Simple Politics Part 1

I am about to expose the depth of my political knowledge. (This will take only moments of your time.) And really, I won't be expressing knowledge so much as I will be expressing my opinion. Tis the season, right?

I'm no expert on economics. I'm not even a student of it. Start saying things like "Gross National Product" or talk about the failing banks or job losses and I'm off thinking about what the next book is on my reading list. It's not that I don't care. It's just that I'm willing to admit that the subject is too big for me. There are lots of people out there who love and understand all that stuff and for that I am grateful. I was never meant to solve the issues of Social Security, National Debt or taxes. Many are, and I leave them to it.

I also don't claim to have the answers to the education issues in our country but I do have a little more heart invested there. I homeschool my two youngest children, seventh graders, so my biggest concern is that I retain the right to make whatever educational decisions I believe are best for them. I do not want my FREEDOM to homeschool to be infringed upon. I don't believe it is the place for government, state or federal, or anyone else other than my husband and I, to make these decisions. I'm sure I get this independant mind-set from- A)just being an American and- B)it's pretty typical of Homeschoolers. I AM NOT anti-school, public or private. I have had a child in school. We are all different. Our children are all different. That's why they make chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, and that's why all the options that are available to us as parents in regard to education is such a beautiful thing. This past school year, life provided my family just the right circumstances to illustrate this point.

In mid-September of 2011, my daughter's Senior year, we were faced with difficult and unexpected circumstances that resulted in us pulling her out of school. All of the plans she had made and the dreams that I had of seeing her graduate from the school she had attended all through high school were in jeopardy. Because of overwhelming medical and emotional issues with her, my husband and I felt it was in her best interest to remove as much pressure from her as possible so the decision was made to homeshool her for the fall semester. After Christmas, after months of praying and thinking, we determined that she would not return to school for the last semester. The school was very willing to work with us and the door was open for her to return, but we felt sure that to send her back would be detrimental. She and I grieved over this. It was not an easy decision, but we are sure it was the right one. Then we had to decide what she would do for the final semester. We needed another option. I knew that the North Carolina law for homeschoolers, (every state is different), states that in order for your student to graduate, they must be 16 years of age and they must meet your requirements for your school. (Basically how it is in traditional school). She had already completed all of her core requirements at her high school and only lacked, for my requirements, her English 12. We worked as diligently as we could on that when we brought her home. I was satisfied. We got her transcript from the school, officially "graduated" her, and in January enrolled her in her first class at the community college. This was the only decision that did not cause any of us any agony. It motivated her and met all of our desires for how we wanted to see our daughter progress.

Fast forward to Feburary 2012 for The President's State of the Union address. (Link below). President Obama made a passionate argument in defense of reducing the high-school drop out rate. He stated that no student should be allowed to drop out of school until they are 18 years old. Now, I know that seems like a good thing. No one wants a nation full of drop-outs, but really, if that were to become law, without my option of homeschooling, what happened with my child would never have been possible. She was 17 years old when we pulled her out of school and I can't bear to think of what would have happened to her had she been forced to return. Or if she never had the option to leave. The education decisions for my child are mine. And yours are yours. I'm voting to keep it that way.

See, told ya my politics were simple.



**For President Obama's comments on education that I mentioned above, go to Youtube and search "State of the Union 2012:Staying in School."

Review of The Fault in our Stars by John Green

Giving this book three stars is supposed to mean that I liked it. But only three stars doesn't "look" like I liked it. That's a bummer, or a misrepresentation. I did like it. Had I been a teenager, no doubt I would have loved it, except for a few things that were said that would have gone over my head. I know this, because as an adult, a few things that were said DID go over my head. I wish I was smart like Hazel when I was a teen, but, alas, I was, and am now, of average intelligence.

There were so many things in this story that I liked. Several things that were said that made me go "Hmmm...", or "Oh, that was beautiful..." As I would put the book down and do my normal stuff for the day I would find myself thinking about it and now that I've finished, I'm still thinking about it. That, for me, is the sign of a great book. And I am no expert on writing style or skills but I would say that John Green has done an excellent job "telling" or writing the story.

