What has happened to America?

Remember when 9/11 happened and we were encouraged to display the country's flag? This was to show our solidarity as a nation and a people. It was an "in your face" slap at the terrorist organization that took down some of our important buildings and killed so many innocent non-military people and the heroes who tried to save them.  Many lost relatives and friends as almost 3,000 died that day (a few hundred more than Pearl Harbor). We were "united we stand" and since have accepted too many sacrifices of our rights to get the bad guys. 

Now, almost 2 decades later,  we are being attacked again!  Instead of the USA flag being flown high and proud, misguided groups of people are allowed to burn or stomp on it, as weel as desecrate historical monuments.  Foreign flags and fags representing debauchery are flown everywhere!  What happened to the United States of America?  Where is our national image? What has become of our pride and our identity? Why do our children not know or  understand the heritage and history of this great country?

We allowed too many citizens' rights and freedoms to be "temporarily" taken away in the name of safety or health.  After 9/11, we allowed covert surveillance and rampant travel restrictions in America, which resulted in selected violent protests being allowed while other peaceful protesters were persecuted.  Just two years ago, our schools and churches were shut down and many now have armed guards and/or metal detectors.  All the while our education, knowledge, and self-assurance levels declined and continue to do so, as selective bullying is promoted by a few but not by the majority. As our freedom of movement and religion was restricted, our businesses suffered loses and the entrepreneurship we were once so proud of took a nose dive.  Getting back to work is hard as unemployment is up because people lost jobs from company closures or staff reductions. 

Part of the American identity is that of a Christian nation that embraces freedom of religion.  Now we are allowing that to be removed as well.  When I was searching the web for faith symbols to include with this post, the American flag came up in the results and so did rainbow arches and crosses.  It is time we display our symbols of faith and patriotism proudly once again.  Put on the full armor of faith; wear your crosses confidently; fly the true  American flag, go to church often; teach your children history and religious truth; put out your nativity scenes; and study the Holy Bible.  Do not be distracted from the your God-given potential.  Do not cancel any more religious holiday celebrations this season.  Remember you have 1st Amendment rights as USA citizens.

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Three Shots, Then Three Weeks?

In America,  we believe everyone has the right to make decisions regarding their own health.  No one should be forced to take pills or have surgery against their will.  So it follows that most of us do not agree with forced unconstitutional vaccine mandates, although we do believe in vaccines to prevent diseases.  Many were grateful to USA president in 2020 for accelerating the development of a vaccine for the plaque and making vaccine voluntarily available first to the most vulnerable.  Vulnerable being people who have a pre-existing condition (and/or elderly) that could die of complications of their condition after contracting a virus. However, we found it hard to trust our top-level "health professionals" who kept pushing  shutdowns, lying about contraction statistics and death, finally acknowledging some testing was inaccurate, and always changing their opinions/stands about what was most effective cures or preventions.  Considering all the media propaganda, it is no wonder people are turning mainly to personal doctors to do the real research and make their best possible recommendations with what they find. 

Members of my household having all personally gotten the three shots that supposedly prevents the first two waves, we were expecting third version to be short if contracted.  We continued to stay home as much as possible, plus using face masks and hand sanitizer as a deterrent to getting the disease as well.  However, we are near the third week of someone in the house being sick with this stuff and everyone is still coughing.  Could being in the "vulnerable" category of pre-existing conditions be why the short-lived version took so long? Severity and length really is different for everyone, even in the same house!  This lab-created disease  is different each time it mutates, so we have no way of knowing anything for sure.  We have just got to do what we can for our health and keep praying for it to end!

Be Considerate, Wear A Face Mask

Here is an infographic from the University of Nebraska Medical Center showing health risks of wearing/not wearing face masks during a pandemic.  Below is a video by a health professional (a medical doctor, not a politician or scientist like Bill Nye) stating why you need to wear a mask during a pandemic or health crisis.  It explains the difference in use of a re-usable/washable fabric mask and a disposable mask.  Mainly the purpose is to be considerate of others by not risking the  spread of a disease you may not know you have.  Contrary to what you may have seen or read, the mask does NOT to prevent airflow, as that would result in suffocation.  Instead, the face mask prevents moisture from leaving your mouth and getting into the air others may breath. Properly wearing a face mask may not be convenient, but it is selflessly considerate of others.  If most people had done this early in the pandemic, it might be over by now or less of an issue, instead of numbers are continuing to rise.

There may be a FEW people who can not wear a mask because of some existing health condition.  If this is the actual case, their doctor can provide them a note saying so.  Not a fake facemask exemption card, which is a money scam to take advantage of people who wish to not look weak/ill or just do not want to wear a mask.  No mask when not staying home or riding in your own car indicates being inconsiderate towards others' health.

Also, masks are mandatory in most business in order for them to stay open.  Being argumentative or violent is actually another way of showing how selfish and arrogant you are, plus it could result in your getting arrested.  A business is private property, which means they have the right to refuse you service and you have the right to go somewhere else.  In some areas, it a business  lets people in without a mask or social distancing, they could loset heir license to operate wither temporarily or permanently.  which means you lose them as a choice of business you can go to.  Think about all that before you react.

