I don’t have too many pet peeves but among those that I do possess is a dislike of being badgered by anyone who insists on changing aspects of who I am. Don’t get me wrong. I fully understand that I can always use a bit of self improvement here and there but I find it quite irritating whenever someone has the audacity to critique my lifestyle and then force unsolicited advice upon me. These individuals are so certain that they have all of the right answers that they are unwilling to even consider that there might be room in this world for differences of opinion. They are like barbarians at the gate with their argumentative style of inflicting themselves on others. They just won’t let go until they have bullied the people in their locus of control into changing. They often search for those that they think they might dominate and then launch their offensives. They are bullies and their tactics are emotionally abusive. Continue reading “Wolves”
I’m a bonafide cornball. I cry at weddings and when I hear truly beautiful music. I get goosebumps standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial or driving along Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. I am humbled with every visit to Arlington National Cemetery. I’m one of those people who likes to travel to other lands but feels a sense of relief when I am back on American soil. I love the United States with every fiber of my being in spite of its flaws because I believe that it is one of the few places on earth where a nobody like me has the opportunity and the freedom to speak my mind and to live better than kings once did. Whenever I hear the Star Spangled Banner being sung by a crowd of fellow citizens I am moved to the very fiber of my soul. 
In case you’ve missed it there is a great deal more going on in the world than just the events that have affected citizens of the United States. As is typical of the summer months the world is on fire. We need to closely monitor the economic crisis in Greece because one way or another it will have an effect on all of Europe and eventually the rest of the world. Spain, Portugal, and Italy are not too far behind Greece in having difficulties maintaining the social programs and monetary security of their governments. China is quietly weathering a slowdown in growth that the nation can ill afford. The governor of Puerto Rico has announced that the public coffers are empty and the territory will not be able to meet the obligations of outstanding bills. As if these developments were not worrisome enough on their own ISIS continues to rear its ugly head with terrorist attacks in France and Tunisia. They have boasted that many more countries may endure violence in the coming weeks. It’s enough to make one feel as though the world as we know it is coming to an end. All in all there seems to be little that those of us who are ordinary citizens may do and so I’d like to suggest that we learn how to laugh again.
