Thursday, April 19, 2018

You can "Do Something"

When the most recent mass shooting hit another school the papers became full of rage over the lack of actions from politicians. And I am not immune to the feeling that politicians do not always act when they should or that they are too persuaded by lobbyist etc... I realize that we would do well to focus more on what we can do rather than be outrage over what we have little to no control over.  The thought that I will "Do Something" is the motivation behind one of my recent articles (Click here).

I firmly by doing something we will be far better off then by simply complaining about what others are not doing.

Seeing the "other side"

I remember in seventh grade when my teacher made us argue the "other side."

This was not the last time that a teacher would make me look at others view and made me argue for them. I hated this. It made me feel like I was learning to argue just for the sake of arguing, not because I truly believed a given way.

Yet now many years later how grateful I am for being forced to see the "other side." The truth is, this can be used to improve your ability to argue, but what it is far more useful is to improve ones ability to understand.

I am very disappointed that we are surrounded by pundits who make it seem like most policy decisions are black and white, truth and error. They refuse to acknowledge or even give credence to the fact that the, "other side" has any idea what they are talking about or even understand their own views.

Recently our city council had to decide if we would change our voting cycle. (I wrote about the pros and cons here). I have my opinion but it is just that. If we are ever going to get beyond partisan politics we need to realize that both sides have valid points and there is more common ground then we realize.

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Worry vs. Gratitude?

Today my last article for the Boulder City Review. For various reasons I have chosen to step back and stop writing for the paper. I have loved it and want to thank those who have let me interview them and mostly thank the editor, Hali, for giving me the chance.

The link to my latest column is Here. The purpose is to try to promote taking time to realize how grateful we should be. Since I was little I have been taught to control my emotions. Seems simple, do things like, think positively, avoid anger, count my blessings, develop an attitude of gratitude. These are cliche, yet wise. And if I were to ask you which feeling or emotion you should develop, worry or peace, discontentment or gratitude? Universally, I think you would answer, peace and gratitude. Unfortunately, many of the things we fill our lives with drive us to worry and discontentment.

I don’t care which side of the isle you are on but watch Fox News or MSNBC for a day and tell me which emotions this kindles or which emotions are they trying to evoke. For some reason politics is a realm where people are constantly filled with worry about future policies and politicians or discontentment with the current ones. We all seem to view politics from a negative light. Yet it is supposed to be a county, “for the people, by the people”. And mostly, that is exactly what we have. Is it perfect? No. Has it made an incredibly wonderful nation that has far more good than bad? I think so.

So, take some time to reflect on how wonderful our freedoms, policies and even some politicians are, once and a while. It will help you find more peace and gratitude, in a world that is truly worth being grateful for.