Idle Hands Are The Devil's Workshop

Most of us have heard this old adage at some time or another, but we feel that few persons would apply it to large numbers of American citizen at one time. After this weekend, we believe we can.  The original proverb was "Idle hands are the Devil's tools" and it is attributed to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.  Essentially it is intended to mean that when one finds himself with nothing to do, the Devil will  step in and occupy his hands with reckless or malicious behavior which is harmful, evil and disruptive to the lives or comfort of others.

Because of our nation's current financial crisis, especially the rise in unemployment, we have been expecting civil  unrest and disobedience to manifest itself in some way or another.  We are not excusing lawlessness, or disorder.  There is no justification for breaking the law.  But we do feel that the Obama administration's disregard for the plight of the American people, the lack of jobs, and tight finances has elicited the violent behaviour that was felt in the nation's large cities this Memorial Day weekend.

As we read the news  this morning we were deeply disturbed by the headlines.  We had seen the union generated demonstrations, heard the protesters angry comments and watched the opportunistic Democrats encourage their discontent in hopes to generate votes their way.  What we did not expect was that  America's young people would be the ones to explode first.  Without worthwhile work to keep them employed and earning wages, youth, in record numbers flocked to free beaches this weekend and let off steam.    It was the perfect opportunity for "idle hands to become the Devil's tools." 
Every where we looked, the headlines read: 

• LONG ISLAND BEACH RIOT    Long Beach, N.Y. - A Long Island police department says it had to call for backup to quell a beach melee involving hundreds of people that spilled out onto the streets and a nearby bus depot.  Long Beach police say they are investigating the incident. There was no immediate word on arrests.r  Read more...

• MYRTLE BEACH POLICE INUNDATED WITH CRIME DURING 8-HOUR WINDOW     Myrtle Beach police received reports of five armed robberies, a stabbing, a shooting and an incident involving a shotgun being pointed at a security guard during a nearly eight-hour period in the city early Sunday and Monday.  Because so many people were in the area for Memorial Day celebrations and the Atlantic Beach Bikefest, officers responded to numerous criminal complaints and traffic violations, said Myrtle Beach police Capt. David Knipes.  Read more..

• FIGHTS BREAK OUT AT CARSON BEACH     Up to 1,000 youths reported involved; police say brawls moved elsewhere

Police dispersed crowds at Carson Beach in Boston after fights broke out.
Officials say hundreds of unruly youths boarded trains at JFK/UMass
Station and started fights elsewhere. (Matthew J. Lee/ Globe Staff)  Read more..

In past months reports of violence and protests in the Middle East have filled our television screens.  There have been demonstrations and protests by thousands of dissatisfied people, mostly students who have had what some call an "Arab awakening," while others have given it the romantic sounding name of "Arab Spring."  Many of these discontented revolutionaries live in countries with despotic regimes, where a few, including their rulers enjoy vast riches, while the rest of the country lives in relative poverty and large rates of unemployment.  They have engaged the world's attention because they appear to clamor for democracy, and their cry is to defeat the regime in power. 

We can only speculate that some of these  American youths who have disrupted cities on a day we commemorate a national holiday might have been somehow inspired.  There are reports that some of these youths used social networking sites to actually plan their actions, just as those in the Middle Eastern countries have done.  Coincidence?  Perhaps.  The irony is that while the Middle Easterners purport to clamor for democracy, our country is suffering from an administration that wants to usurp our democratic ways, ignores our Constitution, and is lead by a socialist, Marxist trained ideologue.  

In Chicago the Memorial Day Violence left six people dead, at least twenty one wounded in a surge of violence throughout the city.  The Chicago PD closed one beach for "health reasons" as some four or six persons apparently became ill.  Mayor Emanuel commented that the police were right in doing so.  What was left out of his comments was that the violence which took place in Chicago involved  mostly minority groups.  In fact, many of the reports about the outbreak of violence throughout the country reported that the perpetrators were mostly gangs of blacks and Hispanics. 

Could there be a link between the joblessness and hopelessness in the Middle East, and the violence we have just experienced during this Memorial Day weekend?   In an essay, written before Memorial Day, on the This Can't Be Happening blog, Dave Lindorff writes:

Jarring Disconnect: If Joblessness and Hopelessness Undermine Democracy in the Middle East, What about Here at Home?

In his latest speeches on the Middle East, President Obama, both at the State Department and at the G8 meeting in France, has pledged billions of dollars in economic aid to Middle Eastern countries, drawing a direct connection between the unrest and demonstrations that brought down the dictators in Tunisia and Egypt, and the joblessness and hopelessness felt by the young people in those two countries.

Why do we even consider what the unemployment rate is for the youth of other countries, when our own young people's unemployment rate has reached outrageously high numbers.  According to Lindorff, close examination shows  "actual unemployment figures for young people in the US at staggering Egypt-like levels: 30% for all young people, 45% for young Latinos, and as high as 66% for black youth!"

There is a startling correlation between  the violent acts committed by youth and their  frustration and hopelessness  due to  their lack of opportunity to become employed and to break out of  the cycle of poverty.  Barack Obama was elected because he promised the American people change.  He received a huge percentage of minority votes because they believed in his "Hope and Change"  promises - promises he has never kept.  He goes around the world promising help and  money that we don't have to give, and he has done nothing here at home to put young people to work and to reduce their unemployment statistics.  

Recently Barack Obama decided to crack down on what he terms "Police abuse in large cities, and racism against minorities."  How convenient to play the race card.  It comes so natural to the Democrats to keep those who are "disenfranchised" - a term used and abused by them, dependent on the empty promises of government help and assistance.  We pity those who continue to believe in those empty words. Unless they somehow take the initiative, their status quo will remain the same.  Socialism kills initiative. 

Sister One lives in the Coastal Bend of South Texas.  Here the majority of the population is Hispanic.  The unemployment rate in this small town is 6% or less.  During this Memorial Day weekend residents of the Coastal Bend and visitors from throughout Texas flocked to area beaches to enjoy the weekend.  There were no riots, no evacuations.  Area police were prepared and vigilant.  Thousands of people attended various Memorial Day observations being held throughout South Texas.  The holiday weekend didn't really experience any more problems than they would at any other time.

It's easy to blame it on race, or social networking sites. But the government has to accept the responsibility of their inaction.  The reality is that action must be taken to insure that these young people's "idle hands don't become the Devil's tool."   The reality is that we're tired of Obama's empty words.  Jobs are created by the private sector, and Obama has done nothing more than to pass regulations that inhibit job creation.  This is a man in whom "sharing the wealth" has been ingrained.  Obama's ideas of taxes and the redistribution of wealth are a failure.  They do not  work in a democracy, and our republic is based on capitalist system.  Thomas Jefferson said:  “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”

If Barack Hussein Obama intends to leave a semblance of a legacy when he's gone in 2012, it would behoove him  to consider the future generations, and to put them  and America back to work.

Two Sisters