On top of that particular idea, or even as a replacement, I believe we should throw in a requirement that takes precedence over age alone. This requirement to vote involves citizens earning the right to vote. Many people may have an issue with that because they believe all American citizens are entitled to certain privileges… voting in my mind is a privilege to be earned. You have to earn your driver’s license… You have to earn your way into college with good grades… You have to earn your way for most anything that means anything in our world. However, the right to vote is given as a simple return for becoming age 18.

Voting to me is one of the most important tools of a democracy and therefore it should not just be handed out to those who do not earn their right to vote. You may say that isn’t exactly a democracy… Well, according to various definitions of democracy, it is. Our citizens are still free, have a right to the power to become an elected official to govern at any level, and they have certain unalienable rights and freedoms from being an American citizen. Earning the right to vote does not deprive any citizen, but it creates a specific delineation amongst the citizens. The delineation revolves around a citizen filing taxes.

You read that right. You get the right to vote if you file taxes. I don’t care how old you are, if you file taxes, you get the right to vote. Why? Too long have our political races been determined by the non-working leeches of our society who only vote those people who promise to provide them government welfare, wealth sharing, and other tax subsidies. Citizens who have paid into the tax booty should have the ultimate say in how their money is distributed. Non-filers are nothing more than people with their hands out asking those who work for a living to provide for their way.

This is of course the straight and narrow point of view. There would be several distinctions which would allow those who cannot work be given exemptions. Disabled people, married homemakers, etc would all be given their right to vote. My problem is with those who have the ability to work and do not. My problem is with those who should pay taxes, but do not. My problem is with those people who drain the wealth from our society and provide nothing in return. Everyone can do something valuable, not doing so and asking for something in return is as greedy as the Wall Street financial wizards who raped our economy of trillions in wealth over the last few years.

Simple and easy, earn your right to vote by working for a living. Working for a living provides a much different perspective on life and responsibility than living a life of entitlement. People who have a third, or more, of their check whacked off with a rusty IRS tax blade have a much better idea of how this country should be run than those who have their life funded by the government. Paying taxes earns the right to vote.

The natural side effect of this policy is that voter fraud would be drastically reduced. Before you would be allowed to vote, you would have to file taxes, which would mean you have a valid Social Security Number and that you are also an American citizen by place of residency, etc. There would be a centralized database of all tax payers with the right to vote and as they enter their vote, they are tracked and marked. Protect the computerized environment from tampering and you have the ultimate no-recount necessary voting application.

We need to understand that our lives and freedoms are not simply bestowed upon us because we can perform such necessary tasks as breathing oxygen or blinking our eyes. We need to have a system where those who provide for the country are rewarded and not reprimanded. I believe we should be required to earn the rights we have, not simply given them because we turn a certain age. Think how much of an impact this simple ideology would change our world… Rather than a society of lazy people with a self serving sense of entitlement, we would have a group of people working for the betterment of our nation… as our forefathers did.

Our current social times has placed being “religious” into what many consider some sort of horrific stigma. Nobody wants to be labeled the “Bible Thumper” within your group of friends. People have been led to believe that being “religious” must mean that everyone is closed minded and all followers must abide by some specific doctrine or they are not accepted. The last I checked, Christianity is much different than the religion of Islam… However, people have associated nearly all religions with such radical ideology and have thus started turning their backs to religion of all forms and fashions.

I’m not so sure that these times are any different than the past. It seems to me that religious people have been generally treated differently and persecuted throughout our world’s history. But, the United States is a relatively new society as compared to history and we were founded upon Christianity and the freedom of religion as one of our fundamental building blocks. If we are losing contact with our roots, where are we going?

Some people may think that we are becoming more affluent and intelligent as we gain more knowledge regarding the science of life. Some people may think that religion was just a figment of our immature minds looking for meaning to our otherwise mundane existences. Whatever the case may be, more people are choosing to not believe in anything rather than believe in something.

A fast rising segment of society is the so-called Atheists. These people have rejected the idea of God and choose to believe in nothing. The number of Atheists has doubled since 1990 according to the report. Another segment that is growing is the agnostic group. This particular segment has not completely rejected the idea of God… they just choose not to believe at this point.

