I Am Angry!

I am very angry ... and sad ... and devastated! I, like the rest of the world right now, am watching the ongoing coverage of the horrific elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Information is just starting to come in but at the moment it appears that 27 people were killed ... 18 of them elementary school children! It also appear that the shooter's Kindergarten teacher mother was killed as well. The assumption at the moment is that the shooter - a 24 year old - killed his mother AND the children in her Kindergarten class.

I am a father who has put 2 children through school, and today has 2 grandsons who are in preschool. Even more than that, one of my children is currently a teacher, as was my wife, and many others in my family.

Just last July, after another horrific shooting, I wrote this, which takes on even another reason to be relevant again.

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This is pure sacrilege, but maybe it is time that we consider repealing the second amendment to the US Constitution.

With all of the senseless killings that seem to be happening more frequently, perhaps it is time to look at the second amendment and how it relates to us today.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

When this was written in 1789, our country was still brand new and very weak. We didn't have the strongest military in the world as we do now to protect ourselves. The most recent memory of this country was that it had to fight for its independence and that fight began with a militia of farmers from Massachusetts being our only line of defense. In the war that followed, much of our fighting was done by volunteer militia as opposed to (what passed for) professional soldiers.

Ironically it was Barry Farber, a conservative talk show host, from whom I first heard the statement that you cannot cure 20th century (this was in the 1980's) ills with 18th century medicine. He was referring to laws and procedures that were created in the 1700's for conditions that existed at that time. The issue then was "cruel and inhuman punishment" and how the framers of our Constitution were referring to tossing a prisoner in a cold, damp and dark dungeon and possibly questioning him using a form of torture. He didn't believe that they would see revoking a modern day prisoner's television rights as "cruel and inhuman."

Does anyone actually believe that we have (or even need) a "well regulated Militia" (as comprised in the 18th century) for the security of the United States of America? What possible purpose could personal ownership of an automatic assault weapon serve in today's world? Just mention the names of Columbine or (now) Aurora, Colorado. What images do those names now bring to mind?

Yes, I have heard the argument that if these firearms are illegal then only the criminals will have them, but if they are unavailable through simple means as is now the case in the state of Colorado, most criminals would not be able to obtain them. Stronger background checks? The strongest background check would not have prevented James Holmes from obtaining his weapons under current Colorado law.

We Americans are proud of our Bill of Rights, and rightly so. It was the first time that any government had ever codified these basic rights in this manner. Religious freedom, freedom of speech and of the press, protection against unreasonable search and seizure, due process of law and the right not to be forced to self-incriminate, the right to a speedy and public trial by a jury of one's peers, and the protection against cruel and inhuman punishment are very high ideals that we as Americans live by and are still relevant to us and our times. But the second amendment is dangerously outdated. The authors of the Constitution gave us a mechanism to change it when necessary. Shouldn't we bring ourselves into the 21st century?


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Last night Michigan passed a law which makes it legal to carry weapons in places such as schools, bars, churches, day care centers and stadiums. While this is a Republican legislature in Michigan, this goes way beyond party politics ... both parties have a responsibility to take action in this matter. It's time to change our laws to reflect the reality of today's world.

Yet, no politician seems to have the conviction to do what needs to be done. As I stated in the above article, Americans are proud of our Constitution and our Bill of Rights, but even our founding fathers knew that times change and laws and the Constitution need to change to meet changing needs. They put into place a way to not only pass needed laws but to change our Constitution when (not if) needed. Yet we Americans are overly proud of our traditions even to the point of harming ourselves.

I urge all who have a voice - from our President to the average citizen - to speak up and add your voice to the discussion. We need a change.

I know that most of you who do read what I write usually do not say anything in the comment section below, but I ask you now ... whether you are a US citizen or simply a citizen of the world ... to add your voice below to this discussion.

The War on Christmas

Political correctness (PC) has absolutely gotten out of hand. Because of it I have seen the most ridiculous things happen. For example ... the tale of a classic attraction in Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Pirates of the Caribbean used to contain a set with scenes of pirates chasing women (albeit around in a circle and they never caught them), but the final scene in that set showed a pirate being chased in a circle by a woman. This was not sexism, but a joke (based on historical truth by the way). About a decade ago someone in the Disney hierarchy decided that this was politically incorrect and the scene was changed ... the joke was gone. All in the name of Political Correctness ... was it worth it? Had someone complained and did management overreact? Were people really offended by this light hearted attraction?

These days I hear the phrase "The War on Christmas" at lot, but when you look at it, it is simply another case of PC gone wild.

Perhaps it is a reaction to recent lawsuits over religious displays on public property. We have a doctrine of separation of church and state here in the United States, and in many cases Christmas displays - often of a religious nature - were erected in publicly owned spaces. Lawsuits were brought and as required by our Constitution they were ordered removed. While I feel that in most cases the reaction was extreme, I do support the concept that prohibits 1) the establishment of a national religion by Congress, or 2) the preference by the U.S. or State government of one religion over another ... sometimes it is just silly. As long as no religion is excluded from such a display I personally have no problem with any of these displays on publicly owned property. We are a country of many religions.

