Making a hard decision

For the last month I have been thinking about writing a letter to Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Membership Records Department and asking to have my name removed from the records of the L.D.S church. I have already written my letter to the church, and have figured out where and who to mail it to. The only problem is deciding if I should mail it or not.
There are many reasons to send in my letter any many not to.

Reasons not to send in my letter,

-It would cause hurt to my family.
-It would alienate me even more from my neighbors/friends/family
-It severs ties to the church completely.
-It would cause friends to not talk to me.

Reasons to send in my letter.

- It would be my final act as a member of the LDS church, and it would be a relief that I am free of it.
- It makes it so I cannot be "disciplined" by the church. Because If you don't take your name off the records of the church they have the right to "religiously discipline" you, including publicly excommunicating you, or disfellowshiping you. It's actually kinda creepy if you read they bishops handbook what the church has the "right" to do, even if I find it immoral that they claim to have those rights over you.
-I would not be subject to "re-activation projects" or having home teachers, visiting teachers or have church flyer's taped to my door. I wouldn't have the bishop or other leaders dropping by my house.
- It would be symbolic that I am not coming back to the church and people would stop asking me to come to church with them.
-It would give me a relief and a weight off my shoulders. It's hard to explain, but that's how I feel.

I'm almost certain I'm going to send it in, just feeling a little skittish in making that final jump. It's a big decision that I haven't taken lightly and makes me nervous about the reaction that will happen, just like when I quit going to church. I don't believe in the LDS church, and haven't for a very long time. so I think that it's time that I take the final step.

Here is my letter of Resignation,

"Resignation of church membership of
Scott Pete---, born xx-xx-xxxx in xxxxxx, Utah.

Current address,
xxx W xxx S,
Salt lake, UT, xxxxx

With this letter to you I officially notify you of my resignation from membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, effective immediately. With my resignation I voluntarily sever all my relationship to the church.

I therefore request you to make the necessary changes in the church membership records to indicate that I am no longer a member. I am familiar with the procedures as outlined in the Church Handbook of Instructions, and I request that you fill out and forward the necessary administrative forms as soon as possible.

I assure you that I do not take this step lightly. I have devoted a good deal of thought, prayer and study, over a considerable period of time. I am firm and unalterable in my decision to end my membership to the L.D.S. church.

I am aware that according to church doctrine this cancels all blessings, baptisms, ordinations, promises, covenants, and my hope of exaltation in the celestial kingdom, and I have made my decision with that consideration in mind.

I request that no one representing the church contact me for any reason other than to confirm that my request is being processed. In particular I will refuse to speak with anyone from the church who attempts to argue with me about the wisdom of my decision. As I said before I have spent years coming to this decision, with much study and prayer and do not wish to discuss a very personal matter with strangers.

It is my understanding that you are required to indicate on your form my "reason for leaving." Please state the reason as "At member's request" or "Doctrinal reasons," since that is, in fact, the reason. I insist that you should not put there any reason which may be derogatory to me. I wish to assure you that I am not leaving the church because of some personal slight or insult, or because I have "sinned" or am unable to "keep the commandments." I have simply come to the very sad realization that the church is not what it claims to be, that its doctrine is false, and that the LDS church is not where I wish to be.

I request that my name removal request be forwarded without delay to the stake president in accordance with the Church Handbook of Instructions. I would appreciate you doing this as soon as possible as I would like to get this taken care of in a timely manner.

Please inform the stake president that I want to waive the thirty-day waiting period during which the stake president may hold the request in order to give me the opportunity to rescind. Rather, I request him to process it without delay as I have spent years making this decision. Please ask the stake president to notify me when he has forwarded my request to church headquarters. If I do not hear from him, I will contact the church records department to make sure the request is being processed.

I will consider any unnecessary delay to be a violation of my rights of free association and freedom of religion as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

I consider this matter to be confidential and very personal, and I insist that no church representative discuss my resignation with any persons other than those church officers who are processing my name removal or those who must be informed to carry out their church duties; that if any church official speaks of this matter outside of official channels, I will consider it a violation of confidence, a violation of church regulations (CHI p. 130), and seek legal redress.

