Thomas Jefferson is surely rolling in his grave right about now. He wouldn’t believe, as I hardly can, that the Texas board of education has removed him from their textbooks. There was this part in the books that asked students to explain how Thomas Jefferson and others influenced later revolutions with their Enlightenment thinking. But because Jefferson advocated a separation of church and state, the board decided it would be better to include John Calvin in his place. They took this man, who authored the Declaration of Independence, and removed him from their history book because they didn’t like that he wanted church and state to be separate. What. A. Bunch. Of. Morons.

What of this quote from Jefferson regarding the separation of church and state?

“The rights of conscience we never submitted, we could not submit. We are answerable for them to our God. The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg . . . . Reason and free inquiry are the only effectual agents against error.”

I don’t get the rational behind this textbook decision. You don’t have to get rid of Jefferson to prove you are religious – I am very religious, and I’ve always had a profound respect for the man. Thanks to the separation of church and state, my church was founded and allowed to thrive. At that time, there was no state run church that threatened to squash dissenters who held different beliefs. Ironically, but luckily for Texas, people can believe what they want and put whatever they want into textbooks. Maybe they should thank Jefferson that their brand of Christianity doesn’t offend some all powerful religious state, prompting a little holy war.

It really is a shame that we still fall victim to viewing history without considering how circumstances have changed. That some arrogant school board members can presume that their ideas of what is Christian excludes the possibility of appreciating Jefferson’s ideas is just pathetic. All I know now is that I will look very carefully at what my child’s school teaches before I let him step foot inside. I won’t have people like this teaching my kids. I will be responsible fore teaching him religion and values, and I’ll expect his school to teach him what this nation was founded upon. If that includes Enlightenment theory, separation of church and state, science, etc, then all the better. Better that my child accepts or questions Thomas Jefferson’s ideas with his own little reason than there be no mention of Jefferson at all.

Never in my life had I thought I would end up adopting a child. I knew one family who had adopted a few, but I never looked at them and thought that my family might look like that someday. I always believed that life would take its typical course, few variations if any. So I guess you could say that that the adoption process that I now find myself in the middle of constitutes one of life’s good curveballs.

I can’t even remember when the talk started, but I’m certain it came from April. I’ve benefited from a wife who was raised by an adopted father. Adoption must have been talked about as normal in their family. Because it was never spoken of in my family, my resistance to adoption at first could be expected. I always thought of fatherhood as biological.

Slowly, my resistance began to wear down. It’s not that I was ever flat out anti-adoption, but I needed some convincing. My wife started to think about Ethiopia early on, gathering bits of information over time. She started watching adoption videos to see how other families experienced it. A while after that started, my sister adopted a baby from Tennessee. Not so suddenly, it became acceptable and even desirable to me. It was no longer about giving up and settling for an adoption. It started to be about giving a disadvantaged child a chance. Then it became more a question of children’s equality in God’s eyes, and our responsibility to start a family no matter the method. It’s really a mix of both those things. Now when I think of adoption versus other methods we could have tried with a fertilization specialist, all I know is that there is 100% certainty that we could bring a child out of a poverty-stricken nation and give him a better life here.

I’ve been at this point for a while now. We won’t be a family who couldn’t have “our own”. We will have our own. Like I wrote above, parenthood isn’t about DNA – it’s much more than that. I hope people get that. My sister who adopted last year has told us of people who don’t. They stand in grocery lines, seeing the attention that the little black girl gets, and feel they have to make snarky remarks about how Brangelina has made adoption trendy now. I’m sure we’ll get a few of those, but you can bet I’ll speak up if I need to. It’s just one of those things not everybody understands fully, but that’s ok.

My wife and I will be posting updates throughout the process at TheRealBlairFamily.com.

It’s funny how things just work out.

You can anticipate what you think will happen, maybe justify why you want it to happen, and then it happens in an entirely different way.  You can tell yourself that certain things shouldn’t have happened, but then you see that they actually happened for your good.  You can puzzle and puzz, till your puzzler is sore, only to one day realize that the pieces fit together like you never had imagined.

