DOING WHAT ONE MUST

     There comes a time, sometimes more than once, when one must do something that is hard or distasteful or uncomfortable, but done it must be. It could be a confrontation that will be distinctly uncomfortable or a stand that one must take or responsibilities that must be addressed though the doing so will be difficult. If you have not faced this in your life then you have lived a particularly blessed and sheltered life and count your blessings, but for most of us that did not happen.
     As a parent in a family unit, one takes on that deep responsibility of being accountable for the life and support of others. Your children cannot and should not have to take up a parent's slacking off and sometimes that burden on a parent is unbelievably hard, yet do it we must. Take a look at the two Presidential candidates and ask yourself who did what one must and who did what satisfied an itch or a whim.
     Clinton has been held up to a light which has accused her of being too tough, hard to know, a shell around her hiding her emotions but just yesterday I read an article which opened my eyes and made me say shame on me to myself. I often wondered what happens to the public figure who is ousted from office. What is the future there? What is the financial status and that question was a deep one as we too lived a life that often went from paycheck to paycheck with no deep cushioning or none at all at times. Coming from a background that did not allow for wealth causes one to make sure that there is always something coming in so as to put food on the table, clothes on the back and a roof over the head. With us it also meant a huge financial burden of tuition for schools as we sent ours to private Jewish day schools and did not see an alternative to that. So I know the feeling of concern, the deep need to have a job that paid decently and to make sacrifices to keep that job, to earn that salary and to take on extra jobs, incurring long hours of work.
     So I read yesterday of that deep need to support her family that Clinton felt when her husband lost his job as governor. The whys and wherefores of how and why this responsibility devolved upon her in the main is not important; what is, is the fact that this woman sucked it up and did what she had to do and if she felt that she had to hide the soft inner parts of her soul from others in the working arena, how well do I sympathize. Being a woman in the working world of professional people was not always the world of politeness and courtesy, of respect and honesty. One often had to keep a guard up. I know that it is difficult at times for the women of this generation to understand this but the world was a different place then for us. So kudos to Hillary for doing what she had to do.
     Now juxtapose her and the depth and honesty and hard work of her commitment to her family and herself and her duties as a parent and wife, putting that right next to that of Trump, a man who came from a level of wealth most of us can not even begin to understand and see what he has done with it - and what he has done with himself. This is the man who talks of "Second Amendment people" or accuses Obama of founding ISIS along with a partnership in that of "crooked" Hillary. Really!! Meanwhile, he is the one who is being sued and is in court and how about the trial right here in Florida, but be that as it may, these ridiculous and dangerous statements are not presidential in the least. Involving Russia in our internal politics is neither cool nor impressive, rather it is dangerous and scary and to find out that there is more hacking that has been uncovered is discouraging to say the least.
     Words are dangerous and that is why there are those in the political arena who fear them and the truth they hold. Even as they engage in wordplay to denigrate opponents, they try to stifle the words of these same opponents so as to insure their remaining in office. Are they doing what they must to survive? So they feel, but they must accept the rage and the antagonism they engender with these actions and attitudes.
     Trump maintains an aura of bewilderment and anger at the comments and reactions to his antics, but antics they are not. They are scary representations, hints, at what a future President Trump might be, how he would act and what disasters he would bring upon us. And so, even with some people not particularly liking one candidate or the other as a warm and fuzzy being, we need to leave our stuffed teddies back home and vote as adults. We need a stable person at the helm, one who knows what it is to buckle down to hard work, to sacrifice personal needs for the greater good, be it family or country, to suck up the hurt that another can heap upon you and tough it out.
     One does what one must - but one must do what is right and not justify criminal or hateful words and actions under that statement. It takes a tough person to do the right thing in bad times and I believe that Clinton is the better choice by far. Do I agree with her in everything? Not on your life but do I agree with anything of Trump is the better question and even if I did, do I trust him to do the right thing, to steer a steady course in an increasingly unsteady world? NO!!! That is a resounding no.
     And doing what one must rings solid and true in all arenas of life. It is not pleasant to punish that little cutie especially after his/her antic made you secretly laugh, but if not addressed, the future consequences can be bad, so gird yourself one does and then does the right thing. It is not pleasant to face the hard truths of life, the hard paths of life, but we must if we are to survive and even thrive and we must do all that whilst remaining on the straight and narrow, honoring the traits of loyalty, of truth, of honor, of transparency of actions and statements, of care for others and of love. That is not easy to do, but do it we must and when we leave those traits behind in the name of power, of position, we lose much of our humanity.
     Our political leaders and even, sadly enough, too many of our religious leaders, have gone off the tracks. We see it every day, read of it, hear the TV newscasters blaring about it and suffer under it in our lives. It is incumbent upon us to do what we can to root these people out and for me that means making my choices in the polls in the larger elections and here in the more local one. And yes, so I will satisfy those waiting for me to say it so you can send more dumb comments to me, yes, David Israel has gone off the tracks. I do not know what his initial motivations were, and will even be willing to believe they were good and proper, but they certainly are not now. Right now his concern seems to be the retention of power, the imposition of his desires and needs on the electorate, the use of improper pathways to achieve these goals and the impersonation of a worldly dictator in his behaviorisms, so there ya go Gracie, PC and any one else who validates their lives with vicious spume, but nothing will stop me from doing what I see as a must, whether you like it or not.
     We must all look into our lives and motivations and ask ourselves at this stage in the game just whom are we kidding? This world does end for all of us and sooner than later for most of us in ACT III so why not do the right thing, difficult as it might be at times, and look towards the next world. And if that is a non starter for you and you do not believe in that world then fine, do it because it is the human and humane thing to do, do right because it is right. Might even sweeten your life up a bit. Do it so your name is blessed after you are gone rather than cursed and denigrated.
     In any case, tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. The time is ticking away and nothing is forever. Time for all to shape up and for those who wish to keep up with misdeeds and poor behavior, remember nothing is permanent around here or on this globe on which we are spinning through space. We have found that out the hard way, have we not?!