Do You Believe In God? How About Climate Change? Does It Matter?

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Monday June 06, 2011 · 5:20 AM PDT

2011/06/06 · 05:20

Dear Fellow Earth Inhabitants,

I am writing this open letter to everyone on Earth in behalf of my children and one day maybe my grandchildren. Please hear me out with what I am about to say.

Some people believe in god and some do not. Some people use certain “miracles” or stories of miracles as their proof that god does exist. Others who don’t believe in god say look at Greek mythology… they used gods as a way of explaining what they could not because they lacked the science at the time to explain simple things such as why the sun rose and set every day. Other people believe, because if there really is a god, they don’t want to get to the pearly gates of heaven and go “Oops, I guess I should have believed!” So, in essence they cover their butts. I like to think of those people as hedging their bets.

Here is my question for you fellow earth dwellers – do you believe in climate change or not? Either way does it really matter?

I know there are confusing arguments to support both sides. Once you allow politics to enter the equation it becomes even more confusing. Just this past year some have said there is evidence that NASA has been faking statistics of the sea levels rising. Others are saying watch out, places like Florida and New York City will be under water by 2100. With all the conflicting information it is really hard to know what to believe.

Let me tell you what happens in my house every hurricane season. My husband Jody and I have this argument whenever there is a hurricane heading toward Florida. I always say let’s just put up the hurricane shutters to be safe and he always says lets just wait and see what happens. I don’t like to wait until the last minute to have to rush and try and protect the house and Jody would rather wait, because what if it turns at the last minute and heads in another direction, then we’ve wasted all that time and energy for nothing. I see where he is coming from, but I guess it is a question of being proactive or reactive.

So here is an idea… why not hedge our bets and cover our collective butts here on earth. What I mean is, why not prepare for the worst and hope for the best. What if we were proactive and recycled all of our junk, traded in all of our SUVs for hybrids, ate less meat and just overall tried our darnedest to be more responsible with the earth and the resources we have? What’s the worst that can happen? I won't be around in 2100 (I'd be 128 years old). But what if in 2100 we find that we did all of these earth friendly things and it didn’t make a damn bit of difference – will it have hurt our kids or our grandkids? It may have just taken a little extra time and energy but that's about it. But what if we just wait and see? If we don't do anything, we may very well be at those pearly gates in 2100, looking down on our children and our grandchildren saying “Oops! I guess I should have believed!”

Thanks for listening.

From,

Me and all of our future generations!

What Brings Us To Blogging?

FreeToBeHeard

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Sunday June 05, 2011 · 12:14 PM PDT

2011/06/05 · 12:14

What brings people to start a blog? What makes me think that someone out there cares what I have to say? Am I that full of myself that I really think people want to spend even two minutes of their day reading what might be going through my mind, much less follow my ranting? Just who am I and who cares what I think?

I was once like plenty of others, just a kid in college being inspired with all sorts of great ideas. I was young and open minded and believed in things like freedom and democracy. I was told if I went to the polls on Election Day and voted my conscience that my vote would count and my opinion would be heard. I said I was young and open minded, but I guess it was more like I was a kid and gullible. I actually thought if I voted for someone and put them into a government position, that it was their job to do what I wanted them to do.

Then, as I got older, got married and had children I realized unfortunately that was not how life and politics worked. First of all, the person I voted for didn't always win. Then there were the times that I didn't get the person I voted for. My candidate might have won, but they kept letting me down. Every politician makes the same promises to fix education, fix healthcare and fix a slew of other issues and make America better than it was before. These politicians promise us the world but then they get into office. I now realize no one knows how hard it is to make all these changes until they get to Washington. I think once they get there they find out the realities of the system. I think the reality is that the system is broken.

The system hasn't worked in a very long time. Think about it. We have the United States Constitution that was written more than 200 years ago. A lot has changed in the past 20 years, much less the past 200 years. We live in a time of instant information yet we are following an outline for government that was written 70 years before the even the pony express existed. To say we live in a different world now than when the constitution was written is an enormous understatement to say the least.

Also, you can't tell me politicians have our best interest at heart when they continue to do things like cut funding for things such as education. Education is something we should be dumping money into any way we can. Educating kids is the only way we will survive as a country and year after year politicians are screwing teachers left and right and not raising the standards of education, they are dumbing things down so that more kids can pass. So what can I do? I volunteer at my children's school. That doesn't help hire more teachers. I donate supplies. But when teachers don't even have enough computer paper to print out tests anyone can see there is something really wrong.

So here I am an American citizen and I am frustrated with American government. I'm sick of the fighting back and forth, sick of how everyone is so split down party lines that no one can see past Republican and Democrat and simply do what is best for Americans and our country as a whole. And, education is just one example of how politicians are not looking out for us. So, how do I get my point across? How can I remind politicians of what is important? You know all those hard working people who barely have enough time to spend with their families? How do they have time get done what they need to in their everyday lives and have the time to get there needs heard by a politician. We all have the right to be heard. I think that politicians need to hear us. Not just shake our hand at a rally, sympathize with our stories and then keep on going to win an election. I mean really be heard. Aren't we are sick of what they are doing to us? Can we just say enough and refuse to take it anymore. We are a free country... that's what everyone says. But is that freedom getting us where we need to be as a country? How about as human beings?

