Use To Could Of

1963 in the den of Pinewood Drive – Macon, Georgia the Beatles was crooning their British laced songs a young pre-teen aged girl dreamed of all the wonderful romantic dreams a young girl could possibly dreams. She sits today in the memories of “use to could of” - done – been - become . . . . 

Sparked by listening to 1967 Beatles song “Love Is All You Need” –  she thought about when the young embraced the lyrics to be possible but the use to could of end with the world as we once knew it was  going wild – spilling out of control. . . .

The death of President John F. Kennedy -  Viet Nam, even though started long before the 60’s it hit a devastating peak – use to could of our soldiers were honored heroes. . . returned home to handcuff not a ticker tape parade, and use to could of believed television was family entertainment of "I've Got A Secret" . . . . . changing the way the world saw “war”.  

Use to could of – we as American’s all had dreams but the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr in 1968 changed our dreams – as the exclamation point of 1970’s Kent State University tragedy when guardsmen fired 67 rounds in 13 seconds into reckless college students changed the dreams of how we use to could of lived into cries and mourning of the devastating death the United States life that we would never live again . . . we use to could of . . . . Gone forever.

The dinner table family laughter turned to watch our soldiers being blown to pieces, never flinching as we ate our meatloaf and peas. Today we stare into our electronic devices, any time day or night witnessing firsthand the display of hate as neighborhoods going wild and fellow Americans being beheaded, as we down our over sized fat coffee.

I thought about how we use to could have gone to school and listen to the laughter of children experiencing learning to read for the first time - new experiences – recess – to fear of whether or not today it would be another devastating community horror. 

The radio shared the interview of two young college students talking about working at a pizza establishment because of fear did not go to work and now no longer had a job because the anger of a community had gone to the street in violence because they did not like a decision and out of sheer hate destroyed and killed folks in a public restaurant they did not even know. Use to could have protested with poster boards and sit-ins. A young singe mother left nursing school to become a full time protester with violence because she now had a cause - a cause of hate - the only way she could get the community to listen.

This is the United States of America – the home of the free and the brave – This is The United States of America where now our babies – our communities –live in fear and hatred.  This is The United States of America where all men are created equal . . . . . use to could have . . . . respect for our fellow neighbor – where we stood together when 9/11 took innocent folks – fathers, mothers, sister, brothers – because someone on the outside hated us so much – where we stood together as the deadliest Hurricane Katrina and Rita tore through our lives leaving a trail of destruction – from around the world we ceased for a small moment from our hatred. Today with all our knowledge and all our technical savvy ways of "instant" have turned inward and allowed our differences, our hurts, our anger, our altered thinking of right and wrong have become haters of anyone who does not agree with us, look like us or think like us.  Use To Could Have???

What have we learned? What can we have dodo differently? Why is our own self-centered selfishness – or own inward judgments and opinions keeping us from doing what we could use to could have done a long time ago but we haven’t.

Was there a time when you use to could have given yourself freely to love those that despitefully used you?  Was there a time you could have accepted those that were different from you?  Was there a time you could have seen through the lens of peace? Why not now?

What will it take for use to break all the bonds that so bind us?

Use to could of - All We Need Is Love – Why not now?