There is a place for angry conversation as well; and I could understand parents, who in their inconsolable grief, would say they'd want all guns banned. These are appropriate emotions for those personally suffering from this violent act. And yes, there should be conversation about this. Perhaps it should be that Congress take a look at this. After all, this has been happening too often. This is not an isolated incident; there are many still feeling grief from similar acts of violence.
How would it sound if we were told that the Newtown incident was because of a Youtube video? How about the Aurora, Colorado shooting? That person entered a movie theater, portraying himself as the 'Joker', and acting out a role similar to that in the movie. I think we could say there was a direct correlation between that shooting and what the movie industry considers as entertainment.
How about looking at the fact that any person can look on the internet, and connect with any sort of angry dialogue ...as well, as facilitate the tools to help them carry out the insane ideas. When the Middle East was becoming disruptive, it was celebrated as democracy ...and the people used the internet as part of their infrastructure to organize their protests.
When we look at Benghazi, many of us were not so stupid to think it was ever due to a video. Yet, those who would support such a statement would seemingly never have a conversation about how violent videos for sale within our country, violent movies in the theaters and on our TV screens, and ideological hate spewed out with a free pass ...how all of this is as much a factor to increased violence as anything else that could be brought up in conversation.
(You'll have to scroll down to the next parentheses, as it appears the video I listed is no longer here. I'll leave the space in case it reappears, but that is doubtful and exceedingly too hopeful. Perhaps Congress and some government agencies didn't like my link ...it was innocent, cute, and appropriate; but perhaps a bit too truthful and revealing.)
(Who says that videos of all kinds don't influence children?? Some may be innocent and cute, but others certainly are not!!)
When we can stand up and say we are going to tell Hollywood what they can produce, when we can control what we sell in the name of entertainment, and when we can control the internet ...then many would say we are violating the tenets of what we believe is a free democracy, and would be moving dangerously closer to what a communist country is. But, if we do remove, or control these things and re-evaluate the importance of God in our schools ...then we may have a more peaceful society, and could also have a conversation about gun control, which seems to be the only conversation people are willing to have.
On September 11, 2001 ...a couple thousand people died. To vindicate ourselves, we tracked down the one man we felt was responsible. There are many out there who also hate ...and that hate has not been minimized. We have acted like friends to some of these nations who support and teach this same hate in their schools. Should we take the same approach to any person who spews hate, or is taking recipes for explosives off the internet while talking to like-minded wayward people ...is this somehow just something we should all embrace within our free society? Should we just ignore it, or should we go a step further and go out of our way to become their friends? I think this would be not only wrong, but also damaging and absurd!!
*************************
I believe we should be as peaceful as we can with people, and sincere effort should be made to help those who need help. This is not only compassionate and caring, it also promotes mutual benefit and well-being. But, how about having the conversation about how peace is destroyed. The peace is destroyed for each child that has divorced parents, simply because they can't put their preferential differences aside for the benefit of a more stable life for their loved ones.
The teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary showed more love than many show to their own children. I know there are cases where divorce is necessary to protect from harm, though this is not close to the majority of the cases. When I was growing up, many couples had no better marriages than the average couple does today, but they took a more mature approach to it. Most of us have huge differences with people we work with, yet maintain a civil environment ...and the eight hours at work is a substantial part of the day during which we show that praiseworthy tolerance.
I believe the majority of people are good and loving ...and I applaud you all. Yet, if we are also going to have that conversation about protecting innocent children from harm, we need also to have the conversation about protecting the peace of the most vulnerable, in the womb.
Yes, these conversations are becoming increasingly unpopular, but they are all a part of the conversation. The following is a conversation my wife had with a gentleman at a coffee shop:
"So do you think being a member of a union should be a employee's choice?"
"No, I don't."
"I didn't vote for Obama because of his stance on abortion for one thing..."
"That should be a woman's choice! What if that pregnant woman's life is at risk? She should be able to get an abortion to save her life. She should be able to have that choice if her life is at risk, you know that is an important point!"
"There are those parents who would be willing to lay down their life for their child, or even someone else's child, as we saw in the tragedy this last Friday..."
Silence...
"So who do you answer to for decisions you make or what you believe...? Does your wife hold your feet to the fire?"
"I answer to myself (pointing to himself), my own conscience. Who do you answer to?"
"I'm a Christian, I answer to Christ, so I hope my thinking lines up with His."
"Oh, by the way, I'm a Christian also..."
"Well then why did you say you answer only to yourself?"
Long silence...
Hopefully silence means thoughtful consideration ...the gentleman was kind to my wife. I don't think the silence was apathy, as it so often is. We should be having these conversations. We should not leave ourselves with only two options. Often if we don't all agree, we tend to do nothing ...or we only suffice to deal with a bandwagon issue, and ignoring all the other things that lead up to, and contribute to the resulting problem. But only having two options is not always a bad thing. Sometimes it is a cut-and-dry issue. Sometimes I find myself with only one option, and that can be the best ...but only if my option is to pray to God.
