Blue Ridge, GA - Progressive?

[itsajourney]

Georgia-My hat is off to you for making an attempt to stand up for those issues which could easily be debated as to what is socially & morally right and wrong--as opposed to those on here who flippantly reply with such negative and hateful attitudes in a public forum--thereby making the people of your state look bad.

Regarding Happiness: In the end, ATTITUDE is EVERYTHING. It is truely up to oneself how they will view themselves and approach the world. You decide if you will be happy or sad--no one else. You take your lessons in life and move on. Hopefully, you can find the silver lining which exists in all things. However, sometimes being able to find that silver lining does indeed really mean MOVING ON.

Perhaps you and I have never experienced real hatred from our neighbors on a day to day basis. I have never had to walk in fear of my life daily. I have never had to wonder if my car would be vandalized because someone didn't like me. I've never had a cross burning in my front yard, nor had bricks thrown thru my windows, shots fired into my house, etc. etc. etc. I believe that if you found yourself having to deal with these things on a day to day basis, you would realize that your life would be BETTER and HAPPIER if you physically moved on to someplace else. No matter how hard you might wish it, your life, at its current place, will not be truely happy, because your BASIC HUMAN NEEDS are not being met--you have the upheaval of uncertainty and fear to constantly battle. One cannot find solace in day to day living if life is always immersed in real & actual fear.

I am sure that you will remember in Maslows Hierarchy of Human Needs For Survival--social acceptance, friendship and love are all critical things necessary for HAPPINESS. If your neighbors hate you, you probably will not find yourself having a high degree of self-confidence. Therefore, having true happiness within is not possible. It will be up to you, and you alone to change your circumstances. If you do not, then you made the choice to remain unhappy.

afonega1--I would so love to have a face-to-face conversation with you to discuss the points you have brought up. You are a very thoughtful, caring young man with "fire in your belly". I wish I could say that your life experience has not been impacted by the fact that you are black. This would be ignorant of me and something you and I both know not to be true. To me, I don't care where you are from, what color your skin is, what your religious beliefs are, whether you are conservative or liberal, what your sexual orientation is, whether you are rich or poor, etc. etc.--I judge NOT by any of those things. The only criteria I have in judging a person is the goodness in his/her heart.

Everyone who comes into my life will not be good & kind, but they have been placed there for a specific purpose--from which a "Life Lesson" comes. Life Lessons are necessary for us to grow and to appreciate all of the good things in life. They give us strength. Without the bad, we could never recognize the good.

In my younger years I wanted to fight for every social injustice I encountered. The lesson I had to learn was that I could not be all things to all people. I cannot, as one person, change all of the evils in the world--nor is it up to only me to do so. This is very difficult for me to accept because I feel like I was born to serve my fellow man.

I used to wonder why it is so hard for people to do the right thing. The answer is because their reality is not my reality. We all see things differently. Who is to say who is always right or wrong? There is no one answer to every problem.

When I was 35 my brother died in a car accident. That was truely one of the most life-changing events I have ever gone thru. I chose to turn that experience into a positive one. Life is short. There are no guarantees that tomorrow will come for all of us. I also decided that rather than be unhappy because I could not accomplish "righting a wrong world", I would do other things to help my fellow man. I am kind to everyone. I have had total strangers come up to me and just start pouring their heart out to me. I listen to them. I make them feel that they are important. I give them words of encouragement and hope. I help people who have nothing. I do a great many things that don't require me to always be "bent out of shape" over everything because I do not choose to live in a constant state of anger, hostility, and frustration. I have learned to find satisfaction in being able to help people in many other ways. My day is not complete unless I can say at the end of they day that I did at least one good and unselfish thing for someone else.

I am sorry that you do not feel that I am being fair. I cannot begin to post in a forum my 50 years of life experience which have brought me to where I currently am in life, my beliefs, etc. I cannot rush you thru all of the life experiences which will come your way and which will cause you to change how you deal with these things along the way. That journey my friend, is the purpose of why you are here. It is the essence of your unique being--one that no one but you can ever lay claim to. That is why the JOURNEY IS THE DESTINATION--you never truely reach your destination. It is all a journey. Make of it the best you can with what you have at the time and try to never have regrets. Greatness comes not in changing the entire world, but in changing the life of one person for the better. Never, Never, underestimate the value of your contribution to whom something you said or did made a difference in their life.

So, I am not sweeping anything under the rug, I am not encouraging hatred to grow and spread. I have simply decided that this beautiful spot in this great country is not compatible with my ideas, beliefs and life plan. It is not an area in which I should move my business to nor should I invest valuable personal resources.

[afonega1]

Originally Posted by itsajourney

Georgia-My hat is off to you for making an attempt to stand up for those issues which could easily be debated as to what is socially & morally right and wrong--as opposed to those on here who flippantly reply with such negative and hateful attitudes in a public forum--thereby making the people of your state look bad.

Regarding Happiness: In the end, ATTITUDE is EVERYTHING. It is truely up to oneself how they will view themselves and approach the world. You decide if you will be happy or sad--no one else. You take your lessons in life and move on. Hopefully, you can find the silver lining which exists in all things. However, sometimes being able to find that silver lining does indeed really mean MOVING ON.

Perhaps you and I have never experienced real hatred from our neighbors on a day to day basis. I have never had to walk in fear of my life daily. I have never had to wonder if my car would be vandalized because someone didn't like me. I've never had a cross burning in my front yard, nor had bricks thrown thru my windows, shots fired into my house, etc. etc. etc. I believe that if you found yourself having to deal with these things on a day to day basis, you would realize that your life would be BETTER and HAPPIER if you physically moved on to someplace else. No matter how hard you might wish it, your life, at its current place, will not be truely happy, because your BASIC HUMAN NEEDS are not being met--you have the upheaval of uncertainty and fear to constantly battle. One cannot find solace in day to day living if life is always immersed in real & actual fear.

I am sure that you will remember in Maslows Hierarchy of Human Needs For Survival--social acceptance, friendship and love are all critical things necessary for HAPPINESS. If your neighbors hate you, you probably will not find yourself having a high degree of self-confidence. Therefore, having true happiness within is not possible. It will be up to you, and you alone to change your circumstances. If you do not, then you made the choice to remain unhappy.

afonega1--I would so love to have a face-to-face conversation with you to discuss the points you have brought up. You are a very thoughtful, caring young man with "fire in your belly". I wish I could say that your life experience has not been impacted by the fact that you are black. This would be ignorant of me and something you and I both know not to be true. To me, I don't care where you are from, what color your skin is, what your religious beliefs are, whether you are conservative or liberal, what your sexual orientation is, whether you are rich or poor, etc. etc.--I judge NOT by any of those things. The only criteria I have in judging a person is the goodness in his/her heart.

Everyone who comes into my life will not be good & kind, but they have been placed there for a specific purpose--from which a "Life Lesson" comes. Life Lessons are necessary for us to grow and to appreciate all of the good things in life. They give us strength. Without the bad, we could never recognize the good.

In my younger years I wanted to fight for every social injustice I encountered. The lesson I had to learn was that I could not be all things to all people. I cannot, as one person, change all of the evils in the world--nor is it up to only me to do so. This is very difficult for me to accept because I feel like I was born to serve my fellow man.

I used to wonder why it is so hard for people to do the right thing. The answer is because their reality is not my reality. We all see things differently. Who is to say who is always right or wrong? There is no one answer to every problem.

When I was 35 my brother died in a car accident. That was truely one of the most life-changing events I have ever gone thru. I chose to turn that experience into a positive one. Life is short. There are no guarantees that tomorrow will come for all of us. I also decided that rather than be unhappy because I could not accomplish "righting a wrong world", I would do other things to help my fellow man. I am kind to everyone. I have had total strangers come up to me and just start pouring their heart out to me. I listen to them. I make them feel that they are important. I give them words of encouragement and hope. I help people who have nothing. I do a great many things that don't require me to always be "bent out of shape" over everything because I do not choose to live in a constant state of anger, hostility, and frustration. I have learned to find satisfaction in being able to help people in many other ways. My day is not complete unless I can say at the end of they day that I did at least one good and unselfish thing for someone else.

