Word Crimes

I thought this was pretty funny, and since I have not posted for awhile thought it would be worth sharing! :)

Words hurt?

OK..so I fully agree with the gentleman in this clip!  We the people give the words power. Words are only hurtful when you allow them to have power over you!   PS...I love that the audience BOO's Whoopi when she says "spoken like a true white guy".

So I decided that I would post at least once a month (at least for now).  As time moves forward this may change, but I figure as long as I have readers out there in the world I should make an effort!  Thanks for your continued support! :)

Parent

As my children grow, I often find myself pondering.  I question myself all of the time; am I doing a sufficient job raising my children?  Am I being a good parent?  With those questions in mind, I have to ask you as a reader what do you believe makes a good parent?  What is your definition?

I think of several things when I hear the word parent(s).  The obvious comes to mind, a caregiver or someone who gave life to another.  As I went to Google and did a search I was more than a little disturbed at some of the stuff I read.  More then a couple got under my skin, and to be completely honest most of what was written on the urban dictionary site really irritated me as well as made me sad.  When you read definitions like " the person or people who pretend to care" you have to wonder what happened to make that person feel that way?  In all reality, who of us at one point or another didn't feel that way (most likely you were a teen, at least I was).  The things I read there actually made me feel bad for our society.  Too many times parents want to be a child's best friend, I say they have enough best friends what they need are parents who are willing to tell them no from time to time, teach them the difference between right and wrong and love them regardless of the mistakes that are made.  

Well, back to me.  How do I measure up? Is there any way that I could figure out just how I was doing? Not too long ago on a car ride with my very soon to be 15 year old son, the unexpected came.  With the school year coming to a close I reflected a bit and had made mention that it was hard for me to fathom the fact that in just a few short years I would start to have kids leaving home (the mind feels young though the body says otherwise).  I said to my son that I was slightly concerned that as a mom, I might not be living up to my end of the bargain and might be failing them as a parent.  What happened next was completely unexpected and wonderful.  With the utmost disgust in his voice he said "are you kidding me?"  I really didn't know how to respond and sat driving down the road in silence as he continued "you have done amazing things with us, and if I can raise my kids half as well as you have done I will still have amazing kids!"  I continued to get a bit of a lecture as we drove home.  I tried hard to hold myself together; though I don't think I did a very good job!  With tears streaming down my face all I could muster was a timid "thank you son."

Becoming a parent is something I knew I wanted in my life, what it means to be a parent is nothing like I expected.  There are a few things I have learned along the way.  First: Show respect for each other and admit when you are wrong!  I am by no means a perfect parent and I never will be.  I make mistakes all of the time, but if I do make a big flub; I have enough respect for my kids to "man up" and admit it.  Some might say this in itself is a mistake, but at our house we have learned a mutual respect.  My kids know that I make mistakes and also understand that I have enough respect for them as individuals to admit to them when I do. Secondly; expect the unexpected.  Sometimes this is like a bat to the face, but most of the time it is subtle. Finally and most important is that being a parent means 100% unequivocal love. We are all on this journey of life together whether we like it or not and by no means is it going to be easy. Like the Beatles sang: 

Little Miss Bossy

I was asked a while back to post about the newest campaign out there; Ban Bossy and to be completely honest I was wondering if I would ever get to it.  Today however it popped back into my mind and here I am.  I jumped on over to Google and did a quick search and came upon this wonderful article in the LA Times.  

To be completely honest I think the entire thing is completely asinine and I firmly believe that banning any word regardless of how hurtful someone may think it is, is extremely dangerous!  The definition of bossy is to enjoy giving orders or to be domineering.  For those who are all on board with this campaign to use the excuse that the word bossy undermines girl's ability to be leaders is complete bull!  I do not believe that the words bossy and leader belong in the same sentence!  A true leader, leads by example and does not give orders, but asks.  If a young woman is stomping around being demanding and barking orders isn't that being bossy? I say yes!  Now flip it.  If that same young woman asks and is willing to get in and do the work alongside that is a true leader.  Can you see the difference?

I find it disturbing that with so many problems in the world today that so many people are jumping on the Ban Bossy bandwagon. Words only have the power we give them.  Wouldn't it be a much better use of time to start leadership camps for girls to teach them about what true leadership is; to teach girls the difference between a true leader and someone being bossy?

Simply putting a famous face to something doesn't give it real merit, yet so many people think because someone famous is behind this cause or that, that they too should jump on board.  I wish people would wake up and think for themselves, educate themselves and have a smarter mouth!  If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, we call it a duck; so why is bossy any different?

Freedoms

Some might wonder what I was thinking when I posted the video regarding the Bundy controversy in Nevada; and to be completely honest it was because I have been thinking a lot about our freedoms lately.  I believe that what is going on in Nevada right now screams out to the people of this nation to step up and reclaim what is ours.  Our government (both parties are to blame) keeps taking away from the people all in the name of  "keeping us safe". 

