Lynch:
 
verb
 (of a mob) kill (someone), especially by hanging, for an alleged offense with or without a legal trial.

Mob

noun

1. 1.
   a large crowd of people, especially one that is disorderly and intent on causing trouble or violence.

 
 
Did you attend high school American history? 
  I did.  It was one of my favorite classes.  I loved learning about how this nation gained its independence.  I was fascinated by the Civil War.  The taming of the west and it’s outlaws captured my imagination, and the Civil Rights movement inspired me and broke my heart seeing the pain endured by so many so unfairly.
  One of the traditions in the old west that carried into the first half of the 20th century is that of a Lynch Party.  Lynch Parties were "jolly affairs".  The towns people, feeling bored and needing excitement, would find something to take offense at.  A perceived slight, a persons color, a legal infraction, it really didn’t matter as long as it provided an opportunity to gather together united in a common goal.. to destroy another human being.
  Our good townspeople would then grab their trusty torches, combine together and form what is affectionately referred to as a Mob.  Mobs had their own mentality.  They worked together as one, and with great courage, honor, and a sense of self-righteousness.  The mob was usually able to overpower whatever law enforcement official who might intervene and take custody of the offending individual.
  The Lynch-ee, as we might call him, was beaten, sometimes tarred and feathered, and tortured in other humiliating ways.  The grand climax of the evening was to toss a rope over the branch of a tree and leave the Lynch-ee hanging dead, a deterrent to other would-be offenders, and a warning that the town was full of kind hearted people who wouldn’t tolerate any nonsense.
  If you are interested in historical documentations of this time-honored tradition, just google it.  There are numerous accounts and even photos. 
 
But fret not..
 
YOU CAN TAKE PART IN LYNCH PARTIES TODAY!
 
  In the immortal words of Bob Dylan, “the times they are a changing.”, but people don’t.  It’s now considered impolite to take torches and hang people from trees when they do something to annoy us.  In our society, we are expected to act with tolerance and open-mindedness.  Until about 2004 when we were blessed with Facebook, mobs were only in history classes.  The great miracle of social media has once again given good people the opportunity to experience mob mentality, and to participate in the sacred and historic rite of the public lynching.
 
  I live about twenty minutes from Preston, Idaho, and have friends, family, and other ties to Preston.

  This week, a story has gone viral about a Science teacher who fed an under developed almost dead puppy to a snapping turtle.  The story was misreported, exaggerated, and damaging.
  As I’ve watched the story evolve on social media, I’ve seen those directly involved with the incident make statements to clarify what really happened.  There has been overwhelming support for the teacher.  These statements are met with threats of violence, insults, foul language, and vicious epithets. There was a Facebook post started to encourage violence against the Preston School District, and Police are at the school as I write this blog.
  My purpose in writing is not to take a stance on the teacher.  The local authorities have taken appropriate action, the teacher is still employed, and I’m satisfied that they have the situation well in hand.  I do, however, find it disheartening and alarming that people who claim to be kind caring and compassionate, and full of concern for a puppy are advocating for violence.  On the page of a supportive mother, a Facebook Mobber suggested that the mother feed her own children to the turtle.
  Yesterday, children walked out of schools across the country in the name of stopping violence and remembering the victims of the last mass shooting.  In my opinion, shootings will continue, violence will continue, and pain will continue so long as the Media, and every well meaning computer crusader encourage and participate in the public lynching’s of innocent people.
 
And that’s all I have to say about that.
 
 

Please do not use the following experience to justify bad behavior.  My intention in sharing my story is to show that we are all capable of overcoming challenges in our lives.  The challenges I reference here were initially self-inflicted and could have been avoided.  It is through the atonement that I was able to overcome them, and I strongly discourage experiencing them.
 
 
 Just who the devil are the Joneses, and why exactly are we keeping up with them?
 
  We live in a therapist’s market.  Depression and anxiety are at an all time high.  As we peruse our social media feeds, we see the near perfect lives of everyone around us, and compare their lives to our own, we begin to question our own competency as human beings.  Sometimes resentment grows, and we pull away from others.  In religious communities, people even lose sight of their spiritual wellbeing.  If we can’t measure up to our neighbors and friends, how will we ever be good enough for God?
 
  I have a bit of a past, and I would like to briefly share my story.
​
  I grew up a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I served a Mission for the Church from 2001-2003 in Lansing Michigan, and loved every minute of my time serving others.  When I got home, I had life figured out.  I found a girl I wanted to marry, had school lined up, I just started writing and performing music, and life could not better be.
  Things did not go as planned with the girl, my ego was severely bruised, and I grew bitter.  I threw myself into my music project and decided if I was going to be a “rock star” I was going to do it all the way.  I began partying and drinking.  Soon, I couldn’t go a day without drinking.  My personal relationships suffered, and I wasn’t a very kind person.  I wasted three of what could have been among my most productive years in a blurry haze.  My family was patient with me.  They knew I wasn’t in a good place but didn’t know the scope of my problem.  They showed unconditional love. 

  One night, at a friend’s house, I consumed a large amount of alcohol and prescription drugs.  A short time later, I was violently sick, and struggling to stay conscious.  My friends took me to urgent care where they did blood tests.  I was scared.  The doctor came back and said my kidneys were in bad shape and I needed to go to the Emergency Room for further evaluation.
​
  I prayed for the first time in a long time.  I told Heavenly Father that if I made it through this, and if he would help me through the de-tox process, I would never drink again. 

Then I called Home.

  My Dad and Brother arrived at the ER a short time after I did.  Explaining to them what I was going through was one of the hardest things I’ve done.  My Dad kindly told me he didn’t judge me and was there to help and support.  They gave me a priesthood blessing, and a short time later I was released from the hospital.

