Please take a minute to read this article. Please tell me it blows your mind like it did mine. B L O W N.
In the shadow of several horrible tragedies at America's schools, companies worldwide are producing bullet-proof or bullet-resistant school supplies. In America. Whoa. Is this really where we are??
This is where the whole "gun thing" stops making sense to me. We want the right to bear arms to protect ourselves from crazy criminals who are bearing arms? Or - even more mind boggling - we want the right to bear arms just to have them?? On principle because otherwise our rights are being violated? You lost me.
I get it - hunting, protection from Bears, target shooting..... guns can serve a purpose to a section of the population. But why, Joe or Jane Citizen, do you need to carry a gun with you while you are walking down the street? Is it so that in case someone tries to shoot you, you shoot them first? Will it serve as your psycho-shield?? Or, is it because we have become so ridiculously entitled here in America that we simply can not stand the thought of our government telling us that we point blank CAN NOT do something?
I'll never get it.
Bulletproof school supplies say to me that we concede that the school massacres are just going to continue. Companies like this in America will be successful because we are absolutely incapable of coming together as a nation to address it.
The United States used to represent freedom and opportunity and prosperity. These days, I feel like our country is slipping farther and farther from that ideal and the world is watching as we teeter on the edge of disaster.
I hate being a Debbie Downer. HATE IT. Sometimes it just gets to be a bit much. I'd definitely call bulletproof backpacks a bit much....
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Monday, September 9, 2013
Bravo, Mrs. Hall!
In case you haven't had a chance to get on the internet lately, This Post was recently penned by a concerned mom on her personal blog. With a normal readership of 19 or 20, and comment numbers in the single digits, she couldn't possibly have predicted the response that brought tens of thousands of people to her blog. In addition, hundreds of responses, like this one popped up online. Most comments I have read are pretty critical. Some are down right rude. Poor Mrs. Hall, I empathize with you! Even though I am raising 2 girls and a boy instead of 2 boys and a girl, I share your need to be acutely involved with what my kids are doing online and with the group of "friends" they associate with (online & in person)!!
When us Moms post to our blogs, we often aren't worried about being PC or addressing things in a general or neutral nature. We post with a viewpoint that is often skewed by our experiences. When I post about the state of the educational system in America, I write based on my experiences as a previous student and now a Mom to children in that very system. I don't spend time mulling over how to present the content as neutrally as I can or how to relate it to everyone on the planet - and maybe that's why I am writing a Mom blog and not for the Times. I relate my content to my real life. I am probably not living the same real life that you are. In my world, we don't always do things the PC way - because at the end of the day, reality just doesn't work that way with our children.
We don't get to say "shut up" in our house. We wear helmets when we ride our bikes or rollarblade (much to our daughters' disgust). We don't allow our children on facebook or twitter or instagram (gasp! I know). When we help to pave the path our children will begin their life's journey on, we do so within the parameters of our own values. That's not to say that you can't have very different values. You can! That's why America is so grand! But our children will be lead down the path that we think is best - just like you will lead your children down the path that YOU deem best. If we will meet up on the same path, FANTASTIC! If we'll simply wave to you from a distance, that's ok too! We're all parents, and danggit, we have GOT to stick together!!
I would personally like to give Mrs. Hall a huge "BRAVO!!!!" for bringing this topic to the forefront and getting people all over the WORLD talking about it. Even if there are droves of people walking different paths and subscribing to different values, we're making a collective noise that is bringing awareness. I consider that a win for Moms everywhere!!
When us Moms post to our blogs, we often aren't worried about being PC or addressing things in a general or neutral nature. We post with a viewpoint that is often skewed by our experiences. When I post about the state of the educational system in America, I write based on my experiences as a previous student and now a Mom to children in that very system. I don't spend time mulling over how to present the content as neutrally as I can or how to relate it to everyone on the planet - and maybe that's why I am writing a Mom blog and not for the Times. I relate my content to my real life. I am probably not living the same real life that you are. In my world, we don't always do things the PC way - because at the end of the day, reality just doesn't work that way with our children.
We don't get to say "shut up" in our house. We wear helmets when we ride our bikes or rollarblade (much to our daughters' disgust). We don't allow our children on facebook or twitter or instagram (gasp! I know). When we help to pave the path our children will begin their life's journey on, we do so within the parameters of our own values. That's not to say that you can't have very different values. You can! That's why America is so grand! But our children will be lead down the path that we think is best - just like you will lead your children down the path that YOU deem best. If we will meet up on the same path, FANTASTIC! If we'll simply wave to you from a distance, that's ok too! We're all parents, and danggit, we have GOT to stick together!!
I would personally like to give Mrs. Hall a huge "BRAVO!!!!" for bringing this topic to the forefront and getting people all over the WORLD talking about it. Even if there are droves of people walking different paths and subscribing to different values, we're making a collective noise that is bringing awareness. I consider that a win for Moms everywhere!!
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