Efficiency vs Perfection

Efficiency vs Perfection

 Today's Sunday ponderings. I have been thinking on this a while and still have not fully fleshed it out in all its implications. Over the last few years, it has become clear to me that it is easy and common to confuse Perfection and Efficiency. Often we think of Perfection in terms of checking off a list of do's and do nots in the most efficient way possible. Thus we are able to *be* perfect - or at least think of ourselves or each other that way anyway.

This mindset of being efficient, I find, has led to a very limited understanding of what perfection is capable of. People often consider those trying to be perfect as boring, and those who attempt to be perfect feel overwhelmed and restricted. This perception I think is most transparent in the established general pop-cultural depiction of Angels all being flat, unemotional, self-righteous, and rigid creatures to the point of being a-moral.

Perfection I feel is much less about becoming the master of one's self in a restrictive way, but in an enabling way. It is about Self Mastery, not in terms of restricting reactions, but in knowing and being able to make the correct reactions in all circumstance. Its about continually gaining ability and strength physically, temporally, emotionally, and spiritually so that a correct reaction is an option. Thus to achieve perfection, it is essential to strive for growth in the work environment, experience different cultures and ways of thought, learn new skills and develop talents, meet new people and grow friendships and networks (all without compromising your ability to act/react correctly, hence God's Commandments). Last I think the most important thing in perfection is to feel happiness, sorrow, exhaustion, desire, and even anger and uncertainty, like our Savior did with the money changers and at Gethsemane, and learn how to control them and when to apply them.

Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother

 Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother That Thy Days May be Long Upon the Land

In my scripture study it struck me just how often parents and children killed and imprisoned each other (book of Ether in the Book of Mormon and the Old Testament, particularly the books of Kings). I was blessed to grow up in a family that is very loving and caring all around, even if we do have our disagreements. I was always aware that in history and even just in general things like this happened but for some reason it stuck out to me as extra real this time through my scriptures, partially because I had just had a lesson on the 10 Commandments. As a result these schisms in families seemed directly related to the the command to honor our parents. As a result I decided to do an in-depth study of the commandment (including what various religions had to say) and chart out what it means and how best to nurture this commandment so that its promised blessing comes true.

To organize my thoughts, I am going to first describe what honor seems to mean in this context; then I am going to go into a discussion of the commandment, its blessings, and greater meaning and impact in general; finally, I will go into the details and examples of how this can be seen and played out.

What does Honor mean?

Honor is an interesting word that has had its meaning changed over the years and is very personal with much more nuanced and with far more depth than any description could ever manage, much like love. Like love, there are countless stories, poems, dissertations, and speeches attempting to help others understand this concept. I have neither the time nor inclination to expand on those at this point. I will instead stick to the very surface meanings of the word to provide overall direction of thought and trust your personal feelings to provide the greater comprehensiveness of commitment and virtue associated with the word.

Per the Oxford dictionary, Honor can mean: a high respect, great esteem, adherence to what is right (or to a conventional standard of conduct), something regarded as a rare opportunity and bringing pride and pleasure, a privilege, to regard with great respect, to pay public respect to, or to fulfill/keep an obligation/agreement

Per the Bible Study Tool, the Hebrew word "kabod", used in the Old Testament, means "heavy/weighty". 

So what does it mean then to "Honor thy father and thy mother" in the simplest definition form? In summary I'd say it means to give extra weight/importance/respect to all things concerning your parents, whether it be their instructions, advise, commands, their well being, their happiness, their obligations, or even their pride. 

Knowing what it means to Honor someone, we should also consider what it means to dishonor someone. If honoring someone is to give weight/importance/respect to them, then the opposite of honoring someone is to trivialize them or consider them or their words of no importance. So to dismiss or trivialize our parents, their commands, or counsel, is to not only fail to keep the commandment, but to go directly against the commandment.  

Now that we know what it means to Honor and Dishonor. We should consider what the commandment is not. It is worth noting that the commandment is not to Love, Respect, or Obey thy father and thy mother. While these attributes are often associated with Honor, they are not the same things and they are not all pre-requisites of honor either. 

An article I found from the Living Church I think best expresses why we weren't commanded to Love our Father and Mother. 

