Way back in July I wrote “The Four Horsemen of the American Apocalypse", where I focused on the four groups in this country that are destroying it with their hatred, Moms for Liberty, Christian Nationalists, Fox News and the Republican National Committee. I committed to write about what I am thankful for, and I decided to focus on those moments in my upbringing that have helped to shape me the most and have made me so disenchanted with who we’ve become.
The Building Has Left Jesus
I remember when the church meant something. I was a life-long churchgoer through the age of 60. I was a Deacon, an Elder, a Trustee, I served on the Board of Trustees of United Theological Seminary, I was all-in for most of my adult life.
Maybe I changed, but I don’t think so. I’m still a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, but I will never refer to myself as a Christian ever again after what that identifier has become.
I was fortunate enough to grow up in the church when pastors would stand tall and bold, they would preach the Gospel, even if it wasn’t popular. I remember Sandy McConnel preaching a “Guns Versus Butter” sermon, where he admonished our country for spending so much on weapons of destruction when people didn’t have enough food to eat. He also preached about how inappropriate it was for the flag to be displayed on the altar; there is no place for it in the church. The fact that Wright Patterson Air Force Base invested heavily in Dayton and Westminster Presbyterian Church made this an incredibly ballsy move, but he did it because he believed it and felt it was the message to give.
I remember Davis Chappell giving a sermon on Jesus, and he said, “Jesus wasn’t a Republican, Jesus wasn’t a Democrat, Jesus was a radical!”, which is what he was, and what being a devoted follower of Jesus is, we have to take a radical approach to what we believe in, no matter the consequences.
Sadly, we now have Christian Nationalists, which quite frankly, is an oxymoron, or we have churches that are essentially social clubs. In a way, I get it, churches are just trying to survive, they want to keep as many people, and as much money, coming in as possible. Most churches don’t stand for anything anymore, or at least, they don’t follow the teachings of Jesus. The church, the building is still around, Jesus has been pushed out the door. I’m thankful I was able to be a part of the church when it actually meant something.
You can never trust a yellow-eyed Nigger
Growing up in western Pennsylvania, I was a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan. When I was 12 years old, one of the Steelers, Ernie “Fats” Holmes, had a mental breakdown, and ended up shooting at a police helicopter pursuing him on the road. It was a tragic event, for me, it was devastating, I just couldn’t imagine one of my heroes doing something like this, shooting at a police officer?
At the time, I spent a lot of time at my Great Grandmothers, and my two Great Uncles, Bus and Verne, were usually there. The words above are what my Uncle Bus said about the incident. As a 12-year old, I couldn’t comprehend what that meant, what in the hell is a yellow-eyed nigger? This wasn’t my first foray into racism, particularly around Bus and Verne. They could easily rattle off any number of racial slurs as the day went along, Nigger, Coon, Jungle Bunny, Porch Monkey, and on and on. The record pictured above was one that we found when we were given my Great Grandmother’s Victrola. No idea if anyone in my family were Klansmen, but it was apparently a part of the entertainment.
It wasn’t just there, that was the normal vernacular wherever I went when I grew up. It didn’t stop with people of color, it extended to Hispanics, people of different religions, anyone who wasn’t white and Protestant. People would rattle off racial and ethnic slurs as a normal course of any conversation.
What I’m thankful for? It was never introduced into my home. I never heard talk like this in my own “nuclear” family, I was raised not to be a racist. I’m thankful for that, and that’s what is so hard for me now. We really seemed to make great strides for so many years in this country, but now, we are back to being a hate-filled racist nation. I’m thankful for the values I was taught in my home.
And that’s the way it is
I remember watching Walter Cronkite on the evening news, and he always ended his reporting with the phrase “And that’s the way it is”, and he would add the date, and something about presenting facts without bias.
Those were the days….
