BooMac’s whereIstand Blog

     I recently attended my daughters first day at college. The president of the university gave a welcoming speech, advising us that our " children " were now college freshman and they will be completely on their own now, the apron strings have been cut. He then said that they will have a reality check about college academic life starting October 22 with their first mid terms. The mother next to me wrote this date down. She then took some other notes, and proceeded to review these notes with her daughter after the president spoke. When does it end? When do the students start to do their work on their own? I have seen the parents of my children’s friends do all their homework with them night after night, through the end of high school. I have personally known parents that will read every book their children are assigner so they can " help them " with the  term paper. Help them? They write it for them! These grammar school students are handing in college level essays about books, and nobody thinks the teachers know. Of course they do, but what are their options? Fail the kids who get extra help at home? Their parents would be in an uproar. 

     When I was kid, my parents stopped helping me with my home work in about the fifth grade. Their help had grdually become more like " Do you want me to test you? " If I had a test tomorrow, or " I can drive you to the library to look that up". Today’s parents do not draw the line they should when they give their children homework help. Many do the homework for them, correct it so its perfect, do extensive research on the Internet, even work on projects while the kids are in school! My son saw a mother on line outside the high school college admissions office one morning last week handing in college applications. It made me wonder, who filled put their applications and wrote the essays? I don’t have to wonder, I know, I just hope they tell the student which college Mommy got them accepted to.

     We all want our children to do well in school, succeed in life, but helping them has gotten out of hand. At some point these kids are going to be on their own, and it will be a rude awakening for some. I hope the parents are always there to pick them up when they fail. Remember, butterflies need to be strong enough to break out of the cocoon, or they won’t be able to fly. These kids need their mental muscles exercised before its too late. Its usually SAT day - no parents allowed!

whereIstand Tags

• Should the government mandate paid parental leave?

    
      No one likes a judge. To me, the title implies " authority over my actions ".  So how could I sit here and be a proponent of capital punishment? Do I know all the circumstances of these incidents? Do I know the mental state or capacity of the murderer? And finally, who am I to decide if that person should live or die? I believe that people who support capital punishment have not fully examined this issue.

     The family of the victims of horrific crimes many times are for the death penalty. Emotionally, this must seem like justice for them, an eye for and eye, closure. But have we walked a mile in the killer’s shoes? How were they raised, what drove them to use deadly force, torture people, do horrible things that bring them to the brink of receiving the death penalty? I cannot in good conscience ever be in favor of this. 

     I do not think as a modern society, educated, that we need this kind of penalty to keep the criminal population in check. How sane can murderers and other criminals at that level be? We know they are not the people we want living next to us, but somebody grew up next to them, they are human beings, forgivable. Maybe forgivable is too strong a word.

      Human beings should not condemn another to die, we do not have that right.

whereIstand Tags

• MisterE
• CarolHoenig
• lamarhall
• Are there circumstances under which you support capital punishment?

     When your eight year old asks you this question, it is a tough moment. You just had the conversation that they were born because Mommy and Daddy loved each other and made them. Now, your child sees on television that another child has no father, only two mothers. This is very confusing, and not natural. If evolution has taught us anything, its that two species of the same gender cannot reproduce. How do you explain that they used the sperm of a man, who is the baby’s birth father, but not his " Daddy " ? This is when other peoples " choices " are brought into the home and become a problem for your family unit.

      I believe a child should have a male and female presence in the home to provide the most balanced upbringing. Divorce can cause this balance to break down, but same sex couples raising a child is a choice. When this choice is brought into my home on the television, this is where I have a problem. If my child is watching a show they’ve seen before and I approve of, but tonight there are new neighbors Jason and Tim with there seven year old, I cannot shield my child from that. I do not believe this represents a significant portion of society and it is not the kind of " family " model I want portrayed for my child. Is it so wrong to expect television to show middle of the road, regular situations instead of catering at times to the extreme element of society, most often just for shock value?

whereIstand Tags

• Should children’s media portray same-sex parents?

     The Yankees had 10 days to figure out the best way to replace Joe Torre, and the answer they came up with was to insult his performance and integrity with a pay cut and incentive package. Do you think Torre needed a monetary incentive to try to win?

     If the Yankees had any class, they would have approached Torre and asked him how he wanted to go out. Hey Joe, we want to move on, appreciate all you have done, let’s do this right. Press conference, player and management accolades,a list of his impressive achievements and the thanks of a grateful city for 12 exciting years. But NOOOOO! All the great minds of the Yankee brain trust ( a term I am using lightly ) decide to try to get discount Torre, the 2008 model.

     If Torre had manged in Seattle, Detroit, Minnesota, they would have a statue of him in the ballpark, he would be lifetime employee and his opinion would be valued. Only the Yankees could screw this up this bad. And let’s not blame senile George. His big boy sons finally have their first crack at public decision making and they blow it.

     The next Yankee manager can only fail. He will have to reach the American League Championships to be considered a success, most likely without Posada and Rivera. Let’s face it, why should they resign with the Yankees? Their best chance for returning to the World Series just got canned!

whereIstand Tags

• Are sports a crucial part of functioning society?

   No one but the individual couples themselves knows the ups and downs of marriage. Divorce is a necessary evil, no question. Some marriages are just not meant to be.  It’s difficult, giving up the single life or leaving the home you grew up in to get married. But love is the craziest emotion, so the married life still calls to many.

