Sunday seemed like as good a day as any other. I slept in, went shooting and had lunch with my dad and my wonderful girlfriend, with whom I spend the rest of the afternoon being lazy and enjoying her company. The time came for me to head back down to Moscow for the upcoming school week, so I got in my car and began heading south. What happened next happened incredibly fast. I was crossing an intersection when a car began to pull out in front of me, at which point I realized I had ran a red light. I hit the breaks as hard as I could and swerved to the left, only to find myself slamming directly into the front left side of a Chevy. Being that I wasn't harmed in any way, I quickly got out of my car to make sure everyone was okay. I discovered that the driver of the vehicle was a fifteen year-old girl on her permit, and her passengers were five other members of her family. Thankfully, nobody was hurt and police and paramedics were on the scene quickly. I hadn't been distracted by anything in particular, my mind simply decided to space out and ignore the light.
I got to Moscow later that night to find that two other college students my age, one being a high school classmate of mine, had gone off the highway on the way to Moscow that day and rolled over an embankment. Michelle Bonasera died at the scene and Andree Maxwell is at Sacred Heart Hospital in critical condition. This simply took my breath away, and it made me think for a long time about how incredibly lucky I was in my accident. If I didn't have the extra second to swerve left, I could have ended or severely changed the lives of 6 individuals. It is nothing short of a miracle that no one was harmed.
Driving is such a mundane task for many of us. It's something we do nearly every day and we don't often think twice about it, but on the road, somebody's life could change in an instant because of a seemingly small decision. The simple act of glancing at your phone, changing the song on your stereo or answering a text while driving could mean the difference between you seeing or not seeing that car swerving into your lane, or the kids using the crosswalk. Think hard before you decide to take out your phone or reach into the back seat while you're driving. Honestly, its not about your life, but the other people and families on the road that have so much to live for.
Life is a fragile thing, and this past Sunday made me realize it more than any other single day in my relatively short existence. My heart goes out to the families of Michelle and Andree. Nobody deserves to lose their lives at such a young age, with so much of a future ahead of them. We can't do anything to change what happened, but we can think twice before we decide to do some of the stupid things almost all of us are guilty of while driving.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Finding Your Passion
High school and college are very defining points in your life. I say this not because it's incredibly cliche and overstated, but because I've come to realize this myself. They are times when you form lasting friendships (and learn what friendship really is, for that matter), try new things, and they're the last times of your life that you can enjoy the freedom of being a kid. Something that is overlooked by many in this time period is finding your passion; the one thing that you, independent of others, enjoy doing more than anything else. I cannot stress enough the importance of this, I can only express how it has affected my life greatly.
Computers have always been apart of my life. My dad having a masters degree in technology, we always had the latest Macintosh computer in our house and I was taught the basics at a young age. However, I never took it much further than Neopets and MSN Messenger until I purchased my first computer, an Apple iMac, at age 16. I bought it both to escape from the ancient Dell desktop the family then possessed and to have the ability to edit and produce video, another hobby I was forming at the time. I never expected myself to become a computer geek, but after a short time of owning the computer I found myself learning more and more every day about its inner-workings: software, hardware, and everything in between.
By the second half of my Junior year, I found myself pricing parts to build my own computer from scratch. There had never been something in my life before that I felt such an eagerness and excitement to learn more about, and apply that knowledge in every way possible. I realized that I had officially been indoctrinated into the world of geekery, and I was okay with that. My best friends had absolutely no interest computers, it was something that I did purely for myself, and it turned into what I'm sure will be a life-long hobby of mine.
Finding your passion is so incredibly important at a young age, for many reasons. Not everybody (me included) falls in love with sports. They are a great thing if you enjoy playing them, but what's left for the rest of us who aren't the most athletic? For most, its left to a lot of uneventful hanging out with friends, going to parties, wasting time on Facebook, etc. The problem with these activities is that there's nothing to gain from them. Most commonly, partying is the choice among bored high school and college students, and its unfortunate. I've seen too many good people fall into the world of alcohol and drugs as a means of enjoying the world, and it leads to a lack of interest in everything else. They form a dependence on a substance to have fun and it ruins the joys of everyday life for them.
