Listening to a discussion on the radio this afternoon intrigued me and made me realize that I had not yet fully developed my thoughts on gay rights. The issue raised by the host was, “Even if I disagree with homosexuality for religious reasons, what is the problem with ‘civil unions’? The fact the someone is gay does not affect me or anybody else.”
A civil union would be an officially state recognized union, thus providing all the civil benefits typically associated with marriage. Government workers would therefore be able to put their partner on the insurance. It’s possible that private businesses would soon be required to provide the same benefits to gay partners.
So how do you make the argument against civil unions and homosexuality without bringing religious principles into the debate? Well, you can’t really, so even as I attempt to do so, I find it impossible.
When it comes to insurance benefits, I don’t have a problem with insurance companies making their own policies regarding “dependents”. If one of the partners is legally a dependent of the other… then fine…as long as that dependent status applies to all forms of dependent scenarios. For example, let’s say you have two old invalid aunts living together to share the costs of living. And say one of the aunts has a health insurance policy. As long as the second invalid aunt can be put on the policy, then I don’t have a problem with gay partners being on the same insurance policy too. Do insurance companies do this? I doubt it. Again, “dependency” is the key. The dependent partner would also have to be a dependent for tax purposes and all other legal purposes.
As far as ones sexual preference not affecting the rest of society, I do not agree. While the impact is far subtler than say…murder, there is still an impact of homosexuality on society.
First and foremost, gay people cannot reproduce. That has a direct impact on society. I have written before that my litmus test for legislating morality is this… “Does the issue at hand perpetuate a good society?” If it does not, then government should be able to legislate against it. Thus, issues like abortion, homosexuality, and drugs can be legislated against in order to perpetuate a good society. Defining “good” with all the moral relativists out there should be a treat and it brings in that dang religious discussion that everyone tries to avoid!
Side Discussion: My basic rule of thumb about government intervention on any grounds is that the government (defined as ‘rule by force’) should really stay out of everything possible. The basic role of government should be national defense, the punishment of injustice, and the issuance of a uniform currency. So even when I say the government can legislate moral issues, I am walking a very fine and dangerous line. America has long relied on a common sense of “good” that was pretty well unanimous amongst its citizenry for nearly 200 years (Thank you American Heritage class!). Now that common moral sense has been eroded. This erosion is due to the more common justification of evil practices, or in other words, God’s commandments are being ignored.
Another issue related to homosexuality’s affect on society is the evangelization of gayness (I love the religious connotation of the word “evangelization”, especially when ironically used with something so apparently anti-religious). It is in the nature of man to recruit others to believe as they do (just like the purpose of this blog is to make everyone believe exactly like I do). There are great efforts on the part of gay organizations to recruit more people to be gay and to accept homosexual lifestyles. That has an impact on perpetuating a good society.
I argue against gay rights regarding adoption of children using the same principles discussed above. In spite of their qualifications, gay parents are raising a generation that is compelled by its rearing to accept a negative lifestyle.
A look at statistics regarding the longevity of gay relationships would be interesting. It would also be interesting to look at the affects on the children of gay parents who separate. I wonder how it compares to traditional marriage and relationships.
All this being said, people with homosexuals should be treated with dignity and respect as fellow human beings and children of a loving Heavenly Father. I also do not deny that conventional marriages and parenting are also full of negative issues, again mostly due to the erosion of the common sense of “good”. I am just as concerned for societies sake because of the dangers related to co-habitation, divorce, abuse, and so forth.
My final premise is this…Government endorsement should be never be the tool of justification for any form of sin.
lunes, marzo 31, 2008
viernes, marzo 21, 2008
Barack's Speech follow-up
As I stated before, I intentionally avoided listening to talk radio on the day of Obama's race-speech because I wanted to read it and form my own opinions before they were tainted by the conservative pundits. I saw the speech as being on the verge of greatness, but time and time again Obama reverted back to socialist ideals for the solutions. Just after he states that African-Americans should recognize the abuses of their past, not remain as victims of the past and to take responsibility for their lives, he immediately resorts to a defeatist attitude saying that the black man cannot do it on his own. Barack seemed to destroy the very premise of his speech by saying that the black man needs the help of Big Brother, Uncle Sam, or in other words, they need more of the white man's money, more redistribution of wealth. It as if he is now the African American Robin Hood.
