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My brother and I knew Mom had had quite enough when she threatened to pound sand up our butts.

The warning sufficed and she never had to carry through. I wish that someone in authority would tell the looters and rioters and even the numbskulls blocking traffic that is exactly what will happen if they don't start acting like normal human beings.

Idiots with a college degree protesting confederate actions from 160 years ago are knocking over statues of people who helped the North. They don't even know who was on what side. Frederick Douglass was a black man, for those of you who are forgetting American history.*

Each period of history has people with a certain mindset that, like it or not, prevails at that time. Actions taken 50 or 100 or 200 years later is not going to change what was thought back then by knocking over monuments or burning books today.

Twisting the Truth

At our church, I am participating in a Sunday school class called, "Twisting the Truth." Sunday's discussion was about folks who convince others that an extremely bad idea is a great way to change the world for the better. For instance, whoever thought slavery was a great idea and why? America was certainly not the only country to have slavery. It was prominent in many parts of the world and while I hate to break it to today's dunderheads, it is still going on. Slaves harvest cocoa in West Africa and make charcoal in Brazil. Slave labor makes those expensive shoes you wear. About 12 percent of today's slaves are sex slaves. There are women forced into marriages as slaves. Rioting would make a little bit of sense if it were in protest of what is presently happening, not what happened more than 100 years ago.

We cannot change the past no matter how loud the protest. We cannot predict the future and I don't even want to if these kinds of people take control. All we can do is try to make the present as pleasant as possible for as many people as we can.

Can you imagine being convinced that all of your troubles would just go away if every Jewish person in the world could be either locked up or exterminated? And yet, the Nazis were convinced that was the fact.

What about Ghislaine Maxwell convincing young girls to have sex with the likes of Jeffrey Epstein and his ilk. What kind of horrible monsters even have those kinds of thought? I have seen no rioting for this cause.

How about the gang in Seattle who found it a great idea to take over several city blocks and live on the street? I am still pondering where they ate their meals, went to the bathroom, or how they practiced good hygiene. It must have gotten rather smelly.

Even more puzzling is Mayor Jenny Durkan, who thought it just a lovely idea. They could have a street festival. What a surprise when they started killing each other.

God's Laws

"Twisting the Truth" got me to thinking about God's Laws versus Man's Laws. God's law is the Ten Commandments. If you haven't done so in a while, take the time to read them. Only a few have been transformed to man's law and punishable in the criminal justice system. Yet, we would all be so much happier and defunding the police might actually make sense if every single person in the world followed the commandments.

On the other hand, think how many police it would take if every one of the Ten Commandments were an actual law that could be punishable in the courts.

As it stands, police are only asked to round up murderers and thieves. In the recent riots, folks seemed to be able to destroy the property of others at will and it was considered OK. Even murder got several passes. Not bearing false witness is breaking the law if it is done in court, but how many times do we see people get away with this?

Adultery is often motive for a worse crime and in some states in times past, was breaking the law. We are asked to love our neighbors and that includes everyone we meet. We are to honor our parents and parents their children.

To not covet means, "do not envy." If that were a law, many crimes would be avoided. It is so often wanting someone else's spouse, car, money or other possession that is a result of coveting, and that leads to crime.

We are asked to not take the Lord's name in vain. Making that an actual crime would leave only a few movies. Hollywood actors would be unemployed.

There used to be Blue Laws that kept Sunday as a special, no-business day, but not any more. Perhaps if citizens did observe this as a day of rest there would not be so much unrest.

"No other Gods before Me" would be a tough one to enforce and this being the First Commandment, it goes well with the second, which concerns not making idols. Idols can be anything from money to sports, to Hollywood stars.

Maybe the Ten Commandments would be a good start for these whipper-snappers who seem to think they know everything and want to destroy a country that has served them well. For the life of me, I will never understand why. If you hate it so, why don't you leave?

We senior citizens did not grow up without discipline. We knew what real heroes looked like because as children, we saw them coming back from a war that saved the world. On these hot summer days, I would like to suggest that these crazies get some history books and start reading.

And, I am warning those protestors right now. If you bring your riots anywhere close to my peaceful town, I will pound sand up your butts.

* A Frederick Douglass statue was torn down in Rochester, N.Y., on anniversary of his famous Fourth of July speech. (Washington Post, July 6, 2020)

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