Category Archives: Only the Long

Long Posts

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To Be Informed or To Be Educated

The citizens of the United States are distracted by political campaign information. They are embroiled in heated debate over healthcare. They argue about getting rid of the immigrants who long to support our economic and social system when they should be concentrating focus on the dangerous criminals who are the real threat. Therefore, they are missing the warning signs of other problems on the horizon.  One such international problem can be found just across the southern border as Mexicans go to their polls.

It is doubtful the President or the experienced members of congress are distracted from the international problems. Looking outside of the US, one sees that the US is not the only nation struggling with a poor economy, immigration issues, international crime and terrorism. What kind of a future does the US face, if a majority the ‘experienced’ leaders in DC are replaced by a whole new crew of 1st timers? Especially if the only agenda they bring with them is on the US economy, and on the US healthcare, and on the US borders.

The origins of US immigration policies are found in the early 1900’s during the time when isolationism was still being valued as good US policy. Isolationist policies, however, did not prove effective in the early 1900’s, they simply made the US late-comers for two wars for which joining was unavoidable.  In 1942 the internment policy of rounding up anyone “suspicious” was beyond contemptible, but it was policy.  Fear and a tremendous feeling of suffering dictated US domestic and foreign policies in the first half of the 20th century.

However at the same time the US was closing its borders, there was a social push to help its poor and downtrodden citizens.  Labor laws, workers unions, Social Security and legislation similar to the National School Lunch Act, all played a role in post war successes.  Due to economic policies during WWII, employer based health insurance became widely offered as well.   It was determined that prosperity was much easier to achieve if the nation was healthy rather than unhealthy. There was a need for the government to act, and the power of big government began to replace the power of big business.

Now a hundred years later, immigration and health care issues are at the center of US politics again.  Citizens are beginning to fear “others” and focusing on national issues while avoiding international issues.

Progress has been made but fear, misinformation, and “money” backed political theater will not keep the progress moving forward.  Talk of the “good ol’ days” is just talk.  If you are blessed to know survivors of those days, ask them about epidemics, outhouses, food shortages and social inequality.  It is a human trait to reminisce of the ol’ days. Selective memory is common, some prefer focusing on the good and some on the bad.  The citizens of the United States need to evaluate the good and the bad, the effective and the ineffective.

It is sad that with easy access to so much information, so many are misinformed.  A random comment posted concerning an editorial on the Supreme Court Healthcare ruling claimed, “We are becoming like the USSR.”  Many would like to blame this misinformed opinion on a failing educational system, but that would be unfair.  That would be like saying Fox News, or CNN, or MSNBC are to blame for all the ignorance in society. To quote a common saying, “guns don’t kill people, people kill people”, on that same reasoning, “cable news doesn’t make ignorance, people choose ignorance”.

Ignorance is conquered when an individual seeks information, evaluates the information by comparing it to other information, and then forms an opinion. This is how an individual becomes educated.  This how parents should be teaching their children. This is what voters should be doing before casting a vote.  This is what politicians should encourage.

While some journalists still prescribe to providing information rather than opinion, it is not up to them to educate us.  It is up to the individual to become educated and not simply informed.

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Target Marketing

Remember back thirty or so years ago when being chosen to participate in a TV survey was an honor?  You were a Nielsen family and your TV preferences counted. Your voice mattered.

With cable and satellite, the idea of being a survey family has fallen out of favor.  I am not even sure my kids know what a Nielsen family is, but if they did, they would probably think it was redundant.  Don’t the cable/satellite companies track everything we watch as it is?

In the past, my husband was a huge fan of radio surveys, at least until he started using an IPod.  I am unclear whether ITunes collects data, especially as we seldom log in, but I am sure Pandora is collecting information from my husband.

It seems the novelty of being part of a survey has worn off as technology now makes so much more available to companies seeking information about consumers.  I remember, in years past, getting phone calls asking me what kind of laundry detergent I preferred, or what kind of shampoo I used.  Sometimes those calls were a nice respite from motherhood; sometimes they were simply odd since I wasn’t much of a brand name shopper.  Either way, I never felt my privacy was being infringed in any way.  I still don’t feel my preference of soap is intrusive information.