I am sorry that you do not feel that I am being fair. I cannot begin to post in a forum my 50 years of life experience which have brought me to where I currently am in life, my beliefs, etc. I cannot rush you thru all of the life experiences which will come your way and which will cause you to change how you deal with these things along the way. That journey my friend, is the purpose of why you are here. It is the essence of your unique being--one that no one but you can ever lay claim to. That is why the JOURNEY IS THE DESTINATION--you never truely reach your destination. It is all a journey. Make of it the best you can with what you have at the time and try to never have regrets. Greatness comes not in changing the entire world, but in changing the life of one person for the better. Never, Never, underestimate the value of your contribution to whom something you said or did made a difference in their life.

So, I am not sweeping anything under the rug, I am not encouraging hatred to grow and spread. I have simply decided that this beautiful spot in this great country is not compatible with my ideas, beliefs and life plan. It is not an area in which I should move my business to nor should I invest valuable personal resources.

Well like you said its about the "goodness in people's heart".That is why it never once occurred to me to write off the whole area by what some people made unacceptable to my friend and I.However I understand that sometimes its better to move on, if its just not worth it.This is a big world with lots of places and faces.You can only do so much.Thank you for the compliments and your insight.May god bless you where ever you CHOOSE to be.

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by afonega1

Well like you said its about the "goodness in people's heart".That is why it never once occurred to me to write off the whole area by what some people made unacceptable to my friend and I.However I understand that sometimes its better to move on, if its just not worth it.This is a big world with lots of places and faces.You can only do so much.Thank you for the compliments and your insight.May god bless you where ever you CHOOSE to be.

This is very true. In regard to the poster responding both to you and me, I think there is one thing that brings our views to the point from your profile. Basically, the fact that we both are veterans.

Frankly, I have seen the world and spent time seeing the good and pure evil in all facets. There are good and bad people and nobody inclusive of God can even control free will.

Good Post.

[afonega1]

Originally Posted by Georgia

This is very true. In regard to the poster responding both to you and me, I think there is one thing that brings our views to the point from your profile. Basically, the fact that we both are veterans.

Frankly, I have seen the world and spent time seeing the good and pure evil in all facets. There are good and bad people and nobody inclusive of God can even control free will.

Good Post.

Thanks

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by Georgia

This is very true. In regard to the poster responding both to you and me, I think there is one thing that brings our views to the point from your profile. Basically, the fact that we both are veterans.

Frankly, I have seen the world and spent time seeing the good and pure evil in all facets. There are good and bad people and nobody inclusive of God can even control free will.

Good Post.

Snap! Good one, Georgia.

[JoDan]

Progressive??? Who the heck wants that trash in our beautiful mountains?

[COUNTRYFRIED]

Originally Posted by JoDan

Progressive??? Who the heck wants that trash in our beautiful mountains?

Couldn't agree more.

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by COUNTRYFRIED

Couldn't agree more.

Is Blue Ridge near Blairsville, GA? I should know--but I don't.

At any rate this bit of news shocked me ---

Investigators say couple tied to religious cult may have sexually assaulted more women *| ajc.com


I enjoy visits to North GA in the fall and always felt that it was safe.

Opinions?

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by TakeAhike

Is Blue Ridge near Blairsville, GA? I should know--but I don't.

At any rate this bit of news shocked me ---

Investigators say couple tied to religious cult may have sexually assaulted more women *| ajc.com


I enjoy visits to North GA in the fall and always felt that it was safe.

Opinions?

That incident is certainly not indicative of the area. IMO it is safe.

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

That incident is certainly not indicative of the area. IMO it is safe.

Thanks. 'Consider the source'?