Another alarming fact from the report is that those who call themselves Christians has declined from 86 to 76 percent. There are several “reasons” given for the decline… from various political parties establishing footholds within certain religious segments to the horrid news stories of religious leaders doing unthinkable things while in power. If these are reasons to discount or reject God in your life, I would say God was never in your life…

America has long been the hope of the free world. Our personal ties to Christianity have long been one of the building blocks of our great society. If you follow the tumultuous existence of our last few generations, you can very easily track the increasing number of Americans who have no faith to the increased violence, lack of hope, and general downward spiral our society has undertaken. Some of these are fact and some are opinion, but who can argue that the United States is in the best of times these days? That’s right, no one can.

As we allow our faith become overrun by those with no faith and no hope, our society will continue to pay the price. Our nation is a Christian nation… at this point. The remaining Christians in our society must make it a point to make the right decisions and live our lives according to our Christian roots. We have seen that the mistakes made can be devastating and can turn people away from hope and Christianity. It is up to us to turn the tide and show the world that being religious and being a Christian is nothing to be ashamed of. I’m proud to call myself a Christian, even though I am not perfect… the last I checked, neither was anyone else.

Yes, it’s habit to focus on the large situations in our lives, I can attest to that basic fact of life as I’m sure you can too. But, as I sit here, I can name countless little things that were said or done throughout my life that created a major impact in how I think and react. Whether it affected how I trust someone to how much respect I give a person… Whether I feel that someone is a liar or a true friend… The situations are countless, but the vast majority of what I remember would not be considered earth shattering events.

Maybe it’s because I discount the major instances for the most part and focus on the little things that slip through. To me, the telltale signs of who people are come through in the simplest conversation or reaction in ordinary situations. These signs can display more about a person than weeks, months, or even years of conversation or friendship. Sometimes, who people truly are comes out when they are the most “comfortable.”

How about you? Do you let the real you slip out in while you’re not looking? Does your true personality squeeze out through the armor you have slipped into? As I’ve said before, most of us are walking around with different “faces” on and for the most part, we don’t let many people see the real us. We like to control that aspect of our life even more than our bank account it seems.

But, when that instance comes along and the real you comes out, what kind of trickle down effects do you have on the other people in your life? For me, the trickle down instances I have experienced in my life generally center on people who failed to conceal their “wicked” person. Why do you think that is? Well, basic common sense to me says that people who aren’t really the nice person they seem to be, allow these “slips” to happen because they are in fact, concealing who they really are. People who aren’t worried about hiding their true self, are legitimate people and usually don’t fall into these types of traps… they are who they are all the time.

Yes, everything we do carries an impact on others. The trickle down effects of our actions and words can help and even damage others. However, if we focus upon being our true selves in all situations, the effects will be nearly all positive whether mistakes were made or not. Genuine people are expected to make mistakes… non-genuine people who make mistakes can lose trust, respect, and their dignity amongst their friends, family, and co-workers.

Going back to my statement that I have tended to focus upon the small things from people and sad to say, most of the time, these small nuances are vastly negative. I have found that most people fear others knowing who they really are. For whatever reason, they just cannot be themselves. But, given enough time, we all figure out who they really are even as they fight tooth and nail to hide it. The little things will always come out no matter how good at hiding…

Go about your day as you really are. Don’t worry about the little things that slip through because there won’t be anything to slip. Your trickle down effects will be positive because genuine people make genuine relationships and friends. These bonds are not broken by mistakes done in an honest manner. But mistakes made by liars concealing who they really are deserve their just punishment when they do display their true nature. Be who you are, it’s the right thing to do… it’s the respectful thing to do… it’s the trustworthy thing to do… your trickle down effects will be positive in the eyes of those you interact with.

But, I also believe that many, if not the majority of people in our world, simply do not want to change. They fear it… they like the way they are… they want everyone else to change to meet their needs and not the other way around. Change is a two way street in my opinion. More often than not, everyone needs to change and meet somewhere in the middle rather than having a certain group of people change to meet the group on the other side of the valley.

I see people in various states of change… unwanted change forced upon them, disguised change for some to see while others see the unchanged individual, and those willingly engaging in change for the betterment of their own life as well as others. Who do you think has the easiest time going about their daily life from the above categories?

Of course those willing to change are going to have a much happier existence simply because they have chosen to change. Those who are forced to change, do so without buying into the outcome that change is good for them… otherwise they would have elected to change willingly. And those who are choosing to pull the deceptive veils of change over their persona are only hurting themselves worse over time. To put it simply, they are nothing more than liars… to themselves, and to those around them.

