Shelley’sTangents

I have never claimed to be an expert on anything, anything at all.  I commonly can see both sides to arguments and it may take me a while to come to a decision.  The issue of gun control being one of those.  I do not own a gun nor any other weapon except my kitchen knives.  That is just my choice currently.  I was taught how to shoot at a very young age by my father and I would prefer that my children learn to shoot, learn gun safety, and learn to respect guns as I did.

Lately here there was a mass shooting at a L.A. Fitness.  (Completely senseless tragedy and my heart goes out to the victims and their families.)  This has led more people to talk about stricter gun control.  The need to ban all hand held guns and to place a 25 year sentence if you are caught with one.  I do not believe this is the answer… how many times do we need to prove that by banning something you are making sure that one thing is going to be more desired?  (I am very strongly against banning books.)

Often you will hear this with the debate about the Second Amendment (A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed).  Now, this does not GRANT the right, it preserves and guarantees the right to be able to have Arms.  It does not also say that you have to be in a Militia to have Arms nor is it a condition.  There has been arguments that we do not need a Militia in this day and time so we do not need to bear arms as a collective.  After much research I believe the founding fathers added this part to insure a Militia could be formed if the need were to ever arise and to give a reason why the right to bear Arms must be protected.  I know I must be doing an awful job explaining this so I would encourage people to go look it up, read up on it and come to your own conclusion.

I fully believe that banning handguns or such will not stop the violence such as was here.  There is a bigger problem, a root cause, that needs to be examined more and there is no simple answer.  Obviously, I do not have the answer either.  How I wish I did… Here I wanted to leave two of my favorite quotes about the subject.

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
—Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759.

To model our political system upon speculations of lasting tranquility, is to calculate on the weaker springs of the human character.
—Alexander Hamilton

Alright, so I completely get the point of things like facebook, Myspace, twitter (even though the name of that one could be improved… I mean it honestly sounds like you have to go to the bathroom).  However, their purpose and what they are used for now are completely two different things.  I don’t do Myspace… I think that is too much for the kids or mentally kids.  Twitter I just cannot get past the name.  I did sign up for Facebook for one reason.  I knew that one of my friends from high school was there and I wanted to find her and a few others.  Not many mind you, I didn’t like them that much when I was stuck in that damn place.  I find now that everyone wants to add me as a friend (even those that didn’t talk to me then).  Oh, and even my ex husband wanted to be my friend on there.. and is completely pissed that I ‘ignored’ him and it’s like I don’t exist on there.  (That is one application I would love to have in real life.)  They bugged me to add some pictures, so I did… but then I go and read their postings and just shake my head.  I don’t care to know every moment of the day what you are doing.  Not at all do I care if you are relaxing by the pool, then eating dinner, then watching a movie.  Honestly your life cannot be that entertaining if you are attached to Facebook this much.  There is one that every day will post that she’s doing this or that with or without her ‘adorable husband’.  I’m not joking, that line is there every day.  One friend just sent a message saying to respond to that message or he was going to take you off of his friend list.  Really?  Because I don’t care.  I can see comments here and there and I have done them because it seems that this is the way to communicate with your ‘friends’ when you really don’t want to sit and write out an email.  Don’t even get me started on all the ‘invitations’ to do all the bunch of crap that I don’t even care about.  In my free and bored time I have done some of these and I can tell you I’m not impressed at all.  Apparently there are those that take this completely seriously… I as you can see am completely not one of those.

I fully understand here that he was an important figure to some, that people loved his songs and all, but what I don’t understand is the media response.  I don’t think it’s so much just this case, but this is the one I’m going to go off on a tangent about.  Yes, he died.  Millions of people die a day, but yet when I turn on CNN or Fox News or when I go to the websites to catch up on my world news all I see at first is him.  Seriously?  A week later there is nothing more important going on in the world than his ass?  It’s frustrating to me.  This country seems to have it’s priorities completely ass backwards.  I could completely understand that day it happened and maybe things here and there afterwards about him in the news, but honestly is his death more important than the other news?  This isn’t the first time this has happened, but every time it happens it never fails to boggle my mind.

Here is going to be my next rambling on… I don’t understand Christians at all.  Not all mind you, but those hard core opinionated ones that you all know exactly what I mean when I say that. I’ve decided that I am a Christian, I believe in God, but I don’t understand them.  What are they so afraid of?  I honestly have liked Dan Brown’s books, the latest one made into a movie was Angels and Demons.  I have listened to all the backlash about the book and now the movie.  I do not think it has the Church painted in such a horrible light.  Just presenting what was.. now there is one psycho Father, but it does show some remarkable ones as well.  How is that so different from life?  They are people even if they take the vows of the Church.  Not to mention of the ones I have spoken to NONE have read the book or watched the movie.

This leads me towWhat is the fear of people thinking about something other than what they think people should think about?  God gave us all free will and the power of thought, of logic.  So what is the harm in something other than what they believe is correct?  I honestly don’t get it at all.  They think they know what one should wear, talk, read, write and act.  Do they?  Can you honestly say that because I have a tongue ring that goes against God’s plan and now I’m not acceptable in His eyes?  Because someone has tattoos or multiple peircings or something else they are not acceptable?  Who made them the one to choose?  I personally know I’m not better than anyone else, I’m a sinner and that is something I will be my entire life.  All I can do is keep asking for forgiveness everytime I fall and try harder next time.  Maybe next time a someone opens their mouth or starts to type against something else of that nature, maybe, just maybe, they need to check their own backyards.

One of my friends, Harry, gave me a book for Christmas called Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.  Honestly I had my doubts, but it sounded interesting so I gave it a try.  I have been reading it and making notes, comparing and talking about those notes with Harry over email and I can say it is more than worth the read.  I’m a little over half way done with it and it makes you examine your life, systematically approaches Christianity and not just the because the Bible says so approach.  It’s made me examine my faults and previous errors in my life and honestly made me feel better about many things.  I’m so very glad I let him send it to me.  I still don’t know what division of Christianity I wish to be or that I am, but at least I’m in the ballpark somewhere wondering around the outfield instead of laying in the grass in the park next door…

Alright, so I really don’t understand myself sometimes… OK, so a lot.  I don’t know how Dan actually can.  I give him all the credit in the world.  He loves me and understands me like nobody in this world has, but I digress.  I have this feeling like I need to be attending some sort of organized religion.  I don’t know if it’s the need to belong or just simply I did it for so many years as a child that it’s an ingrained feeling.  I’ve been to Catholic masses, Lutheran services and I was raised Free Will Baptist so essentially I think you can say I’m all messed up in that department.  Dan was raised Lutheran but has been to Baptist services as well.  When I was with him over the weekend after Thanksgiving we went to the Lutheran church his Mom and Dad attend.  Honestly, I loved it.  Laid back, the preacher was very good and held my attention and the music was nice as well.  They even had a play area for the children so I could actually listen.  But the real question is this really what I want?  I want to give something to my children in the form of religion but what?  Do I really believe?  Sometimes I really don’t know what I believe anymore…