BREAKING THE "CYCLE"

A cycle can include anything poverty, violence, drugs, dependcy, and the list goes on and on.

Breaking any cycle is hard. I spent some time thinking about this recently. Not only are their cycles in life but we also have vices. Mine is smoking sue me. Vices are vices and we all have at least one.

My family had always been poor. When growing up my immediate family would be considered poor by any stretch you want to label it. Hand me down clothes, occasionally missing a meal, the usual. It wasn't my Dad's fault. He was forced to quit working due to a physical handicap in his prime low 30's. Never had I observed a man so crushed from defeat before or since.

At the ripe old age of 12 my mom abandoned us and within a couple of months my Dad became handicapped. Quite a culture shock losing your home and moving in with an aunt who was handicapped. A 900 square foot house with a minimum of 11, but usually 14 people, living there. I drew the short stick and slept on a floor under a sofa sleeper in the living room where a TV blared 24/7 for 4 years.

A cycle of poverty.

So by today's standards of responsibility I have a built in excuse for failure right? Wrong.

Supposedly being brought up poor by a single Dad, step dad at that, gave me all kinds of excuses to fail, except for one thing, Dad didn't allow excuses. Never once did he blame anyone for his plight in life nor did he complain.

He raised us to take responsibility for our lives and our future.

Now don't get me wrong we all make mistakes and Lord knows I have made my share but I always have to ask myself what could I have done better.

He raised us knowing we would make mistakes but understanding there was to be a lesson learned from it.

You may ask why I mention all of this?

Simple it is time to ask where is the accountability from our leaders today.

Questioning one's own self and being able to accept constructive criticism from anyone, including yourself, helps you find answers and get that accountability for yourself and those around you.

I took my first job under the table at the ripe old age of 12. My money went to the household to help pay for stuff like food so my brother's could eat, or bills. I did not mind. I never really knew the difference anyway it wasn't a lot but it helped.

So today I continually ask myself in every situation what can be better and how can I help us get there.

As I age I see so many similarities between myself and Dad. The way I raised my children or perhaps telling the same old stories people have heard before just as he did. I also did things much different than he.

Where he was a strong silent type I am outspoken and willing to question the status quo. I worked a little smarter in some ways, dumber in others.

The one thing he taught me that I never lose sight of is do not make excuses make a difference.

For me being involved in making a better future for us all is my passion. It is the biggest reason I entered the political arena to begin with.

To wake people up and quit allowing excuses from our leaders.

I find myself challenging the integrity of our political leaders today largely because of his influence. I was raised to be an ethical person with values and morals and concern for my fellow man. Yet today I see our leaders consistently making excuses for their failure and the failure of others.

We blame poverty, or drugs, or say that's just how it is, and yet our leaders continually do not really ask the necessary questions of themselves or make a real effort to help make it better.

Instead they feed us the same old tired lines we all now accept at face value.

They use the excuse of bad economy, cycle of poverty, and make us think we have nothing to look forward to. Then they throw a band aid on the problem that looks good for a short time before we realize it essentially did nothing. Think about how many times we hear the phrase "cycle of poverty." Has anything been done to help break that cycle in a morally ethical way?

I think not.

They continually take the tax money from the working class and spend it in a way they want and that is not necessarily the way that would best help us all.

Look at the amount of money we continue hemorrhaging from our City and our leadership. Could we not do a better job and spend wiser?

We are losing hundreds of jobs, thousands of dollars in "grant" money from the feds, our tax money to begin with, becoming a joke on an unnecessary arena, and not funding public services as we should.

As our leaders age I see the same old similarities. Excuse after excuse for their failure and no new changes to help fix things.

If it is indeed up to each of us to make a difference to break the "cycle" then I must ask a simple question.

Why can't our leaders be ethical, honest, and instill the values in us that we should expect from leadership?

The answer is a simple one.

We need new leaders. They have become so entrenched in what they can get they forgot about the people they represent.

Though Dad died in 1988 at the age of 43 the values he taught will always be with me thanks to his diligence in my youth.

Let's quit allowing excuses and break this cycle together. Do not allow ourselves to be labeled as dependents anymore.