The task is not yet finished

Yesterday we heard emotional speeches by five national leaders and patriots. The words of Presidents Obama, Clinton and Carter, along with John Lewis, should remind us of the battle not yet won.

Yes, thanks to leaders such as those who were present, we have made great strides in righting the wrongs of so many years – those which we did not want to acknowledge existed. The four I have mentioned stood tall and proud, each working in their own way to right the wrongs that so many of our brothers and sisters endured.

The fifth voice was a voice silenced before its time – a voice that everyone who stood on that great Mall in Washington or who listened across our great country was able to summon, once more hearing those words…”I have a dream, that one day all men will be free.”

Even if it is no longer with us, that voice will never truly be silenced.  No bullet can ever still that voice or the words of Martin Luther King.

May we always have leadership that truly believes all men and women: black, white, Asian, Mexican – any and all races –  shall feel this country is big enough for all to come to work, enjoy life and add the different shade of beauty each brings to enhance our rainbow.

As Christians our hearts should be so full of love we have no room for hate. Only those who are misguided, misinformed, mean-spirited, or just plain stupid would defy our Heavenly Father, who said we all are God’s children, sisters and brothers together. God’s words are good enough for me. How about you? Are you picking and choosing that which is easy to do and calling yourself a Christian or do you truly follow God’s words and live by his words?

The Middle Class

From my room at Oxmoor Lodge I listened to our President’s vision for the months ahead. There was no doubt he has his arms around the Middle Class in our country.

He spoke of many other programs that certainly need our attention.

He spoke of the need to move expeditiously on the following issues:

Immigration—It is way past time for thousands of fine human beings that want to be Americans to have that opportunity, legally.  If our country had not welcomed almost all of our grandparents and great grandparents with open arms, most of us would not be Americans today. We are the descendants of other countries, but America said come join us, help us build the greatest country in the world. Our ancestors came and were welcomed with open arms. Do the immigrants of today deserve any less?

Gun control–Contrary to the usual naysayers, the President does not advocate disarming the public or throwing out the second amendment. He, like most Americans – including our police officers – see no use for individuals to own assault weapons that can riddle a child’s body from head to toe with one squeeze of the trigger. Assault weapons and multi-clips must be taken out of circulation by law.

Medicare–The specific cost of various treatments or services and the exorbitant price charged to the patient should be looked at carefully. Who determines what your doctor or dentist charges you for a visit? Is it your doctor or dentist or a price set by Medicare you must charge or not get reimbursed? There are probably cost-cutting areas in Medicare that could help salvage and keep the program healthy.

The Middle Class—Last but certainly not least; quite the contrary. His emphasis on improving the lives of the middle class was evident in almost all of the above and more. Raising the minimum wage to $9.00 an hour should be a no-brainier. How many persons of means would do the work the middle class does on a daily basis for even that amount? How many among our wealthy citizens would be their own gardner, their housekeeper, their hotel doorman, their waitress at their favorite restaurant or their man servant for minimum wage every day all day. I dare say none.

The middle class – contrary to words uttered by the last Republican nominee for President – the middle class are not the takers of the government; quite the contrary. The wealthy would rather pay lobbyists more than their hired help to work on our representatives and senators to keep their taxes low. They would rather give thousands to secret PACs to keep their paid hands in office and pay huge fees to their accountants and lawyers to find loopholes to cheat the government out of tax money. And they call the middle class the takers of government? They are not only the takers – they are morally corrupt takers. It is the middle class that keep the wheels of work and progress going in this country, yes even for the wealthy.