Friday Ramblings

In most things I am a conservative, but I am quite liberal in others which usually surprises people who have made assumptions about me based on my religious beliefs.

Marriage is more than a piece of paper and "I do's". It is about commitment, respect, and trust. I am married and have been for many years. Without trust, there is no relationship. I am not opposed to "gay" marriage. I am opposed to the term marriage. But having said that I wish there was a legally recognized commitment that gay couples could enter in to. I am not opposed to gays adopting children, or single parent adoption. It goes back to that idea of commitment.

Abortion. In the cases of rape, incest, birth defect and to preserve a mother's health I believe a woman should have a choice. As simply a form of birth control, no. When does life begin? At conception, when an egg is fertilized. That change is the beginning of life. I believe in adoption.

Having written the above paragraph, I am not opposed to assisted suicide in the cases of the terminally ill, or not using medical machinery to extend life. Death is a part of life and there comes a time in all lives when we die. I do not think that being hooked up to machines for the long term is a life. I am not opposed to those machines assisting lives, as in dialysis, or oxygen, or other things, so please have a living will. Make your choices known while you can express your opinions, and share those thoughts with your loved ones.

There are three types of family in my book. First is the family that one is born into or adopted into, second is the family that one marries or commits into, and third is the family that one chooses. These are the people who cross the line from friend to family, and fulfill the same roles and responsibilities one would expect family members to be involved in. I have family in all three categories

Fashion, I am more conservative about fashion. I am not a fan of the current male fad of busting a sag. I do not want to see what underwear others are wearing. If I can tell you what the boxers look like, hitch up them britches. I have also seen too much skin on people who ought not show so much skin. Imagination is not a bad thing

Education. It is a life skill and is needed by all. I don't think one can argue with that statement. Motivation is not there for too many of today's students. I see kids who cannot add, subtract, multiply and divide. I see kids who choose not to learn. I see learned helplessness and that frightens me.

Movies and Television. I love a good story, and those are harder and harder to find. I want to use my imagination, but too many movies and television shows leave nothing to the imagination.

Israel, I am pro-Israel. I've been there and loved it.

Tolerance is a good thing and we ought to be more tolerant and less violent. We have the right to express our opinions, and sadly it seems that only the radicals are heard. A friend teaches social studies and does a class activity in which groups of students have to "create" a set a government. The students learned that the loud ones are the ones that gain leadership, not the ones with the best ideas.

Public servants, like police, firefighters, nurses, teachers, and a few others are taken for granted and shown more disrespect than anyone should have to tolerate. These are hard working people who chosen difficult professions. Yes it may be their job to do, fill in the blank, but show some respect for where would our society be without those hard working people? As my mother had said "in a mell of a hess".


Well those are my thoughts, you can agree or disagree; these are my opinions that I have reached through the experiences of my life.