Post Graduation Thoughts

There were 3,209,510 high-school graduates across these United States in the year 2020. The numbers for 2022 are close to that, but not yet finalized at this writing.

I have attended a few of these graduations and, inevitably, as soon as the Pomp and Circumstance music resounds in the auditorium, followed by the National Anthem, I choke up and a couple of tears slide down my cheeks! I can’t help it, especially sensing all the excitement and anticipation of the beautiful young graduates all aflutter lining up with their hats and gowns! There they are having completed twelve years of elementary and high school education and now moving forward, many of them going on to all the colleges and universities that they had been touring and applying to for the past year, or more. What an exciting time!

They listened to the speeches, all full of optimism and enthusiasm, they clapped and then ambled up to the stage to receive their diplomas, after which they all threw up their hats and laughed while congratulating and hugging one another. How delightful!

Today’s graduates have been told for many years that they can:

Be Anything You Want To Be

Do Anything That Your Heart Desires

That is Not the Reality of the World that they will be interacting with, for, as a tragic example of what life can dramatically spring on them, on June 7th. a terrible accident took place in Oakton, Virginia where I once lived, where my children went to school, and which is more reason why I was deeply affected by this distressing incident:  A teenager, driving a brand new BMW, with three friends in the car sped along Blake Lane, rammed into a stopped car and mowed down three young Oakton high-school girls, two of whom passed away that evening, the third was fighting for her life. The speeder will definitely be indicted and punished by the law, as he should be. Had he anticipated being a killer as he got into his car that day? Had those three innocent, beautiful young girls ever imagined that they would be brutally killed that afternoon? This is one example of many occurring in every community across this country. Had ANY of those innocent children and adults across these United States who have died at the hands of a murderous individual wielding a lethal weapon ever imagined that this might be their fate? No. Sadly, none of them did. It is Infuriating, Devastating and absolutely Brutal! To add insult to injury any bill that comes out of our polarized and corrupt legislature will barely be sufficient to stem this carnage!

This year’s graduates, whether they are from high-schools, or colleges and universities across the country will be facing an environment that is very Dangerous, Threatening, Savage, Unpredictable and totally in contrast to all their Hopes and Expectations. It is going to be a very, very rude awakening! Our country has been in the throes of Disruptive Forces for a few decades now, and matters got to a head with the election of Barack Obama in 2008 when the Settlers and Descendants of White Christian Colonists imbued with an English Racist Supremacist ideology decided that the United States of America was their sole Fiefdom and that no other interlopers were allowed to partake in that endeavor as Rulers and Law Makers. And, since that plan went into effect the United States has been undergoing drastic changes – some subtle, some overt – that easily classifies us today as an Uncivilized Nation where the Ideology of the Corrupt, Racist Few has permeated insidiously within all elements of our Society resulting in Behaviors that range from the Bizarre to the Illegal, to the Discriminatory, to the Murderous! It is Shameful, Embarrassing and Menacing! And, even though these younger generations might not have paid enough attention to the world outside their immediate environment, they should, because our entire Planet is a Royal Mess that is bound to reverberate and affect what are their cozy cocoons at this moment despite the slaughters that have been going on during their precious young lives.

So, no, many of those graduating this year especially will not be able to: Be Anything You Want To Be, or Do Anything That Your Heart Desires, because the Zealous Pursuits of the Corrupt, Racist Few will impede their Lives, Livelihoods, Choices, Finances and Dreams thus turning them into Modern Day Slaves for whom Democracy and Freedom will become a mere Mirage, unless there is a return to Reason, Common Sense and the Common Good!! This is unlikely to happen soon enough!! Moreover, whether they come from Pampered and Privileged Backgrounds, or Parents who are Harried and Cash-strapped they are probably as Dysfunctional as most of our Families are these days, and that will further exacerbate their already Precarious Futures. Certainly not a pretty, or rosy picture!

I wonder if we, their parents and grandparents, have equipped them enough to form a Human Barricade against these Malicious Efforts? Have we taught them enough about their Citizen Rights? Their Voting Rights? Their Sexual Rights? Their Rights to Protest and Constitutional ability to turn things around? All indications seem to point to the fact that these recent generations seem to have all the necessary ingredients to do that. I sincerely hope so! Meanwhile, and as their country, these United States, sinks lower and lower into sheer Madness and Incoherence I will hold my breath and cross my fingers real hard!! It is a daunting period in the history of a nation that was destined for Continued Success, but that is ready to forego that in order to pursue the Dastardly Ideology of the Few!