On Sunny Lane - Picking Peaches

When I was 8-10 years old, my mother, older brother, and I lived in a house that had several peach trees in the yard.

I liked those peach trees. I still remember what pleasure it was to sit in the crook of a tree, pick off a nice, juicy peach and eat it.

Those were the days when my brother and I used to play with the neighborhood boys and girls. We lived in farm country and lived quite a distance from each other, but our bicycles made the miles much shorter.

There was this one day when a bunch of us were together. One of the boys said or did something that I didn't like. I remarked to one of the other kids that he was asking for it and, if he came around my house, he was going to "get it."

Well, lo and behold! Darned if he didn't come riding up to the front of our yard on his bike later that day! As he sat there on his bike, he said, "Somebody told me if I asked for something, I was going to get it. Is that right?"

Suddenly I had lost the bravado I had just a couple of hours before. Meekly, I said, "Yes."

"Good," he said, "Can I have a peach?"

Reluctantly, and with relief, I said yes as I watched him get off of his bicycle, pluck a peach off of one of our trees, get back on his bicycle, and ride away.

I think a lot of violence was averted by that peach that day, although I felt quite a bit humiliated.

Nobody ever heard that story until now. I didn't even tell my mother and I didn't tell my brother.

I wonder what the story would have been like if we had had the Internet and I had posted my anger on Facebook--or Twitter--or Tik Tok--or one of those myriad social media. Would the situation have been solved with a peach?

The anonymity of social media gives us courage that we would not have when face-to-face with a person. It also allows us to make fools of ourselves. The effects can be long-lasting, such as when you're looking for a job or running for public office.

Some people have long memories when it comes to adverse information that is shared in writing and employers aren't always willing to give a guy or gal a break.

Maybe, we should give a person a break. But, maybe, we should think about what might happen somewhere down the road before we say or do something we'll regret--especially when it is on social (or anti-social) media.

Do you think big tech has had an overall positive or negative effect on American culture?

I would submit, people my age would say it has been negative overall. The pervasiveness of social media has eroded the moral fiber of this country. Coupled with big government’s indoctrination instead of education (teaching the founding principles, and where they were derived - the scriptures) we have witnessed the destruction of the family unit, the weakening of the moral principles that governed our conduct, and the realization that we must be self-reliant and charitable to others less fortunate. 

We have the power to restore America I grew up in and remember fondly; we just have to remember to do our duty to wrest the usurped power concentrated in D.C. from the elites that think they are our masters and return it to “We the People” to make them the servants they are supposed to be. 

Learn how by clicking this link.