Thank you for your courtesy in honoring my request without delay.

Yours truly,

Scott Pete---"

New Years

I'm not a big fan of new years resolutions. I think they are like gingerbread houses, fun to make, but they only last a few weeks before they crumble. I've always said if I want to make a change I'll do it when I decide to change, but this year some of my goals rely on the help of others and they all want to start on January 1st, so I'm suck. I have 3 goals this year.

First, I'm going on a diet with my wife, brothers and father. The hope is that it will make feeding people when we're all together easier. Not to mention that when you do things like this in a group your more likely to succeed. My wife and I did this same diet 2 years ago and it really worked for us so we are going to do it again for 6-12 months and see what happens.

secondly, I'm going on a finical plan with my wife so we can be out of debt in the next 18 months and be on the road to independent wealth in the next 5 years. We are going to live like we are broke as hell, because in 5 years we will have no debt, we'll own our own home and have 20,000 in the bank. How may 29 year olds can say that?

Third, I'm going to work harder at promoting my own company. When I teach classes I make $50-$150 an hour depending on the class size. thats about 5x what I make from 8-5 at my normal job.

Like I said, I hate new years resolutions but I'm making them this year.

Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to

We were at my wife's parents house on Sunday doing the whole family Christmas thing, having a good time and taking about this and that. Her mother at one point said "I'm thinking I should get a facebook page." We laughed and made a joke about being to old for a facebook page but she replied, " why not, unless there is something you don't want me to see." I try not to lie to people, but my wife and I have different religious views, moral views, and life styles then her mother. So I said nothing, and the silence was golden. People often ask questions they don't want to hear the answers to, but then are offended by the answers they get in return. So the moral of the story is don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to!

Dogs

When I was growing up we had two dogs, one when I was very little and we ended up giving her away because she got out of our yard so often, and we got another one when I was about ten, who we had until about three years ago when he was put down because of old age. My parents had one very strict rule about dogs, "They are never allowed inside the house for any reason," a hurricane could be hitting Utah for the first and only time in time in history and the dog is still not allowed in the house, but in that one instance maybe they can come in the garage. I always felt bad about this rule, it never felt right to me, I understand why you don't want an animal in the house, they can break things, chew on stuff, pee on your carpet and they can smell bad.

Now all of these things are fixable with training and a bath but at the end of the day you are still letting an animal live in your house. As my dad would argue, why not let a pig or a horse in your house? Because a dog shows affection, love and is a protector (even if they can only bite ankles). My wife and I bought a lab/rotti mix, and I didn't understand that I could love a dog that much. The fact that we let him in the house has changed the way I have viewed dogs in the past. He has become part of the family, not just a pet. Now many people can take that way way way to far, and they do,




but how far is too far?

I guess the point of this is to say I love my dog, and maybe I let him get away with too much.

christmas cheer

I am a big fan of Christmas time, the lights, the family, the friends and lets not forget the food. Every year I try to find one person who needs a little help and anonymously help them. This year I'm having a hard time finding someone because no one I know fits my three qualifications. first, of course, is they need help in some way or another. Second they cant be being helped by any other person or group. Now that one may sound strange, but there are many people who are overlooked by church groups or charity's because they aren't poor enough. I cant help someone who is about to loose there house, I just don't have the funds, but I can give $100 worth of food to someone with an empty fridge or gift cards to Walmart to someone in need of new clothes. finally rule three, they need to deserve it. I don't want to reward some ass hole for being an ass hole. I want to help someone who is kind to others or at least a nice. I want to give it to someone who will help others when they can.
Only problem like I said was I don't know who to do it for.

