The Future of Blogging

Ever read Ender's Game? In that book, the world is wired. Tabletops are PC's and people can read the morning news or connect to blogs. The blogs are the center of politics. If you want a name in politics, you start a blog and you will gain a following. In fact, one of the characters in the book, Peter(a child genius) takes over the world through his blog. Sounds far-fetched? Read the book and it will become a scary possibility. Actually, I think the details of his rise to hegemon are found in another book, The Shadow of the Hegemon. Check them out. They are actually both books in companion series about child geniuses who shape the world and universe they live in. Very good books that make you think.

Religious progressive? I don't know, it doesn't make sense to me. I was looking at a blog called A Religious Liberal Blog, and it has a link about progressive Christianity. Here is the introduction to the site:

"Religion doesn't have to be
irrelevant, ineffectual, repressive...

Do you find more grace in the search for meaning than in absolute certainty, in the questions rather than in the answers?

Do you have religious interests and longings but cannot accept the beliefs and dogmas you associate with Christianity?

Are you repelled by claims that Christianity is the "only way"?"

I'll tell you what I'm repelled by. I'm repelled by men remaking religion in their own way. They take the doctrines of God and tear them apart, replacing the holy word of God with things that they believe. The Bible and the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price, are revelations of God. They were, literally, spoken words which God said to prophets. They have been written down by these same prophets or their scribes and put together to form the standard works, the group of scriptures which lay out the doctrine and teachings of Christ. You cannot go against what is taught in these books and still be following Christ. The only way I can excuse these "progressive Christians" is by knowing of their ignorance. Sadly, though, I am sure at least a few of them are in no way ignorant. They know the truth, they just don't like it. It hurts them, it makes them feel guilty because they have not been living the truth. They think, "how can any true religion be painful?" They think, "Religion is supposed to bring happiness, therefore, if I'm not happy immediately, it can't be true." They don't realize, or they ignore the fact that you cannot be truly happy if you have not suffered. You cannot know, or fully appreciate, pleasure without pain. You cannot make it to heaven without following the road to heaven. There is only one road. That is revealed truth. No man made it up to get power over anyone. Men twist it and lead others down the wrong road to get power, but they did not make up the basic doctrine. To say that it is not true is to reject the bible and every other revelation of God. To reject these revelations is to reject Christianity. It's that simple. If you do not believe they are true, if you think the doctrines taught in them are false, then you think that all of what Christianity is false. You are left to remake Christianity in your own image and that will create chaos and churches that aim to make money or power profits.

I have so much more to say, but I need to go. Check out www.mormon.org.

Ok, this post is a bit haphazard, but I don't have a lot of time:

Bush vs. Kerry
First of all, neither of the candidates seem to have a full grasp on reality. Bush wants to fight a war and have tax cuts. The only way to do this is to borrow money. Borrowing money will increase the debt. Bush's plan is lousy. He has, however, created jobs and pulled us out of a recession faster than any other president.

So what's Kerry's plan? Don't tax the middle class and tax the rich. What will he do with this money? Pay for healthcare. Is taxing the rich enough? No. He will need to find money in other places. Where? Business. I'll get into that, but Kerry's plan is lousy, too.

Taxing business
What's wrong with taxing business? Isn't that where the money is? Taxing business will take money away from creating new jobs and investing in capital. Kerry's plan will decrease the job growth rate. Business will stop expanding. But isn't Kerry's cause good? Healthcare for all. What does it matter, though, if it kills the growth of the U.S. economy? Look at Denmark. Yeah, they are cared for from birth to death, but they are looking at legislation to ban people from moving into the country. The people find they can't afford to pay the taxes to support these immigrants. This is not freedom. We cannot kill our economic growth or destroy the vision of freedom in America for immigrants. If we do, Western civilization will face a brutal collapse. We aren't just at the peak of modern civilization, we are also the base.

Across the Board Income Tax
The solution to all our taxing problems, as I see it, is an across the board 10% income tax. Every tax bracket pays the same percentage. No more tax cuts. Personal income tax all the way. Why tax the personal income tax? Because this money is the people's spending money. It doesn't create most the jobs in the economy, it generally isn't invested. Most of it is spent on products. So wait, if we tax it, aren't we taking that money away from the consumer? Shouldn't that hurt the economy? Nope. Those who buy more, the rich, are being taxed less. They will have more money to spend, which could possibly create more jobs. There would still be problems, but they would be simpler and easier to handle than the complicated, messed up system we have today.