I still laugh out loud when I think about one of my favorite scenes involving eggs and robot eyes. I enjoyed that so much that I read it aloud to my husband, who also laughed, and he is not a fiction reader. Unfortuately for him, he does read vicariously through me, and I consider it my pleasure and responsibility to keep him "cultured". (Sorry honey, should have thought about that before you took a wife.)

So why only three stars for a book that made me laugh, made me think, and gave me a great new lesson to teach my children and myself? (That being, "The world is not a wish-granting factory." Haven't used it yet but I'm gonna.). Well, it's for personal reasons, really. Personal meaning "for me" not "private". I just have a high sensitivity to profanity. I don't like it. It's offensive to me and many times just feels down-right assaulting. I know that I live in a world full of it, I know that it is so over-used that people don't even notice it. I know that teenagers today are so overly exposed to it that they also don't notice it and are not close to being offended by it. I know all that. Yet I find myself unable to dismiss it. I've heard all the reasons for 'why' to use it. Using it when it is appropriate or to fully develope a character or it is used to make something or someone more believable or reaslistc or whatever. I don't buy into this because I have read enough great literature that doesn't have it and I don't find those stories lacking. All this to say, there is tons of profanity in this book. I understand that these characters are frustrated, cancer-ridden teenagers and there is plenty enough of sadness, anger, edginess and sometimes despair in their lives. I just, (I don't really know how to express this),I just wish, I guess, that the language of these characters was matched more carefully and closely to their brilliant and beautiful brains. It just cheapened or reduced the atmosphere around them, or something, to have them keep throwing out such common, ugly and undesirable speech. They themselves have so much in them that I, the reader, love and want to know more of, and they ruin it for me by dividing their speech between what sounds like beautiful poetry and what sounds like something they learned from the Thesaurus of Foul Language that they picked up at the local dump. It doesn't make me like them less, it just makes me less able to enjoy them. I am, after all, investing my time in them everytime I pick up the book. I just think that a general reduction in profanity would have improved my experience of reading this book. It definately would have improved my rating.

One other reason for only three stars would be how the questions of Christianity and Heaven are handled. Let me say right off that I am a Christian and I do not expect that every person I encounter, fictional or real, to have the same beliefs or mind-set that I have. I just find it so disheartening when people walk through life, (a world of death and difficulty) with no hope of relief or rest or reward in the Afterlife. It's so sad, especially when I believe that it doesn't have to be that way. I love the process that we all eventually go through in life in thinking, wondering about and arriving at answers in regard to faith. I know of no one who doesn't consider this for themselves at some point. I believe that process is a gift given us directly from God, a God who wants to be discovered, revealed, arrived at and embraced. Seeing someone miss that arrival, fictional or real, makes me sad. I will say this though...I do not know if John Green is a Christian but I did notice something that I apprecialted very much in his writing. I'm pretty sure I saw that every reference to spiritual terminology, (Christianity), was always capitalized. Not just the proper usage for proper nouns like "God", but also when using "He" or "His" in reference to God in the middle of a sentence. That shows an honorable approach to all things of God to me; a careful, intentional action, and I noticed it, and I liked it.

Mr. Green, I'm going to pick up another one of your books. I know I will enjoy the story, I'm hoping for less profanity.





flag

Beginnings

Here I am in the wonderful world of the Blogisphere! It's only taken me a year or more to start. I begin this new adventure with excitement and inspiration, but with no particular theme or topic in mind. This blog will be about my musings, my ponderings and all that bubbles up within me as I live my everyday life.

If you know me, you know I'll be writing about books, food, music and how I may see God working in my life. There may be, even though I'm no expert, a little bit of politics since there is another big election around the corner and so many incredible history-making occurances happening around the world.

So jump on in and join me and let me hear from you as well.