A passion is something that's always there for you; on those days after class with no homework, on those Friday nights when nothing is going on, and those Saturdays when your friends aren't around to hang out. It's something you can do by yourself and truly enjoy. Your friends, as important as they are to have, won't always be there. Friends grow up and go on to do different things and go different places than you. Many people in high school depend on large groups of friends for entertainment and enjoyment, only to find themselves a few years down the road in a new place, surrounded by new people, and completely out of their comfort zone. Some depend on this so much that they don't move on. They stay in the same town, going to the same parties, hanging out with the same people day after day without making any real progress as a person. Your passion goes with you wherever you go.
If you find yourself doing the same old thing every day, go out and try something new! Pick up a new hobby, take a class that interests you, join a new club; do something, and do it for yourself. This doesn't just apply to high school and college students, its something everybody should do. Finding your passion is something that will benefit you for the rest of your life and help you grow as a person in ways that nothing else could. I know this only because I've found more than one that have gotten me through some rough times and truly made my life more enjoyable to live.
Computers have always been apart of my life. My dad having a masters degree in technology, we always had the latest Macintosh computer in our house and I was taught the basics at a young age. However, I never took it much further than Neopets and MSN Messenger until I purchased my first computer, an Apple iMac, at age 16. I bought it both to escape from the ancient Dell desktop the family then possessed and to have the ability to edit and produce video, another hobby I was forming at the time. I never expected myself to become a computer geek, but after a short time of owning the computer I found myself learning more and more every day about its inner-workings: software, hardware, and everything in between.
By the second half of my Junior year, I found myself pricing parts to build my own computer from scratch. There had never been something in my life before that I felt such an eagerness and excitement to learn more about, and apply that knowledge in every way possible. I realized that I had officially been indoctrinated into the world of geekery, and I was okay with that. My best friends had absolutely no interest computers, it was something that I did purely for myself, and it turned into what I'm sure will be a life-long hobby of mine.
Finding your passion is so incredibly important at a young age, for many reasons. Not everybody (me included) falls in love with sports. They are a great thing if you enjoy playing them, but what's left for the rest of us who aren't the most athletic? For most, its left to a lot of uneventful hanging out with friends, going to parties, wasting time on Facebook, etc. The problem with these activities is that there's nothing to gain from them. Most commonly, partying is the choice among bored high school and college students, and its unfortunate. I've seen too many good people fall into the world of alcohol and drugs as a means of enjoying the world, and it leads to a lack of interest in everything else. They form a dependence on a substance to have fun and it ruins the joys of everyday life for them.
A passion is something that's always there for you; on those days after class with no homework, on those Friday nights when nothing is going on, and those Saturdays when your friends aren't around to hang out. It's something you can do by yourself and truly enjoy. Your friends, as important as they are to have, won't always be there. Friends grow up and go on to do different things and go different places than you. Many people in high school depend on large groups of friends for entertainment and enjoyment, only to find themselves a few years down the road in a new place, surrounded by new people, and completely out of their comfort zone. Some depend on this so much that they don't move on. They stay in the same town, going to the same parties, hanging out with the same people day after day without making any real progress as a person. Your passion goes with you wherever you go.
If you find yourself doing the same old thing every day, go out and try something new! Pick up a new hobby, take a class that interests you, join a new club; do something, and do it for yourself. This doesn't just apply to high school and college students, its something everybody should do. Finding your passion is something that will benefit you for the rest of your life and help you grow as a person in ways that nothing else could. I know this only because I've found more than one that have gotten me through some rough times and truly made my life more enjoyable to live.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Money: Meh.
Growing up, money was very coveted in my mind. Not because I enjoyed having money, but because I followed a simple equation: money = new stuff. Ever since I saved up and paid for my Trek bicycle at age 12, the concept was ingrained in my mind that if I wanted something, I had to earn the money to pay for it. This led to my first mp3 player, video camera, and even my first computer. Saving money up to buy (in my nerdy little mind) the latest and greatest material goods gave me purpose and excitement; something to look forward to.
A concept that I never grasped with all this was saving money. To me, earning money had to have a purpose, a specific goal I was trying to reach in which that money would be spent. Having a large sum of money always felt like it was burning a hole in my pocket; it needed to be used! My parents were not big fans of my financial theories and consistently encouraged me to "Save ten percent of everything you earn!". Now that was smart thinking. However, saving a bit of everything I earn wouldn't help me get my home theater system any faster. Naturally, I ignored this advice and carried on.
