Put Your Tea Where Your Mouth Is

All right Tea Partyers, if you're serious about individual freedom and democracy, I encourage you to get behind the movement to amend the US Constitution. 


In the recent Supreme Court decision, Corporations were granted equal rights with individual citizens. The purpose of the bipartisan McCain-Feingold law of 2002 was to limit the involvement of wealthy corporations in the outcome of elections. Individual citizens have a right to make an informed choice between candidates for office, and these decisions should not be influenced by undue pressure from huge corporations whose bottom line will be directly affected by legislators.


I know that lobbyists already have more influence than is good for our democracy. But do we really want commercials during election season coming from Oil and agri-chemical companies? Do we really want more advertising that squeezes out independent media voices?


Hey Tea Party people - if you're serious about protecting our freedom and our democracy, put your money, or tea, where your mouth is and fight for something that will actually protect individual voices and freedoms. Support a change in the Constitution that will actually give all of us a more equal voice in our government. 

Do Kids Deserve a Sabbath?

I've been involved in some kind of youth work in churches for several years. I have heard so much about 'over-scheduled young people' that it is really a cliche for me now. Between sports, school, work and a social life, church often comes near the end of too-long to do lists.


But this post isn't about trying to get more kids to come to church (though I'm certainly not opposed to that). I want to know what happened to us adults, that we parents, coaches, teachers and administrators have forgotten about the old notion of sabbath - of taking some time off (Exodus 20:8-11). Or are we all okay with running our kids into the ground?


I heard of a high school freshman having a soccer game starting after 9PM on a Sunday. In talking with a local school official, she said that there are hockey practices for elementary students that end after 10PM on school nights.


Out of curiosity, I glanced at the Illinois child labor laws for comparison. Turns out, kids under 16 aren't supposed to work after 7pm. It seems that in those labor laws, school is actually prioritized above work. 


Shouldn't school also be prioritized above sports? How are kids supposed to concentrate in class when they don't get home from hockey practice or a soccer game until 10:30 at night?


I'm all for encouraging kids to participate in activities outside of school. I know not everyone is an academic. I also know that in some parts of the world, a basketball game at midnight is a lot better than some of the alternatives. But I also know that kids who're able to get a good night sleep are going to be a lot more successful in anything they do.