All these “you cans” are pictures of my experiences, of course.  All too many times I’ve found myself wondering why something had to happen the way it did.  Why was I supposed to learn that the hard way?  Did I learn anything at all?

I’m beginning to change the questions I ask because I want an answer that is forward looking.  Those other questions dwelt too much on the past, too much on the why’s.  I am beginning to acknowledge that things happened the way they did because…well, just because.  The fact that I know something more about myself now, because of what happened, is enough for me to move forward.  So what do I know?

I know there’s something to be said for playing to my strengths.  I have been given certain talents and abilities.  Others I was most emphatically not given.  Why, I don’t know, but I really no longer care because my strengths are enough to take me precisely where I want to go.  So maybe I still feel this occasional need to prove to myself that I can do something whose gift to do so was so generously bestowed upon everyone except me, but that doesn’t mean I have to pursue it.

I know that others know better than me.  Most of the time, April.  All those ideas, certainties, and pieces of ‘undebatable’ knowledge tend to jumble around so much in one’s head that the dust clouds one’s vision.  Sometimes you need  someone to rain on your dust cloud (in a good way of course), and identify what should have been obvious.  There is untold value in an intelligent second or third party in one’s life.

Finally, I know that things will work out as designed.  Thankfully, I know that they have been designed by a Master Architect, and now I just need to follow the drawings as best I can.  None of this “what might happen if I go that way instead of this way”.  Just more of “this seems to be the best way, now I’ll make the best of it”.  Wow, it sounds so easy.  What might have happened if I had always thought that way.

Wrongo.

I was about to fall into that trap again,see.  What matters now is that I knows what I didn’t knows, and that’s good enough for me.  So here’s to the knowledge that things will work out, that they have worked out, and that I can make them work out if I stay true to myself and the Designer.

Word.

]]> http://www.theblairswitchproject.com/work-it-out/feed/ 0 http://www.theblairswitchproject.com/mexicos-and-americas-drug-problem/ http://www.theblairswitchproject.com/mexicos-and-americas-drug-problem/#comments Fri, 27 Mar 2009 06:23:50 +0000 Nathan http://theblairswitchproject.com/?p=325
It’s sad to me to see all the nasty stuff that is going on down in ol’ Mexico. Those who know me know why I have a soft spot for that country – I lived there for a couple years as a missionary for my church. Living in another country while engaged in a work of that nature gives you a different perspective on its people. Especially so since that country is Mexico and many people in the states seem to have an opinion on what they think that country is.

That’s an aside from my reason for writing this post,though.  I just read what Hillary Clinton said about the drug violence in Juarez and all along the border – that the U.S. shares the blame for what is happening because of our demand for drugs.  I agree with her.  I think her point is very logical, but when I read down through the comments, I could hardly believe some of the things I saw.

Let me say first that this article came from a website called “One News Now“, a site that I have been receiving regular email updates from for a while now.  I gradually got the impression that this site was a so called “Christian site” because many of the views were extreme right and often referenced clergy from various Christian churches.  I read the articles as I would read any other, knowing the source from where they came.  I rarely read the comments to these articles.  I think today was the second time I have ever done so.

It was pretty incredible reading comments that immediatly discounted what Clinton had to say because of her character, family, or political affiliation.  A lot of these commenters made the argument that this liberal, anti-American, witch Hillary Clinton was selling out her country and blaming other country’s problems on our people.  Many interpreted her comments as though she said we deserve all the blame for Mexico’s drug woes.  That we should not hold the people of Mexico responsible; it’s all our fault.  Then they proceeded to insist that were the borders completely sealed off, we would be isolated from the drug problem.  Build a wall, it seems, and our drug problems would be over.

