Posted in Poverty, women

Are you Confused?

Let me get this straight because I’m completely confused. The media and public are upset because Donald Trump made lewd comments about women and behaved in an ungentlemanly way towards them? This is the same media and public who enjoy Kim Kardashian’s nude photos? This is the same media and public who have forgotten Bill Clinton used his power to intimidate a young woman into providing oral sex in the Oval Office and his wife disparaged the woman’s reputation? **I am not voting for any of the 4 candidates on the ballot in November.**

How many stories in the past few years have been reported about professional sports stars and college players who rape women? How many billions of dollars a year does the public spend on pornography, which no matter how “soft” demeans women? How many magazine covers trash women because they’ve gained weight or look old or had plastic surgery? How many billions of dollars does society spend on human trafficking for prostitution? You think it’s not in your neighborhood but you’re wrong. The man next door (like my ex  a Captain for American Airlines and porn addict and prostitute user and peeping Tom) is spending his money at strip clubs, on pornogrpahy featuring younger and younger girls and prostitutes.  What kind of society do we live in when you can buy a padded bra for a 7 year old girl in any big box store? You don’t see groin enhancers in the little boys department.

We live in a society which does NOT support women. It is economically imbalanced. Women are judged differently by both men and women. Old men can still use money and power to marry young women. Everyone applauded George Clooney when he married Amal Alamuddin but he’s 17 years older than she is. He could be her dad! Had the age difference been reversed, the media would have called the woman all sorts of names like cougar. We celebrate women when they are young and beautiful. And we have our token strong women but as a whole, beginning at an early age we are sexualized. Even female athletes are judged on their bodies and clothing style.

I hate what Donald Trump said. I hate what Bill did and Hillary Clinton said. What I hate the most is we still live in a society which punishes behavior and speech on a selective basis. The media decides who gets punished and who gets to walk away without being tarnished.

 Women, we will NEVER reach our potential as long we play by men’s rules. It’s time to take charge, change the rules and ultimately change the game. It’s time to cross our legs and say hell no to sex without marriage. (You’ll live. It won’t kill you to do without sex for awhile). And we should do it not for a religious reason, but to take charge, change the focus and be the leaders rather than the followers. As long as we allow ourselves to be  valued first and foremost as sex objects, (just take a look at YouTube and Instagram and the young girls posting adult provocative photos), nothing will change. Until we demand a salary and benefits for stay at home moms, we won’t be valued. When we play by their rules, we lose every time. When we send mixed messages and compete against each other rather than work together, men will always come out on top. When a husband can walk away after 30 years and leave his ex wife in poverty, while he moves on to a younger woman, women will suffer. How many commercials do you see for viagra and cialis with a young woman talking about her man, only to see he’s old? How many commercials do you see for  women’s sexual enhancement drugs? A big fat ZERO! Apparently as long as we’ve got a man, we’re satisfied. 

How can the media and women bash old Donald when they spend everyday encouraging that very behavior? If you agree please share.

Read more at The Shriver Report in Poverty

1 in 3 American women, 42 million women, plus 28 million children, either live in poverty or are right on the brink of it. (The report defines the “brink of poverty” as making $47,000 a year for a family of four.)

Nearly two-thirds of minimum wage workers are women, and these workers often get zero paid sick days.

Two-thirds of American women are either the primary or co-breadwinners of their families.

The average woman is paid 77 cents for every dollar a man makes, and that figure is much lower for black and Latina women; African American women earn only 64 cents and Hispanic women only 55 cents for every dollar made by a white man.

More than half of the babies born to moms who are under 30 are born to unmarried mothers, and most of them are white.

75% of unmarried mothers are under 30, and only 7% of have finished college. Single motherhood and lack of a college degree are two of the strongest indicators of poverty.

Even though women outnumber men in higher education, men still make more money than women who have the same level of educational achievement, from high school diplomas to advanced graduate degrees. And in 2011, men with bachelors’ degrees earned more than women with graduate degrees.

Posted in Jesus, movie, television, Uncategorized, WordPress

Skepticism

  
Risen – a trailer  Use the link to see a trailer of the movie.

I think we all have a small part of ourselves that is skeptical. Can we believe what the presidential candidates say? Can we believe the reason our spouse is late? Can we believe the missing money went to pay for gas? Is the compliment genuine?

While I believe Jesus died for my sins and rose from the grave 3 days later, after seeing the movie Risen I wondered if I had been there what would I have believed? It would be nice to be confident enough to say, I would have recognized the messiah immediately. However if I am honest I would have been a skeptic just like the main character in the movie. I would have wanted evidence. Even now I find at times I seek evidence that God is active in my life. I want my prayers answered and my faith can waiver when they are not.

Our world has groomed us to be skeptics. We are taught not to trust from a very early age. Our doors stay locked. Our kids don’t talk to strangers. We don’t know our neighbors. We worry the other guy is after our job. We wonder if our spouse is faithful. Being skeptical is an American trait. It’s what we do. 

Now I believe we should not always accept things at face value but neither should we dismiss something just because we’re afraid to trust. The element of trust has been broken and dismantled in our society. Do we truly trust any of the presidential candidates to put the needs of the country first? Do we believe they  answer honestly or does our skepticism get in the way of actually hearing? 

Our government is not a TV reality show. While one candidate might make for entertaining TV, that doesn’t mean he or she should be president. In my opinion a good president is like a good parent. Some times the things you have to do hurt and don’t bring pleasure or joy but you know it’s best in the long run. Hard decisions today make for a better  tomorrow.

I don’t want to be a skeptic anymore. I want to trust my God and my fellow man.