Protection, huh?

        Why is America such a novelty in our world?  Why is it the best country on earth?  Simple.  We have the ability to choose for ourselves.  We have an amazing freedom in the US that we would never like to lose.  Freedom to do what we like with our possessions, beliefs, opinions, and money.   
       Most everybody knows what a 401k is.  It's the plan/money for when you want to stop working and retire.  Most everybody would consent that this money is, of course, your money.  And that would entail that you can do what you would like with it- put more money in, or, if need be, take some out. 
    Now that freedom is being put at risk.  The government is trying to pass a bill that essentially "locks up" our 401k accounts.  At first glance, this idea seems pretty logical- to keep our money for retirement.  But wait- our money.  Shouldn't we be able to have the ability to do what we want with it?  Of course! 
    Our founding fathers based the United States of America on limited government.  They had the right idea, to keep government out of our personal lives.  This bill that is pending is a total violation of what our values are rooted on.  Little invasions like this bill add up quickly to a government very like an overprotective parent. 
    Other bills have been introduced lately that are as bizarre as this one.  What about the bill that tried to impose high taxes on cigarettes?  Of course, they were just to keep us "healthy."  Hmm.  And what about the bill to limit the amount of sodium restaurants use in their food?  Still only in "our interest."  But what about freedom of choice?  We should have the right to choose how unhealthy or healthy we want to be!
    Keep your eye out for these seemingly small ideas.  The more the government argues for them, the less strange they seem.  We start accepting things like this.  And before you know it, your life is being controlled.
            

What's your response?

    When I heard the news that Osama bin Laden was dead, the immediate reaction was happiness, of course.  Who wouldn't be happy about the elimination of such a terrible man?  He has killed literally thousands of our people.  He was the mastermind behind the 9/11 attack and was also in charge of bombing the U.S. embassy in 1998.  He was the founder of al-Qaeda and was on the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted list- this guy really hated America with a passion.
    Any loyal American probably feels totally free to celebrate bin Laden's death.  After all, the less al-Qaeda members, the better, right?
    I definitely felt no remorse over this man's death.  I still don't feel remorse, exactly, but something my friend said has made me think of my reaction to his death in a different light.  On the day of Osama's death, my friend posted on Facebook a quote by Martin Luther King Jr.  “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
    How powerful is that?  MLK Jr was a prime example of driving out darkness with love.  Hate and darkness will never make anything better.
    If there was ever a person worthy to hate, it was Osama bin Laden.  What a terrible guy!  We have every wordly right to loathe this man.  But nothing good could ever come from our hate.  It's hard not to hate someone so awful, but keep Luther's quote in your mind.
    Nothing good can ever come from our hate.  So what's your response to this huge event?    
 

Unprepared

   My family and I, over Easter weekend, headed out to St. Louis to visit the grandparents. On our way we stopped at the St. Louis airport to pick my dad up when he came in from out of town.  It was 7:00 PM, and rainy outside.   My dad's flight was scheduled to arrive at 7:15, and the status on the ARRIVALS board didn't say otherwise.  We waited until 7:45, at which point the board had the dreaded delayed status following his flight number.  The flight was rescheduled to come in at 8:25 PM.  

   We switched from the first floor to the higher second floor balcony to watch and wait for my dad's arrival.  We heard that a bunch of planes were on the tarmac and that they were waiting for the lightning to subside before letting the passengers disembark.  The lightning outside was insane- we saw the frequent flashes through the many windows on the 2nd floor, but our only thought on it was, It'll be forever before he can come in.  

   The lights started to flicker, and suddenly the power to the entire airport was gone.  I was annoyed at the loss of light and started to tell my friends so on Facebook.  Before I had even logged on, however, there was a huge shattering and a gigantic burst of wind.  Somebody screamed, "HURRICANE!!!!"  and in my panic, I didn't doubt them.  I felt the enormous torrent pushing us with inhuman strength; I grabbed my sister, and our family stumbled as fast as we could to the nearest safe place in sight- a concrete and metal elevator door.  The tornado whipped through the building and scattered debris and glass everywhere.  I huddled with my family against the elevator doors and prayed for our safety and for my dad, who was at the mercy of the biggest storm I had ever seen- and in a plane.

As soon as there was a break in the winds where we could hear, a TSA agent yelled, "Get downstairs!  Get downstairs!"  We rushed down the stalled escalator, but I stopped to help a bleeding, elderly lady down the steps.  The airport police and TSA personnel seemed confused as to what to do- I was being left behind.  After being yelled at by my mom, they came back, but I couldn't help but think,  These people are so unprepared.  

    Stop with me for a moment and think.  Below is a picture of the parking lot directly under where I was.  Compare it to the lower picture of the destruction in Japan.  

   If it is so hard to be prepared for a relatively small disaster such as a tornado, how much harder is it to be prepared for such a horrific event as what happened in Japan?  The United States was definitely not prepared for this to happen to Japan, and as a result, our involvement there has been minute.  I think we should get more support to our ally- help them rebuild their lives. 

   I am so thankful I have my life.........let's be prepared and ready to help Japan get theirs back.

  

I'm pretty average.

If you're looking at this page and thinking, Whoa.  She must be a pretty strange teenager, I'm not.  I'm pretty average-I just happen to have a lot to say about a lot of different things.  I have an opinion about the world, and I want to share it.  About things like the economy, politics, religion, and wars.  So join me, as I write my way through the goings-on of the world.