This week brought some behaviors that clearly were shocking, or were they? 

Since the earliest ceremonies in small American towns following the Civil War, we have gathered on Memorial Day to honor and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation. This national day of remembrance is often felt most deeply among the families and communities who have personally lost friends and loved ones.

This national holiday allows all Americans to take a moment to remember the sacrifice of our valiant military service members, first responders and their families. Memorial Day is a day of both celebration and grief, accounting for the honor of our heroes and reflecting on their tragic loss.

During the annual Memorial Day parade in Hamilton Twp, Mercer County, the Mayor and her political followers decided to trump the Commander Benjamin Kaufman, the police escort and lead off the parade. All the while having the American flag to her back.This is a level of disrespect that boggles the mind of any normal individual. 

The American flag stands for freedom. Any level of disrespect to the flag, like that demonstrated at the parade in Hamilton is seen as intolerable by many Americans.

 At one time, all American’s took pride in the American flag and treated it with the respect it deserved.  They were taught flag etiquette and they practiced it.

If individuals no longer have any pride, respect or honor, I don’t believe anything else they do will ever amount to anything good. In order to lift our town from its current state, we need someone who respects America. We need somone who respects the freedoms our wonderful veterans and recruits have so unselfishly given to us. Perhaps one of the things we need to help lift America or towns back to its former glory, is to have public officials who actually respect the American flag and what it stands for. To ever disrespect the flag and put ones campaign ahead of those who sacrificed their lives to give us our freedoms, is just down right disgraceful.  To demand that one lead a parade and ignore the fact that a Memorial Day parade is to remember those who died for our country and not a political venue to fulfill a politicians egotistical requirements for the day.

At the end of the parade a very brave man, Charles Othold explained to the Mayor the real importance of Memorial Day. The day is not about her. She was less than happy. She should have been embarrassed and apologized, or better yet, never did it. She did none of that.

The level of disrespect and poor judgment does not end there for the town this week. A woman was at a TD bank in the town cashing in her buckets of coins two days ago. She accidentally left many coins at the terminal and dropped them on the floor as well. There was a Hamilton police officer behind her in line. He was in uniform. After the woman redeemed her ticket to collect her money the cop did a very interesting thing. He saw all the littered coins on the floor and around the terminal and did something he should not have.  He gathered up the woman's coins. He even bent down to pick up all the coins off the floor. He then put them with his coins to tally up the total. He did not tell the woman who was still in the bank collecting her cash, that she had left all these coins on the floor and at the terminal. He just kept them. This may seem like a small issue, but it is not. Do you think this demonstrates character? What would this officer do on a police report? What would he do during an average workday when it turned into a not so average workday? Would you trust this officer to protect and serve you properly?