What I told my son

I told my son: “do not lie, do not cheat, do not steal, be humble and kind. Give not expecting anything in return — do your giving because it is the right thing to do. Support your community, shop local, help your neighbors, love them as you love yourself. Always be the best man you can be, and when you are old enough to have a life partner always be faithful even though passion may consume you for another, the pain you inflict on your partner lasts years and people will wonder about trust.” Then we took him to church every Sunday for six years to reinforce those teachings so what was said would not only be in the back of his mind but at the fore of his character.

Now we are engaged in the greatest election of our lifetimes which is not about policy nor the limits of governments. For free markets, it is about the morals I taught our son that the entire nation or, most of it, holds as a guide post for our lives including, traditional Republicans, Democrats and Independents.

In the final analysis, this is about some people who shunned our collective sacred values in support of situation ethics for the sake of a conman who promised them the world so he could enrich himself.

Sadly, some of these people that have given up those values are friends, relatives and neighbors that even now in the quietness of our hearts each of us ask what we missed in them that they should turn toward the darkness and not be drawn toward the light?

After all, the man occupying the White House has lied to the public more than any other president that we know of with 20,000 lies in under four years. He has stolen from those that worked for him with six bankruptcies not to mention all the other theft. He has had more sex outside of his three marriages more than we have fingers and toes to count on and once said adultery is not a sin. He does not give to communities as his nonprofit was found to be a fraud to enrich himself and was legally crushed.

Neither this man, nor any member of his family, ever fought to keep this nation free because they do not understand sacrifice and consider those that give their lives for love of country as “suckers.” He has found buzz words to enrage some rabid evangelicals many of who fain the love of Christ but desire to prove they love God by desiring to harm others unlike real theologians, like Bonhoeffer, who gave his life for Christ against the Nazis these false Christians see them as “good and decent”. This man has tricked those churches that he is holy while he never darkened the door of one except as a photo opportunity. Thus, this occupier and good Americans share little in common yet, those that share his self-centered values march to the polls casting a vote for the most amoral man to ever hold this nation’s highest office while our churches are littered with his bumper stickers.

To those who do cast their vote for the occupier, I say shame on you for selling yourself cheaply to trickery and not upholding values you were supposed to have taught your children.

JON RUGGLES

Wallace