From Yahoo! NewsFrist Endorses Idea of Gay Marriage Ban

This is one of the few times I have been completely ashamed of one my State's Congressional Representatives. Rep. Musgrave (R-CO) has proposed a Constitutional Amendment Banning Same Sex Marriages. I have a few questions regarding this issue. My first question is: Why does there have to be a Constitutional Amendment regulating marriage? My second question is: If two homosexuals get married two thousand miles away, does it really affect us as individuals? And my final question: why has America digressed so far as to want to make an Amendment to the Constitution restricting human rights?

So maybe I am slow, but since when has the Amendments to the Constitution been a place to legislate morality? I am a firm believer in a set right and wrong. The idea of moral relativism frightens me at times. So I don’t say this a “relativist”. But I do not believe that a group of 535 people in Washington D.C. should tell me that same sex marriage is a threat to my liberty. I know a threat to my liberty when I see one. The U.S. Congress should let the American People decide that issue by themselves.

I am fired up about this issue and after a few days of working in the sun I may not be thinking straight…but when I read the Bible I know Jesus as a person who loves all of His Father’s Creations. I know Jesus as a person who hates hypocrisy. I know Jesus as a person who “hangs out” with “wrong people”. I know Jesus as the most compassionate person to ever step foot on this Earth. I do not know Jesus as a person who judges on appearance. I do not know Jesus as a person who only wants to help out a few. Because of this I can only see that I must Love others, even those who are different from me.

I hope that if this proposed Amendment comes to a vote that our representatives will see both the legal and moral implications of this Amendment and vote it down.

I am so glad the weekend is over. It was a good weekend, but I spent from 330pm Friday until 8pm Sunday helping Jenn and her roommate move. For most of the time it was the three of us or just Jenn and I so it was a very long process. However, it was nice because I got to spend a lot of time with Jenn and sometimes it just feels good to do physical labor.

On Friday I spoke with a person I went to h.s. with and have not talked to for over two years. It was good to "catch up" with him because we were pretty good friends. While talking we both came to the conclusion that H.S. is pretty worthless for some people. For both of us it was a time for ridicule, isolation, and akwardness. Yes, this is part of high school. I completely understand that. I don't blame anyone for what happened. But, I do think that there is a fundamental change that needs to take place in high schools across America. I am in no way qualified to determine what this change is, but I was a student in a "typical suburban high school" for four years, and I know there are other high school graduates out there who also feel the same way. I think this makes us all qualified to know that a change is needed. American high schools do need to break down the barriers between "jocks" and everyone else. They need to break down the barriers between the AP or IB kids and everyone else. HS is just like the US on a smaller level. HS portrays and creates a class system. There are those who are "better" and those who are "worse". If there is one thing an educational institution that recieves money from the taxpayers should not being doing, it is creating those class distinctions.

I hope that one day I can be in a position to help change this problem.

Had to just get that off my chest. That is all.

Cynicism

I am too cynical. I have always thought of myself as a pretty positive person, but lately this has not been the case. I know part of it has to do with my feelings of the town in which I live. It is a tourist town and an outdoorsperson town. There is really not a whole lot for me to do here. This town is also pretty "uppity". I have lived here for five years and I have had enough! There will always be things about the town that I will love and there will always be memories, but I have to go. I think my cynicism also has to do with my age. Many of my friends have also become increasingly cynical in the last two years or so. We, as an age group are either in or about to enter the worst job market in 20 years. However, I really think there are hundreds of possible factors, but regardless this cynicism is something that I want to rid myself of.

Growing Up

I hate getting older. I know I am still "young", but in my opinion I do not feel young enough. Do not get me wrong, I love having the freedoms I do at the age of 23, but I miss many of the things that occurred when I was younger. I miss recess, lunchtime, naptime, part-time jobs (as the only job), hanging out while avoiding homework, running into friends while walking across campus, etc. Looking back now, a year after I graduated from college, I wonder where all that time went. Maybe I feel this way because I am in the "real world" or because many of the people of my childhood are now gone (dead or moved). Or maybe it is because I fear death and each day I get closer to it. I know that I cannot halt the process of death, or the process of aging. However, this understanding will not stop me from having the childlike moments that complete my life. I refuse to stop being curious about my faith and the world around me. I will continue to jump in puddles and throw snowballs. I will continue to enjoy the feeling I get on Halloween. I will not stop reading children's books. I feel these things are too important to let go. I want to be serious, but I also want to have fun, innocent fun. Above all, I cannot let the world around me get the best of me. I hope and pray to God that He will allow the child in me to live forever because I cannot live forever in this world as a child.

