Confusion

To say there is so much confusion, not only with me, but in this world would be a huge understatement. You name it, politics, COVID, the anniversary of 9/11, vaccines, etc. There seems to be so much division and confusion going on in the world today and it is not just dividing political parties, but it is dividing friendships and sadly, families. All I can do is speak for myself personally. So that's what I will do. Personally it makes me really sad that so many things are no considered "political". COVID is killing so many people and now we have to include children and I've heard as young as 1 year old and some unborn babies as many pregnant women are losing their battle with COVID and yet there are so many out there refusing to get the vaccine, because they believe they are being forced by the government. Well, I don't know if we are being "forced" or not, but what I do know is that the vaccine is saving lives and I do believe that is the only way we are going to gain control over this pandemic. This stupid division over the whether to get the vaccine or not is literally driving families and friends apart and that is the saddest part of all of this outside the loss of life. I don't care what party you associate with, I do care if you get sick and die or someone you love does. There are so many "versions" of the truth about vaccines and the virus out there and yes, you have to decide for yourself what you shoudl or shouldn't do, but stop blaming the government. For years there have been vaccine mandages in place. Most of us had to be vaccinated to go to school and most of us had to have our children vaccinated before they could go to school and if you ever served or are serving in the military you were vaccinated with all sorts of things and trust me, you had/have no idea what they injected you with. That's the part I truly do not understand, there is so much opposition to this vaccination, but honestly, this vaccine has been developed and researched for years. We just had no reason to know about it because there were no cases out there. It's no different than when small pox was going around, people had to rush to get vaccinated because we were in a pandemic then and folks weren't resisting then, they wanted to make sure they didn't get infected so they got vaccinated. I've heard many people, family included, stating they didn't trust the vaccine because it was "rushed". Well, it was only rushed through the processed because we are in a pandemic. Would you rather continue to see people die and stay in a lock-down across the country or would you like to see our scientist work with all the government resources and push through the system to provide vaccine options to slow the spread of the virus? You can certainly choose. No one is telling you that you HAVE to get the vaccine. They might be telling you that you cannot work at a certain employer if you aren't vaccinated or eat at a certain restaurant if you aren't vaccinated or show proof of a recent negative COVID test. If that's what you choose, that's your option. If that's what you choose, then you can't be pissed that you get fired and can't draw unemployment or you get turned away from an eating establishment because you expressed your right not to get vaccinated or didn't get tested prior to showing up. That's actually what the mandate states. If you listen carefully rather than getting mad and already preparing your response before getting all the facts you would understand a bit more and maybe, just maybe, be a bit more informed. You might still choose not to get vaccinated, but maybe you wouldn't be so angry with everyone else that tends to agree with the mandage. Just a little food for thought. Another issue that has been weighing on me is the Afghanistan debacle. I've written about it before, but I don't think I could write about it enough. You know, the current president and his administration wants to blame everyone else, including the former president, for how things went down. Well, this is my personal opinion on this matter (again, my personal opinion and I don't expect anyone to agree). Whatever happened in the last administration was wiped away when the new administration took office. That's the way it has always been and always will be. It's no different than when a football team gets a new coach. They usually replace all the assistan coaches with their set of assistant coaches. No different in a company when they get a new CEO, they replace their SVPs and VPs and down the line with their own team. Well, that's what happens when we get a new President of the United States. They bring with them their own Vice President and then they clean house and start replacing those people with the folks they want in their place. Right? Of course they do. Every President has done that and this current administration is no different. Okay, well, if that is the case (and it is), then how wasn't the withdraw from Afghanistan "plan" not Biden's instead of Trump's? I am certain Biden is NOT running the country using Trump's playbook. I feel certain he entered this job with his own agenda. That being said, the plan to withdraw from Afghanistan was all President Biden's plan and direction and had nothing to do with former President Trump's previous plan. Once Biden took office all Trump's previous plans were trashed and Biden's plans took over. I get so sick of hearing this administration blaming everything on the previous administration. What makes me even sicker is all the "Americans" doing the same things. They go on social media and they are being so disrespectful to the President of the United States of America and voicing their opinions like it is the gospil and in ways that are so distasteful. Yes, everyone has a right to their opinion and freedom of speech, that's why I can write my blog and air my feelings here. However, what ever happened to respect and there is this one little thing of living what you preach. Let me explain... If you proclaim that you are a Christian, how can you be so distasteful on social media and disrespect people in ways that your children and people of the church will see that can potentially harm your testimony? That's a very slippery slope in my opinion (again, just mine). Trust me, I did not vote for Biden, I do not like Biden, I do not agree with most of what Biden stands for and I really do not agree with how he handled Afghanistan and how he is running this country. I do, however, respect the position of President of the United States. I love our country and most importantly, I want to set a good example and never intentionally say or post something that would in some way appear that I am setting a bad example for my kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews or great nephew. Adults, I beg you to think about that before you post the next social media post. Just saying. The final thought for the day is just remembering 9/11. It's hard for me to believe it's been 20 years since that faithful day. My precious son was 13 years old on 9/11 and I was at work at a doctor's office when the first tower was hit and I immediately thought, oh my God, I need to get to him. No one knew what was going on or who or what would be hit next. I just knew I needed to know that my son was safe. I called my sister and she went to the school and picked him up until I could get off work. Fast forward to Oct. 2007 and my son would enlist into the United States Marine Corps. He would serve almost his full 4 years until 5 weeks into his final deployment in Afghanistan when he stepped on an IED and was killed in action. So to say 9/11 has a particular impact on me (as most Americans) is an understatement so I was very emotional a bit more this year for whatever reason. Maybe it was due to all the division I see in this country and even with family and friends. Regardless the reason, it was a sad weekend to say the very least and that date also signifies 80 days until my son will be gone from this earth 11 years. On top of all of the above, we had just come off Labor Day weekend which marked 25 years since my precious niece had been diagnosed with brain cancer, which was the first time our family was rocked to it's core. We just didnt realize that would be the first of several times we would be rocked/tested in a major way. We, as a family, have proven to be pretty resilient, but it has shown that we are definitely fractured as a family as well. That part makes me sad, but I also understand that is to be expected I suppose. I know there will come a day when things will just come together as they are supposed to be, but I often find myself wondering when that time might be. I guess only time will tell. Until that time comes or the time comes that I find true peace, I will just continue to exist in this world and pray for the Lord to bring peace and togetherness to this country and most importantly to our families and friends as they should be. I love all my family and I miss the closeness we all once had and would love nothing more than to keep the promise I made daddy in his last days, but I also know I can only do so much and the rest has to be made by others. I will continue to do my part and pray the others will do their part at some point. All my love to my family and friends and all my peace and prayers to those I don't know that might, by chance, be reading this.