There are many at this time in our country dissatisfied and frightened by the apparent lack of ethics in our political arena. I have even heard commentators use the expression “Our Founding Fathers must be rolling over in their graves.” If I was a Founding Father, I cetainly would be rolling over.

If you look at our country as a large tree with deep roots, which represent the Constitution, then the branches of the tree are the various elements of the government….and at the top of the tree sits the President of the United States. The military, who from what I understand are required to read the Constitution on an annual basis, are the ones defending the Constitution, the roots of the tree. When people hear statements on the news like one coming out of Illinois the other day that said people of that state will be able to bear arms, but maybe only if they first purchase a million dollar insurance policy to do so, then the Constitution is being threatened. The Second Amendment was not written to give people a chance to go hunting….it was written so that the folks can defend themselves against tyranny. Tryanny is, for example, when only the rich can afford an insurance policy to have the right to bear arms!

Lobbying is not American. It is not a part of the Constitution. It is using the money from special interest groups to influence senators and congressmen….creating an unequal playing field….once again, not American. One can bend and weave all they want, but at the end of the day I think most Americans know what this country is supposed to truly stand for….and that’s why they are becoming so upset.

What is the answer? Perhaps all of us who haven’t done so should pull out a copy of the Constitution, read it, and see if their elected officials are following it. If not, then we should demand more…more of our officials, and more from ourselves. If we just sit back and act helpless, then we deserve what we get. We are where we are not because enough people are involved and care….it’s because not enough people are involved or care. And why is that so? Because we’ve become lazy….we are a country that eats too much, drinks too much, and chases after material goods beyond our reach. Time to tighten the belts, put down the drink, and get our house in order.

The American Dream is still alive and well….just hidden under masses of neglect and carelessness. The American Dream is a concept….written by the hand of man through the breath of God. We must demand that it be kept alive, and that all of us…elected officials, government, and the person on the street, vow to uphold it. And those who don’t…well, maybe they should buy a boat and go live on an island somewhere….preferably far far away from the coastlines of the United States.

Red, White and Blue,

Jennifer Avalon

© 2009 Jennifer Avalon

 

I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine where she said to me, “Jennifer, I think we all know right from wrong.” The more I got to thinking about the subject, the more complicated it became. Surely, everyone knows what’s right, or what’s wrong….it all rolls along quite easily until you interject opinion and perception.

Abortion, politics, religion, foreign policy, financial matters, how to raise children, education, social programs, life and death, the death penalty, etc. etc….these are just a few of the subjects where right and wrong, and what is considered a sin in our society, can wave the geiger counter needle all over the spectrum. When one interjects their beliefs on the subject, that too can make the answer of right and wrong quite hazy. If two people have opposing points of view on a serious issue, if both believe they are right, then who’s wrong?

Why am I mentioning all of this? Take a look at the newspapers, and media in general…society has turned Sin into perception. The daily headlines constantly make us all voice an opinion on what’s right before our very eyes. The Iraq war, women having octuplets, the Stimulus Package, and Bernie Madoff….where do each one of us come down on these matters? And at what point do we stretch the line of Sin so far that Sin ceases to exist?

As the old saying goes, “If it feels so right, how can it be wrong?” What’s strange about this statement, for me, is if we as human beings can do whatever we want, then we should be able to eat, drink, drug, sleep, spend, indulge…as much as our hearts desire, without any consequences. If you believe that, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn I want to sell you!!

So can we ask ourselves, are we at the point or are we approaching the point, where the word Sin is nothing more than someone else’s opinion we disagree with? Are we on the road of erasing the word “Wrong” from the public square? I hope not. As we live in an imperfect world, perception should never be looked upon as perfection. Disagreement and dissent are fine in a free society….but when we blur the lines of law, we are left with a book of empty pages to live by.

May Justice Prevail,

Jennifer Avalon

© 2009 Jennifer Avalon

If ever America, Europe, Asia or the World were to rediscover what they are, and why they exist, no better year to start than 2009. This is the year many of us will go back to the drawing board, find out what’s working, and what needs improvement.

Within the past year, along with the financial crisis, many have lost jobs and some their life savings. We have been shown just how badly mankind can screw things up. We have two choices…give up, or rebuild. For lack of a better title, this is the Age of Rediscoveries. We have to go back to square one, examine who we are, what we want to do, and where we want to go. 2009 is the year we rediscover our purpose.

Decades from now people will look back at this time to see how we handled this juncture in the road of humanity. Did we buckle? Did we make it worse? Or, did we get it right? For now, the problems seem many, but I believe we will come back stronger and better than ever, as a society. We are more than money, we are more than materialism, we are Children of God. We always get into trouble when we forget that.

The past few decades the family structure has been disintegrating. Parents and their children couldn’t get far enough away from each other. Family began to feel like a forgotten concept. All of that came to a grinding halt in 2008. We started to realize we needed each other more than we thought. Like the generations before us, Family is re-emerging as the center of our daily lives. I know, some have troubles with loved ones…but if a family is strong, they usually can be worked out. A strong family starts to work like a governing body that can right wrongs, and heal wounds. Where did we ever think that we have to reinvent this wheel?

The Age of Rediscoveries is upon us. It falls to each individual to lift up and rise. The soul is not materialistic…all it needs is belief, love, and faith, and it will rise. Past generations with far more complex problems than us have come back strong, so why can’t we? We can regain our purpose, examine where our society went astray, and implement conditions and guidelines to decrease the risk of this ever happening again.

2009! the journey begins,

Jennifer Avalon

© 2009 Jennifer Avalon