TRUTH IN POLITICS

Death  Comes To Many
Many who were here in 1990 remember the sad day of February 10, 1990 as the day they lost family and friends in the massacre that took place when two men robed the Las Cruces Bowl and shot seven people, killing four of them. Many more will look back on this day as a day that brought death to the doors of a once peaceful city. The pain they must suffer in this time will never go away, it will live in their memories for the rest of their lives.

Ida Holguin will never be the same because of the trauma she suffered after being shot in the head. Her life had to be relearned: remembering her home became a strange place to her, learning the basic skills that she once took for granted all over again as though she had just been reborn. Regaining all the skills that were lost to her was a trial she would endure for many years to come.

The sad part of it all is that the two people who committed this heinous crime have never been brought to justice. Crime Stoppers has a reward for the capture and conviction of the duo, and detectives are still investigating the 20-year-old crime, but this will not bring much closure to the people who lost a loved one, until the perpetrators are caught. There is a gnawing hunger for justice for their loved ones and family that continues for the victims’ families that just won’t go away. It will live on until there is a solution to the crime, and the ‘why’ for it will live on for the rest of their life.

To execute so many people for a paltry sum of money is terrible, but this is the world we live in today. It is a world that has become so violent that we look across our borders to Juarez with little shock at the numbers killed in the last year with a shake of our head but little empathy with the victims or their families. We have become so used to violence that it has become commonplace in our society.

Living With Violence
It is a sad thing when we as people have turned so far away from God, have become so callused by that same violence that we think of it a common circumstance. I have had many people who have told me they are afraid to go into Juarez because of the killing that goes on there. My answer to this is, you don’t have to go to Juarez to lose your life, look around you at the violence in your own neighborhood, the drive by shootings, the robberies, the stabbings and all the other crimes of violence that happen far too often.

The respect we have for one another and that is taught from our childhood is not engrained in the child deep enough. Much of this is due to the lack of discipline that has been taken from the family, and the lack of the teachings of Christ.

There was a day not too many years past that I can remember leaving my home unlocked and feeling safe in my mind that everything would be safe until my return. I don’t feel this way any more. Even locking my doors isn’t enough to make me feel safe about my possessions. Now we have burglar alarms, neighborhood watches, and so many other devices to deter crime, yet we do not feel safe even on the streets.

We are afraid of being mugged, shot in a drive by gang shooting, robbed of our possessions at gun point, assaulted on the streets and campuses of the universities and schools, just to name a few. The question in most of our minds is what we can do about it. What can we do to stop the violence that has so encroached on our lives? Some of the answers lie in not fearing fear itself, of not walking with our eyes darting around for the next violent act to happen.

We need to be aware of our surroundings at all times, put our faith in God to protect us, work with the authorities when a crime happens, not being afraid to become involved and living our lives according to the golden rule. Living in fear is similar to being a prisoner in our own environment. The rest of the answer and by all means the most important, is living our lives as children of Christ. If we do these things, God will take care of the rest. Remember that Christ can do all things. To Him nothing is impossible. All we have to do is ask.

Leadership
The final answer to our violent society is better leadership by our government. How can we believe in our neighbors and fellow men when we are subjected to a leadership that sells us out at every turn? I am a conservative, with strong beliefs in God, family, home, freedom, secure borders, secure country and the Constitution. If you believe in the teaching so Jesus Christ, how can you be other than a conservative. He teaches that we should love one another, be kind to one another, respect our elders, do good unto others and live in peace. How many of our leaders espouse these teachings? 

What can we learn from all this? We can learn to replace the ones who work against the teaching of the Bible, the men and women who take advantage of us and who steal from us through our taxes, our children’s education, and the very bread that we eat. We can stop being sheep and fight for what we want and need, just as the Christians from the Bible did when they were oppressed.