Being sick

The last week I've been coughing up my insides and blowing them out my nose. Its been great fun. I missed my work party and survived a family get together by coughing all over everything and everyone. It's funny how I have no motivation to do anything when I'm sick. This weekend I laid in bed, or on the couch and watched movies, it was thrilling to say the least. It was nice though, I haven't had time to just sit and do nothing in a few months, but 3 days of it was a little much for me. Although I'm still coughing like a mad man it's nice to be out of the house and at work.

Enough said.

American patriot, or jumping on the band wagon?

Last night I was having a discussion with my cousin. He wanted a picture of a confederate flag for his phone and was looking for someone to to send him a picture of one. I told him that to me the confederate flag was about oppression and racism. He said it was about heritage and freedom, to which I replied it had a heritage of hate and racism. His problem boiled down to the fact that he didn't like the way the government is being run and then called him self an American patriot and sent me a picture of an American flag hanging on his front room wall. For some reason it made me think about the word patriot, and what it means. I have a flag in my front yard, the declaration of independence hanging in my office and the original amendments next to it, yet I don't consider myself a "patriot," I simply love my country and the principles it was founded on. I've never picked up arms to defend her, I've never been forced to risk my life to ensure the flag continues to fly. Hell I've never even been threatened for my love of this country.



The dictionary defines the word patriot very simply. "Pa·tri·ot (pta-tre-et-ot) n. One who loves, supports, and defends one's country." I love my country, I support my leaders when I can, but I've never had to defend m country. I think to call your self a patriot when you have never had to pick up arms and defend her is an insult to the men and women who defend and protect this country every day! The problem we have as a country is we think we are "owed" everything with out earning it, you must earn the title patriot. Let me give you an example.

Retired Army Col. Van T. Barfoot, a World War II veteran was awarded the lofty Congressional honor for standing up to three German tanks with a bazooka and stopping their advance while at the same time taking out multiple pill boxes and rescuing 2 wounded comrades. He was also awarded the purple heart. He continued his service after WWII and fought in Korea and Vietnam before retiring from the service in 1974.



That's is an American patriot! He earned that title. Now the sad part to this hero's story is he is being sued by his home owners association for putting a flag pole in HIS OWN FRONT YARD!! Where have we gone wrong in this country? In my book someone who received a medal of honor, a purple heart, and fought in 3 different wars can do almost anything they want, because they earned it! Read the story @ http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705349019/WWII-vet-fights-homeowners-group-over-flagpole.html
I have a love for my country that runs very deep in me, that's not to say I don't think my government does despicable things in the name of my country, but it does mean I would defend her if the need arose. I am no patriot, that title is reserved for those who have fought and died for her.

What then? Life after leaving the LDS church.

