There has always been a battle within me when it comes to writing.  I have a desire to express myself through public speaking and writing.  However, there is always the thought in the back of my mind asking, “Why would anyone want to listen to me, anyway?”  Yet, when I have expressed myself, I have often received positive feedback on what I have said or written.  So with the encouragement of others, I am starting this blog to talk about things important to me.  Some things I will talk about won’t be of interest to many, but it is my aim to always bring the topic around to something that will apply to most of us.  Themes of faith and family will be a constant element as I draw from popular culture, current events, and the sports world to make applications about how we might live a more fulfilled and purposeful life.

In light of this, I welcome comments, and discussion of the ideas that are expressed here.  I have no assumption about having a corner on truth or knowing everything there is to know about any particular topic.  I have my own perspectives based on experience and observation of others.  I want to understand your point of view as well.  Too often we argue about details without examining the assumptions that we all make when we make observations and judgments about the world around us.

I have two perspectives that flavor how I view the world and the things I believe about the world and how we should live in it.  First, and foremost I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he lived on this earth, was crucified by a corrupt union between a civil government and a religion that missed its mission, and that on the third day he was raised from the dead.  I will discuss this belief in greater detail because if all this is not true, I have lived my life in vain.  If it is true, then we owe Him our very lives because his death was a substitution of what we deserve.

The second is political.  Ronald Reagan once said that government did not offer the solution to our problems, it was the problem.  I believe in limited government with low taxes and little regulation.  The more government comes into our lives, the less freedom we experience.  Too many are held in a form of slavery that my take care of basic needs but limits opportunity to be upwardly mobile.  The 1980s are a prime example of what happens when government gets out of the way and people can make decisions for themselves about how their money is spent.  The current revision of what happened in that era by current liberal historians ignores the truth about the expansion of the U.S. economy that lasted close to 20 years.  The median family income of black families increased at a higher rate than any time in our history.

I will take opportunity to discuss multiple aspects of these concepts in coming weeks and will welcome all points of view.  The only stipulation will be that facts are presented without impugning motives and name calling.  My aim is to have civil discussion that will at the very least bring us to a better understanding of one another even if at the end of the day, we agree to disagree.   We can examine each others’ assumption so that we will have a chance to see if our assumptions match reality and are in line with our stated conclusions.  “Consistency, thou art a jewel,” a quote often attributed to William Shakespeare is often rare because few of us, if any, live consistently by the principles we say guide our lives.  So I hope to direct the reader to some self-examination.  As a teacher, I have always believed that it is more important to teach people how to think, than to tell them what to think.