Invisible Children

The organization Invisible children is a charity organization working to end the War in the African country of Uganda. The organization was founded by three teenagers after they traveled to Uganda to make a documentary on... well they didn't really know what it was going to be on. During their trip to Uganda they learned of a War which had been going on for years. They learned of the many atrocities the War brought with it and how it oppressed the civilians in Uganda. They were disgusted by the War and began to wonder how something so terrible could be so unheard of in the United States. While they were in Uganda they met a young boy named Jacob who feared for his life because of the war. The three boys promised Jacob that they would do whatever they could to end the war in Uganda. In 2004 they founded Invisible Children to help fulfill this promise and to reveal the horrors of a hidden war to the public in America.

The Invisible children organization works to end the War in Uganda by attacking the problem on a variety of platforms. They work through media, protection, mobilization, and recovery. They use media such as films, and there website to help make people more aware of the War in Uganda. By making more people aware they can get more people involved and working towards the end of the war. Through mobilization they take a more aggressive approach to spreading the word about the war across the United states. They host international events, go on film and music tours, campaign to take political action, and give presentations to schools and organizations across the country. Through their recovery program they help people directly affected by the War. They invest in education and economic recovery in regions hurt by the War to help promote a lasting peace. The protection program works with regional leaders to help equip endangered communities with radio networks that can be used to warn them of incoming attacks. 

This conflict in Uganda began in 1986 when Yoweri Museveni gained presidency in Uganda. Following his election Alice Lakwena, a member of the northern Ugandan tribe Acholi, formed the Holy Spirit movement. The purpose of the Holy spirit movement was to rebel against the government and overthrow it, Lakwena claimed that she was guided by the Holy Spirit in her actions.When Lakwena was exiled a man named Joseph Kony took control of the movement claiming to be Lakwena's cousin. He changed the name the the Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA for short. He is currently in  charge of the LRA and is and should be regarded as a terrorist. In 2012 the Invisible children began a campaign titled KONY 2012. The purpose of the campaign was to raise awareness about Kony's actions and remove him from his position by any means necessary.

 

Uganda is a country located in the southern part of Africa. The LRA began in northern Uganda as an organization meant to free northern Uganda from an oppressive government. As time went on the organization changed hands and is now oppressing Northern Uganda in unimaginable ways. Although the LRA began in northern Uganda they have spread out and become more unorganized over recent years. They are now located in border regions of the northeastern Congo, Southern Sudan, and Central African Republic.

So, what exactly is the issue in Uganda? It is an issue of unimaginable horrors. Horrors that have been committed by Joseph Kony and the Lord's resistance Army. Horrors  that could rival those committed by men such as Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein, and Adolph Hitler. As I mentioned earlier the LRA began as the HSM, with the purpose to overthrow the oppressive government, until it was taken over by Joseph Kony. When Kony took over the resistance lost much of its support. In order to fill the ranks in his army Kony began to abduct children. Kony would then brainwash the children with lies of his mystical powers. In many cases he would force them to kill family members with blunt tools. If children refused to do so or try to escape they were either killed, beaten, or they would cut off there extremities such as lips or ears. These abominations that Kony was committing went unknown to the rest of the world for a long period of time. Since the Invisible children were founded in 2004 they have made significant progress in making these issues more known to people all around the world. This publicity has significantly weakened the LRA, although they are weaker they still have the ability to terrorize people in Uganda. They still need to be stopped. Invisible Children is always hosting new campaigns that could be found on there website. If Kony is ever going to be stopped the issue is going to need more publicity and hopefully even political recognition.

The first commandment

The modern day life of a teenager can be very hectic. The teenage years have come to be a time of pressure filled decisions. Decisions like what classes you want to take, what college to choose, and what you want to do with the rest of your life. These stressful decisions are accompanied by the average grind and work acquired from a school day, not to mention many students involvement with after school activities and sports, or jobs.  And each individual has their own personal problems, whether it be drama with friends, family issues, bullying, or any other personal issue. These stresses can sometimes be overbearing, and often so overwhelming that teens forget about their obligations to God. The first commandment is very easily overlooked in the busy world of a teen. However, this is very unfortunate because there is probably no more of an appropriate time to strengthen your relationship with God. What better a time to express the theological virtues and put our faith, hope, and love in the guiding hands of God than during a time when we become so overwhelmed?

