Usually in a public place with a variety of individuals in close proximity, people often try and speak softly or in vague terms in an effort to preserve some privacy and also extend a branch of respect to the other people. However, some people tend to miss this standard common sense rule and treat everyone to their business in an effort to garner some much needed attention in their lackluster lives. This is the situation I was in while waiting my turn at our local DMV. Two teenage girls, recently out of high school based upon the information me and the rest of the public were so graciously given, were intent on having a “cool” conversation so that the rest of our lives would pale in comparison to their “awesomeness.”

As I sat there with my paperwork slowly being twisted into garbage by my whitening hands and fingers, I was given a play by play of their plans for the day, their recent history, and their future plans for the week. I felt as if I were sitting in an auditorium listening to some cackling teenagers on a public address speaker informing us of the upcoming spirit week at school. To my delight, only about 20 of my 30 minutes were under this deluge of nonsense and I completed my task without bothering another single human being while doing so. I even had the chance to engage in a polite conversation with the clerk and elicit a genuine smile and laugh from her.

What does this have to do about my scholastic tax dollars at work? Let’s see, where to begin… Returning the focus to the teenage girls, now in college based upon their announcements, their intellectual speaking level and grasp of English left me in a state of amazement. At one point, I began counting the word “like” in their sentences and according to my last count they could not create a single sentence without utilizing the term more than four to five times. I lost count of the overall total at somewhere over 30 (after only counting for about 3 minutes) because I felt like shoving my birth certificate into one ear and my proof of residency in the other.

I made the correct choice and allowed my ears to bleed internally as their inane chatter bludgeoned my ear drums so I could actually finish the process of getting my new license. What I have a problem with is not the two girls and their lack of public sensitivity (that is to be expected by the youth these days). What I have a problem with is their skill level in both English and thought to sentence to speaking ability. I understand shorthand and people speak without having to focus upon perfect grammar and whatnot, but seriously, can’t someone make coherent statements when released from 12 years of publicly financed school?

At times during their conversation, I felt like I was trying to decipher some sort of audible version of hieroglyphics. I believe these two teenage girls have created their own dialect solely focused upon the word “like.” I felt as if I were a CSI investigator trying to find the motive behind the story. After 20 minutes of speaking, their lives seemed to center around a few highly important issues: no money, getting their nails done, buying a new dress for a frat party, and moving out even though they have no clue how they can afford it and their parents disagree with it.

Of course, my investigating prowess may be a bit non-professional, but in between all the gibberish, I’m pretty sure I’ve nailed their conversation. I guess my tax dollars served them well because they both seemed to be able to integrate within society and function without the help of a parent (well, they did talk to one of their parents on their cell phone so maybe not). After my brain returned to normal size from the enlarged state it was in from the incessant bashing of it by their baseball bat-like conversation crushing my skull, I realized, this is the generation that is going to be running my country when I’m old.

After realizing such a nightmare no horror movie could ever hope to achieve, I felt a little nauseous. I know common sense has become uncommon sense, but given the billions of dollars we drain from our citizens’ bank accounts can’t we expect a better product? Can’t the product of 12 years of school be something better? Our kids are in fact a product of our system and it seems that we are failing at producing young men and women who we would be proud to have lead our country. I know, there are lots of good kids out there, but where are they when I am out in public? Are they hidden away from public view as to save them of the horror we all face? Are they hiding out in the ignorant masses trying to fit in like some undercover mafia agent waiting until the time is right to show their true colors? Please normal young men and women, come out and show yourselves, I am begging you… for the sake of our country, show us that our tax dollars are not being spent in vain.

After this “debate,” where did the discussion leave us? It left us in the same place we were in before and maybe a step behind in the overall sense of Christianity. Our world and society has many differing points of view and her letter focused upon Obama’s unwavering support of the Pro-Choice movement. He has stated that one of his first actions as President will be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). Obama was also the co-sponsor of the Senate’s version of the bill in 2007 and he stated, “The first thing I’d do, as president, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing that I’d do.” I’m not going to regurgitate what the FOCA entails, but it basically removes all restraints from abortion until fetal viability. What is fetal viability? It essentially means before 24 weeks pregnant. You can find out any and all information you would like by simply searching online.

The lady who wrote this letter believes that based upon her faith, she cannot and should not vote for someone who supports abortion. Christianity by default is anti-abortion and is in fact quite the opposite. Christian leaders inform their congregations about the issues they vote about, not who to vote for (illegal by non-profit organization rules and regulations). However, based upon the issues and your Christian faith, someone should not come to the conclusion that voting for a pro-choice candidate is ok. I said “should not.” As we saw, over 65 million Americans voted for Obama in our Presidential election. Utilizing some recent data, nearly 80% of America considers themselves Christian. So, there must be a large portion of Christians who decided to vote for Obama no matter what his stance is on abortion is.