Family disowning you, girlfriends dumping you and constantly being told you've lost your way or that your being influenced by Satan, these are all things that happened to me for leaving The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Everyone who leaves the LDS church has a different story, but they are all the same in a way. We all have a disillusionment, We all get disowned or shunned in some way and their is always a lot of emotional pain, on both sides.
1. Disillusionment
I was baptized when I was eight, just like most church members. I remember the day clearly, the white cloths, getting to sit with my dad, my grandparents sitting with my mom and brothers. The water was cold, but it didn't bother me, my father said the baptismal prayer, and put me under the water. I went back to the changing room and started to think, "I'm sinless, I'm perfect right now at this moment. I wonder if it feels different then if I sin?" so I did what any eight year old would do, I sinned to my understanding. I whispered "shit," nothing changed. I remember feeling disappointed, but didn't understand how that one thing would be so symbolic to me later on in life.
When I was thirteen was the first time I questioned my faith in the church, I remember my dad and I were driving on about 27Th west and about 53rd south right by some big water tanks and I said "dad how can you know the church is true?" He pulled over and we talked for a while, about the book of Mormon, Joseph Smith and the church in general. When we were done I felt you could some up the answer to "you need to read the book of Mormon and pray about it." This line is on the list of the top five reasons I left the church. It seemed every time I had a question that couldn't easily be answered I would be told "you need to pray about it." Looking back it bothers me how long that line worked on me. I would pray about it, but I have never received an answer through prayer and maybe I should count it as a blessing that voices never talked back because that's a big sign of schizophrenia.
I spent all of my teenage years defending the church, never voicing out loud that I had no belief in the LDS church, but as it's been said to me "the fish always fight the hardest right before they get in the boat." I would read church books, I would pray and I would always go to church. To say that going to church benefited me would be a compete lie. I blessed the sacrament with people who I knew smoked pot. My young mens leader was the most perverted man I knew, yet self image was everything to him. I would sit through church just waiting to go home to get away from the people there.
By the time I had reached the middle of my first year of college I had read the book of Mormon many times, as well as a lot of other books suggested by the church. It was the in early winter my first year of college I was having a rough time with religion and tired of doing things out of routine so I spent the better part of a week doing nothing but going to class coming home reading my Book of Mormon and praying. At the end of that week I went to the Manti temple in the middle of the night knelt down and prayed. I cried, I begged for an answer and none came. As I drove away I gave up my religion.
2. Being disowned/shunned
It took me a while to start to "come out" to my family that I didn't believe anymore. As it became more known I became more of a out cast. I was no longer allowed to go to some peoples houses, one person even asked me not to talk to their kids like I was a pedophile. My second year of college I had a girlfriend brake up with me when she found out I wasn't Mormon. You become a circus freak, something people are scared of. It's funny the reactions people have to you when you say your an ex-Mormon as opposed to just not being Mormon. People don't hate you for never being Mormon, because you might become Mormon. On the other hand if you know the gospel of the church and you reject it there must be something wrong with you. the following two clips show what I mean on a larger scale, not just the LDS religion.





3. Emotional pain on both sides
I remember the day I told my mom that I didn't believe in the church any more. It was a few months after my grandpa Speakman died and right after my brother Brian got home from his mission. My mother at first acted like it was something she could argue me out of, telling me I was wrong and hoping she could talk me out of it. By the end of the conversation she yelled at me saying "your ruining my eternal family!" She stormed out of my room leaving me with a large weight on my shoulders. I started to pack my stuff crying, ready to go back to school when my brother Brian came in hugged me and said, "I love ya." It was so simple yet to this day my brother has no idea what that one kind thing meant to me, he saved my life. many people don't understand the effects that simple words can have on a person, for good or bad. I will struggle with this with my family for the rest of my life, knowing there are some things we just cant talk about anymore. There will be important parts of my life they will never know about, and I will miss out on many things with my brothers because there is that gap between us, and that saddens me more than I can ever express.

I'm not sure how to end this story or if it will ever really have an end. All I know is that life is funny how it works out and I wish the best for everyone, no matter what their religious paths may be.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, by John Perkins

I just finished this amazing book. I'll let Alex Roslin explain the general out line of the book before I tell you what I think.


"John Perkins started and stopped writing Confessions of an Economic Hit Man four times over 20 years. He says he was threatened and bribed in an effort to kill the project, but after 9/11 he finally decided to go through with this expose of his former professional life. Perkins, a former chief economist at Boston strategic-consulting firm Chas. T. Main, says he was an "economic hit man" for 10 years, helping U.S. intelligence agencies and multinationals cajole and blackmail foreign leaders into serving U.S. foreign policy and awarding lucrative contracts to American business. "Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars," Perkins writes. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is an extraordinary and gripping tale of intrigue and dark machinations. Think John Le Carré, except it's a true story.
Perkins writes that his economic projections cooked the books Enron-style to convince foreign governments to accept billions of dollars of loans from the World Bank and other institutions to build dams, airports, electric grids, and other infrastructure he knew they couldn't afford. The loans were given on condition that construction and engineering contracts went to U.S. companies. Often, the money would simply be transferred from one bank account in Washington, D.C., to another one in New York or San Francisco. The deals were smoothed over with bribes for foreign officials, but it was the taxpayers in the foreign countries who had to pay back the loans. When their governments couldn't do so, as was often the case, the U.S. or its henchmen at the World Bank or International Monetary Fund would step in and essentially place the country in trusteeship, dictating everything from its spending budget to security agreements and even its United Nations votes. It was, Perkins writes, a clever way for the U.S. to expand its "empire" at the expense of Third World citizens. While at times he seems a little overly focused on conspiracies, perhaps that's not surprising considering the life he's led."