One of the reasons that the first commandment is so important to teenagers is because it can prepare them for the future. Materialism is becoming a serious problem in today's world. People are more concerned with the material things in life than ever. If teens are raised in a materialistic world surely too will begin to place higher and higher importance on things such as cars, t.vs, clothes, computers, phones, and of course money. These things have begun to reach such an importance that they are in danger of becoming an idolatry.People are putting all their faith in these items. They believe that they need to have a certain amount of money in order to be happy. All there time is spent worrying about money, and thinking about how they can get more. This level of faith should only be put into God, and the power that people think money has are powers only God holds.This is why the first commandment is important for teens, in today's society commitment to the first commandment is necessary to not falling into false idolatry.

the teenage years are very confusing. in addition to the everyday pressures involved in a teens life they are also at a point in their lives where they are developing into adults. it is a significant time when they are beginning to envision what they are going to be doing with the rest of their lives. Teens often take into consideration careers with traveling, careers with good pay, or careers with fame. However, they rarely take into consideration a career in God. Some teens may begin to feel this calling into a closer relationship with God. This calling is sometimes referred to as evangelical counsels. It is a call to go beyond the minimum rules of life required by God  and strive for spiritual perfection through a life marked by a commitment to chastity, poverty, and obedience.this is a very righteous calling, unfortunately many teens overlook this calling as a possibility in their life. This can also be a result of not actively applying the first commandment to their lives.

Knowing what the first commandment is isn't always good enough. teens should strive to understand the commandment and how it is meant to be interpreted. failure in its true understanding can lead to practices such as superstition. people that practice superstition may often consider themselves to believe in God, and therefore they think they understand and are following the first commandment. They do not always believe that the superstitions have power themselves, but they often believe that their superstitions influence God. They do not realize that these practices are offensive to God and in no way influence him. This is another reason why understanding the first commitment is very important in the life of a teen.

Atheism is a growing problem among teens today. Atheism is the complete denial of God's existence and is therefore the ultimate violation of the First commandment. Many teens fall into Atheism because they feel that they have been betrayed by God. Teens often feel this way because they are so overwhelmed and they wonder why God has given them a burden that they can't handle. This is a misinterpretation of God's will, God will never give us anything that we can't handle but that requires us to make an equal commitment to God. We cannot expect his graces to come to us without us acknowledging the source of those graces. This is why the first commandment is truly important to teenage life, misinterpretation can lead to atheism and a complete separation from God if the first commandment is not understood.

Racism is still alive and thriving in our community.But it has taken on a new form in the form of stereotyping. Stereotyping is equally as dangerous as any other form of racism and has been taking form for a number of years. Stereotyping can lead to unjust conviction, unequal business opportunities and in the most drastic occasions it can lead do unjust killings. This can be seen as early as the case of Emmett Till. Emmett Till was a 14-year old black male who was supposedly spotted whistling at a white women. Could some people consider this disrespectful? I guess an argument could be made that it was, if your a slight prudish. But it certainly didn't give anybody the right to kill him or, as in Emmett's case, to brutally torture him. Emmett's case is a perfect example of the stereotyping of black males as threatening, and the disgusting circumstances that can result from these stereotypes.

These unjust shootings have not gone away with time, if anything they have become more evident. Last February the controversial shooting of Trayvon Martin gained national attention. Trayvon was killed simply because Zimmerman found his hoodie threatening and said that he "looked" to be high. He found his hoodie threatening? That statement in itself is the either epitome of stereotyping, or a statement revealing blatant stupidity. Whichever it was, it was not a just reason to have killed Trayvon. The case of shooting Trayvon is even more ridiculous because Zimmerman had called 911. The 911 dispatchers has told Zimmerman not to follow Trayvon, but Zimmerman did not listen. Instead he tried to be a cowboy and take matters into his own hands. I have no doubt that Zimmerman sincerely believed that Trayvon was armed and a impossible threat, but his belief was based in racism and stereotyping instead of reason. Even if Zimmerman did believe that Trayvon was dangerous he should of just stayed in his car and let the police handle it, he had no just or logical reason to take Trayvon's life.