This article from Pat Buchanan hit the nail on the head in pointing out how many financial "ladders" have been extended to the black community over the last several decades. And to what avail? Government assistance has done nothing but perpetuate the poverty cycle by breeding entitlements and removing the motivation to raise the standard of living for succeeding generations.
A true black leader would have faith in the power within his people to overcome. A true black leader would recognize the danger of complacency and entitlements and he would encourage his people to reject all forms of government assistance. A true black leader would reject the rhetoric and tactics of Sharpton and Jackson. A true black leader does not have to be black. Would the black community accept a leader of any other race? It is my sincere hope that such a leader would not be rejected as a turn-coat and betrayer of the race as have been the likes of Cosby, Condi, Clarence, and Colin.
This article from Pat Buchanan hit the nail on the head in pointing out how many financial "ladders" have been extended to the black community over the last several decades. And to what avail? Government assistance has done nothing but perpetuate the poverty cycle by breeding entitlements and removing the motivation to raise the standard of living for succeeding generations.
A true black leader would have faith in the power within his people to overcome. A true black leader would recognize the danger of complacency and entitlements and he would encourage his people to reject all forms of government assistance. A true black leader would reject the rhetoric and tactics of Sharpton and Jackson. A true black leader does not have to be black. Would the black community accept a leader of any other race? It is my sincere hope that such a leader would not be rejected as a turn-coat and betrayer of the race as have been the likes of Cosby, Condi, Clarence, and Colin.
martes, marzo 18, 2008
The Speech that could have been great...
I was hoping for another speech in American history along the lines of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream". Admitedly, there were moments of greatness in Obama's race-speech followed by sudden surges of socialist ideas. I determined not to listen to talk-radio today so that I could read the speech and give it my own evaluation before my opinion became tainted with the likes of Dennis Miller and Glenn Beck. Yes, even a conservative can think critically on his own accord. So here it goes...a majority of the speech...parts with less substance deleted...with my remarks added mid-stream:
“…we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren. (Classic “together we can do it” rhetoric and I’m okay with that. I believe that we all do want a better future for our posterity.) This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. (Amen Brother Obama)
But it also comes from my own American story. I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners – an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible. (Interesting perspective you must be able to provide)
As such, Reverend Wright’s comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems – two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy (I’m with ya here Bro. Obama, but oh wait …Socialism Warning!) a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.
Like other black churches, Trinity’s services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. (So…rowdy behavior as you worship God is acceptable and you will realize that once you have been “trained”. Make a note of that.)
The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through – a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, ( I agree whole heartedly with this paragraph…but oh darn, here it comes again…Socialism Warning!) we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American. Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven’t fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today’s black and white students. (Ok, government run education is an issue that I struggle with. John Adams clearly advocated education provided through the means of government for the entire public. We have been able to see all the advantages and disadvantages of this and I agree that there is huge education inequality across the country. There’s education inequality from one school to the next in my own community, even from one teacher to the next. I just don’t think government agencies are good at running things.)
Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments – meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today’s urban and rural communities. (I understand, Brother Obama) A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one’s family, contributed to the erosion of black families – a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. (Wow! A powerful admission from a liberal senator. So, Mr. Obama, what are you going to do about a bad welfare system?...sadly he never answers that question.) (Socialism Warning) And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods – parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement – all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us. (Is it really a lack of basic services? I admit that external causes have been a stumbling block for a black person’s progress, but internal weaknesses are also to blame. The basic services comment implies a socialist view that government should be the provider.)