To me, these people are also untrustworthy. At least the people unwilling to change have the guts to publicly stand their ground and fight for what they believe to be in their own personal best interests. Those who disguise their true intentions are weasels, snakes, and deserve to be treated as such. They deserve no respect for their actions. Change… or don’t… no need to fake it.

How do you live your life when facing change? Are you one of those who accept change and move forward? Are you one who will always buck change while going down in flames protecting what you know? Or, are you one of those who will fake change to get by and keep your precious status quo in check?

Do you know any of these fake changers in your life? How do they make you feel? I have known a few of these people throughout my life and they irritate and aggravate me… for the simple reason that they are nothing more than fakers! I can’t stand fake people… fake attitudes… fake in general. Be real or get out of my life.

Fake people, acting like they have changed, are also manipulators. It makes sense doesn’t it? If they had bought into the idea of change, they wouldn’t be disguising their actions. If they are disguising their true self, they must be doing it for a reason. That reason is that it serves their selfish reasons for a presumed payoff. They are trying to manipulate the people and situation around them to serve their own needs.

Fakers… manipulators… liars… weasels… the list could go on. People who disguise their true actions with veils of deception cannot be trusted. Choose to accept change or fight it… don’t be one of those who fake it.

How easy is it to simply focus on the perceived failings of your competitors and do nothing to differentiate yourself other than to run down the scorecard of these failures? It’s very easy. How easy is it to focus on the shortcomings of your co-workers and use them to promote your own self up the ladder? Again, it’s very easy. My personal opinion on the people and businesses using this copout way of “attracting” attention is that they are showing you their true colors, their lack of character depth, and their lack of quality product or ability.

If you have nothing to differentiate yourself other than to constantly run other people down in an effort to make you or your product appear better, do you have anything better to offer in reality? Shouldn’t your product speak for itself? Shouldn’t your work ethic and character makeup speak for your ability? Shouldn’t you focus on what makes you better and not what makes the others worse? The reason why you see more and more people and businesses take this line of product differentiation is because they lack the cognitive ability to promote their own product ethically with integrity. Of course, that is assuming their product is at minimum, equal to their competitors.

You don’t have to be a marketing major or industry analyst to differentiate your product in a manner that is both ethical and positive. But, it does take more effort than constantly running your mouth about the weaknesses of your opposition. Your consumers, and or coworkers, are not oblivious to the real world, no matter how inept you believe them to be. People do not need to be fed their information as if they cannot form a rational opinion on their own. If you believe they need reinforcement in the manner of spouting negatives about your competition, then your product doesn’t have the natural distinction to win their attention on its own.

It’s not as simple as a “build it and they will come” philosophy, but it is as simple that if you build a product that is inherently better than the competitor, you can differentiate yourself in a positive and ethical manner. Simplistic minds and questionable character development allows a fertile ground for these negative differentiators to grow and exist.

I’ve personally seen more and more of this in my life from individuals and businesses. It turns me off from having a relationship with either of them. If they believe that I need a push to choose them over their competitor, they should show me the positives of their product. If all they can focus upon is a negative laundry list of their competitors, it tells me they don’t have a product I want.

People and businesses choose the easy way out in our lives more often than not. They choose not to focus upon creating their own positive image. They are too worried about getting ahead this instant. Their only traction in society is to belittle and publicly damage those who are “in their way.” Do you want to associate with these types of people or businesses? If they are so superficial and lacking in character, how much importance do you think you are to them? Are you nothing more than a contributor to their bottom line as long as you “agree” with their sentiments? Are you nothing more than a friend when you “agree” with their laundry lists?

I choose to deal with people and businesses of real character. For those who lack this capability, I refuse to augment their financial sheets and I refuse to incorporate them into my life. Focus on differentiating yourself in a positive manner. Yes, it takes more effort, but in the end, it makes you stand out above your competitors more than any list of failings they may have. Build some character, be positive, because guess what, you’re only the flavor of the month if all you have to win people over is what’s wrong with everyone else. What’s right with you? My guess is not a whole lot. Have some class and integrity… it goes a long way.

Obama has the eyes of the world upon him. He is not only our rock star… he is the world’s rock star. In our time of globalization, Obama is sitting on top of the world’s political pulpit. After a projected record amount of voters have utilized their one true democratic tool, Obama has been elected the leader of the free world. After many campaign promises have been made in exchange for votes, our eyes as a nation are going to be squarely placed upon him. Obama will face the ultimate political scrutiny… not only from the American public, but from the world as a whole.