Sure, there are many other factors when choosing a President and we all know that a single position “should not” affect your overall choice, but for me, this is not a single issue versus many other comparable issues. Abortion to me is a deal breaker issue. For others, it is not and that is their right. For other Christians, it is not, and that is their right. I’m not trying to pass judgment upon anyone, but for me, if I had voted Obama, I would have effectively traded dollars for life. It supposedly means more money in my pocket due to his impending “tax cuts” and “better” economic policies in trade for his support of Roe v. Wade and the signing of the FOCA bill.

Yes, I know there are other issues at play including the two wars we are engaged in along with healthcare and educational issues, not to even mention immigration problems, but could I devalue my Christian faith for the blessings of government and dollars in my pocket? I could not. McCain was not my first choice and he was a “lesser of two evils” approach for me, but at the very minimum, he supported the protection of unborn children. Would I support someone who was Pro-Life but on every other issue I disagreed with? Of course not.

As for Obama and my vote, I disagreed not only with his Pro-Choice stance, but almost 100% on every other policy he supports. What if I had supported 100% of his other policies, would I have voted for him? Never. My Christian faith requires me to abide by my moral and ethical values. While being human, I do make mistakes, but this would have been a willful mistake. I would have chosen to rationalize that his Pro-Choice stance was a sacrifice we should make for the betterment of our country. Since when should we view trading unborn children’s lives as a necessary trade for a stronger economy?

You may believe that I am passing judgment, I am not. Each person, if truly being a Christian, KNOWS what the right decision is and they will either feel good about it, or feel remorse about their actions later if they chose not to follow. I voted my conscience in the sense of my faith and my policy choices by voting for McCain. Yes, I know our country needs change, but change for simply the sake of change is not what we need.

Issue: Abortion

This particular issue is at the forefront of Obama’s policies and one he has recently spoken about. His past voting history while in public office have all been pro-choice/pro-abortion (the opposite side will ALWAYS argue that they are pro-choice because of the “inherent” woman’s choice, but in the end, we all see past the smoke and mirror show and know they are pro-abortion).

He has publicly stated his support of Roe v. Wade (thus ensuring abortion remains legal).
He has voted against banning partial-birth abortions.
He voted NO on prohibiting minors from crossing state lines for abortion.
He voted NO on requiring minors to inform parents of out of state abortions.
He is rated 0% by the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) indicating pro-choice.

Is Obama a Liberal Agenda supporter on the Abortion issue? Check.

Issue: Progressive Taxes

If anyone followed the Presidential campaign over the last two years, you have no doubt where Obama stands here. However, if you have not, here are the facts.

He supports a “spread the wealth” tax system (progressive tax system in the purest form).
In October, 2007, he stated he wants to “restore progressive taxes.”
He is rated 100% by the Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ) indicating support of progressive taxation.

Is Obama a Liberal Agenda supporter on the Progressive Taxes Issue? Check.

Issue: Gun Control

Obama is a Senator from Illinois, one of the strictest states concerning gun ownership. Illinois does not allow legal citizens an opportunity to obtain a concealed carry license (Wisconsin is the only other). The entire nation other than these two states and Washington D.C. allow law abiding citizens to obtain a concealed carry license to help ensure their personal protection.

He states that it is “ok for states & cities to determine local gun laws.”
Obama has openly supported Illinois’ gun ban laws.
He states that he respects the 2^nd Amendment but “local gun bans are ok…”
He wishes to ban semi-automatic weapons.

Is Obama a Liberal Agenda supporter on the Gun Control Issue? Check.

Issue: Homosexual Marriage

Obama plays a fine line in this particular issue. He has chosen to be one of the “grayish” leaning Liberal Agenda members here while supporting Homosexual Marriage without actually saying it.

He OPPOSES the California one man, one woman marriage law.
He OPPOSED the Illinois Definition of Marriage Act (DOMA).
He states that it is “ok to expose 6-year-olds to gay couples…”
He states that he opposes gay marriage but supports civil unions…

Is Obama a Liberal Agenda supporter on the Homosexual Marriage Issue? Check’ish (voting record supports while his spoken record is highly conflicted).

Issue: Government Control

Obama belongs to the Democratic Party so this one by default becomes true. His stances on providing government sponsored services are all in favor of governmental control over our decision making… taxation, healthcare, education, welfare, subsidies, affirmative action, etc. Obama fully supports government control in our daily American lives.

Is Obama a Liberal Agenda supporter on the Government Control Issue? Check.