Fast forward to my first year of college, and my attitude started to shift. I had spent the summer earning and saving money so I could have a full checking account for my inevitably jobless freshman year at school. Sadly, much to the angst and disappointment of my father, my love for material goods didn't change and this money didn't last. I managed to survive the rest of the year just fine without having to ask for extra money from my mother or father.
Through all of this, and moving into summer, my attitude changed dramatically. The end of the semester had brought a difficult break-up, sunshine, and a new desire to experience the world. I created a checklist of things to do over the summer: road trips, camping, skinny dipping (with women), etc. I even enacted a plan to save money and travel on a backpacking adventure in Europe two summers from now. If there was an opportunity to go somewhere or experience something new, I jumped on it!
I also came to appreciate the simple things. Spending evenings by a campfire on the lake with my best friends, staring at the stars, driving my car with the windows rolled down and music up loud, and just sitting on the front porch reading a magazine with a glass of lemonade. These things are truly what drove my happiness as a person.
Through this, my interest and desire to have material goods went down significantly, as did my desire to have large sums of money. I had a job over the summer, and I saved a good amount of it, but not nearly as much as I could have. I found myself spending the majority of my money on new experiences and doing things with my friends. You know that guilt you feel when you buy that new item that you know you really couldn't afford? I never felt the slightest trace of that when I spent money on experiences. Camping at our property in Colville, driving to Seattle to go to Bumbershoot, paying my friend's way for a movie he couldn't afford to go to; it's these situations where I feel like my money was well spent.
Starting my second year of college, reality set back in and I had to control my spending habits. That certainly didn't last and my funds became low in record time, shattering my previously held record from freshman year. It's when my bank account gets to that low level that's not quite bankrupt, but not high enough to be secure that I get stressed out about it. Every purchase I had to make was painful, knowing my funds were that much lower.
However, these financial woes inspired my latest realization: I'm happier and less stressed when I'm completely broke than when I have money. When I have some money available to me, I have to think about each purchase and worry about whether I can afford it or not, whereas when I have no money I know ahead of time that I can't afford anything, so I simply don't worry about it. Money truly does not bring me happiness.
This last semester has been the happiest and financially poorest period of time in my (short) adult life. I've had amazing opportunities, I've gone places I've never been, my knowledge has grown significantly, and I met the girl of my dreams. This post is not meant to preach a specific lifestyle or to say that money isn't important; it is. I just wanted to share how my perspectives changed over the last few years and encourage people to think differently about what makes them happy and what is important in their lives.
A concept that I never grasped with all this was saving money. To me, earning money had to have a purpose, a specific goal I was trying to reach in which that money would be spent. Having a large sum of money always felt like it was burning a hole in my pocket; it needed to be used! My parents were not big fans of my financial theories and consistently encouraged me to "Save ten percent of everything you earn!". Now that was smart thinking. However, saving a bit of everything I earn wouldn't help me get my home theater system any faster. Naturally, I ignored this advice and carried on.
Fast forward to my first year of college, and my attitude started to shift. I had spent the summer earning and saving money so I could have a full checking account for my inevitably jobless freshman year at school. Sadly, much to the angst and disappointment of my father, my love for material goods didn't change and this money didn't last. I managed to survive the rest of the year just fine without having to ask for extra money from my mother or father.
Through all of this, and moving into summer, my attitude changed dramatically. The end of the semester had brought a difficult break-up, sunshine, and a new desire to experience the world. I created a checklist of things to do over the summer: road trips, camping, skinny dipping (with women), etc. I even enacted a plan to save money and travel on a backpacking adventure in Europe two summers from now. If there was an opportunity to go somewhere or experience something new, I jumped on it!
I also came to appreciate the simple things. Spending evenings by a campfire on the lake with my best friends, staring at the stars, driving my car with the windows rolled down and music up loud, and just sitting on the front porch reading a magazine with a glass of lemonade. These things are truly what drove my happiness as a person.