Just recently, while planning for a trip, I searched online for “support” socks.  It is amazing how quickly and abundantly ads for support socks showed up on Facebook and Amazon since my search and purchase.  These adds do not bother me, it is needing the support socks when traveling which bothers me.

Media discussion about target marketing seems plentiful, and while I agree there are some negatives, from a personal standpoint I don’t find this type of marketing to be much of a problem.  It is actually less irritating than the huge piles of junk mail of the past.

Another advantage with target marketing is that unlike TV commercials, I don’t get hounded by ads which I find objectionable.  Out of curiosity the other day, I tried to delete an ad from my Facebook page. I was delighted when I could.  I am not sure it is always possible, but in this case I could not only delete the ad, but also give feedback as to why I wanted it removed.

Target marketing is nothing new; the method of information gathering is all that has changed.  As with any other change, learning how to maneuver in a less than private world takes some adjustment before a comfort level can be reached.  Some days I feel frustrated with all the disruption to my comfortable rut, but on other days, I reflect on how this constant change is keeping my brain active.  It is up to me to look at the negative or at the positive of the changing world.

Now I ponder – would it have been funny or mortifying if on the day I searched for “support” socks, I had also searched for a sexy negligee?  Since it was a family trip I was planning, the thought and the search never occurred.  Give me another decade…

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Accountability

I have already written about the problem of entitlement and how society tends misplace the blame for this societal ill.  This is not the only area in which society is misplacing blame and avoiding individual accountability.

While reading an article today on the recession, and perusing the comments made in response, I once again was amazed at how accountability is sorely lacking in our society.  For the record, I believe that the role of the government is to safeguard the people, and understand that while regulations sometimes restrict economic progress, they can also aid in safeguarding the people.  With that being said, when I hear assertions that the recession is the fault of our most recent presidents, or Wall Street, I get a bit miffed.  Yes, Wall Street should be held accountable for their greedy actions and our government should have been more diligent in its oversight, but when are we the individuals going to accept the unpopular accountability for our own choices and actions?

When I read about how more young people need to live at home because they can’t afford their own place, or of the difficulties associated with buying or keeping a home, I wonder why we blame the government.  How is it that we can argue over government enforced healthcare, claim the government is interfering in our lives, yet at the same time cry foul that the government hasn’t helped us find a job or buy a home?

Don’t get me wrong, I feel for the people of our nation. This recession has hit us all in ways we did not foresee, but foreseen or not, we should have been better prepared.  Like any good Boy Scout will tell you, there is wisdom in the motto “Be Prepared”.  This can mean creating a plan if you live in a hurricane or flood zone, because the 100 year disaster may coincide with your lifespan.  It can mean having food storage or a generator if you live in an area that gets heavy snow.  It should definitely mean  becoming informed before you buy a home.   Owning a house is expensive and there are costs besides the mortgage you will pay.  Get informed before you buy, and if it will sap your budget, buy smaller or buy later.  A house can be a great blessing and investment, but don’t purchase the dream, invest in the reality.

Understandably it is hard to prepare for unemployment.  Often we live month-to-month barely getting by, and building a nest egg feels difficult to achieve.  However, young or old it is the responsibility of the able-bodied to be prepared and to be informed.  If this means having a back-up plan to sell your house and move in with relatives, or take on roommates, then be prepared to do so.

One report on housing states that we must go back to the 50’s to find so many multigenerational households.  I find this claim to be interesting.  Isn’t that the era in which our entitlement nature really sprouted?  New houses, new cars and new gadgets for the home; college educations a middleclass norm; and dreams of retirement at age 65 were the dreams of that generation.  Now the youth of the 50’s have grandkids and those grandkids are struggling to live up to, and pay for the dream.

Dreaming big is not a bad thing, but the recession was a reality check for everyone.  For dreams to become reality, hard work is required. This hard work does not follow an employer’s time-clock.  It does not retire.  It does not grow up and move out.  It does not get paid off.  The American Dream is bigger than a house, or a two car garage, or a retirement account.  It has more value than a vacation home, or a boat.  It is not measured by the size of your income or your bank account.