A more confusing shooting would be the other recent one of Jordan Davis. Jordan Davis was shot and killed last November at a Florida Gas station. His shooter claims that he had asked Jordan and his friends to lower the music they were blasting in their car. When the kids did not do so he claims they threatened him with a shotgun. This is when he decided to fire 8 or 9 shots and the kids with a handgun he had kept in his car, then he drove away. Police who reported that no weapon was found on Jordan or any of his friends. Mr. Dunn is now on trial for Jordan's murder. 

So why did Mr. Dunn shoot at Jordan and his friends? To put it simply he felt threatened and that he needed to defend himself. But why did he feel so threatened? The police found no weapon on the teens, and if they had had a weapon why didn't they retaliate to Mr. Dunn's 9 shots? Had Mr. Dunn never experienced teens who enjoyed to blast their music, why didn't he just drive away from that gas station and go on with his day? The only real explanation is that Mr. Dunn felt threatened by them because they were black. And because they were black he thought he needed to shoot them before they shot him. Its very disturbing to think that if Jordan had been white he may still be alive today.

Newtown Shootings

As you know, there was a shooting last Friday at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newton, Connecticut. However, these shooting was even more horrifying then ones of the past when you consider that it was in an elementary school. Six adults were killed and 20 children. It is being considered one of the worst mass shooting in U.S history. When something like this happens we have to ask ourselves "why?" "Why does this keep happening? "  This issue, in particular, has resurfaced the discussion of gun control across America.

Following the shootings in Newtown many people are calling out for stricter gun laws. The gun control advocates are calling for a renewal of the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004.Not surprisingly the NRA has made it clear that they want no new gun laws.

I understand the want for more gun laws. People see these mass shootings and they don't understand why anybody would find it necessary to have an automatic or semi-automatic weapon. I completely understand this sentiment. I don't understand the need for such weapons that only serve the purpose of destroying life as efficiently as possible. I don't understand why anybody ever thought it was a good idea to make these weapons available to the public in the first place. However, I also understand that these weapons have been in circulation for years and now believe there is no going back. I would love for there to be no guns at all , but I also know that the extremist idea for making all guns illegal would not solve this problem. I understand the want for stricter gun laws, but I don't believe that our issue with mass shootings can be solved so simply. In my opinion, I think the theories of extreme gun restrictions are a little naive. If you make something illegal bad people are still going to be able to get it. Someone who is willing to murder innocent people is not going to feel guilty about buying an illegal weapon.

Some people think that more in depth background checks should be done before selling a person a weapon. This is an idea I can agree on. I don't believe that this is going to stop all bad people from getting guns, but at least it should make it a little more difficult. I also don't understand why anyone would object to this unless they have something to hide.

 I think that the issues with these mass shootings lies with the mental health of the shooters. How can we solve this problem? For this question I am sad to say I have no answer and I can only hope that someone else does.
One thing that should definitely be done though is that schools should increase there security. This should be done by increasing the amount of  armed security guards in the schools. I believe this is a simple way of increasing safety that everyone can agree on.
No matter what your stance on gun control we can all agree that these shootings are horrible events and need to be put to an end.

What You Need To Know About Sin

Throughout life we all should try to avoid sin in our everyday lives. Sometimes this can be very hard and we may not understand why it keeps happening. Sin is like a test we take throughout our lives, we have to understand the test in order to pass it. Likewise, we must understand sin before we can beat it.