But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn’t make it – those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat (nice sound bite here) was passed on to future generations – those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways.
That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races (Amen Bro. Obama).In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don’t feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience – as far as they’re concerned, no one’s handed them anything, they’ve built it from scratch. They’ve worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas (See my blog entry “Made in USA”) or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they’re told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time. (Bro. Obama, Good job seeking to understand both sides of the issue.) Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren’t always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism. (As a regular conservative-talk listener, there is some truth to Obama’s statement here. Radio is still considered entertainment and legitimate discussions of racial injustice doesn’t regularly hit the airwaves. Would any one listen? We should, but since we don’t the evil corporations won’t pay for it with their sponsorship. Maybe we could pass laws that require stations to dedicate equal time to both sides of every issue. Oh wait, they tried that and it didn’t work!)
Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze – a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices (Op! Here are those evil business people again! They don’t care about anyone or anything but makin’ a buck. Just ignore the point the corporations and their employees are the biggest charitable contributors in our country), and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns – this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding (Amen to this last sentence). This is where we are right now. It’s a racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy – particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own. But I have asserted a firm conviction – a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people – that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union (Amen Bro. Obama).
For the African-American community (notice who he is speaking to here), that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. (Right on point…but wait….) It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. (It sounds good on the surface, but what is really meant by this statement? Should African-Americans go around demanding that all of the ills they face be resolved by the government, which brings us to yet another Socialism Warning…) But it also means binding our particular grievances – for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives – by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny. (Amen to this last sentence)
In the white community (audience change!), the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed (True). Not just with words, but with deeds (Socialism Warning) – by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; (Double Socialism Warning and a “philosophies of men mingled with scripture” Warning) by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper. In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world’s great religions demand – that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother’s keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister’s keeper. (Oh, and then a cowering to political correctness for women. Weak!)
Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well. That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, “Not this time.” This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can’t learn; that those kids who don’t look like us are somebody else’s problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time. (I reject your premise that the system is the sole fault. Where is your encouragement of the importance of family? You started to go there earlier, but then cut off. Satan’s attack on the family and our submission to him is what is “stealing the future” of our children.)(Socialism Warning) This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don’t have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together. (Obama has just destroyed the very precepts of his own speech. Here is assigns people to a state of no-hope, to a “can’t” do it attitude. You poor helpless people need the leadership of Uncle Obama to pull you up from your lowly state.)This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn’t look like you might take your job; it’s that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit (What about jobs going overseas so that businesses here in America can compete and keep their doors open on our soil? And what about the good that those businesses do to enhance the way of life in those impoverished countries?) This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should’ve been authorized and never should’ve been waged (oh, brother! Don’t even go there with me.) , and we want to talk about how we’ll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned (I agree with this last clause though).
This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. (Amen Brother Obama)
“…we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren. (Classic “together we can do it” rhetoric and I’m okay with that. I believe that we all do want a better future for our posterity.) This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. (Amen Brother Obama)
But it also comes from my own American story. I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners – an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible. (Interesting perspective you must be able to provide)
As such, Reverend Wright’s comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems – two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy (I’m with ya here Bro. Obama, but oh wait …Socialism Warning!) a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.
Like other black churches, Trinity’s services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. (So…rowdy behavior as you worship God is acceptable and you will realize that once you have been “trained”. Make a note of that.)
The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through – a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, ( I agree whole heartedly with this paragraph…but oh darn, here it comes again…Socialism Warning!) we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American. Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven’t fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today’s black and white students. (Ok, government run education is an issue that I struggle with. John Adams clearly advocated education provided through the means of government for the entire public. We have been able to see all the advantages and disadvantages of this and I agree that there is huge education inequality across the country. There’s education inequality from one school to the next in my own community, even from one teacher to the next. I just don’t think government agencies are good at running things.)
Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments – meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today’s urban and rural communities. (I understand, Brother Obama) A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one’s family, contributed to the erosion of black families – a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. (Wow! A powerful admission from a liberal senator. So, Mr. Obama, what are you going to do about a bad welfare system?...sadly he never answers that question.) (Socialism Warning) And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods – parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement – all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us. (Is it really a lack of basic services? I admit that external causes have been a stumbling block for a black person’s progress, but internal weaknesses are also to blame. The basic services comment implies a socialist view that government should be the provider.)
But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn’t make it – those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat (nice sound bite here) was passed on to future generations – those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways.
That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races (Amen Bro. Obama).In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don’t feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience – as far as they’re concerned, no one’s handed them anything, they’ve built it from scratch. They’ve worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas (See my blog entry “Made in USA”) or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they’re told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time. (Bro. Obama, Good job seeking to understand both sides of the issue.) Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren’t always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism. (As a regular conservative-talk listener, there is some truth to Obama’s statement here. Radio is still considered entertainment and legitimate discussions of racial injustice doesn’t regularly hit the airwaves. Would any one listen? We should, but since we don’t the evil corporations won’t pay for it with their sponsorship. Maybe we could pass laws that require stations to dedicate equal time to both sides of every issue. Oh wait, they tried that and it didn’t work!)
Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze – a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices (Op! Here are those evil business people again! They don’t care about anyone or anything but makin’ a buck. Just ignore the point the corporations and their employees are the biggest charitable contributors in our country), and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns – this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding (Amen to this last sentence). This is where we are right now. It’s a racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy – particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own. But I have asserted a firm conviction – a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people – that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union (Amen Bro. Obama).
For the African-American community (notice who he is speaking to here), that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. (Right on point…but wait….) It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. (It sounds good on the surface, but what is really meant by this statement? Should African-Americans go around demanding that all of the ills they face be resolved by the government, which brings us to yet another Socialism Warning…) But it also means binding our particular grievances – for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives – by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny. (Amen to this last sentence)
In the white community (audience change!), the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed (True). Not just with words, but with deeds (Socialism Warning) – by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; (Double Socialism Warning and a “philosophies of men mingled with scripture” Warning) by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper. In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world’s great religions demand – that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother’s keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister’s keeper. (Oh, and then a cowering to political correctness for women. Weak!)
Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well. That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, “Not this time.” This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can’t learn; that those kids who don’t look like us are somebody else’s problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time. (I reject your premise that the system is the sole fault. Where is your encouragement of the importance of family? You started to go there earlier, but then cut off. Satan’s attack on the family and our submission to him is what is “stealing the future” of our children.)(Socialism Warning) This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don’t have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together. (Obama has just destroyed the very precepts of his own speech. Here is assigns people to a state of no-hope, to a “can’t” do it attitude. You poor helpless people need the leadership of Uncle Obama to pull you up from your lowly state.)This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn’t look like you might take your job; it’s that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit (What about jobs going overseas so that businesses here in America can compete and keep their doors open on our soil? And what about the good that those businesses do to enhance the way of life in those impoverished countries?) This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should’ve been authorized and never should’ve been waged (oh, brother! Don’t even go there with me.) , and we want to talk about how we’ll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned (I agree with this last clause though).
This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. (Amen Brother Obama)
sábado, marzo 15, 2008
John Adams
I am currently reading David McCullough's book "John Adams". I finished reading "1776" a couple months back. I love both books. It is as captivating a history as I have ever read, and its not even writen as historical fiction. McCullough does a good job giving a fair perspective on the founding fathers, both their strengths and weaknesses. It is now an HBO special starting today. I don't have HBO, but when it comes out on DVD, I'm there!I feel like I relate to John Adams quite a bit. He had a thirst for knowledge. He was somewhat self-righteous. He boldly stated his opinions and didn't back down when he knew he was right. He recognized and struggled with his own vanity and desire for fame. He cherished his family and was happier when they were near him. He was deeply patriotic and religious and loved to talk and write about it. He seemed to work well with everyone even when they disagreed. Adams appreciated the fine arts and classical literature and at the same time resented materialism and decadence. He loved nature and adventure. Anyway, I find his strengths to be my strengths and his weaknesses to be my weaknesses.
