A Laughing Matter

 A laughable occurrence spread over the Internet a few weeks ago. Candice Payne, a mom from Houston TX, with an undeniable love for Star Wars, shared her fun with a few of her Facebook friends. Little expecting the video to go viral in a matter of 24 hours. What is so attractive about this video? Simply put, it's the laughter. Take a look.

 True, hearty, joyous laughter.

As this video and Payne's fame spread like wildfire, the news media rushed to- well, they couldn't say be the first because one of the surprising twists in our news today is social media is beating news media to information. And this is just one demonstration. Often, the fastest way to get your news is by checking your social media, now. Similar to how it used to be easier to get your news word-of-mouth in past centuries, than pay for and read from a newspaper, that may already be outdated. Interestingly, good news is big news again, instead of no news.

 Just days after her Internet famedom began, Payne was scooped up by source after news source, piqued by her instantaneous fame, for interviews and further videos. One, shows Kohl's presenting Payne with gift cards and Star Wars toys galore, in thanks for all the free advertising she brought them.  But, in not a few of the interviews, she pointed out the true reason for her happiness that caught the country's eye. "The mom of two...said there's more to the woman than a mask, and her laughter comes from deep within – from her faith in Jesus Christ." (The Christian Examiner) She had the chance to share joy, to share her faith with many. In that conclusion, she found her real reward.

 But, why is it that we are so drawn to the laughter? Besides all of the health benefits laughter supposedly has, why? Quite honestly, we live in a sad world. People are hurting all around us. A little laughter is a blessing, just to smile for a bit. Mrs. Payne gave thousands of people a little glimpse and moment of joy. That is a treasure, for sure.


Sources:

The Christian Examiner; http://www.christianexaminer.com/article/breaking-the-story-behind-the-laughing-woman-in-the-star-wars-chewbacca-mask/50729.htm

The Christian Examiner; http://www.christianexaminer.com/article/kohls-rewards-chewbacca-mask-woman-with-gift-cards-and-tons-of-star-wars-toys/50731.htm

Buzz Feed; https://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/candace-payne-chewbacca-interview?utm_term=.myO7WmBXV0#.ytdOlBxwMV

The Daily Dot; http://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/chewbacca-mom-visits-facebook/

What is this thing called...Government?

  A tragedy is staring us down today, we have lost our grip on a vital part of our world: what is the true purpose of U.S. government anymore? But, backing up farther, why is government such an important part of our world? Why has it become something we all should care about?

  Foremostly, look at this issue in light of all the people it affects. Who is under government, here in America? Everyone. Nationally and personally, everyone faces the results and lives in the midst of the type of government we have. Our society and culture swiftly shapes to either what we believe about government, or what we let others believe about it for us. Does that make sense? We either come to an understanding about what we believe, and find where to go from there, or we let other people decide what we should believe, and they choose where we move from there.

  Only once we have this under our belts, knowing what we believe and, therefore, where we stand, can we move forward. Finally, the moral, social, political and economical issues that need answering and fixing can be addressed. Yet, until we know where we stand, we will never know what we are fighting for. Firm beliefs are half the battle.

  I would guess almost everybody has heard of what other people think about this issue. We know many of the opinions. We’ve seen, or even been in the arguments. And, due to that, we remain distant from the issue, because, quite simply, it’s confusing and controversial.

  Thankfully, two categories seem to emerge from the governmental brawl. Generally put, they are less or more government. That is, the government either acts as a limited power, purely to protect citizens, or as a broader power that defines and enforces the conduct of its citizens.

Let me demonstrate:

   Beginning with our very own Constitution, this governmental establishment is rather narrow. It gives us a military, head of military and a federal law-making system regulated by the states through representation. This establishment also allows citizens vast freedoms compared to the rest of the nations. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “...We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among these is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” and it remains clear that the Constitution was written to follow-up with those thoughts. It lands in the first category, being purely meant to protect the people under it.