Universal vs. No healthcare
So what do we do about healthcare? Our system is obviously broken. Health insurance, because of its discounts, drives medical costs through the roof. Hospitals can't afford the discounts unless they raise prices. So those without insurance lose any option of quality healthcare. What's the answer? It obviously lies with changing the insurance system. Either we 1. do away with it completely or 2. socialize it.

I like the first option better, so I'll explain socializing it first. Ok, to socialize it is simple: everyone pays a new healthcare tax, and the government provides the healthcare. Everyone pays, everyone gets free healthcare. The problem is the thousands or millions, I'm not sure of the numbers, who pay little or no taxes because of how low their incomes are. These people are freeloaders. They get free healthcare without paying for it. We pay more because of them, so we see taxes go up more than we'd like. So I don't like this solution. More taxes are not better. Making everything public means we don't have very high quality healthcare because there is no competition. This goes against the basic idea of the free market system. We are not socialistic, we should not become so.

The second option is very attractive to me. If you get rid of health insurance, the costs go down. Way down. Those who are uninsured will be able to afford healthcare. There are still many who would not be able to afford it, but I am not considering that right now. They are in the minority. One thing I will say is that these people will have a great incentive to work harder and earn more money. Harsh, but that's reality in a free market system. And this option will privatize the healthcare system, creating competition and better quality service.

The tax system and the healthcare system are falling apart. They are heading towards collapse. They both need to be reworked or we will have a crisis, we already have a crisis on our hands. Tithe's are serious issues that the presidential candidates need to face, and neither of them are. I am for Bush. I feel he has a better handle on the situation. He is more honest, more steadfast, simply a better leader. He is still a politician, though. Someday, when I can vote, I hope that I have better options than what I see today.

Church Growth
Now for some happier news: the church is growing greatly in the northeastern United States. It really makes me wonder, with the church providing so much service and offering so much hope to people, how there can be so much opposition to it. I mean, I understand theological reasons for it, but putting those aside, why do people not see and appreciate what the church does? In a world in which the family is falling apart, why do so many reject an organization that claims that family is central to the survival of the human race? Ok, that's easy, because many think that the family isn't important. But how can people not see the truth? I look at my friends. The happy ones have strong families. The sad ones have families that have been torn apart for various reasons. Now, this is not universal, but the happy child in the torn family is the exception, not the rule. How can people not see this? Why do they continue to tear apart the family, the core of civilization in every culture? There has been no successful culture that did not have strong families. That is a fact. Study your history. And what is a family? It has always been a mother, a father, and their children. Often it has included grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and others, but the basic element of a strong family has always been the married mother and father. It has never been different. To change it would be to destroy civilization, as we are finding out. I could go on and on, but I need to cook dinner. In the meantime, check out www.andrewhagen.com.

Bush is not the best president we've ever had. But Kerry is a threat to this country. Who will win? Probably Kerry. Bush has done bad in the debates. People blind themselves to Kerry's hypocrisy and lies. Bush won't raise himself above the petty mud-slinging of the presidential campaign. Bush is the better choice. He's more honest. He's more steadfast. He has strong beliefs and sticks to them. He believes in the family and in life. Kerry believes in the freedom of "choice." Bush should win, Kerry may win. I'm afraid.

Just as blogger has changed quite a bit since my last post, so have I. I don't know exactly what to say here. Hmmm....Well, I'm no longer 16. I turned 17 back in February. I've learned a lot about love and relationships. Love at first sight is a very real thing. However, Romeo and Juliet gave in to lust. Maybe they would have been happy, but they were thoughtless young teenagers. So there are some important lessons to learn from that story still. They are not a couple anyone should emulate, though.
One thing I feel must be said: love at first sight is real, but no relationship can last if a friendship is not built first. Friendship, and friendship without any physical contact, is vital to survival. It's a simple concept, but it is absolutely true. There is no arguing it.
Ok, I have econ homework to do.