This book has changed my world view as well as shifted my understanding of world politics. In this tell all book John Perkins, a former economic hit man, tells of all the countrys that we have subdued through massive debt. and the ones who don't come quietly we kill, and he names names. I love my country, and always have but this book shook my patriotism to its core.
it showed me the billions of people we hurt by treating economics the way we do. things like the following movie clip are SMALL examples of how our country exploits people with out a second thought.



Very few thing are produced in countries that have labor laws and high standards of living anymore. We seek out countries that are poor and we exploit them, making a handful of the people rich and pushing the rest in to starvation so they are willing to work a 16 hour day for just over a dollar. We support sweatshops and say we are industerlizing their country and that we are giving them jobs. when the truth is we destroyed their lands, built factories on their farm and now they must work for almost nothing so they can just afford to starve.



I beg you to read this book, it will rock your world!

Ignorance is bliss?

Last night I had the opportunity to sit at a gas station down town last night. I was able to just sit and watch people come in and out, catching small parts of their conversations and seeing some small part of their lives. It's Interesting to see the kind of people that go to a gas station at midnight, I saw wanna be gangstas, a pregnant drug addict holding an infant, homeless people wanting to cash in their change for dollar bills, cab drivers and the token drunk girl on a beer run. I sat and listened to the conversations being passed from one person to the next, constantly amazed at the low level of education many of these people had.
I don't believe that education is about a degree or about going to classes. I think being educated means you try to expand your knowledge daily, reading books, searching topics out on the Internet, going to lectures or listening to a wise person you respect. With the vast availability of the Internet in public library's and schools their is no excuse to be so ignorant. We live in the information era, we have millions of research articles, papers and books available online.



I'm not saying that I am a great thinker of our time, or that I am extremely smart but I am saying that there is no excuse to be uneducated in this day and age. We have a plethora of information at our fingertips, yet we choose not to use it out of laziness. Please educate your self, be a critical thinker and challenge everything you read and learn.

Lunch break

I've been thinking a lot today about what we do out of comfort, and all the things I do because it's easier to do them than to change that part of my life. We all have those things, we don't exercise when we have other things to do. We don't clean the house for what ever reason, but sometimes we don't do big things because we think it will be difficult. We stay in an abusive marriage because we don't know where we would go, or stick with a dead end job because we are scared to change.
It's amazing how the little changes we make today will change our lives in huge ways tomorrow. I think it's slightly true that we are like mice in a maze looking for the cheese, every turn puts us on a different path. some may take longer to get to the end and some might be huge shortcuts, but we never know which are which. I think that's what makes life an adventure, but the problem is when we decide to sit and wait in the maze instead of making a decision to go right or left.
I just hope in the future that I will be willing to make a decision faster and not just sit in the maze waiting for a decision to come to me.

My favorite poem

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me
Black as the Pit from pole to pole
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul
In the fell of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud
Under the bludgeoning of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed
And yet menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid
It matters not how strait the gate
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul

-William E. Henley

What has blogging become?

I enjoy blogs about politics, religion, food, money, personal stories or anything that can be read by an individual and inspire some kind of feeling. I just pushed the "next blog" button on blogger.com for a straight hour, and every single one was the "so and so family blog" I swear to god not one blog about anything other than peoples kids. I get that people love their kids, kids are cute, but they are not worth 500 pages of blog! I beg people to do more than post pictures of your ugly child. Sorry but of the hundreds of pictures I just looked at maybe 20 of the kids were cute. Please for heavens sake, write something other people will care about.

