Gun Control

Last week we learned that the current DOJ head Eric Holder is on the record in 1995 seeking to instigate a campaign within the education system that would effectively treat guns with the same repulsion usually reserved for cigarettes or illegal drugs (the former, of course, receives government subsidies for the production of its key ingredient.) Of course  the right to own a gun is a specific positive liberty delineated by the Constitution of the United States, and mind you the Constitution is a RULE BOOK - a set of restraints upon the government's power and authority - and  we are a nation governed by laws,  not by the whims of a powerful elite. But it really doesn't feel that way, does it?

In the video , Holder states that a school board should daily espouse an anti-violence or anti-gun mantra. “Every day, every school, at every level,” he stated. Holder himself calls this approach “brainwashing.” “We have to be repetitive about this,” Holder said. “We need to do this every day of the week, and just really brainwash people into thinking about guns in a vastly different way.”

OK... so I have a Question: If this type of indoctrination is perceived as being so potentially effective at curbing gun violence, i.e. a behavior, why is it not being   applied to Sex Ed classes? Just what are the effects on the lives of teenage moms, and their children, the aborted babies, and the costs to society? They are tremendous and self-propagating. Teenage pregnancy is crippling to the futures of both the mother and her child(ren). And the economic costs to the nation in cash outlays for food, housing, and medical care do not stop with that mother and her children; 22% of daughters of teen mothers go on to become teenage mothers themselves. And so on and so on. Just think of the change we could effect in society if teen pregnancies, and even young adult pregnancies, were eliminated?


Social, educational and financial costs of teen pregnancy (from www.teenhelp.com) 

• The United State spends $7 billion each year due to the costs of teen pregnancy. 
•  Only one-third of teenage mothers complete high school and receive their diplomas.  
• By age 30, only 1.5 percent of women who had pregnancies as a teenager have a college degree. 
•  80 percent of unmarried teen mothers end up on welfare 
•  Within the first year of becoming teen mothers, one-half of unmarried teen mothers go on welfare.  
• The daughters of teen mothers are 22 percent more likely than their peers to become teen mothers. 
• Sons of teenaged mothers have a 13 percent greater chance of ending up in prison as compared to their peers. 

The most logical approach would be to combine gun control education with sexual control education. Brainwash those hormone-ravaged boys about the dangers of unholstering their factory-issued 'piece'... and then, as a society and as part of government policy, hold THEM accountable financially for the babies they produce. Word might get around that sex is a wee bit more expensive than even   Sandra Fluke would lead us to believe.

Of course I jest. Because everyone knows that Sex Ed is not about hammering home the dangers and the unintended consequences of sex outside of a mature and committed relationship, of the inappropriate, careless use of one's 'piece'.  And the powers-that-be in congress  - and they are present in every congress - can't bear the thought of young men being held responsible for the life they've created... no no no, let Uncle Sam raise your child... you just run along and be more careful next time, and in the process creating a generation of 'boy-men' with no expectations placed upon them whatsoever and ill-prepared to become real men.

No, Sex Ed takes aim at teaching kids how to handle sex 'safely', so that they do not have to forego pleasure, but can be trained to minimize the risks.   Yet when it comes to firearms, the same crowd in favor of teaching kids how to 'safely' engage sexually instead demonizes guns to the point of suspending students for drawing pictures of guns during class time or wearing novelty T-shirts with gun related themes.  Gun illustration  , T-Shirt  .

So why not either train children and youth in the public education system as to the correct and safe way to handle firearms, and the responsibilities and consequences of using a gun, while we are simultaneously teaching them those very same lessons regarding their sexual behavior?

Or, conversely, if the route continues to be the demonization of firearms, then the demonization of inappropriate sexual encounters should likewise be taught.

For the life of me, I cannot see the difference. Well, except for that pesky little part about the   Second Amendment.

Dad Sayings

Been thinking about my Dad, and some of the many 'sayings' he had.  He didn't lecture with them... more like he subtly taught with them.  As sentences, they were simple and to the point, which no doubt contributes to their effectiveness as teaching agents.  Many will be familiar to people of my generation, such as:

"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

"There's no such thing as a free lunch."

"Buyer beware."

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going."

"A fool and his money are soon parted." 

I probably muttered silently to myself on more than one occasion upon hearing these, even  innocuously offered as they were.  But they stuck.  And they taught me real lessons about life, and about human nature.  And while everyone of them is still true today, because human nature does not change, I am stunned by their disappearance from the American lexicon, and their demise as inheritable wisdom.  The greatest gift we pay forward to the next generation is not material or monetary in nature, it is the accumulated wisdom of the ages.  Wisdom equips us to engage the world.

Consider:

How much of the Housing Crisis could have been prevented by listening to my Dad say, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."?  Or for that matter, "A fool and his money are soon parted."

How many politicians would be patently unelectable if "There's no such thing as a free lunch" were the standard grid through which the electorate filtered political speak? 

