Taking a Stand

Per the previous blog and my annoyance with all things TV, we have said goodbye to DirectTV.  We have a big black box in our living room that sits silent.  Jason cancelled yesterday, but this morning I temporarily forgot and tried to turn on the Today Show.  I laughed and turned the TV back off, not minding one bit.  Goodbye to all the horrible, negative news.  Goodbye to all the ugly previews of unnecessary violence and scary shows.  Hello to $1200.00 a year and a better use of our time!  I'm planning a trip to the library today to pick up some good reads!

Speaking of horrible news, my heartfelt prayers have gone out nonstop for the little boy who has been taken from a school bus and held captive in a bunker. What in the world?  What is this world coming to that children are now in danger of so much violence?  It may not be politically correct, but I'm just going to say that it takes a special kind of evil to go after children and I am A-OK with those people being dealt with severely.  It makes my heart hurt for the parents, siblings, spouses and friends who lost a loved one when the bus driver was shot, and I cannot imagine what the parents of that little boy are going through.  It makes me sad and angry. I not only hurt for the children, but those teachers, bus drivers, administrators and faculty who take care of them daily. 

I am trying not to live in fear, but I told Jason last night I am having a hard time. I'm not even sure where to direct my anger and frustration at the state of things!  It wouldn't matter so much to me (or maybe it just wouldn't hit so close to home) if it were just Jason and I, but now I have this little person who has taken my heart completely.  I have turned into the proverbial mama bear and let me just say, she is roaring and growling inside, teeth bared and hair bristled. 

And I don't know what else I'm going to do yet besides pray and cancel DirectTV, but I am taking a stand somehow, some way.  It doesn't seem like much, but it is just a beginning.  I have joined the Republican Women of Huntsville, along with my sister, and while we are currently only attending once-a-month meetings where we listen to our local representatives speak, it is enlightening, I'm learning a ton, and it is a step in the right direction of getting involved and influencing change.  

I challenge you, dear reader, to do the same.  Be drastic. Don't sit around shaking your head at the news, at the things you think are wrong.  DO SOMETHING!  I'm not saying you have to do what I'm doing.  I realize it is only a tiny drop in the gigantic bucket of things to fix but if we don't start somewhere, there is no way to get to the finish line.  I'm going to start with little changes and work my way up.  I've got Eloise on my mind, along with the children of Sandy Hook and the little boy currently still in a bunker in south Alabama.  If we want this great country to remain great for our children and their children, we have to act now.

So if you agree, what are you doing to do?  What are you going to change?  Know of other ways to take a stand?  Share your ideas so the rest of us can get on board too!