Daily Mood Quotes
Day 202 – November 22, 2011
Hope is tomorrow's veneer over today's disappointment.
~Evan Esar
Today, I was going to do a blog about overcoming fear and achieving your dreams, then an article was put in front of me that begged to be talked about.
Thirty miles from Penn State University, a 17 year old student quit high school, because he was being “bullied.” Here the truly messed up message that is being sent, this student didn't do anything to become a target of bullying. It is what was done to him. The student is known as “victim one” in the case against Jerry Sandusky, the former coach at Penn State under Joe Paterno.
Now, I'm trying to wrap my mind around the reasons for this bullying and I can't. The student, person, “victim one” is a human being, he didn't ask to be a victim in Sandusky's alleged fantasy world, but he was, as were others. Now he has to deal with not just the media and the legal system, but also his peer group; any one of which could have ended up in the same predicament. But his bullies don't see that, they just see a vulnerable target for their anger over the fall of the Penn State football program. Hey folks it's not this kid's fault; its the fault of adults, who should have known better and failed to “do the right thing.”
Yes, I am fully aware “do the right thing” is a reoccurring theme in my blog and I make no apologies. I do this because it is so very important. We have a generation of unaccountable adults running the show and disaster follows in their wake. We have learned to look the other way, duck accountability and bypass the high road, on the way to immediate self gratification and more stuff. It simply is a cultural failure that cannot stand to continue. Here, we have teens acting just like saurians; preying on the injured in their own nests (read schools). Aren't we just so proud? We, their parents, their teachers and society have taught them nothing about what separates us as humans, from prehistoric reptilians whose brains were the size of marbles. This is a sad and enduring testament to misplaced values. The win, the program, the image. There is a common saying, “Image is everything” I use the word "common" to illustrate a deeper point here. Sure, image counts for piranas, peacocks and petunias, but aren't we supposed to be a bit more advanced; made of better stuff? Are we not after 2.5 million years of evolution (simply the facts here) and fifteen thousand years of supposed civilization, better than we behave. Surely, we have examples to follow from all over the globe and different points in time: Socrates, Jesus of Nazareth, Budda, Lao Tzu, Abe Lincoln, Gandhi and others have clearly demonstrated better behavior; what being human should be. But we keep on acting like “angry birds” It's just feakin' tragic. Common decency goes out the window for common mob mentality. It's sad enough that this young person has been victimized then “outed” by the media (another blog in that one), but for him to have to bear the entire weight of a fallen system, is a travesty beyond any words I can muster.Although I have taken a pretty good shot at it.
And, to the 17 year old who drop out of high school, go back to school, hold your head high, you have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide. You are not the problem, Graduate from high school, be the better person and become the success you are meant to be; set a better example, the next generation is going to need it. Have hope, I for one believe in your potential.
How will you rise above the "common" today?
Tune int omorrow to read the daily mood quote
Thank you for reading
