It's been awhile...

There are tons of things I could sit here and comment on, with all that's going on around us. The tragedy in Connecticut, the war in Israel, the US financial cliff....
I will start by saying that the shooting in Newtown CT is horrific. It brought me to tears just thinking, if that was me, waiting for my child to come out....and waiting...and not knowing. Lives lost because of evilness.
That does not change my opinion that people should be able to carry a weapon. Yes, guns are dangerous, and in the hands of someone that wants to hurt someone, deadly.
People who do these things, are either evil or mentally ill. Morgan Freeman statement about making them famous, is quite true. And there are plenty of sociopathic and narcissistic that may see this and think, hmm.
The variable you can't change, no matter what, is people.

I can think of several examples, but here's an easy one. In 2010, 10,228 people were killed by Drunk drivers. So, do you ban alcohol? Or do you ban cars? No, people who made the choice to drive drunk are the culprits.
There are criminals out there, and they don't follow the rules. Many of them think they don't apply to them.
There are people, in my neighborhood, that steal. That's a crime. A simple one, people who are on welfare or food stamps, who have the means. There are kids in my child's school on the free lunch program, because they lied on the paperwork. They are stealing from others that are truly in need and they are stealing from us who pay for it.
It is serious? Not as  serious as guns, drunk drivers... but it's because SO many people in this country think that they are entitled to it.
Someone owes them.

How do we change this? We can't. You can't change people.
As I write this, I think of my own children, who are somewhat "entitled". They have what they want, the get what they ask for and I don't ask for much in return. But, they do know, that what they get, is because I work for it. After my divorce, I was broke and starting over. I am proud to say that I, singlehandedly, bought a house, furnished it, and the kids never really suffered. They had everything they needed. They know I work hard, at several jobs, to afford them. So, when they want money for something, they are  coming to the realization, that I am not giving it them, without work. I don't want them to feel entitled to get stuff for free.

There is evil in this world, and my heart goes out to the families in CT, because they had no control over the gunman's action, he is a person and took the lives of others, without regard.

That's all for now...folks!
Merry Christmas!
Barb