Over The Rainbow

 

Over The Rainbow

 

  I was told about a story where some children had taken a firecracker and put it in the mouth of a dog. The children taped the dogs mouth closed and were laughing as the dog suffered miserably before it died. And while I found this to be a reprehensible act…it made me think a little deeper into the character of human beings.

  We tend to make excuses for the poor behavior of people. Take the example of the tortured dog…there are people who will say it was JUST a dog. But was it JUST a dog? I tend to believe that the dog was a symbol of how we live our lives today. We often entertain ourselves at the expense of others…with no thought to how the victim of that entertaining act must feel. By now, you should know that I am not talking just about a tortured dog…but how we treat everyone and everything that we come into contact with. I will start with animals first…so it doesn’t appear that I think this act was in any way acceptable.

  We do not have the right to bring harm or danger to any one or anything that was created by God. And since we are all His creation…we do not have free license to bring harm to anything…period. Animals are not JUST anything…they are creatures that were brought here…just as we were. They have the right to live, eat, breathe and maintain life…just as we do. Yet, we as people are the only living organisms that not only kill for the mere entertainment of the sport…but we also find some innate joy in torturing living beings as well. You won’t ever see an animal play with its food, never mind tormenting it. Cruelty to animals is a huge problem in this country…and when it is done it just shows how very heartless and cruel we can be. And as a parent…I feel obligated to tell you that most serial murderers started out torturing small animals…maybe that is something that we should look at.

  However when we set aside the animals…and look at how we also sit by and watch our children torture other children…one must wonder what we are doing. It is true that in most cases our children aren’t binding other children’s mouths together and stuffing explosives in their mouths. But look at how we sit by idly and watch as they torture one another verbally. What have we become, as people? Have our lives boiled down to a kill or be killed society? Why are the only roles that we play “the victim” or “the attacker”?

  Anytime we are entertained at the cost of someone else…it is wrong. We have no way to know what kind of effect that has on another human being. We can not determine how very much or little bearing our words will have on another person. Does that mean that we are all powerful? NO. But it does mean that we are in a position to make a positive effect on someone, as opposed to tearing down their self esteem. We have a responsibility to one another…which was given to us at birth. From birth we were entrusted with the responsibility of being kind and loving towards one another. We were brought together for a specific reason…and that reason was NOT to determine who was stronger via a fight to the death. When we break the hearts of people…we are tearing away at their spirit. We are making them feel weak and less than they actually are. This is not a trophy to wear around your neck…because as life will have it…and most certainly it will…someone bigger and stronger will do the same to you.

  And before anyone gets the chance to say that “they are just kids”…allow me to say…you are absolutely right. As adults in a community…we are responsible for speaking up when we see a child being bullied. We are responsible for taking children to the side and telling them that this is unacceptable behavior. We are also responsible for telling the onlookers of this travesty that they are just as guilty as the bully. Indifference is a terrible offense. And even if the onlooker doesn’t agree with what is being said or done…by sitting quietly…they are silently siding with the abuser.

  This is what our world has come to…and it gotten to this point by our children…watching us. They watch us demean and demoralize certain groups of people…whether on the television or in person. They have watched us ridicule and criticize someone who we may say is weaker than we are. We have subliminally been training our children to be warriors against one another.

  We all cheered when a war in another country is over and our soldiers can finally come home. So why are we turning a blind eye to the war we are waging in our own back yards? Take responsibility for the way our children fail to communicate…it is our fault. Remind them to love each other…and while they will get angry with one another…forgiveness is imperative.

  Everyone wants to believe there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow…and there is. But the “rainbow” is our path and the pot of gold is the reward we get spiritually by learning how to live together in peace and harmony. Do not tolerate violence…teach love…and we can go over the rainbow together.

 

A Life Lost

A Life Lost

 I can not imagine what life had become for Rutgers’ freshman Tyler Clementi in September 2010. I have seen videos of him playing the violin, he was very talented. I heard people say that he was a very good and kind person; that is not to say that all people were good and kind to him.

 From what I have read and watched on the news; Tyler was a homosexual young man who was learning to cope with who he was…not unlike most people his age. One night his roommate placed a web cam in their dorm room. On this specific night Tyler was seen in his room with another male…and his roommate allegedly aired it over the web. As with most things on the internet…it went viral; the humiliation of the video was too much for Tyler to deal with. And on Sept 22, 2010 at 8:42p.m.; Tyler Clementi posts on his Face book wall “Jumping off the G.W. Bridge, sorry”. That was the last anyone heard from Tyler Clementi, a life that ended far too soon.

 Now his family must try and move forward…left only with memories of a kind soul…that the world was NOT kind too. Why did Tyler throw himself off the George Washington Bridge? He ended his life, because someone wanted to make fun of him. Someone thought a laugh was more important than compassion.

 I am angered at this situation, because this happens too often. Our children are being bullied and badgered from one extreme to another. Tyler was a child of God…yet we allowed him to be isolated. We made this form of bullying permissible…by simply sitting in front of our computers while this video was live streamed. We didn’t stand up and try to stop it. And in the end, Tyler could not live with the embarrassment…so he ended his grief.

 I intentionally have not mentioned the names of the 2 individuals that were responsible for this incident…not because I am trying to protect them. I am leaving them nameless because the only persons name worthy of remembering…is Tyler Clementi.

 I am writing this to focus on an ongoing problem…bullying. People are no longer just trying to steal lunch money…they are stealing the lives and livelihood of our offspring. It is up to us to put an end to this. No one deserves to feel alone, and deserted. Families don’t deserve to have to pick up the pieces of their broken hearts, because someone thought that humor at the expense of another…was acceptable.

 We are responsible for implementing good, strong, virtuous morals within our children. Every time a child is bullied…it is our world’s problem. Every time a child is fearful of going to school or out to play, because some other child or adult is strong arming them…we are responsible. It is our job to step forward and put our foot down, for those that have not found a way to do it for themselves. We must embrace God’s children…regardless of who they are.

  Young men and women have enough to deal with…just being young adults. Life makes things hard enough, without us pushing things to their limit and making it almost impossible to survive. It saddens me to know that Tyler felt like he had no other choice but to end his young life. I pray that this vicious circle can end here. We all can play a part in making the world a more loving place. Encourage our children to be respectful of others; and in the wake of bullying we should educate our children in the art of compassion. Stand up for those who do not know how to stand up for themselves.

 I pray that God will guide us back onto our true path…we have wasted far too much time.