Marriage

If you think about it Marriage is Honestly not a civil ceremony given validity by a church or a religious ceremony validated by the government. Both the religious community and civil government are acknowledging what is already there. That bond, that commitment between wayward souls that by happenstance found each other. It is a pledge by different people to go the same path, to make the same journey, to put no others before their mate.

Civilian casualties of war

As the media keeps telling us, many civilians have lost their lives in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. People are rightly upset over these losses. I ask you to put some Honest thought on the subject though.

Ask yourself how many civilians were willfully killed in the following conflicts:
- World War I
- World War II
- Korean War (1950-1953)
- Vietnam War
- The Gulf War
- Bosnian Civil War
- Rwanda

If you were never outraged by the civilian losses during these wars, if you never yelled in moral angst, if you never thought about the six figure casualty statistics resulting from the dropping of two atom bombs on Japan: What is your problem? Why are you speaking up now? Why don't you go against war itself? Don't be short sighted. Look at the real cost of war and understand that while horrific, the civilian deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan are tiny compared to other conflicts let alone all of them together.

Orphans of the Wars

I read an interesting article (Orphans) today regarding a new realization about the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Basically, due to the high number of older and married soldiers (Let's not forget the National Guard & Reserve soldiers that are losing their lives) there is a higher percentage of children losing parents. Whether it is a mother or a father, losing one's parent is a traumatic event.

The next time you think about the lives that are lost due to war take an Honest moment to consider how you would explain not only the death of a parent to a child, but also why there parent died.

Giving to Charities during the holidays, is it really a good thing?

Well, it is December. The time of Christmas is upon us. During this month many charities receive an influx of donations that finances their activities for the remainder of the year. What does all the giving mean though? What does it mean that people do not tend to give as much during the rest of the year? Here is some Honest thoughts about this trend.

First we must look at why people give specifically during the holidays more so than at other times of the year. In the commercial society that we currently have the holidays have been transformed into one massive series of gift exchanging. Give, give, give to others. Hence the massive push by Charities to collect funds during the holidays. But do we give from a sense of generosity or do we give from a sense of obligation?

Here's a proposition for you, many people give during the holidays, and not during any other time of the year, because they feel guilty about not giving of themselves at any other time. "Giving is the right thing to do," translates into, "You have so much and yet you have given nothing to the unfortunate." "Giving is what God wants of you," becomes, "You soul is in trouble if you do not give." Guilt should not be the motivator, but it is.

Here is a thought, why not give through out the entire year. You don't have to give large sums of money in order to make a difference. Give time, energy, effort. Pick up trash in a neighborhood not your own. Volunteer at the after school program. Spend some time reading to the elderly. Be a big sister or big brother. Just be nice to strangers. Odd concepts, but just think how much good change could come about by taking the time to improve the lives of others, and maybe your own.

Let us not forget those that came before!

September 11, 2001 is the new date that every child of the United States will learn in his or her history lesson. Focus on recent history should not eclipse the Events of the past. Everyone should consider taking a moment of Honest Reflection of the events that shaped the nation lest we forget our past and repeat mistakes in the future.

September 11th, 2001 was preceded by December 7th, 1941. On this day that Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and the United States was attacked by the nation of Japan. Many people lost their lives from both the United States military and that of Japan. Civilians as well lost their lives because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

On this day let us remember their deaths, but more importantly let us remember their lives. Their families that they helped grow, that continued after their passing are not the only lives that they touched. These were our fathers and sons, our brothers and friends, our neighbors and our strangers. They could have simply been that one person that we passed on the street that was smiling.

War has cost for everyone and everything. Ask yourself what might have been if all of the lives taken by war were not lost. What could the world have gained? Take a moment to reflect on the full cost of war.

Relating to a Soldier

Over the past few days I have sat through multiple briefings regarding soldiers readjusting to life after their tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. These are briefings are designed by the Army in order to help soldiers get back into their lives. At least that is the party line, here is some Honest Talk:

The program that the military is currently running is only a block checking device that they use to say: See, we care! We have done our part!

Unfortunately, most of the people that give these briefs have not deployed themselves, and have no true concept of what the soldiers have gone through. This causes a lack of trust between the soldier and the briefer. Without trust true communication will not occur. If communication does not occur than those that need help will go undiscovered and untreated.

To truly help our soldiers readjust to life in polite society, what the military needs is to have other veterans give their briefs. If they have "been there", the belief will be that the information that they convey is true.

50,000+ word Novel during the month of November 2004. :-) 

50,000+ Words during the month of November

With a lot of support from my family and friends I was able to write 110 pages worth of fictionalized accounts of deployed soldiers. Names and some facts were changed, but their story will be told.