Do I really not believe in love at first sight? I may have experienced it. Of course, I didn't love her the second I met her. But things moved pretty fast. Our relationship has developed and blossomed into something that I believe will bear beautiful, sweet fruit. It's been only eight months now. Eight months! It seems like eternity, yet it seems like only a second ago spoke to me for the first time. So much has happened. It's amazing. Eight months can hold so much. I wonder what the next eight will hold? Or the next year? Eight years? To live until your 50th anniversary and look back must be an awe-inspiring experience. No wonder my grandpa cried so hard on his. He was the toughest farmer out ther, but his heart loved his wife for all it was worth. He loved no other, and he cried when he read her card. He cussed at us, teased us, and poured ice water on our heads. But he loved her. He loved Grandma as few men love their wives. I come from incredible heritage. I just hope I can continue the tradition.

Check out this site: What is God?

This website shows how difficult it is to answer this question. There are so many different ideas of God that I couldn't finish reading the article. But I'm going to attempt my own answer.

I've always found it fairly simple to explain God. He is my Heavenly Father. This belief began a long time ago, in my home, where my parents taught me what they knew of God. It continued through Primary- Sunday School for Mormon kids ages 3 to 11- and wasn't seriously challenged until about eighth or ninth grade. Since then I have done a lot of studying and reasoning. My ideas have not changed, but in fact have been strengthened. God is my Heavenly Father and the literal father of the spirits of all men who have lived, do live and ever will live on Earth. He loves us, cares for us, and sent us here so we could have the ultimate joy- salvation and exultation. The plan of happiness, His plan for us on Earth and afterward, is so deeply entwined in His existence that I'll probably be explaining parts of the Gospel along with my explanation of God.

In the Beginning

So when did God begin? The easy answer is that God is eternal- He has always existed. How can this be? I don't know, but I do know that as mortal, limited beings, we do not live long enough or can we observe enough of this infinite universe to be able to make judgments about whether God or anything can be eternal or not. My own opinion is that time is a dimension similar to the three spatial dimensions. We are stuck in this dimension, only being able to travel in one direction. As an example, imagine a drawing- it is two-dimensional, only being able to travel on one plane. We live in three dimensions- able to exist in multiple planes at a time. God is one step higher, if not more- He can travel through time the same way we can go left or right, back-and-forth, and side-to-side. Now, why does God need to be able to do this? Why can't He live in the same dimensions as us? He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. So be able to control all, see all, and know all, he needs to be able to see past, present and future- something we are not capable of doing. Because God does not live limited by time, He is able to live eternally- time does not affect Him, so He does not age or die.

So God is an eternal being, and He is also omniscient and omnipresent. Ok, but a question often asked is what is God exactly- what is He made of? Does He exist materially as we do? Or is He "everywhere and nowhere" as many religions believe? Most religions claim that the latter must be true, since if God was made of matter, as we are, then He would be limited just as we are. I just showed, however, that if God had mastery over the fourth dimension, He could be omniscient and omnipresent even with a body. He does not have this power because he overcame the limitations of a body, He has this power because He overcame the limitations of time. There's a whole lot more to write, but I have to go.

There are two pieces of literature from which I draw daily inspiration- the scriptures and Calvin and Hobbes. The scriptures help me better understand what it is to be a child of God, while Calvin and Hobbes helps me better understand what it is to be an American youth. I can draw inspired quotes from the comic strip, such as, "Mom knows everything!" and "It doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game." There are many others. In fact, I've downloaded almost 50 of the strips I've read in the past few months. There are few comic strips with which a person can so easily connect. In only a decade, Bill Waterson was able to capture so much of what it means to live in this world, and all through the eyes of a six-year-old and his pet tiger. What an accomplishment. If I was a great writer I would write some great words, but all I can say is thank you Bill Waterson, though you will probably never read this. Thank you for caring. Thank you for sending your message out into the world, though it is simple and seemingly insignificant. Many overlook comic strips and other simple forms of entertainment because they are simple, but this is folly. Those things which are the simplest carry their message the best and are easiest to understand. And they hold within them much more depth becuase so many people can identify with them. So I thank you Bill Waterson, and all those who are willing to step out and show us that a simple life, without all of today's distractions, is still worth living.

