"If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves." -Thomas Edison

A Dominant Religion

I live in a society that has a dominant religion, of which I choose not to be a member. These are my choices, both to live here, and to not join the dominant faith. But, as do many, I have opinions on the dominant religion, and its’ relationship to those who choose for what ever reason not to become members (of the dominant faith). This is a discussion of those differences of opinion.

The first amendment to the United States Constitution states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

In the society in which I live, it is not at all unusual for someone (of the dominant faith) to say, “Well, that is the way we belive (dress, act, pray, socialize) and if you don’t like it, you can leave.” Perhaps-but I do not want to leave or be forced out; I enjoy the land, the outdoor experience, the varieties of cultures, foods and dance that exist here. This section of the country was first populated by Native Americans, then Spanish explorers, trappers, fur traders, gold and silver miners, and finally the Mormons (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). Along the way, we had immigrants from the “old world”; Greece, Italy, France, Germany, England, Russia, Yugoslavia, Poland, and yes, China and Japan. Now we have peoples from every land here, and I am grateful. I can eat food from Native America, Africa, France, Germany, Lebanon, Vietnam, Korea, Russia, Poland, and various Baltic states; and if I wish, I can observe/participate in (open) ceremonies of those countries. But, back to my point, please.

Yes, you are dominant. You, and your fellows, hold most of the elected offices, most of the appointed posts, and indeed are a major factor in the daily lives of all of the citizens here. But, that does not give you a blank check to discriminate against those who do not have the same beliefs and lifestyles as yours. Nor do I believe the vast majority of individuals –within and without the dominant faith- wish this discrimination to continue.

I will readily grant that you have every right to live a lifestyle that agrees with you, and your beliefs. You deserve the right to worship, eat, dress, study, and live close to those whom you agree with. You have the right to love who you want, and to participate in those relationships you feel are good, worthy, and fair; insomuch as those practices do not cause harm or undue mental duress to anyone, including those who have different religious or social beliefs.

So do I. I, and my family and friends, have every right to live a lifestyle that agrees with us, and our individual beliefs. All Americans deserve the right to worship, eat, dress, study, and live close to those whom we agree with. We have the right to love who we want, and to participate in those relationships we feel are good, worthy, and fair, again insomuch as those practices do not cause harm or undue mental duress to anyone, including those who have different religious or social beliefs.

To make clear a certain point. This freedom I believe in-the freedom I am proposing- does not include those who claim their beliefs entitle them to cause harm to any person or groups of people, i.e., that which is deemed illegal by the laws of this country or state.

We share many factors, you and I. Together, we need to educate all children, provide for our families, and see to the general welfare of the populace. The functions of government should be blind to all mentions of race, religion, national origin, sexual politics, and age. These common needs should not be discussed in language of “us or them,” who “deserves” these items more, or any other manner of separation or division.

It is time-nay, past time-to put divisions of religion and the sad bias it creates, behind us, and work for the good of all the population, the estimable good that will be beneficial for you, I, and all of the peoples of this state. It is time to stand up and say, “I care for all people.” It is time, and this is an election year, for all of us to say to our so-called elected representatives “We ALL deserve your care, your embrace, your consideration. Do not make decisions based upon bias, be it religious, national, sexual, or age-based. Make your decisions instead on what is right for all of the people, decisions based on knowledge not myth; fact not fiction; people not politics.”

It is OUR call, citizens, our call to make. Will you accept and tolerate another election of division and distortion, or will you and I demand better of our politicians?

I will. And I hope you will join me in making the same demands of our officials. It is OUR call.

Education for Senators Madsen and Stephenson

Class, today we are going to focus on facts, myth, and opinion in the area of public debate; especially politics and education in Utah.

Fact, according to Webster is: 1: DEED; esp CRIME 2: the quality of being actual 3: something that exists or occurs 4: a piece of information

Myth, according to Webster is: 1: a usually legendary narrative that presents part of the beliefs of a people, or explains a practice or natural phenomenon. 2: an imaginable or unverifiable person or thing.

