Excuses and Blame: The Outlooks the Same
6th Sep 2005, 12:08 GMT
To my readers chagrin, I deliberately decided not to write my weekly column last week. Thousands of emails from my worldwide fan base came pouring into my AOL e-mail box saying, Brad, where is your column? What ever is to become of us? I was forced to have to purchase a bigger e-mail box to lever the additional unsullied onslaught of e-mail. Believe me when I say I felt your pain. I solemnly vow to never let this happen again That is, until the next time. Site: http://hometown.aol.com/bgsnyder59/index.html What can I say? I was in a bad mood. (Like, when am I not, these days?) The question is, what put me in such a brooding stupor? One of my excuses is that everything seemed so topsy-turvy: Good is called bad. Bad people are praised and glorified. This strikes a chord with former Tennessee state senator John Ford, when after being caught red handed on video stuffing $10,000 of bribe money in his pocket, from a FBI sting operation; Ford said of the FBI, They are the evil ones, not us. Actually, I started to write an article. The title would have been, Theres Rocks in Them Thar Hills. This refers to Americas historical past, when an accidental discovery called to men who sought a better way of life, and heeded the cry: Go West, Young Man. In the mid 1840s, rumors of gold had propagated the entire western civilized world, but few really believed. Then was an age when rumors were discounted. It took President James Polk to fan the flames of rumor before people believed. Farmers left their fields and merchants closed their shops to seek their fortunes. It was after the rumors were verified by the president that newspapers jumped in the foray. If it were the same naysayers of today, I can actually envision their coverage of the gold rush. On the front page of the New York Times: President Polk Gives False Hopes to Thousands. After surveying their customary miner in the hill, they would have reported that there is no gold; Nothing but rocks in them hills. Men have searched for days on end, giving back breaking labor, and all for naught. Miners have turned on themselves causing mass chaos. They would have tallied a daily death count, and demanded legislation for gun control. They would have surmised that Polk wanted everyone to move west, so he could have the East coast for himself and his rich friends. Indian attacks would have been excused because, after all, the miners had invaded their territory. But, I didn't write that article, so Never mind. The media circus hype of Cindy Sheehan is another excuse I had in not writing my article last week. To be honest I am completely sick of hearing about this desperate woman, who, yes, lost her son in the quagmire. Sure, sure, she has a right to say whatever she wants to say, but dad gum, does she have the right to be heard? Evidently the majority of parents who lost their sons and daughters in the Iraqi war do not have that right. I swore to myself that I would not write a single word about this bizarre dramatization in Crawford, and her gallivanting about the country making a sham of her sons death. For the life of me, I haven't been able to understand conservatives who have paid her so much attention. If we ignore her, won't she go away? Yet here I am, breaking my pledge not to write about her. My excuse is, shes partly to blame for my article not getting written. It must have been a sad day for the liberal media when a real lady, Katrina, upstaged their beloved Cindy. Pretty lame excuses, I know I was mad, felt helpless and then Sheehan. But at least I admit that I have poor excuses in neglecting my responsibilities. I was brought up to know better. In my college years, I had the privilege of sitting under a really great man in a Computer Language class. I didn't learn that much, and he wasn't that great of a teacher, but he did teach me a lesson I will never forget. At the end of ever semester when we were preparing for final exams, every class schedule would always change from the usual class time. The night before the exam, I hadn't yet taken note of when the exam would take place, so I called my cousin Larry to find out when it would be. Larry, being the wuss that he is, told me the wrong time. I haven determined if he did it on purpose or whether I possibly wrote it down wrong. The fact is, I blamed Larry (and still do), and told my professor such. The elderly, but wise professor informed me there are no excuses. I missed the exam, therefore I got a big fat zero. Of course, I beat Larry up, but that gave only a little satisfaction from the low grade I got in the class. I have used this No Excuse lesson in raising my children, and the way I conduct myself in business. I offer no excuses to my employer, and accept no excuse from subordinates. For these reasons, I cannot even remotely fathom the blame Bush and racial excuses for the turmoil brought on in the wake of Cindy I mean Katrina. There maybe people in government to blame, but for Liberals who have an agenda, to force blame on the President before the winds even stopped blowing is beyond shameful. The problem is, there are too many by standers and spectators who feel their job is to second guess. The problem with Monday morning quarterbacking is they aren't there in the moment. Anybody can say he shouldn't have gone for it, when it was all said and done. It doesn't take a genius to say what should have happened, when what happened went wrong. I watched a CBS report of a family in New Orleans who was complaining that they were waiting for somebody to rescue them, and they were down to their last few meals, and didnt know what they were going to do. It dawned on me at that moment that, Eureka Their salvation had come in the form of this CBS News team. I had to wonder if, after the family had their cheese with their televised whine, if the news reporters had brought them the help they so desperately needed, and if they had, why were they still complaining, and what made this news worthy? My heart goes out to all the families who have lost in this horrible tragedy. I can't imagine losing everything as so many thousands have. But to be honest, I also can't imagine being rescued, and then turning around and asking, what took you so long? Its this kind of attitude that makes me lose compassion. Perhaps in their rush to place blame on the president, the media reported primarily on families with gripes. I'm sure there are others that are grateful to their rescuers, and are counting their blessings instead of their losses, but in this day of such blatant negativity, this type of news isn't news at all. Bio: As a former collegiate football player, Brad graduated from Evangel College of Springfield, Missouri, in 1982, with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and Economics. His occupation has been divided between careers as a stock broker, Director of Business Development for a commercial insurance brokerage firm, and most recently financial management within the healthcare industry. While using the podium of various internet message boards, he discovered an appetite for engaging Liberals in the "warfare of words". Stemming from his sometimes overly zealous demeanor and passionate, "take-no-prisoner" approach, he has been labeled by some as angry and others a rebel. At present, as a contributing writer, his work can be read at People Political , The Conservative Voice , MichNews, Capitol Hill Coffee House, mensNEWSdaily, and TheRant, to list a few.
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