I have heard some state that we were founded on Christian principals or that we are a Christian country. That, I would argue is simply untrue. We were founded by men who were Christian (some, simply nominally so), but I think they would be shocked to hear that they founded this country based upon any religions basis. I have heard people say that we are the largest Christian country in the world. Perhaps we have more Christians in the country than any other ... but we also have more Jews than any other country. That doesn't make us the largest Jewish country in the world, does it?

But the silliest thing that people are using to point to a War on Christmas is simply a phrase. Ironically, being Jewish, I have always been very aware of this. It first happened years ago with retailers ... the use of the phrase, "Happy Holidays!" Since they are catering to a broad customer base - especially in cities like I live in, NYC - Merry Christmas does not apply to everyone. Soon, people started picking up on this and starting wishing everyone a Happy Holidays. Soon, PC was taking over and rather than simply being a retail strategy, it started to become the PC thing to do. But does this really indicate a "War on Christmas?"

As I said, being Jewish has made me very sensitive to this issue, and unless I know that the person I am speaking to is indeed Christian, I will usually wish them a Happy Holiday. If I know they are Christian I will not hesitate to wish them a Merry Christmas, just as I will wish my Jewish friends (and family) a Happy Chanukah.

But as for me, you will not upset me if you wish me a Merry Christmas. If you do it because you do not know that I am Jewish and do not celebrate Christmas, I simply take it in the manner in which it was meant, and wish you the same. That is also true if you wish me a Happy Holiday. I don't see it as a War on Chanukah. Nor is it important for me to educate you on my religious status, especially if you are simply someone who wishes me good things in passing - such as a store clerk etc. If you are a friend I might correct you but most of my friends already know I am Jewish.

So at this time let me just wish you a Happy Holiday, or a Merry Christmas, or a Happy Chanukah, or even a Happy Kwaanza.

New Year's wishes will come under separate cover.

Taking Stock

Back in January, 2011, I started this blog because I was constantly having thoughts rolling around in my head that I wanted to share. Well, at least put into writing and make it available to anyone who was interested in hearing the things I might have to say. They wouldn't be earth shattering, just my thoughts.

Along the way there have been times that I have had so much going on in my head that the posts came fast and furious, and there have been times when I have really had very little to say. I have shared the grandparent experience on occasion, but there have also been areas of my life that have not been shared here - and often it has been those times which have accounted for the periods of inactivity.

While I never meant this to be deliberately controversial, it has been in the past, and I suspect it will again at times in the future. As always, talking about the events of September 11, 2001 brings about a response, and I will continue my yearly tributes to that dreadful day.

Recently I have been getting back into serious photography as many of you know, and having spent the last 2 decades of my professional career in a rather creative role, I have been filling my retirement with the creativity that my photography affords me. Some of that photography can be seen at my photo blog, Gathered Images. In addition to that, I have been enjoying taking part in group creativity with such blog hops as A Snap, A Set and A Song, Friday Favorites, and Wordless Wednesday (the last occurring on my Disney blog, Reporting From Disney World). However, as much fun as it has been, I am now feeling that they have taken over Thoughts From the Dark Side and have diverted it from what I originally intended to do with it, so you will now find those posts over at The Missing Link and I can get back to basics over here.

Have I accomplished what I wanted when I first sat down at the keyboard and typed the very first post on this site? Yes and no. For two years I have been sharing but it has not always been my thoughts and opinions. In the coming year I intend to remedy that. There is certainly enough going on at all levels and I always have something to say about that. I will continue to share on the creative level, but more in the way of the written word. In the end I am writing for myself and if anyone reads it, it is simply a bonus, but I still would like to hear your thoughts on the things I say. In other words, use the comments section - I really do enjoy hearing from you. It doesn't matter if you agree with me ... disagree with me ... or aren't even sure ... use the comments section below to let me know what it is your head.

Thank you to all who have stuck around and to those who have recently discovered Thoughts From the Dark Side.

In the meantime, let me take this moment to wish you a Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwaanza, or simply a Happy Holiday.

Introducing ... The Missing Link

For a while now I have been having fun linking up with other sites either on a regular weekly basis or an occasional post. I have started to feel that they were taking away from the original purpose of Thoughts From the Dark Side  so in the future, all of those posts will appear on a new site ... The Missing Link. I hope you will continue to enjoy these fun posts. (Note: My Disney links will remain where they are.)

Thoughts From the Darkside will return to its original intent and new material will generally be posted at least once a week.

I invite you to visit my other blog sites as well.

Reporting From Disney World - All things relating to Disney and Disney World including trip reports

Gathered Images - my photography blog with photos and "how to" posts