After filtering through the data from Obama’s spoken and voting past, it is easily seen that he proudly wears the Liberal Agenda designation. As I have stated before, OnTheIssues.org has labeled him as “Hardcore Liberal” based upon his voting and spoken record. As a comparison, our current President is labeled “Hardcore Conservative.”

For the last eight years and mainly the last two during the campaign process, we have heard how divisive Bush and his policies were because of his “Conservative Agenda.” Well, Mr. Obama is not some middle of the road politician by any means. He is just as divisive as Bush has been labeled, just in the exact opposite on EVERY issue. Obama speaks about bringing our nation closer together from our division but his policies are nothing but more division. I’ve said before that some policies are never going to be bridged and in my opinion, Obama is on the wrong side of every moral or value issue.

Is our nation going to be brought together by Obama’s “bi-partisanship approach” or are we going to see even more separation because Obama is nothing more than the opposite of Bush? I suspect you know the answer.

Citation:  http://www.ontheissues.org/

America is based upon a free market ideology, capitalism at its best. We are a democracy first and foremost. The citizen, your everyday average person, wields the power of our country’s direction in the form of a single vote. However, now that we seem to be in a seemingly “unfixable” situation created by years and years of borrowing at low interest rates without the income to repay in the future, there must be a way out of this. Try this on for size, tax everyone 100%. Hypothetical remember! I’m the first to be squarely against such a measure, but I’m just trying to rearrange some brain cells here and put forth an idea that could be quite scary when it comes down to it… because it would work.

Let me give you a scenario here and let’s see if it’s an ideal world you would “vote” for. You work at your job of choice, where you want, just like now. However, all income is taxed 100% by the government. In return for your work and taxed dollars, every single person in our nation is provided free health care, free public school, free college education, a state sponsored vehicle, a house determined to be “rational” for your family size, a guaranteed retirement in the form of social security once you reach 65, and enough food to feed your family healthily. Well, that sounds pretty good doesn’t it? Isn’t that what we all are basically looking for anyway… a life that includes education, healthcare, retirement, and no worries about survival?

One simple drawback, you don’t have much discretionary cash because the government allowance of “petty cash” is small when compared to today’s world (borrowed discretionary cash). This is from the employee perspective, but what about businesses, why would they agree to such measures? Well, let’s take a look at that. Let’s give businesses some built in “incentives” for their agreement to accept the plan. They are provided the same perks our current executives receive… luxury getaways, luxury cars, luxury housing, and all kinds of vacation time. However, in return for their “incentives,” they must agree to government regulation and fixed market strategies. Imports and exports are also controlled by the government.

Basically, the idea is to remove the “bad things” that come with a lifelong pursuit of money and possession. The average citizen is looking for stability for the family, peace of mind. The business owner is looking for power and social standing. In this hypothetical situation, both can be achieved. What cannot be achieved is greed. There is no reward for greed in this system. There would still be an incentive to work harder and be the best, but not for the sake of money.

I could go into much deeper detail explaining this situation by that’s not the goal. The goal is to think completely outside the box and get some opinions. What are your goals for life? Are you looking for the biggest bank account on the block? Are you trying to keep up with your neighbor’s purchases? Are you trying to own a small fleet of vehicles? You get the idea. Or, are you looking to simply live a nice, well cared for, life with your family?

I’m sure most of us are just looking for the answer to the last question. We want to live without worry about our house being foreclosed, our bills becoming insurmountable, and our child’s education. In this plan, everything would be provided… you just have to agree to a 100% tax on your income. Is it a fair tradeoff? Would you vote for it? If someone actually created a plan such as this, do you think it would receive the support of the nation?

Personally, I think such a plan would win by a landslide in our current economic situation. People fear having nothing and that’s a situation many families are staring at. Removal of worry is worth the cost in gold, if not being priceless, at times. After all this hypothetical talk about a potential fix, guess what this fix really consists of? It’s a form of communism. As I stated earlier, in no way shape or form, am I a supporter of socialism or communism. However, this article was written to open a few eyes, spur a few opinions, and get some thoughts from the readers out there.

Even though the situation sounds good in theory, would it be worth trading your true freedom in for the rewards of government sponsored living? Absolute government control is to be feared. Give some opinions, start up a discussion, and let’s see where it goes.

For years, everyone has been taught that college is the only real way to give yourself a true advantage over your lifetime at earning an above average living. Study after study has shown college graduates on average earn more money over their lifetime. College graduates also receive various other benefits and gains over time. However, as we know, college isn’t free. Scholarships help, grants help, parental saving even helps, but over the last few decades, savings rates have declined to almost 0% and scholarships/grants can only help a certain percentage of students. Most students rely upon loans to pay for their necessary education. Yes, it is necessary for all intents and purposes.

