Our country is in sad shape - UPDATE

Our country is in sad shape, and I'm not referring to any of the myriad issues that dominate the news and pundits on the left and right.  It is our citizenry that is in sad shape.

One doesn't need to be a scientist or health care professional to realize the sad shape of our citizens.  One just needs a pair of eyes.  The evidence is right before us.

It became startling apparent as I reviewed pictures from my grade school days.  You know, those posed group pictures taken in the classrooms or gymnasiums, with the awkward students lined up for the annual class photo.  Reviewing the pictures from that time in my life, there was the occasional pudgy student.  But there weren't any I'd describe as obese.  By comparison, looking at more recent photos taken from my time working on a middle school campus, several students can easily be described as obese.  Too many of our youngsters are simply too damned heavy.

And it isn't only our youngsters.

Today I ran some errands that took me to the local mall.  My lord, the number of obese adults was astounding.  Like many of us, I've probably become so used to seeing this obesity that it fades into the background when out and about.  Today, however, I took note.  And the note is pretty sad.  Countless adults waddled through the parking lots and down the mall aisles.  With so many obese adults, it is no wonder we have obese children.

Looking more closely at my fellow citizens, it wasn't only the obese that caught my attention.  Using purely subjective judgment, I venture to say that the vast majority (easily 85-90%) of the adults I saw at the mall today couldn't run a mile under ten minutes, if at all.  Some looked as if there were having problems just walking in from their cars.  Since it is summer, shorts of varying styles dominated adult attire and from the looks of the visible calves of my fellow citizens, fitness and muscles are not priorities.

My purely unscientific analysis based on an hour's observation is nonetheless closer than farther from the truth.  Our citizens are simply in sad shape.

It would be easy to start listing what can be viewed as the causes (lack of physical labor, abundance of fat and sugar in our foods, absence of rigorous physical training in our schools, video games instead of being outdoors playing sports, absence of previous shame for being out of shape, activists celebrating the "right" to be obese, the apologist society in which we find ourselves, etc.).  But the causes are just too many to list.

Perhaps the biggest factor is the lack of individual responsibility, a trait that must be taught and expected in the home by the father and mother.  Responsibility to eat correctly, exercise, and take care of one's body.  Responsibility for one's appearance, rather than blaming everything and everyone else.  Responsibility for one's health and general fitness.

For crying out loud, well past age 60, I make time to exercise at least 90 minutes a day, with even more several days each week.  Together with my wife, we enjoy a reasonable, healthy diet.  In doing so, we aren't fanatical about it: we ensure balanced meals, take vitamins, drink plenty of water, and limit that "bad" stuff.  We are responsible for our fitness.

All too many of our fellow citizens are irresponsible, directly leading to our country being in sad shape.        

UPDATE:

The Gallup - Healthways Well Being Index (http://www.gallup.com/poll/170264/adult-obesity-rate.aspx) indicates 35.5% of American adults are overweight, with an astonishing 27.7% categorized as obese.  The 2014 reported 27.7% rate of obesity has grown by more than 8% since 2008, even more astonishing.  Further, the rate for obesity among black adults is 35.3% according to the report from May 2014.

Tail wagging the dog

It seems the tail is trying to wag the dog.

According to the CDC, only 1.6% of Americans identify as homosexual (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr077.pdf).

With both the results of this study and a commitment to tolerance in mind, it is simply amazing that extreme activists are successful in getting demanded action from so many elected officials.  Again, I urge and support tolerance up to the point where someone demands I accept their views or lifestyle choice.  Sadly, that point has been passed time and again at virtually every level of government.

From the recent POTUS Executive Action to local decrees and courtroom cases, those who do not accept homosexuality, gas marriage, etc., on religious grounds find themselves being directed to accept that which their religious beliefs reject.  Stated differently, one side demands tolerance while simultaneously rejecting tolerance for opposing views.  Simply ludicrous.

Religious freedom suffers.  Individual freedom suffers.

Social activists and extremists succeed.  1.6% of the population, aided and abetted by liberal media and elected officials, assert an unsubstantiated "right" to dictate to the 98.4%.  Does the math sound familiar?  Do not the same liberal media and elected officials demand that 99% have a "right" to require the 1% redistribute their earnings?  For the life of me, I can't see how one can use fuzzy math for one argument and not the other.

The tail seems to be wagging the dog.        

Hypocrisy

Democrats once more demonstrate rank hypocrisy.  In the latest example, the Mayor of New York is going to provide illegal immigrants government identification cards.  The left is cheering this action.

On the other hand, however, the left screams "foul" at the requirement for government issued identification cards for voting.

Hypocrites!

Common sense

In view of all the hyperbole, from both sides of the aisle, regarding illegal immigration, the solutions are actually common sense.  Eliminate the incentives and illegal immigration will dry up.

• No free K-12 public education.
• No admission to public universities or "in state" tuition.
• No public relief benefits.
• No social security benefits.
• No public assistance.
• No driver licenses.
• No medical care paid for by taxpayer funding.
• No housing paid for by taxpayer funding.
• No free public transportation paid for by taxpayer funding.
• No enlistment in the Armed Forces.
• No foreign languages will be used in the conduct of government business or support, at any level.  English only.

At the time anyone attempts to enroll or enlist in or benefit from any of the above or similar programs, families and individuals must provide proof of U.S. citizenship or valid "green card."  If they cannot do so, they will be rejected.  

Further, enforcement of our laws regarding illegal immigrants much equally focus on the employers who hire illegal immigrants.  Any employer who does so must be heavily fined, by some formula relating to the amount of labor the employer gains from illegal immigrants as a portion of overall profit.