OK, I’m sure there was always bias in the news, and I’m sure the bias typically leaned liberal, but, it was nothing like it is today. At this point, I don’t believe anything. I read mostly headlines, not the actual articles, because no matter who the outlet is, it’s slanted, it’s biased, some to the left, some to the right, and virtually nothing clothed in facts and truth. What can we possibly believe?
In a sense, I get it. There are so many outlets, so many news sources vying for readers and numbers, they are doing everything possible to sensationalize any story. But it’s not news, it’s not reality.
I always wanted to be a journalist growing up, I wanted to report on the news, or even write feature articles about people who were in the news. Thank God, I never went down that path. I just couldn’t do what reporters have to do today. I couldn’t live with myself if I were one of the talking heads on television or reporters in what’s left of the newspapers. You have to sell your soul to be relevant, and you have to check your integrity at the door. I’m thankful I don’t have to do that.
Where Have You Gone Joe DiMaggio?
Or any other athlete from the 1900’s….
I’m amazed at what sports have become in this country, it’s become an obsession for so many people. Constant sports shows on the TV or radio, analyzing the previous game, predicting the outcome of the upcoming game. The money that we invest in sports is amazing, while we rail against the billionaires in this country and their lavish lifestyles, we don’t hesitate to pour money into whatever sport(s) we are obsessed with.
And the gambling? I find it hard to believe the time and money we put into gambling on every aspect of sports, will the pitcher throw a ball or strike on the next pitch, will one of the kickers hit the upright on a kick, how long will the national anthem last, which team will score first in the game? Thankfully, they also run advertisements during the game for people with gambling addiction….
For me, the worst is amateur sports, or what used to be amateur sports. College sports are essentially professional sports at this point, and student athletes are really just athletes, the classroom is irrelevant for college athletes, they are there to participate in whatever sport they are involved in. The Olympics used to be something I looked forward to, but now it’s just a bunch of professional athletes competing essentially for themselves, not the country they “represent”. It used to be so much fun to root for American athletes in the Olympics, but now, it’s just a bunch of professionals looking for their payday.
I’m thankful I grew up during the time when sports were sports, players played the game for the love of the game, or the love of their school or country. I had the opportunity to see Edwin Moses, Dan Gable, Florence Griffith-Joyner, Eric Heiden, Dorothy Hamill and many others compete for this country. And best of all, I had the opportunity to witness Miracle on Ice, when a group of young American hockey players beat the hated Soviet Union,
Loyalty Meant Something
For the past 28+ years I worked for Barco, a Belgian company, and WIKA, a German company. Overall, I worked for a total of five companies prior to finishing my career teaching at Ohio Dominican University, to try to “give back” for what I received.
Even though I only worked for five companies in my career, it still feels like too many. I was raised in the generation that believed you started work at one company, and you stayed there until you retired. That has changed, it’s not uncommon for people to change jobs every year or two, it has become the normal course of business.
The lack of loyalty doesn’t just go one way either, employers have lost their loyalty to their workforce, it used to be that employees were valued, but now, they’re just a replaceable commodity, like a projector bulb or pressure gauge.
While I may have come in on the tail-end of it, I still felt that the companies I worked for valued me, and my colleagues, as important parts of the organization, and I know many of us felt the same way about where we worked. The picture above is from when a group of us from WIKA participated in a fundraising walk/run to give back to our community and enjoy some fun together. I’m thankful I was able to experience that, and it saddens me that the younger generation won’t get to experience what it was like to really feel proud of the company you work for.
Looking back, I’m really thankful for what we were. I grew up in a great country, and for all of its issues, I think it was a great place to grow up. I’m proud of my upbringing, I’m proud of the nation we once were. I once was incredibly proud to be an American, and I’m so thankful for those memories. Nothing can change that.
I’m not sure where it all went wrong, but somewhere along the way, it went horribly wrong. I believe those before us gave us a great country, they sacrificed to give us a better future than they had. I wish I could say the same for future generations. My generation has let them down, I’m afraid. We didn’t pay it forward like those before us.
