Common Sense Living

Let’s Work Together

The entire country is in an uproar over George Floyd losing his life.  It has been said many times before, and deserves to be said again.  What happened to him was wrong and the officer involved in his death should be punished.  We should also seriously look at police reforms, but we shouldn’t dismantle or defund them.  It is something we should look at and take seriously, not use as a political football to gain some yardage or points for whatever side is speaking.  

People are outraged, and should be, about Mr. Floyd’s death.  Even more people are upset about all the hate and damage that happened afterwards in the name of justice.  Chicago had one of the deadliest nights in the past 60 years with over 18 people murdered on May 30th.  This past Father’s Day weekend saw over 104 people shot with 14 dead.  Minneapolis had a violent weekend with a dozen people shot.  New York City rounded out the major cities with 17 shot.  Pastor Corey Brooks, New Beginnings Church, spoke after the events happened in his home town of Chicago, saying that families of all color have lost their jobs because of the looting and rioting.  Companies are leaving and plan on not returning because of the increase in insurance and other costs.

The average person is against the violence and rioting.  We have the First Amendment right to protest, and you should exercise your freedom of speech.  But it should never move into violence and the riots, looting and fires hurt us in the community, down to the last individual.  People are now upset and scared that there is lawlessness in the street and no one is listening to the true concerns they were trying to raise.  Pastor Brooks hopes people become more involved in the community, not less.  Involvement is something that should happen, whether you’re on the left, right or center, or black, white or brown.

During an interview on 60 Minutes, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke directly to the people about violence.  “I will never change in my basic idea that non-violence is the most important weapon for the negro in his struggle for freedom and justice.  I think that for the negro to turn to violence would be both impractical and immoral.”  He was a believer in non-violent protests because that left the door open for talking, exchanging ideas and making a real change.  He was so opposed to violence that he said he would stand alone for it to be the way.  “I would like for all of us to believe in non-violence.  But I’m here to say tonight that If every negro in the United states turns against non-violence, I’m going to stand up as a lone voice and say that this is the wrong way.”  He wanted us to know that the most important thing is to be peaceful and come together.  In other words, we need to find common ground.  Yes, there are a lot of differences in people, from ethnicity, religion to national origin, we have differences.  But there are more things that are the same for all of us than most are giving us credit for.

Regardless of what color you are, where you were born, how you worship or who you’re with, there are some very basic tenants in life.  If you are a parent, you want a good education for your child.  All moms and dads worry about their kid’s safety.  Everyone wants a decent job to provide for their families.  People want to get good careers and to find a purpose in life.  They want to be able to go to their church without being demeaned and be involved with people of their choice.   Even with all of our differences, the average person just wants to feel safe and secure while they go about their business.

That is where to start, on common ground.  No one will deny that there have been problems and mistakes on all sides but the violence must stop.  Just like any group cannot be judged by what one does, we cannot judge every police officer on what a bad one does.   The good police officers suffer when one does something wrong because we hold them to such high standards.  We need to stand by those good officers and our community and not by the thugs that have come in to riot, loot and burn things down as an excuse for demonstrating.

HSLDA Attorney, Dan Beasley, writes about Pennsylvania Asking for Support for HB 1938 which is aptly named:  

Commonsense Improvements for Homeschool Students

Homeschooling in Fall – Two Must Join Organizations

Businesses are still shut, the sequester is in place and the local schools may or may not open in the fall.  But life marches on and you must look into what you have to do to get some normalcy back to your life.  If you have children, you have to think about their education so they can have a bright future of possibilities.

If school closures continue into the fall, or you are thinking about continuing homeschooling, there are two organizations that you must look up immediately and join.  First, find out about your state homeschool group.  They know the ins and outs of how to begin, can help you with the specific paperwork needed and will give you changes that apply to you in your particular state.

Then, you need to look up the HSLDA or Home School Legal Defense Association.  They work with families to make sure that they can homeschool their children without any issues regarding ethnicity, religion or economic status.  They give advice, support and help with any and all of the legal requirements that you must do.  Whether its paperwork notifying your township or finding out about end of year testing, the HSLDA is there for you.  If you’ve got questions, they’ve got answers.  

Coronavirus Humor - You gotta laugh

Coronavirus Humor - You gotta laugh

Coronavirus Humor - You gotta laugh

Coronavirus Humor - You gotta laugh

Things are down-right crazy now.  We have a sequester in effect for the Coronavirus in numerous states.  We have many people out of work until things reopen while others have lost jobs because companies went out of business or had to downsize to keep afloat.  At the same time, we had a publicized death by police that brought protestors to major cities, rioting began instead of dialoging about fixing things.  Everyone seems to be angry, hurt, scared and unsure.  But, there is hope.

Remember that you have a purpose in life.  Complicated both physically and psychologically, emotionally involved, meticulously made and able to accomplish much, it is obvious that you are a created being, not an accident of the cosmos.

Know that your creator didn’t leave you here without a manual.  The bible clearly gives you guidance on many things and how to deal with problems is just one of them.  Christians are encouraged in numerous places in the Bible to pray to God. Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

If you are concerned, do that.  If you are overwhelmed, do that and be specific.  In Shelter with God, Dr. David Jeremiah writes about what to do when you are asking questions like; Why this?  Why me? Why now?  He encourages you to tell God why you are scared and what you want help doing.  Tell Him all of your problems, concerns, fears and ask Him for guidance.  Ask for wisdom to handle a situation and ask for strength to get through it all.  

