Insanitybytes had a great post about the Oprah Winfrey interview with the ex-royals today. It’s called, “God Save the Queen.” Check it out.

I commented that her words rang true as to what might be wrong in our country today. Whenever anything happens that has a slight hint of controversy, we’ve been brainwashed into thinking we are wrong because of our lack of political correctness. I have a strong feeling that has to do with our genes. We are a nation of fixers. When something doesn’t seem Kosher, we go to extremes to change whatever it might be. It seems to me that every generation looks at society, parenting, relationships, religion, education, politics as something that needs to be fixed. In our quest to make life perfect, we inflict extreme measures to draw attention to the misdeeds, the misunderstandings, the miscommunication. In doing so, we often create even larger problems.

My kids didn’t read a lot of Dr. Seuss books, because I didn’t really like Dr. Seuss. Maybe I just didn’t understand all the political undertones or racism included in those stories. I read books to my kids about funny things or things that had some moral value – like the Little Engine that Could. I never thought about race, because I grew up in a neighborhood with black, white and yellow children. The mean kids were called bullies, but I was told that I should just brush it off and forget about it. The old quote, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” made no sense, but we got over things a lot faster in those days.

I didn’t even know what gay meant, other than being a happy person. I didn’t understand until I attended a ball at the Art Institute of Chicago with my future husband and met three or four guys in the lady’s room, primping in front of the mirror – and even that wasn’t a clear image of homosexual behavior. The idea of changing ones sex seemed totally foreign to me as well. Talk about a sheltered life. Oh and my kids played with Mr. Potato Head until I stepped on one of the body parts with my bare feet

We laughed at things that today are considered inconsiderate. When someone got a pie in the face, it was funny. Now we have to know what flavor the pie is and is it worth wasting on a face. I’ve written about my mom and her great sense of humor. She would laugh at anything. I have inherited that trait – to my chagrin. The reality shows of today are just extensions of slapstick comedy where we laugh at someone else’s misfortune. Now I live in a world that requires me to think before I laugh. What ever happened to common sense? Are we raising a future generation of wimps? Why don’t we return to teaching our children to treat others as they would like to be treated or the idea of being kind to everyone?

Today we’re focusing so much attention on walking on eggshells we don’t take time to appreciate what’s inside those eggs. I know there is injustice in our world. I know all people aren’t treated in the same way. I also know that we can do so much better, but we often fall short. In our efforts to make things better for our kids, we are often doing more harm than good. This past year hasn’t helped with any of it. Being isolated from reality has caused depression, suicide, self-abuse, divorce, anxiety, hate, anger and total frustration. The lack of interactive communication hasn’t helped.

There will never be a perfect world here on earth, but as children of God, we know that this is not our eternal home. Things will likely get worse before they get better. Usually we have to hit bottom before we realize there’s no where else to go but up. I haven’t had a good rant for a while so consider this one. Sometimes we just need to vent and then move on.