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Sunday, September 12, 2010

the issue

So, here's my idea.
Original oratory this year? Ya know, that speaking thing I do?
I gotta have a speech.
Persuasive; on a human issue.
So here's my idea.
Rating books.
I mean, seriously, we rate everything else.
So why not books?
Isn't a written story just a movie in your mind?
Can't a book scar a young person just as much as a horror movie can?
Yes, I'm focusing on young adults here.
Because their minds are delicate.
Prone to belief in anything that sounds cool.
Developing.
Sounds like me.
So why not protect that?
Because they say...
"They're going to hear about it sooner or later."
"Sheltered kids get nowhere."
"Parents can read along with their kids and explain why it's wrong."
"Freedom of speech is a human right."
Honestly, how many parents of young adults are going to read with their kids?
And how many of the kids whose parents aren't reading with them are going to understand it's wrong...and yet follow the example set by that book they read?
Most of them.
And that's dangerous.
Culture caters to "young adults" in public libraries, too.
Where anyone can pick up any book supposedly written for someone like them and read it without any warning.
Don't get me wrong, literature is good.
But not all of it is good for everyone.
So, how do we fix this?
Pop a PG on the cover and be done?
Maybe?
Well, that's what I'm going to figure out.

Monday, September 6, 2010

The Love Runs Deep







I can't imagine it.
Getting married, right now, as old as I am.
That's what my grandma did.
She loved my grandpa.
And he loved her.
She still loves him.
And he still loves her.
Grandma, who shoots air soft pellets at squirrels through the laundry room window.
Grandpa, who makes new friends every time he eats breakfast in town.
Grandma, who is always waiting for us in the kitchen when we come to visit, with food that's "almost ready".
Grandpa, who gets more tools for each new odd job.
They've both been standing for Jesus their whole lives.
They're full of stories, character, strength, and love.
My grandparents, whom I love and respect.
This picture was, in a sense, their engagement shot. Aren't they lovely young people?