Our “kidults” leave college and fully expect to land a high paying job which will offset their college tuition expenses. Their salaries are also expected to cover their newfound living expenses whether it be renting or owning. On top of that, vehicle expenses, insurances, and many other costs of being on your own add up to eat away at the young generation’s ability to leave the nest. It’s not impossible for our young adults to make it on their own, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to achieve a life “on their own.”

A recent study reports that since 1971, annual salaries for men age 25-34 has decreased by 20%. Everyone assumes our current generations are making more money than our previous ones but more dollars is not always more purchasing power. Inflation and general cost increases have usurped most, if not all and maybe even more than the increase in actual dollars in our wallets. Our “kidults” are facing tough times. They are exiting college with thousands of dollars in tuition loans, more than likely thousands of dollars in credit card debt, and then they are expected to leave the nest and make it on their own. In 1971 and before, the amount of people graduating college was much less than it is now. Young adults then, had much lower fixed costs placed upon them when reaching the age of adulthood.

Reality is beginning to show us that monetarily, our young adults cannot make it on their own without help. That help has come in the form of parents opening their homes for their “kidults” to return home and live less expensively before leaving the nest. Parents of course are placed under stresses previous parental generations never faced. Young adults are also placed under new stresses because they aren’t able to leave the nest as expected to.

Our country’s economic path has led us to the issues our kids are facing. Yes, our decisions as individuals have also created a major portion of the issue. But, no longer can we truly expect our children to grow up, graduate high school, get a good college education, and then enter the real world on their own two feet. Children are not a 16, 18, or 21 year investment. Parents have to be ready for what the real world has become and that is our children could be homebound for much longer than expected. A recent study has shown 20% of 26 year olds are living at home (compared to 11% in 1970). The reality is here and our kids are returning home because they have to. Financially, our young generation cannot make it without help. As loving parents, we will open our homes and doors and give our “kidults” what they need to succeed in life. But, where does it end? In 20 years are we going to see 30 year olds forced to live at home with their parents?

Citation: http://www.newsweek.com/

Given the ability to easily obtain information, shouldn’t our society actually be well informed? Common sense would of course say yes, but are we? Are we actually utilizing the tools we have been given to become an informed citizen? The Internet has been widely available now for almost 20 years, cable television has been around for over 30 years, and CNN was established in 1980. Some of the tools have been around for 30 plus years. Our 2006 United States census data reports that over 50% of our nation’s 300 million citizens are age 39 or less. But, let’s give some credit to some of the older folk for being adept enough to learn new technology. Moving on up to 59 and younger, the percentage becomes almost 83%. To be safe, we’ll throw out the 14 and under group so that gives us a percentage of about 63% of Americans between the age of 15 and 59. Almost two-thirds of our society has had access and the ability to effectively utilize the new informational tools within our grasp.

Now that we have some concrete information to apply our common sense methodology to, we should expect to see an acceptable percentage reflecting an informed society shouldn’t we? Well, common sense is usually right, but we must never underestimate the apathy of our society. Recent surveys and reports display some alarming traits regarding how “informed” our society actually is. Since we are in the midst of a Presidential election campaign, we’ll focus on politics. A recent survey, done every two years recently released their latest results determining where people get their news and how much they are informed. The survey asked three simple questions, “Identify the party controlling Congress (Democratic Party), identify who the Secretary of State is (Condoleezza Rice), and identify the new Prime Minister of Great Britain (Gordon Brown).” I know, not everyone is intricately involved with politics, but these three questions aren’t like asking who the vice president of our 14^th President was.

The national average for their study resulted in an astounding 18% correct… yes, only 18%. The Colbert Report and The Daily Show, two political COMEDY programs, came in at 34% and 30% correct. Daily newspapers came in at a very unrespectable 22% while CNN respondents beat the national average by a whopping 1%, reaching 19% on the informed meter. What does this exactly say about our society? Are we informed at all? Does society now, with the ability to gain knowledge easier than any society or generation before us, use the tools available to us or do we simply plod along, with very little knowledge relating to our world? The survey seems to suggest that the vast majority of Americans fail to utilize the tools given to us and are simply moving along, quite happily, without knowing much. 18%, seriously… On top of that, two comedy shows obliterate several serious news avenues?

