The Thing or Not The Thing....THAT is The Question

Along with many, I have been following the whole gun control issue. This post is not specifically about gun control but more about where I see the fallacy of this whole argument and how it relates to many issues of the day.

Where I see the disconnect is on an emotional level. No one wants violence to visit them or anyone else but what exactly is being accomplished when instead of looking at the behavior you look at the thing? I think government is becoming far too intrusive in our daily lives. I don’t believe the founders ever had the intent of letting government run our lives and in fact the design of our democratically elected government was specifically laid out to protect us from tyranny. But more and more you see the federal government trying to tell us what to eat and not eat; what to drive and not drive; what to drink and what not to drink. Unfortunately, the methods of controlling these behaviors are directed at the items, be they big gulps, guns or big macs.

You see, I think it is the whole wrong approach but is a seemingly expedient and thoughtful approach. It is an easy solution to say, ok, if I don’t want people to drink a 22 oz. soft drink than I will just do away with the 22 oz. soft drink. Is this fixing the problem? Does anyone who thinks about this on an intellectual level really think this fixes the problem? The problem is not the thing but the behavior. This can be translated to most everything in society these days. The real problem is related to something I’ve spoken about often and it is that what many seem to see as a fix being the easy, dismissive, feel-good way to solve the issue at hand and that is to eliminate the thing. That being said, we have not fixed the real problem. People have a way, these days, of substituting things with new things. So the behavior continues but just with a different thing.

I don’t know how we fix this. I don’t even know IF we can fix this. It seems to be an unending wagon train of things being taken from us while the crafty sort of beings we are find things to replace those things. I think as long as there are more people who think that the way we fix certain flaws in our character is by removing the things that cause the flaws then we will never see it change. Until people finally accept that changing problems in this society start with changing the behaviors this will continue on well past my life.

The Meaning of Success

So as I sometimes like to do I looked up the definition of the word success. Here it is via the oxford dictionary:

Definition of success

noun • the accomplishment of an aim or purpose:the president had some success in restoring confidence • the attainment of popularity or profit:the success of his play • a person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains prosperity:I must make a success of my business • archaic the outcome of an undertaking, specified as achieving or failing to achieve its aims:the good or ill success of their maritime enterprises

The reason this particular word seems to interest me is that so many people that seem anti-profit or that deem profit as a bad thing might want to look this up for themselves. As far back as the mid-16th century profit was actually linked to the word success. I also noted that nowhere I looked in the definition did I find the word happy. Happiness is not linked to profit; however, profit is all over it. So it begs the question; Is profit a bad thing or a good thing? The answer to that may also be linked to the question are you a capitalist or a socialist? If you truly believe in capitalism then profit is not a bad thing and indeed the end game.

It seems a bit hypocritical for so many to be anti-profit now and yet if they were to look at the comforts they enjoy, those comforts would be impossible enjoying without achieving some sort of profit. It really boils down to the fact that so many, and I’m guilty at times, look at others and fail to look in the mirror. So many are quick to criticize the wealthy and profitable as evil. Not that long ago wealth was actually a positive thing that showed a person or company was successful. I think socialism is creeping into our society now where being successful is deemed the same thing as being greedy and therefore must be an achievement on the backs of the poor and oppressed.

I’m not sure how this attitude gets turned around and I fear we will continue to drift in that direction. There are too many in our society now with their hands out who have the expectation that things should be handed over to them in the name of social justice. I think we have created this situation by our own hand. Technology has made everything so instant and easy that it is now translating to everything in life. If it is now not quick and easy than it must be unjust. It is a sad state of affairs. Work is now the new four letter word.

I just thought I would share these thoughts. I may be getting old and cranky but it is how I see things moving and I see real difficulty changing these attitudes. I will now go and pray I am wrong.

Dad...Even after Three Years....

Dear Dad, Well it’s been over three years now since you went to your glory. You would think that by now I would be comfortable just knowing that. You would think it…but you would be wrong. You see, everything I do I seem to measure to your standards. If something funny happens I think about how you would have reacted. It something goes wrong or is a challenge I think of how you would have handled it. So you are never far from me and in fact I pretty regularly blame my mischievousness on you and I don’t think I’m far off the mark.

So occasionally I grapple with how to come to terms with the loss of your wisdom and wit even after three years. Marlee went and visited you yesterday. She took a picture and the place still looks good and you would be generally happy with where you are resting. I, on the other hand, only needed to see the picture to send me into a short period of grief once again. But I’m OK now. I am making a pact with myself to instead of being sorry for my loss to be grateful for what I have gained. Your passing to the next world is now the gain for our God and in time I will see you again. You are not the only person that I have loved that you are now reunited with in glory and in the Lord’s good time and plan I will see you all again.

I’m not even sure why I had to write this but I did. The blessings I have in this life are simply too many to list. I know you are part of the reason I have achieved what I have achieved. There are few words that can adequately express my thanks. Perhaps the way I live out the rest of my years will be that thanks. So Dad, thank you once again for all you gave me and for all I have gained from your wisdom. I still miss you as if you left yesterday and you will live on in me for as long as God plans for me to be on this Earth. Finally the three words that Boureys swear off…at least many Bourey boys…..I love you.