Interestingly, the word is not “love.” Why not, we might ask, since most children do love their parents and most parents love their children? Perhaps because “love” as commonly understood is an emotion and an attitude, and thus not enough for a stable home

Taking this thought to its full extent; emotions tend to be fickle and very few children still love their parents when they are being chastised or punished. Indeed, in some families the personalities of the children and parents clash such that the child has a lot of trouble loving one or both parents. We are commanded to have love and charity towards all men, but that is part of the higher law that Christ brought and is something to strive towards. Honor, however, is something everyone is capable of no matter how they feel at the moment or how circumstances change. Thus providing a much more stable and attainable basis for uniting a family via an external commandment.

Respect, like love, is a principally internal attitude and emotion that can change and be lost. It can also be considered a manner in which you treat others. Respect requires no actual obligation and so can be spread freely and abundantly.

Obedience swings too far in the other direction. It is a purely external action with no internal requirement or attitude associated. It is obligation without deference or respect. 

Honor, however, requires both respect and obedience and a bit more still.

It is worth mentioning here that while obedience shows honor to someone, the commandment was to honor or give extra weight - ie consideration, importance, respect, etc. to someone, not to obey them. This will be discussed more later.

What additional meanings does this commandment hold?

So now that we know what it means to "honor" our parents generally, lets look into a few extensions and details about the commandment beyond just its generic meaning.

 First lets again note the full commandment is not just "honor thy father and thy mother" but "honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee."

The full commandment is worth noting because of the 10 commandments it is the only one that is associated with a blessing. This would seem to indicate that in many ways it is more important and affects our lives more directly than other commandments. As I said at the beginning, there are lots of cases of children betraying and killing their parents and visa-a-versa in the scriptures and so there is at least some correlation that may be found there.

The Apostle Dallin H. Oaks gives a little more insight into this blessing with a story he shared in the 1991 General Conference

"It has been about forty years since I saw [June's mother honoring June's grandmother]. Now I see its effects. I see June and her brother and sisters honoring their mother as they saw their mother honoring her own mother. .. I believe her days will be longer upon the land because of the attentiveness and companionship of her children, who learned the way to honor a parent by seeing how their own mother honored hers.”

With all things through God, there are likely many other tangible, intangible, direct, and indirect ways this blessing comes about. However it occurs, the important thing is to note that it was important enough a commandment to get a specific blessing mentioned and important enough a blessing to be worth mentioning.

Just how important is this commandment then you might wonder? Well, in Deuteronomy 21:18–21 it proscribes a procedure for parents to bring a persistently disobedient son to the city elders for death by stoning (Note that the reference to the son being a drunkard would suggest that he is not a small child). So evidently it was important enough that God decided the punishment for failure to uphold it was death - as in death sooner than the natural denial of the blessing would account for. This may seem a bit extreme, and clearly is as we no longer follow this particular practice since the coming of Christ and the higher law, but at the same time, we should not forget the many instances in the scriptures - and I dare say on the news - of children and parents killing or abusing each other. Not to mention the long term scars and affects such actions have on the survivors and family of such cases. 

Next, its worth noting that in one form or another, the commandment is repeated 8 times throughout the Bible. That is quite a lot and again shows how important it is. Even better though, it is not repeated exactly the same and so we can learn more about it. In particular, we can see that sometimes it says father first, and other time, mother. This would indicate that the honor given to our parents is equal and neither one deserves more or less than the other.

On top of that, we can see in Malachi and Ephesians that God is to be consider the Father of Heaven and Earth and this commandment applies to him as our heavenly parent, as much as it does to our earthy parents.

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.,...

-Ephesians 3:14-15 (NIV)

A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master. If then I be father, where is my honor? If I am a master, where is my fear?" saith the Lord of hosts... "

— Malachi 1:6

So what are the implications of that? It would seem to indicate to me that both our earthly and heavenly parents should be treated with the same "weight", or deference and respect, accounting for our earthly parents being imperfect. We are instructed to be as little children in the Book of Mormon and it is often commented within the Church how parenthood is preparation and training for future Godhood. However, how often do we take that to the next step that we should, to a degree, maintain and treat the earthly and heavenly relationships as the same? Are we preparing ourselves to be God's children in the way we treat our parents to the same degree we are preparing as parents to be gods with children? 