Reading about these American heroes assures me that these men and women came to earth to do a God-ordained work and I am confident that God has rewarded them in the eternities for their faithful accomplishments. This gives me hope, that in spite of my failures and imprefections, perhaps the Lord will look upon me in mercy and his enabling power of grace will help me to accomplish the work he has sent me here to do.
miércoles, marzo 12, 2008
Made in USA
Saturday morning, I was in the garage with my son and he pointed out that almost all his toys say "Made in China". Now I consider myself a true American patriot, so when a seven year made special note of all this stuff made in China, I felt a sudden blow to my sense of pride in the ol' Red, White, and Blue.After a few minutes of pondering this tragedy, my pure-capitalist thoughts crept in and I started thinking... "if we can't make it here and sell it cheaper than they can make it and ship it here, then we don't deserve to have our junk 'Made in USA'." The recent Air Force decision to go with European-subsidized Airbus over Boeing comes to mind.
I haven't bought into the concept of tariffs on foreign goods to protect the interests of American industries. I understand from my Econ 110 class at BYU the alleged need for "stabilizing" farming subsidies, but I still don't believe it is a good practice. Like any good government program it has more abusers than beneficiaries.
What happened to letting supply and demand work its magic?! Sure, Mother Nature will throw a wrench into the machine occassionally and we might end up with too much wheat...but lets be more charitable with that extra stuff rather than pay "non-farmers" millions of dollars not to farm their land.
Markets tend to correct themselves by correcting our bad economic behavior.
Jobs going overseas or to Mexico don't disturb me as much as it bothers most people. (It just bugs me when I call customer service and I can't communicate with the person.) I suppose people that have lost jobs due to outsourcing would have a different perspective, like my uncle who worked at Novell for years and lost his job when it was sent to Asia for probably a tenth of the cost. Even still, I recall a John Stossel report that seemed to debunk the idea that we are losing net jobs to foreign countries. His report was that we are in reality creating higher paying replacement jobs here.
I discussed my view with a few people at work and they immediately bring up the counter-argument that we need to have trade policies that allow the US to compete on fair ground. Is that really even possible? If businesses improve the economy and standard of living in any country, even if a person only makes a buck a day, more power to them! Now, if people, especially children, are being abused to provide goods and services, than I agree...we should not do business with them.
Why is American labor so dog-gone expensive? Sometimes I blame unions. Sometimes I think the cause is just wage-creep and inflation. Our government has been self-destructive in our economic policies. Whatever the cause is...it is a problem.
I love the United States and I love my fellow Americans. I want every American to have a fulfilling job that supports their families. I do feel a sense of patriotic pride when I buy products made here. Would it make me feel better if every product we had was manufactured here? Absolutely!
What happened to the America that could whip the crud out of any other country when it came to resourcefulness, ingenuity, and efficiency?! We are more than what we have become. We just have to reach inside ourselves and pull it out. I just hope it doesn't take a depression, an uglier war, or another catastrophe to remind us of the strength of our roots. If we are too lazy, expect more than what we are worth, have an enormous sense of entitlement, and aren't willing to work for it, then again I say, we don't deserve "Made in USA".
McCain - Romney '08
Read this Mitt Romney interview conducted by Sean Hannity! Interview LinkDoesn't it sound like Mitt and John have arranged something...something like a VP nomination? I mean, look at Mitt! He is already playing the VP candidate role of being a pit-bull and going after Hillary and Hussein Obama, and very eloquently I might add. As soon as the interview started Mitt was trying to sneak in pro-McCain comments and he forced the interview to go that direction. Very curious and interesting!
