It’s Independence Day!

How many Americans will read, or even hear, the text of the Declaration of Independence today? How many prayers will be given in thanks that we live is such an exceptional and free country? How many discussions will be held on what this means to each of us?

Freedom was gained with commitment, dedication, and a great deal of blood. In 1776, those revolutionaries, or patriots, committed their future, their wealth, and their very lives on an idea that they could be free. Many died in that pursuit, many others lost their families, and some lost fortunes.

Let us each celebrate today with friends and family, remember the high cost of what we now enjoy. Put your flag out and feel the pride. Put aside your partisan beliefs for a day and just be an American. No hyphens, no dividers, just be an American.

Tomorrow, take a moment before picking up the mantle of partisanship and look at what our Congress, our President, and our Supreme Court Justices are doing. Look at their actions from how we could imagine those Patriots of 1776 viewing them. Are our elected leaders honoring the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution or are they ignoring them? Just as each generation has had to ask these questions of themselves, so do the citizens of American 238 years after the birth of this great nation.

Have a happy and safe Independence Day weekend!

Junior Grange Experience

Tuesday evening I had the pleasure of giving the membership obligation to my grandson as part of his becoming a Junior Granger. 

He was scared at first in the roomful of adults and so his grandmother carried him up to the altar. Enfolded in the safety of grandma’s arms, he was willing to trade smiles with his grandpa. Once at the Altar, he got into the ceremony and listened intently as the obligation was given to him. He especially enjoyed learning the sign and salutation.

As a grandparent it was a great evening. While Mason has no idea of what he is going to learn, see, and experience as a Junior Granger, his grandparents do know. He will learn leadership skills that will help him the rest of his life. He will be surrounded and influenced by people who care and work to make others’ lives better. He will make friends and have so much fun! He will make memories that will last a lifetime.

I also have the awareness that there are so many children needing what we have in the Junior Grange program. The new individual Junior membership gives every child the opportunity to have this experience. I believe that this change will give many Granges the incentive to provide the Junior program to every child that needs it. By taking that action, it will lead to the creation of new Junior Grange units.

4-H, Scouts, and so many more great organizations are out there for children to participate in. The fact is that Grange members believe that the Junior Grange program is second to none. In fact, many Junior Grange members also proudly participate in several of these programs and many Granges support these programs in a variety of ways.

Our organization’s goal is for the Junior Grange program to be a well-rounded leadership development program. One which lets every child reach their full potential and to prepares them for that moment when they are eligible to join your Community Grange as a young adult.

I urge every grandparent to join with Celia and I in ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn, grow, and have so much fun through the Junior Grange. It will make your day!

Your Community Grange need only to open your hearts and doors to a young person and one more child will benefit. We understand that the way to help people and children is one at a time.

Isn’t it time to do something about violence

Yesterday there was a school shooting at Reynolds High School in Oregon.  One student was killed and a teacher was wounded. The shooter apparently then ended their own life.

The outpouring of sympathy and support for the victims and their families is real and is the appropriate response. Yet, within hours politicians, activists, and many citizens were once again blaming guns and calling for “gun control” for the protection of our “children.” We don’t even seem to need to have understanding to jump to conclusions any more. 

What I want to know is why a tiny handful of our young people are engaging in such violent behavior. Is it that we are neglecting their mental health, is society teaching the wrong lessons through violent movies and games, are we creating these crimes through instant fame, or are our youth becoming more isolated.

Over the last 40 years, American society has shifted from institutionalism of those suffering from mental illness to letting those affected fend for themselves. When someone stops taking their medication, they may not be aware that their behavior has changed. This is a real and pressing issue, and I haven’t heard a serious debate on how to address this complex and serious problem. I’ll be the first to say I don’t have the answer, but that shouldn’t stop us from searching.

Is exposure to violent movies, games, and other entertainment causing real life violence? From what I’ve read, it would appear for most the answer is no. It is believable that someone without a firm grasp of reality might engage in violent acts, but that leads us back to the previous point.

Do the media and the internet encourage copycats by the instant fame, or infamy, that an evil or horrific act usually gets? Once again the answer is probably no, except for those affected with certain mental illnesses.

The transition from childhood to being an adult has never been easy. The teenage years are filled with angst, turmoil, and emotions for all of us. Teens can feel alone with new emotions when surrounded by others. Those teenage years can start before age 13 and continue beyond 20 for some. 

All of us understand that being a teenager is dramatic time of change. Most of us who are older had parents and family who understood and gave us stability.  I know that even while occasionally disagreeing with my father, he was always there and was a positive example for me. I wonder how much the disintegration of the family has impacted the youth of America?