Opinion, according to Webster is: 1: JUDGEMENT 2: a belief stronger than impression and less strong than positive knowledge 3: a formal statement by an expert after careful study

Aldous Huxley wrote, “Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.”
Our case study today involves education in the State of Utah. As we can expect, in any endeavor spending public monies; rhetoric, “data” and “facts” are thrown about more to confuse the masses than to disclose truth. It is critical that the learned mind be able to research, explore, and discuss facts vs myth or opinion.

State Senator Madsen (R-Lehi): "I don’t think we just accept because people say it, that we under-fund education. I think that’s a myth." (SL Tribune, Jan 13, 2012)
Well, Senator, here are the facts. Please remember the definition of a fact, in particular section 2 of Webster’s dictionary 2: the quality of being actual
The state of Utah funds education in the annual session. Utah, the “family values state” is dead last in per-pupil funding. It is a FACT, Senator, not a myth.
Utah’s expenditure per K-12 student is $7,056. Dead Last. The United States average, sir, is $11,099. Facts, Senator, not myths.
And Senator, to use another of section 2 definitions from Webster: Myth: 2: an imaginable or unverifiable person or thing. It is a myth, Senator, that Utah admires education of our youth. Look at the facts, Senator.

The per-capita income in the United States is $40,584; the per-capita income in Utah is $32,585. (80.2% of US average.) Utah is at 63% of the national average on per-pupil expenditure. Where do you and your colleagues spend Utah’s money, Senator? Oh, now I remember…a payment to a contractor who threatened to file a well-deserved lawsuit for the rebuild contract of I-15 through Utah County. Lehi, isn’t that in Utah County, Senator?

Senator, our teachers are not overpaid, in fact they are underpaid. Utah teachers, on average, earn $46, 571. This takes into account the teacher that started this year, and the teacher that started 40 years ago. The average teacher’s salary in the United States of America is $56,069. Only two states average pay is lower than Utah: North Dakota and Missouri. There is not an overabundance of administration, in fact the citizens of Utah should be proud that the state is within the leanest of administrative costs, being 40th in administrative costs per student enrolled. And Senator, do not talk to me about ‘efficiencies,” Utah has a student/teacher ration of 22.4/1. But Senator, this “S/TR” is NOT a good method of measurement. Consider this fact:

This ratio of students to teachers
must not be confused with “Average Class Size,”
which is the number of students assigned to a
classroom for instructional purposes. Class size and
student-teacher ratio are very different concepts and
cannot be used interchangeably. According to recent
studies, the difference between student-teacher ratio
and average class size in K–3 is 9 or 10 students
(Sharp 2002).


Senator Madsen, you and your fellow elected “representatives” of the citizens of the State of Utah should be at worst, embarrassed and at best pilloried, for the travesty that is education funding in this state. You, sir, and your comrades (known implication intended) are nothing but puppets for private schools, vouchers, and lack of full education. Public education, provided for, and paid for by, the citizens, is the best defense of liberty, according to Thomas Jefferson. You, sir, insult the citizens of this state with your lack of total support of public education.

Source for all educational statistics:
Rankings and Estimates
National Education Association
December 2010

Source for population and income statistics U.S. census 2010

Government Programs

I wrote this while on a camping trip last year. With apologies for the delay in posting it, here are some thoughts relevant to the current debate on "government programs."

I woke this morning to no site or sound of man, no jet planes, no cell phones, no semis jake braking, and no power plants. Strangely, this made me think of Ron Paul, and others of his ilk, and the current movement to “cut” government spending. I thought, as I sat out last night and looked at the stars and satellites, how much the world has changed in my lifetime. In 1953, there were no satellites, phones had to be cranked to connect you to the operator, and the stores closed at 6 PM. Nothing was open on Sunday. Dinner was always cooked, as there were no “convenience” foods, and microwaves were figments of some mad scientist’s imagination.