If we don't deal with all these things, then we are not treating the poison that enters the bloodstream ...we are only viewing the stream as bad, and I fear blood will continue to be shed. Anger and hate are not the only things that plague our society ...it is an all-encompassing ideology that disregards any value that is not part of the present promotion. Selah ...
How about looking at the fact that any person can look on the internet, and connect with any sort of angry dialogue ...as well, as facilitate the tools to help them carry out the insane ideas. When the Middle East was becoming disruptive, it was celebrated as democracy ...and the people used the internet as part of their infrastructure to organize their protests.
When we look at Benghazi, many of us were not so stupid to think it was ever due to a video. Yet, those who would support such a statement would seemingly never have a conversation about how violent videos for sale within our country, violent movies in the theaters and on our TV screens, and ideological hate spewed out with a free pass ...how all of this is as much a factor to increased violence as anything else that could be brought up in conversation.
(You'll have to scroll down to the next parentheses, as it appears the video I listed is no longer here. I'll leave the space in case it reappears, but that is doubtful and exceedingly too hopeful. Perhaps Congress and some government agencies didn't like my link ...it was innocent, cute, and appropriate; but perhaps a bit too truthful and revealing.)
When we can stand up and say we are going to tell Hollywood what they can produce, when we can control what we sell in the name of entertainment, and when we can control the internet ...then many would say we are violating the tenets of what we believe is a free democracy, and would be moving dangerously closer to what a communist country is. But, if we do remove, or control these things and re-evaluate the importance of God in our schools ...then we may have a more peaceful society, and could also have a conversation about gun control, which seems to be the only conversation people are willing to have.
On September 11, 2001 ...a couple thousand people died. To vindicate ourselves, we tracked down the one man we felt was responsible. There are many out there who also hate ...and that hate has not been minimized. We have acted like friends to some of these nations who support and teach this same hate in their schools. Should we take the same approach to any person who spews hate, or is taking recipes for explosives off the internet while talking to like-minded wayward people ...is this somehow just something we should all embrace within our free society? Should we just ignore it, or should we go a step further and go out of our way to become their friends? I think this would be not only wrong, but also damaging and absurd!!
*************************
I believe we should be as peaceful as we can with people, and sincere effort should be made to help those who need help. This is not only compassionate and caring, it also promotes mutual benefit and well-being. But, how about having the conversation about how peace is destroyed. The peace is destroyed for each child that has divorced parents, simply because they can't put their preferential differences aside for the benefit of a more stable life for their loved ones.
The teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary showed more love than many show to their own children. I know there are cases where divorce is necessary to protect from harm, though this is not close to the majority of the cases. When I was growing up, many couples had no better marriages than the average couple does today, but they took a more mature approach to it. Most of us have huge differences with people we work with, yet maintain a civil environment ...and the eight hours at work is a substantial part of the day during which we show that praiseworthy tolerance.
I believe the majority of people are good and loving ...and I applaud you all. Yet, if we are also going to have that conversation about protecting innocent children from harm, we need also to have the conversation about protecting the peace of the most vulnerable, in the womb.
Yes, these conversations are becoming increasingly unpopular, but they are all a part of the conversation. The following is a conversation my wife had with a gentleman at a coffee shop:
"So do you think being a member of a union should be a employee's choice?"
"No, I don't."
"I didn't vote for Obama because of his stance on abortion for one thing..."
"That should be a woman's choice! What if that pregnant woman's life is at risk? She should be able to get an abortion to save her life. She should be able to have that choice if her life is at risk, you know that is an important point!"
"There are those parents who would be willing to lay down their life for their child, or even someone else's child, as we saw in the tragedy this last Friday..."
Silence...
"So who do you answer to for decisions you make or what you believe...? Does your wife hold your feet to the fire?"
"I answer to myself (pointing to himself), my own conscience. Who do you answer to?"
"I'm a Christian, I answer to Christ, so I hope my thinking lines up with His."
"Oh, by the way, I'm a Christian also..."
"Well then why did you say you answer only to yourself?"
Long silence...
Hopefully silence means thoughtful consideration ...the gentleman was kind to my wife. I don't think the silence was apathy, as it so often is. We should be having these conversations. We should not leave ourselves with only two options. Often if we don't all agree, we tend to do nothing ...or we only suffice to deal with a bandwagon issue, and ignoring all the other things that lead up to, and contribute to the resulting problem. But only having two options is not always a bad thing. Sometimes it is a cut-and-dry issue. Sometimes I find myself with only one option, and that can be the best ...but only if my option is to pray to God.
If we don't deal with all these things, then we are not treating the poison that enters the bloodstream ...we are only viewing the stream as bad, and I fear blood will continue to be shed. Anger and hate are not the only things that plague our society ...it is an all-encompassing ideology that disregards any value that is not part of the present promotion. Selah ...
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