I just finished a play called "Inherit the Wind." I think it was one of the best works of literature I've ever written. It showed how our preconceived notions can be vastly different from the truth and that we must always stand up for free will and the ability to find things out on our own, to reason. Blind faith and relying on the word of others is dangerous. In fact, it is about the most dangerous thing there is out there, because it means giving up what sets us apart- our free will, our ability to think. No other animal is like us. We are distinct and if we do our best to protect that free will, that reason, we will remain distinct. If we give in to animal urges and sacrifice our free will for momentary pleasure, we lose our distinction from the rest of the animal kingdom and we demote ourselves to merely beasts. Being only an animal is not the bad thing. They are also creations of God and deserve respect. The bad thing is giving up our divine birthright- giving up the status as children of God. By becoming like animals we give up the chance to become like God. In doing so we lose the chance to have eternal joy. There is so much more to say, but I need to go to bed. Read the play, it will inspire you.

Well, I gonna forget the whole gay marriage thing for a while. It's getting on my nerves and there really is no easy answer. What ever happens will not depend on me but the legislators we have in office. I hope that they make the right choice.

So my friend Jennifer started a blog called My Life. Check it out at )www.jro6.blogspot.com. She'll actually provide some counter-arguments for some of the stuff i say in here. Should make the blog more interesting, right? If anyone out there actually reads it.

Sowhat do i have to write about? How about the nature of the soul. I read a poem called "Go Down, Death," by James Weldon Johnson (www.poets.org/poems/poems.cfm?prmID=1440), and it really made me think. Something that scientists take for granted is that energy and matter can never cease to exist. Energy will merely become matter and vice versa. So really, they are two forms of the same thing. So what about the spirit? The spirit is what really makes us self-aware and conscious, there is no doubt about that. What is the spirit? That is hard to answer. I cannot prove that it is something more than just the firing of the neurons, but at the same time, I cannot deny that this has to be true. But I digress. The idea is that the spirit is what makes us truly alive. It is what seperates us from inanimate objects. It makes life life. Following this line of reasoning, all life, even germs and plants, have spirits. But once again, that's off the subject. If the spirit exists and is life, and matter and energy cannot be destroyed, how could spirit possibly cease to exist? Life is eternal! Your spirit, the spirit of all living creatures, lives on in eternity and cannot cease to exist. For life to end with death would be breaking the laws of the universe, the laws which have existed for eternity. Many people consider this belief idiotic. But why? Because there is no concrete proof? Lack of evidence is not evidence of lack. Consider this: evolutionists claim that all the fossils they have found prove conclusively that animals evolved. However, consider one branch of the animal kingdom: homonids. The famous missing link, the species that is the bridge between ape and man, has never been found. This is true of every branch of the evolutionary tree. There are gaping holes between all species. No missing links have been found. Also, no man can observe evolution. People tend to treat evolution as hard fact, but this is fallacy. It is merely a set of ideas which best fits the evidence given. I cannot disprove it and in fact, I think it is the best answer that we have explain fossils, but that does not change the fact that there is an abhorrent lack of evidence. But many still believe this theory. So why not believe in God and eternal life? This idea fits so well into the small amount of evidence we have. It also provides answers to mankinds deepest, most challenging questions- who are we? where did we come from? and where are we going? Eternal life, if you have an open mind, makes sense! It is logical! Why should life cease to exist upon death? Why is the world limited to what we see directly. There are so many experiences that people have had which provide proof of a world that is much more vast than what our five senses can detect. I ask that you open your mind and ask questions. Consider, just once, why so many believe in God and Jesus Christ and the gospel. And if you want answers, come to this site: www.lds.org. I will admit that this can be hard to accept and it is not completely logical, it takes a great deal of faith. But it will withstand questioning if you are not looking to tear it down, but to find the truth within it. Much of what I've written I'm sure is a confusing mess. I hope that it makes sense to someone and will touch their heart. I just want to end by saying that I believe in Jesus Christ and that he died for us. I believe in a loving heavenly father who sent his son as a gift that we might return to live with him again. I believe that i am a child of God and I have the potential to become like Him, if i will but obey. I send this message to all those who will read it, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Read Ender's Game

Ok, quick thought: So I was having trouble reconciling the position of my church as supporting the freedom of religion and also supporting legislation that bans gay marriages. But, with the help of my dad, I have been able to make this reconciliation. This legislation doesn't have to do with religion, it has to do with morality. By making laws protecting heterosexual marriages, we are preserving our way of life and our customs. Many argue that morality is relative. I agree with tha, to a point. Many people live higher laws than others, but I think there needs to be a bottom, a basic moral law that nees to be made. Just as murder, theft, slander, and other activities related to harming others, dishonesty, corruption, and many other moral issues are legislated, the matter of marriage should be included. If we are willing to make laws about telling lies, how come we are not willing to make laws about something which can have just as great, if not a bigger effect on people's lives? I believe, and always will believe, that marriage is reserved for a man and woman. I will never support any law which says otherwise.