Individual Choice

“I believe that an individual should have a greater responsibility to the rest of their society. If an individual forgets their society, they also forget about love, about the ways that love is based on relationships. The individual, if they want to be at peace with the world around them, needs to make the choice to try to see the world through another's eyes. Still, this is a decision made on the part of the individual for the sake of the meaning that is produced by the greater, complete Whole …The individual needs to take responsibility for their good and evil actions. The individual take responsibility for their passive or dynamic movements within and without a society. The individual is the building block for all spiritual and social life. The individual still has responsibility to all the other people and the world that they come in contact with, or anywhere where they exercise any sort of authority.” – Tubbs at Jazz Daddy’s Journal

Wow…I think Tubbs hits the nail on the head with this entry. I think that a problem with many of the more fundamentalist churches (at least the ones I have encountered) is that they tend not to emphasize the individual whether in regards to responsibility or the individual’s relationship with Christ. Now I do not think that is exactly what Tubbs is saying, but I think he makes a strong point for respecting the idea of being an individual in general, that the individual has a choice to make about their role in society. This is why I believe God gave us all free will. He is allowing us to make the choice. The options are many, but when it boils right down to it, it is our choice. I think this individual distinction gets lost in the day- to-day hustle and bustle of things.

Anyway… a big thanks to both Tubbs and Liz for the link. I would highly recommend reading their individual pages. They both are writers to be admired as well.

Ok…back to reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with the rest of the world…but you will find no opening of that can of worms here. ;-P

Quick thought...Why don't people start talking about This being the downfall of the family as opposed to homosexuals? I really think that crap like "Paradise Hotel" is the real downfall. Just because its brought to us by the same people that pay Bill O'Reilly and friends does not mean that we can just let this one slide. Where are the Senate hearings on soft-core tv shows? Or do the networks pay off our government so much that we have to deal with this stuff?

What is more harmful...showing kids what "hooking up is all about" or the existence of individuals who are not straight?

That is all.

**edited 6/20** To clarify, I do not believe in any way that homosexuals are the downfall of the family. I don't believe they are the downfall of anything. God created all humans, God loves all humans. Who am I to disagree?

This past weekend I got a lot of much needed rest. With this rest came a viewing of Finding Nemo. I highy recommend this movie, especially if you enjoyed Monster's Inc. After the movie was over Jenn (who has had a lot of experience with parents of college students) said that she would like every parent of a new college student to watch this movie. I think that parents of new college students have to learn that it is "okay" to let go of their student. This movie would definetely put that idea in their heads.

I just stumbled across this. I am not much for Alternet.org, but if this really is true President Bush could have a problem. However, the Democrats in Congress do not really have the guts to challenge the President. Maybe there is a Republican interested in finding out the truth. "Paging Senator Orrin Hatch" Oh wait...Orrin and George.

From AlterNet.org an article by John Dean, The Case for Impeachment.

Why Blogging is Like High School


Here are a few reasons I came up with (keep in mind these are not absolutes):

You are either cool or you are not. The popular kids decide who is in which group.

The popular kids are usually those who have been here the longest or who have known eachother the longest.

Looks are worth more than content.

People are divided into cliques.


This is not to say that I feel the same way about blogging as I did h.s. (ahem...I disliked it). Nor does it mean I have a problem with anyone who blogs. But after spending a few months in the blog world I thought I'd make some general observations. Feel free to agree, disagree or send me more of your own observations.

I love being outside in the early morning. I am not a morning person...not by any means. But, there is just something about late spring/early summer mornings that makes me feel alive. The smells, the warm air, the birds chirping, the rustling of the leaves on the trees. It all makes me really know that there is a God. I believe it was on a day like to day around 5 years ago that I really started to believe that there was a God who made this world and who made me. It makes me wonder about how there are some theories that say that chaos and random events created our world. I don't see how this type of beauty can be created by chaos and randomness. However...I too once believed those theories.

I am young, but I still can get tired. These last two weeks have been very evident of that. I've been busy, I've been sleeping less than I typically do...and I have been dealing with some issues that I'd rather not deal with. I am trying to see these obstacles as a test of faith. Right now that is the only way I want to view them. Sometimes in my life there is just too much going on. This is just one of those times. But unlike other times in my life when this happend I want to keep writing. Many times it seems that writing is the only thing that can calm me down.