I am no big fan of Hillary Clinton, but what she said was right on.  Can we deny that there is HUGE demand for drugs in the U.S.?  Absolutely not.  Where there is huge demand, will supply not find its way to meet it, one way or another?  Absolutely.  How then can these people say that we are not at least partially to blame for this crisis?  This is not an issue to be politicized.  It is simply confronting a problem that is responsible for the deaths of I don’t know how many people in Ciudad Juarez and elsewhere, and having the courage to admit that we helped create that problem.

By admitting this, nobody is saying that we are blaming the American people for Mexico’s problems.  That’s just political crap that acts as a distraction.  The truth is that we must start fixing it by cleaning up the demand end.  Yes, we should do other things like securing the border to stop drugs from coming in.  We should continue to cut away at the branches, but we have to attack the root with much more force.  That’s the long term solution.  It’s a hard fight against a lot of druggies, but it’s the lasting solution.  Mexican drug lords will continue to satisfy our insatiable demand, and when their government gets in their way, they won’t roll over.  Too much drug money is at stake for them.

One commenter said that it is very un-Christian to say that we should wash our hands of Mexico’s problems.  I agree with her.  Work needs to be done on both sides.  Let’s not let the fact that the statement was made by a liberal like Hillary Clinton get in our way of seeing it for what it is.  That is, if you are one of those naturally inclined to disagree with her, like many of us are.

Tags:Mexico, Hillary Clinton, One News Now, Mexican drug violence

Something that I have struggled to understand though, is the fierce loyalty that many people have for this man.  None of them knows how his presidency will unfold, yet they act as if The Savior Himself has just assumed the country’s highest office.  I suppose such loyalty is admirable, but he hasn’t done anything yet.  He has given hope for sure, but as the next four years unfold, I will need more than that to shower him with the praise that so many others do.

I understand that everybody shows excitement or anticipation in different ways.  Personally, I will offer my loyalty to the new president and then observe and process what I see before I offer praise.  I never have been the type to fall over myself trying to catch a glimpse of some public figure.  Instead I try to ask what it is that inspires such wild reactions in their followers, and if it is admirable, then maybe I can model myself after it.  But that “something” has to be admirable. 

In Obama’s case, he has some big promises to keep; a big mess to fix.  He’s not a rock star because he has promised to enact change – he will be deemed worthy of my admiration when he shows me he will uphold the constitution at all costs, strengthen moral values as much as he is able, and keep the promises he has made to reform broken Washington.  Even then I won’t be tripping over my feet to see him as tears fall from my eyes, but I will respect him.

The bottom line for me is that he is our president and he has my support.  But great presidents have proven themselves by actions in tough times.  Promises are ok, but we demand more now that Obama has assumed the office.  As far as I’m concerned, the honeymoon is over and it’s time to bring that change.

Tags: Barack Obama, President of the United States, Obama change, American president Obama

This one goes right to my list of recommended movies.  Ben Stein (he’s the teacher on Ferris Beuler’s Day Off who calls Beuler over and over in his monotone voice) narrates this movie about how intelligent design has come under attack in the academic community.  He interviews a few academics who were either denied tenure or forced out of their schools for daring to even mention ID in their scholarly work.  He also interviews some atheists and proponents of Darwinism, asking questions about their beliefs.  Ben Steins question is why, if the theories of Darwinism are pushed so much in universities, can’t ID receive the same chance to be analyzed in the classroom.  A legitimate question, I believe, since a university education should be about discussion, debate, and critical thinking.

The problem that exists now is that we are only allowed to think critically about Darwinism when inside the classroom.  The “well educated” apparently fear that the mentioning of the words intelligent design to a student would be the same as imposing a religious ideology on him or her.  Students are not given the credit that they can think for themselves and decide which theory makes the most sense.  Instead anything that even remotely insinuates God is kept as far from campus as legally possible.

What it comes down to for me is this: there are two sides to every argument.  In this case, the Darwinists may be right, or the proponents of ID might be right.  The important thing is that each side be given a voice, especially at a university.  Darwinists will say that there is no evidence of ID therefore they cannot teach it.  That’s nice until you ask any Darwinist to prove that ID didn’t happen.  They cannot do it.  That alone means that there is a base for discussion.

