There’s an organization going from supermarket to supermarket collecting food donations to ship to the troops overseas. I’ve been accosted twice by them at two separate stores. Both times I was essentially told that I did not support the troops because I refused to make a donation.

Excuse me?

While I do not come from a military family per se, I do have a number of family members and friends who have been or currently are in the service. I thank them whenever I can. I have occasionally voiced my opinions on the need to provide these protectors of our freedoms with better pay and benefits. But the last time I checked those in the military still got fed, courtesy of my tax dollars. It may not be the best food, but it’s certainly better than what many of us are eating.

At a time when food pantries across the country are seeing a sharp decrease in food donations just as they are seeing an equally sharp increase in those that need these services (including many military familes), I think anyone who has the nerve to tell me I don’t support the military because I choose to spend my whopping $60 a week food budget on my family of four (and the occasional dollar donation to the local food pantry, which I use) instead of buying TP for the troops needs to shut the fuck up.

Warning: Written on minimal sleep.

I am so numb. Well, maybe numb isn’t exactly the word I’m looking for. I can feel fear. I feel it every time a plane flies overhead, or when a police car or fire truck or ambulance goes by (and there have been a lot of them lately, and I live in Arlington, MA). I have to sleep with my fans on, despite that fact that it is now cooler at night, just to drown out some of the noise. Otherwise I’d be up all night.

I have spent hours watching the news, because that seems to be all you can watch on TV lately. Is it really necessary to repeatedly show the people jumping from the towers? Just hearing about it was enough for me. And then there were the emails I read from the mailing lists I’m on. At first they contained condolences, wishes, thoughts and opinions. Then nasty comments started popping up.

*sigh*

I would be the first to agree that America is far from the great country it’s touted as being.

We talk about propaganda in other countries, yet the same thing has been going on in our own backyard. Am I the only one who heard about how the US government was at one time using mentally disabled people as guinea pigs?

We talk about freedom. Meanwhile the freedom of choice is being threatened; freedom of religion doesn’t seem to apply to all religions; the freedom to just be is often determined by race or ethnic background; don’t get me started on freedom of speech.

We show much concern for the hungry and the homeless… in other countries.

But, as screwed up as we are, we didn’t deserve this.

We, as a country, seem to live by the rule of “every man for himself”. It’s wonderful that we come together in times of tragedy, but it’s not enough. We need to do much more. If we want to make this world a better place, then we need to get off our asses and get to work; stop expecting others to do it for us.

We can no longer take our freedom for granted. Some of us are already aware of this. Now, hopefully, the rest of the country is, too.

I created A Web Site Created by Babs to invite people into my world, to peek into the mind of one person of many on this huge planet. I created the Gen-X Essays to offer my ideas and opinions in hopes of getting other people talking. Both were built with the idea that one person can make a difference. And I intend to make as much of a difference as I possibly can.

The question is, now, how many of you will be joining me?