The American Dream for a secure tomorrow is not the responsibility of the President; it is the responsibility of the individual.  Our elected officials work for us, and if we are asking for all the wrong things, then that is what they will provide us.  The Preamble of the Constitution states:

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

It doesn’t promise a house, or a college education, or a car.  It promises justice, civil order and defense.  It promotes general welfare but does not promise it. Finally, it secures liberty.

The government of the United States does play a huge role in the nation’s prosperity, but the individual plays a greater role.  Citizenship is not like high school, where you get credit for showing up, doing the work and then going home.  Citizenship requires accountability for one’s own choices and actions.  Blaming others, especially the government, may seem easier, but in the long run, individual accountability will provide prosperity.

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Rainstorms

I love rainstorms. Can’t say I like the wind, but I don’t mind the lightening.  As a kid, I enjoyed watching the lightening from the safety of the garage.  Now, I enjoy watching the lightening from my bedroom window.  I listen to the rain splattering against the roof.  Hard rain or soft, it comforts me.

When in college, I enjoyed running in the rain. Only the presence of a hurricane seemed to bring the turbulent, lightening filled rainstorm of my youth.  Often the rain was warm rather than cold and biting.  Running in the rain was reminiscent of childhood post-storm puddle-jumping, it would always make me smile.

Last night’s rain was hard and heavy. We needed the rain; a lack of winter storms has left the ground too dry.  Sprinklers and drip system cannot replace Mother Nature.  Good heavy rain now will go a long way in helping our plants grow and survive the summer.

Rain unaccompanied by strong winds is a rare thing on the Eastern Plains of Colorado.  Sadly, last night’s rain was accompanied by a couple twisters.  Luckily for us, we are well north of where the tornadoes touched down, and our rain, while heavy at times, was pleasant.  It was hard to wake up and learn that the comforting storm which brought life sustaining rain to our land, left a path of destruction on land to the south. It was a reminder that the good and the bad go hand in hand.  Joy and sorrow, the time eternal contrast which gives life its meaning are often the companions of the Colorado rainstorm.

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Procrastination In Politics

It is a well-known fact that college students, regardless of their majors, spend endless hours each semester studying the art of procrastination.  In the past this skill was criticized and deemed detrimental to success in the “real world”, but no longer.  Thanks to the 2012 election cycle, procrastination equals votes or at least the attention of voters.

In Speaker of the House John Boehner’s recent interview, he spoke on the issue of Student Loan Interest Rates and the need for legislation to keep them low.  He stated, “Democrats and Republicans knew that this was going to take effect. Democrats and Republicans fully expected this would be taken care of and for the president to make a campaign issue out of this and then to travel to three battleground states and go to three large college campuses on taxpayers’ money to try to make this a political issue is pathetic and his campaign ought to be reimbursing the Treasury for the cost of this trip.”

In three months’ time, if legislation is not passed, student loan interest rates will jump from the current 3.4% to 6.8%.  Such a startling and seemingly arbitrary increase makes for a wonderful campaign topic. It is not surprising that congress has waited until now to decide how to avoid such an increase.   Ironic that it was a Democratic controlled House in 2007, which set the July 1, 2012 date for the 3.4% to disappear.  Now as Speaker Boehner asserts, both Republicans and Democrats alike are working together to make future student loan recipients happy.  Awe, bipartisan cooperation at last.

Yet timing is everything, and now the Republican controlled house is acting quickly to assure young voters of Republican interest in their welfare.  Too bad the President already had his three-state tour planned before Boehner made his public declaration of support for younger voters.  I guess the President could have changed his travel plans, or at least his talking points, but he didn’t.

Nevertheless, all this attention must be making college students giddy. Back in 2008, college age voters turned out to support President Obama.  By the time the Republicans figured out the political momentum of young, tech savvy voters, it was too late to make headway with this voting group.  This time around, Republicans are paying attention.  That is what is really important here – paying attention to the youth.