I want to be heard and I am sure there are plenty of others out there thinking the same thing. We are all feeling helpless and wondering what we can do to change things. So, here I am. Blogging may not be the answer, but I have a right to free speech. I have the right to say what I am thinking. So, why the heck shouldn't I use it? And maybe, just maybe others will want to chime in. Then maybe, if enough of us say it, and we say it loud enough, maybe then Washington will hear it.

Jennifer@freetobeheard.com

What Happens When You Write Your Congressman

FreeToBeHeard

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Sunday June 05, 2011 · 12:09 PM PDT

2011/06/05 · 12:09

Before Congress passed the Healthcare Reform Bill last year, I was trying my best to keep up with the heated debates going on in Washington. I am a busy stay at home mother of two school aged children, so I don't have all day to research the facts and figures that the bill entailed. I watch the news on a regular basis, read the newspaper, read my share of news sites online as well as a few blogs when I get the chance. I wanted to know as much as I could about what was about to be voted on, and I wanted to make sure I took the time to write my congressman and either support the bill or not. Isn't my congressman supposed to be listening to what we the voters want and taking it into account before he heads of and votes of life changing legislation?

So, I did my due diligence and I made my own personal decision on how I felt about the healthcare bill. It wasn't perfect or even close to it. However, I thought that maybe there was enough good stuff in there that would make it worth passing. I'm one of those people who can't just go out and get healthcare on my own because I have a good old preexisting condition. It isn't anything life threatening or even anything that I am getting treatment for at the moment. It is simply something that is more of an annoyance and it is on my medical record. So, when I call any health insurance company they can turn me down for medical insurance and that is the end of it. If I don't get medical insurance with a group through my husband’s job then that's it... I'm simply out of luck. Now here was a new healthcare bill that that made it mandatory for insurance companies to cover everyone, even with preexisting conditions. I felt this is important enough for me to back to help not only myself, but people who were in even worse medical situations. It could save lives. So, I wanted to let my congressman, Mr. Tom Rooney, know I wanted him to support it.

I was not expecting he would listen to just me. He has plenty of constituents here in his district who don't feel like I do. That's fine with me. He needs to do his job, but I wanted to make sure I put in my two cents. Isn't that what you do in America? If you want to be heard, you write your congressman a letter. And now in the age of some of the greatest technology, it is easier than ever. All you have to do is go online, put in your address and the name and contact information comes up for your congressman. It was as simple as that. And, even better, you can just push the link and you can email him from right there. Instant access and it is as easy as can be. So, I sent Congressman Rooney a letter.

The letter wasn't very long, as a matter of fact it was pretty short and too the point. I told him I was in his district and I knew this vote was coming up and I just wanted it to be known I was for the bill passing. I hit send, and off it went to Washington. How much easier could it get? I didn't need an envelope or a stamp! It didn't take days to get there - simply a matter of seconds. I felt like I had done what I was supposed to do. I made an informed decision, and maybe, just maybe someone might read it and make note that someone here in Florida was for the bill. That's all. I didn't expect anything else.

Well, a few hours later I was really excited and surprised to receive an email back from the congressman's office. I didn't think anyone would write me back, so I was excited to know my email was received and my voice was heard. Then I opened the response and read it. It thanked me for my letter to the congressman concerning the healthcare bill. It said he knew I was against the healthcare bill and was aware that this bill was a mistake and he was going to fight it for me! I'm sure my jaw hit the floor. Again, I didn't ever expect a response, but now that I got one back I was furious. I am sure Congressman Rooney, has secretaries and interns that sort and read the mail and have blanket responses they send out. But wait! Did they even read what I wrote? Or did they just see that the subject line read healthcare bill and they just assumed it was another letter against it and added my letter to the tally of people against the bill? And, if that was the case had they done the same to other people's letters as well?

I was so distraught that I even wrote took the time to research this and write to him. I didn't feel like I had been heard, I felt like I had been duped. I really didn't feel any sense of satisfaction from writing my congressman, actually I felt more like I had wasted my time and for what? Is that what most people feel like? Like government is so big, and overwhelming they will never be heard?

I gave up, at least for a while. I didn't bother to write another letter again until a month ago when our government almost shut down because all they could do in Washington was fight each other. They were almost willing to let everything come to a screeching halt, and again make the people of the country suffer because they could not do their jobs. I got online and started writing again. Repeatedly. Just short notes, to Obama, to John Boehner and anyone else I thought might be involved in this mess. Did it help? I'm not so sure it did, but I'm not giving up! I have two children who I am responsible for. I do not want to leave them with this mess of a country to clean up because I didn't take the time or effort to try. Are you willing to hand your children this mess, because we didn't do anything because we didn't know WHAT to do? Let's do something because...

“When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better." - Pauline R. Kezer

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