Beards, Bullshit, and Baltimore... My take on current events.

Some of you saw this post on facebook already and wanted to share it. Due to privacy settings only friends could see the post. So, for those that want to share it... here you go.

FYI - No beers would consumed during the writing of this post nor were any beards harmed in the process. That said, put your muck-boots on, here comes the bullshit...

What's happening in Baltimore is a result of a much larger systemic problem in this country. The city is weak because its communities are weak. It's communities are weak because its families are week. We are raising generations that don't understand what it means to be part of a strong family. We ship our elderly off to retirement homes and expect them to care for them.. We ship our youth off to school and daycare and expect them to raise them. When the going gets tough society's answer is to quit and turn to divorce, or not even bother and crank out kid after kid with little thought to what happens next. To top it off, family these days is seen as a weakness and a liability rather than a source of strength.

Sadly communities are quickly becoming obsolete because of the digital era. Why worry about your neighbor when you can talk to your friends halfway around the world online? Why do community service when you can hangout on facebook, skype, etc? Why worry about home when you can jump in the car and drive an hour away.


Want to end poverty? Build wealth from one generation to the next.
Want to end hunger? Take care of each other and those around you.
Want to end hatred? Stop tolerating a culture which condones and encourages violence.


This has nothing to do with color, creed, or class. This is a systemic problem that cuts across the socio-economic strata. We are a country of broken homes and broken children. Those broken children become broken adults. How can we expect the rioting youth of Baltimore to know any better when they have no role models to look up to? The same could be said for Ferguson, Sandy Hook, and Boston. These tragic events all have one thing in common: brokenness and instability.


I don't care what you believe, we can all agree that unity builds stability.
I don't care where you came from, right now we're all Americans.
I don't care what color your skin in, we're all human.
I don't care who you marry, as long as you marry for the right reasons.


Fixing problems like this don't start in Washington DC or state capitals. Petitioning, picketing, protesting, or posting doesn't change anything. Fixing these problems starts in the home. Strong families, regardless of gender makeup, build strong communities. Strong communities, regardless of race, build strong cities. Strong cities build strong states, and in turn a strong country.

I say all this not because I think I'm better than the rioting youth of Baltimore. I'm just as guilty as the next person on almost every point made in my little rant. I'm not free of guilt in this matter. And you know what, neither are you. It's easy to sit back and poke fun at what's going on in Baltimore with stupid memes. It's easy to ride the high horse and look down at them for being "hoodlums" and "thugs." I'm not saying they're not. What I'm saying is this is a systemic problem... a cancer... a plague that is not unique to Baltimore but more common than many of us are willing to admit.

Until we all start looking in the mirror and asking some really hard questions, things aren't going to change. As long as we let families and communities crumble, things aren't going to change. As long as we continue to stand idly by expecting the government to take care of our poor and our hungry, things aren't going to change. As long as we continue to ignore our roles and responsibilities as parents, friends, and community members, things aren't going to change.

So, what can you do? Simply put, pay it forward. Extend a helping hand to the next person in need. Could be something simple as helping a friend move. Could be something more. Who knows. All I know is I wake up every morning with two goals: be a better person than I was yesterday; and leave the world a better place when I go to bed then I found it when I woke up. I've been slacking lately. I need to do more.

That makes me part of the problem.