If it comes true...I'm all for it!!!
(Thanks Dan for tipping me off to that interview and for your gut instinct. I think you're on to something here.)
jueves, marzo 06, 2008
What's wrong with this picture?
The picture above, drawn by Gary Thomas, came from the 50th and final book in a series of 1st Grade reader books. I was shocked and found it somewhat humorous to see the swine serving ham. What a feast indeed! Dang cannibals.
Assuming, as I always do, that there was some secret evil agenda promoting anthropophagy behind such an innocent depiction, I did some internet research on Modern Curriculum Press in Parsippany, New Jersey. Sure enough...very obscurely hidden on their website is a link asking for donations to support the Korowai tribe in West Papua, Indonesia, a tribe known to be modern day cannibals. I knew it! They are subliminally trying to convert our children into savages that eat their own kind. Or perhaps they are trying to recruit our young well-fed fleshy-faced kids to supplement their diets rather than their own scrawny and famine-malnourished victims.
Even more disturbing was when I finally noticed the name of the author, Janis Asad Raabe. That's a very Muslim name if I've ever seen one. What is he or she doing writing about eating ham in the first place?!
It's all very, very suspicious.
sábado, marzo 01, 2008
Another Embarrassing Moment
The 5th Grade was a wonderful time for me!
I was cast in one of the leading roles in the school musical program as Charbonneau, the french fur trapper and husband of Sacagawea, who helped guide Lewis and Clark. Someone even lent me a real coon-skin cap for the role. I got chickenpox that year and gave them to the cute little girl who sat next to me, Lanaya Wilcox; which prevented her from competing in the district spelling bee that she surely would have won that year. I was competing in sports like soccer and football. I had been reinstated into Cub Scouts by then and was well on my way to my Webelos Award. Most touching of all that happened that year was the Mother’s Day poem I had written that won the local essay contest. It was rewarded by a dozen roses for my mom, the poem was framed, and we got a family meal gift certificate to Denny’s which was presented to me and my mom in front of all of Lincoln Elementary School at an assembly. What a treat! When it came to fine dining, Denny’s was a whole step above our monthly outing to Arctic Circle.
Side Story: My dad was a hard working framer during those years. He didn’t make a lot of money, but we never felt deprived of anything. Mom and Dad loved us and my youth was filled with fun. My parents would splurge once a month by clipping the coupons from the newspaper and took us to Arctic Circle. The whole family could eat for about $12.00. We always looked forward to the prize in the kid’s meal and I recall that often we’d go to Lakeview Park and feed the ducks our french fries. At some point in our fast food maturation, we realized that we could upgrade our soda pops to milk shakes. We loved the Oreo milk shakes and the bigger the chunk of Oreo, the better! One time I thought I had a full size Oreo at the bottom of my shake, but as it turned out, it was a greasy bolt that had fallen out of the milk shake machine. Yuck! Anyway, back to my embarrassing moment story…
I really enjoyed school and was excelling in every aspect of my young “Leave it to Beaver” life. Looking back, I was verging on immense popularity among my teachers and peers…and then it happened!
It was five minutes until the end of the school day. Mrs. Talkington must have run out of lesson material for the day as she asked us to sit with our hands and heads on our desks in silence as we waited for the bell to ring. The desks were those ones with the faux wood tops attached by metal piping to the orange plastic chairs. I was sitting on the back row, right next to my best friend Ira Burton.
Suddenly, a whoosh of air came from my derriere, and reverberated on the plastic chair, thus amplifying the volume to a near deafening rumble. The class of 5th graders erupted into laughter as they turned and looked in my direction. (Did I mention yet that I was a certifiable genius?) In that moment, when everyone looked at me, and in spite of my embarrassed and red flushed face, I started laughing and pointed at my best friend Ira Burton thereby deflecting the shame onto him.
