Veteran's Day 2014

Veteran's Day 2014

We have just completed the first ten weeks of school. I am home today celebrating the men and women who fight for us to enjoy great freedoms. Veterans Day. The meaning of this day is not lost on me. My dad was a WWII veteran. My brother fought in Vietnam and was my first living, breathing example of a hero.  My kids have friends who now are in service to their country either in active duty or as reservists. I continue to be amazed at those who choose to sacrifice their personal freedoms to protect those of others.

My kids and I have just spent the day researching and, ultimately, purchasing new cell phones. Funny--there seems to be some irony there. You see, we live in a great country where much time and effort went into protecting our freedoms from any kind of tyranny.  Inherent in the notion of America is the fierce individual who stands on its own and answers to none. Maybe you already see where I am going with this.

The cell phone hysteria. IPhone this and Droid that.. Everyone needs, no,... has to have one!!! No one is safe without one, right? The incredulous looks when you try to explain that there once was a time before cell phones are quite amusing.

It really is interesting when you stop to think about it.  The fiercely independent, devil may care American cannot live without a cell phone.  A device used to call for help in case of an emergency. You know, in case we are abducted. It happens all the time, right?

I was especially struck by the irony when the new IPhone I purchased offered me the opportunity to sign into the phone with my fingerprint. Hmm. Let me get this straight, I am buying a device that will track my every move, that authorities can use to see who I have been talking with and what I have been saying through my texts, they can see what I have searched on the internet and what videos I have viewed on Youtube. I am paying a monthly fee for this service and, oh by the way, would you be so kind as to SIGN IN WITH YOUR FINGERPRINT thereby providing us with all your personal information we need to completely watch you 24-7?

 And we all feel we #CANNOTLIVEWITHOUTTHESEDEVICES!!!  This has been masterfully orchestrated, implemented, manipulated. It is so prevalent in our society and no one even recognizes what has happened.

The irony is not lost on me on Veteran's Day. Thank you to all the Veterans in my life and everyone else's. We are free to give away those freedoms because of you. We are free to surrender all our personal information to cell phone companies who gleefully accept our hard earned money in exchange for our own hand held personal tracking device.

You know what else is ironic? That so much of our society thinks teachers are the problem to nearly every ill in society. Now that is really something we should think about. All this talk about personal tracking devices aka cell phones, that is just nonsense. Teachers! Those are the ones who need to be scrutinized. Teachers! Part of the "monopoly " of public schools that our esteemed Governor Andrew Cuomo spoke of. Teachers! Who need to sign documents of non-disclosure before scoring the NYS Assessments that will ultimately impact their careers. Teachers! Hey, stop thinking about those phones!!! Focus!!

It's the TEACHERS THAT NEED WATCHING!

Do you get it now?