The First Amendment

Amendment I -

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The United States Constitution is one of the best documents around.  The First Amendment allows so much freedom.  In only 45 words, the citizens of this country have the ability to attend (or not attend) any house of worship they choose, say anything they want, print any news they see fit, gather in groups as desired, and let the powers-that-be know when they are unhappy without fear.  Unfortunately, some forget this amendment applies to everyone and not just a select few.

Some often misinterpret the 1st Amendment's religion clause.  It is the freedom OF religion, not the freedom FROM religion.  If you elect to not put up a Christmas Tree, more power to you; however, if a group of people want to dress the tree, they are allowed to do so without your interference.  There is not required to also be every other winter holiday symbol display at the same time in the same place.  If I want to say Merry Christmas, you will hear Merry Christmas.  This does not need to be followed up with any comments telling me I'm being offensive to the Jewish community.  I won't be offended at hearing Happy Hanukah, Happy Holidays, Merry Winter, whatever, because it's your right to follow any religion or none at all.  Please do not suppress my right to religious freedom with your right to no religion.

No, you can't run into a crowded theater and shout FIRE, unless of course the building actually IS on fire.  That's not squelching freedom of speech; that's keeping the peace and not starting a riotous mad exit for the door.  One should be able to stand up and say he/she does not agree with same-sex marriage without fear of some group filing a law suit or showing up with picket signs in the yard saying that person must be discriminatory because of the comments.  Of course, the same amendment that lets people say things like that also allows groups to protest with picket signs in the yard as long as it is peaceful. 

We can tell the government when we are unhappy; unfortunately, lately it seems the government just pats us on the head and says "now, now, we know better than you; just let us handle it for you."  Polls from Rasmussen have shown the majority of citizens want Obamacare repealed.  Has the government listened to the people?  Has it been placed on the ballot for a popular vote?  No.  We have the right to tell the government to change.  How do we do this?  In the election booth in November.

These rights are not for a select few.  One group should not have to cower in the corner because their opinions or houses of worship are different from another group.  If we let people take these rights away from us, what have we gained?  Nothing!  If we stand up for these rights, we regain the power of a country that was once great enough to take on any enemy.  I miss that country.

Let it Fail

America traditionally represents the greatest possibility of someone's going from nothing to something. Why? In theory, if not practice, the government stays out of the way and lets individuals take risks and reap rewards or accept the consequences of failure. We call this capitalism - or, at least, we used to. - Larry Elder

 

During my senior year of school, I had to take a class on government and civics.  To understand the principles behind capitalism, we were given a project where we needed to create a small business and try to make money.  Each group needed to produce something that could be sold in the school.  We were responsible for manufacturing, distributing, and selling our wares.  My group decided to sell popcorn - we could buy popcorn kernels in big bags rather inexpensively so could pop it and then sell it pretty cheap.  We thought that by setting a lower price point, it would increase overall sales enough that we would come out on top.  That demonstration taught us the importance of profit margin - sometimes you need to set your price just a bit higher in order to cover all your costs and actually make a profit. 

 

While we didn't rocket to the top of the class with our venture, we learned that not all businesses will succeed.  There was no bail out for the struggling high school popcorn industry that year.  The groups that did well did not offer part of their profits to help us out.  Had we been able to do the project again, we would have learned from our mistakes, made the appropriate adjustments, and hopefully been more profitable.

 

Schools give grades to students based on merit.  If the student fails, the class or grade level needs to be repeated.  Unless the student changes his or her knowledge of a subject, that student will not be successful in that class.  If I failed a test, I studied harder to make sure I didn't bomb on the next one.  I did not think that we would all get the same grade regardless of the individual effort put forth.  The free market is the report card of businesses.  When a business flounders in the market, the company needs to adjust or it will fail.  This potential failure does not make capitalism a bad idea.  To me, it reinforces the need for hard work to bring about a favorable outcome.

 

Success is earned, not given.  There is no constitutional "right" to succeed, only the opportunity to try.  Businesses need to be able to try and they need to be able to fail.  The governments needs to step out of the way and let the people speak through the free market.

English please

Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or leave the country.  - Theodore Roosevelt


In high school, I went to France for a month with our French Club.  I had taken 2 years of French before going so thought I knew enough of the language to get by.  The group took a trip down to the beach and a few of us decided to go shopping.  Nothing can go wrong with a cluster of 17-year-old girls shopping in France, right??  We ended up getting lost in this little town and couldn't find our way back to the train station.  We kept asking random people "Ou est le train?" (Where is the train) and were answered with blank stares.  Finally, a nice gentleman who spoke English took pity on us and walked us to the train station where we watched it leave without us.  Not all Frenchmen are rude. :)


We did not have any expectation that all the French citizens would be able to speak English.  We made an attempt to learn the native language before going to France.  It was their country, not ours.  There was not an English-only TV station that we could watch.  You either listened and tried to figure out what was going on or you didn't.  Why should they change their language just because it would have made it easier on us?  If I had decided to stay in France, I would have had to learn the language to be able to function as a productive member of society.


