What Are We Doing?
My name is Brandon Jones. I'm a son, a brother, a grandson, a cousin, a friend and an uncle to 13 nieces and nephews.
Since I was a junior in high school there have been many tragedies (40+ school shootings since Columbine) in the schools of this country. I say many because one is one too many. The events that took place today at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT unfortunately did not surprise me and that breaks my heart. We are failing our children and in turn we are failing this country. We have become so obsessed with entitlement, with capitalism, with partisanship, with hating our President, with blaming Republicans, with blaming Democrats, with getting those 15 minutes of fame, with trying to legalize drugs, with gay marriage, with tweeting, with being promiscuous, that we have thrown out values, discipline, morals, responsibility and accountability.
We have to be better parents. We have to provide better images and be better role models for our children. Yes, it is okay to be friendly with your child, but your child needs you to be a parent. Your child can make friends at school, at church, at birthday parties, sleepovers, little league games and playgrounds and parks. We need to have more respect for ourselves as mothers and fathers, as aunts and uncles, as public figures and caretakers.
Far too many times, I've seen adults out and about acting like little boys and girls when they have their own boys and girls to raise and nurture at home. Tonight, as parents and authority figures in the lives of young people, it's time to put away childish things and grow up and take on the responsibility of rearing the young people in our lives and the young people of this country. We're too proud and we're too free. At one point in time I'm sure we've all said, "not me" or "not in my neighborhood". We don't want to be told what to do so we no longer discipline ourselves, our children or give them any sense of structure and stability.
It's time to take back our homes. By doing that we'll take back a sense of family and unity and instill self worth, self respect, dignity, morals responsibility and accountability. Our communities will benefit from it and so will our cities, states, and nation. By doing that, we can take back the future of this country.
Let's start putting a message in our music that isn't only money, cars, clothes, sex, drugs and hoes. We as artists have a responsibility to provide images that will strengthen fabric of not only our art forms but our communities and this nation. As athletes, let's display good sportsmanship instead of acting like entitled, spoiled and self absorbed ego maniacs. As ministers, preachers, priests, rabbis, and religious leaders let's give people something to believe in rather than something to fear. As health care professionals, let's do a better job of treating the patient and not just the disease. As citizens of this nation, if not for ourselves then please for the future of children, let's not only vote by partisanship, let's also make sure that we are well educated and informed not just when it comes to voting for President, we need to have the same interest when it comes to who is running for city council, mayor, and governor.
We can do this. We MUST do this. The question is do we want to do it? Do we want to sacrifice our current ways now or do we want to sacrifice our children and their future later?
Since I was a junior in high school there have been many tragedies (40+ school shootings since Columbine) in the schools of this country. I say many because one is one too many. The events that took place today at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT unfortunately did not surprise me and that breaks my heart. We are failing our children and in turn we are failing this country. We have become so obsessed with entitlement, with capitalism, with partisanship, with hating our President, with blaming Republicans, with blaming Democrats, with getting those 15 minutes of fame, with trying to legalize drugs, with gay marriage, with tweeting, with being promiscuous, that we have thrown out values, discipline, morals, responsibility and accountability.
We have to be better parents. We have to provide better images and be better role models for our children. Yes, it is okay to be friendly with your child, but your child needs you to be a parent. Your child can make friends at school, at church, at birthday parties, sleepovers, little league games and playgrounds and parks. We need to have more respect for ourselves as mothers and fathers, as aunts and uncles, as public figures and caretakers.
Far too many times, I've seen adults out and about acting like little boys and girls when they have their own boys and girls to raise and nurture at home. Tonight, as parents and authority figures in the lives of young people, it's time to put away childish things and grow up and take on the responsibility of rearing the young people in our lives and the young people of this country. We're too proud and we're too free. At one point in time I'm sure we've all said, "not me" or "not in my neighborhood". We don't want to be told what to do so we no longer discipline ourselves, our children or give them any sense of structure and stability.
It's time to take back our homes. By doing that we'll take back a sense of family and unity and instill self worth, self respect, dignity, morals responsibility and accountability. Our communities will benefit from it and so will our cities, states, and nation. By doing that, we can take back the future of this country.
Let's start putting a message in our music that isn't only money, cars, clothes, sex, drugs and hoes. We as artists have a responsibility to provide images that will strengthen fabric of not only our art forms but our communities and this nation. As athletes, let's display good sportsmanship instead of acting like entitled, spoiled and self absorbed ego maniacs. As ministers, preachers, priests, rabbis, and religious leaders let's give people something to believe in rather than something to fear. As health care professionals, let's do a better job of treating the patient and not just the disease. As citizens of this nation, if not for ourselves then please for the future of children, let's not only vote by partisanship, let's also make sure that we are well educated and informed not just when it comes to voting for President, we need to have the same interest when it comes to who is running for city council, mayor, and governor.
We can do this. We MUST do this. The question is do we want to do it? Do we want to sacrifice our current ways now or do we want to sacrifice our children and their future later?
Comments
Post a Comment