The South Despised Again

In the 1950s and 60s Southern members of Congress were seen as the antithesis of progress. Strom Thurmond still has the record for having the longest filibuster in the history of the Senate. What was he so passionate about that he wanted to hold up the progress of the Senate and stop the business of the government in its' stacks? It seems that Mr. Thurmond wanted to stop the passage of the 1957 Civil Rights bill. He spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes, longer than any other Senator before and after. Why, because he thought that equality was against the fabric of the nation and that equality for the negro would upset the culture and traditions of the South. Mr. Thurmond did everything to keep that bill from passing . During his filibuster he did not give profound speeches but used delaying tactics like reading from the phone book or reading the newspaper. Why, because progress was against the fabric of the nation. Many Americans thought that this type of ignorance and bigotry had left the south when Jimmy Carter became president. But guess what? It is back with a vengeance.
Senators like Alabama's Richard Shelby are out to make sure that the progress and hope promised by the Obama administration dies in it's tracks. These southern gentlemen have dogged health care reform from the start with no alternatives or compromise just rhetoric and contempt.
There are a number of good people from the south, I happen to be one of them, but we must all band together like we did in the 50s and 60s to thwart the efforts of men like Richard Shelby to destroy the progression of this nation. To paraphrase Winston Churchill. We shall fight them in the streets ( through protest and demonstration), we shall fight them in the press, we shall fight them on the floor of the House and Senate. We shall never give up until this nation is what it says it is a government of the people, for the people and by the people.

New Year's Resolution

I think that everyone should make it their New Year's resolution this to mind their own damned business.
Don't get me wrong, It is nice when people like to help out or lend a hand to someone who asks for it but other than that mind your own damned business. Helping out is one thing, but being the judge and jury for the world is another. Everyone from vegans who yell "meat is murder" from their middle class podiums or liberals who want to help the less fortunate as long as the less fortunate sit down and shut up. Or the conservatives who do not want to help anyone but want to dispense advice and caveats to all they deem unworthy of help. It is okay as long as they say it is okay.
Those of you who want to impose your values on everyone else and are angry when those people tell you where to get off should mind their own damned business.
Everyone does not value the same things even if we want them to. There are people who do not value education, so be it . That does not make them bad people because I am sure they value things that other people do not .
We must in 2010 stop dispensing judgment on those we deem unworthy of our respect and listen to them as well as the people who agree with us or just tell us want we want to hear.
As a teacher ,I think this is very important because some of the people that I work with are not as reserved in their judgments as others and feel as if they are like Peace Corps dispensing knowledge, virtue and morals to the less fortunate. Get off of it we are public school teachers and we work for those people that we deem unfortunate, they pay our salaries just as well as the Crocus Hill crowd and they deserve respect not pity or moral judgement.
Stop the moral judgments especially those of us who do not mind teaching in the public schools but would die and go to hell before we let any of our own kids attend them.
We are all guilty of dispensing moral judgments ( I am doing it right now), but 2010 should be the year to cut back and learn more about the people we criticize before we make moral judgments that hurt more than help, wound more than heal and above all drive us farther and farther apart. Live and let live, judge lest we not be judged.
Happy New Year