America Will Not Be Held Hostage Poem

In the current state of fear caused by national health and violent riots, I was inspired the write the below poem.  I believe it expresses the opinions and feelings of the majority of American citizens who are unwilling to give into fear tactics and acceptance of fake "peaceful" protests that break the law.  This reflects on criminals and terrorists who advocate violence and break the laws of the land, whether they be internal or external.  It is NOT about denying 1st amendment rights to American citizens.  I hope this poem gets spread by my readers who agree via social media and email so that our voices and sentiment may be heard.  There are social icons in bottom of this post to make sharing. pinning, and tweeting easier.

America Will Not Be Held Hostage
by Shirley Fine Lee (copyright 07/06/2020, all rights reserved)

Short URL for sharing = https://tinyurl.com/bdhz9y2n

America is a republic of earnest citizens
Who decide by democratic vote.
We look for the true in what we do.
Americans respect what founders wrote.

America will not be hostage
To marauding terrorist and traitors
Who this country wish to ravage.

Honest citizens who work hard
To succeed and grow in our place.
The republic of true Americans
Do not allow our country disgraced.

American citizens will not be hostage
To shouting terrorist and traitors
Who wish to destroy, burn, and pillage.

Citizens have laws and just protectors
In American cities, counties, and states.
Federal support and patriots stand
Working together to stop the hate.

America will not be hostage
To destructive terrorist and traitors
Who to this country wish only damage.

Americans have right to speak for and against
Issues that concern our direction.
Citizens may peacefully protest and debate,
But we will not tolerate unlawful insurrection.

Protest or Censorship?

Stone, metal wood are inanimate objects incapable of emotions.  The purpose of art is to invoke emotion as well as teaching history to promote thought.  Art can be used to protest injustice or show a dream, but it can not  make those things  happen. Labeling art something other than the title given it by the artist shows a lack of knowledge and respect.  The only way to prevent wrongful labeling is to do research.  Research done right takes time and will calm emotions as historical facts and artist intentions are revealed.

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"We need to move away from being offended by everything, of going through history and looking at everything, of renaming everything." - Ben Carson (video)

"Non-violence is not inaction. It is not discussion. It is not for the timid or weak... Non-violence is hard work." - Cesar Chavez

"We're not separate races. There's only one human race." - Alveda King (video)

"The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived and dishonest – but the myth – persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” - John F Kennedy

• Art (paintings, sculptures, sketches, etc), litterature, music and theatre offer freedom of expression to those who create it and education to those who view it.
• Destroying art is a criminal act regardless of reason, while removing art because a few are offended by it is censorship that is killing freedom of speech through artistic expression.
• History teaches us not what will be but what was, so we can choose not to repeat the bad and grow from the good.
• Using taxpayer dollars to pay for change/removal activities without allowing citizens to vote on it is misappropriation of funds.
• Acting rashly for perceived political gain and may become the beginning of government corruption.

"Doing what you want to do is easy. Doing what you have to do is hard." - Larry Elder  (video)

"The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life no longer flow into our souls."- Elizabeth Cady Stanton

“I am convinced that even violent temperaments can be channeled through nonviolent discipline, if they can act constructively and express through an effective channel their very legitimate anger.”- Martin Luther King Jr.

“Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” - Winston Churchill

Communism and Nazism used violence and targeting specific groups to control people and gain their place in history,  Then history proved both to be bad for all people under their hold. Historical examples of statue and art removal include the communist dictator Stalin in Russia and Nazi dictator Hitler in Germany Dictators effectively use propaganda and false news reports to spread lies and hate to gain followers and use unrest as an excuse for military take-over.  Destroying or hiding historical figures because the color of their skin or their ethnicity is different from those screaming out promotes continued  on every side.  Pandering for  political gain is not only the wrong motive, it is often a wrong move for sake of a nation. 

“Some things are believed because they are demonstrably true, but many other things are believed simply because they have been asserted repeatedly and repetition has been accepted as a substitute for evidence.”  - Thomas Sowell

"Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding." – Mahatma Gandhi

"Fear of something is at the root of hate for others, and hate within will eventually destroy the hater." - George Washington Carver

"I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong."  - Abraham Lincoln

Who is really behind these new agendas: hiding/rewriting historical truths, destroying art that has been around for decades or centuries, and claiming current wrong toward a particular group or religion without physical proof?  Local citizens, tax payers, violent criminals, demographers/statisticians, hidden terrorist, unscrupulous politicians, marketing ploy, paid/faux activists, or someone else stirring the hate or paying for conflict?  Who is sponsoring this - who is really hiding behind some of those masks? Why is a small, loud group the reason money is being spent to remove statues, memorials, and monuments, as well as the names of streets, parks, and buildings?  Who is asking these questions?  Who is checking on and reporting the facts?  Why is everyone afraid to really talk about this?  Why are words being censored, but not unlawful or unethical actions?