Another survey displays similarly alarming trends regarding news and information our society is receiving. This particular study reported 19% of people are “going newsless.” That percentage is up 5% since 2008. That is a trend very much proceeding in the wrong direction. Also within the report, newspaper readership has declined by 24% since 1993 including a drop of 13% since 2000. Radio, local network news, and nightly news have shown similar declines. Online news readership has increased from 2% to 37% in the meantime. However, don’t get too excited, the reports says that online gains are being outpaced by the declines in print readership so there is actually a net loss of about 3%. Digging into the demographics of the report, it shows the younger generations are going “newsless.” Between 1998 and 2008, the age group 18-24 saw a 9% increase in “newsless” responders. The age group 25-29 increased by 4% and 30-34 by 7%. The very people being raised with every information tool imaginable are choosing NOT to use them. We wonder why the national average above was only 18%…

Our society has long been characterized by apathy. Not only concerning voting habits, but every single life habit. We have become a society that has become satisfied in our current position. We are not effectively utilizing the greatest tools we have ever known to advance our knowledge and position. Our nation has become a society of settlers. Everyone likes to tout the idea that America is number one, but is anyone putting any action behind that sentiment? A few do and they succeed with hard work and determination. The rest of us seem to be complacent and willing to ride the coattails of those who drive our nation forward. The amount of coattails to ride is decreasing rapidly. Without individuals pushing our country forward, we will continue to stagnate and become more apathetic until everyone pays the price. These surveys are just a few sets of data displaying our country’s apathy. We must turn the tide and begin to use the tools available to us to move our country forward. Information is king and it is the key to success but if we do not use the tools, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Citation: Pew Survey on News Consumption & Government Census Data & http://people-press.org/

Once you reach college, the first 2 years for everyone is basically the same routine. You take your general education classes, some electives, and some prerequisites that mostly every single student has to pass before they enter classes which define their major during their junior and senior years. The first 2 years of college is, let’s face it, the weeding out process. Can a student show the dedication necessary to succeed in school? Can the student begin to mature as a young adult with a drastic change in supervision and rules (severe reduction in both)? Can the student balance school (and possibly work) with social life in an arena where the decision making is done with limited advice and experience? Lots of very important questions and there are thousands of failures every year. Colleges do not cater to student needs and whims as a high school would. You are there to learn a trade and become a young adult. You are there to begin the maturing process of becoming a dependable and responsible adult.

This is but a portion of failademics. This portion falls entirely upon the student and responsibility for failure resides within their own hands and decision making. They have no one to blame but the person in the mirror. However, there is a turning point in college academics where failademics becomes thrust upon them and not by their own doing. You may have no idea where I’m going here or what I’m going to write about. That’s good. I don’t want to write a general knowledge article. What I am talking about here is that point where you begin taking core classes for completion of your degree. Some classes are very difficult and some are just background building classes that will be utilized in the future. After the 2 year weeding out process, we now have a fertile ground of students who have passed the first tests of young adulthood. They have managed to bypass the serious roadblocks and have made it to the next cornerstone of their growth.

The turning point I am talking about comes in the form of teachers who profess that they are teaching their students, but in fact, they are failing their students. I’m not talking about failing them as in not passing them through their class. I am talking about teachers who are not nurturing the minds of their young students or providing a necessary platform supporting success. These teachers are teaching failademics. There are several degree plans that are very difficult to successfully complete even with the dedication and help of capable teachers. If we alter the playing field with “teachers” promoting failure within their classroom, it creates an unnecessary hurdle for students to face.

Let me explain what these teachers are doing. I’m sure that most of us have heard about “grading on the curve.” If not, it’s a system where you take the highest student score and make that the top score and then grade everyone else appropriately. So, if the top student scores an 80% that is the equivalent of an A. Follow suit through the remainder of the grading system. That is “grading on the curve.” That in itself is not the problem. The problem lies in the fact that certain teachers have classes where their top student scores less than 50%, sometimes as far down as 30%. Top score, equivalent of 100%, is less than half. Does that sound like a realistic grading system here? What exactly does this prove? Are we really learning anything here? If we have classes where passing is in the 20% score range, are we actually teaching ANYTHING? Better yet, are we actually LEARNING anything?

Some teachers are proud of how difficult they can make their tests. That is fine, difficult is not impossible. The teachers subscribing to failademics are creating tests that they KNOW students will fail and fail miserably at. They enjoy the fact that they are viewed as the most “difficult” teachers on campus. They enjoy the fact that students “fear” their classes. They feed upon this knowledge. Are these teachers trying to help their students succeed in their path to adulthood or are they trying to facilitate their own needs of superiority here? Once again, show me a rational argument for creating a testing situation where 70% failure is good enough for an A. Is that successful? No, not in any way can it be viewed that way. This isn’t a baseball average where .300 is the cutoff to be a great hitter. This is real life where we are trying to learn something. I’m not supporting the creation of “cake” testing either. There is a large area between very difficult and near impossible.