What is freedom?  Be definition freedom is the power or right to act, speak or think as one would like without hindrance or restraint.  With this in mind, why is it when someone doesn't agree with what you have to say one party or another forgets that you have the freedom, that basic right to speak your mind without hindrance or restraint?  I recently attended a Constitutional Symposium where Elder Dallin H. Oaks (a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) spoke.  He did not speak in a religious capacity but spoke from his many years and vast knowledge in the legal field.

He touched on several things, but the one that stood out to me the most was how intertwined our Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion really is.  With his he talked about simple disagreements, and how often times when we might not agree with someone (my example would be politics) we get labeled as a bigot or a racist.  Do you not find it sad that in a nation of supposed freedoms we are labeled a particular way because we don' see eye to eye with someone? This goes hand and hand with censorship and politically correct speech.  Elder Oaks stated that far too often we see that the marketplace is used to punish those who may say something  that is unpopular in popular culture or how people are criminalized for so called "hate speech".  How often does someone say something and then the media only plays a small clip taking a comment completely out of context.  Far too frequently in my opinion.  Along the same lines we can also see how popular football player Tim Tebow was criticized by many individuals and media outlets for speaking out about his Christian beliefs.  I actually stumbled across an article that harshly criticized him for speaking at a Christian University because the university held to a strict belief of no premarital sex.

 First off, there are several Christian schools that teach this and uphold this moral code and it is their freedom to do so.  The only reason it became controversial is because the lame stream media made it so.  Why does someone with morals not have the freedom to voice their opinion?  I guess because it isn't the "cool" thing to do, but it is their right to exercise their freedoms!  Come on America, there needs to be more Tim Tebow's in the world! He is that rare gem in a garden of weeds! Could we really ask for a better popular role model?

Personally when I think of freedom the word agency also comes to mind.  In the beginning God (or whatever higher power you choose to believe in) gave us all agency, the ability to choose good or bad for ourselves.  In today's world some may call this personal responsibility.  My belief is that I am responsible for the choices I make, no one else...ME!  If I choose to do something bad, I am not free from the consequences of that bad choice.  I have to stand up and take responsibility for the choice I made. In the society we live in we see parents constantly taking away their kids' freedom by not allowing them to reap what they sow.   A prime example happened in 2013 when teens trashed an ex-football players home and the parents instead of being mad at their kids got made at the man and actually threatened to sue him.  Excuse me?  What in the crap is this world coming too?  Many parents do this in the name of "helping" their child, but really what are they teaching them other then they can do whatever and mommy or daddy will be there to clean up the mess. They are not helping them, they are hurting them!  Freedom doesn't mean that we are free from taking responsibility for our actions!

Freedom means different things to different people, so I thought I would take the question to my friends and family on Facebook.  The responses were great!  Here are just a few I thought I would share!

From my good friend James who is currently serving our country and stationed in Afghanistan...

    "Freedom is not being free from consequences.  This is the great lie.  Every decision we make has consequences, especially the private ones.  In fact, I would argue that on an eternal scale it is the decisions we make when no other earthly soul is looking that will have the greatest ramifications on us. So Freedom certainly is not being free from consequences as such is both impossible and immoral.  I would say that Freedom as we have come to define is comprised of three essential parts, First equal opportunity. Everyone in this country has the same opportunities available to them.  Sure some get a leg up the ladder because of birth into wealth or fame, but birth alone does not disqualify anyone in this country from pursuing the desires of their heart. Second would be consistency of consequence for those who are accused of violating our laws.  It is absolutely imperative that the rights of the accused are feverishly protected.  Our Founding Fathers knew this, and that is why the majority of the Bill of Rights deals specifically with this issue.  Third is freedom to change our government.  Looking back through history, examples can be sited were the system failed the first two points I discussed.  No system of government can be perfect because it is both designed and operated by imperfect people (some more than others).  We however, must remember governments are instituted by the people for the sole purpose of protecting its citizens, and when it fails to do so, it is the peoples responsibility  to find out why it failed, and then if necessary change it so it doesn't fail the same way again.  As soon as the people become so complacent that they lose the desire to protect their own freedoms, those freedoms will no longer be theirs to protect."

"Freedom is being able to do what I feel is best for our family." ~ Katie

"Freedom is not the absences of external restrictions but rather the recognition of personal discretion." ~ Mark

I wholeheartedly agree with all what all three said and would even go as far as to point that "We the people" have become to be complacent.  When our government is allowed to spy on us and people say "who cares, I have nothing to hide" they are failing to see that the government is taking away basic freedoms. 

My hope is that as Americans we will wake up before it is too late!

At least for now....

I have every intention to keep the blog up and running (at least for now).  Its finals week so please have a little patience with me as I won't be posting this week, but do have a little something in the works after finals are all over! :)