Tag Archives: Laws

Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon

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Going to the candidates debate Church&State
Laugh about it, shout about it 
When you’ve got to choose 
Every way you look at it, you lose

Hello Monday you make another appearance after an otherwise nice relaxing weekend. I hope the weekend was kind to the rest of you. I know, it goes by too fast. When I become President and supreme overlord, I will mandate that the nation goes to four, ten hour work days Tuesday through Friday. Saturday and Sunday will be for family and friends, Mondays will be for taking care of your own things at home, the rest of the week you work.

I had an interesting conversation recently regarding the subject of same sex marriage. Before I give you my opinion on the matter, I’ll first tell you a little of my religious and political background to better frame the subject.

I am guessing if you’ve read ten sentences of this blog or know me personally such a revelation regarding my religion and politics isn’t necessary at all. However, I think it prudent to better illustrate the position and how I have established my opinion on the subject that seems to have so many people up in arms.

I was born and raised a Christian with a Catholic father and a mostly Lutheran sometimes Presbyterian mother. Politically speaking I have been a registered republican since the day I could vote.

It’s no mystery about my beliefs and opinions as I have stated before, I have made them clear here and as you the reader knows I am generally a pull no punches type of person. I’ll tell you how I feel about something and generally will do it in a way without political correctness and straight to the point. My philosophy in life has been pretty simple, be honest, be blunt, and leave no doubt with others where you stand. I will say from a leadership and business perspective this philosophy has served me well. Personal, and more specifically romantic relationships probably not so much but that is not the point of this discussion.

Tomorrow the supreme court will hear the case of same sex marriage as related to the  proposition number eight or whatever it is, out in California, and the federal governments recognition of the subject of same sex marriage.

As a registered republican, a non-practicing and semi-literate Christian, I support same sex marriage and truly believe the argument from my conservative and Christian countrymen and women is the biggest and most embarrassing load of bullshit I have ever been unfortunately aligned with.

Now for the buts, and qualifications of my statements.

The arguments against same sex marriage from my fellow party and religious members is so plainly ridiculous it hurts my head to even hear or read. Lets take a look at the most famous.

Brock, if two men or two women get married that lessens the sanctity of my marriage between my wife and I or my husband and myself.
When I hear this, immediately in my mind I am thinking “are you that fucking stupid and insecure?” How does what two other people whom you have no connection or know anything about affect your life? Your marriage between you and your husband or wife and your god and or church has no relationship on what two other people think and or do. Furthermore your specific “marriage” you are talking about is the federally recognized one on the piece of paper issued by the court. Your church and your god no matter which it may be, doesn’t give two shits about the marriage license you got from the government. Your marriage sanctity doesn’t even enter the fucking picture with regards to the piece of paper that says you’re married. Your marriage sanctity is between you and your spouse and your god. Thats it! Get the fuck over it. If the sanctity of your marriage is being questioned then you better take a good long look at yourself and your own failings. It has nothing to do with what two  people on the other side of town, state, or country are doing. 

Brock, the bible says marriage is only between a man and a woman. My response to this statement is simple and it comes right from my honest to goodness Christian heart. Fuck you and your bible. Again we are talking about marriage as recognized by the courts, states, government. You remember the government don’t you? The one you swear your allegiance to? The one founded on the principal all men (and women) are created equal? Pursuit of happiness, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution etc? Yes I understand this country was founded on principals of God and basic Christian beliefs but it was also founded on the fact all men and women can believe in whatever God they so choose or none at all and still be free to live in peace and equality. It’s ok for you to interpret your bible any way you choose, but you have no right whatsoever to think you can force those religious interpretations on your fellow man/woman via the power and arm of the government. Everyone is equal everyone is free in the eyes of the law. To say and or think two men or women who love each other can’t be married in the eyes of the law because of your own very personal beliefs between you and god is wrong. No one is taking away or trying to change your beliefs in your god, which is a private matter, and you have no right to deny anyone the right to be free or equal in the eyes of the law, backed by the government that oversees all of us. Its really that simple and if you deny this then I suggest you take a remedial civics class and research the founding principals of this country. Start about the first grade level.

Brock, the gays and lesbians can get legally binding contracts as far as their unions go to protect their rights just like married people. As a fiscally conservative republican I’d love to punch my fellow party members right in the face when I hear this line of bullshit. Yes I want less government, less taxes and spending money on stupid, ignorant shit. The fact remains, all of our nations laws regarding probate, taxes, next of kin, insurance, adoption, children where there is a definition of marriage will also need to be amended to incorporate “the legal unions” of the gays and lesbians. This will need to happen from every branch of government form the local municipalities all the way to federal level. How fucking much of my money has to be wasted on this endeavor? How long do gays and lesbians have to wait for all that legislative work to be done, when a very simple definition of the word marriage can be changed to include “any adult no matter sex” and we are done? All existing laws with the word or provision for marriage gets left alone and stands the only difference now the gays and lesbians have the same rights and privileges. Minimal money, minimal time, everyone is equal in the eyes of the law.

Do not get me wrong on this topic. While I am passionate about my religious and political beliefs, I just cant see how my fellow party members and especially Christians cant see past this issue where it concerns our government. If our government is based on religious freedoms and our country is based on the principal that all men are created equal in the eyes of the law, then where the law and the government define marriage it needs to be amended to include the definition that it can occur between members of the same sex.

My god or my bible may tell me homosexuality is wrong. My beliefs may tell me its wrong. In the end homosexuality doesn’t affect me and its existence certainly doesn’t lessen my relationships with those I love or the things I believe in. I’ll be damned before a day comes that my beliefs will effectively rob someone else of their simple legal freedoms to be happy where it comes to the government overseeing all of us together.