How does the student react in these situations? Does the student feel like they have learned a great amount? Do they feel like they are adequately prepared for future classes and the requirements of the working world? I can say that I was in some of these failademic classes during my college tenure and I had roommates and friends in other similar situations. I was lucky enough to be the “curve buster” but that doesn’t make it right for every other student to be subjected to these testing practices. Of course the people involved feel like they know less than expected. They feel like they are not prepared for the next class which will build upon what you just “didn’t” learn making it extremely difficult to pass. I can even say that these students are left more unprepared for the working world than they were going into the classes. Teaching failure is a situation of reverse psychology. Teach them they don’t know everything, and they will focus on working harder. They will dedicate their time better to overcome the roadblock. They will understand that they don’t know everything and their thirst for knowledge will increase. Is that true?

Yes, to some that is a true method of motivation. The point being is that only some are led in this manner. The vast majority are taught in a much different manner. These failademic teachers have resorted to subjecting their students to consistent failure for the purpose of fulfilling their own desires, not to support and help their students succeed in their future. Learning is accomplished through both failure and success, but making success near impossible teaches nothing but failure. There are those in the world outside of higher learning that adhere to the theory of failademics in their everyday approach to living. They teach and promote failure to those around them. The failures of others make them feel good. However, the people around them are not being “graded on the curve.” Failure is failure in the real world. Be on the watch for the teachers and supporters of failure in your life. When faced with a teacher of failure in your life, confront the situation and don’t allow failure to become an accepted or agreeable outcome. Learn from your failures, but remove those promoting it from your life.

Most American families are blessed through the years to have the opportunity to go on at least one major family vacation throughout their childhood. However, over the years, this opportunity has dwindled from a potentially lengthy vacation stay multiple states away, to something closer to home and less time intensive. In past years, families would load up their vehicles and stock their luggage full of beach clothing, ski clothing, or casual wear. They would fill up their coolers with snacks, sandwiches, and soda in preparation for travelling miles upon miles between stops for refreshments or restrooms. It was a very large undertaking for families going on their summer vacation. Everyone was excited at one point or the other, more often than not though, at separate times. Family vacations were notorious for conflict and irritating conversations. Think about it. If you place people who already live together in a small and usually uncomfortable space, they will be irritable. It’s a basic fact of our humanity, we like our space and our personal bubbles to be large.

Well, that sounds great doesn’t it? Sure, it was and for some, it still is. But, like I mentioned above, the existence of the family vacation is fast becoming a story of folklore. Families that are together are rare. Families that are able to take enough time off together to go on a lengthy vacation is becoming rare. Access to the funding necessary for the family vacation is becoming harder to acquire. Sure, there are still ways to take a family vacation “on the cheap,” but the majority of vacations have become insanely expensive. Depending on the age of the family and the people involved, trips to the fun parks and the hotel accommodations are sometimes upwards of several months’ rent for most families. Even for the older families, the associated site seeing adventures are usually costly and with today’s fuel costs, there are not many “on the cheap” vacations. Fuel costs alone for any substantial distance can drive the family’s budget into the ground.

Is there a problem with this? Vacations are and always will be a luxury. There is no disputing that. However, I do believe there is a problem with the impending extinction of the American vacation. Families, even though they may often be irritated, grow closer together by going on the adventure. It is a very intense journey through relationship building. Also, the families learn a vast amount about the society in which they live. If we spend our entire lives centralized in our local vicinities, we fail to experience what the rest of the country has to offer. People on the east coast are much different than people in the south. The people in the west coast are much different than the people in the midwest. There are different ideologies, different opinions, and much different environments. If we never experience what the rest of our country has to offer, our points of view are very limited and skewed. We must expand our boundaries to include the great experiences our country has to offer.

The only way to experience what our country has to offer is to take adventures. The family vacation is the primary solution. Also, children are usually involved in the vacation and this is the best time for an educational experience. Young minds absorb so much information at a very high rate that a vacation is so much more than entertainment for them. It is a very interactive experience for the young people. If we cannot take our family vacations, what exactly are we replacing it with? Video games, movies, time on the internet, or some other time waster? Sure, children learn from all of these things, but it cannot compare to the real world experiences of a vacation. On top of this, there is another major issue with removing the family vacation from our families. Families need time to get away.