What would Food Assistance Program enrollment figures look like if people confidently embraced, deep down, that "When the going gets tough, the tough get going", secure in the knowledge that they can in fact manage their own destiny?

Maybe we need to believe more in ourselves, our own abilities and gifts, heed more of the wisdom collected in the lives of our family members and close friends, and through that process rely less on sweet sounding promises offered from the lips of strangers.

My Dad passed away in 2000.  But the lessons he learned from his life - and it was not an easy life, are his bequest to me. I count them amongst my greatest treasure.

Thanks Dad!

Dreamer or Doer?

Two young boys were out inspecting their community in the aftermath of a powerful hurricane.  Devastation and disorder greeted them at every juncture, every turn.  As they drew near to their favorite beach, they noted the near complete obliteration of "Harley's", their favorite snow cone and snack shack.  For a moment they stood in silence, each inwardly recalibrating their own 'reality' compass.  As they approached the debris heap, Ned kicked through the debris, his thoughts darkened and overwhelmed by the loss of so much that had been familiar.  Zeke drifted off to the edge of the rubbish pile that had once been Harley's, and began digging in the sand and rubble.  After several minutes, Ned urged Zeke to leave, but Zeke declined. Ned bid him goodbye, not caring to gaze any longer upon the jumbled heap that had once been the symbol of so many fond and glorious memories. 

Zeke nodded, and kept at his digging. He used shattered lumber to drag the sand smooth.  He found one gallon  plastic buckets that had once held flavoring for snow cones, and five gallon containers full of pretzels and sand.  Zeke worked for hours, until his concerned parents showed up to check on his well-being.  This is what they found:

We are not defined by the circumstances that life hurls at us; rather it is our response to circumstances that defines us.... some would even say, shapes us.

The Tea Party: In the Crosshairs

What follows is a comment I posted on Facebook after this cartoon showed up on my page. (I've tidied up the passage a bit for the blog).

"You will get very little argument from Tea Party folks about this cartoon. The Tea party supporters strongly maintain that Lawmakers need to be forced to live by the same laws they pass for the People. As it is, we are rapidly becoming feudal, and the more money we send to DC, the more empowered are our lords. Instead, why not keep more of the money in the states, where we have better access to our state level 'representatives' and a bigger voice in how our money is spent... and not spent. When money goes to DC, it simply becomes fodder for the unending power grab, a vehicle for passing out goodies to other states for projects that 99% of the people in the US couldn't care less about nor benefit from.  But you can bet it benefits the politicians big time, because these favors aren't forgotten. And these are conservative and liberal favors. I can't control what a NY or CA U.S. Congressmen  vote   to spend money on, but I can get the attention of my representatives at the state level. We need to quit labeling each other and denigrating one another based on political beliefs... because it is pure bigotry to do so. As citizens we need to share ideas amongst ourselves that work toward solving these problems instead of bickering and backbiting like a bunch of highschool girls, and terminate our fantasy that our political system and its instruments will suddenly 'see the light' and find their way to doing the very hard things that need  to be done. The system is corrupt (and broke).... and the best way to cure it is to starve it down to a controllable size. If you like the status quo and the crony capitalism, then by all means, raise taxes and send more money to DC so the politicians can continue to feed your tax money to the corporate bandits, the 'too big to fail' financial entities, car companies, etc. Its just not my cup of tea.

Change the world

Some say our world today is running short of certain things, such as courage, compassion and conviction. We who agree that the world would benefit from an increase in these qualities must commit to being a source for them.

That is, of course, a far larger dilemma.

Quick... join a group

Securing special treatment in the USA can now be described by a simple formula: Identify yourself as a member of a  minority group (any minority group - make one up if need be), set up your ideology for failure in the public square, then watch in amazement as your ideology is fast tracked into a law granting special protections and privileges via the courts. 

(Bonus: Enforcement will come gratuitously via the PC Apparatus - which is not entirely free: it will cost someone their 1st amendment rights.)

Simple enough, until you play it all out to its logical conclusion.  When our rights and protections  are sourced from our affiliation with some group or organization, rather than the 'inalienable rights endowed to us by our Creator', the specific protections from government abuse incorporated into the U.S. Constitution are usurped by the manufactured rights and privileges accorded to various groups.

Not a member of a recognized group? Sorry, but that means you are a loser.
Oops,  'loser' is mean spirited.

Let's just go with Epic Fail.

An American Cause: The Violence in Mexico

Do you deplore the violence in Mexico and on the border? Hopefully not a single drug user will dare to answer that question with a 'Yes'.

The raging violence and systemic corruption in Mexico, the murders of innocent citizens on both sides of the U.S./Mexican border, is the product of the American drug user. Each and every drug user, from the homeless junkie to the elites in Hollywood and corporate America, can hold their hands before their eyes and see the blood of the border war trickling down. The corruption and violence that exist in Mexico are the products of the American drug users' ravenous cravings to feel good. It turns out that the price of drug use is measured not in dollars, but in human lives and the suffering experienced by surviving family members of those who bear the title 'casualty' in the overall equation of making rich Americans 'feel good'. (And for the record, if you can afford to purchase drugs, a non-essential luxury item, that is the new definition of rich.)