I watched Obama give his gracious acceptance speech last night. He is a very good speaker and he can motivate with his words and demeanor when he’s speaking. However, his actions are now required. No longer is campaign and political rhetoric going to be enough. There must be substance to his speeches and there must be evidence of his political ability. At this point in time, we have yet to see either because of his lack of political service.

What exactly Obama will accomplish over the next four years remains to be seen. Many are awaiting some sort of Holy Grail to materialize and make our nation resemble a fairytale of the grandest proportions. Others are nervously and anxiously awaiting what true agenda Obama may be harboring. Obama, based upon his past votes and publicly stated positions, is still regarded as a “Hard Core Liberal.” His political viewpoints and Democratic Party affiliation still direct his decision making that will undoubtedly create great public and political divide. Promises of bi-partisanship is one thing, actually compromising on some of the most important divides is another.

We have seen how political divides have separated this country. For many, their newfound ecstasy achieved as a result of their chosen affiliation’s rise to power will come under distress as the reality of the political process diminishes the many campaign road promises. Yes, Obama will be in office with a dominant position regarding both the House and the Senate. However, he does not enjoy a veto-proof House and Senate. That means that any law or political action he champions MUST be made with inherent compromises in place.

Obama is our next President and he deserves the respect this office places upon him. However, the respect of the person himself is on the line. If Obama can truly earn the respect of his opposition as a true political leader charged with bringing our country forward together, then I will gladly stand in line and support Obama. Until that day comes, I am a skeptical citizen waiting to see what the true agenda of the Democratic Party’s most liberal President has in store for our country.

The President is sworn to uphold the Constitution upon inauguration. Our nation was born upon the ideology of freedom. Free markets are at the core of our capitalistic economy. As our country moves forward, I implore you to watch with keen eyes how your rights are being protected, how your country’s foundation is being protected, and how your country’s moral and ethical values are being protected. Many of Obama’s campaign promises directly affect each one of these core issues. If our American citizens are so easily fleeced of our rights for monetary gains, we will no longer have a Constitution, a free market, or a free country. Be thankful that we have democracy and we must make sure that we preserve it. We must not allow the rock star persona draw a veil of deception over our nation’s eyes which will allow its complete rape and destruction from within.

The “workplace” can be many different places and it doesn’t necessarily only include your place of employment. Professionalism exists in many aspects of our lives and as adults, we are responsible for knowing when and where we are within these situations. However, we can all agree professionalism is required at work. How we conduct ourselves within the workplace affects everyone around us, including our customers. Deviation from this workplace standard is unacceptable.

Recently, I ran across an article coming out of the United Kingdom (UK) which reported that a teachers’ union representative publicly stated that a teacher who engages in consensual sex with a student over the age of 16 should not face prosecution. My initial reaction was of course a state of incredulous amazement and then I settled into a routine state of awe… I am still in awe that someone representing a respected union of TEACHERS believes that it is “ok” to have what is termed as “consensual sex” with a student over the age of 16.

Is this conduct becoming of a person in the position of a teacher, a mentor, a leader, an adult? Professional conduct in this situation is completely absent. Issue number one isn’t even the age. It’s the idea that a teacher can have sex without retribution with a student. How insane is that? There are certain occupations where professionalism and conduct are paramount, teaching is one of them. This representative has effectively trampled upon the decency of the teaching occupation which he is representing.

The man himself states, “Teachers who have sex with pupils over the age of consent are guilty of a mere “error in professional judgment,” and should not be placed on the sex offenders register.” The decision is a “mere” error in professional judgment? Let’s say what it truly is. It is a catastrophic error in judgment which should in fact carry criminal consequences for the offender. Yes, I said offender and not consensual party. When there is a teacher/student relationship or supervisor/employee relationship, there is a level of control which can impact the situation. The existence of power alters the relationship.

How can a rational and professional person truly believe engaging in intimate relations with a student is acceptable? There is a trend amongst our “free” societies pursuing free rein to do as they wish as long as it “doesn’t hurt anyone.” Legalize drugs, it saves prison space, makes us money on taxation, and make us feel good. Legalize prostitution, it’s a free market, and also makes us money on additional revenue taxation. Legalize “insert x here” as long as it doesn’t appear to harm anyone and/or creates more tax revenue. It doesn’t matter if it’s morally, ethically, or professionally wrong. If it makes us feel good, then it must be ok.