In addition, I wonder if this younger generation is really more connected with cell phones, Facebook, email, text messages, Twitter, and more, than my generation. I’ll admit, they have far more information to sort through than my generation ever imagined. Is knowing that Sara is tired this afternoon, or what Jimmy had for lunch really building a valuable friendship? Is this connectivity through technology really more than just knowing trivia about more people?

Positive role models and friends got most of us through those turbulent teen years. I remember people who I wanted to emulate or to just be like in some way. They weren’t celebrities; they were farmers, business people, community-minded people, and family members. I had a lot of friends, some I was very close to and others I hung out with on occasion. 

The lessons that my generation learned were sometimes painful. We learned that if we hurt others feelings, they might not talk to us or they might even chastise us. We learned to stand with our friends even when it was difficult. We learned to admit when we did something wrong. We learned how to be a part of society while not surrendering our individuality. Our generation was not that different from our parents or grandparents experience, though at the time we didn’t see it that way.

In the decades since my teenage years, I have also learned that we never stop growing, making mistakes, and learning. We can make new friends and will experience joy and sadness until the end of our lives. 

Violence, especially by teenagers, needs to be addressed, but not by legislators with laws that make us feel good but actually do little. Our young people don’t need to hear excuses for evil or criminal acts, they want to know that we care about them by what we say and do. 

Our Grange members, as well as the members of a multitude of other organizations, encourage education, perform community service, and offer their friendship in every community in America. We care about both individuals and our community as a whole. We understand that adults are not supposed to protect our teens from the world, we’re supposed to help them become the world.

Our social discourse needs to be focused on searching for practical solutions that help those afflicted with mental illness.  Each member of our community needs to make it a priority to aid young people, especially teens, through those years of transition from being a child to being an adult. That transition is part of the human journey and who better to help than a caring person?

This is an answer to violence that makes sense to me. What do you think?

Lawlessness

It seems a bit extreme to hear someone call our government, or portions thereof, lawless, but upon reflection I am concerned.

Federal agencies have been and continue to issue huge numbers of regulations. These regulations carry the force of law and historically have been issued to implement laws that have been passed by Congress and signed by the President. Currently many regulations are being proposed to implement ideas that have not yet been directly passed by Congress. Federal agencies are not supposed to be creators of law. As an example, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should not be able to ban up to 80% of woodstoves without Congressional action.

The President has arbitrarily been changing laws (including the Affordable Care Act) by granting waivers, changing requirements, and delaying timetables that were set by Congress and signed by him. The president, according to the Constitution, is to carry out the laws of the land and Congress is to make those laws. He has also has ordered the non-enforcement of laws he doesn’t agree with including in the areas of immigration and drug enforcement.

Our Judicial system often seems to be creating new laws rather than just adjudicating the law and ensuring that laws are not in conflict with the Constitution. Judges have struck down portions of State Constitutions as not being constitutional and in Virginia, the State Attorney General, due to his personal political beliefs; will not argue on the behalf of the citizens who through due process amended their State Constitution.

Congress has been just as guilty with delegating their powers to commissions and back-room dealers. Last years “gang of eight” proposed a transfer of power from the legislative to the executive, thereby circumventing normal checks and balances required by the Constitution.

A number of States have criminalized an unknown number of their own citizens due to gun control laws that far exceed any federal laws designed to comply with the second amendment. These gun control laws seem to be based upon cosmetics rather than function. In other words, big scary guns are bad! Now law-abiding citizens find themselves in the situation of becoming a “criminal” if they own one of the banned firearms, even when the Constitution says they have the right to own it.

These are but a few of the actions we can see happening in our nation. America was designed to be a nation of laws, where citizens and their elected representatives were subject to the same law. A nation where men or women, could not alter the law except through due process where the public could see the actions. We are a country where the majority cannot take the rights away from the minority ever.

No matter if you agree or disagree with the President, his federal agencies, our judges, Congress or your state governments, I believe that you should be concerned. If you agree with those I’ve pointed out above, remember that at some point the other guys will be in charge and they will only be bound by the limits on our current leaders. If you disagree, do you want those you support to someday have far more power than the Constitution gives them?

Our nation was and has been a nation of laws. Not perfect, but it’s still better than any other form of government tried upon this earth. For 200 years we strove to improve it and repaired damage from those who weakened the system. Today we see some of our elected leaders and appointed judges taking actions which threaten that very system again.

Contrary to statements by some partisan politicians, I believe that people on both sides of any issue can be a part of our community, as long as they exhibit civility to others and accept the concept of rule of law as defined by our American Constitution. When the people you support are in positions of power, they should have no more power than when the people you oppose are in charge.

Every American should loudly proclaim that we stand for the rule of law and oppose the rule of men. It is the only way to prevent lawlessness.