Ira was small in stature and a good natured fellow and he too was a certifiable genius. While rolling with laughter to the point of tears streaming down his face, he countered my finger pointing by pointing back at me and shouting above all the commotion that I was indeed the culprit. My cover was blown!
“Oh the shame. Thought of changing my name. And I’d get down hearted, every time that I far...” Hey! This is a family friendly blog. (Thanks Simba and Timón for your perfectly appropriate lyrics)
Needless to say, I was embarrassed to the extreme. As Mrs. Talkington quelled the snickers and scoffs, Scott Davis, the chubby troubled kid in the class, called me “fart-boy.” He got a detention and was forced to give me an awkward apology, which took the whole incident from embarrassment to humiliation.
I’ve never been the same since.
I was cast in one of the leading roles in the school musical program as Charbonneau, the french fur trapper and husband of Sacagawea, who helped guide Lewis and Clark. Someone even lent me a real coon-skin cap for the role. I got chickenpox that year and gave them to the cute little girl who sat next to me, Lanaya Wilcox; which prevented her from competing in the district spelling bee that she surely would have won that year. I was competing in sports like soccer and football. I had been reinstated into Cub Scouts by then and was well on my way to my Webelos Award. Most touching of all that happened that year was the Mother’s Day poem I had written that won the local essay contest. It was rewarded by a dozen roses for my mom, the poem was framed, and we got a family meal gift certificate to Denny’s which was presented to me and my mom in front of all of Lincoln Elementary School at an assembly. What a treat! When it came to fine dining, Denny’s was a whole step above our monthly outing to Arctic Circle.
Side Story: My dad was a hard working framer during those years. He didn’t make a lot of money, but we never felt deprived of anything. Mom and Dad loved us and my youth was filled with fun. My parents would splurge once a month by clipping the coupons from the newspaper and took us to Arctic Circle. The whole family could eat for about $12.00. We always looked forward to the prize in the kid’s meal and I recall that often we’d go to Lakeview Park and feed the ducks our french fries. At some point in our fast food maturation, we realized that we could upgrade our soda pops to milk shakes. We loved the Oreo milk shakes and the bigger the chunk of Oreo, the better! One time I thought I had a full size Oreo at the bottom of my shake, but as it turned out, it was a greasy bolt that had fallen out of the milk shake machine. Yuck! Anyway, back to my embarrassing moment story…
I really enjoyed school and was excelling in every aspect of my young “Leave it to Beaver” life. Looking back, I was verging on immense popularity among my teachers and peers…and then it happened!
It was five minutes until the end of the school day. Mrs. Talkington must have run out of lesson material for the day as she asked us to sit with our hands and heads on our desks in silence as we waited for the bell to ring. The desks were those ones with the faux wood tops attached by metal piping to the orange plastic chairs. I was sitting on the back row, right next to my best friend Ira Burton.
Suddenly, a whoosh of air came from my derriere, and reverberated on the plastic chair, thus amplifying the volume to a near deafening rumble. The class of 5th graders erupted into laughter as they turned and looked in my direction. (Did I mention yet that I was a certifiable genius?) In that moment, when everyone looked at me, and in spite of my embarrassed and red flushed face, I started laughing and pointed at my best friend Ira Burton thereby deflecting the shame onto him.
Ira was small in stature and a good natured fellow and he too was a certifiable genius. While rolling with laughter to the point of tears streaming down his face, he countered my finger pointing by pointing back at me and shouting above all the commotion that I was indeed the culprit. My cover was blown!
“Oh the shame. Thought of changing my name. And I’d get down hearted, every time that I far...” Hey! This is a family friendly blog. (Thanks Simba and Timón for your perfectly appropriate lyrics)
Needless to say, I was embarrassed to the extreme. As Mrs. Talkington quelled the snickers and scoffs, Scott Davis, the chubby troubled kid in the class, called me “fart-boy.” He got a detention and was forced to give me an awkward apology, which took the whole incident from embarrassment to humiliation.
I’ve never been the same since.
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