Where does it end

At a very young age we are all taught the same lessons. To be honest, to play nice with others, to share, to be truthful and nice. Watching the news today and for the past few weeks I feel like I am being continually bombarded with actions contrary to our basic beliefs. Maybe this is what is inspiring me to write the lesson not learned. I know soon some of these things may turn into stories, but until then all I feel is a little dread and sorrow as the actions of the few we look up too take shape.

Watching Hilary Clinton's recent inquiry on capital hill and watching the new's coverage of it would lead one to believe that neither one had anything to do with one another. The way that Clinton's words were used against her was appalling. Many new's networks would splice sentences just for a sound bite. It is appalling and disgusting. We saw the same thing during the election from both sides. Grown men lowering themselves to the levels that even the most immature petulant child would refuse to go to.  Attack add's are nothing new and neither is this style of reporting, but our acceptance of it is. How can we accept this behavior from our supposed leaders, from the people we look up to, and gain our information, our "truth" from when we would not allow a six year old to do the same.

Everyday I hear about anti bullying and yet everyday I see it from the people we hold in the highest regard. How did we go down this path? At what point in societies development did it become okay for adults to be held to lower behavioral standards than children?

I do not know and to be honest I am still searching for something to help me find a road to travel down in search of an answer. I know this post does not have the most order or the most information, but it is something that I have been thinking of lately and is something that has inspired my writing and thought.  

In the wee hours of ice and thought

I never thought that I would admit to missing Jacksonville in January. I was wrong. Now I am not saying that Jacksonville winter's were perfect, but I never missed the ice storms that you get up here in Knox and Atl. This though all seems a little fluff when we have a few things to really discuss: Atlanta sports in January.

With the Falcons season coming to an end (in one of the worst way's possible I might add) one may be quick to switch to a new season. Considering the moves the Braves just made I am tempted, but before we can discuss that we must talk about the Falcons.

Matt Ryan and Mike Smith have had great regular season success. They have both proved themselves, but their style of play has been a little puzzling and worrying to me as I have watched this season develop and grow.

First we all know Ryan as "Matty Ice" the quarter back who leads keeps a cool head under high pressure. Now as wonderful as Matt has been in bringing the Falcons back, I question the same thing that I have seen alot of others question: why does he have to salvage and save so many games?

During the playoffs this year we saw the perfect example of this twice: Falcon's go up big and then lose the lead. Now I am not a football expert, nor do I claim to be, but what we saw this playoff season was that you can not always rely on the comeback win. Each time the Falcons have been a number one seed I always had this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that they were not as good as they were advertised. That a 12-4 season could have just as easily been 8-8 or worse if a few games had not shifted the right way.

You see what I want to ask is not why Ryan is so great in the "clutch", but why does he have to be? I feel to a certain extent that if your house keeps flooding you do not simply always call in the best repair crew to clean up, but at some point you try to find the source of the problem.

Personally I think it falls on a combination of the players, Mike Smith, and our conditioning.... Our team does not finish games and that is not acceptable.

The Falcon's failure though can not drown out the entire post when the Braves have done something amazing: they added Justin.... Yes they had to part ways with Prado (my favorite player) but they added one of the best young outfielders in the game. They added one of the best outfielders in the game for pennies on the dollar.

This past year I have been very critical of the Braves coaching and front office staff and now that they have done something well I feel I must give them the proper respect and admiration. In the Braves line up now they have the possibility of receiving 20 plus home runs from 7 of the nine spots. The Braves and Frank addressed the need to find a reliable way of scoring runs this off season and I must applaud them for that.

The last time I was at Turner Field I got to see Chipper retire and fans unite and now I must say I am excited for opening day again, a game I get to see with my dad.