Sometimes I get this feeling that our country is at the edge of some important precipice that will determine our success or failure sooner than we think. Being a religious person myself, I believe that morality is at the root of it. When the majority of us have lost all sense of what is decent and right, we are in trouble as individuals and as a country. On that note, I want to share this very good George Washington quote. The man knew what he was taking about. Here it comes:

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens… Let it simply be asked, where it the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education…reason and experience both forbid us that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

It seems clear enough for me. Morality can’t be maintained without religion, and our country can’t be maintained without morality. I guess we’d better rethink that quest to get rid of all things religious in our culture.

It’s funny how things just work out.

You can anticipate what you think will happen, maybe justify why you want it to happen, and then it happens in an entirely different way.  You can tell yourself that certain things shouldn’t have happened, but then you see that they actually happened for your good.  You can puzzle and puzz, till your puzzler is sore, only to one day realize that the pieces fit together like you never had imagined.

All these “you cans” are pictures of my experiences, of course.  All too many times I’ve found myself wondering why something had to happen the way it did.  Why was I supposed to learn that the hard way?  Did I learn anything at all?

I’m beginning to change the questions I ask because I want an answer that is forward looking.  Those other questions dwelt too much on the past, too much on the why’s.  I am beginning to acknowledge that things happened the way they did because…well, just because.  The fact that I know something more about myself now, because of what happened, is enough for me to move forward.  So what do I know?

I know there’s something to be said for playing to my strengths.  I have been given certain talents and abilities.  Others I was most emphatically not given.  Why, I don’t know, but I really no longer care because my strengths are enough to take me precisely where I want to go.  So maybe I still feel this occasional need to prove to myself that I can do something whose gift to do so was so generously bestowed upon everyone except me, but that doesn’t mean I have to pursue it.

I know that others know better than me.  Most of the time, April.  All those ideas, certainties, and pieces of ‘undebatable’ knowledge tend to jumble around so much in one’s head that the dust clouds one’s vision.  Sometimes you need  someone to rain on your dust cloud (in a good way of course), and identify what should have been obvious.  There is untold value in an intelligent second or third party in one’s life.

Finally, I know that things will work out as designed.  Thankfully, I know that they have been designed by a Master Architect, and now I just need to follow the drawings as best I can.  None of this “what might happen if I go that way instead of this way”.  Just more of “this seems to be the best way, now I’ll make the best of it”.  Wow, it sounds so easy.  What might have happened if I had always thought that way.

Wrongo.

I was about to fall into that trap again,see.  What matters now is that I knows what I didn’t knows, and that’s good enough for me.  So here’s to the knowledge that things will work out, that they have worked out, and that I can make them work out if I stay true to myself and the Designer.

Word.

]]> http://www.theblairswitchproject.com/work-it-out/feed/ 0 http://www.theblairswitchproject.com/work-it-out/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheBlairSwitchProject/~3/i1an1b2zCGg/ http://www.theblairswitchproject.com/generation-me/#comments Fri, 08 May 2009 19:31:11 +0000 Nathan http://theblairswitchproject.com/?p=347

This will be a short post. I want to post a few links to some articles that touch on the ‘me generation’ and the the related problem that is the oversexualization of young girls. I thought the articles were good enough themselves but it was even more interesting to read the comment sections, especially on the generation diva article.

There is a lot of argument going on out there as to what causes these problems, what we can do, and so on.  I don’t think anyone will debate that there is a huge problem though.  It’s so bad that some mothers  are dressing their daughters like prostitutes for the sake of pageantry, some kids think that teachers and professors exist to make life easy, and some Hollywood stars’ plastic surgery has turned them into something akin to disfigured Marvel comic villains.

I’m not the kind to worry about how bad things are out there, but the articles do serve to show where our society is going with its standards.  I read them more as a case in what not to do and what to try to protect my future daughters from.

Ok, I’ll admit that the plastic surgeries make me laugh a bit.

Here is the one on “Generation Me”.

The one about “Generation Diva”.

Plastic faces that may or may not make you cringe.

Tags: plastic surgery, generation me, generation diva, superficiality

I have been using my Zune for a few months now, and it has impressed me so much that I need to make a small commentary.

The first and most important thing I have to say is that once you get used to the Zune version 3.0 software, you will never go back to itunes. Microsoft has created an interface that is so much clearer and easier to use than that mess of boxes that Apple sticks with. Here I refer mostly to the respective marketplaces, but the main music user interface on Zune 3.0 still seems much more user-friendly.  You can arrange your music how you like it – by genre, artist, playlist, and so on.  Then you can sort artists, songs, and anything else, to your liking.  And it’s all so much easier than on itunes.

When you get into the marketplace to buy songs, Zune really outshines itunes.  Especially if you take advantage of Zune Pass, which I decided to do a few weeks ago.  The itunes store is a jumbled mess of information, in my opinion.  Zune marketplace breaks down genres, popular artists, and new releases in a nice clean format.  When you go to buy, Zune shows you the albums of the artist along the bottom of the screen and the songs in the center.  No mess to wade through.