 

Going off that that it is worth considering where in the list of the 10 commandments this commandment falls. It is generally agreed that the first 4 commandments is about our relationship with God (No other Gods, No Idols, name in vain, Keep the Sabbath) and the last 5 commandments are about our relationship with mankind (kill, adulatory, steal, false witness, covet). When considering this commandment as meaning both the Heavenly and Earthy parents, it makes a nice bridge that connects the two section of commandments together. In a sense you could say the family relationship is where the divine and the physical meet in all things according to the order of the commandments. 

To take this further, we can use the family as a natural translation to move all the commandments into one category or another. Per the pervious point, it would be natural to extend the first 4 commandments to our mortal parents making a list of purely mankind centric relationships. Similarly, breaking the later commandments against our spiritual family (mankind) is an affront to God, and so we must treat all mankind as our family. As mankind in the sense of "others" and mankind as an extension of the heavenly family are essentially the same thing, the later 5 commandments show no distinction between our relationship between the divine and physical. Between our physical and spiritual families we can see that all commandments are Spiritual before the Lord (D&C29:5) and nothing is physical or temporal.

Furthermore, if we were to consider the commandment's order as a hierarchy of importance/authority then the position of this commandment means that the order of charity/deference (per the Catholics) is first God, second Family, and third Mankind. Or in other words, this is the order we should serve and obey; making sure our obligations to God take priority over our family, and our family is taken care of before concerning ourselves with the rest of mankind. This order does make a lot of sense and I personally see value in it, but in no scriptural place does God indicate that these commandments provide such meaning. It does not take much effort to see how this arrangement when taken to an extreme could backfire. For example, failure to mankind at work could lead to an inability to take care of the family, which could result in it falling apart and ultimately leading a person away from God. The prophet President Hinkley also suggested a different order of obligation in a first presidency message in 1999. As such, to apply this order of commandments judiciously, I think they are best seen as a priority of life's asperations and less as how things should be applied in the minutia.  

Specifics of how to Honor

Ok, We now have a firm understanding of what the commandment means both in meaning and in context. But how do we apply it? For this I looked up the practices of many religions and cultures to see where they lined up or if anything stuck out to me. To start it is clear that all cultures agree that honoring parents is different for Children/Youth, adults, and those no longer with parents. However I will start with a few universal points that always apply.

Always:

• It is generally agreed that this commandment applies to honoring anyone who is raising or taking care of you, including teachers, or in general you are dependent on, though priority will go to actual parents to the degree they are available.
• In Matthew 10:37 Christ says "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." So while we should honor our parents, we should not prioritize their wishes over God.
• Along those lines, multiple groups agree (though primarily Jehovah Witnesses and Judaism) that since honoring parents is part of honoring God, the commandment does not depend on the worthiness of the parent. Bad parents should still be honored. Similarly, a child can choose another faith from their parents and still continue to honor them, as Abraham, Moses, Paul, and many other scriptural examples of prophets had different religious beliefs from their parents.
• One that stuck out to me from Orthodox  is "Every time we do something good, just, pure, holy, we bring honor to our parents."
• I particularly appreciated the Jehovah Witnesses emphasis on how in Proverbs 17:6 says "the glory of children are their fathers" and so we can honor them by being and expressing pride in them and appreciative for them, what they do, and what they advise. Though this sentiment of having and expressing esteem for parents is also found generally across all the faiths.
• The Protestants added one small detail that I liked that no others mentioned that follows the definition very well: "Act with consideration of parental advice, direction and consent"
• Finally the Church's Apostles and Prophets I feel sum it up pretty well 
• Spencer W. Kimball: “If we truly honor [our parents], we will seek to emulate their best characteristics and to fulfill their highest aspirations for us. No gift purchased from a store can begin to match in value to parents some simple, sincere words of appreciation. Nothing we could give them would be more prized than righteous living ..."
• Elder Dallin H Oaks: "... if you honor your parents, you will love them, respect them, confide in them, be considerate of them, express appreciation for them, and demonstrate all of these things by following their counsel in righteousness and by obeying the commandments of God."