Time to get away, or better said, escape from our everyday lives. People are continuously living under stressful situations and their family pays the price. Our relationships are stressed, our families are stressed, our budgets continue to be stretched, and we fail to experience the greatness the rest of our country has to offer us. We NEED to get away. Our minds need to be released from the daily, weekly, and yearly responsibilities that follow us everywhere we go at home. Time off is not the same as a vacation either. Take some time off, but stay at home, and your mind has no vent, no release. We must remove ourselves physically from the surroundings that we know on a daily basis to truly alleviate the stresses of our local environment. I am not saying that we can forget or dissolve all stress by vacationing, but I am saying that by doing so, we can greatly diminish its place in our life. This stress also affects our children. Children’s lives are also impacted by the stress levels of the parents. Environment is a major component in anyone’s life and even more so in children.

Families should work hard at taking a true vacation as often as they can. Maybe not every year, or even every other year, but a vacation needs to be undertaken to ease the burdens we are all under. Yes, it is tough to make happen, but so is most everything in our lives. If we put enough energy in planning and saving for our family vacations, we can bring back the American vacation from extinction. Not only will our children reap the rewards, but our state of mind will also receive dividends from our vacation experience. We all need time to get away. Vacations are not only one of the most functional ways to do it, but they also allow us to physically experience the world and country we live in. If we never leave our boundaries, we might as well be living in a fish bowl. Personally, I’m an adventurer, not a fish.

In the not so distant path, reading was a very limited ability and only those who were “schooled” had the ability to read. Most people in those times were hard working laborers who did not “need” to read to function and support their family. As time passed and the Industrial Revolution hit, scholastic growth fast became a requirement to succeed in the world. You were required to have the ability to read or you were basically forced into some unskilled labor that would not be sufficient enough to support you or a family. Reading had changed from a “wanted” skill to a required skill. Of course these generations who were not used to reading, loved having the ability that was so far out of reach for previous generations. They would willingly read books, newspapers, and magazines. They would read anything and in turn, they were feeding their mind. Reading was exciting for them. No longer were they chained to their farms and daily labors of life. They could escape and learn from reading a book.

Where has the zest for reading gone? Sure, we have multitudes of bookstores filled with books. We have public libraries full of books where all you need is a library card to reserve any book you would like. We have magazine rack after magazine rack available to peruse through. However, do you know many people in your life that read more than a few books a year? Yes, people “read” a lot of magazines, but they can in no way compete with the information or story telling ability of a full length book. Do you know someone in your life that actually admits to enjoy reading? From a poll taken in 2002, it proposed that less than 60% of the adult people in our country had read just one book in the last year. Think about how long it takes to read one book, any book. Over 40% of the adult population didn’t accomplish that. Books can also be a pretty lenient sense of definition for description. We are not talking about 1,000 page books here. It could be something as simple as a 100 page short story all the way up to some of the most intellectual writings available.

Another poll suggests that on average, half of the population read more than 4 books a year and half do not. Is that bad? I think so. Reading four books does not make you a literary scholar. Reading four books equates to one every three months, or one book every 90 days. Let’s just say that the books are on average, 300 pages, that turns out to just a little over 3 pages of reading per day. How long does it take to read a page? I guess somewhere around a minute or less so that gives us about 3 minutes a day of our life devoted on average to reading. One of the most important nutrients to our mind and we only “feed” it for 3 minutes a day. You might be saying that you read all the time, just not books. You would have a valid argument, but is the reading that you are doing actually fulfilling an intellectual need or some need of time passage? There are thousands, if not millions, of avenues to “read” and waste your time. Reading a magazine, probably doesn’t count here. If you’re reading the newspaper, there is negligible content there. Oh, the internet you say? There is a lot of information on the internet, but are you actually reading it? I can show you studies saying different.

As we make our way into the future, we see people reading less and less to feed their mind. We see a focus upon the other nutrients of our mind. We feed it with sights and environment. What’s the difference? One is easy and does most of the work for you where one requires your own effort. Reading requires your effort to accomplish. Sight and environment happen. You may say that you don’t have the time to read. I say start by devoting 10 minutes a day to reading books. Don’t read the internet, don’t read magazines, and don’t read the newspapers. Read a book. 10 minutes a day would turn out to be a 300 page book per month. For the year, we would then be at 12 books per year rather than 4. Can you spare 10 minutes per day for feeding your mind? Reading to me is one of the most important mind nutrients available. It teaches us without us being forced to learn in a school system or by training. We learn by using our mind. Our mind will grow as we feed it information. Studies have shown people who read are generally smarter than those who do not.

Feed your mind the milk that it needs to grow. Our minds are ALWAYS growing and we need to provide it the necessary sustenance or it will shrivel up in a metaphorical way. I’m not saying your mind will disintegrate, I am saying that you will pay a price for not reading. The price you will pay will be your own intellectual ability. By not reading, you are harming your own ability to succeed. Reading does not have to be books that are deemed to be the best by society. You can read a variety of fiction, non-fiction, biographical, or comedic material. Read material that suits your tastes, but read books. Magazines can satisfy your immediate need, but it’s like sugar. It gives you a rush, but doesn’t last. Books are the protein for your mind. I know, it’s all pretty metaphorical, but in the end, books are where the vast majority of the mind’s essential nutrients exist.