     It’s only in the past 50 years that divorce has become more and more common. Why? It actually should be less common, especially in this country. Everyone is educated, no one is forced into arranged marriages. Children can be planned, no " surprises ". Women are fully in the workforce, so two salaries are available for home ownership, vacations, luxuries that may have been unattainable for the last generation. Want to talk to your loved one? No need to wait for them to come home, call their cell, get the problem solved now, nothing is left to fester, keep the lines of communication open. Having some problems? Read a book about marriage, google self help topics on the Internet, find a good counselor, work through the problems. All these tools are available. Marriage should be a success story, but often its not. Why?

     I believe it is the amount of choices available today. It encourages people to be less responsible. Not happy with your job? You can move and get a divorce if the spouse wants to stay put. You have a right to your happiness, you shouldn’t let him/her stand in your way. Birth control has taken the risk of pregnancy away from any affair, so why not have that one night stand. I’m not hurting anyone, variety is the spice of life!. Marriage vows? Not if they don’t find out! Stay home at night? I have my cell phone, my spouse can call me if they need me. Children? Only when we are good and ready and we can hire a nanny. And I still want to go out with my friends, I deserve my " me " time, they don’t understand me at home. 

     We all know these people. They have a child or two, then decide they are not happy. Hello!! Who said it was going to be easy! For the first time in their lives, these people are faced with responsibility to another person, and they rebel! Hey, being responsible is difficult, no question. No one should stay in an abusive relationship, emotionally, physically, whatever. But too many marriages today break up because one or both parties just don’t want to deal anymore. And too often its the woman who ends up with the children, getting a check to cover expenses but little or no physical or emotional support. The children? Well, in the dating world, they are called " baggage ". I can’t do anything this weekend, I have the kids. We will have a good time when my ex takes the kids. Common phrases in our society, and its a shame. This isn’t my wife, its my baby’s mother, another of my favorites. 

     Has anybody thought about these children? Somebody needs to tell couples with children " Hey, you had children together. Sometimes its not about YOU in this life. These innocent human beings need your attention and love, and try not to screw them up.  They are your responsibility to raise, not baggage or an expense or a drag on your lifestyle! "

     Everyone talks about freedom, having more freedoms, etc. I would like to hear somebody say a little more often " I made commitment to my spouse and I am going to stick by it" . Is it old fashioned to expect people to live up to their commitments? I have a friend getting divorced for the second time. He has no children, professes to still love his wife, but he’s not  " happy ". So he goes back to his parents and tells them they did not let him choose his own career, they wanted him to be a professional and he wanted to be a construction worker. That’ s why he’s not happy. What a crock! If you are not happy, look in the mirror and have a good conversation. Most people control their own happiness. You are " Free " to be happy. Get used to it.

whereIstand Tags

• billyhallowell
• FreddieMontgomery
• Paul
• CarolHoenig
• lamarhall
• Should no-fault divorce be available to couples?

     E-mail is the modern day telegram. People give their thought, send it on its way and wait for a reply. I have sent these and been apart of this exercise many times, and it is counterproductive. I say something, you say something, I say something, blah, blah, blah. If anybody picked up a   phone, most problems could be resolved in 5 minutes. 

     The worst offenders are the people who are so quick to reply, they do not read the e-mail and you know this by the questions they ask you!  I also love the people who give you one word answers without copying the e-mail back to you. if I am sending out dozens of e-mails, do I want a reply that just says ” OK ” ? This doesn’t help me.

     E-mailers of the world, your little notes are the hard copy evidence of how people perceive you. If you type quickly, do not spell check, it makes me think you are either stupid or you just don’t value my time well enough to send me a well prepared, easy to read note. Would you write me a letter with misspellings, half words, extra letters, no capitalization or punctuation? Think about the impression you are trying to make.

whereIstand Tags

• What effect do technological advancements have on human life?

God: Welcome to the afterlife.
Atheist: Wow, you really exist.
God: Yes I do.
Atheist: I did not believe in you on earth. I thought all the religious people had been brainwashed.
God: Why did you not believe?
Atheist: Well, I never saw any proof. No one from any religion or sect could prove to me you existed.
God: Didn’t you read any of the writings about me?
Atheist: Yes, I read the Bible, but it had been translated so many times and had so many inaccuracies, I did not believe it.
God: What kind of proof did you want?
Atheist: A photo would have been nice.
God: You would have said that the photo had been doctored. That would not have convinced you.
Atheist: You could have sent someone to tell me, like a new prophet.
God: I sent the prophets already. Who do you think wrote the Bible?
Atheist: I guess I would have like to have seen a miracle to prove to me personally that you existed. 
God: I gave you miracles, you just refused to recognize them.
Atheist: Like what?
God; Who do you think caused your birth?
Atheist: That wasn’t a miracle, that was evolution.
God: Who do you think stopped World War II, sent you cures for polio, tuberculosis, smallpox and the many other diseases that have plagued humans?
Atheist: Well, how about all the current wars, the genocides, the poor and starving people all over the world?  Why haven’t you solved these problems?
God: I created man in my own image and likeness, but I gave him a free will. He makes mistakes. The world is not a perfect place. I wish we had more time to explain it all to you.
Atheist: Can’t we just keep talking? I have so many questions now that I know you are real. God? Are still there? Hey God!!!

whereIstand Tags

• MisterE
• CarolHoenig
• billyhallowell
• Paul
• FreddieMontgomery
• Is there convincing evidence that a higher being exists?