As Children/Youth:

• It is undoubtedly, universally, agreed, per Ephesians 6:1–3, that Children/Youth should obey their parents in all things, as we should obey our father in heaven in all things. 
• I personally would add a caveat here. If we are following the example of Gods interactions with his children, then children should obey unquestioningly, but youth and older children should obey questioningly (note they should still always obey). In the scriptures we see an evolution of prophets where some are known for doing whatsoever the Lord commands them (Nephi) and others who questioned and grew from it (like Jacob who wrestled with the Lord, Mahonri who was given an incomplete ship design by God and had to question it to receive further instructions), and finally Prophets given sealing powers and whatsoever they asked because the Lord knew they would not ask amiss. (like 3rd Nephi). I think it is important to be aware that while children should be obedient to honor their parents, they, like us and God, need to be allowed to question and grow and are not required to give unquestioned obedience.
• Most religions also have lists of things that children are not required to obey - like breaking commandments, marrying someone they don't want to, etc. Per the definition at the start, honoring parents is to give additional weight and consideration to their counsel which accounts for growth and exceptions far better than saying they should obey in all things.
• Judaism had a couple very important specific ones that I think should be more widely adopted:
•  Namely that a child should never put a parent to shame or cause disharmony between their parents. As an example, a child shouldn't ask one parent and then the other. Nor should a child tattle on a parent - especially not to the other.
• A child who is travelling has an obligation to communicate with his/her parents to let them know he/she is safe in order to prevent them from worrying
• A child must not interrupt a parent's sleep. I heartily agree with this one as sleep is so important to the physical and emotional health of both the parent and the family. While this clearly is not enforceable with little children, older children should learn it and it is a good way of expressing to teenagers why they need to be home before curfew.
• Protestantism, and I'd say the Book of Mormon, would also say children must be submission to their parents rebukes, instructions and corrections

As Adults:

• It is undoubtedly, universally, agreed, per New Testament that adults should provide for their parents materially. Jesus calls out those who avoided this (Matthew 15:3–8, Mark 7:9–12) and is shown as an example of this when, at his death, he gave the care of his mother to the Apostle John.
• The Church's Apostles and Prophets have some unique additions:
• President Ezra Taft Benson encouraged families “to give their elderly parents and grandparents the love, care, and attention they deserve"
• Dallin H Oaks said "The best way to care for the aged is to preserve their independence as long as possible."
•  However, it is generally agreed the Bible teaches that the marriage bond takes priority over other family relationships. Genesis 2:24 says: “A man will leave his father and his mother and he will stick to his wife.” As such, the honor due to a spouse and consideration to maintaining and raising children supersedes honor to parents if and when they should conflict.
• Along those lines, getting married and having children is also a way to honor your parents by extending the families legacy.

Those no longer with parents

• As mentioned before, this commandment is generally accepted to apply to anyone you are dependent on.
• It is generally agreed that deceased parents should be honored:
• Judaism recommends honoring their death anniversary and giving charity in their memory
• Others recommend family reuninons
• The Church recommends family history, temple work, and commitment to "the great causes in which departed parents spent their lives"

Conclusion

Well, that is what I have discovered about honoring our fathers and mothers. A lot of it is obvious or stuff that I knew intuitively. Over all though there were many nuggets I gleaned from this and I hope you can find too. As with all commandments, its simplicity does not diminish its depth or importance and this one in particular I feel the world has ignored and even been attacking for far too long.

If I were a Politician this is who I would be:

Party: Unaffiliated

Basis of Platform: Most people are most of the time Rational beings in their own mind. Accordingly, almost all political ideas and decisions that have significant backing have an abundance of reasoning and logic behind them, to the point that any final decision is a judgment call. This means that my opponents are not terrible or evil people, nor are they ignorant or stupid, they are simply prioritizing differently from me. Therefore my choices, decisions, and actions are not dependent on the "rightness" or "wrongness" of any other person's choices but should represent my own best personal judgment, which I should honestly express so that people know what they will be electing into office. 

Platform issues points in priority of importance:

1. Abortion:  According to the constitution, the Federal Government has no business making decisions on this issue. I would push for any and all questions of Abortion to be tabled or dismissed at the Federal level and encourage vocally encourage State Governments to make decisions on this matter. I would also freely express my personal opinion on the matter and vote accordingly if required. Namely, that no matter how you look at it, someone’s future possibility has been forever ended through the act of Abortion. The same can be said about War, which at times is a necessary evil when we are threatened, or aggression is forced on us. We do not leave the decision to go to war to Generals or soldiers, likewise I do not think the decision to end someone's future should be determined by anyone who is financially invested in the situation (doctors) or is emotionally compromised (soon-to-be parents). Unless an option is presented that is as discriminatory about ending someone's future as we are about going to war, I will oppose it.

