Why I Like Halloween

You just don't get this kind of excitement out of President's Day.

The most ridiculous picture of the week...

Found this gem on a "why you don't need a flu shot" facebook post.



Okay... seriously.  WHY is she smiling coyly behind her tissue???

I'm sorry, but I certainly don't get all flirty when I'm honking a glob of puss-filled, green snot into a micrometer-thick bit of floppy paper.

Maybe I'm doing it wrong. I should be more like this girl when my sinuses are loaded with enough boogers that they form a black hole and begin to implode. I should make sure I have perfect makeup, and then I'll go up to my husband, maybe do an eyebrow-jiggle or two, sweetly raise a tissue to my nostrils (don't forget to smile!), and then blast a glob of mucus through the living room wall.

Yeah. That's how it should be done.

We Put the "Issues" in Political Issues.

[Warning: Opinions about politics may be present. Those who hate such things (like me), beware.]

Political issues! Gotta love them!

I try to avoid politics. Really, I do. I observe them. I have opinions. But of the 8.63 issues that I have an opinion about, I'll post about maybe 1 of those. Because, let's be honest. Nobody wants a sermon. Political posts on Facebook are, at their core, an originally well-intended attempt at expression that turns into little more than an excuse to argue.

Now, lately, Facebook has been a hotbed for issues. Lots of stuff in the news.

Old news: Snowden reveals to the general populace that our suspicions are correct and Google is in fact, really creepy. Oh, and so is the NSA. But we've known that for years.

New news: Zimmerman isn't guilty of second degree murder.

New-ish-but-not-really-since-it's-been-more-than-2-days news: Supreme Court upholds the overturning of Prop 8, thereby legalizing same-sex marriage in California.

So, in a bout of reckless abandonment, I'm going to post my opinions about ALL of them!!!

1.) The NSA is spying on us.

Yes. We know.

Honestly, I'm pretty sure we've always known. Nobody wanted to actually accuse the NSA of spying on us, because it sounds all conspiracy-theory-esque, so thank you Snowden for forcing it to our attention. But really... if Google can track everything we search and send in an email, and tailor ads to our interests by it, don't you think the government has the same ability?

The real surprise came in finding out they weren't monitoring us ourselves. They're just ripping off Google.

As for whether or not they'd go so far as to use this ability they obviously have, in such a blatantly unethical invasion of privacy... of course they would! They're the government!!! This isn't 1776, and we're not led by idealists. We're led by people who understand acquisition of power, and have no shame lying through their teeth to make us think they're idealists. We all know this. None of us actually believe politicians tell the truth. We trust the system to check them and make sure they hold up their campaign promises (which only sort of works).

Is this right? Is this good?

No. Of course not.

But it is fact, like it or not.

If there was some way to change it, to enforce morality and honesty in the government, I'd be all for that. But realistically speaking, that's not about to happen any time soon. Sorry... that's just the nature of power and government. It gets corrupt over time.

As for what people are doing about the fact that we now have to face it? I'm a bit disappointed, honestly. This was our chance to take a stand on the issue, and there was a bit of a public outcry, but really not much. Most people just sort of shrugged and said, "Yeah. The government is corrupt. We know."

So, essentially - not surprising, but I wish people had done more about it.

Now, moving on...

Zimmerman!!!

Seriously, I'm glad he got acquitted. That was a bout of the most irresponsible journalism I have ever seen, completely villainizing a guy who was defending himself from a violent teenager.

Fact: The news agencies edited his FBI call to make the part where he gave a physical description of the boy into the reason he was going after the boy (ie, making it sound like Zimmerman went after him because he was black).

Fact: The kid drew blood on Zimmerman (on his head, no less) before Zimmerman shot him.

Fact: Killing in self defense is legal in Florida.

Now for the argument that he should have stayed in the car, rather than getting out and following the kid. This all comes back to the question of trusting the authorities to handle the situation.

Quite frankly, they're just not fast enough. In the time it takes a cop to get there, a crime can be committed, people can be killed, and the bad guy can be long gone. Zimmerman was right there, on neighborhood watch, which meant it was his job to take action. Yes, the cops told him to stay in his car and let them handle the situation. Yes, he chose to ignore their advice and went after the kid. But I don't blame him, because the cops just plain can't get there fast enough. It's a simple matter of logistics and lack of teleportation technology that plagues our law enforcement.