The follow-up to that is to then tell God all of the things you are thankful for in life.  Even in the hardest of times, you know you have much to be grateful for in your own life.  It can be for the basic things, like still having a job, you being in good health or having enough money to pay the bills.   Maybe it is something as simple as you getting enough sleep last night or having had a good supper.  Just find something to be thankful for in your own corner of the world and you will see how it changes your perspective.

Then you can take it one step further.  Ephesians 6:18 states, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”  

Take your prayers and open them up to include someone else and give them for one other person.  Pray for them to have peace, better health or the strength to get things done.  No matter what, prayer can only help you feel better and will help you connect to others.

Things are very difficult right now and many people are hurt, scared or angry because of all of the things going on in America.  At the same time, we have a pandemic, an economic upheaval and the racial tensions frayed because of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.  We should all be coming together and agreeing that the situation is not good, all people are not good and that we would like things to be good.  

How about we focus on this?  Let’s agree that we need to talk, not yell at one another.  We all need to agree to listen to what the person has to say.  Let’s agree that we can’t be blaming whole groups of people for a problem we had, or a bad situation that we were involved in or something that happened.  People are responsible for themselves and they are to be held accountable.  You don’t punish, or blame or threaten a whole group because of what one person did or said.  Let’s not make fun of or pick on someone we don’t like or don’t get along with and focus on the problems we have.  You don’t drag up every problem from the past but focus on what is happening now and how to make things better.  

Focusing on the way to fix things, and remaining positive, is how to really change things.  If we all look forward, not backwards, and agree that things were not the way we wanted them to be, maybe, just maybe, we would be able to move forward and change things for the good.  

“Again, I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them”. Matthew 18:19-20

Just because we are stuck inside doesn’t mean we can’t get a little bit of culture or help the kids with their education.  Here are a couple of things you can do while inside.  

Tour of Versailles

http://en.chateauversailles.fr/news/life-estate/versaillesvr-palace-yours#a-unique-visit

Tour of Windsor Castle

https://www.royal.uk/virtual-tours-windsor-castle

World’s Most Beautiful Castles

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/most-beautiful-castles-world/index.html

Castle Ruins Reconstructed

There is a rush now to allow voting by mail, meaning allowing anyone to mail in a ballot anytime for any election.  What could go wrong with that?  I could be wrong, but if they can spoof addresses, email and telephone numbers on the computer, how hard would it be to have a computer generate a vote letter and do an E-Signature?  

Several of our lawmakers have been around for quite some time, so maybe they never heard of that, and someone should make them aware of the fraud that goes on every single day with all of that new technology.

Putting my natural skepticism aside, everyone, from seniors to just turned 18 adults, have had identity theft happen to them.  We need to deal with that as a reality of our times.  We have had nothing but talk about how Russia and other countries tried to influence our election.  It seems easy to ignore things and just complain about it.  

Remember rule # 1 here, no whining and complaining, just recognizing a problem and offering solutions.  Here are my solutions.  You must prove that you are who you say you are with valid identification, just like you were going to open a bank account.  Prove that you have a vested interest in voting because you are a citizen and those you put into office will do things better for your community.  That’s how I know that you are not just voting to mess things up for me.

We are oh so virtual these days.  Not only are we doing Zoom meetings daily, we are texting more and more to do business and sending emails constantly.

All the business sites are reposting things about how to run virtual meetings, send professional email letters and how to do proper text messages.

So, for those that are new to this or who are young just starting out or need a refresher, here is a review of basic texting manners.  As far as fighting, insults, negative or sarcastic comments, they are not the thing for either personal or professional texts.  They can be used later in court, by the police, by Human Resources or by anyone who wants to just make you look foolish.  

FOR BUSINESS TEXTS

There are business things that should NEVER be sent out when you text.  

1.   Sensitive personal info is not to ever be texted to anyone, ever.  This includes social security numbers, credit cards, bank information and the like for either you or your company.

2.   Logins are sensitive and you should keep them secret.  Don’t send your password to someone to get into your computer.  That can get you fired or brought up on charges  

3.   Medical news or information is something that anyone can use to steal your identity or that of an employee.  Keep it private.

4.   Leaving your job is done by an adult.  You need to speak with another adult about it at the company.  Be a grown-up and do it in person or over the phone if there is no other option.  

FOR PERSONAL TEXTS

Adults and caring human beings just don’t do these things by text.

1.   Someone dying or bad medical news is too sensitive to send out by text.  You never know how someone will react emotionally so do it in person or by phone if that is the only option you have.

2.   Telling someone you are pregnant is an important moment in your life, theirs and the child’s.  Regardless of the situation, have some consideration for everyone.

3.   Telling someone you love them for the first time is a wonderful and personal thing.  If you want to keep a relationship with that person, be mature and do it in person.  You’ll be thankful later that you did.

4.   Breaking up with someone is nobody’s business but yours and the other persons.  There will be a flurry of questions and things that need to be said that shouldn’t be done on a text.  If you want this to be clean without more issues later, don’t text.