Zune Pass has its detractors, but I love it so far.  You can now keep 10 songs per month and download as many as you like as long as you pay the monthly fee of 15 bucks.  I’ve found some great artists already that I either didn’t know existed, or just never got around to buying their album.  Zune is an awesome tool to discover new music and Zune Pass makes it even better.

So while I’m on the subject of new artists, I have to share a few I have discovered that I’ve taken an immediate liking to.

Conspirare:  Beautiful choral music.  If you like a real choir and really nice compositions, you really must check them out.

Anna Netrebko (with or without Rolando Villazon):  Amazing pipes on this woman.  She’s done a few things with Villazon which are also truly amazing, but she’s still very good on her own.

Army of Anyone:  I had no idea that a few guys from STP teamed up with Filter’s lead singer to form a supergroup.  Got to love the second song “Goodbye”- it’s a repeat listener for sure.

Kyuss:  I started listening to some of their stuff and wondered why I wasn’t listening years ago.  Good guitars, good vocals, and just different in a really good way.

Lacuna Coil:  Love them.  First heard their two songs on two Guitar Hero games and checked out their other stuff on Zune.  I could do without the guy screaming at times, but for the most part they have great melodies and guitar riffs.

Paramore:  I think their song on the Twilight soundtrack came up on the front page of marketplace one day and I liked it so I downloaded their album.  Surprisingly, not disappointing at all.

And finally, Shinedown:  These guys rock.  Heavy guitars and amazing vocals are a surefire recipe for success. It’s so fun discovering all these new artists that I never knew I liked.

The moral of this story is that Zune 3.0 and Marketplace are much better than itunes.  I know most people will scoff since they are attached at the hip to their iphones or their microscopic ipods that talk, but can you really justify using crappy software for a device you like?  I mean besides touchscreen, which is great if you don’t need any space to store your music, Zune offers players that are better than ipods.  (Again, in my opinion)  I’d say try out a buddy’s new Zune and see if you like it, but more importantly, download the software and play with it for a few days.  You just might become hooked.

Tags: Microsoft Zune, Zune Marketplace, Apple, ipod, itunes

That’s an aside from my reason for writing this post,though.  I just read what Hillary Clinton said about the drug violence in Juarez and all along the border – that the U.S. shares the blame for what is happening because of our demand for drugs.  I agree with her.  I think her point is very logical, but when I read down through the comments, I could hardly believe some of the things I saw.

Let me say first that this article came from a website called “One News Now“, a site that I have been receiving regular email updates from for a while now.  I gradually got the impression that this site was a so called “Christian site” because many of the views were extreme right and often referenced clergy from various Christian churches.  I read the articles as I would read any other, knowing the source from where they came.  I rarely read the comments to these articles.  I think today was the second time I have ever done so.

It was pretty incredible reading comments that immediatly discounted what Clinton had to say because of her character, family, or political affiliation.  A lot of these commenters made the argument that this liberal, anti-American, witch Hillary Clinton was selling out her country and blaming other country’s problems on our people.  Many interpreted her comments as though she said we deserve all the blame for Mexico’s drug woes.  That we should not hold the people of Mexico responsible; it’s all our fault.  Then they proceeded to insist that were the borders completely sealed off, we would be isolated from the drug problem.  Build a wall, it seems, and our drug problems would be over.

I am no big fan of Hillary Clinton, but what she said was right on.  Can we deny that there is HUGE demand for drugs in the U.S.?  Absolutely not.  Where there is huge demand, will supply not find its way to meet it, one way or another?  Absolutely.  How then can these people say that we are not at least partially to blame for this crisis?  This is not an issue to be politicized.  It is simply confronting a problem that is responsible for the deaths of I don’t know how many people in Ciudad Juarez and elsewhere, and having the courage to admit that we helped create that problem.

By admitting this, nobody is saying that we are blaming the American people for Mexico’s problems.  That’s just political crap that acts as a distraction.  The truth is that we must start fixing it by cleaning up the demand end.  Yes, we should do other things like securing the border to stop drugs from coming in.  We should continue to cut away at the branches, but we have to attack the root with much more force.  That’s the long term solution.  It’s a hard fight against a lot of druggies, but it’s the lasting solution.  Mexican drug lords will continue to satisfy our insatiable demand, and when their government gets in their way, they won’t roll over.  Too much drug money is at stake for them.

One commenter said that it is very un-Christian to say that we should wash our hands of Mexico’s problems.  I agree with her.  Work needs to be done on both sides.  Let’s not let the fact that the statement was made by a liberal like Hillary Clinton get in our way of seeing it for what it is.  That is, if you are one of those naturally inclined to disagree with her, like many of us are.

Tags:Mexico, Hillary Clinton, One News Now, Mexican drug violence

We are now just about done with the whole thing, and during the process I stumbled upon something I thought was really cool.  I’m talking about the Honda FCX Clarity – Honda’s hydrogen powered car offering.  I know that we have all heard about hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, but this one brings them a little closer to home than I previously understood. 