Where I do blame law enforcement, is in their attitude of, "No, don't do anything. Let us take care of it," because there are times they just plain can't, and they need to acknowledge that and quit pretending they can arrive on the scene of the crime instantly.

So, in summary - I'm glad Zimmerman got acquitted, since he did nothing illegal and got crucified by irresponsible journalism. Oh, and the journalists that did that can go die in a hole.

Next issue:

Same sex marriage.

Okay, so this one is rife with so many different viewpoints and opinions, that I'm not even going to think about trying to address all of them.

I'm going to address the questions that made me stop and think, and made me decide my stand on the issue.

Question 1: Sticking to the basics - is homosexuality morally wrong?

Well, yes. If you believe in the sanctity of sex, then homosexuality is morally wrong. Incidentally, I'm also a big fan of abstinence before marriage, and fidelity within marriage. I'm not going to get into the justification of this, because it's way off topic, and is a long post in and of itself. Just know, I believe it's wrong, I have good reasons for it (reasons better than, "The Bible says so," which is actually a really weak argument, in my opinion... again, another long and off-topic post I'm not going to write right now), and that's how I'm approaching the premise of this post.

Question 2: In the grand scheme of things, will everyone be judged on this question the same way I will?

I'm going to go with No. Why do I think that? Because so many people grow up being told there is nothing wrong with having sex when you're not married, as long as you love the person. They believe it, honestly and truly. And to hold them to my standard is hypocritical and wrong.

My beliefs on judgment:
1.) It belongs to God.
2.) God takes our upbringing and personal belief system into account. We can't be held responsible for a law we were never given.
3.) "Given," can be defined as something far deeper than, "Those people who have a belief system I don't believe in said so." They have to really know deep down (whether they're willing to admit it or not) that something is wrong before they will be held accountable for it.

Question 3: So, considering that issue, is it okay for me to support a law that forbids something I believe is wrong, even though there are people who truly believe it's just fine?

Essentially, is it okay for me to force my belief system on other people?

I'll give the official "yes or no" on that in a second.

Ultimately, this issue comes down to where I stand. We are told not to judge. We can't read the minds of anyone besides ourselves, so it's impossible to assign severity of sins to them. That's why judgment belongs to God - He understands them, and is the only One who can be completely just and fair.

And, He is also the only one who doesn't have His own slough of sins to deal with.

A good scriptural example of this is from the New Testament, the woman taken in adultery. The big lesson in that one was, "Don't judge." Should we punish her for her sins? Christ responded with, essentially, "Only if you don't have any yourselves."

Homosexualtiy - fine. Not a sin I struggle with. But there are plenty of people who do have that temptation who don't struggle with arrogance. There are plenty who don't struggle with anger.

Don't judge? I get that. I'm not better than them. I'm not worse than them either. We all have our own sins, and things we personally struggle with.

So, going back to the New Testament story, that lesson Christ gave is very clear. Don't think you can pass judgment on people because of their sins. Spend that energy working on your own.

He did not include in that lesson, "And while you're at it, let's make adultery legal."

There's a big difference between not judging people and making the sin legal. If you believe it's a sin, fight it.

One question I saw in the Facebook warring that uses the principle, but flipping it around was, "Should Muslims try to pass legislation that forbids eating of pork?"

My answer to that is if they believe eating pork is a sin, yes.

Now, personally, that question is a little extreme - eating pork is such a minor thing, and I imagine there are plenty of Muslims who don't believe the eating of pork, in and of itself, is actually a sin. In Mormonism we have a similar concept - don't drink coffee.

Is drinking coffee a sin?

No.

Not in and of itself.

If I drank coffee would it be a sin? Well, yes, but putting coffee in my body would not be the sin. The sin would be the defiance of the Word of Wisdom, which specifically forbids drinking coffee.

What's the difference?

The Word of Wisdom was a commandment given to be applicable to this day and age when addictive substances are a HUGE industry, and addictions are a massive problem leading to heartache and destruction of everything from personal lives to whole families to victims who are not remotely related to the consumer of the substance. Alcohol and drugs have never been so readily available as they are today. Consequently, we in the LDS church were instructed to not even touch them. Just don't go there. Certain substances were specifically mentioned, including alcohol, tobacco, and "hot drinks," meaning tea and coffee. This was revealed as a commandment to the LDS church, and is therefore applicable to those who believe its teachings, and [important point] have made a covenant to follow them (which happens at baptism).