Why, then, is this country different?  Why are there television channels that are only broadcast in one language?  If a store owner posts a sign saying "Speak English only," that person is considered as being discriminatory.  Of course, in order to be able to read the sign and be offended in the first place, one would have to know enough English to read it.  If you can read the sign that says "English only," you should be able to order a hamburger, even if you only point to the picture.


This post may make some people mad and that's okay.  You don't have to agree with everything I say - that's one of the great things about this country.  However, in order for this to make you angry, you would need to be reading it in English, which was the original point.  If someone chooses to live here, learn my language - don't make me learn yours.

Thank You

Posterity: you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it. - John Quincy Adams

Last week, my 3-year-old was in awe watching the 4th of July fireworks in stimulus overload.  He would get so excited each time there was a big blast and he made sure to ask everyone around him if we all saw that one.  I loved watching his face light up with the reflections of red and blue shining back in his eyes.  My older kids were the same way at that age - completely mesmerized by the light show.  To me, the best part of any firework show is watching the kids caught up in the moment with the Star Spangled Banner playing in the background.

Any time I hear the National Anthem sung properly (not the Roseanne Barr version), I get goosebumps and start to cry.  I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to live and raise my family in a country founded on the belief that freedom should come at any cost and I am eternally grateful for every soul sacrificed long before my time to allow me the rights some may take for granted.  While I personally never served in the Armed Forces, I have known many people brave enough to say "Send me" when their country needs them; my 17-year-old son will leave for Marine boot camp on Monday and I could not be any prouder of him. 

Each generation faces different military power struggles.  My kids have never performed a nuclear air raid drill at school.  I never experienced waiting on draft cards of friends and family to be pulled.  I think with each generation we become one more step removed from truly knowing the original cost of freedom that Adams was talking about. 

Thank you to every man and woman who ever put on the uniform.  Thank you to each parent who raised a child strong enough to cut the apron strings and soar.  I hope all parents pass on the meaning behind the Anthem to their children so that it doesn't just become a hollow song 50 years down the road.  May you always shed a tear during the Star Spangled Banner and never forget the ones that picked up the tab.

We The People

Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country. - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Some people seem very happy to just complain about elected officials; however, when asked for whom he or she voted, the answer is "Oh, I didn't vote because I didn't like either candidate."  Choosing not to vote and then pointing out all the faults of the winner is like saying you don't care what's for dinner and then being upset because you get liver and onions.  Rush sang it best with "if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice." 

Some people want to vote for the popular candidate so there is common ground to speak about with friends.  Who ever said the friends were correct?  The ability to break away from the group and make a personal decision separates us from pack animals.  I don't want to say "oh please give me liver and onions for dinner" just because someone else wants it when I would prefer grilled fish and a baked potato.  I will still give my vote and have my voice heard; of course, I may end up being hungry that night. :)

I think everyone gets tired of seeing election commericals.  My 3-year-old sees them and says "change the channel, stupidhead is on TV."  Many commericals have sound bites or informative tidbits that were taken out of context and the entire meaning is changed.  Saying "I don't like liver and onions" means something different than "I don't like liver and onions for breakfast."  Voters should not take anything heard during a political commerical as fact; one should always do a little research to see how much (if any) of the information is correct, even when citations are given during the ad.

Take voting seriously.  Don't go to the polls and flip a coin. Don't believe everything you hear.  Most importantly, don't let someone else make your decision for you.  But then again, maybe you like liver and onions.

Moving the Ends

"About the time we think we can make ends meet, somebody moves the ends." - Herbert Hoover

For years, I've been listening to politicians say how they "understand" how people feel when money gets tight.  Do they really?  The high profile ones will bring home much more every month than the typical family so how can they possibly understand how the common person struggles with how to make dinner for 6 people with 1 pound of hamburger and a can of green beans? 

The whole mess with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is along those same lines.  A person will now be forced to pay extra taxes (or "penalty" if you prefer that word even though the ruling said it's constituional as a tax and not a penalty) if he or she can afford health insurance, but chooses not to purchase it.  Who defines the word "afford?"  I can "afford" to buy lobster for my entire family for dinner tonight; of course, I would not be able to feed them for the next 2 weeks or pay the utility bills.  That person who chooses not to carry insurance may be very healthy and able to pay out of pocket for annual visits.  So why force someone to purchase a product that may never be used?

Some companies have decided it's cheaper to pay the business penalty rather than offer insurance for the employees.  What happens then?  I pay more than $700 a month for a family insurance plan that I get through my employer.  My divorce papers from my first marriage state I am to carry the insurance on the kids through my employer.  So what happens if my employer decides to drop our coverage?  I'll tell you what will happen - I will get a nasty letter from the state stating they will reduce the amount of child support I receive each month to pay for state-sponsored health care on the kids.  This is what happened when I lost my job a few years ago and was between insurance plans.

The idea behind the ACA was to be sure no family went broke because of healthcare costs.  There will still be deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses that a person will have to pay, which means if something catastrophic happens, there will still be additional costs (in addition to the insurance premiums or tax penalty) that will have to be paid.  Where's the incentive?

I wish the government would just stay out of my personal life.  My "ends" are hard enough to meet without their "help."