Through this, my interest and desire to have material goods went down significantly, as did my desire to have large sums of money. I had a job over the summer, and I saved a good amount of it, but not nearly as much as I could have. I found myself spending the majority of my money on new experiences and doing things with my friends. You know that guilt you feel when you buy that new item that you know you really couldn't afford? I never felt the slightest trace of that when I spent money on experiences. Camping at our property in Colville, driving to Seattle to go to Bumbershoot, paying my friend's way for a movie he couldn't afford to go to; it's these situations where I feel like my money was well spent.
Starting my second year of college, reality set back in and I had to control my spending habits. That certainly didn't last and my funds became low in record time, shattering my previously held record from freshman year. It's when my bank account gets to that low level that's not quite bankrupt, but not high enough to be secure that I get stressed out about it. Every purchase I had to make was painful, knowing my funds were that much lower.
However, these financial woes inspired my latest realization: I'm happier and less stressed when I'm completely broke than when I have money. When I have some money available to me, I have to think about each purchase and worry about whether I can afford it or not, whereas when I have no money I know ahead of time that I can't afford anything, so I simply don't worry about it. Money truly does not bring me happiness.
This last semester has been the happiest and financially poorest period of time in my (short) adult life. I've had amazing opportunities, I've gone places I've never been, my knowledge has grown significantly, and I met the girl of my dreams. This post is not meant to preach a specific lifestyle or to say that money isn't important; it is. I just wanted to share how my perspectives changed over the last few years and encourage people to think differently about what makes them happy and what is important in their lives.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Bob Marley Gets it Right
It has been a while since I've written anything, and I plan to start posting more, but there has been a lot of wonderful things going on in my life that have distracted me. This post is a bit more personal, and I wanted to share a quote from Bob Marley that was shared with me and amazingly coincides with my life. I've met somebody that completely makes me feel things I've never felt before in my life, and I hope everybody can find what I have found. (Its worth noting that I'm not a big Bob Marley fan) I'll leave you with this quote:
"Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life."
"Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life."
Friday, October 22, 2010
Fighting Hate with More Hate?
As you may already know, the Westboro Baptist Church has finally made its way to Coeur d' Alene, staging pickets at North Idaho College, Lake City High School, and Coeur d' Alene High School. As a result, counter-protests have been staged by the local community and many who are passionately against the church have turned out to express their disapproval.
Now instead of going on a rant about how Fred Phelps and his family are poor excuses for human beings, I wanted to talk more about how people respond to this man and his "church". Personally, watching his pickets online and seeing the counter protests just frustrates me. Why do protesters believe that yelling things at this man and his followers will make any difference or change the way Westboro Baptists feel? Staging counter protests and getting engaged in shouting matches simply provides the media attention that they love so much. Do you think the The Westboro Baptists Church believes that they will change people's minds by protesting? No, they're goal is simply to make people angry and attract attention to themselves.
Instead of holding an angry counter-protest where the church plans to picket, why not hold a large gathering or event across town and positively protest? This would draw both crowds and media attention away from Phelps and would ultimately decrease the satisfaction he gets from making people angry. While Phelps is promoting "God Hates Fags" on the other side of town, why not hold a gay-acceptance event at a different location? If they're holding up their infamous "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" signs, people could hold a rally to thank our troops for their service.
The main point I'm getting at here is that we need to take the insane amounts of negativity promoted by the Westboro Baptist Church and turn it into something positive. We need to take Phelps' hate and turn it into good feelings. Think about this, for example: The Westboro Baptist Church consists of less than a hundred members, compared to millions upon millions of people who disagree with their views. The sad fact is that the loudest one percent of people get ninety-five percent of the media coverage. Instead of being angered about the views of the church, think about all the perfectly reasonable people that exist in this country. Personally, the fact that this man doesn't have more followers gives me hope for humanity. I strongly believe that people are generally good, and I think we ought to remember that.
Now instead of going on a rant about how Fred Phelps and his family are poor excuses for human beings, I wanted to talk more about how people respond to this man and his "church". Personally, watching his pickets online and seeing the counter protests just frustrates me. Why do protesters believe that yelling things at this man and his followers will make any difference or change the way Westboro Baptists feel? Staging counter protests and getting engaged in shouting matches simply provides the media attention that they love so much. Do you think the The Westboro Baptists Church believes that they will change people's minds by protesting? No, they're goal is simply to make people angry and attract attention to themselves.
