THE OLD COUNTRY

Greetings and Salutations to All my Kith and Kin and All the Ships in Outer Space: While there are definite disadvantages and discomfort accompanying old age and retirement, there are also some distinct advantages that young people do NOT have! Being an old geezer, I can remember what the United States of America USED to be like, many years ago, way back when liberty still existed in this nation. The kids and young adults don't even know anything about those bygone days. Do you remember when American citizens could freely cross the borders to and from Canada or Mexico WITHOUT a passport? Do you remember what fun it USED to be, a long time ago, to fly on a commercial airliner? Do you remember travelling on an airplane, ship, railroad train, or bus WITHOUT being physically frisked, searched, interrogated, harrassed, threatened, intimidated, or publicly humiliated by federal agents? Now, the federal agents are even stopping people who are merely driving on the highways and - - - SURPRISE!!! - - - no one has yet murdered one of those federal agents! Why not? What has become of us that we're so willing to silently endure these abuses with no violent resistance, even though such violent resistance would obviously be justified? I've thought about getting a passport, but I don't think I could ever use it. I'll never go to an airport to fly anywhere, not as long as our own government continues to harrass and intimidate its own citizens. I'm pretty certain I can never visit Canada - - - unless I sneak across the border. They would most likely bar me because of my published statements about race, firearms, government tyranny, and armed rebellion. When I was a boy, I ran away from home and rode a freight train from El Paso to San Antonio, Texas. It was easy to be a hobo and hop a freight train. The crews working in the yard would even give advice about which train to get on. But, now? I watch a lot of freight trains, but I never see any hoboes. The last one I saw was many years ago in Salt Lake City. When's the last time you saw a hobo riding a freight train? Have you ever hopped aboard a freight train? Way back in the Nineteen Sixties, before I went into the Army, I worked on a huge forest fire in northern Idaho. Afterwards, in Spokane, Washington, I boarded a bus to travel to Portland, Oregon, openly wearing my holstered pistol on my right hip, and carrying my rifle in a zipped cloth gun case. When I arrived in Portland, Oregon, I walked into a bank and cashed my pay check, still wearing my pistol and carrying my rifle. Can you do that today? Yes, I grew up in a racially segregated society and - - - , do you know what? It was a lot SAFER than what we have today, huh? You didn't hear profanity in public and/or in mixed company. Guys wore their shirts tucked into their pants, took their hats or caps off when entering a building, and held doors open for the gals, who all wore dresses. When families went to church, or almost any public event, the men and boys wore suits and ties, and the women and girls wore dresses. That was normal and expected. I've seen a bunch of churches, including the one I was raised in, and today, they're unrecognizable. About the only church that still looks like a church is my own chosen faith - - - the church in which I'm a convert, The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints, also known as the "Mormon" church. Everybody said, "Please", "Thank You", "You're Welcome", "Sir", "Ma'am", "Mister", "Miss", and "Missus". If'n us kids caused a problem in school, we got THREE (03) whippings - - - , one from the teacher (and maybe another from the principal), one from Mama, and another from Daddy. Every school day began with reciting the Lord's Prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. Our teacher was the wife of a Baptist minister, so it was not unusual to discuss the Bible and Jesus Christ during class. Also, being in a Southern community, it was not unusual to discuss Confederate heroes. Public display of a Confederate flag was normal, and every local store sold them. But, that was then, and this is now. You can't even find a store that sells Confederate flags. You can only buy them on the Internet. Remember when the World was so safe that young children could wander the woods and fields by themselves, without Mama and Daddy worrying? I grew up in the woods, spending almost every day exploring and learning about pine cones, snakes, blackberries, and poison ivy. There was a time when kids could ride their bicycles all over town, alone and unmolested. Halloween will soon be here. Remember being a youngster and trick or treating - - - WITHOUT your parents watching you? Do kids still go carolling in the snow at Christmas - - - or do they dare? Remember when EVERY boy carried a pocket knife - - - even in school? Today, it's difficult to find a grown man who carries a knife (according to guys I've chatted with on the Internet who have to hire these unprepared adult males). Remember when homosexuality was wrong - - - , and EVERYBODY agreed that it was wrong, without any apology? Remember when everybody spoke English, and there was never any other option except English? With our contemporary multi-lingual, multi-ethnic, multi-racial, and multi-cultural conglomerated society, are we really better off now? Remember when schools taught us kids, "readin', 'ritin', and 'rithmatic"? If'n I was a parent, I wouldn't dare send my child to a public school today. Because of the racial violence, those places are too dangerous, and they've become nothing more than indoctrination centers for anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-White, anti-family, and anti-male government propaganda and perverse social conditioning. Remember when pregnant unwed girls didn't go to school with the other kids, and the subject was considered too shameful and embarrassing to be openly discussed? Now, they're called "single mothers" instead of "unwed mothers". Why the change in language? Why do we now say "gender" instead of "sex"? Those two words are not synonyms. Why is an American Indian being called a "Native American"? If we were born here, then aren't the rest of us native? Why are American negroes called, "African-American", even though they weren't born in Africa, and they obviously hate America? Aren't the persecuted white refugees from Kenya, South Africa, and Rhodesia who've become citizens here also, "African-American"? Boy, oh boy, the poor youngsters today have no idea what has been lost, usurped, or forfeited - - - in just a few decades! Yes, I know what other folks think, and I know what I am SUPPOSED to think, but I don't agree with what we've been told. Frankly, I trace this all back to the United States Supreme Court decision of "BROWN VERSUS BOARD OF EDUCATION". And, yes, I believe it will require a bloody, violent civil war to repair the damage - - - , and that's only IF it can still be done. Do you know something else? If you have a personal opinion that you know is unpopular, who do you know that you can still TRUST enough to share your unpopular opinion with? Sharing my thoughts in this e-mail is a gamble. But, that's life - - - , especially today. Hey, this is WAAAY off the subject, but I just now realized something. I've been here in Gulfport, Mississippi for one year and - - - , There aren't any cats running around - - - ANYWHERE! I wonder why? I never see a cat. There's fish and nesting birds on the beach, so why aren't there any kitty cats prowling around? Were they exterminated by Hurricane Katrina? What about puppy dogs? The only dogs I ever see are in the neighbors' fenced yards. I never see a stray mutt wandering around anywhere. I wonder why? I wish I had a dog. I would roast him over hot coals, and put him on a bun with mustard, chili, and cheese. Yep, I sure do LOVE my dogs! Thank you. John Robert Mallernee Offical Bard of Clan Henderson Armed Forces Retirement Home Gulfport, Mississippi  39507 NOTE: "My unpopular and controversial personal opinions do not represent my Scottish clan."