As for the idea of Pro-Choice, in which it is a woman’s body to do with as she wishes, I say that women have as much choice and power over their body as any dictator does over a country. No one would expect me to support or condone a dictator killing her own people – in fact most would push for intervention – and so no one should expect me to condone a woman having an abortion. Having the authority to do something does not make something right.

2. Separation of Church and state and the Freedom of Religion: I believe strongly that the State and church should remain separate. That the State should not control, pressure, or mandate actions of churches nor should any church dictate the actions of the State. I do not believe that separation of church and state is the same thing as separation of religion and state. This nation was founded by religious men and the freedom of religion is in the bill of rights. This to me means that religion is an expected part of the State as long as there is no specific Church determining what it is or what the State does. Therefore moments for prayer, pronouncements of thanksgiving to God, and other expression of religion should be permitted and encouraged in all government and public locations, as long as no one is required to act or speak in those moments in accordance to any religion. Symbols of religious heritage that have impacted and created this country, such as the 10 commandments on courthouses, should be upheld and respected as the acknowledgment of history that they are, same as non-religious heritage sites. Likewise, mosques, synagogues, and religious dress should be protected and supported. To deny Religion in government is to deny Freedom of Religion. Only to allow a specific Church or religion to dictate government actions (or vis-a-versa) denies the separation of Church and State.

On this issue comes the question of the LGBTQ community and gay marriage. I believe the Government can issue whatever they want to call marriage to whoever they want. I will strongly oppose ANY suggestion that a Church be required to comply with or acknowledge those actions. Churches by definition have Creeds that their followers are expected to follow to be members and if someone doesn’t wish to follow the Church’s Creed then they can go elsewhere. Any Church that wishes to exclude these groups can do so and any that wish to acknowledge them can do so. That is the separation of Church and State.

Similarly, Freedom of Religion means that no one should be required to act against their Religion no matter what their occupation (government, emergency, services). If that causes problems for recipients, then they can go elsewhere, or employers can replace the unwilling worker. However, service should not be denied based on who is being served. If the service could be done without revealing anything about the requesting party and it would not cause issue, then knowing the requesting party should also cause no issue. However, if the action itself indicates support of, or is directly, against someone’s religion, it should not be compelled.

3. State vs Federal: I believe the greatest issues that this country now faces are caused by an imbalance between the States and Federal government that the constitution expressly prevents. The constitution states that only the powers expressed in the constitution are given to the Federal Government and all else is with the States. There have been many Departments, executive orders, and laws passed that are outside the authority of the Federal Government and the States no longer have the pull or power to prevent it. This has resulted in fewer issues and less attention being given to the State Governments and with more and more large-scale general laws and regulations that hurt more than they help. The prime example of this to me is Education, which is in-fact expressly given to the States and which the last several Presidents have all infringed on. I would oppose any bill that weakens the State governments power further.

To this issue I would actually propose two changes:

1.      That an effort is made to re-evaluate the roles the Federal Government intends to and should be involved in, and an amendment made to the Constitution which codifies these laws. Any Departments or regulations outside this amendment would need to be discontinued.

 

This would be to re-establish the relationship between the governments and reign in the Federal sprawl that has been occurring.

 

2.      In order to give States some power to balance the Federal Government, candidates for the US Senate must first be approved by their State Legislature by a simple majority.

 

The original change to popular vote for the Senate was because of excessive corruption with the limited number of people to be bribed in a state legislature. However, this change removed the greatest check on the Federal government and removed the entire purpose of the Senate – to represent the States while the House represents the people. We now essentially have two Houses and they act accordingly. Improvements in anti-corruption laws and the requirements of a simple majority and popular vote should prevent corruption above what already exists within the election process.