Instead of holding an angry counter-protest where the church plans to picket, why not hold a large gathering or event across town and positively protest? This would draw both crowds and media attention away from Phelps and would ultimately decrease the satisfaction he gets from making people angry. While Phelps is promoting "God Hates Fags" on the other side of town, why not hold a gay-acceptance event at a different location? If they're holding up their infamous "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" signs, people could hold a rally to thank our troops for their service.
The main point I'm getting at here is that we need to take the insane amounts of negativity promoted by the Westboro Baptist Church and turn it into something positive. We need to take Phelps' hate and turn it into good feelings. Think about this, for example: The Westboro Baptist Church consists of less than a hundred members, compared to millions upon millions of people who disagree with their views. The sad fact is that the loudest one percent of people get ninety-five percent of the media coverage. Instead of being angered about the views of the church, think about all the perfectly reasonable people that exist in this country. Personally, the fact that this man doesn't have more followers gives me hope for humanity. I strongly believe that people are generally good, and I think we ought to remember that.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
The Advancement of Technology
This morning I watched Apple's Back to the Mac keynote live (because I'm a nerd like that), and was very impressed with some of the new bold moves Apple is making with their OS, as well as some great improvements to their iLife suite. My fellow nerds can see everything talked about here.
I won't get into specifics, but Apple added a lot of really cool professional-looking effects to their iMovie program, and a friend of mine commented, "I wish they didn't make those available to everybody. I leaned how to make those in high school and we had to work really hard at it."
My immediate response was that this comment was selfish, but I can completely understand the frustration. Technology moves at an alarming rate, and all that cool stuff you bought over the years (last week?) is already obsolete. This is just a fact of life, and you can be in a constant state of sorrow about your 3rd Gen. iPod Touch you purchased a month ago, or you can appreciate what you have and get the most out of it.
Think about the video-editing process for example. The most basic free software can make some of the most professional-looking video incredibly easily. Those fancy effects that used to take hours to manually produce can now be done with a simple drag-and-drop. This can be frustrating for the seasoned video-editor who remembers all they went through when they were learning. But there's always somebody who had it worse than you did.
Before the age of computers, editors had to cut and splice things by literally cutting the film strip and taping it back together again, a process that could take days and days for a simple video. Talk to anybody who had to go through that, and they'll be amazed at what software can do these days. The difference between them is their attitude towards it. They can either be mad and complain that people don't appreciate video editing anymore, or they can be happy that this technology has inspired a whole new generation of amateur movie-makers.
This just furthers my philosophy that life is all about the attitude you have toward your everyday situations. You can be sad and envious about not having the latest technology, or you can appreciate what you have and be happy for the new generation that gets to use it.
I won't get into specifics, but Apple added a lot of really cool professional-looking effects to their iMovie program, and a friend of mine commented, "I wish they didn't make those available to everybody. I leaned how to make those in high school and we had to work really hard at it."
My immediate response was that this comment was selfish, but I can completely understand the frustration. Technology moves at an alarming rate, and all that cool stuff you bought over the years (last week?) is already obsolete. This is just a fact of life, and you can be in a constant state of sorrow about your 3rd Gen. iPod Touch you purchased a month ago, or you can appreciate what you have and get the most out of it.
Think about the video-editing process for example. The most basic free software can make some of the most professional-looking video incredibly easily. Those fancy effects that used to take hours to manually produce can now be done with a simple drag-and-drop. This can be frustrating for the seasoned video-editor who remembers all they went through when they were learning. But there's always somebody who had it worse than you did.
Before the age of computers, editors had to cut and splice things by literally cutting the film strip and taping it back together again, a process that could take days and days for a simple video. Talk to anybody who had to go through that, and they'll be amazed at what software can do these days. The difference between them is their attitude towards it. They can either be mad and complain that people don't appreciate video editing anymore, or they can be happy that this technology has inspired a whole new generation of amateur movie-makers.
This just furthers my philosophy that life is all about the attitude you have toward your everyday situations. You can be sad and envious about not having the latest technology, or you can appreciate what you have and be happy for the new generation that gets to use it.