So, if someone tried to pass legislation forbidding coffee, I would not support it. I'm not going to drink it, but that doesn't mean I should impose my beliefs about it on someone else.

HA! Same argument!!! See? People are using that very argument to say that even people who believe homosexuality is a sin shouldn't support making same sex marriage illegal.

But see the difference? I don't believe drinking coffee is a sin. I believe defying a commandment from God is a sin which, in my case, can be manifest in drinking coffee.

Going back to Muslims and pork, I imagine a similar scenario and feeling for them. If they believe it is a sin, then yes. They should fight it and try to pass legislation against it. If they believe it is a commandment applicable to their religion, then no.

So, this is where I stand. I believe sexual relations outside of marriage are, in and of themselves, wrong. I believe that sexual relations between the same sex are, in and of themselves, wrong. It's not a commandment just applicable to me. It's as inherently wrong as judging someone for it. It's as inherently wrong as stealing. It's just plain, black and white, inherently wrong.

And so, I stand in a place where I will fight it. I stand for defining marriage as something between a man and a woman. I don't believe in passing judgment on people; I'm not going to name-call, or tell someone they're going to hell, or otherwise "stone" them. But I also do not believe in allowing sin - a sin which is already not legally sanctioned in most states - to become something sanctioned by law. And that is how I stand on this side with a clear conscience, even when people scream that my side is wrong and intolerant, and that I'm forcing my belief system on them. I'm not forcing them to refrain from sexual relations with the same sex. I'm just not making it legally sanctioned.

And I believe in that whole-heartedly.

And thus concludes my expression of opinion about political issues. I promise, I won't do it too often. I just have a lot I haven't said out loud, and the whole point of a blog is express yourself in a form that nobody actually reads, but you secretly hope will make it out there and change the world... right?

Snippet of the Past

The night begins on a high.

There are three of us, all standing in front of the mirror, trying out different shades of lip gloss and passing each others' shirts, shoes, and necklaces between us.

I've lived with these girls for years, and they're the closest thing I've had to sisters. It's been a quiet day of reading, a bit of writing, and a few menial tasks, and now it's time to go into the world. We laugh, and I feel invigorated, packed with energy. I can do anything. I can take on the universe! They will watch me moonwalk across a rainbow before backflipping into an ocean of gummy worms.

I finally settle on a deep red shade of lip gloss. The girl with the highest fashion sense recommended it, and I trust her evaluation. It does go well with the black lace of my top. High boots, and I know my hips look sexy when I walk.

Then it's into the car. Three of us on our way, singing at the top of our lungs, and I can't even begin to care that I'm only hitting half the notes. The other two aren't doing any better by any stretch of the imagination, but we're all singing with utter abandon. I know the words well enough, and the beat is uppity, and suddenly I don't care that I always change the station whenever this song comes on.

We're here.

I jump out of the car, and before I even step through the doors I can hear the music pounding. The dance is just getting under way, and there is still plenty of room on the floor. I spin across the room, making a pit stop at the refreshment table to see how many Red Vines I can cram into my mouth without choking on liccoricey laughter.

A little group of people I know has formed, moving side to side in a little circle. I bound into their midst, but my movements are off. My motions are a little more exuberant than the rest, and it feels out of place. I try to raise the energy of the group and do a crazy spin. They laugh at me, and encourage me, but they don't join in.

The music slows - a love song. It's time for couples dancing. I pull off the floor and take to vigilantly guarding the refreshment table. My eyes rove across the crowd, hoping someone will give me the chance to participate. I could ask someone, maybe a close friend with whom I know I can carry on a conversation for the short duration of the dance. Three minutes isn't fast enough to strike up a conversation out of nowhere, so if I already know the person, we'll already have some ground for small talk.

No... not him. He's already dancing. Pity. We can jabber about nothing in any situation.

Not him either. He's handsome as all get out, and not dancing, but I have no idea what I would even begin to say. Like I said, three minutes with nothing to start from is a flawless recipe for awkward casserole.