The first week was the hardest.  

​  My family didn’t abandon me, and neither did God.  I attended the LDS church’s 12 step addiction recovery program, and slowly, my mind became clearer.  I know many other people who go through similar experiences suffer relapses, and intense withdrawal symptoms, but I was able to push through and stay clean.  I finally started to find a sense of self-worth through a series of small personal victories and overcoming obstacles.  A year and a half after that emergency room visit, I was able to get married and start a family, and now, almost nine years since my overdose, I have a wife and two amazing children.  Sure, I still crave a drink now and again, but what I have is worth so much more.  My family and other personal connections make it so easy to say no to the cravings. 

   ……. You don’t get any of that background from my Facebook profile.

We all have demons.  

​  Some demons are readily visible, while others are easily hidden from the public eye.  Some of us have conquered, while others are rising from defeat after defeat.  Often, those among us who seem to have the most perfect lives are dealing with the direst challenges.

  I firmly believe that we are children of God, and that he put us where we are to influence and be influenced by everyone around us.  Our individual worth is tied to our divine heritage.  We are all equal in the sight of Heaven.  I also believe that our sense of self worth is directly tied to our knowledge of our divine origin, and to our response to our unique trials.

   As we overcome obstacles, we gain confidence.  As we gain confidence, we overcome greater obstacles, and the pattern continues until we can start reaching out to help other people overcome their trials.  
  Our experiences give us the ability to relate to others.  If we can identify people within our circle of influence that may share some of the same challenges that we have conquered, we are in a place to help them in their battles, and we may find that they are uniquely qualified to help us with a battle of our own.

  And now a brief word to the Joneses, whoever and wherever you are.  I have a feeling maybe sometimes, it’s hard just keeping up with yourselves...

            Guns and Bunnies
                                                                (It’s not what you think)

I’m a gun guy.  I won’t apologize for being a gun guy, and I’m raising my boys to be gun guys.  I’m also raising them to be decent human beings.

  Selling a house when you have two small children is a terrible inconvenience.  It’s nearly impossible to keep the house in show condition, and drastic measures are necessary to secure the cooperation of the resident offspring.

                                     My boys wanted a bunny
  Connor (5) and Owen (3) had been campaigning aggressively for a pet.  In a moment of weakness and frustration with the state of disarray of our house, I proposed a deal.. If they could keep the house clean enough for it to sell, we’d get a pet bunny when we moved to our new house.  The house sold.

                                              Enter Hider
  Hider is a Lop Eared Dutch rabbit.  He has big eyes and floppy ears.  He likes to be petted, and is gentle.  Hider is easy to love, and quickly weaseled his way into our hearts.  The boys do a great job feeding him.  Last week, something changed.  Hider seemed lethargic, and his head was cocked to the extreme left.  He would lose his balance and spin around, not stopping until we grabbed him to steady him.  The Vet called it “Head Tilt”, prescribed an anti-biotic, and said he may or may not get better.  I’m a pretty stoic fellow, but I cried for that stupid rabbit and hated the thought of him not making it. 

                                           Convalescence
  Connor and Owen were perfect little caregivers.  Connor would hold Hiders water bottle so he could get a drink, and made sure he had food every morning before school.  When Hider would spin out of balance, Connor would comfort him gently until he calmed down.  Connor stayed up at night with his little bunny.  Hider is improving, and we are optimistic he will recover.

                                                   Guns
  There have been unspeakable tragedies destroying the lives of families across our nation and sparking an intense debate about our right to bear arms.  Well meaning and sincere people on both sides of the ideological divide cling to partisan rhetoric.  The Far Left would have every gun confiscated, while the Far Right seems to think it appropriate to “open carry” their AR-15 in Wal Mart.  Both the Right, Left, and Middle want the same thing.. safety for their children. 
I propose for a moment we table the gun debate and focus on something else.

                Building Connections, and Fostering Empathy
  We live in a virtual world.  Our interactions with friends and family often consist of photo sharing and emojis.  Arguments become deeply personal when face to face conversation is no longer required as we tend to objectify who we interact with online.  Gaming can offer an entire lifestyle as players are able to build entire worlds and share them with “avatars” of their friends, and shooter games allow violent acts to be planned and committed by anybody feeling the need to “shoot somebody”.  Slowly, some among us, lose touch.  Perhaps those who are predisposed to be socially awkward, or are bullied and harassed allow themselves to continue to withdraw from genuine connection.  Empathy fades as interactions are artificial.  There is no cause to exercise real emotion, or opportunity to invest in relationships.  Too many of the people we, and our children associate with are on this path of isolation.  Can we teach our children to bring back those who isolate themselves?

                                      The Bunny Connection
  I’ve hunted rabbits.  I’ve had fun and memorable times chasing jack rabbits through sage brush blasting away with a .22 pistol, and never felt a bit guilty.
  The thought of putting our bunny down made me sick.  He was my little friend.  He trusted me, I fed him, took care of him, and he would come up and want me to pet him.  I couldn’t kill a friend.  Hider and I had a connection.  Hider and my kids had a connection.  My kids were worried about how Hider felt.  They were sad because he could be in pain.  My children and I experienced empathy.

                 Change the World One Interaction at a Time
   I believe that we all know those who are experiencing isolation, or are the ones feeling isolated.  If we make a conscious effort to be kind to those around us, if we try to show empathy, and instill empathy in our children, we just might defuse an attack before it has a chance to start.

  If you feel you are having a hard time developing empathy, or the ability to connect to others in yourself or your children, bring them to meet my little friend Hider. 
​