by Joseph M. Valenzano, Jr.
Last week was filled with excitement and so as not to forget some things, I would like to share with you some random thoughts…..
How wonderful was it for Pope Francis to stop his motorcade for an impromptu visit with a young child in a wheelchair with cerebral palsy and give him and that child’s family his blessing. But it wasn’t just in Philadelphia that he did this. Pope Francis did it in New York, in Washington and in Havana Cuba. I wonder why the media did not pick up on this and give it the coverage it deserved. How many of our candidates running for President take the time to do this with the most underserved population in America…people with disabilities and special health care needs?
Is it just the sentimental, emotional part of me that felt the Pope’s face light up with kindness and joy whenever he was among the children?
I wonder if those serving in Congress and watching on their TV’s truly heard the Pope’s message that “all lives matter, including the unborn”? How is it that a nation that prides itself on fairness, decency and the dignity of every human being can even tolerate a debate about the “justification or rationale” for harvesting the organs of unborn infants for profit. Surely, we are better than this!
While all the pundits, newspaper reporters and evening talk show hosts were watching and listening intently for signs of political correctness flaws and hints of which sided of the aisle the Pope listed to, liberal, democrat, socialist, republican, conservative, I wonder if they were able to zero in on the Pope’s real message that love is indestructible and therefore the most powerful human force? That the Golden Rule applies now as much as it did thousands of years ago…”do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.
I find myself struggling today with the thought that as I write these words, my country, the United States of America, has now become the de facto largest financial supporter of state sponsored terror in the world by virtue of our releasing some $120 billion to Iran under an agreement that the majority of Americans oppose. I am equally struggling with the puzzle that has now become the Middle East and in trying to figure out exactly who are our enemies and who are our friends. I am wondering if it is all a bad dream and wondering still how many homes for the homeless and how much help for people with disabilities we could be as a nation if we used that money to do some good.
It strikes me how wonderful it must be for Governor Christie to be “working hard up in New Hampshire” as he pursues the Presidency of our great nation. But then the thought struck me….isn’t he the Governor of New Jersey….my state? Did he get temporarily confused by the “New” in front of the state and kind of lost his way? Surely he must know that his first priority is to the State of New Jersey? I am sure this will be sorted out soon.
Oh, well, just some random thoughts………but here is one more: I have come to the conclusion that political correctness has run amok; it has ran its course. Let’s get back to family values and stop viewing everything we hear or read as racial intolerance. It isn’t.
