WDATM

Are you wondering what that title means? I’m wondering also.  We have gone mad making up acronyms for everything we can possibly think of.  I just came up with this one, but what it represents may change before I ever get this posted.  I think we are forgetting names of things and just taking the shortcut and using these letters all strung in a row.

BLM always had a certain meaning to me from the earliest years of studying civics. Somewhere in government there was an agency know as the Bureau of Land Management.  You can no longer take for granted that is what it means.  One only has to turn on the radio or television and within minutes you will hear someone screaming BLM, and then explaining it stands for black lives matter.  Now the competition is building.  An equal or maybe larger segment is proclaiming just as loud and clear that it stands for blue lives matter, referring to police that find themselves in grave danger today.  We really need to proclaim ALM and forget the other divisive implications.  I want to be included and made to think my life matters.  ALM would make everyone feel better by stating all lives matter.

I survived for many years knowing what a BLT was and I could choose that or a PB&J. No one was confused and they didn’t have to google it to see what it was.  For some young people that haven’t been fully educated yet it stands for particular food.  Bacon, lettuce and tomato (BLT) sandwiches were common and offered on most all menus.  PB&J was simply a cutesy way of asking if someone wanted a peanut, butter and jelly sandwich.  Then it happened.  We had to exercise great caution when offering a PB&J because so many were discovered to have peanut allergies.  George Washington Carver didn’t know he was popularizing something that would bring so much grief to so many.  Bless his heart.

What else can confuse us? I went many years being dumb, some say I still am, trying to guess what BOGO stood for.  It was a long time ago I found the meaning of BYOB.  The old Baptist minister had a special meeting with some of my friends and me for using the slang JC and the boys.  We meant no disrespect, just thought it was smart to use that rather than state the obvious, Jesus Christ and the twelve disciples.  There are many acronyms out there that would fill a dictionary of Varnerisms. There is FDIC, NATO, POTUS, FLOTUS, SCOTUS, USMC,GOP, OAS, and USAF just to list a few.  No wonder half the time one has absolutely no idea what others are talking about.

Where is all this leading? I don’t know. I think I just figured out what WDATM stands for.  It simply asks What Does All THIS Mean.  Really it just shows the simplest of minds can create something completely worthless and then write a complete article about it.  I hope I held your attention long enough to read all this then I’ll know I have good company out there.

The one acronym that is often over used but still has been able to communicate a message to many people the world over is WWJD. We are in the midst of a crucial election season.  No acronym I am aware of can state the enormity of this election.  All I can do is encourage each one to study the candidates, become informed and educated.  When it comes time to cast your ballot, take a deep breath and ask for guidance in making a Christian decision, for whom to vote.  Every Christian has the duty to cast a vote for the one they feel can best lead us to the Promised Land.  You may ask WWJD, and then act accordingly.  With our choices today, I wonder, what would Jesus do?  I hope I can act the way he leads me.

Enjoy the comedy being displayed through the conventions. I’m going to.

 The thoughts and ideas expressed above are exclusively those of Jack Straley. We may agree, and that’s fine, or we may disagree, that’s okay too.  My sole purpose is to encourage others to think, study, and become involved. Exercise your freedom and above all else please vote.