imagine all the people, sharing all the world

food for thought.

2009-08-02T00:19:00.001-07:00

as an observer on the sidelines (i'm not a socialist, i'm not a democrat, i'm not an "obama-lover"), it's been amusing to hear so many people call the new legislation "Obama's Socialism" and claim that the US is all of a sudden a socialistic nation. ** sidenote here, another pet peeve of mine... so according to pretty much everyone, capitalism is the "right" way - or "the closest we're going to get to a perfect society before Christ comes". so does that make Canadians less righteous than us? umm... i'm pretty sure i've never read anything in any scripture that implies that capitalism is the "right" way... i could go on all day about this. moving on.**

now, at this point, half of you have probably stopped reading, or are thinking of amazingly witty retorts. go ahead, comment away.but first, PLEASE read this article.

it is written by a true socialist, and it is his deduction of whether president obama is a socialist or not.

maybe you don't like his policies, i certainly don't like some of them. maybe you don't like the idea that our president is a democrat. maybe you don't like the idea of government interference with things like health care... however, please, please, please use the correct terminology and don't just refer to the ol' standby "he's a socialist, and socialism is bad". because that's just ignorant.

here's the article, (click here) and i beg of you, read it before you comment. if you don't, and i can tell you didn't, i'll delete your comments before anybody reads them. thanks much, and happy enlightening!

independence day

2009-07-06T15:13:00.001-07:00

for a history class, i have been reading richard e. rubenstein's "aristotle's children". i highly recommend it.

we had a very relaxed fourth of july this year, and while i was in and out of naps, i thought about the phrase, "I'm Proud to be an American".

though i love America and i strongly respect our constitution, i cannot help but wish that we lived in a world akin to the early days of aristotelian re-emergence.

when aristotle's works were rediscovered, Christians, Muslims and Jews collaberated their languages, theology, and understanding to collectively gain more scientific and spiritual knowledge. they assembled in Toledo, and spent years collaberating. one historian remarked that, "it was from the example at Toledo that Europe first learnt to understand that learning knows no frontiers, that is is universal, global, and 'human,' and that it concerns mankind as a whole, without respect of race or religion."

this year, be proud of our American heritage and the principles that make up our country, but even stronger than our patriotism to this continent, let's attempt to be proud of world - of the leaps and bounds that nearly every country has made toward economic and political stabilization (whether through democracy or not). let's pray for God to bless America, but also to bless the entire world,

i can't help but think that when we label ourselves and others as 'humans' before 'americans' or 'arabs' or 'communists' , etc., we will notice that we have something much greater in common.

uh-oh

2009-06-02T20:56:00.003-07:00

we recently lost a few posts, but will have them back up shortly.

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time,

and your government when it deserves it."

- Mark Twain

thank you to every soldier who has defended the principles of our constitution,

to every politician who has acted according to his conscience,

to every law-abiding citizen,

and every citizen who has gone against the grain of society to stand up for what is just and right - even when they are alone, or they face consequences that are stark and even deadly, at times.

thank you to everyone who defends freedom, liberty, equality, and most importantly, humanity.

Deep thoughts by Steven

2009-05-19T23:53:00.000-07:00

I have been surprised to hear people, with similar values to mine, say things like, “how can anyone vote for President Obama with his stances on moral issues!”

This confuses me a little bit considering the stance that President Obama has taken on the following issues.

Same-sex marriage

President Obama said this to MTV

"I've stated my opposition to this. I think it's unnecessary… I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of gay marriage.”

I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. Where have I heard that before?

Abortion

When speaking at Notre Dame President Obama said, we need to “work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions by reducing unintended pregnancies, and making adoption more available, and providing care and support for women who do carry their child to term."

I believe that abortion should only be considered in cases incest, rape, and when the life of the mother is at stake. If abortion were illegal, than that would not be possible. I love that he wants to help women see their other options, such as making adoption more available and supporting women who decide to carry their children.

Marriage

President Obama has been married for almost 17 years and seems to be happy.

Senator McCain (the “moral” one) came home from war to find his wife, who was once a swim suit model, got in a car accident, was badly disfigured and shortly thereafter asked for a divorce so he could marry his current wife who is 20 years younger.

Actions speak louder than words.

This by no means is saying that I am against the republican party. I believe that there is a lot of good is both parties, and assuming that a political leader believes something that is concurrent with his parties stereotypical beliefs is counter productive.

