Friday, May 29, 2015

Violence against Women

He had all the future traits of someone who would someday hurt women. He never respected a woman especially if she was in authority, he slouched, he talked about her, he laughed about her with his friends, he took it out many times by punching the wall or slamming the chair; unfortunately other females were scared of him.

When he went home his father demonstrated the same qualities. He always said they were the worse drivers and their place was in the kitchen. Do you see the similarity? Everything the boy saw he learned from his father; it didn’t surprise anyone that he had this attitude because he was following in his father’s shoes.

Now the question is turned to us. How many are displaying the same behavior in front of their child without realizing the damage they’re doing? How many yell and punch their wives without noticing their child is watching? If you think they’re not then you’re fooling yourself. How many women permit this type of behavior and think it’s okay, after all they’re the man of the house and the breadwinner.

If you give the impression to your sons that it’s okay to mistreat a woman, that’s exactly what they’re going to do when they grow up. If you let your son disrespect you, what do you think he will do to his wife? And if you have any daughters, the same applies to them.

Women tend to look for a man that reminds them of their father. Do you want your daughter married to a man that’s going to disrespect and mistreat her, that’s going to beat her?  What example are you setting for her as a woman; let anyone step all over her? What will that do to her self-esteem, confidence and trust in men?

I don’t understand when parents say they don’t know how he turned out that way. What kind of relationship did you have at home with him and what was the environment like? It’s too easy to point the finger at someone else without taking a good look at ourselves. It’s also embarrassing to admit that your son beats his wife and he learned that from his father, the one you look at every day and think his behavior is okay.




Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Tears

I went to visit a friend of mine and her neighbor stopped by. After we were introduced, I saw her open up and start talking to me about her children. It was actually very sad because this woman cried in front of a stranger she had never met. I listened intently and saw how her tears streamed from her eyes. My friend looked at me as if to say, "She's broken."


Her daughter passed away leaving two small children; she was only twenty- two. Her son was shot in the head; he was thirty. She told me she was alone and couldn't even have contact with her grandchildren. Unfortunately this situation isn't something new. All of us know someone that may be crying out to us or we may be feeling like that. The funny thing is, the day was sunny and beautiful and this woman was a wreck, so you see it doesn't matter the weather, it's your life. We can say that pain pardons no one.

We've all had those days and desperately or secretly search for answers to our hidden problems; this woman thought she would never see her children again. I spoke to her about the resurrection; a hope so dear and real to us we can almost reach out and embrace our loved ones. She wanted to know if it was true. I said yes. I showed her what it says in  the Bible, "Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in  the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgement." John 5:28-29.

I saw a glimmer of relief; she was a different person than the one I recently met. When I left I told her to take care of herself and went back to talk to my friend.

In a world where people seem so aloof in recognizing and acknowledging another's problems, it's important to take time and ask ourselves, would we want someone to be there for me? How important is it that people actually sit down and listen to what I have to say?

Technology is crippling us to the extent that we no longer need to personally communicate with one another. We send a text with a smiley and our work has been done, but is a text the same as hearing the person's voice, and is a smiley the same as seeing another person's smile? Or the emoticon with the tears; is that the same as seeing real tears? We can't let ourselves become so self absorbed that we forget that communication with another individual is important. We need not forget we're social animals and need human contact.

I would've never met that woman and brought some type of relief to her if I hadn't gone and visited  my friend, and in bringing her comfort, it reassured the hope I have. Who will you aid today?

"There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving." Acts 20:35

Friday, May 15, 2015

90 Miles

A country that almost seemed like it stopped in time, where people are still driving cars from the 50s, homes are dilapidated and children run barefoot. One sees how older men and women are worn out from years of servitude and those who are younger rebel against a government that displeases them. Many left seeking a better future for their family and saw their children grow up in the United States or became parents in the land of opportunity?

When Americans were part of that scenario and Hemingway had his house there, Cuba was prosperous. They loved vacationing in Cuba. The truth is you can't beat 90 miles from Florida. However, those of a generation passed away or grew older and to date have grandchildren and even great grandchildren.

The generation of their parents and grandparents never walked Cuba's beaches and felt that clear water of Varadero caress their feet, nor did they feel the scorching heat of the sun. That generation never gazed into a sky full of stars in Cuba and were enveloped by the warmth of that mystical night. They never looked out into the sea and were mesmermized by waves as serene as a sleeping baby or as furious as an erupting volcano letting them know, they too feel their pain.

The Tropicana is foreign to them, what they know they've heard from their parents or read in books. They're not familiar with Beny More, Cachao, Cienfuegos or Jose Marti. Their music is hip hop, pop, rock or a different genre. Their literature is American history, Washington, Franklin and Jefferson. Their knowledge of slavery is what was done to those from Africa, disregarding they're own background as being enslaved.

When they left, did they betray their country or was it the other way around? No one wants to be denied the right to go as you please, to travel, to be able to go into a store and buy whatever you want, not have things rationed out to you as if you were a child. No one wants to know that as citizens they were born in Cuba but beaches such as Varadero is only for tourists from Europe and Canada. No one wants to be denied the right to have access to the Internet or be monitored on a constant basis because big  brother is alive and well. It's better to indoctrinate a person into thinking how bad something is  before they get a taste of it and realize the years of propaganda that was fed to them; that was the real culprit for their misery.





The sad part of the equation is that people have been conditioned that way because in their mind they're being taken care of; free healthcare and education is quite appealing to them, but when a doctor makes 200+ a month that's an embarrassment after putting in all those years of studying only to graduate and have them tell you what you should earn, conversely when you exploit a person's illness by making money from them, that too is an embarrassment. What happened to the Hippocratic Oath? You become a doctor to heal because you love your profession, you want to help others not see it as a way to make money like it's become today.

The question is, with the United  States having relations, will things really change? Is it easy to forget the betrayal of the Bay of Pigs, and is it easy to forget how nuclear weapons were pointed in our direction? Is it easy to ignore the blockade that was put on that country for many years? They say it's time to move on, but don't forget those who perished at the hands of Castro's regime. Why else do you honor the lives every year of fallen soldiers in the United States? If we continue to ignore man's government, then you're ignoring the atrocities that has been committed to innocent people.

"I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking to even to direct his step." Jeremiah 10:23