Should Tax Money Go To The 'Shop Around The Corner'?

Thanks to a federal grant, a local store in San Antonio was able to install a new refrigeration unit that will allow them to sell fresh fruits and vegetables to their local patrons. The addition of such items, it is hoped, will help consumers in that neighborhood make better choices about what they choose to put into their bodies.




The effort—as part of the "Communities Putting Prevention to Work" federal grant—hopes to be the first of many opportunities for the federal government to increase health and food awareness in local communities where food and health education is not as prevalent.

While I don't take issue with the government stepping in to introduce healthier food alternatives, I do feel that it makes more sense to spend the money necessary to regulate what comes into the country, as well as what is served to our children school via the Food and Drug Administration—FDA. However, I guess it's easier to service a community than a country where this particular matter is concerned.

Don't get me wrong, I do applaud the idea of convenience stores offering fresh fruits and veggies to its patrons but, in the end, it's still going to be up to the consumer/parent to make that choice and a federal effort to offer it won't necessarily guarantee a positive result.

This Is The Perfect Time To Panic

There's no way you can live in this world today and not feel a twinge of concern about where it's headed. I look at my children sometimes and wonder what kind of world they will encounter as adults—right now everything seems so out of whack.

While I've never felt the need to tell another how to live, I have felt compelled—at times—to ask the openly apathetic individual who decides that nothing matters anymore, what their goal in life truly is?

Seriously, what do you have to offer that cannot be misconstrued as your taking a huge crap all over every personal freedom that thousands have bravely sacrificed their lives for you to have?

Again, not trying to judge, but my patience level for the uninformed, misguided, and utterly oblivious person who has decided that apathy is "cool" for no other reason than it goes against the grain of what the majority would have you believe, is slim.

Am I the most politically active person in the world? No, by no means, but I'm also not willing to give up on the possibility that this world can be better—particularly when I have two children who will one day try to make their way through it. So, I do what I can and I inform myself as well as I possibly can so that when the possibility for me to make a difference arises, I can do so with intelligence.

As far as what party can effectively lead us back to the promised land, I gave up on that concept a long time ago. I no longer pledge my allegiance to any one party because, quite frankly, they all have an agenda. All I want to see is a man, or woman, come to the table minus an agenda.

I want to see him/her lay their cards on the table and say, "things suck right now, but I'm going to do my best to fix it, and I'm not going to screw you over in the process", and mean it.

Is there a person out there willing to do that? If so, could he or she please stand up, because we can't see you from the cheap seats.

You Have The Right To Remain Informed

I'm a registered voter.

I value my right as a citizen, and as a woman, to play a part in how this country is run. I teach my children, even though they are still too young to understand, that it's important to be counted—even if they find themselves in the minority.

It's about taking a stand, and making a commitment, to be a part of the governmental process. The outcome may not always end in your favor, but that should never be an excuse for not being a part of the journey. However, after the shootings in Arizona, I am less and less enamored of that journey.

The killings in Tuscon, AZ—including the near-fatal wounding of Gabrielle Giffords—reminded me that the time we live in has become volatile. The hatred, the inability to accept the views of others, and the endless need to place blame on someone, anyone, for the mess that has been created seems to take precedence over finding solutions—and that's sad.

Jared Loughner—albeit disturbed—has become representative of where we're headed as a nation if we don't start to check our values at the gate. So many of us blindly follow the herd that we can no longer distinguish our personal beliefs from that of our favorite political figures.

We blindly follow them and all they say because we no longer remember how to lead for ourselves,  and that's unacceptable. If you don't like the world you live in, do more to exact the change you want to see.

Don't spend your time pointing fingers and placing blame because, the truth is, no one is innocent of this mess we've brought upon ourselves. We have all played a part in this debacle and we all need to play an equal part in digging ourselves out.

Step away from the rhetoric and get back to the business of educating yourself and those around you—if they're willing to listen—about the real issues. Because, in the end, that's all that matters—everything else is just hot air.

Related articles

• Jared Lee Loughner Guns Down Nineteen, Kills Six, at Tuscon AZ Political Event (alligatorfarm.wordpress.com)
• Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords Shot by Jared Loughner (buzzfeed.com)
• Staffer: Palin Rhetoric Not to Blame for Attack (cbsnews.com)
• Gabrielle Giffords Shooting: Latest Updates (politico.com)