So… THIS is why I can, and do, support our President!

in yo FACE!

2009-05-18T17:35:00.001-07:00

well, not yours particularly.

i was recently told that i'm not fit to be LDS because i support our current president and... (gasp) like him!

all joking aside, it really has gotten almost to the point of being hurtful at how often we are told that we need to re-align our views to be more gospel-centered. most often we hear that by supporting a democrat as president, we're basically saying that we approve of gay marriage, abortion, stem cell research, etc. ( need i list the many church authorities that are/were democrats? for a complete list, email me. i'd be glad to share.)

aside from the fact that the long-standing supreme court makes most decisions based on these things (though, yes, President Obama's administration and congress have approved stem cell research action), we (as in the steve redfern family) see the good in both parties - heck, i voted for ron paul!

but the point is, right now we have a president who is a democrat, and we can either whine about it, or we can figure out what we like about him and his policies, and support him by standing up for the good things he is doing, denouncing the bad, and keeping him and his administration in our prayers.

the other point is that we really do need to do some more research before we make silly claims. for example, as i said earlier, gay marriage is one of those issues that people are constantly saying that Obama all-out supports when in fact, he does not. He believes that marriage is between a man and a woman (sound familiar). read all about it here. and here. and here.

hel-lo!

love yall.

on terminology

2009-05-16T19:17:00.000-07:00

it's always a shock when you find out that words or phrases you've been using actually have different meanings than you were originally using them for.

for example.... the term "radical" in relation to politics is defined as 'a political attitude that favors dramatic, often revolutionary change'.

"liberal" is used differently in different circles, but is generally understood as a democrat who wants stronger government, more civil liberties, and violently opposes the war in iraq (admit it, you consider anyone who has a "support our troops - get them out of iraq" is "liberal").

actually, the term liberal is defined as 'a political system that favors evolutionary transformation and a limited state role in society and the economy, and places a high priority on individual political and economic freedom.'

conservatism is defined as 'a political attitude that is skeptical of change, and supports the current order.

(all definitions found in Patrick O'Neil's "Essentials of Comparative Politics") (and if you think these definitions are rather "liberal" consider that the author is in fact a republican).

i think when we consider what these terms mean, we may find ourselves in different categories than we originally assumed, which just shows me that a little bit more education could go a long way, as miscommunication is often the reason for contention in arguments relating to politics.

on president obama

2009-04-07T12:04:00.000-07:00

steven and i get asked pretty much all the time, "so why do you guys love obama so much?"

well, honestly, we really like some of his policies and we really don't like some of his policies. there are only a handful of American presidents that we don't like, and a smaller handful that we "love".

to avoid being verbose, click on the links to find out more about what we support/don't support.

we like: our president's immigration policy

we don't like: some of our president's beliefs on abortion (believe it or not, he actually voted AGAINST partial term abortions... contrary to popular myth)

we like: our president's health program

we don't like: what the president said about adoption: i couldn't find a resource online about this, ask lindsey if you're interested.

we love: President Obama's foreign policy beliefs

we like: our president's decisions regarding Iraq

we like: the changes he will make with taxes (if you are rolling your eyes and think i am an idiot for saying this, actually go to the link and read the entire page - most people don't understand his full policy and it's really a shame, because he's cutting taxes, you silly Republicans, you).

we really like: the President's understanding of the economy and his plans regarding it. (spencer, if you are reading this, you will see that he's providing tax cuts for small businesses... so HA.)

we like: his stance on civil rights - again, actually read it. nothing about gay marriage here.

we like: some of president obama's decisions regarding the protection of women, including issues related to cancer, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, equity in pay, and women veterans rights.

we don't like: that he includes the right to choose (abortion) in this section.

we don't like: his view on gay rights - we firmly support proposition 8. we don't hate gay people, we just believe that civil unions and marriage are two separate things, and that a homosexual couple's partnership cannot be defined with the same word as a heterogenous couple's partnership (marriage).

we adore: his plan regarding college education (it's at the bottom of the page)

one of us likes: the bail out.

one of us likes: the ideas behind the bailout outlined here, but not how it has been carried out.

i hope this clears up any hidden resentment for us as dirty Obama supporters... that's a joke, but seriously. i think that seriously and even prayerfully researching these topics will help us understand and solidify our own political views, and maybe be surprised at what we end up supporting or not supporting.