  An even older form of government presented in the Bible, has the support of some of our fellow citizens as the true role of government. It established laws on how to worship, what to wear, what to eat, when and how to do business, how to get married, etc. It was established to protect its citizens, true. But it mainly focuses on moulding people’s conduct. The government presented in the Old Testament of the Bible falls in the second category; larger government.

 That could be labeled an aging document however, so let’s consider more modern ideas. Richard Ebeling, president of the Foundation of Economic Education, discussed a more recent view on American government, “...Modern American liberals, [Michael Medved ] explained, are all about government solving problems of “victimhood” and alleviating the effects of...private-sector oppression of the poor and the weak. They wish to use the power of government to redistribute wealth from the rich to the...needy and deserving. They want to use the regulatory power of the state to assure certain ‘ethically desirable’ patterns of employment and to divert business from producing things without ‘real’ social value.” This is an example of the second category: government is given a broad duty of shaping its citizens’ behavior.

  From the more conservative standpoint, Republican New Hampshire Rep. Josh Moore explained, “...Simply...the role of government is to protect the God-given rights of every individual. When Thomas Jefferson first drafted the Declaration of Independence, he enumerated those rights; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Then those rights are to be protected by our government, bound by the Constitution.” When interviewed on this same subject, Tracy Menard, a stay-at-home mom, stated her belief on the role of government was along these same lines. However, she saw that neither small nor large government is good or bad. She pointed out, either form of government is placed in the hands of fallible humans, so either way can become corrupted.

  This raises to the forefront the primary issue, again. It must be determined in our minds, where we stand on this. We cannot fight corruption. We cannot preserve freedom. We cannot wade through these muddied waters without making a decision.

So, what should you do?

   You have to choose. Simply and honestly put, you have to decide what you believe. Otherwise, someone else will do it for you, then they will tell you what to do, how to act, who to be, what battles to fight. Yet, we were by no means made to be mindless creatures like that.

   This is your challenge, then. Decide where and on what you stand. Then, fight for that belief. Fight for what you know to be noble, wise, right and true. Preserving our culture, society, families, in short the world, revolves around our vigilance and endurance. 

So, now, what is the role of government, to you?


Sources:

The US Constitution
The Federalist Papers
The New Hampshire Constitution
Ebeling, Richard. 2007; https://fee.org/articles/freedom-and-the-role-of-government/
Palmer, Stephen. Unknown date; http://stephendpalmer.com/proper-role-government/
Benson, Ezra Taft. 1968; http://www.laissez-fairerepublic.com/benson.htm
Benson, Ezra Taft. 1968. (audio version); http://www.properroleofgovernment.com/
Lipford, Jody W. and Jerry Slice. 2007; http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2085
The Bible

To Write...Or Not to Write?

So, what is writing to you?

Why, wha-what do you mean? 

I mean, what does writing mean to you? I know you love it. But, why?

   Where do I even begin?.....Profoundly, elegantly, uniquely, writing holds the key to this world that few other actions can ever do. It defines. It communicates. It penetrates. It teaches. It stabs. It hurts. It heals. Writing is using words as your weapon. It must be treated wisely, carefully, and used only for good. It can change the world. Writing so completely holds the world together, that we can not live for even a few minutes without using something attached to it.

 The written word, gives us something with which we do an amazing feat called "reading". How much do you read? If you do school? Well, it's a given that you read then. If you clean a house? You have to read the labels on cleaning bottles and instructions for equipment you use. If you have to buy or grow food? Of course! More labels, seed packets, ingredients, tools all have to be read to understand what they are. If you have to fix a car? More reading. If you have to vote? There is a lot of reading ahead of you. If you have to tell many people about something important? Whether through a speech, or research, or blogging, etc. you and others just had to read. And reading can only happen if writing has come first. Writing is invaluable in every way to every part of our world.

 Now, what I just wrote is my opinion. You may like writing, but not think it's quite that important. You may hate writing and think we should all go back to just talking when we need something. You could also love writing so much more than I do that it boggles everyone's minds! These are all opinions. These are all types of bias. Every person that has ever existed has such a thing as a bias. It is a part of us we can never truly avoid. We can and should, sometimes, work to be impartial. We should always try to see all the sides of an issue before we decide where to stand. We should pursue being balanced and, often, more moderate in our words and actions, at times. 

 However, there remains a time when we must pick a side. We have to chose where we are going to stand. We have to decide what we are going to fight for and what we are going to fight against. And that, is where people differ. That is were we find that true impartiality is impossible for us. Everyone, to some degree is biased. It is far from bad. It is just the truth. And the truth will set us free. 

Check, Check, and Fact Check Again

 Do you ever find yourself reading something and thinking, "Well, that was very simple."? I'm going to guess not. We expect things to be simpler. We are wired to find short-cuts, to find the simple way that everything works. So, when we read, or write, or look at everything around us we do not instantly expect it to be chaotic or the thousand shades of gray that it is, we expect it to be a bit clear and calm, at least. We expect it to be simple, and we start to take simple for granted.

  Not so strangely, then, I came to the subject of news, journalism, and media with the impression that it was simpler. Not simplest, mind you, but still simpler. It's not. There is truly so much more to dig up here in what I'm about to share. The "rough draft of history" will always be in need of updating. Yet, more importantly, it will always be in need of checking and re-checking.

  The CIA's Mysterious Role in the Arrest of Nelson Mandela seemed like a rather interesting article for a history nerd such as myself, and it isn't anything short of that. Rumors have circled for decades that the CIA may have had a hand in the arrest and 27 years Nelson Mandela spent in prison. Due to his election as president after being released from prison, his efforts in the anti-apartheid movement, as well as his awarding of a Nobel Peace Prize, there is much concern surrounding these rumors. An ex-CIA agent did come out at one time, stating he had a role passing information along about Mandela, leading to his arrest. However, both the ex-CIA agent and Nelson Mandela have passed away now, and Mr. Mandela had no concerns with the idea that the CIA may have helped put him in jail. So, why should we still be concerned about this issue?

 Well, my first idea to find an answer to that question, was to learn more about the article's author,
The Washington Post journalist, Adam Taylor. The one in question, is a reporter of foreign affairs for The Washington Post who originally lived in London, England. Interestingly, he has gained some internet defamation, due to his reporting. A blogger, named Mike Cernovich has accused Adam Taylor of copying unreliable European government sources in his writing. So, I had to go do research on this man as well, to see if he was a source to be trusted. My first queue that he perhaps wasn't reliable was the fact that The Washington Post has not given any attention to these claims, (as far as I can find). It is not clear whether Cernovich works for or is accountable to any journalistic company, trustworthy or not. He is a lawyer, which is the most he will state. By his own writing with it's harsh, unprofessional, and evidently opinioned words, it appears Cernovich is rather a trouble maker than a good source. Otherwise, I found Adam Taylor to be a trustworthy.

  Next, still trying to answer the question, "Why this issue?", I decided to do a background check on the Washington Post itself. The more I did that, the more I realized how tiny a background check it was, but, it should still be said. First off, I must simply state: business in America isn't just big, it's huge! Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post, as of fall 2013. He also owns Amazon.com and many other media outputs through his company, Graham Holdings Company. On a little (but not so very little, honestly) sidenote, Jeff Bezos's net worth is more than 60 billion. Independently of it's billionaire owner, The Washington Post has been know historically as a more left-leaning media output, which has endorsed Republican candidates and right-wing actions at times, too though. But, it has been noted over the years that other media sources either help push The Washington Post either to the left or right, but still mainly the middle, to keep business going.

 Due to the fact that we are looking at decades worth of rumors, and likely the CIA, it makes total sense that this issue is difficult to resolve. I think Mr. Mandela himself realized this issue may never be completely clarified, and did not even look at it as an problem worth his attention. So, maybe it's not worth ours either? Well, not exactly. History is always being discovered, rediscovered, rewritten, and rechecked. It is important to push to clear it up do the best of our abilities. And, more or less, which I lean to more, we may trust The Washington Post in it's reporting to us the new developments in uncovering history's secrets. Yet, always, so long as we are wary. Do not let names, or fallacies, or opinions blind you. Use the clever mind God has bestowed on each of us, to rightly determine the right from the wrong. Continue to be vigilant. Prudence and vigilance are some of the first steps in changing you and, inevitably, the world for God's glory.

Resources:

The Washington Post; https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/adam-taylor

The Atlantic Journal-Constitution; http://www.ajc.com/

The Sunday Times; http://www.thetimes.co.uk/?sunday

The Wall Street Journal; http://www.wsj.com/

Crime and Federalism; http://www.crimeandfederalism.com/2014/02/adam-taylor-of-the-washington-post-caught-plagaziring-government-propaganda-site.html

Forbes; http://www.forbes.com/profile/jeff-bezos/

An Experiment in Logos

  

  Ah! How I do love logic! The deadly, forgotten little dagger of the wise, used in any battle which they find themselves amidst. Not to say that I think I am wise, but knowing yourself to be a fool is the first step in that direction.

 For most of my life I have relished finding fallacies and correcting even the littlest illogical arguments and happenings. In all truthfulness, I think anyone who knows me, hates me to this. So, I find it rather hard to pick just one instance of dealing with fallacies.

  Bandwagon fallacies seem to be the type that I see most easily, hate most, and have most stories about avoiding. One such tale happened last spring, when I was being passionately encouraged to join a youth political organization. For several weeks I received excited emails from a friend and an acquaintance, urging me to join this organization to "take back the government and culture" was the repeated phrase.

 Do not get me wrong, I am passionate about changing the direction that our government and culture are heading. And I know for a fact, that it all starts with each of us, individually and personally, but something didn't quite sit right with me about the email writers' pushy approach. I felt inclined to join because of the urgency and the appearance that many people I knew and respected were also joining or already part of the organization. In retrospect, it seems that there was a bit of false dilemma going on in these emails, as well. I slowly began to believe that there were just two options: join or have no part in changing the culture as a young person.

  Several wise influences came to my aid as I processed the dilemma. Another friend, a sibling, and most effectively, my mom listened and prudently directed my attention to the errors I was stumbling through. Over the course of two hours, my mom and I pondered everything I had gathered from the emails, looking at all the different ways I could still be effective to our government and culture with or without joining the organization. And, at last, she lead me to discover what had kept me so uneasy about jumping into this. Almost everything that compelled me to consider this was the belief that my friends loved and were doing it. In reality? Simply doing something because everyone else, or all your friends are doing it, is never the wisest path.  It is plainly and simply a fallacy; something young people, aspiring journalists, and, in short, anyone can fall for, so be wary! Be prudent! And do not forget to use that little, yet all important tool called logic!

Yet more Symptoms: Part 2

So, what should we do?

  When we overcriminalize, we suddenly have incarcerated masses to deal with, whether it be rehabilitating, feeding, housing, or having on parole. Someone must be paying for that. The answer? Taxpayers.

  Finally though, the incarcerated masses are released. It’s all better right? Not at all. Now, with such an untrustworthy background, there is little opportunity for them to find work. The formerly incarcerated will find it easiest to return to what they have done before.

  In short, our whole society is suffering in this issue, we must find a remedy. But what everyone else has done isn’t helping us get anywhere, so, again, what should we do?

   We need to realize the root of our problem is not overcriminalization. It is not the “tough on crime laws”. It is not the massive passage of more of those laws. It is not the passage of time, or the growing fear in our nation. It is not because of any of the plain or obvious surface reasons. It has everything to do with the problem with everything in our country and government. It is called morals.