My father-in-law has been attending conferences on this technology for quite some time now in California.  I learned from him that the hydrogen infrastructure is growing bigger every day in southern California.  The technology is exciting and all, but currently Utah has no such infrastructure.  This is why Honda released a handfull of FCX Claritys to southern Cal customers last summer.  

The exciting part for me is that Honda may be close to releasing a hydrogen station that will allow anybody to charge their fuel cell car at home.  The station will also reduce a home’s energy consumption and save money for the family.  I really don’t know how soon Honda could release these things, but I have had fun imagining.  My optimistic imaginings see a highway full of cars with water as the only exhaust.  No horrible winter inversions, no nasty car fumes, etc.  That will be a good day.

On another note, this project brought home how much work Ford needs to do to even catch up with companies like Honda.  Honda has already sold some of these things and Ford is still showing off its test model.   Our American companies need to step it up if they are ever going to regain the clout they once had as automakers.  Obama spoke well when he said the nation that invented the car should excel in its production.  It’s just too bad I can’t justify buying the junk that Ford is putting on the road over my Civic that is still going strong after 7 years.

Tags: Honda,Honda FCX Clarity,hydrogen fuel cell,fuel cell cars

Something that I have struggled to understand though, is the fierce loyalty that many people have for this man.  None of them knows how his presidency will unfold, yet they act as if The Savior Himself has just assumed the country’s highest office.  I suppose such loyalty is admirable, but he hasn’t done anything yet.  He has given hope for sure, but as the next four years unfold, I will need more than that to shower him with the praise that so many others do.

I understand that everybody shows excitement or anticipation in different ways.  Personally, I will offer my loyalty to the new president and then observe and process what I see before I offer praise.  I never have been the type to fall over myself trying to catch a glimpse of some public figure.  Instead I try to ask what it is that inspires such wild reactions in their followers, and if it is admirable, then maybe I can model myself after it.  But that “something” has to be admirable. 

In Obama’s case, he has some big promises to keep; a big mess to fix.  He’s not a rock star because he has promised to enact change – he will be deemed worthy of my admiration when he shows me he will uphold the constitution at all costs, strengthen moral values as much as he is able, and keep the promises he has made to reform broken Washington.  Even then I won’t be tripping over my feet to see him as tears fall from my eyes, but I will respect him.

The bottom line for me is that he is our president and he has my support.  But great presidents have proven themselves by actions in tough times.  Promises are ok, but we demand more now that Obama has assumed the office.  As far as I’m concerned, the honeymoon is over and it’s time to bring that change.

Tags: Barack Obama, President of the United States, Obama change, American president Obama

I’ve embedded the preview here for your viewing pleasure.  Try not to get too excited.  It’s still a few months away.

Tags: X-Men Origins Wolverine, X-Men, Wolverine movie, X-Man Gambit, X-Man Sabretooth

This one goes right to my list of recommended movies.  Ben Stein (he’s the teacher on Ferris Beuler’s Day Off who calls Beuler over and over in his monotone voice) narrates this movie about how intelligent design has come under attack in the academic community.  He interviews a few academics who were either denied tenure or forced out of their schools for daring to even mention ID in their scholarly work.  He also interviews some atheists and proponents of Darwinism, asking questions about their beliefs.  Ben Steins question is why, if the theories of Darwinism are pushed so much in universities, can’t ID receive the same chance to be analyzed in the classroom.  A legitimate question, I believe, since a university education should be about discussion, debate, and critical thinking.

The problem that exists now is that we are only allowed to think critically about Darwinism when inside the classroom.  The “well educated” apparently fear that the mentioning of the words intelligent design to a student would be the same as imposing a religious ideology on him or her.  Students are not given the credit that they can think for themselves and decide which theory makes the most sense.  Instead anything that even remotely insinuates God is kept as far from campus as legally possible.

What it comes down to for me is this: there are two sides to every argument.  In this case, the Darwinists may be right, or the proponents of ID might be right.  The important thing is that each side be given a voice, especially at a university.  Darwinists will say that there is no evidence of ID therefore they cannot teach it.  That’s nice until you ask any Darwinist to prove that ID didn’t happen.  They cannot do it.  That alone means that there is a base for discussion.

I am a religious person so I believe in God as the Creator.  No matter what I say to a Darwinist, they will not take scripture as proof.  That is fine with me.  But on the other hand, not one of them can show me that God did not create the heavens and the earth.  They must live with that.  Whether you believe God was the intelligent designer, or you don’t know who or what designed all things, the fact remains that it cannot be discounted and should not be excluded from scholarly discussion.

The prominent atheist in the movie said it best when he first suggested that life began on the backs of crystals but then conceded it was possible that somebody could have created those piggy-backing organisms.  Even this big bad atheist couldn’t look Ben Stein in the eye and tell him how life started.  Why?  Because he doesn’t know.

When you don’t know, you can’t attempt to silence the other side for proposing their ideas.

Tags: Ben Stein Expelled, Creationism, Darwinism, Expelled Movie, Intelligent Design