No grace period or grandfathering will be provided.  Public announcements will state the above will go into effect in 180 days, without exception.

Any state or local government refusing to comply and comport with the new federal policies will lose all federal funding supporting any public programs.  Period.  No argument.  No appeal.

I believe in legal immigration, as it benefited both my family and my wife's.  Let us return to the day of such control and still maintain our open doors and arms for those who properly and appropriately apply for and earn legal immigrant status.  Ultimately the costs born by our nation in supporting illegal immigrants will drop dramatically.  Additionally, more employment opportunities will be made available to our citizens, as employers are no longer able to pay (under the table) subpar wages to a hidden population.

It's all common sense.

Just plain tired

Like many of my fellow citizens, I'm tired, just plain tired.  Not tired in the physical sense, but in the sense of disgust with what is happening in our great country.

I'm tired of:

• Elected officials perpetually campaigning, rather than representing us in governing the nation, state, city.
• The lack of humility.
• The lack of shame for egregious behavior.
• University/college professors and staff demeaning Christianity.
• Unions, particularly teacher unions, expending union dues for political purposes without member approval.
• Elected individuals resorting to demagoguery, rather than reasoned debate.
• A President who talks, but doesn't manage.
• Professional athletes being paid obscene amounts of money.
• Absurd demands for reparations.
• Youth sports being reduced to everyone is a winner.
• The failed K-12 public education system.
• Federal government interference in public education.
• Far too many citizens believing the government must support them.
• Being told all white men are evil and bad.
• Immigration activists waving the Mexican flag.
• Intolerance. 
• Taxpayer money being spent on "white privilege" conferences. 
• The term "white privilege."
• The gross hypocrisy regarding reaction to the use of racial epithets.
• Children born out of wedlock.
• Narcissistic entertainers and so-called political pundits.
• The generation of race baiting purveyors of victimology.
• Creation of limited "free speech zones" on college campuses.
• Racial preferences disguised (poorly) as affirmative action and diversity.
• Mandatory union membership.
• The LGBT activists demanding we embrace their choice of lifestyle.
• FLOTUS demanding anything.
• Outrageous commentary on TV and radio.
• Big government.
• An Attorney General fomenting unrest and selectively enforcing the law based on his racist views.
• Flag officers in the military chosen for fealty rather than combat prowess and leadership.
• Activist members of Congress, without any military experience, wanting to meddle in and change military matters.
• Abortion supporters describing killing of the unborn as "reproductive rights."
• My tax dollars going towards paying the salaries of Reid, Pelosi, Rangel, Waters, Durbin, Boehner, Jerry Brown, Schumer, Boxer, Feinstein, Holder, Biden, Gillibrand, Franken, Conyers, Barbara Lee, Waxman, and countless others.  
• Extremists citing unsubstantiated "facts." 
• Racists and sexists who state it is immoral to vote against someone simply because of the color of their skin or gender, then demand we to vote for someone simply because of the color of their skin or gender.
• The names Bush and Clinton in national politics.
• Legislators and chief executives spending more money than the government brings in.
• The lack of honor and ethics in elected officials.
• "Same-sex" marriage.
• Denial and repression of free speech.
• A president who raises the trivial to the level of White House attention, but can't remain focused on national security, running the executive branch, international affairs, the economy, or abuse by members of the federal government.
• A first lady who takes wildly expensive vacations, with the taxpayers picking up the tab.
• Those who state criticism is racism, sexism, or some other form of self-serving -ism.
• Arrogance and disdain from elected members of the government. 
• Utterly useless undergraduate degrees being sold by colleges and universities.
• Veterans being treated as expendables.

A picture is worth a thousand words

The below picture speaks loudly to the context of the protests that have recently occurred in Murrieta, California in response to the federal government attempting to bus illegal immigrants to the city.  Note that the protestors supporting the illegal immigrants wave a Mexican flag, while those opposing the illegal immigrants carry the American flag.

Hero

Hero.  A word self-professed journalists (and others) all too often inappropriately apply in their feeble attempts to describe a decidedly non-heroic event or action, particularly in sports.  

We’ve all read the pieces, full of militaristic hyperbole, such as “doing battle with,” “taking the fight to the enemy,” and the like.  A disgusting overreach by the writers, a deliberate tactic probably employed because of their limited writing skills.  Or perhaps because of some false impression the reading public can better grasp the point of their writing if such language is used.  But whether it is a sports writer or political commentator, the use of the word hero (or its derivatives) is all too often wholly inappropriate.

Certainly there are heroes, some of whom have been great athletes.  I had the very great fortune of meeting two such men: Jerry Coleman and Louis Zamperini, both of whom passed away this year.  Coleman flew combat missions as a Marine Corps officer and played professional baseball.  He was formally and officially recognized for superior performance in both, being awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses for valor in combat and named the Most Valuable Player in the 1951 World Series.  Zamperini competed for our nation in the 1936 Olympics, then volunteered for the Army Air Corps in World War II, during which he spent 47 days in a raft in the Pacific Ocean and more than two years as a Prisoner of War, suffering from torture and mistreatment.  He returned to Japan and carried the Olympic torch in 1998 during the winter Olympics.  His life was superbly captured in the book Unbroken.    

Writers and commentators should be very circumspect in choosing words, exercising extraordinary care when choosing to label an individual a hero. Professional athletes, politicians, union leaders, activists, and the like are not heroes.

Only men like Coleman and Zamperini are, and will forever be, heroes.  Not because of their athletic prowess, but solely because of their actions in war.