4. Guns: This I am aware is a very sensitive issue to many as they have been injured and lost loved ones due to gun violence. However, I am a firm advocate that the 2^nd Amendment was written, so that in the end of the day, individuals and communities could unite on an ad-hoc basis to form militias and protect their lives, freedom, and rights. The term used is explicitly “Arms” and not guns because the Founding Fathers understood that weapons technology evolves, and only equally lethal force can ever guarantee our rights. Should the establishment ever faulter – the government collapse, invaders conquer, police become overwhelmed, communications lost – it is our right and responsibility to be able to organize and protect ourselves. If we restrict gun access, we deny ourselves this ability and empower those who feel they are above the law, gangs, criminals, and invaders to take away our rights.

That said I am not unsympathetic to the current situation and danger we have with Guns. We live in an imperfect world and where there are weapons there will be those who will use them incorrectly. I oppose any move to limit access to guns. However, I DO believe that universal requirements that anyone can meet does not limit access. As a result I would propose the following:

1.      All gun purchases require a safety, handling, and control training certificate.

2.      Any incident involving a person’s gun, they are liable for, even if they were not in possession of the gun at that time; due to negligence as they were certified as having been trained to control their guns.

3.      Increased funding, research, and efforts put into protecting and securing classrooms and students at schools.

4.      Increased funding, research, and efforts put into to identifying and assisting people who are at risk of taking their own life or others.

5. Government Spending and Bloatware: Government Spending and Laws are going out of control with our debt and the number of laws constantly increasing. It is only a matter of time until the interest of the debts exceeds the income. At which point many people lose their retirements as bonds default or inflations goes crazy. No one wants to lose what they have gained however nor pay more in taxes. The same holds true for Laws though in many cases the laws have long since lost their purpose and are only obscuring more important issues.

I have several unpopular proposals I would try to put forward:

1. More government services will need to be paid for. Right now, some national parks, passports, and some few other services are the only ones that generate any revenue for the government outside of taxes. These would need to increase in cost and other services that are currently free would need to start charging.
2. As applicable, Government contracts, awards, and grants would be considered or at least partially include a loan with expectation of repayment.
3. The IRS will create a website so in which taxpayers will indicate their preference for how their money is spent across the existing budget. This will not be the actual usage of the funds but will be used to determine which programs could least painfully be discontinued.
4. A committee would be established with the sole purpose of reviewing laws for repeal or amendment – starting with laws intended to save money (daylight savings), involving regulations, and taxes. 

6. War: I think the idea of helping others in the world who are suffering is admirable and even that there is an obligation on all nations to stand up to genocide and mass slaughter. However, the recent wars have shown abundantly that limited intervention does not always or even normally result in fewer deaths or a long-term improvement in peoples lives. The recent wars I think have also shown that long term intervention is extremely costly in both dollars and lives and that such a cost is outside the ability of the United States to reasonably pursue in anything but the most extreme of cases. Sadly oppressed populations does not meet this qualifications. It would be wonderful if we could truly police the world and end the suffering of the many who need intervention. We cannot, however, and attempting to do so sets false expectations, creates both national and international unrest, and ultimately fails in its goal. I believe the UN is doing the best that can be done in this area (which again is far less than ideal) and would support its endeavors.

All that said, I do still believe that there are true cases of genocide in which intervention is necessary. In these few and extreme cases I would support war. I believe the situation in China with the Uhgers is bordering on this, though I trust the Chinese government can be reasoned with before it comes to that.

As for the current conflicts, to my understanding, there is little to no indication that our continued involvement will every change the end result of our leaving and we cannot sustain our efforts indefinitely. As such I see continued efforts as a waste and I am inclined to pull out all our troops and let whatever terrible result occur. I understand however that I cannot see all however and that the previous few Presidents indicated the same but did not follow through. This is a decision I would need full military counseling for which I do not currently have. My inclination though is that we cannot fix the problem and trying to patch it is just hurting us and we should discontinue.  

7. Anti-Vaxers:

Are Anti-Vaxers an issue? Yes, because eradicated diseases are starting to return to the country as a result of their concerns. As I believe people are normally rational, I believe the Anti-Vaxers have thought the issue through and have some reason for their concern and there are enough of these people to have an impact on the health of the nation – though, I personally disagree with their reasons and feel their concerns are blown out of proportion. However, the root of their concern seems to stem from the fact that vaccines are required and therefore there is little market incentive to improve or validate them beyond that they work.

I would propose organizing a donation based and government supported research project including a detailed analysis and report into the dangers and reasons for inclusion of every component of each vaccine, and would sponsor a government loan for the development of any improvement that reduces the risks of any existing vaccine.