I am a religious person so I believe in God as the Creator.  No matter what I say to a Darwinist, they will not take scripture as proof.  That is fine with me.  But on the other hand, not one of them can show me that God did not create the heavens and the earth.  They must live with that.  Whether you believe God was the intelligent designer, or you don’t know who or what designed all things, the fact remains that it cannot be discounted and should not be excluded from scholarly discussion.

The prominent atheist in the movie said it best when he first suggested that life began on the backs of crystals but then conceded it was possible that somebody could have created those piggy-backing organisms.  Even this big bad atheist couldn’t look Ben Stein in the eye and tell him how life started.  Why?  Because he doesn’t know.

When you don’t know, you can’t attempt to silence the other side for proposing their ideas.

Tags: Ben Stein Expelled, Creationism, Darwinism, Expelled Movie, Intelligent Design

A few months have passed since I was forced to get a new computer because of the laptop death.  I wondered then if it was the right decision to ditch the name brands and build my own system a la PC Laptops – without the ridiculous mark-up of course.  I also made the decision at that time to upgrade to Vista, a logical conclusion since it comes with most new systems anyway.

The last few months have been filled with price remorse-free bliss and a good share of satisfaction with the new operating system.  I bought all my parts at Newegg.com, a website whose experience is second to none.  I was able to do all my research for every single part on that site as a result of the huge number of experienced builders who contribute their recommendations and warnings to the comment section of each product.  Newegg had all my stuff here and in fine condition within a few days.

Vista, so far, has not disappointed me at all.  I have come across a few obstacles that took a little searching on the internet for answers, but I have always found what I needed.  I am used to the interface, and it’s much better than XP, in my opinion.  Maybe someday I’ll run across some big bad problem like Apple warns of, but that day has not come yet.  I’m a happy user.

So my conclusion is that building a desktop didn’t take a ton of research and time, so I’m glad I did it and came out with a high quality machine at a mid-quality price.  It truly is not that complicated if you put in a little research beforehand.  You’ll have the advantage of knowing exactly what is inside your case and being able to better troubleshoot any problems.  It’s also just nice to know things like this work.  Maybe that’s just a thing of mine, I don’t know.  Also, I don’t believe Vista is the monster it has been made out to be.  I think it just has a bad rap.

So you can count me as a satisfied Newegg customer and Vista user.  Next come the complexities of the laptop, but that may take a while longer.

Tags: Windows Vista, Newegg.com, PC Laptops, Computers

October’s issue came yesterday, and two articles got me thinking about how I can learn from the latest financial crisis.  One article was an interview with Chuck Schwab and the other was the cover article about Toll Brothers (the McMansion builders).  So what can I learn?

First, I think Toll was being nice when he said that the blame for the housing crisis is to be equally distributed among various groups, consumers being among them.  I think irresponsible consumers should be CHIEF among them.  I do not believe consumers can take all the blame, but my newly discovered inner locus of control attitudes force me to say that many consumers were just plain greedy and stupid.

I mean come on, does a homebuyer really need to be told what he or she can comfortably afford?  So you’ve been renting an apartment for $800 or $900 a month, you’ve been barely getting by, and now just because the bank told you you qualify for that $400,000 home you are going to buy it?  Did these people truly not know what they were getting into???  No, they knew.  They just got greedy.  They walked into the bank and initiated the conversation that ended in the zero down, no interest loan on that McMansion that they couldn’t afford.  Unscrupulous lenders they were, but they weren’t forcing people to buy the super-sized boxes.  There was greed first.

So Schwab pointed out how pathetic it is that American’s save next to nothing these days.  We’re maxed out, or worse yet, upside down in debt.  We know we will have to retire some day, but those granite counter-tops and home theater systems are just too appealing today.  He stressed the importance of saving and investing in a market like this, not spending.  We may be at or very close to the bottom of the market, so we should start looking for investments that will pay off as the market corrects.  He predicts that many people will become responsible savers by force, not by choice in the next five or ten years.  The market will correct as it has done in the past, and hopefully our saving habits will too.

