Fulness of Times

Racism unfortunately exists. But there is an untold problem about addressing racism with laws. I believe setting up a group (such as race, gender, LGBTQ, etc.) with more protections and rights than other groups sets up increased antagonism towards that group. Many hate laws that are put into place to protect minority groups are well intentioned. But how much good have they really done? While none of us can really understand what others go through, everyone understands--at least to some degree--fear. Terrorists want to stoke fear. Their acts are those of hate. I think anti-racism and hate laws should be reworked to be anti-terror laws. That way they apply to anyone performing any action that causes feelings of fear all the way up to extreme terror in any other person. Acts of racism are acts of terror and anti-terror laws would apply. Homophobic hate crimes would be acts of terror and anti-terror laws would apply. Hate crimes against any member of any faith would also be subject to anti

Have you ever bought a vehicle and, after you bought it, started noticing all the other identical vehicles? Or maybe you fell in love with some outfit, bought it, and then saw others wearing the same thing and you hadn't noticed before? This is perception. The cars were always there. Other people were wearing the same outfit before. The difference is our perception changes.  Our minds are always filtering. There is too much information to process so we subconsciously generalize, distort, and/or delete information. The media is guilty of this as well, particularly strongly biased media outlets like CNN, but I won't go into that in this post. Our perception of "reality" is colored based on our awareness and belief systems.  A couple weeks ago there was an incident of a "noose" in the garage of a NASCAR driver, who happened to be black. Of course there was suddenly a huge outcry of racism. Just about everyone was jumping to the conclusion that someone put the &

My wife and I were talking last week about all the craziness that's been happening, along with the disregard for the rights and liberties of others, the defund the police movement, etc. My answer was to pull out the scriptures. I first read 3 Nephi 7:1-2 which states: And the people were divided one against another; and they did separate one from another into tribes, every man according to his family and his kindred and friends; and thus they did destroy the government of the land. And how did the division happen? We're already becoming increasing divided into "tribes" across the nation. For the Nephites the collapse of their government had its final "nail in the coffin" at the end of 3 Nephi 6 in verses 27-30. 27 Now it came to pass that those judges had many friends and kindreds; and the remainder, yea, even almost all the lawyers and the high priests, did gather themselves together, and unite with the kindreds of those judges who were to be tried accordin

Before I go on, I will say that I do wear a mask when I'm required to do so or when I believe it is more beneficial to wear one than not. There are three instances when you should wear a mask: When there's a threat of illness or infection, like COVID-19, social distancing cannot be maintained, and you expect to be within 6 feet of others for an extended period of time. When you are ill and need to be in public. When you will be around those who are more vulnerable to adverse effects of or complications caused by contracting an illness. Masks are primarily of benefit to others, so you don't share whatever you have. But there is debate about how well they might protect the wearer.   The absolutely most effective means of protection for yourself and others is: Social distancing. Washing hands thoroughly with soap and water frequently throughout the day, or using alcohol-based sanitizer when washing is not available. Don't touch your face, particularly your eyes and nose. T

Racism exists. But, I don't believe it is as big a problem as some news outlets, black evangelists, and certain liberal politicians want you to believe. As I mentioned in another post, culturism is a bigger problem. But the real problem with racism is it has become too subjective. If someone of one skin color gets or feels offended by the comments or actions of another person, whose skin color is different, then the person taking offense might call it racism, when, in fact, the "offender" actually has no prejudicial intent in what they say or do. The "racism" is purely subjective based on the "offended" person.  Of course, those with skin-color other than white might tell you that such offensive words of actions against a white person is not racism. The problem with racism is there is no commonly accepted social definition of what racism is. Even though the dictionary definitions should be accepted and used as what should define racism, we allow too ma

I can understand why some people may want some person's name removed from a building or a statue removed. But, mostly I think too many people are way too sensitive, overly and easily offended, and fail to acknowledge the good that people do. I'm a bit weary of the all the demands to change the name of this or that because the person did something what we find morally offensive now, but we fail to realize or acknowledge the good that person may have done. If schools, governments, organizations, etc. yield to floods of demands to change names, get rid of statues, etc. then everything will be named using letters or numbers. There is nobody who did not do something wrong at some time in their life.  I did like one comment I read and it kind of changed my opinion about the demands for name changes. I can't remember the exact statement but the comment said something like: I'm looking forward to the name-change movement. As we start changing names of things just because somebo

I am not a fan of protests. Lots of people marching or milling about. Chanting. Following  the prompts of some person.  Before you instantly respond with some comment to what I'm about to say, I want you to THINK about what you're thinking and feeling when you read my words. Are you ready? Here I go: I don't like protests. I have no intention of ever joining a protest to march around or mill about, chanting, holding signs or posters. And you're not likely to find me anywhere near the crowd of supporters who may line the streets. So, what are you thinking about in response to my comments? How do they make you feel? Are you already formulating some response? Maybe with the intent to skip the rest of what I am about to write to express yourself, to tell me how I am wrong? I know there are some who have instantly decided what they will or would tell me. I may be told how I'm prejudiced, or racist, biased, or even bigoted. I may be told that I'm not supportive. If yo

If you listen to or watch the news, and all the noise from protesters, you would believe the nation has a problem in every police department, and that most police officers must be guilty of discriminating practices and/or brutality, particularly against minorities and, more specifically, against those with black skin color. The liberals in power hear the supposed majority and aim to do something about it. That is, they aim to make Americans more dependent on the government. Some want to completely disband police departments in exchange for increased funding in social services, schooling, and programs that can make a difference. https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/06/us/what-is-defund-police-trnd/index.html Some just want to defund the police. Certainly better education, jobs, and mental health services can make a difference. But they are bandaids without addressing the real problem, which is the breakdown of the moral compass, the family, and faith in God. And there are some who are taking ste

Anyone who blindly believes everything said by politicians and/or the media needs to get their head out the sand. Supposedly a lot of the restrictions and controls that have been put into place are CDC guidelines. But are they really?   Here is some of the information from the CDC regarding COVID-19 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-spreads.html Please note the above linked page (as of today) was last reviewed April 13, 2020. That's almost 2 months ago.  The first is what we constantly hear from politicians and the media, and it's the reason behind social distancing.  "The virus spreads easily between people" "The virus that causes COVID-19 is spreading very easily and sustainably between people. Information from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic suggest that this virus is spreading more efficiently than influenza, but not as efficiently as measles, which is highly contagious." But here's where we're not getting the