Ramblings

What is it about reality TV that is so interesting? I mean really why do we waste our time watching a glorified talent show or see who is going to be sleeping with who in order to not get kicked off the island? It is this kind of rot that makes us so popular throughout the world, but worse contributes to the lack of values and norms in our society. 

It used to be that married couples in sitcoms could not even be seen sleeping in the same bed. Now it is common to see unmarried people simulating or potentially even having (in the case of so called reality shows) sex beneath the covers. We are meant to believe that this is the norm for adolescents, late adolescents and young adults. 

Now I work with youth and young adults, and I am not naive enough to believe that some of them are not sexually active. Come to think of it I bet more than I would like to admit are sexually active, but I know from experience that reality TV shows and sitcoms show behavior that is far from the norm. 

Just tonight I was having a chat with several young men who go to my church. We were planning an issue night for our struggling to form youth group on relationships. One of the seniors who is helping me out brought up several interesting things. He said that most of his friends were not cut out of the same mold that the media chooses to portray. Both girls and guys that he chose to hang out with were nothing like the shallow self absorbed yahoos we get to see on television. 

I found this conversation very encouraging. Somewhere along the lines the morals and values he has been taught by his Faith and family had gotten through, and he seemed to be almost upset that the media portrayed he and his peers in such a negative way. I know that eventually some of you who do not meet the media charicature  of a teenager or youth will stumble onto this blog. I want to encourage you to fight the media. Do not let them paint you as the immoral disrespectful idiots they make you out to be. Also, just because you see that behavior on TV, do not believe it is normal and therefore acceptable. Look into your heart and listen to that whisper (or yell) that you may hearing. Stand up to these profit hungry chumps and turn the TV off for an hour or two a week. Use that time to read a book.

Take the time to educate yourself beyond what you hear in the class room and see on TV. There is an amazing world of truth and adventure out there waiting for you if you can just turn off the crap you are being fed long enough to find it.

Prayers...

Pisio

Opening Try

My wife tells me I need to start doing this, so like a good husband I start. I am not really sure what the modern age's need is to know the thoughts of an anonymous man who they would pass on the streets and not know from Adam, but I do like to write. Maybe my ramblings will one day touch and change a heart, probably not, but who knows.

I guess the title of my blog is a little misleading. My soul is far from deranged. I am rather content with my life, and have everything I need... a roof over my head, food on the table a family and a God who love me... and beer... Well I guess it is not a need, but it sure passes the time a lot better than watching the grass grow. 

Grass grow... maybe. Tomorrow my wife and I will sign the papers for an offer on our first house. You know with all the doom and gloom about the housing market the fact is, if you were not in it just to make a quick buck, but you are in it for the long haul it shouldn't be that disconcerting. Sure there were people who got into bad loans, and bought more house than they could afford. In all honesty I feel no sympathy for them. Personal responsibility is something that my parents ingrained in me when they were raising me. You make a bad choice, you live with the consequences. Live your life honestly within your means, and reap the benefits. A lesson it seems a lot of people need to learn... apparently.

It was kind of funny. When we were talking to the loan lady (a great woman to work with) she asked my wife and I if we wanted to know how much house we could qualify to purchase. I said sure, and she told us. A whopping $235000, if we wanted to go that high. Good thing I had the dad I did, otherwise I might have been tempted to go for a house that was in that price range. In all honesty, I would have loved to, but there is a difference between what my wife and I can afford, and what we could qualify to buy. Anything over $190000, and bye bye all hope of a future. 

It seems that more of my generation needs to know the difference between how we can afford to live, and how we want to live. But the great thing about living in America is that nothing can stop you from achieving how you want to live. If you do not like what you can afford, work harder, earn more and take your income right on up to the next tax bracket. 

Back to my original line of thought though. The current housing crisis is only a bad deal for those who made bad choices getting in above their heads. The lenders, and the buyers made some pretty bad choices, and personally I feel no sympathy, and I am borderline glad. The increasingly socialist trends in the US government to be a nanny to their constituency and bail them out when they make bad choices will allow my wife and I to get an outrageously low interest rate and a house we will make into a home.