We are careening toward extinction of rational behavior as our world continues to fall into an emotional and leadership vacuum. If all we care about is “feeling good,” we will be living in chaos. Rules, laws, and ideas of professional conduct are not here to make things “un-fun,” they are here because to live a rational and ethical life, there needs to be certain moral and ethical codes. We can assume everyone is rational, but this is not a perfect world. Rational individuals do not murder each other, steal from one another, or engage in intimate relationships with their students.

Professional conduct and rational behavior go hand in hand. Someone who construes having sex with students is both irrational and absolutely unprofessional. For a union representative to publicly state this position is reprehensible. He should be removed and reprimanded immediately.

Citation: http://www.foxnews.com/

I have written before about the negative consequences of cell phones within our lives, but there has been a new path opened for this life controlling (and altering) mini-computer. Some churches in my local area have started allowing members to text the Pastor during proceedings. My first response is, “Why?!” My second response is, “Are You Serious?!” I’m pretty sure you know my third, fourth, and even my last response… The specific churches believe that texting allows church members who are potentially embarrassed about certain issue to be heard without retribution. They also believe that members can interact with the Pastor in a way that directs the sermon in real time.

Technology has its place, but is that place acceptable in a pew during worship within the sanctuary? Some have mentioned that the use of cell phones allows for note taking. Sure, I’ll agree with that. Some people (the younger generation) have moved past the pen and paper and live with their digital assistants. However, to specifically encourage texting as a form of interaction within the sermon is another issue.

The majority of messages delivered by the Pastor is not a question and answer session. Pastor’s who effectively lead their congregation, do not stand upon canned sermons and messages to deliver the News. Sermon’s can take many days or months to achieve the direction believed by the Pastor. What I am saying is that a simple text message from a church member fumbling around with his cell phone trying to figure out how to abbreviate Biblical passages into appropriate cell phone speak will interrupt the sermon. Not to mention the Pastor having to interact with the message during his sermon…

There is a place for technology, but this technology does not belong in the pew in this manner. I’m pretty sure that the Pastor of your church doesn’t need immediate gratification regarding the direction of the sermon. He’s not looking for a “Way 2 Go!” or “This Sucks!” message or even a text saying “Good Job!” If a Pastor is giving a sermon truly based upon where his heart has been led, text messages can only interrupt and potentially destroy any coherent message he is trying to relay.

Over time, churches must allow technology to enter their doors and sanctuary, but they must be very careful in the manner with which they allow it. We have the ability for video conferencing, but we still enjoy our Pastor to be there live and in person don’t we? We have the ability for conference calls, but we still get up and attend church don’t we? Should we all bring our laptops to the sanctuary? You see where I’m going.

I’m not advocating a stoic and past focused sermon delivery, but I am saying that some things are best left untouched by certain advancements. Even if the younger generation thinks it’s cool, it doesn’t necessarily make church “better” or more “exciting.” Sacrificing the sanctuary in an attempt to become hip amongst your peers is the absolute wrong way to approach the youth. Yes, they need to be reached in different ways than in the past, but it must be done the right way and not at the expense of the church or sermon itself.

What do you think? How far should technology invade the pew?

What are some of the most important aspects of living you value and place the priceless tag upon? Life itself, children, love, happiness, achieving your dreams, respect of your parents… the list could go on forever because we all determine our own lists of unsellable “things.” There are those among us, and it seems to be an ever growing segment, that kneel to the almighty power of wealth and proceed to trade or sell their perceived priceless items. Wealth is easily attainable for people willing to sell their most important objects of self because the market is scarce of this product. It’s a simple supply and demand issue. Low, or rare, supply will equal higher prices given any perceived demand.

Recently, one 22 year old female has taken this knowledge of the market and is offering her virginity to the highest bidder. She is planning on “auctioning” off her “product” in an effort to create a financially secure start for her life. Student loans, among other things, are piling up on her and she is in hopes that her “wares” will generate up to a million dollar windfall. This isn’t a novel idea, but it is one that generates a lot of media attention. In the end, she is nothing more than a prostitute. Prostitution is an age-old “profession” even though it is against most ideas of moral and ethical correctness.

Integrity, once revered, now shows up regularly on the auction block. Whether it comes in the form of this young lady, or in the form of steroid use, or lawyers twisting facts to free a criminal, or even the average “white lie” being told amongst co-workers, integrity is for sale. Everyone wonders why it’s so hard to trust anyone, or be honest with people without fear of retribution, it’s because there is a price tag on even the most basic core principles that make us who we are.