Presidential campaigning via Air Force One has been standard since before the current president was born.  Presidents go from place to place shaking hands, kissing babies and posing for pictures, all while taking their work and staff with them.  During these trips, the “common man” has a rare opportunity to meet with our highest elected official.  The fact that in this case the “common man” is a bunch of students, rather than business men or politicians does not change the value of presidential meetings with the public.

In an age where money equals voting power, it is nice to see the moneyless college masses actually matter to the politicians.  Republicans should be avoiding further procrastination and jump on the band wagon.  Rather than railing against the President for spending taxpayer money on visiting students and discussing student concerns, maybe they should be celebrating the fact that our younger voters matter.  It is going to take years to fix the mess in D.C. It is going to take fresh ideas. The youth of today will inherit the mess their fathers and grandfathers created, and it will be the youth of today that will find the solutions.  Politicians should stop procrastinating and recognize that young voters are just as important as old voters.  While they might be cash poor, they are idea rich.

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A Dilemma to Ponder

A recent media blitz has centered on whether men or women have been more adversely affected by the current U.S. recession. It is just the latest in a long line of discussions about unemployment and the slow economy. Democrats have pointed to the fact that the bad economy began during the Bush years.  Republicans have pointed to the fact that Obama hasn’t “fixed” the economy during his three years. It seems everyone has an opinion about rich people’s taxes, rising gas prices, and the ineffectiveness of government.  

With all of these opinions, is it strange that there is confusion on what the candidates believe? 

So when a candidate actually speaks about what they plan to do if they are elected, I like to take notice.

 “I’m going to take a lot of departments in Washington, and agencies, and combine them. Some eliminate, but I’m probably not going to lay out just exactly which ones are going to go,” Romney said. “Things like Housing and Urban Development, which my dad was head of, that might not be around later. But I’m not going to actually go through these one by one. What I can tell you is, we’ve got far too many bureaucrats. I will send a lot of what happens in Washington back to the states.” Mitt Romney 15Apr2012

It is important to remember that for every “bureaucrat” who works in D.C., there are dozens of regular support staff who are simply trying to earn a wage. It won’t be easy for them to find replacement jobs, even if jobs get sent “back to the states”.

While I agree that the federal government is too big and could use some serious pruning, I wonder if a recession is the right time to be talking about large scale downsizing.  

It does make for a dilemma…

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A Chocolate Elephant

The following is a common saying in our household.

How do you eat an elephant?  

One bite at a time.

Well today we modified this saying.

How do you eat an elephant made of chocolate? 

One bite at a time – one bite every day.

Why the change?

First, chocolate seemed much more pleasant than thinking of eating a real elephant.  Second, to make it through something as big as an elephant, one needs to be consistent in the task.  Eating too much too fast can bring on all sorts of complications.  Taking too large of breaks between bites could cause problems as well.

So when you have an elephant of a task to tackle, daily bites will get the job done. Plus it never hurts to eat some chocolate along the way.

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Parenting 101 – Risky Behavior

Risk: exposure to the chance of injury or loss; a hazard or dangerous chance.

It seems no matter how hard parents try, youth will dabble with risky behavior.  Never having been one to enjoy scary movies, this tendency has baffled me.  Living on the edge and taking risks for any reason is just not part of my nature.  Sure, in my 20’s I sometimes drove too fast, drank too much at parties, went running in areas many felt were unsafe, and pushed myself unceasingly to achieve a goal, but none of these actions were done for the thrill of danger or out of rebellion.  I was aware of the danger involved in my risky behavior and chose to take the risk, often in a need to prove something to myself rather than to others or for any kind of thrill.  In truth dangerous behavior makes me uneasy, anxious and rather ill, but for others it can be like an opiate.

Venturing into risky behavior is part of the nature of many youth and is not necessarily an indication of bad parenting. Conscientious parents face this reality quite frequently. Some succeed in teaching their youth that such behavior is dangerous. Some, despite their best efforts, do not.  Sadly some, through their well-meaning rules, regulations and restrictions, simply delay such lessons until their youth are no longer youth but legal adults.