Acceptance in the Boy Scouts
I heard something today that bothered me a great deal, and inspired me to start this blog. I read a story about a man who was essentially kicked out of a leadership position in the Boy Scouts because other members complained about his sexual orientation. The man, who is a devoted father of a scout, was forced to step down as a leader and not wear the uniform because some of the other parents found out he is gay.
The intolerance of a few never really surprises me, but it angered me a great deal when I found out that the official policy of the Boy Scouts is that homosexuals and atheists are not aloud to partake in the organization in any way, according to both a scout executive and the director of public relations for the scouts.
This simply blew me away. The fact that a reputable organization that's supposed to help our boys become men and prepare them for adulthood discriminates against homosexuals is utterly ridiculous. I would like somebody to explain to me what makes a gay person, or a gay father for that matter, any less capable of teaching our young boys values and lessons to help guide them through life.
When I brought this up to a friend of mine at the university, she said to me "Would you want a gay man to take your son and a group of boys into the forest for a weekend and teach the boys how to be men?"
Just as much as I would want any other straight man to take my son into the woods. Because the man is gay, does that mean he will automatically be attracted to my (hypothetical) son and his group of friends? Does that mean he will feel the need to instill his "gay agenda" upon them? Absolutely not. There is no "gay agenda", in fact there are very few phrases that bother me as much as that one. Just as a straight leader of the Boy Scouts is not there to teach them to have sex with women, a gay Scout Leader is not there to convince the boys to have sex with men.
This brings me to the fact that Atheists are not aloud in the Scouts either. In an organization endorsed by the US Government and whose leader is the President, the same policies should be in be in place that are in place in this country. All religions, including Atheism, should be accepted. Just as the United States is not by law a Christian nation, the Boy Scouts should not be either. What makes people think that Atheists have any less of an ability to teach morals and values than a Christian, whose Pope actively defends Priests who have molested young boys? I won't get in to the argument of religion here, since I respect all religions that are tolerant of others with differing views.
The bottom line here is that any organization of our government, especially one as prestigious and reputable as the Boy Scouts of America, should be tolerant of all people, regardless of religion, race, AND sexual orientation. I would expect better from the Boy Scouts especially in a country that now (finally!) accepts the openly gay in its military.
Here's the link to the original article.
**EDIT 10/20/2010** - The Boy Scouts are not "run" by the US Government, but "endorsed"
The intolerance of a few never really surprises me, but it angered me a great deal when I found out that the official policy of the Boy Scouts is that homosexuals and atheists are not aloud to partake in the organization in any way, according to both a scout executive and the director of public relations for the scouts.
This simply blew me away. The fact that a reputable organization that's supposed to help our boys become men and prepare them for adulthood discriminates against homosexuals is utterly ridiculous. I would like somebody to explain to me what makes a gay person, or a gay father for that matter, any less capable of teaching our young boys values and lessons to help guide them through life.
When I brought this up to a friend of mine at the university, she said to me "Would you want a gay man to take your son and a group of boys into the forest for a weekend and teach the boys how to be men?"
Just as much as I would want any other straight man to take my son into the woods. Because the man is gay, does that mean he will automatically be attracted to my (hypothetical) son and his group of friends? Does that mean he will feel the need to instill his "gay agenda" upon them? Absolutely not. There is no "gay agenda", in fact there are very few phrases that bother me as much as that one. Just as a straight leader of the Boy Scouts is not there to teach them to have sex with women, a gay Scout Leader is not there to convince the boys to have sex with men.
This brings me to the fact that Atheists are not aloud in the Scouts either. In an organization endorsed by the US Government and whose leader is the President, the same policies should be in be in place that are in place in this country. All religions, including Atheism, should be accepted. Just as the United States is not by law a Christian nation, the Boy Scouts should not be either. What makes people think that Atheists have any less of an ability to teach morals and values than a Christian, whose Pope actively defends Priests who have molested young boys? I won't get in to the argument of religion here, since I respect all religions that are tolerant of others with differing views.
The bottom line here is that any organization of our government, especially one as prestigious and reputable as the Boy Scouts of America, should be tolerant of all people, regardless of religion, race, AND sexual orientation. I would expect better from the Boy Scouts especially in a country that now (finally!) accepts the openly gay in its military.
Here's the link to the original article.
**EDIT 10/20/2010** - The Boy Scouts are not "run" by the US Government, but "endorsed"
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