We are always looking for the true motives around us rather than take people’s actions at face value. We have to. It’s just the current state of the world. Integrity is readily sold and rarely protected. In a free market, why not sell a valuable asset when given the chance? Doing the right thing “costs” money…

What surprises me about the state of our world is that the mere mention of this young woman auctioning off her virginity hasn’t resulted in an old fashioned media lynching. Instead, we are given sensationalistic reporting with some even trying to support her decision. Is this something that we want to see reoccur? What will we see next time, an 18 year old selling herself? There of course are many worse incarnations of this action if we continue to support its “legal correctness.”

Our society must return back to one where integrity means something. We must truly believe there are priceless “things” which cannot be sold or valued. Until that happens, we will see auctions such as this litter our news and more than likely, at an increasing rate. Money comes and goes, but who you are stays with you forever.

Citation: http://www.foxnews.com/

Free societies have always been the bastion of hope to strive for. Traits of the free society promises freedom of speech, religion, press, and many other core ideas of a democratic ideology. These tenets create a standard of living people in “less free” countries dream of experiencing. However, the traits of free society also bring various responsibilities for the citizens within. Primarily, citizens must respect the rights of each individual within the society and not force upon them their individual ideology or thought process. There are also traps within a free society which must be avoided. Ideas and policy that replace freedom with so-called “what’s best for the people” laws are a replacement of freedom with a slow burning fuse of socialism.

Our forefathers had great ideas regarding freedom because they chose to leave tyranny behind and their sole focus was upon creating a truly free society, one that is run by the people, for the people. There have been great leaders in our history who have stood up for what is right for free individuals. Slavery has been abolished, labor laws enacted, unions were created to protect worker rights, and women were given their rightful standing amongst society. Even racism has been tackled by our society and continues to be fought against. The American Dream is more attainable today as compared to any previous generation for those willing to work and earn it.

Free society sounds great and is for all intents and purposes. Free markets allow businesses to prosper and generate wealth for many individuals. However, even with all of the positives of our free society, we appear to be evolving into a segregated society of individualistic segments vigorously opposing any potential naysayers to their belief or stance on any issue. All we hear about on television is left wing or right wing, liberal or conservative, women or men, married versus non married. All are very real segments within society and all very adamant about their beliefs. Historically, the segments were rational and open to public debate about issues and ideas and some even – gasp – changed their mind after giving the opposition the platform to express their opinion.

Today, the openness to allow opposition to express their points of view has become very limited. Rather than listen, we choose to immediately go on the defensive, interrupt the process and being attacking our opposition as if they are lunatics with no right to speak or have an opinion. Our leaders have even shown these traits. Our Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates display these traits. It’s not just the individual following the attack mentality. It is everyone from our elected officials to the young adults sitting through class in junior high school.

We are all becoming at fault. We have taken our freedom to a place where individual segments are right and everyone else is 100% wrong and therefore they must be “forced” to agree with the side with more power, money, or political clout. Is there anything free about that? Our society must return to a more forgiving one which holds our tongue and decision making process until we can honestly listen to what others have to say. When was the last time you actually listened to the argument from someone you disagreed with? Did you tune them out only focusing upon your rebuttal? Did you cut them off mid-sentence so you could refute their facts and beliefs? Did you choose to belittle them and thus make their argument seem less important?

We have all done this from time to time, but rather than being an infrequent attack, it has become the expected reaction amongst any debate featuring divided beliefs or viewpoints. This simple expectation is part of the problem. Expected does not make it right. Our free society guarantees us the right to speak our mind without fear of retribution. But, given our society of individuals who can only attack those in opposition, are we really going to have true freedom as our country moves forward? I try and catch myself when falling into the simple attack mindset and focus upon hearing out those around me with views different than mine. I hope you undertake the challenge and do so yourself. Until we can dissolve the attack mentality that has fostered amongst our society, we will continually be fighting amongst ourselves and create further chasms of division which we may never climb out from.

Listen to people and truly hear their point of view. Most of the time, we all want the same thing. It’s how we get there where we differ. If we can agree that our goals are the same, working on the path to get there should be something that brings us together, not drive us apart. Temper the attack mentality and our society will be in a much better place, politically, socially, and emotionally.