JMFK (MF = My Friend)

As this year comes to a close I thought I would share some something I wrote a while ago and never posted. It is related to a post from a few years ago I made about my house in Nashville that flooded: http://jmfkauthor.blogspot.com/2017/08/my-whole-house-matters.html .      If you haven't read it I encourage you to click the link above. So it was basically me describing the events that happened around the time the house flooded during the Great Flood of Nashville. More than that however I was trying to make a bigger point which might have been lost. Sometimes I may be too subtle and veiled in my writings, so I decided to make this post. I decided to be more blunt in the point I was making back then.       So when I was talking about "my house" I was making a point about "this country". You see the whole country matters, not just one part of it or one of its people. We are very separated in many ways in this count...

A new era was at hand under Supreme Leader DUPEL. During his reign the empire continued to prosper. The TRADITIONALIST embraced this prosperity as a sign of the righteousness of their beliefs. They spoke only of what they gained now in this era, ignoring how they had already been prospering and gaining under the leadership of OBERON. During his reign they had felt oppressed and now they felt overjoyed and wanted to erase anything that reminded them of OBERON's reign.      On the other side the PROGRESSIVIST cried out openly, fearing that all that they thought they had gained under OBERON would be lost, ignoring that they continued to prosper despite the change in leadership. They expressed anger on occasion and tried to unseat DUPEL at any cost. Some of them even resorted to the same unfair tactics and closed mindedness that they had accused the TRADITIONALIST of having during OBERON's reign.      So the Empire remained bitterly divided. DUPEL attempte...

With OBERON'S time on the throne coming to the end, new candidates rose to challenge for leadership of the empire. On the Progressivist side a successor had been named. A woman named CLAHNA believed she was ready, and that the Empire itself was ready for its first female Supreme Leader. Still challengers came forth to say they were a better choice. Some of these people claimed that it was time for the Empire to go much further and totally abandon tradition. The young flocked to these people with promises of a utopia that they had been indoctrinated to believe was not only possible, but was inevitable. Their passions did not equal power, and the new people had to bow down and accept the chosen successor.      On the Traditionalist side a multitude of candidates came forth. Each one believing that the Empire was tired of the Progressivist doctrine and ready for a return to the old ways. Many of these candidates had been part of the ruling class, yet an ou...

In a far away land there was an Empire with a population that was divided on how the society should be run and who should rule them. Because of the division, very distinct groups formed over time. Nearly half wanted to keep with tradition, while an almost identical sized part of the population favored forgetting the past. The first group was called Traditionalist and the second group was called Progressivist. There is a third smaller group, Indies, that see the value in maintaining traditions, but also knows that without progress there will be stagnation, which has been the downfall of many Empires.       For a long time the Empire had been the unchallenged power of their world, but in the last few decades that preeminence was slipping. It was a time of peril for the land as crops did not produce as they had before. Many lost their farms and homes and had to beg for help so they would not perish. A seemingly never ending war...

So I am a fan of sports, in particular track and field. Now I am not a fanatic. I watch sports and have even tried to play some, but I just enjoy it. It is not anywhere near a priority in life. I probably would have it higher on my list if I had ever been any good at something I played, but unfortunately I was not meant to be an athlete.      Alright enough pontificating, my big word for the day. Time to get to the heart of this post which is playing sports. I feel that everyone should because it helps you become part of a team in many instances, which we all are whether we realize it or not. It also teaches life lessons in perseverance, dealing with stress, improving yourself, setting goals, winning, losing, and how you grow from all the experiences you will have while playing.      Most importantly in sports is the notion of playing fair. I don't care if the person or team I like losses, well that is not completely true, but no m...

Once again the people of this country are paying attention to the violence that takes place in our nation. Several mass shootings have captured our attention and our politicians are even taking notice and shouting about what they perceive are causes and solutions. Once again I am hearing about MENTAL HEALTH .      First a little background on my experiences. Growing up I saw a person who was normally happy and smiling, not be on their medication and suddenly they were trying to fight people in church. As a police officer I had a number of instances with people not on their medication, or needing to have been on medication, and violent and sometimes just strange confrontations occurred. I also in general have noted how the societies I have lived around sometimes disregard MENTAL HEALTH , or stigmatize it to the point where people don't seek mental help out of fear and shame. In particular I have experienced a severe lack of focus on MENTAL HEALTH in the black communit...

