THE ELEVENTH COMMANDMENT: THOU SHALL NOT BECOME COMPLACENT!

A series of essays....

COMPLACENCY IS THE ENEMY OF PROGRESS.
THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO BECOME COMPLACENT.

....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

Today is the day—the moment of truth. A day that will go down in infamy, filled with scandal and dishonor, or—it will be one to be proud of knowing that Americans believe in the freedom and happiness that stems from a good life with equal opportunity for everyone! Today is a day marked with historical connotations that will either cradle these times within the gentle hands of democracy and truth, or beat up already weakened minds and bodies with fists of rage, continued oppression.

Today is the day—the moment of truth!

The idea of being or becoming complacent should have, at least, been one of the Ten Commandments. Not knowing which of the original Ten Commandments it should have replaced, it may have become the Eleventh Commandment instead: “Thou shall not become complacent.”

Remembering my Catholic upbringing and teachings, I recall that the Church doesn’t see the Ten Commandments as arbitrary rules and regulations from the person upstairs, but as commandments for our own protection. “Obey them and eternal happiness is yours. Disobey them and suffer the consequences.” When explained in this manner, my young, six or seven-year-old self would look at the elaborately layered and robed priests and nuns as flesh and blood symbols authorized to dole out any punishment they saw fit if we did not comply by these simple rules of the Church.

It’s not until we grow-up do we come to realize that we are our own judge and arbiter of our personal life and habits. We alone determine if we will allow the commandments to be our guide to being a person of sterling character with an elevated ethical behavior.

Today is the day—the moment of truth!

Thou shall not become complacent, comfortable, content, smug, or lazy. The moment we reach the pinnacle of self-satisfaction or the most successful point in our lives and feel there is nothing more we can do, doubting there are any new accomplishments to strive for, we have become complacent. We are experiencing a feeling of quiet pleasure and are often unconcerned with unpleasant realities or future harmful possibilities.

If we continue to drop our guard and stop protecting ourselves against trouble, relax our vigilance, we could end up in a world of hurt. Unfortunately, on November 8, 2016, we did just that. Through our acute feeling of complacency, belief and rationale that others would ‘get the job done for us,’ and they would vote for the moral and ethical logic of Hillary Clinton, we allowed for a wide enough crack in our standards to permit the hatred, lies, and indecencies of a dishonorable man to infiltrate our lives and infect our souls.

We need time to peel back the layers of hate and mistrust after the last four years; time to heal and then surge forward with our positive ideas and plans for a better life.

As we sit here on Election Day, battling for the soul of the nation, I have to ask myself if we’ve truly learned invaluable lessons during the past four years? Do we now understand that it is never a good time to let our guard down and become complacent? And, most importantly, will we allow the hate, bigotry, and selfish greed to carry on for another four years and watch the country be crushed even further by hopelessness and despair?

Today is the day—the moment of truth!

It’s about time we grow up, shed our childish fears, and become adults. If you haven’t voted already, today is your final chance to make it be known that you’re not going to be bullied any longer! You will not give up the right to participate in our political process by relinquishing your vote. You will become an active participant in the consequences of your own future. You will not be complacent and later only wish that you had exercised the honor and privilege of making your voice be heard.

Yes, today is the final day—your moment of truth. Go to the polls, masks on, and MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT!!

Copyright © 2020 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved