He says it better than I could

A friend of mine posted a link to this article on Facebook yesterday, and I wish I had read it before I did my post yesterday. I love it. It seems like everyone in this area was against letting their children listen to President Obama's speech yesterday, and that just boggles my mind. I really like the points this guy makes in his article about how not every president was perfect, but there are things about each of them that make them a good role model. President Obama is a great role model for the power of education and working hard, and I think we can appreciate that aspect of his life, even if we don't agree with all of his policies.

A few thoughts...

Note: I rarely wax political. OK, I never wax political, but lately I have felt a need to find my own opinions in certain matters, and I'm slowly starting to find them. I believe everyone has the right to believe what they want to believe. I don't mean to attack anyone or their beliefs. I'm just trying to figure out what my beliefs are.

This has been a very politically charged year or so, and I usually try to stay out of politics. It doesn't really interest me, and the people that do talk about politics are the ones who are passionate about it, and I don't share that passion, so I feel unqualified to contribute to the conversation. When people around me are talking about politics, they ask me if I'm interested in politics, and I usually say no, not really. I think the problem is that I don't know where I fit in. The political conversation is usually dominated by politically polarized people, and I am somewhere in the middle. I am definitely conservative in my views, but I hesitate to use the word "Republican" because lately that word seems to have the connotation that you worship Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck, and frankly whenever I hear one of their rabid followers talking about the government conspiracies and whatnot, I look at them incredulously and shout in my head, "Do you know how crazy you sound???" I am not a Democrat, either, and I think the people on the far left sound just as crazy as the people on the far right.

So I'm somewhere in the middle. I don't like confrontation. I don't like to be part of debates, either, because I don't have the facts to back up my thoughts and ideas, so I feel like I have nothing to argue with. That's OK, though, because I don't want to argue. I haven't really studied President Obama's policies, so I don't know if I would fully agree with them or not, but I don't think he is evil, either.

A word I've been hearing a lot lately is "socialism." Republicans seem to be afraid of President Obama's socialistic tendencies. Again, I haven't studied his policies, so I have no opinion of whether he has socialistic tendencies or not. This is just what I have noticed from the news and from hearing people around me talk about it. As I've thought about it, I don't think socialism itself works as a economic system, and I think history has shown that socialist and communist systems ultimately fail. But I can't disagree with the underlying basic principles of a socialistic system. From my brief study of socialism this morning (I looked it up on Wikipedia), I can generalize the basic principles to be individuals working together for the betterment of the whole society. This sounds like a good idea to me. Again, I don't think it works as a government-run economic system, but I believe when Christ comes again and rules on the Earth, the Law of Consecration will basically be individuals sacrificing what they have for the building up of the Kingdom of God on the Earth. In essence, individuals working together for the betterment of the whole society. I believe these ideas can and will work with Christ at the head.

Specifically today, those afraid of socialism are very worried that President Obama's speech to the kids in school today will be oozing with socialism. I've read the speech, and I just don't see it. I see a president who is worried about the future of this nation, as well he should be, and I see him encouraging students to stay in school, don't make excuses, and work hard to be successful. The future of our nation depends on the kids who are in school now. That's a scary thought.

So, there's some of my infantile thoughts on politics. (I mean infantile in that I feel like an infant in the world of politics, and my opinions are in their beginning stages.) For some reason, I feel the need to express them and get them on (virtual) paper. If I don't, I think they will rattle around in my brain forever until they get an outlet.

Ahhh, parenting...

Being the parent of a 2-year-old, I've had many opportunities to try and teach Josh what behaviors are correct and which ones are not so appropriate. Whichever discipline methods you choose, you hope you are successful in teaching correct behaviors and not just scarring your kids emotionally for life.

Recently I've had occasion to reflect on this part of being a parent, and I was overcome with awe and responsibility as I thought about the trust Heavenly Father puts in us when He sends His spirit children to us. It is amazing to me that He trusts His children with people (us) who have so little knowledge and experience compared to Him. He knows full well that we are just learning, too, and will make mistakes with His children, but still He created His plan so that we all learn together, parents and children.

I hope this makes sense. Sometimes it's hard for me to put feelings into words. I just know that I want to be a better parent, especially with another child coming soon, and I pray for guidance from my Father in Heaven that I can correctly teach His children that He has entrusted to me so that they can grow up to be responsible and well-balanced people.