"...sin is missing the goal of living a life that is in harmony with God's Eternal Law"

This concept of sin indicates that we have a desire to live according to God's will, but we are falling short of our goals. There could be reasons for this such as: lack of commitment, or giving into peer pressure. This idea of  missing the mark is strongly evident throughout the Old testament. It is shown by many of Israels greatest heroes who sometimes just fell short. For example, David was one of the most virtuous and faithful kings of Israel, but even he committed adultery and  arranged for the husband of the woman he got pregnant to be killed in battle. This concept is also acknowledged in the New testament. In one of Paul's letters he wrote "What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate" (Romans 7:15). Failing at you attempts to reject sin can prove as useful if it helps you realize that it is not something you can do on your own. We can only overcome sin with the aid of God's grace, and the Spirit's strength.

 "every sin is a lie against the truth, a lie about what truly brings God's saving love and joy into the world"
This quote gives a lot of insight to sin and why people often fall into it. It is saying that sin is a lie. People often convince themselves that committing a small sin will make them happy. They believe that cheating on a test in order to score higher, or that stealing something they really want, or getting revenge will make them happy. This is simply a lie. These thing may make the person happy for a short time but in reality they hurt our relationship with God which is our source of true happiness. Jesus said "I am the way and the truth and the life"( John 14:6). In order to achieve true happiness we must reject sin and live a life according to God so that we may one day be completely united with him.

Jesus speaking to Nicodemus

"Sin is a primarily an offense against God"
This quote is a simple yet valuable explanation against sin. When we sin we are going against God's saving plan. Sinning is rejecting God's will, and taking matters into our own hands. When we sin against God we are putting ourselves before God. Sin is also a rejection of the reason that we were given to understand God's natural law. God gave us this gift so that we can all tell what is and isn't sin. Sinning is when we know what we are doing is wrong and we do it anyway, and it is what damages our relationship with God.

"Some people believe that we are only responsible for the sins we directly commit"

This is a mistake that many people make without realizing it. These sins that we commit directly are sins of commission. These are the sins that result directly from our actions. For example: cheating, stealing, and bullying are all sins of commission. On the other hand you have sins of omission, these sins are a result of failing to do something that is required by God. For example,  you see somebody commit a crime but when you are questioned by the police you act as if you know nothing. This would be considered a sin of omission, because even though you did not directly tell a lie you are still required by the 8th commandment to tell the truth in this situation.

"Some sins seem to infect societies"
This quote addresses the issue of social sin. Social sin is when personal sin is so widespread that it becomes an accepted attitude. Social sin can be very dangerous in this way because it can corrupt society. An example of social sin would be slavery in the early stages of the U.S. Many people practiced slavery, as a result it was though of to be okay, even though it is a serious offense against God. Other types of social sins could be racism, sexism, or ageism. The problem in social sin is not only in each individual who is committing the personal sin, but also in those who do not challenge these practices.

7 deadly sins

Politics: Half Empty Glass of Promises

It's that wonderful time of year again.It's that time of the year where the green leaves of summer are beginning to turn to the vibrant colors of fall.It's that time of the year where kids begin to fill their days fantasizing about cider, pumpkins,costumes and, of course, politics. It's a time when you can't watch television without seeing two grown men devise critical gossip about one-another.It's that time where you and people who are normally your friends, get caught up debating about what our country's next step should be in our never ending quest to develop the Utopian society. Its time to separate our nation into blue and red states. Yes, its time to elect the next President of the United States.

Before I start I would just like to say that this is not an article for the optimistic mind. I would also like to say that this blog has been very difficult for me to write. Probably because there are so few things addressed in the platforms about which I have strong opinions. However, I'm going to try and write about something so here it goes.



America's future in space: continuing the quest.
I agree with the Republican's stance that "we must preserve our preeminence in space" and launch "more science missions". I believe that we need to explore the unknown more because it is unknown, and because it could serve beneficial to us now and in the future. Even though they were very vague about what they were going to do to promote NASA, I was still pleased to see a mentioning of promoting it.

Strong Business and Entrepreneurship.
In this part of the Republican platform they talk about American businesses being "the backbone of the U.S. economy." This is something I strongly agree with because I believe that small businesses are important as a source of jobs, and local economies.  The Republican platform claims that they will "serve as aggressive advocates for small businesses."  The Republicans claim that they will "reform the tax code" to help small businesses thrive. I don't understand why they didn't just say they would cut taxes for small businesses, like the Democrats did, but I assume that's what they mean.

