Day: We all do with what we have

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December 30, 2011

Day: We all do with what we have

By Ray Day Local columnist The Kokomo Tribune Fri Dec 30, 2011, 10:15 PM EST

Many times I see things I think could be better for others. And I’m usually glad I had not taken the chance of making them mad by telling them what I think.

We, as brothers and sisters under God, should not be afraid to tell others our thoughts. But we should do it in a way that our friendship is not damaged. Why take the chance of losing some really good friends by telling them where they might be wrong in what they think?

Here in America we have freedom of speech, press, religion and assembly. That is the way it should always be, but there are times certain people sort of make you mad because of the way they downgrade those whom I think are doing a great job. As most know, I don’t try to downgrade anyone just because of the way they think, but I do ride the fence so that I can see both sides of the question. That is my right to do so, and it shouldn’t cause others to think I am referring to them.

As a proud American, I try to maintain the position that a person is right until he or she is proven wrong. A person is innocent until proven guilty, unless he is caught in the act.

Many times people who do things that are wrong do it because they haven’t thought it out before the actual act. And there are some who really don’t care about the person they hurt with their actions and words. When that person takes a weapon, he is sure to do the deed before thinking about it, and then his or her life is ruined.

We have people in our prisons who did the deed, and they are paying for it. But there are many out there who have never been caught doing the deed, and so they have to be proven guilty according to law. A man is innocent until proven guilty. That is the law of the land whether I agree with it or not, and it is so much better than that of the countries that take a person from their homes and off to jail where they rot for a crime they probably did not commit. Such is the law of the land where there is no democracy.

Here in the good old USA, we live free but we pay taxes, and we are able to go to sleep at night without fears that other countries have. We have police and fire protection paid for by our tax money.

So what I am getting to as the reason for this column is that we live in a country that has been free since 1776, and we need to take care of the way that we send our representatives to our counties, state and federal governments to speak for us. We don’t need the troublemakers who go around getting people to disrupt the procedures being taken care of in our government. We have some faults, but we don’t need the ring leaders talking up their trash and then go hide in their holes until the people are in trouble with their protests.

Our country is not perfect, but it is the best one going. Maybe one day the mess in Washington will be cleaned up and we go back to a government of the people, by the people and for the people. It is not far away but far enough that we do need to do some changing of the guard that is on duty now. We do need to take a better look at what our taxes are in comparison to that of the billionaires.

Are they paying enough? They should have higher taxes because they made their money off the backs of the people of the USA, and many times they are given tax breaks because of the conditions of their work. And don’t forget that they have business abroad that our tax money helps them to have.

• Ray “Uncle Ray” Day is a weekly contributor to the Kokomo Tribune. Contact him at uncleray@earthlink.net.

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