all, was to help one another when needed. Be there for your fellow man. Respect those older than you were, because they knew how it was. It was a time when you could sit around and talk, or to just sit on the front porch, without having to lock the back door. You could trust people in those days. So I guess that is why I try to bring you my memories of the life, that I and all the others had ,in what we call "the old days" Today, as we live each day to the fullest, I look back and wonder where did it all go?? Where is the respect for our elders? Why is it ,that a man's word is not good enough? Why do we allow our young to get on drugs? And why are the young children of today filing lawsuits against thier parents? Let me tell you my view of what has happened. Back in our day, it was the radio that we used ,to get most of our intertaiment from, in the house. We would sit by the fire ,and listen to all the great programs of that day, and in our minds we would have the picture of what was going on. We would visualize the cowboys and the romantic stars ,as they would do the scenes ,in our heads. And what we visualized , was based on how we were trained. In other words the scenes were of the clean mind. Today ,it is what we actually see on the television screen, that paints a picture in our minds. So,in today's minds of our young, it is only killing, drinking, using drugs, and lurid sex displayed, that has made the impression. There is nothing to the imagination any more, as it is right there in front of us. In today's world, you can't discipline your children with fear of being put in jail for child abuse. The "child abuse law" was started to protect the young, from abusive people. It was not intended to limit the parents and the teachers, from using discipline to instill values and rules. But it has gone there ,because of the courts, and some of the silly laws ,made through our government. There should not be any fear in taking a child to the doctor or hospital, when they might have fallen and broken a arm, or bruised bad. But the doctors and the hospital, by law have to inform the police of these injuries. So right away the parent is questioned ,and looked bad upon ,even though they are not guilty of anything. And so, there is that stigma there, that the parent is a child beater. Now I am not down on the doctors or the hospitals, and I am not down on the police ,because all of them are doing ,what is required of them by law. So what has happened in today's world , is that we have taken the right of bringing up our children from the family,and the schools ,and given it to the courts. That is not what the "child abuse law" was intended for. In today's world, the right to employment , has been set aside in favor of quotas, to make it accessible to all. That law started out ok, because we shouldn't hold someone ,from being employed,because of race, greed, religion. etc. But that law was designed for those people, who were citizens of our great country. Today, our young have to compete with people who are not residents of this country, and thus they are without good jobs, and have to flip hamburgers ,while the good jobs are taken by those from other countries. To me , that is not right. All citizens of the "USA" should have the same rights ,as to employment in positions, that they have the knowledge for, regardless of who, or what they are. Once again, that is not what that law was for. I must make this one note, towards that summation, in that I am not aiming at those doctors, and other positions, that we have to go outside to get. Many of our great doctors are from the other countries, who have given up thier homes, in order to come over here, and be our medical doctors. I say thanks to all of them. As far as drugs being used, I can't blame the young , because we let it happen. Many years ago when it was cool to go around with short hair on the men ,and long hair on the women, we let it go to the complete opposite, and now we see long haired men, and short haired women. For each thier own, because that is what they want. It used to be, that we wore patched up clothes, because that was all we had, but today that is the style. Back then it was overalls that we wore, and today it is jeans. What I am getting to, is that just about all these fads,were because we let it happen. We let the the musical groups come over into our country and infect our minds with the long hair, and bad looks ,as well as some of the worst musical noise around. Note that I am not saying that those groups were the total problem, but that it was the influence from them ,that started us to what is cool today. Then there was "Woodstock", that made an impression on our young. It was ok to show disrepect for the upper class,and it was ok to display yourself sexually, right out in front of others. Note that there are many of our outstanding people who were once part of this thing called Woodstock, that are leading our country today. What I am saying ,is that this was the beginning of the use of drugs, and disrepect of our elders, that has made a great impact on our young of today. So where do we go, and what do we do to get our country back to being an example to other countries, as to values, and respect. We have the greatest system around ,as to how we elect those to lead us, but we don't use it right. First off, the government should never hold down the parents in the bringing up of the young of today. Give back to the family the right to discipline when needed. Give back to those teachers the right, to govern thier students, as long as they are in the schools. Let's go with values, as to how a child should dress, and how they look ,as long as they are under eighteen. Take the right from the courts, and give it back to the parents and the teachers. As far as those, who are elected to office to serve us, take away the party tag and only refer to them as our representative. Once a person has been elected, he or she should not be a democrat or republican, but only as a representative of the people. Then and only then will we be able to work together ,as one unit instead of two. The two party ststem is one of the best around, but only to be used to get elected. As far as appointments to positions, that should be as to thier credits and to their capabilities, and not to the party that they belong to. I know that this will not set good with many of our great party workers, but it is what they should expect ,if this old man ever decides to be a representative from this great city. So what do I look for in the next century? Well, if what I said before ,doesn't make any impression , then I guess we will continue on the path of drug usage, the showing of disrepect to others, the use of sex as a way of getting what we want, and the end of a great era , that has already been trampled to death, by all the laws set forth by great law-abiding citizens , who thought they were doing what was right for all those concerned. Is there an answer? I think so, because I lived the age of respect, for my fellow countrymen ,and women , who at one time , had all the answers. There is a great amount of knowledge out there for each of us to use to the greatest extent. There are some wonderful youngsters out there, that need and want some guidence, from those who have been there. Give back to those children the values and respect , that you and I recieved from our elders. I hope that I have helped at least one youngster through this column, because that is my goal. And remember this one thing. As long as "Uncle Ray" is around, he is there for you, and you can take that to the bank. I'll see you later in anither column, as long as they let me write this column. Ray "Uncle Ray" Day
"How can you know where you are going, if you don't know where you have been?."
If you have comments or suggestions, email me at
© 1999
This page created with Netscape Navigator Gold