Lost in the Shuffle…

We're on a shopping trip, of all things.

And at the gas pumps where I am filling the gas tank, I hear the whoosing of trucks flying along on the nearby interstate. Jammed traffic is flowing closer on sidestreets, bumper-to-bumper. All the other lanes of pumps are full of travelers fueling their vehicles as well — some who live near and others far away.

All those people, I am thinking. So many in this country — millions upon millions — all with their own unique set of problems and personal journeys.

And the noise of their comings and goings is deafening as I fill my car.

Yet, I am not even in the city limits of Memphis… but outside of town. Where are they all going and why, I ask myself?

How do people do what they do? Where is their inner compass and to what does it point? What is important to them, and what is not?

Used to be one didn't have to ask.

You were born, went to a traditional school, were raised in working-class home, and went to work yourself until retirement time.

But that is not the case anymore.

So many seem to be lost in the shuffle.

Now, for instance, we hear strange philosophies instead.

The other day, I heard some back and forth on one TV station, where a young person was denigrating a whole class of people by referring to their background.

The gist of the conversation was, “Yeah, those people are so proud of where they came from and what family and what they did for a living so that they felt empowered and privileged by that.”

And I'm considering, what more is there to a person than their background and the fruits of their own hands?

Do we judge people on how pretty they are instead?

Continued on Page 5

‘Wordaholic’

By Robert L. Hall ROBERT HALL (cont.)

Man, that kills my chances for redemption right off the bat!

Is that standard Madison Avenue ad line, “What's in your wallet?” a barometer for how acceptable you are in society's eyes?

Am I

because I'm not a famous star in the NBA with a mega-million sports contract to play a game that most of us stopping playing when we were teenagers?

I'm thinking, no.

It's more a case of many in society-particularly the young-who are rudderless and who seem to be casting around for a course in life rather aimlessly. For instance the faces of those in the crowds teeming the streets in rage and striking out at invisible imaginary enemies in an attempt to give themselves some kind of vicarious meaning in their lives. Meaning missing

“Where there is no vision, the people perish,” that fits here most appropriately.

The actual meaning is more like, “Where there is no direction, the people run wild.”

That is closer to what we see today. It is not that there is right or wrong vision, but that there is none whatsoever.

Case in point: Lately, I have been viewing a program that is on A& E (Arts & Entertainment) channel which is run by the Disney Corporation.

I noticed every program had a commercial being run that ran clips of raging rioters with the slogan, “There is no Them.” Then, put up the banner, “There is no We.” Finally it shows some protestors marching with the caption, “There is only Us.”

Finding the e-mail address of A& E on the internet, I typed up the following message and sent it to them: “A& E Channel,

I am deeply offended by your “Them, We, Us” ad on your channel.

I do not break out windows, steal stuff, burn buildings down or beat and murder people.

I am also not a Marxist-like those who were responsible for killing over 100 million people in the 20th century.

I think Americans are kinder, better, and smarter than you think.”

I sent that e-mail because I don't have to guess who I am. I have a vision and there is no danger of my perishing for lack of one.

Last week the commercials stopped airing on A& E — at least on my television set.

Looks like other people shared the same vision that I had, doesn't it?

Robert L. Hall is a resident of Marion and has a Bachelor’s Degree in music from the University of Memphis and a Master’s Degree from Florida State University. He is the pianist for Avondale Baptist Church and a writer of fiction on Amazon eBooks.