Preserving and Protecting Traditional Marriage
This is probably the issue about which I feel strongest and I strongly disagree with the Republican's stance on gay marriage. I cannot understand why gay marriage is not yet allowed under federal law. The Republican platform says"the union of one man and one woman must be upheld as the national standard, a goal to stand for ,encourage, and promote through laws governing marriage." Then they immediately state that they "embrace the principle that all Americans should be treated with respect and dignity." So what their saying is that they will respect homosexual people but, they won't give them the basic human right to marry whom they choose. These people are humans and they deserve their rights just as much as anyone else. This homophobic obsession with "preserving the traditional family" is a disgrace and flies in the face of American beliefs.
"Liberty and Justice for All."


Lobbying Reform and Campaign Finance Reform
 I  strongly support lobbying reform because it would decrease the influences of big businesses in politics. I don't like the idea that lobbyists can give large sums of money to political campaigns because then when the candidate is in office the lobbyists can influence the judgement of elected representatives. The Democratic platform states that "President Obama and the Democratic Party do not accept contributions from federal lobbyists this cycle." I was very pleased when I read this.

Protecting Rights and Freedoms
This part of the Democratic platform addresses a wide scale of issues so I'm only going to talk about a few. One part is the "Freedom to Marry" section. As you already know I strongly believe that same sex couples should have equal rights. The Democratic platform clearly does support equal rights for same sex couples, so  obviously this is something I agree with. This section of the platform also addresses equality for women, they especially support the "Paycheck Fairness Act'. I strongly agree with the Democrats stance on this issue.  Personally, I found it embarrassing that this still is an issue.


Before I finish I would just like to say that I discounted all "facts" presented in the platforms because anyone can find any supposed "fact" to support their cause. That is one reason why the political platforms mean very little. The political platforms are written to persuade voters.  The candidates do not have to do any of the things written about in the platforms if they are elected President. Even if they did try they wouldn't be able to change anything. Too many people in this country have become too extreme to one side. People need to realize that the Presidential election isn't as big of a deal as it is made out to be.The President can't just say something and  have it automatically be done, that's not how our government works.It doesn't really matter who gets elected because they're are 535 other people in congress that play a substantial part in getting anything done and  the reason nothing gets done is because all the members are so partisan. People need be more willing to compromise with each other - that's what the government is supposed to do. You can't just get your way, this isn't a dictatorship. The only way any of these problems are going to be fixed is if people realize that were all Americans, not  just Democrats and Republicans. If we can't come together as one nation we are going to fail. Unfortunately, I don't see us coming together anytime in the near future.

Bullying is a Weapon of Destruction

Bullying is wrong, plain and simple it's just wrong.As a classmate of mine says" Bullying hurts everyone. It hurts the victim and destroys the bullies soul".

  According to the center for disease control and protection,or the CDC, suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people. In  a study conducted by Yale University, bully victims were found to be between 2 and 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victim. Whenever something causes people  to take their own lives you now it's inhumane and must be stopped. As my friend Margaret K says "Bullying, no matter what kind,should never be tolerated or laughed off as a joke. It can have serious and lasting effects on it's victims."
We all dread that time of day when our alarm clock goes off, you've got to leave your cozy comfy nest of a bed, and you know your going to start another day. Sometimes it's difficult to get up and get started, we can all understand that.Now imagine this. In addition to all the things I just mentioned, when you wake up you know that you are going to have a bad day. You know that when you wake up your going to be bullied. You know that when you try to do what makes you happy other are going to ruin it for you, and therefore deprive it of its joy. This was what was experienced by Sierra Hixenbaugh,16, a high school student who hanged herself Friday in her Cape Coral home.

