If I Were In Your Shoes...

What is going on here? Many people are speaking out and writing books stating that we as a society are being dumbed down through toxins in the foods we eat (aspartame, msg, food colorings, etc), vaccines, fluoride in our water, compulsory education, entertainment and all the tv watching,etc. Is it true? Are we being “dumbed down”?

I found this video (one of many) on youtube that talk about the dumbing down of society especially America. Though it has some language that may be offensive to some people, I think it does a pretty good job of waking one up to find out more.

The comments out there are tough too. They say we are not being educated but “trained” to work and not to think for ourselves. No one seems to be surprised that the people nowadays know LESS than the old folks who only went to school up to eigth grade. I even found an 8th grade final exam from Salina, Kansas in 1895. I never even heard of some of the things they were asking about.

I also found the website based on the book “The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America” by Charlotte Iserbyt where the entire book can be downloaded for free.

More info where you can read these other books for free:
Book: “The Underground History of American Education” by John Taylor Gatto

Book: “Education: Free and Compulsory” by Murray N. Rothbard

Homeschooling info: curriculum methods

After you check this info out, please let me know what you think.

“Knowledge isn’t power until it is applied.”-Dale Carnegie

Ever since my parents separated and had a divorce, I was always in the middle. They argued because he was the one who strayed. They argued about the way my mom raised me, in a strict religious setting. They argued over child support or the lack of it. They argued about me not having visitations.

My father had chosen to be with a woman who had 3 children from previous relationships. So basically, even though they didn’t have their father around (since their dad walked away from them), they now had my dad raise them. My father had moved on and lived in another state so I didn’t see him at all. He had other children with his new wife. We sometimes spoke on the phone but it was clear that the other kids got the things that my sister and I didn’t.

We lived in the “ghetto”; they lived in a house in the suburbs. We enjoyed the simple things; they couldn’t get enough of material things. We used public transportation; they had 3 cars. Then my father passed away. He was still young and was supposed to be full of life, but he didn’t even get to see his 43rd birthday.

It hurt so bad because even though we lived different lives, I knew my dad loved me. Throughout all the fights, he loved me. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw him. I have his most prominent features: eye color, hair color, skin tone, ears. Grief striken family members would comment how out of his 5 biological children, I was the one who resembled him most. This didn’t sit well with his wife. Inwardly, she secretly hated me and tried to make the situation more unbearable than it already was. Once again, I was in the middle. She had the power, or so she thought.

I didn’t fight about anything once my dad died. I held on to my memories, my letters, and the faith that everything was going to be alright. I let things be. But after all, the other people in this story didn’t fare well. I didn’t wish that on them but what we sow, we reap. They lost everything; while I gained. I’m not only talking about material things for life is much more than that. But I had peace.

So don’t worry much about being caught in the middle for when it’s over, it’s over. May the life that is lived be what makes the difference. Maybe one day I’ll have the courage to share those letters…maybe.

Dear El G. Nie,

I have this acquaintance and she’s your normal teenage girl, right?  except for the fact that I think she cuts herself.   I can’t say she does because I don’t know her like that.  But, I saw a bunch of scratches on her arms.  When I asked her, she said a cat did it.   Maybe her mom may buy that lame story but I think there’s more to it than that.  I want to reach out to her in a way and be a friend but of course I don’t know how.  So how would you approach the situation?

From: Worried

Dear Worried,

If this girl is your friend and she trusts you,  she will open up.  You can talk straight and simply ask her,” Is everything okay?”  If she says yes, you can answer,  ”I don’t think it is; I think you’re hurting yourself.”  She can get upset and stop talking to you or she can open up to you and tell you why she’s hurting herself.  If this girl is hurting herself,  it can mean she is dealing with alot of emotions and doesn’t know how to express herself.  If it gets to the point where she confides in you and needs more help than you can give her,  help her go to an adult that she can trust.
 

From El G. Nie

Dear El G. Nie,

So I have this friend…how we became friends is really wierd…but anyway that’s not the problem.  The problem is he is always telling me about how he and his girl broke up and then he tells me, “ Oh, we’re back together”  like a week later.   It’s really annoying.  Then he’s always telling me how he just wants to find love and he only loves her and blah blah blah.  He’s even going to church.  [[He thinks that going to church will help]] but I don’t know if he’s doing that for the right reason.  I try to help him but I don’t know what to tell him or how to help, you know, because he doesn’t seem to listen to anything I have to say.   I’ve told him a billion and one things, literally, so please help me.

From, Confused_ Friend

Dear Confused_Friend,

It’s great that you want to help your friend by giving him advice.  Sometimes people don’t want to hear advice; they just want you to listen.  Sometimes being a friend means just listening. Yeah, sometimes it’s hard being a friend, but if your friend is worth it, just listen.  He’s probably not listening to you anyway.  He’s basically just venting.  Yes, that can be frustrating but he has to go through his own things to learn.  Just keep telling him to remember his value and that love is wonderful when given and received.  You can’t make someone love you and just like that you can’t just cut it off.   It’s not a light switch. If he thinks he loves this girl, that’s what’s going on.   

Okay, about him going to church, well if it’s a bible- based church, what harm can come out of it?   Sometimes people start something with something in mind and God makes other plans.  I once heard a man’s testimony that he went to a church to rob it, heard the preaching and ended up giving his life to the Lord.  So maybe with him going to church, one preaching, one song, one testimony, or one prayer can reach him and put him on the right path.   So if I were in your shoes, I would just listen.

From El G. Nie