This is a final post on the subject and a final encouragement for change in our lives. Above is a map I found on a Reddit thread on alternative maps. This is supposedly after a second civil war. I just thought it looked interesting and others hopefully thought the same and clicked to read this post.      You see I can only change me and you can only change you. When we all individually change for the better the country will change for the better. So one final thought from the lessons of Jesus that will hopefully at least give you pause in your life and help you have introspection about your daily walk.      For this country to heal and receive all the blessings from above, we have to learn to forgive. We continue to hate each other because we cannot forgive. We don't forgive because we think that means the other person or people win if we do. We think that means that there will be no justice or repayment or consequence for actions if we forgive. W...

Continuing with my thoughts on race and division in this country I would like to briefly touch on another lesson from Jesus teachings that I believe can help us overcome our issues with race. Really it is the whole reason for Jesus coming to earth, and that reason is love. The Father loves us so much that he sent the Son down to save us though we don't deserve it.      Now of course people are automatically going to say we are tired of hearing about love, we want action. Love is not just a feeling and nothing else, that's the furthest thing from the truth. Love should guide your feelings, thoughts, and actions.        So first off is the lesson of loving your enemy. Its something I have been focusing on in my personal spiritual growth over the last few years. Luckily I get the chance just about everyday to put it to the test, and it makes me stronger. The world says hate people not like yourself, hate people who don't believe w...

So hopefully the picture and title got your attention. This map breaks down how areas voted in recent elections. Blue democrat and red republican. Not a clear north and south like before, but that won't make a difference if we can't resolve issues that divide us to the point of hating one another. One reason that I think we could find ourselves at war with each other again is because we haven't yet solved our issues on race. So here is something I wrote a while back as part of a series on race in this country I wanted to do and never posted. Since lately I've heard some people talk of the division in this country leading to another civil war I have re-purposed this post as thoughts on how we could avoid such a catastrophe.      America faces many issues, but in particular we have had issues with race. Things from the past still affect things today, and whether we acknowledge it or not its still happening. I have come to believe that we still have issues with race...

So I am about fed up with people incorrectly or improperly using certain words. They cry out loud and shout these words from the rooftop trying to invoke something in people. For the sake of furthering agendas, people are using words that have great meaning and significance with no regard for the consequences, and slowly but surely these words lose their meaning. Words that should have great impact when used are thrown out like worthless everyday jargon. Here are the definitions of a few that have been frequently on the lips of the unintelligent and unenlightened rulers of our collective consciousness and society. As defined by Websters: Definition of socialism 1 : any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods ...

Somewhere around early the early two thousands or actually late nineties people started talking about "Ride or Die". I think it might have started as an expression for people in the biker lifestyle. It probably was used in the past and came back into prominence. Its used now as an expression to say how far you will go for someone or something. Other statements akin to it could be Womb to Tomb, Cradle to Grave, To Hell and Back, Stand by Your Man, All for One and One for All. Maybe the last two are a stretch, but you get what I'm saying.      A person is willing to do "X" for you, which could include a personal sacrifice up to and including them dying or sometimes even killing for you at the extreme. On the lower end of the scale it could just be looking past some of your flaws or faults and treating you like your worth gold or as simple as always answering drunken text and phone calls in the middle of the night. Having someone that you know is there for you a...

So I was not aware of the whole controversy over the Native American demonstration in DC until yesterday, and I am glad. Glad because yesterday I got to see more of the picture of what went on. Far too often people get on here and pick some side without knowing what happened. It doesn't hurt to take some time and let things play out before rushing to judgment.       Now what I want to express today is my view of the situation in hopes of bringing back some civility to our discussions in real life and here on the Internet. First off I must say this, I am just a man, I am not perfect and nothing I say on here is divine truth. This is opinion that I base on my observation and the values I believe in. So here is my take.       The Native American group had a permit and was there to peacefully express themselves. Anyone in the area should have gotten out of their way and allowed them to perform. The group being labeled as black ...

So its MLK Day and I happened to hear this quote and it struck a nerve with me. I find it to be very true in my own life. It hurts me deeply that people who say they are my friend, and to an extent even family, will talk all day about certain things and remain silent on others. Now I get it, we don't know everything, we are not up to date on every situation, some things affect us more personally than others. I guess maybe that's why it hurts, because I have watched as so called friends placed things ahead of me that I thought would not have been.      Now I am not the most important thing in this world. Please do not mistake this as being about how I am greater than everything in your life. I would never ask people to place me before their husband/wife, children, mother/father, roof over their head, or food on their table. I am not at all necessary for any one's existence. I live to not depend on anyone but the Most High, and as far as I know I have no depen...