How Influencers and Choices affect our lives?

     What are the influencers in our lives? There are many and each has both a good and bad side. Family upbringing can give you a strong desire to live your life making good choices but the opposite can happen if you have a poor family support system. Friends and associates influence your life especially when you’re young and trying to fit in or figure things out. Status and possessions also are influencers throughout your life.

     Every person you meet has the potential to influence your life. The more people you meet the more you expand your knowledge of the outside world. Limiting these encounters limits your ability to recognize when you are being influenced. 

     There have been many masterful influencers both good and bad. Many cult leaders are great influencers but their purpose is self-serving. 

     It’s a part of life that we all deal with on a daily basis. It takes recognizing the good and bad influences to make good choices.

     We make hundreds of choices everyday; some become so automatic that we barely consider it a choice. Some choices are given great consideration but many of our choices are routine. How do the influences in our life affect our choices? If you were brought up by a nurturing family that guided you through life, giving you important advise along the way, you’re path to success and happiness would be easy to see. 

     Growing up without a supportive family or no family, your choices would be limited by hopelessness. Imagine growing up in a country where everyday is about survival. This is where a young person can be influenced by a can of beans or a place to sleep. They think of the future as the next day, not their life as an adult. Maybe, they don’t believe there is a chance to be an adult, so they choose based on those expectations. Repeated bad choices can blind you from good choices. 

     This is how hopelessness is born. The choice of survival always wins over righteousness. Born into jeopardy is different than choosing jeopardy. 

     It’s wrong to judge, I’ve heard people say. But, how do we live in peace without judging others for their crimes. We can’t and we shouldn’t, but judge the crime not the person or their nationality. That won’t be easy, because we see the people as thugs or sometimes just plain evil. Excess guns and mental condition are often blamed and they both maybe a contributing factor, but isn’t lack of opportunity really the main factor? If people feel they have an opportunity to better their self by making better choices they are given hope.

     Actions drive consequences, as they should. Many criminals go to jail for their crimes, but many of the mass murders take their own life before jail becomes an option. This leaves us feeling empty for the innocent lives lost and for a murderer that will never be punished.

     As with many problems there can be many answers or partial answers. No one person or group knows what the right solutions to eliminate violence, but I can guarantee that doing nothing, changing nothing is not the answer. “Just Saying...”

The old guy wants to know "What's social about social media?"

     Social gatherings have been around for ages. It’s where you could meet people, develop friendships, tell jokes, dance with a girl, debate political viewpoints, etc. The word social evokes a pleasant gathering, for the most part, but the current social media doesn’t have that same vibe. It seems more appropriate to call it anti-social media, not to say there aren’t positive posts, but few by comparison.

     The old guy likes the jokes (even the lame ones), vacation photos, family posts even political viewpoints, if they’re not hateful. That’s where the problem is, most political posts are hateful. You know what the old guy does? He hides them. People posting hateful messages are closed-minded and won’t consider others opinions. To use the words of a younger generation, those people are cra, cra, so you gone. See, the old guy has learned some new lingo from the youngsters.

     Let’s put the social back into social media by hiding hateful messages. It won’t eliminate the hate but if at least you won’t have to look at it. The old guy says, “If you don’t want to be labeled cra cra, be more sociable.”

Promoting progress or Promoting hate

     Protest can promote awareness of a problem or they can also promote hate. There seems to be a very thin line separating the two. One has a positive result the other a negative. It's hard to know what's in the minds of people but when the objective of a protest is to be disruptive, it's a small step to destruction.

     Are we taking a step forward or backward with these protests? Maybe we are using the wrong word. Protest seems to have a negative connotation. Does the use of that word stir up anger in people, making them feel they have the right destroy property?

     Many members of my family have participated in awareness walks for Alzheimer’s and Breast cancer. There are many awareness walks that take place around the Metro area and I have never heard of any disruptive activity from the participants. These walks are positive and up lifting. The charitable contributions they receive go toward research.

    I haven't seen a protest solve a problem. They seem to create more. I've heard protesters say that they want to make people feel uncomfortable. Well, it's working, we feel uncomfortable but when has making people uncomfortable actually helped a cause? Rarely. Making people uncomfortable is a bad idea. People don't like to feel uncomfortable so they will either turn away or fight back. Which one of these outcomes helps your cause? Neither.

     Some historic figures have protested by their achievements. Here are three names for you to look up. Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan, they grew up in difficult times but they didn't protest in the streets. They achieved greatness though their intelligence and hard work. Maybe more people need to follow their example. You reap what you sow. "Just Saying...."

Hoping for a better future

     The world is constantly changing. There is a lot of unrest. People want immediate change, success and recognition. Patience doesn't seem to exist anymore. There's a new attitude among the populous. "I'm right and everyone else is wrong, so there's no point in listening." Along with that attitude comes the belief that anything I do to reach my objective is acceptable, even if I trample on someone else's rights

     Many people don't see things clearly, their eyes see only what they expect to see. The only way to see the world is with your eyes wide open. You'll see the good, bad, beauty, devastation, truth, lies and much more.

     People protest in every country in an attempt to improve the future, but so often these protests turn violent. When this happens all the positive steps toward improvement is lost. Violence hurts your cause. Everyone participating in a protest is not there to promote your cause. Many are there with the sole purpose of starting trouble and create violent confrontation. Others may attend just because it's what others are doing and they want to be part of the spectacle. I question celebrities traveling from out of state to join a protest. Many have an ulterior motive, to promote their self. 

     When people bring guns to a protest, they are sending the wrong message. When ministers promote disruption, I question their values. When properties are destroyed and businesses looted this is the act of criminals not protesters. 

     Knowing when and what to protest is imperative. Protesting the death of a convicted heroin dealer is an oxymoron. Drug dealers cause the death of others with the sale of drugs. Many innocent people including children are killed in the streets but few protest mourn their deaths or demand changes.

     I haven't seen a positive outcome from a violent protest, which unfortunately seems to be how most protest end up. "Just Saying...."