I sway a little - I still want to be dancing. But, well... I'm pretty sure it looks weird, me standing like that, dancing with some imaginary partner. So I stop. But then again, I'm sure it looks weird me just standing there, giving the unseeing crowd puppy eyes in hopes that someone will take pity on me and ask me to dance.

I scan the crowd for my girls. One is missing - I have no idea where she is. The other is wrapped around some boy she probably met at the beginning of that song, encouraging him to spin her and do a lift. He does, and she vaults into the air... so he's a dancer too.

The song ends, and the thudding beat begins again. The group I danced with before has dissolved, so I stay by the refreshment table, absently nibbling a cookie while I scan the crowd for a group with people I know. The crowd has grown and the floor is completely full. I have a hard time even seeing distinct clusters, let alone groups that include those I know.

I can feel myself drifting as I begin to wander the floor.

There's someone. I only know two people in that group of ten, but the two I know won't give me weird looks for suddenly joining them.

I sway my hips and scoop my shoulders - it probably looks pretty good if anyone can see it. The group is talking, but I'm having a hard time following the conversation - it's about someone I've never even heard of. The two people I know seem to have heard of him, though. They make a snarky comment about his commitment issues, and the group bursts out laughing. I smile and laugh too - I can probably imagine the context that makes that comment funny. That guy must have done a number on a few of those girls.

I'm alright at this. I can mimic their emotions well enough not to make them wonder why I'm even there. But, when the song ends, it's off through the cacophony of chattering voices to find a conversation I might be able to say something in.

I find myself outside. The air is cool, and the music is a quiet thudding in the background. That gentle thud is a peaceful backdrop to the chirping of crickets and the occasional car that zooms past. I sit in the grass and lean back, closing my eyes. It's only a few moments before I check my watch.

Two hours. There are still two hours left before the dance is over. I might be able to convince my girls it's time to go half an hour early, but there's no way they'd want to leave now.

And yet, all I can think about is my quiet room. I want a book, or maybe a movie... something that will rejuvenate me. Somehow, that short time in the dance has left me tired, and I know I need a recharge. Maybe the girls can ride home with another friend - lots of people from our complex are there at the dance, and one of those girls has the super power of being able to make a friend out of anyone, especially if that someone is a boy. Then I can go curl up with a book - ooh! Or maybe even my notebook. I can work on my story. And I can stop at Dairy Queen on the way home and pick up a banana cream pie Blizzard.

I smile at the thought and check my watch again.

It's been two and a half minutes.

I venture back into the dance to find a friend - any friend - and ask them to take my girls home. The floor is swarming with hundreds of bodies, all swaying and writhing in time to the beat. I project a forcefield-like shield of unseeing toward them. I'm examining individual faces in my search, but my blinders block out the masses. I can feel them pressing against my shield, bending it and threatening to break through, but I'm determined to keep searching.

There. There's a good one.

He'll be here for a while, he has a big car, and he's good friends with my girls. A few brief minutes of conversation confirms that he has room for two more girls, and I'm off to find them.

I tell them I'm not feeling well - tired isn't well, after all. They're both a little surprised; I was so energetic not an hour before. But then, the surprise disappears, and they smile. They know me better than that. One tries to encourage me to stay - how am I ever going to meet the love of my life if I hide out in my room all the time?

I feel a little guilty - I know she's at least a little right. I'm as single as a bobwhite quail whose mate got too close to the rotors of a helicopter, and I'm not about to advance any sort of social status by bailing a third of the way through the dance. But, on the other hand, I'm almost proud of myself for having made it this far. I got out. I got seen. I did as much as I could, and now it's time to rest.

I bid them farewell and disappear into my car. The quiet presses on my head, but I'm too mentally shredded to turn on the radio. I've had enough music for one night.

As I get near my home, the story starts to tell itself. I can barely wait to grab my notebook! My mind wraps around my characters, grasping onto their relationships and their struggles, and I feel myself relax. I walk through the door and settle on the couch, pen in hand, notebook on my lap. A smile creeps along my face, developing slowly into a full-fledged grin as I scribble furiously, throwing dialog between the people that possess the page.

Two hours later, my girls come home. I greet them with a smile, then move back to my bedroom where I can continue writing. I know it'll be 3:00 AM or later before my brain convinces my characters their writer needs sleep more than they need to talk to each other, but for now, I'm surrounded in happy peace.