It's been a while. I was just reading an article on blogs in the NYTimes and it reminded me how long it's been since I've written anything. Well, I'm back. Here's my big idea that I came up with this week. I call it How to Save America and it's based on this premise: the American Empire. I don't know how politically or economically sound my ideas are, but I figure that they're worth putting out there. Here they are:

The American Empire:

Because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, many people inside and outside the U.S. have called us imperialists and Bush the Emperor who is out rule the world. Now, my views on that absurd view are a completely different story, so I won't get into that. But I have a new crusade that these anti-imperialists and anti-Americans can take up, and many probably already have: not the American military empire, which doesn't exist as far as I'm concerned (think about Japan and Germany), but the American economic empire. This country, for a number of reasons, has become the greatest and strongest economic power in the history of the world. Our companies, which began to grow into gigantic, super-powerful corporations at the beginning of the century, have spread throughout the world. The obvious example is Coca-Cola, which can be found in even the most backwater countries in Africa and Asia. Our economy has grown to the point that the world is dependent on it- if our economy goes down, everyone's economy collapses.

Now, this by itself is an obvious imbalance of wealth and power and is a threat to the world, but another danger is the trade deficit. America imports much of its manufacturing and food, while our greatest exports, as far as I know, are our corporations and money. This is a problem. Other countries become dependent on the American dollar and the American corporation. They basically become a vassal to our economy.

Once again, I have not researched this and am not educated enough to know if this is a valid conclusion, but I think it is true, based on the newspapers, books and tv that I've read and seen.

This economic empire is a danger to America, becuase if our economy collapses, there is no one who will be able to help us because the world will follow us down into depression. It is also a danger to the world for the same reason- they are too dependent on us. There is one more thing which is hurting the U.S. and other countries- immigration. This is a difficult subject, one which both sides have a lot of truth to back up their arguments. But after some time thinking it over and talking it over with my mom, I feel that immigration into the U.S. should be restricted. We are a nation of immigrants and we offer hope to the world with a lack of social classes and the promise of success and freedom, but we are bulging at the seams. California and Florida, two major entry points for immigrants, are bankrupt. The federal government is having difficulty supporting those who come here, because many can't, or won't, support themselves. The money we need to support those who are here is dissappearing because too many are coming who have nothing and add nothing to the nation. We are threatened with economic collapse, with all the consequences I stated above, unless we do something about immigration.

How to Save America

So the nation is in trouble. What do we do? I think there are several steps that we need to take. First, restrict immigration and get things straightened out here at home as much as we can. There are many who will suffer outside the U.S. because of this, but unless we do it, the whole world will suffer. Second, once we've got a good start on our domestic problems, look at the poorer countries in the world, the oppressed countries of the world, the places where the immigrants are coming from, and do what we can to improve their situation. Help them grow economically, bring down dictators and tyrants (we've already got a headstart with Iraq and Afghanistan), and teach them how not to be independent on us. This is something which many will fight. Corporations won't like it. Politicians who desire power won't like it. If we spread the wealth and power, many will feel threatened and will, being the greedy men they are, fight it. Others will fight it becuase it doesn't directly benefit us. It is a long-term and costly project which will help future generations more than us. This, however, isn't about us. it is about the welfare of humanity. Would we rather have the terrorists continue to hate us for the economic empire which they see so much evil in? Would you rather have the France's and Germany's of the world continue to be jealous of us for having so much wealth and power and keeping it to ourselves? Of course, by doing this, terrorism won't end. jealousy won't end. We may be accused of trying to Americanize the world. Well, yes we are. We want to help the world reach our level. When you have a good thing, you don't want to keep it to yourself. In fact, I feel it is wrong to keep it to yourself. But that is what America is doing.

There is my basic idea. There is much more to it, more details, more flaws, more dangers, but I don't have time to type it all. Please respond: ckmgtnr@yahoo.com.