When Did We Become Mentally Ill?

 One of the most enjoyable aspects of life is the shared appreciation of Her Majesty and myself in visiting historical sites in this nation. Specifically, we've gone though Gettysburg, the site of the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Chickamauga and of Chattanooga. We've visited the Confederate prison site of Andersonville.*

I'm prejudiced in my love of this country so much so that I became a high school teacher of American History, the real history, not the pap being taught in classrooms today.

Folks, I'm a product of the Sixties. Even at Coe College in 1968 we had what I would call 'rabble rousers'; those who, while wearing green pea jackets and Birkenstock sandals, screamed out against the Vietnam conflict. It wasn't in my make-up to protest. I was a 'preppie' and besides, I liked to shave and bathe. 

So, here we are in the decade of the Twenties and I'll be honest with you when I write, "When did we become mentally ill?"

I'd like to share two examples of how we've gone off the rails. Last Fall a protest took place at the Univ. of Texas. Black members of the Longhorn football team along with band members and the usual suspects protested the song, 'The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You'. I'll get to the reason in a few moments so hang in there. The song, written in 1903, was penned to poke fun of the university president who constantly exhorted the students to do well in life by repeating the title of the song which is sung to the tune of 'I've Been Working On The Railroad'.

So, why, you may ask is it offensive? Well, the leader of the Confederate armies, Robert E. Lee(who was against slavery) reminded the armies of Texas to fight hard because---The eyes of Texas are upon you. And for this the cry babies protested. Thank God the officials at Texas told the kids to shove it where the sun don't shine.

Secondly, there's a quaint community located a couple miles east and north of our Dublin, Ohio. It's called Powell and every year this town of around 2,000(very wealthy citizens) has a Memorial Day Parade.

Have you ever noticed how busy bodies have a penchant for making fools of themselves? At this years parade there were a string of automobiles driving in the event. It turns out one of these vehicles had its car radio on and people in the crowd heard the song, Dixie. Gasp! Well, one of the people attending the event is a woman, a psychiatrist in pre-natal care by the name of Tamar Gur. She watched and listened in horror along with her (wussy) husband and four kids between the ages of 2-12. According to Gur, and this story is in the Columbus Dispatch, she snatched her kids up along with daddy and went home. Then, to make herself even more famous she wrote the Powell Ohio Chamber and demanded they apologize to her and the rest of the world-----------and they did!

I have to wonder if her kids even know the song, the one Abe Lincoln asked to be played by a band in D.C. at the conclusion of the War Between The States. 

I defy anyone to read the lyrics which were composed by a northerner from slightly south of Columbus Ohio, to find a bit of racism. https://genius.com/Lee-greenwood-dixie-

lyrics#:~:text=Dixie%20Lyrics%3A%20O%2C%20I%20wish%20I%20was%20in,was%20born%20in%20%2F%20Early%20on%20one%20frosty

Now, if this person had protested Cardi B's award winning songs, 'Gangsta Bitch' and 'Wet Ass Pussy' I might be in sympathy. I should contact her and get her ideas on this subject but I won't. Who wants cooties?

Now that all of Central Ohio knows about this person I would wonder how it might impact her business being that she's mentally ill. I pray for her children, not her husband. He's most likely too far gone.