It's a Privilige

“Eat your food!  Think of all the starving kids in Africa…”

  I grew up most of my childhood thinking all the kids in Africa were starving. 
I had a friend spend a couple of years in Africa.  Guess what several of the African parents he associated with would tell their kids who were picky eaters… “Eat your food! There are starving kids in America!” 
True story.

In every walk of life, parents are trying to teach their children to appreciate what they have.

E Pluribus What?

  I’ve seen a lot in the news of late about inequality.  There has been debate about the propriety of teaching Critical Race Theory in public schools.  I’ve also seen resentment growing between people living in different income brackets.  Economic and racial concerns creating schisms in the nation whose motto E Pluribus Unum means “out of many.. One”.
  I have a few thoughts to share on these issues.  I certainly don’t have the answers to all of the Worlds problems.  I remind you that I’m a college dropout.  I’ve got a masters degree from the school of hard knocks.  So, take my observations for what they are.. the ramblings of an underqualified, overly verbose blue collar dude.

My Race Theory

  Knowledge is power.  Ignorance is weakness.  Empathy heals.  Racism is evil. 
  Anything that can be done to squash it is a noble and worthwhile undertaking, so long as the goal really is to eliminate racism, and encourage empathy and understanding.
  A lot of attention is being given to the debate over whether Critical Race Theory should be taught in schools.
  I once had a high school science teacher named Mr. Litizette.  I lived in a small deeply religious community, and Mr. Lit was tasked with teaching a bunch of church kids the theory of evolution.  As he started the section on evolution, he prefaced by stating the following: “I know most of you have been taught that the theory of evolution goes against your religious teachings.  I don’t want to do anything to damage or contradict your faith.  I just want you to be able to understand what this theory is, recognizing it as only a theory, and to be able to discuss it intelligently.”  He proceeded to spend the next week teaching evolution.  I learned a ton, and my faith remained intact. 
  I am quite certain that Critical Race Theory does not contradict my religious teachings.  I simply want to illustrate the respect shown by an educator tasked with teaching something he knew could be sensitive to multiple groups of people.
  I think everybody in our country would benefit greatly from gaining a better understanding of where we’re all coming from, and the things in our history (good and bad) that have gotten us to where we are. 

Safe Spaces

  Safe spaces were a big deal a year or two ago.  If we’re going to be addressing difficult topics, I firmly believe such discussions and lessons need to be done in “safe” spaces.  Kids need to be able to talk about questions and feelings in a way that they don’t feel embarrassed or attacked for having questions. 
​  I also believe that history is history.  Instead of blaming members of todays generation for problems of past years, lets help todays generation overcome and solve the problems we have fought for so long by forging genuine respectful loving friendships and nurturing understanding.

Privilege

  Every living person on this planet, regardless of race/gender/class, has a better life than somebody else.  They also have it worse than somebody else.  That’s the human condition.  I’ve met people who lived scarily below the poverty level who were the happiest people I’ve had the pleasure of associating with.  Conversely, I’ve known some incredibly wealthy people who live shallow, hollow, meaningless lives.
  Literally every single person alive right now, in the eyes of an envious neighbor, is viewed as privileged.  We are all privileged.  We are all blessed with talents and abilities.   We are all entitled to create joy in our existence.  As we find joy in our lives, we in turn try to bring joy to the lives of others, regardless of their relation on the socio-economic scale.
Here’s the religious church kid ending..

It doesn’t matter

  We are all children of a loving Father in Heaven.  He loves us each the same.  He allows each of us to be born into different circumstances, to learn, grow, and to become better. He’s rooting for our success.  He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for the sins of the world, and to be resurrected, allowing all of us to be able to return to heaven after this life.  If we build a relationship with the Savior, and rely on him, each of us can be healed from all of our infirmities and inequalities. 
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In the meantime… If you have any ideas on how to get my picky kid to eat his dinner, I’m open for suggestions.