We are not a moral or righteous people anymore.

  There was once a Book, claiming what is good and right, denouncing what is evil and immoral. Back in the pages of history, the United State of America was founded by men and women who saw that the moment we threw away that Book and the Author, our government and country start to crumble. Now, we are in that moment. This Union cannot function as it was established to, unless we are a body of people who stand with morals.

And that is how we fix this.

  It all comes from the heart. We have moved away from God and living as He has shown as good, and until we move back towards Him, in our hearts and behavior, there is no hope for our nation. Christians must infiltrate our society, culture, and government because we are the ones who see this crippling disease and know the One who can heal it. The Church is vital in changing our criminal justice system, just as it is vital to changing our society and government back to a nation of free men and women.

   We can certainly work to stop the vast amounts of new laws that are putting people in prison left and right. We can definitely push for our Congress to start repealing laws, which is something that they seem to have forgotten was allowed. We should clarify the lines between civil and criminal law and re-evaluate our laws to have them align with the definition. We should certainly do what we can to move our country away from this criminalization epidemic. Yet, we will not go anywhere until we address the fact that our hearts and beliefs must change. First in us, as Christians. Then, through us, and with God’s help, into all our nation, and all the world. If we run this direction, we will watch or country heal and grow great again, because we will finally acknowledge Who ultimately must have the authority in our government, criminal justice system, society and lives.

  When we return to the great Lawgiver, we will know and see true freedom again. Let us begin now. We must begin now. We are our country’s remaining hope.

Sources:
Population Reference Bureau; http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2012/us-incarceration.aspx

The Washington Post;
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/07/07/yes-u-s-locks-people-up-at-a-higher-rate-than-any-other-country/

The Sentencing Project; http://www.sentencingproject.org/detail/news.cfm?news_id=1987&id=107

The Wall Street Journal; http://www.wsj.com/articles/robert-rubin-and-nicholas-turner-the-steep-cost-of-americas-high-incarceration-rate-1419543410

The Heritage Foundation; http://www.heritage.org/research/factsheets/2011/04/overcriminalization-an-explosion-of-federal-criminal-law

Right on Crime; http://rightoncrime.com/category/priority-issues/overcriminalization/

Diffen; http://www.diffen.com/difference/Civil_Law_vs_Criminal_Law

CBSNews; http://www.cbsnews.com/news/once-a-criminal-always-a-criminal/

Yet more Symptoms: Part 1

What is wrong with our country? Why is it that, no matter where we try to divert our attention in our government, there is something more to discourage us? In our elections, in our legislature, in our legal system, it lays in whatever path we go towards. ~ This is a TeenPact assignment I wanted to share with you. The issues we see throughout our government are grave, however, it is far more essential for us to realize that the fault lies in us, the Church. We have failed to fight for and preserve our nation and fellow citizens as we aught. The failure lies in us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There used to be a process in our criminal justice system that went as follows:

  One person commits a misdemeanor; he accidently uses and destroys another person’s property, for example. The other person finds out about his destroyed property and demands payment for it. If taken to court, this is called a civil case. The arbitrator must give compensation for what damage he has caused because he has violated a civil law.

  Another person commits a misdemeanor; he knowingly harms another person and flees the scene, for example. If caught, the harmed person can bring this case to court, where the lawbreaker will receive a punishment for his actions. This is a criminal case and laws that make this a crime are named criminal laws.

  The lines may seem rather blurred when trying to see the true difference between these two law types, so here are the major clarifications. Violations of a civil law are instances of negligence, misuse, or misconduct. Violations of a criminal law are, rather, instances of large cases like murder, and also burglary, or assault. In other words, there are two ways justice is dealt out, either by punishment or by retribution. And one important factor to remember, is that criminal cases are the only ones that land someone in prison.