In the meantime, I would strongly urge everyone to vaccinate. The consequence of no vaccination is potential death for yourself and those around you and, based on the number of people vaccinated without consequence, other risks are slim and minor. 

8. China: I think China is a great asset to the US and international community as a whole. Its unique culture, government, and capabilities provides the competition to strive and excel that has been largely missing since the fall of the Soviet Union. They also provide a different perspective that a largely unified West no longer considers or ignores from other less powerful countries. I applaud their success and movements into the larger global scene.

That said, a little friendly competition can get out of hand and too much power in the hands of bullies is a bad thing. The way China handles its minorities with harvesting organs, concentration camps, and forced quartering is atrocious, despicable, and not something anyone of conscious could turn a blind eye towards no matter how many other wonderful attributes there may be. If China treats its own people so poorly, we can hardly expect fairer treatment as its influence grows. The US and UN should denounce and even start sanctioning China over these issues and offer incentives for reconciliation.

9. Iran: Iran understandably wants nuclear capability – so did Pakistan. All the very real threats and issues with Iran, were also the threats from Pakistan. Should Iran get nuculear capability and the real threat of retaliation sets in, they will work with us to simmer things down. That said I believe in the sanctions and restrictions in place to prevent those risks from ever taking place. Anything more, well that is Israel’s call if they feel they need to take more extreme actions.

 

This post is a little late but I wrote this poem for my parents for Christmas.

What to get Parents for Christmas?

I have the best parents ever

Mom is so patient, loving, and caring

If Christ was born again, it’d still be to Mary

And who could ask for a more God-like Dad?

Loving and kind but firm against all that is bad

I don’t know what to get; I’m not that clever.

Dad has provided so very well

I can’t hope to get anything that is on sell

And Mom wants for nothing at all

No electronics, no decorations, certainly not a ball

Well, maybe they do have some needs

At least they both have some wants

They both like restaurants

And to go out and do other such things

 But who would give gift cards to kings?

Besides my siblings take care of such deeds

So what do you give someone to whom you are in debt?

Someone you definitely cannot pay back yet?

Well, all my love and a poem for starters

And then . . .

And then . . .

Oh bother this is a puzzle…

Puzzle…

Puzzle!

Mountains

Mountains

I miss the mountains

I miss their lofty heights

I miss their stately nature

I miss their lofty sights

I dream of the mountains

I dream of the birds’ little song

I dream of them filled with animal life

I dream of how there is little wrong

I long to see the mountains

I long for their sights and sounds

I long for their trees and rivers

I long for their sights without bounds

I want to be in the mountains

I long for their quiet ways

I dream of how peaceful they are

I miss their quiet days

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Gracious Father who dwells above

It is at this time we most feel thy love

Nature changes and becomes more cold

Summer loses its comforting hold

As the world starts to die all around

We are grateful for all we have found

We have found family and friends who care

Those we can love and who worry how we fare

In whos company we can talk and laugh long

Who make us want to dance and sing our song

The year grows old and comes to a close

The leaves fall down and the wind blows

As we move inside to try and stay warm

We reflect on our shelter from the storm

The roof over our head keeps us dry

The windows still let us see the night sky

Here we can find thy comfort and peace

Where our struggles with the world will cease

The fields lay fallow and our work subsides

As we prepare for the  incoming tides

The break from our labor will be brief

So we have time to thank thee for our grief

The trials we fought so hard to pass

The lives we had that shattered like stain glass

The pains that made us strong and free

So we could be who thou wouldst have us be

At this time we thank thee with Grateful heart

And love thee for giving us a fresh start

There is no sacrifice more divine

Than thy son who drank from the bitter vine

By thy will and in thy tender care

In his name we close this humble prayer

Amen

Come Walk with Me

Come Walk With Me

Come walk with me

The night is cool and fair

Let's see what we can see

You'll enjoy it I swear

Look over there!
The moon is big and bright
Bathing all with its stare
Oh, such a wondrous sight!

O look! O look!
The shadows of the trees
As the branches are shook
Swing dancing to the breeze

Now hear that sound?
Can't you hear the smooth song
Water splashing around
Shame we can't stay very long

So come with me
That's just the beginning
We could be so happy
And that's just the beginning