The universe

I've been thinking about space a lot in regards to my own origin and how I came to be. It's awe inspiring to look up at the night sky and know that I am some small part of that universe. The universe is massive, to the point were we can not comprehend how large and vast it is. Our planet is a speck in the Galaxy and we are a speck on that speck.
With that large of a scale it's funny to think about things on this planet as if they some how matter. The universe doesn't care about how wonderful a rose garden looks, or if the sun rise is breath taking. We could be destroyed, our whole planet gone tomorrow and the cosmos would never notice.
As Neil deGrasse Tyson said In an amazing speech "We are star dust." What he means is that when a star dies and explodes it spreads it's chemicals and elements out in to space, and after billions of years it ends up in us. The chemicals that make up our bodies are traceable to phenomenon in the cosmos. Our basic composition is traceable to stars! How amazing is that?
so why then does it matter if we exist? If we could all be gone tomorrow and not even be missed, why do we exist? Simple, we are how the universe can know it's self. dogs don't marvel at the stars, horses don't contemplate the meaning of life. we are how the cosmos knows it exists. with out creative thought and scientific understanding, the universe couldn't understand it's own existence. I'm not saying we are the only creatures in the universe that look at the night sky and ponder about space, but we are the only ones on this planet that do.
Now this may make you feel small but it shouldn't! How amazing is it that we feel so much? Forget parting the Red Sea, I get to know joy and love, sorrow and pain, now that is a miracle! we get to feel anger over a flat tire, we get to laugh at a stupid joke, we get to love! To me, that is the meaning to life, experiences, knowledge, loving people and accepting one day it will be over and that that's OK. The universe is grand and marvelous, but so are we. I hope one day every one will understand how beautiful every person is.

Money and God.

I was board at work today and decided to look at some religious stuff, when I stumbled upon a wikipedia page for the finances for the Church of Jesus Christ of later day saints, you know the Mormons. I read the page and was stunned with how much money the LDS church has! Now exact numbers cant be found because the church isn't required by law to report their finances because they are a "non profit" church despite the fact how much money they have.
In 1996 Time magazine reported on the finances of the church, this is back when membership was 4.9 million (now 12 million) and they only had 50 temples (now there are more than 135).

"TIME has been able to quantify the church's extraordinary financial vibrancy. Its current assets total a minimum of $30 billion. If it were a corporation, its estimated $5.9 billion in annual gross income would place it midway through the FORTUNE 500, a little below Union Carbide and the Paine Webber Group but bigger than Nike and the Gap."

now this was 13 YEARS AGO! the church has more than doubled it's membership and gained BILLIONS of dollars since this estimate. This article did not take into account the many of the company's the LDS church owns including television stations, radio stations, news papers, restaurants and business parks and movie production companies, although they did include the biggest.

"The top beef ranch in the world is not the King Ranch in Texas. It is the Deseret Cattle & Citrus Ranch outside Orlando, Fla. It covers 312,000 acres; its value as real estate alone is estimated at $858 million. It is owned entirely by the Mormons. The largest producer of nuts in America, AgReserves, Inc., in Salt Lake City, is Mormon-owned. So are the Bonneville International Corp."



So where does the money come from that is "non profit" related? Tithing! To be in good standing with the church you MUST give them 10% of your income. So where did this number come from? well of course Joseph Smith, but like many things he taught it wasn't in forced in the church until it after he died, (like drinking alcohol, LIKE JOSEPH SMITH DRANK).

"After the U.S. government confiscated church property under the Edmunds-Tucker Act in 1887, the church fell into severe debt. The government had seized most church assets, including tithing money donated by members. As a result, by the time Lorenzo Snow became church president in 1898, the church was $2.3 million in debt.[8]
Snow reiterated the principal of tithing (giving 10% of one's income to the church) and by 1907 the church was completely out of debt." - www.wikipedia.com




In 1996 the church had 30 billion in assets and 5.9 billion in cash. since then the church has doubled in size and in property. No church is required to pay taxes and are not required to disclose their finances for public record. The church has more money that 95% of businesses in America. To quote the bible,

Mark 10:25 "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."