  Alright, so don’t we still have these two types of laws and cases? What is the problem? Why should I be concerned?

  Yes, but the trouble is, our country progressively sees only one type of person when a law is broken: the criminal. Our government has and continues moving to only one side of the spectrum. We are finding vast amounts of criminal laws, where morality, discretion, and, if necessary, civil laws once stood. What I am leading to, is that we have a terrible case of overcriminalization here in America.

  Hold on, now that’s a big word. What and why on earth are you trying to use that word? Simply because it means that we and our legislators have begun to view almost all instances of broken laws as prison worthy, and began legislating it as such. Overcriminalization is that increasing trend to putting more people behind bars than is necessary.

Really? That seems strange. Why would we start making more things a crime?

   Interestingly, most of the countries of the world began making more issues a crime in the past 40+ years. In the 1970’s there began a spike in incarcerations and laws nicknamed, getting “tough on crime” laws. They were a worldwide movement, mind you, but the US took it much further than everyone else. And, strangely, we have never gone back.

   We stand as 1/20 of the world population with 1/4 of the world inmates. No matter how many surveys are done, our country remains the greatest incarcerator on the face of this planet, and no one seems to deny it. “Though only 5 percent of the world’s population lives in the United States, it is home to 25 percent of the world’s prison population. … Not only does the current overpopulated, underfunded system hurt those incarcerated, it also digs deeper into the pockets of taxpaying Americans.” Sen. Rand Paul once said, while Hillary Clinton states, “It’s a stark fact that the United States has less than 5 percent of the world’s population, yet we have almost 25 percent of the world’s total prison population. The numbers today are much higher than they were 30, 40 years ago despite the fact that crime is at historic lows.”

   It’s obvious both Republicans and Democrats see there is a problem, but they don’t seem to know what to do about it. We still have the best criminal laws of all the nations in the world. Other countries incarceration rates are going up too, so is there really a problem?

   To begin with, let’s mention the thing that our whole government is so deeply concerned for: children, children in the United States. Did you know 1 in every 100 of them have a parent with a prison record, or currently in prison for that matter? But that’s not a big deal, right?

   Next, our Congress continues passing criminalizing laws at the rate of one per week. They have been doing it for decades. Everyone sees there is an issue, yet “...From 2000 through 2007, Congress enacted 452 new criminal offenses.” (Overcriminalization: An Explosion of Federal Criminal Law) We could do something to petition or protest against these law passages, but the truth is we don’t have the knowledge or time to gain all the knowledge we need to request a change.

   Strangely, the US sends all the convicted criminals to prison. Where other countries send their mentally unstable and drug offenders to institutions, our criminal justice system doesn’t do that. Does that protect us from more unknown dangers, or does it simply compound the overcriminalization issue?

The unemployment rates of former prisoners stands so great, the Labor Department does not even record them. So, returning to crime looks like the best way to survive for many ex-convicts. It’s only logical that they would return to the way they know, even though the whole process of punishment was meant to discourage and change their views on committing crimes.

  More than half of those formerly in incarcerated will return within a few years. Almost 80% will return to crime. It’s called recidivism. Think about that from a criminal’s point of view. It’s almost a guarantee that you will be back in prison before five years is up. So, why even try to change?

  Also, if these rates only continue to climb over the decades, it only seems logical to conclude that whatever measures are being taken now to rehabilitate, discourage, or stop these massive incarcerations has not been very effective at all. What needs to change? Why do we keep doing this?

   Here festers yet another wound to our civil government. Messy, controversial, powerful, even massive, our criminal justice system and the faults found in it are starting to look irreconcilable. Like the rest of our government, it looms as a black hole that most citizens of our country run from, or the most discouraged ones just sit and wait until it swallows them up. There are many things that we are immensely grateful for in our criminal justice system and the protection it provides for us, but honestly, when we look closely, it’s just as frightening and foreboding as the direction we feel all the rest of our government and country is heading.

So, what should we do?