Sierra Hixanbaugh/special to the News-Press

On the outside Sierra just seemed to be an average high school student. She enjoyed theater,the beach, and the color purple. Her friends found this news to be a surprise as they said that she was fairly popular and well like. However, they also claim that rumors were consistently spread about her, and that she was often called names. "A lot of people really respected her because they thought she never let it get to her" said Katie Reynolds,16,a friend of Sierras. It was reasons such as these that people were so surprised by Sierra's decision to take her life.

Trying to understand why someone would kill themselves is a task next to impossible. They must be so hopeless that they take away their only chance to ever be happy. According to Sierras friends bullying was the cause of Sierra feeling this way.

Now you would assume that the people that participated in the bullying of Sierra would feel guilt beyond measure. Even after her death though, awful and vicious remarks were made about her expense online by people using fake screen names. This is disgusting, and it goes to show that bullying can be fought with no rule or punishment. It only proves that these kids have deep rooted moral issues, and it's reasons like this why fighting bullying is so difficult.

One place that's had extreme difficulty fighting bullying is Ladue High. Recently teachers at Ladue were surprised to find students passing around a "senior list" during lunch. A Senior list is a vulgar and sometimes obscene list that characterizes body parts,sexual habits and hygiene of selected girls in a high school. The teacher though, were not surprised by the distribution of this list, they were most surprised to see it passed around during lunch. Some teachers said that the list has been around for at least ten years. The districts communications director, Susan Dielmann said that the district employs numerous programs designed to to teach students to make good choices. She said "That;s really all we can do, guide children to make the best choices they can".

This is something that I partially agree with. You can't just punish people on things such as bullying, because we've gotten to the point where the kids are aware of the consequences and just don't care. That is why I personally believe that we do need to fight bullying by educating the young and creating a safe environment where people won't be afraid to say no to peer pressure. However when something like this has been going on for ten years, it's clear your doing something wrong. 

One case of bullying that I found particularly interesting occurred at Fossil ridge High school. The reason that I found this incident interesting was because the bully was a teacher! The school received several complaints from parents about their kids being bullied by the schools band director, Mike Sisco. It began when a student leader in the class was bullying a certain section of students. Chris Wetzel , a parent of one of the kids bullied, complained to Sisco about the problem. Sisco handled the problem and the bully was punished. The the parent claimed that the bullying persisted and he complained to administration. They replied to Wetzel and said they were investigating the student and Sisco's actions. That was the day that Wetzel claims Sisco intimidated his son  for going to administration. Other complaints about Sisco claimed that Wetzel picked on students in front of the class. So to sum things up, last Friday, after further investigations,  Sisco stepped down as band director and has received a job at another school.

This story just goes to show that bullying can come in many forms. After reading about this I was left with one question, why would some other school hire this guy?

Mike Sisco, former band director at Fossil ridge

One year ago yesterday, Amherst's Jamey Rodemeyer took his own life at the age of 14. His parents still feel the pain from the incident but they say they can find some peace in the memorial garden in their Backyard. Jamey was bullied constantly by his peers for being gay.

 Just as a side note I'd like to say this is something I will never understand. In my personal opinion I can't understand how people can be so anti-gay. I just don't understand why it bothers people so much, but thats an argument for another day.

Jamey idolized the pop star Lady Gaga, and days after Jamey's death she stepped forward to stand up against bullying. Jamey's sister, Alyssa, helped launch GaGa's Born this Way foundation. The Rodemeyers have been avid anti-bully protesters ever since Jamey's passing. They have participated in Suicide prevention walks, New York City's gay pride parade, and even some national talk shows. "We have vowed to do this until we die, because everybody deserves a fighting chance out here" said Jamey's mother, Tracy. As Tracy said Jamey's passing truly has "sparked a revolution".

Jamey Rodemeyer

From my personal experience I have never seen bullying to this level. It could be because the school I attend has a very strict policy regarding these issues. As our code of conduct says "refusing to tolerate harassment or bullying is expected of all members of the Kearney community...and may result in expulsion". Even though you may not have been affected by bullying personally, we should all recognize it's destructiveness and try to put a stop to it. As my friend Mike C says "bullying is never cool".