Honesty??

I know this its totally random, but I was just typing as things were popping in my inattentive brain.... so, consume a few thousand milligrams of caffeine, sit down and enjoy.

I received an e-mail by a friend with the book that she is hoping to get published. The e-mail so nicely said "please be honest."  These three simple words that are used by untold number of people daily made me think.... should we always be honest, I mean totally, 100% down-to-the-bone honest? Is telling a little white lie wrong? Is omission of the truth not being honest? We have had the concept of "honesty is the best policy" drilled into our heads since we were little, as if they were some type of safety plan or details to some mission that we must memorize. With stories of Pinocchio and his nose getting insanely large and that our pants will catch on fire if we lie, it is no wonder that many of us has issues with honesty.

I would argue that total honesty in every context and in every situation isn't required and in fact, could do more harm than good. A child telling someone that they have a huge nose or a person telling a bride that their dress is ugly isn't going to do anything productive. We have all experienced a child saying something towards us that has upset us. But, they were being honest.. so, they did the right thing, correct? Are we in fact helping our children when we tell them to always tell the truth? Developmentally, young children don't have the cognitive abilities to be able to distinguish when should a person tell the truth, or tell a little white lie- so do we just allow them to continue insulting people, saying sorry and continue on our way.. all the while smirking and saying in their head “I have been thinking that for years.” Or even worse, scolding the child afterward will only create confusion for the child.... on one hand we are suppose to ALWAYS tell the truth, but when I do, I get in trouble.

For adults, we all call into work “sick” when in fact, we just don't feel like going to work or have some other important event that we need to go to, but it really wouldn't be an excuse to miss work or telling a person that you are busy when they invited you to some sort of event that you really don't want to go to (perhaps, using work as an excuse). This time of the year, there are always people around malls or your local shopping center, asking for donations to this or that charity.... and you just smile and say “sorry, I don't have any cash” when in fact, you just don't want to deal with it.

Marriage equality signatures.

Marriage Equality Kentucky begins collecting pro-gay marriage signatures http://networkedblogs.com/p7647444

Dont ask, dont tell

We need to repeal Dont ask, dont tell. Please take the time to go to http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/RepealDADT.

Gay Exorcism

A pastor in Stamford, Conn. is defending her usage of "gay exorcisms." "Manifested Glory Ministries is not against homosexuality. We do not hate them. We do not come up against them. We do just not believe in their lifestyle," stated McKinney- the pastor. Just because someone says they do not hate (insert whatever here) does not mean they love them; the absence of hate is not love. As many who have worked with young members of the GLBTQI community can attest, that it is common (especially those who are religious, have family/friends/loved ones or live in a community that are religion/un-informed) that they often "wish to go straight. They just want to be like everyone else, they want to be loved and accepted for who they are. They hear the negative comments that are made by even those who they love more than anything. People who have not been in those shoes cannot even begin to imagine the hurt and sorrow the person goes through. Having your mother, the one person who is supposed to be there for you- no matter what, the one person that endured the pain of delivery, the one person that is supposed to have such a deep bond with you- say that your lifestyle is wrong, immoral, and that you will go to hell.
First, we had to worry about being called mental- because until 1973, homosexuality was considered a psychiatric disorder by the DSM-3. Now, we have to worry about being called possessed. I guess now, people will look around- to see if someone’s head is spinning around and they are levitating in order to determine their sexual orientation.
It is no wonder there is such hatred in this world when you have people preaching that a group or individual is immoral, destined to go to hell, for whatever reason. ” Unknown to you they will be listening as you echo "amen" and that will soon silence their prayers. Their prayers to God for understanding and acceptance and for your love but your hatred and fear and ignorance of the word gay, will silence those prayers. So, before you echo "amen" in your home and place of worship. Think. Think and remember a child is listening.”—M. Griffith

100th Day

Today, is Obama's 100th day in office. President Obama has signed legislation which gives four million more children access to health care, created equality by making it illegal for men and women to be paid differently for the same job and by changing our foreign policy by banning torture and ordering Gitmo to close, created plans to aide in the economy by creating a recovery plan that makes critical investments in our infrastructure and creates/saves more than three million jobs, initiated a plan to help the US auto industry, created a housing pal to stem the foreclosures, and took many steps to get credit flowing again to consumers and businesses. He has also lifted restrictions on stem cell research, enacted reforms that limit lobbyist influence and increase government transparency. Additionally, setting a date to withdraw combat troops from Iraq, and working with our allies in the international community to combat terrorism and address the global financial crisis.

A recent AP poll shows that there are now more American's now believe that this country is heading in the right direction, than those who believe we are headed in the wrong direction in 5 years.

Iowa

The first same-sex marriage was performed today between Melisa Keeton and Shelley Wolfe. The legalization of same-sex marriage in Iowa is so progressive because it is the first state that is not in the "liberal coast." Hopefully, more and more states will reconize that marriage is an institution of love. Contrary to what many says, marriage is defined by humankind, not by God. It wasn't until the 9/10 century that the church even got involved with marriage. Before then it was seen more of a business transation.