Life is tough and sometimes in our youth, we make life tougher for ourselves and our parents.  Risky behavior is found all around us, encouraged by many in our society, and is a reality of life that is not new to our time in history.  Good people, old and young, choose to do foolish things.  This makes parenting a tough job, and too often a highly criticized one as well.

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The Power of a Hug

I am sure all moms experience to some degree doubt and concern over their job performance.  Moms who homeschool their kids most likely experience a larger dose of self-doubt.  Unlike other jobs, motherhood does not come with scheduled performance evaluations and job improvement plans.  Critical reviews seldom come in unbiased form.  “You’re the greatest mom,” in response to some treasure bestowed on your child or, “You suck,” when the treasure is denied, do not adequately assist in self-evaluation.  The input of a caring spouse is often no more helpful.

Since my children are nearing the age when my influence will diminish, especially in the role of primary educator, I felt it was time to have a serious evaluation period with them; an evaluation of my performance. This feeling was prompted by an article I read about children repeating abusive language and questioning the idea of whether they could develop such language without having been first exposed to it.  The author, having been an abused child, shared some of her own heart wrenching memories.  As I too had been a child of “tough love” which often crossed the line into verbal abuse, this article rekindled a deep fear in me. A fear promoted by the news coverage of the early 1980’s which reported that children of abuse would grow up to be abusers.

I don’t like fear, being controlled by fear and most importantly inflicting fear, but as with any human, fear is a part of my life and is a reality.  When fear creeps in, I like to meet it head on and address it.  So fearing that I may have been too harsh with my criticisms at times, I decided that my children were mature enough and articulate enough to provide me with a job performance evaluation.  I was amazed when we were finished, because they could not remember all the times I screwed up, when I yelled too much, or the times I felt like I had used too much discipline.  They did recall times when corporal punishment was used, and strangely their memories where not the same as mine.  It seems punishing them had hurt me much more than it had them. What they remembered were the lessons they had learned and they were very articulate in their appreciation. When it was all said and done, their reviews of my job performance were pretty good and they expressed compassion over my self-doubt and worry.

In reflection, I began to wonder what made me different from my parents.  I grew up knowing my parents loved me and while my father had some real problems that today would be prosecuted, they did try to do their best, at least in my pre-teen years.  However, what had been missing were hugs and verbal expressions of love.  These were the things, coupled with all my many apologies for my mistakes, I tried to make daily occurrences in our home.  Not just bedtime hugs, but hugs when they were doing their schoolwork or the dishes; spontaneous hugs and daily declarations of love.  It is amazing what the power of a hug can do.

While I suspect it may be my only “A” grade in motherhood, it is good to know I did not fail in the department of showing my love for my children.

 

 

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Common Sense??? – A Cry for War?

Is a cry for war an acceptable political slogan? It has been used as one often, and it does make a good rallying point for the fearful masses.

It makes me think back to the days prior to the American Revolution. I can imagine the debate between two cousins. Samuel Adams would have been accusing John Adams of being too rational and pointing out that there was no negotiating with a crazy king.  John would have been arguing for the use of diplomatic relations, and going to war only as a last resort.

The cry for war is not a new tactic, the speed of the cry reaching the world has accelerated and the scope has amplified. Crazy or not, I am sure that no king likes to be called names or given demands and ultimatums.  I doubt that leaders of the 1700’s would have heard the words of every rhetoric shouting hot head with an agenda.   Today it is easy to hear, record, and catalog all the rhetoric.  It is also easy for leaders to use the rhetoric as an excuse for aggressive behavior under the pretense of defensive international policy.

While I believe most international leaders recognize the current rhetoric spewing coming from the mouths of presidential wannabes as nothing more than campaign politics, I suspect there are a great many civilians who hear real threats to their nations and their safety when US candidates call for tougher US foreign policies.

At some point the politicians and citizens of the United States need to recognize that while we may not always like or get along with our neighbors, we don’t have to go to war with them over it.  There very well may reach a time when physical conflict cannot be avoided. First strike capability is a good tool in our defense arsenal, but flexing our muscles too often makes us a bully and not a world leader.