Let’s start feeding our mind the milk that is requires. We can grow our minds and intelligence with a little effort of our own. Don’t fall into the half of society that fails to maximize their growth or potential. Feed your mind what it needs! I challenge everyone who reads this to begin reading a book a month. If you can accomplish that, start trying to read 2 books a month. Read to satisfy your mind. Can that be accomplished, a total satisfaction of the mind? Doubtful, but we aren’t even on the cusp of finding that out. I’ll challenge myself accordingly. Will you join with me? I hope so!

Citation: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20381678/

In my experience, I have found that the Internet is most valuable in two areas. The first is learning about things outside of visiting your library or looking through books at a bookstore. And the second is doing valuable product research. Yes, there are many, many other things the Internet allows us to do as individuals, but the power in these two areas cannot be defined. You have the power of millions at your fingertips. All you have to do is spend time searching, reading, and learning. What I am getting around to is a new product becoming available as we speak. It has already hit some store shelves and is soon to be in a variety of stores. This product type may not be known to some people out there depending on how technically advanced you care to be. It’s a new, cheaper blu-ray player. It is made to be an entry level player to help people begin migrating to a new format for movies. Remember DVD as it came out and everyone had their VHS players? Same thing here, blu-ray is trying to replace DVD as the standard for home movies.

There is nothing at all wrong with that. Blu-ray is a better technology as it offers more space for additional features, higher quality sound, and high-definition movie playback. It also includes the ability to connect to the Internet for content in the future (several current blu-ray players lack this function as does this current product). This leads me to the crux of this article. Funai is a Japanese company that has manufacturing plants in China. They currently build over half of the DVD players in our country. Needless to say, they know how to manufacture this product. Great, they have the capacity and know how to do it, guess we won’t have to worry about inventory being a problem. That’s not the issue either. The issue is that this company builds the product for many different brands. Brand x has the product with their label on it. Brand y has the exact same product with their label on it. They may be different colors are arranged a little nicer or have fancy boxing and maybe some other little differentiating tricks. However, the product inside is the EXACT same thing, just a different skin on it.

Still, there is nothing to worry about here. That is until you see what the stores are doing with the product. Store x has the product from brand x available for $298. Store y has the product from brand y available for $350. Store z has it available for yet another price at $325 for brand z. Why the discrepancy for the exact same product with just a different name on it? No, you aren’t buying brand name here, you are paying profit margin here. These stores know that the consumers aren’t informed and will purchase the product because it’s the cheapest blu-ray player available (cheapest other is $399). Consumers are starting to hear about blu-ray and high definition movies and now that there are a lot of high definition televisions in the households of Americans, there is a new push for blu-ray to enter the audio/video equation. Customer x walks into electronic store y, sees the new “cheaper” blu-ray player and knows its entry level and the brand is ok. Sales person pushes the product or tries to upsell the customer. Sounds normal and is. However, the customer doesn’t know they can immediately save $50 by going elsewhere.

What the stores and retailers are banking on is that the customer will not know the products are the same because they have different brand names on them. They of course rely on the fact that their store name carries with it a certain quality and thus they will pay a little more than another store because of this. The customer has not been informed adequately and the information is readily available on the Internet (it took me maybe 5 minutes to find out the information). You may say that’s fine, the customer is at fault for not doing the research. I agree to an extent but there is a point where it’s blatantly ripping people off because they basically have insider information. Your average customer is going to depend on outside information to help determine purchase decisions outside of price.

Of course this is not the only product in our stores that are like this. There are many products we buy that we can find a better deal elsewhere. But, we don’t do the research and find out. Why don’t we? Because most of us either don’t know how or don’t want to waste the time it takes to research something. The retailers know this so they continue to set pricing the way they do and continue to make higher profit margins on the same items packaged differently. We are being taken advantage of because we are allowing it. If we decided to become more educated on our product choices, we would not buy the higher priced products of course and the retailers would be forced to lower their prices or stop stocking that particular brand. The power is in our hands and the information is free and readily available.

Next time you are on the Internet, rather than just surfing around, research a product and just see what it is exactly you are spending your money on. At the very least, for any new product you buy, research about it on the Internet first. You will be greatly surprised what you find and you will be nicely surprised by how much money you can keep in your wallet. Don’t allow the retailers to take advantage of you because they lump you together with the other uneducated consumers. Take back the power and educate yourself.

Citation: http://myblurayplanet.com/