I'm not a religious man, in fact I despise the things that have been done to people in the name of "God", I loath the fact that because something is "sacred" it is considered untouchable and above the law and above dispute. I have never made an attempt to hide my feelings about this. On the other hand I deeply believe in individual spirituality and finding "the meaning of life" for yourself. Jesus never had grand temples when he was on this earth, he loved the poor and detested the hardened hearts of the rich. He dressed in humble garments and preached a life of meagerness. So how does a multi billion dollar empire reflect the principals of the man who's name is on the front of your buildings.

Self confidence

This Friday we were at Keys On Main, we were having a good time listening to the music having a few drinks. My wife out of no where pointed out a group of older men with their wives, she singled out one man who had a very young girl sitting next to him. It was obvious that this 40+ year old man was trying to impress this woman. He was dressed in nice cloths, ordering lots of drinks and doing everything possible to close the deal with this 24 year old bomb shell.
I watched this guy intently for about 20 minutes, on the surface he looked like the modern playboy party boy, but when you watched him for a few moments you started to pick up on little things. The way he looked around when he laughed, the way he make over the top sexual jokes to be funny but the topper of them all was the way he constantly had his hands on her making it public that she was with him. It made me laugh to watch him, and see how insecure he was. The funniest part is that I, an overweight, middle class 24 year old has more self confidence that a well off (or tried to make him self appear so) good looking 40+ year old. Happiness in not about money, good looks or having a good looking girl on your arm, it’s about being happy with who you are and loving your self. The most important thing we can learn in life is to be confident in who we are or we will never be truly happy.

Moral values

What are the core values you hold dear to? I’m not asking how you think you should live, but what are the moral principals you are willing to fight and die for, the basic values that shape your every decision and action in your day. I was talking to a friend last night that made me ponder my moral center and what guides me if not an omnipotent, omnipresent, sinless God. In my pondering I figure out the following core moral values.

1. I realize that every person is someone’s son, daughter, wife, husband, grandma, grandpa or best friend. On the surface of this argument it’s simple and a “duh” statement but think about it deeper. If some one yelled at my wife over nothing I am going to defend my wife and ensure she is treated fairly. So why would I yell at some one for making a small fixable mistake? Why would I treat someone in a way I wouldn’t want someone to treat my family? I know this is simply a branch off of the “golden rule,” but it’s more than that. I don’t care if people yell at me or talk trash because it doesn’t bother me that much, but I will never stand idly by as someone disrespects my family. So as I expect you to treat my family I will treat you.
2. Everyone should be allowed to do what makes them happy, unless it harms another person. Now that being said, I do not accept some activity’s and will not allow them in my home and furthermore will not stay in a place where those things are taking place. It is not my job to regulate what people do, nor should anyone else or government entity. It is our job to teach our children what will harm them and why and then hope they make good decisions. Logic is a beautiful thing that should be embraced and taught to our children, FEAR IS NOT A TEACHING TOOL FOR CHILDREN!!! If your child is scared you have not helped them you have hindered them and have decreased their cognitive reasoning skills! Teach them, explain until your blue in the face, but it is immoral to press your beliefs onto other people, especially if it’s not even your child! Remember that more people have been killed in the name of “God” than for any other reason, and that is also immoral.
3.It is our moral obligation to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. Children would be the most important group of people in this section, although not the only group. Children are special people; they are our future and are one of the most important things on this earth. Children must be protected from the many people in this world who are, for lack of a better word, evil. They prey on children because they are trusting and loving. These are the same people who prey on the old, the weak and the sick. These people are the lowest form of life in my opinion if you are one of these people you should be shot without mercy, because you have none yourself. So it is our job to help and protect those who cannot do it themselves. If we see a child being abused in anyway and we do nothing we are as guilty as the person who is committing the act.

Now this list is just the morals that guide MY life you may have more, you may have less but they are principals I’m willing to fight and die for. There are many more things that help me guide my life and those are important to me as well, but with out these 3 principals I am lost.