All this being said, on the other side of the coin, no one of any religious persuasion should be made to feel inferior or apologetic in their religious beliefs where our country and government are concerned. Religion and beliefs shape who we are as people and people make up the government. That idea is ok, and I want that, however our founding fathers were very specific on separation of church and state where it comes to personal freedom and the pursuit of happiness. I want that too, before anything else.

In the end I’m a republican and I support same sex marriage as recognized by the government and the fancy piece of paper you get saying you’re now married in the eyes of the law.

Oh hello Monday. Its nice to see you this time.

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Hello faithful blog readers. Anything new? I know, I know, this unfortunately is probably a Monday we are all happy to see arrive.

As most of you are fully aware of the horrendous tragedy that took place this past Friday in Connecticut, what is the most ugly of these events is how our media exploits the situation.

We know nothing about the young man that committed these horrible crimes. We know nothing about the young mans family or upbringing. Yet the media is running wild with speculation as to means and motive. The media feeds the knee jerk reaction of every simple minded talking head to pontificate on personal opinion regarding the second amendment, further gun control, mental illness all the way down to what video games and tv the accused may have watched in his life. Of course the simpletons among us see the only solution to the problem is to eliminate all those listed things. Idiots.

Gun control does not fix this problem. Banning assault weapons does not eliminate school, movie theater, or mall shootings. Psychiatric hospitals and mental health doctors do not prevent these horrible things from happening. Purple magical unicorns and school prayers do not prevent these things from happening. Grandstanding moronic legislators promising new bills outlawing every single behavior or device prevent these horrible acts from occurring.

Understand this and repeat it a million times. Personal responsibility.

Personal responsibility comes in all shapes and sizes of life. From a mother with a mentally unstable kid living in her home deciding that while it may be lawful to own and collect an assortment of weapons, that its probably in her and the local populations best interest that she not have a fucking arsenal in her garage/basement. Thats personal responsibility.

Personal responsibility comes in the shape of a mother, father, brother, sister, family member, police, doctor, lawyer, judge, fireman, priest saying to someone, “look your sister, brother, son, daughter, is a fucking lunatic who needs mental health treatment”. It’s nothing to be ashamed of and no different then if you’re sick with the flu, cancer, or a broken leg. Until we let go of the stigma of mental health being a big no no talk and dirty little secret to ignore, then someone in the chain of life is failing at personal responsibility for that sick members condition and possible life experiences.

Personal responsibility comes in the forms of our school administrators and local elected government protecting our children. Before we bitch and moan about the teachers unions and their shitty pay, we need to know do we have any level of security? Is there the simplest form of a security plan about who the hell can walk into or get access into a full school of kindergarten children? How about a security plan or access control for a fucking kid armed to the teeth with assault rifles and pistols dressed in tactical or threatening clothing? Its not hard to spot these mass shooting perpetrators for god sake. Maybe we should lock a door. Maybe we should install a camera. Maybe we should pay at least someone to watch the locked fucking door or camera. Thats personal responsibility, whether its from a school principal, security guard, or Mr. Smith the science teacher.

Until we as a society start taking a look at ourselves for our problems instead of pointing blame at others, we will continue the downward spiral. We are each responsible for our own happiness and survival. No one is going to effectively legislate responsibility, happiness, safety, or morality. Only you the individual can do any of those things. What needs to be understood however is while there are those that refuse to take personal responsibility for their own lives and actions the simpletons whom we the lazy have elected to represent those that refuse to take personal responsibility, will only take away the freedoms from the few of us that try to live in a responsible way.

  • Drugs are bad. Take them away. How has that worked?
  • Alcohol is bad. Take it away. How has that worked?
  • Cigarettes are bad. Take them away. How has that worked?
  • Speeding in a car is bad. Take it away. How has that worked?
  • Guns are bad. Take them away. How has that worked?

Do you see a trend here? Look at the list of bad things that this nation and world has over time tried to legislate away because of the peoples lack of personal responsibility. Look at the consequences people historically have paid over time due to this legislation. When you don’t take responsibility for your actions, it doesn’t affect you. Eventually it only effects those that are responsible. The history books are full of prime examples of how people, citizens, countries, civilizations have failed for nothing more then lack of responsibility that more times then not can easily be traced back to an individual.

We’re all going to fail at something or things in life. It’s nature to fail. Without failure we don’t learn. Its when we fail that we don’t own the failure or blame someone else for the failure that the problem really takes root. Failure is a tough lesson in life to accept and take ownership of in this day and age. Its easy to dismiss or shift the blame of failure to others for the current state of affairs we find ourselves living in. I know I am no different. I have failed, I have shifted blame too. I can say and I guess I am fortunate that I have realized that in life, it hasn’t worked. I believe real freedom is when you accept your failures, learn and move on, trying not to fail in a similar way again. Sometimes the lessons are easy, sometimes hard.

I have soapboxed this subject enough so I’ll close with the following. Don’t allow the mainstream media to dictate to you how to feel. There are no hero’s in this so don’t look for any. Hollywood movie stars and entertainers having nothing of significance to say about this and if they claim they do then you should know immediately they’re full of shit and don’t truly care. There was and still is lots of failure of personal responsibility that led to and allowed this to happen. It wasn’t a singular item. Not a gun, an unlocked door, or a mother in denial of her mentally broken son. A lot of people passed the buck and didn’t accept responsibility that lead up to these events. This will happen again. No amount of new laws will prevent bad things from happening. Be responsible, and be ready for bad things to happen in a way that makes you comfortable. Not what some idiot on TV or the Internet tells you. This blog included.