The darkness and emptiness of America's soul craves filling. A gnawing sense of hunger and want, misguided and unchecked, has morphed into a sensuous craving for euphoria, for heaven on earth. Seeking a utopia where hardship, suffering and despair are shoved to the furthermost recess of our collective mind. For all our wealth (now being revealed as the illusion that it has always been), Americans are restless, dissatisfied, always on the prowl for 'more', be it possessions, food, luxuries, or just plain pleasure, we are relentless in our hunger. But because we are seeking to fuel a dying fire not with oxygen and timbers, but with water, the craving only grows.

Wealth and status do not impact drug use; emptiness does. The advantage of opulence, prestige and materialism is insufficient to prop up even the icons of the privileged world. The root of drug use and euphoria is selfishness: it is extreme preoccupation with self and the pleasuring of self. It is narcissistic and toxic, as evidenced by the unchecked hunger for drugs in this country in spite of the desperate consequences it has for those in an economically underdeveloped country. The impact of drug- affiliated corruption on poverty levels in Mexico is simply the compounded interest of the destructive investment made by drug using Americans bent on retreating from the real canvas of life into a make believe world of amusement and pleasure. And so they flee into a cave of neurons and synapses and there they suckle the nectar of self-indulgence, momentarily escaping the reality that stands ready to confront them when they dare leave the honey cave.

Americans are long on possessions, on fluff and bling and other perishable 'assets', but far too short on spiritual vision and substance. Bankrupt comes to mind. Principles, values and virtues are vanishing from the life accounts of Americans, and America the Nation can be no greater than Americans, the human beings of the nation. A nation comprised of soulless, selfish people cannot through some strange alchemy become a Nation of stalwart fortitude and a beacon of hope for the huddled masses across the globe. Afterall, what can the cowering lost offer to the one who has learned through hardship and trial that intangible principles and abiding faith are the foundation upon which a life, a meaningful life, is built.

On America

America is an incredible country. In the history of the planet there has never been such a place, such a convergence of human spirit and will set free to sail the winds of chance and discovery and fortune.

The human mind is unrelenting in its creativity and objectivity: it is inherently curious and conveniently endowed with the capacity to ferret out answers to the questions posed by itself. Individually, we each possess these attributes in different qualities and quantities, and when we commingle in the free market system known as Capitalism, we erupt in a synergy that expands our species’ very notion of possibility, if not in fact reality.

As a capitalist free nation, American citizens are free to endeavor in legal enterprises and then be rewarded as the marketplace sees fit. But financial reward, materialism, should never be viewed as the enduring blessing of freedom. Because my passions and gifts differ from the mechanic’s whose differ from the surgeon’s whose differ from the teacher’s, we are each variously compensated by the marketplace. When the joy of living and of being an American is reduced to how much stuff we can acquire (viz a viz money), we have prostituted our joy and freedom, exchanging that which has intrinsic value for that which possesses only fleeting worth.

America is a sacred trust. For everyday Colonial farmers and merchants to have been compelled to engage in a war of impossible odds against the military might of the Crown belies the desperate political environ that had grown up around them. These Colonists were stirred to action while at the same time drawn inexorably toward the destiny that would become self-government. Today, like every day since the Colonists declared war against Britain, we personally experience freedom to pursue our own happiness because of the courage and dedication to principle to which the Revolutionaries had committed themselves.

What are the principles that motivate Americans today? How might those who brought America into nationhood view our performance as keepers of the trust they handed to us?

America derives its blessings from her moral grounding, the fruits of human ingenuity, and from certain provisions of the government for the general public, namely a national defense and an infrastructure that benefits the masses. The role of government in the United States of America is not, and shall never be, the intentional redistribution of wealth from one individual to another. The position of most liberal and even some moderate politicians today would be viewed by our Colonial predecessors as heretical, a dereliction of duty, an extinguishing of the sacred trust that is the heart of America.

Today America is synonymous with Freedom. Freedom to try, freedom to fail, freedom to succeed. But not the freedom to demand money from others simply based on disparity. Consider this: In academia the student is given the opportunity to perform to the best of his or her ability and to be rewarded with an education and a GPA that will serve them for years to come. But since not all students are equally intellectually endowed and/or motivated to excel academically, should we instead redistribute the wealth of the overachievers to the underachievers, handing over points and grades from the first group to the latter? The successful students’ A grades become C’s, and the failing students’ become C’s. Hardly a worthy objective or means.

Certainly we have among our citizenry those who need extra help and attention. People with physical or mental disabilities may be limited in their ability to participate in capitalism. And that is why the human spirit is also dressed in compassion. We help those who truly need a hand.

But we should never think it courageous or honorable or even acceptable to demand from others their rightfully acquired possessions. If it is not right for me to approach my wealthier neighbor and demand money from him, it is no more right for the government to do so in our stead.

Thanks, but no thanks.