I know that’s not really what I learned, rather an assessment of what I read.  I’m learning that the gratification now is just not worth it.  Prudent living would be a better goal, alongside smart money management.  That’s no matter how much money I’m making.  I can always save for something – children’s college, missions, retirement, family vacations, etc.  The general crisis doesn’t have to be a personal crisis, so long as smart living has been the rule and not the exception.

Tags: Charles Schwab, personal finance, money, Portfolio Magazine, Toll Brothers

I think the main thought I have been having is on entitlement attitudes in the generation that we are now raising.  I don’t have children, so I can’t criticize others for not doing enough, nor can I praise myself for not falling victim to the traps that I see outside of my home.  I see what I see and I neither fault or pardon myself.

The Parade of Homes is supposed to be a display of the best that builders have to offer.  I understand that, but I also know that these homes will be purchased soon.  Countless other homes just like them are already lived in.  But whether the Parade is merely a display or not, nobody can deny that the outrageously extravagant kids’ rooms are meant to be emulated or duplicated.  Sponsors put their products in there for a reason – so people will create in their own homes what they see in the Parade.  This is natural and is the outcome of any home show.

My observation is that the models have gone beyond overboard.  I see children’s rooms that have more than enough space to be the master bedroom.  Does your baby’s room need a walk in closet and a toilet and shower?  Baby probably won’t be showering for a few years, but there it is.  Do your young ones need their own rooms, each one almost as big as their parent’s room and with just as many furnishings?  Do they each need their own bathrooms, flat screen TV’s, computers, and sound systems?  My answer is not only ‘no’, it’s ‘not in my lifetime’.

Back to the book I’ve been reading.  The author has made her point clearly enough that young and adolescent girls (boys aren’t exempt – they’re just not part of the book) cannot not afford to continue following what the mainstream expects of them.  This author, who sees young female patients daily and treats their depression, STD’s, self-image issues, and much more, writes that kids need to be shielded from this stuff, not encouraged to participate in it.  The data is overwhelming.  All of it is linked.  Depression, lack of values taught in the home at a young age, weak-willed parents, and an acceptance of what society says we must have.

So as fun as the Parade of Homes is, I tend to look underneath the surface a little.  The home is not the problem, but the underlying beliefs that lead us to believe we need a home like that, are.  If we think that the kids aren’t getting the message loud and clear, then we should think again.  Last night, we saw two boys who couldn’t have been any older than 17, pull up to the home we were going through.  Had there been more people at this house, they would have blended right in with the crowd.  They finished their viewing, got in their shiny black BMW convertible, and drove off.  My question is: why are 17 year old boys even interested in the Parade of Homes?  I shouldn’t judge their motives, but shouldn’t they be playing video games with their friends or something?  I just think it’s way too early for them to be worrying about BMW’s and homes and all that stuff.

Maybe I’m wrong about those boys, but the point is that kids are being raised to believe that big homes, luxury cars, exotic vacations, and the like will surely come their way.  And if they don’t, well then something is wrong.  Our blatant displays of excess are not doing our children any favors.  It’s not that they’re dumb, but at their ages they fail to understand what it takes to achieve the kind of wealth displayed at the Parade of Homes.  Worse still, they don’t understand that a small percentage of families will ever make it to that standard of living.

I’ve rambled, yes, but my thought here is simply that our excesses are a big part of the reason that our youth have twisted ideas about the world and what is normal.  It starts with the parents.  They decide what their kids will be exposed to.  The excesses of others in the media will reach their eyes every day, but if we make it so, kids will look to us for an example instead of to the peddlers of indulgence.

Tags: luxury homes, McMansions, Salt Lake Parade of Homes, books, Strong Fathers Strong Daughters