In the midst of this current recession/depression, many are calling for the total elimination of government projects. I’d like to focus today on one or two, and although my focus is limited, perhaps you can think with me and explore in your mind other similar programs.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt created the Rural Electrification Program (REA) to bring power to the farmers and “rural” people of the United States. In doing this, not only did he create meaningful, paying jobs, he brought the nation together. By bringing electric power to the masses, they could then participate in the national conversation by listening to the radio; news began to travel faster, and the population as a whole benefited. Large groups of people were united into co-operatives to plan and build the electric system that, even today, provides a major part of the power grid into people’s homes, enabling them to use the myriad devices we all now take for granted. Without cell phones and video cameras, a lot of our “political thinkers” would be nothing but dried ink.


John Fitzgerald Kennedy wanted the United States of America to put a man on the moon in 1 decade, a short ten years. Think about it! No method of communication over this vast a distance had yet been created; we had no idea of spacesuits, or how to deal with human waste products in a space environment. How would the space pilots cook their food? If rock is destroyed coming into our atmosphere, how can we protect metal from destruction?

Microwaves, Corelle, disposable diapers, Tang, and Velcro all sprang from the space programs. Many more, but my memory is short, came from all of this. So-why the rush to destroy this, and other, avenues of creative thinking? Yes, businesses took over after the patents were issued, and some people (a small few) became very rich, but-the nucleus, the core of the idea, (microwaves for example) was how do we cook in space? How can we make money off this idea?

When politicians play to the press, and say they are against government spending in research and development, they are playing with a damaged fiddle. How many jobs are they willing to destroy in the “public interest” of cutting programs?

How long will YOU continue to enable these people to control your income?

Think about it... and post your comments. I love a good discussion!

My Vote Doesn't Count-Right?

“My vote doesn’t count.” How many times have you heard, or worse yet, used, that phrase? Allow me to say, Bullsh**! Allow me to say it very loudly, very clearly. BULLSH**!

In Utah, we hear often how the state is run by “The Church”, or controlled by “The Republican Party”. The real numbers don’t bear that out.

The State of Utah was ranked 46th - out of 50- in the 2008 (1)presidential election in voter turnout of eligible voters. Only 56% of us cared enough to vote. Fifty six percent! (As you probably are curious, Hawaii was 48.8%, Texas 54.1%, and Oklahoma 55.8%.) How much worse that 56% can it get? Much worse. Pathetically worse, actually.

In the 2010 elections, we elected a Governor (Herbert), a Senator (Lee), and 3 representatives (Bishop, Matheson, and Chaffetz). I say “we”, because I voted. The hard fact -the one you don’t want to recognize or admit- is these elected officials were voted into office by a very small minority of the eligible voters. Utah has a potential voter count of 1.94 million, according to the 2010 census. Only 30.2% of those eligible to vote turned out and cast a ballot.

Our Governor was elected by only 594,007 voters. Our Senator was elected by 582,230 votes. Together, Thirty point two percent of the potential voters in Utah elected “our” Governor and Senator. 30.2% (2)This-30.2%- is not government by the majority. It is government by apathy.

But back to the original arguments for “my vote doesn’t count.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints claims 1.8 million members (including children) in Utah. The Republican party has 40.6% (596,000) of the registered voters. Democrats are only 9.1% (133,770) of the registered voters. But- and it is a very big BUT- only 594,007 voters turned out to elect the Governor. So, if “The Church” or “The Republican Party”, ran the state, you would expect much higher turnouts. It didn’t happen.

The reality is this, dear reader. It’s your fault, my fault. We don’t collectively work for voter registration; we don’t ask if our neighbors, family or friends need a ride to the polls. If you are in the 30.2% who voted, thank you, and get off your backside and help others to register and vote. If you happen to be in the 69.8% who are not registered, or worse, don’t vote, SHAME ON YOU!

The 2012 elections are upon us, with all the rhetoric and nasty campaign tactics. But the truth is, your vote DOES count, your neighbors’ vote counts. Let’s get past ourselves, past our divides, and make this an election year when every person votes, when the will of the people is done. Hold your elected officials accountable, and let them know you vote! Let them know you vote for those who best represent YOU, the people of the United States of America.

To borrow a phrase, “Good Night, and Good Luck.”


(1)Source: Dr Michael McDonald,
George Mellon University, Fairfax, VA.
(http://elections.gmu.edu/Turnout_2008G.html)

(2)Source: Salt Lake Tribune, Jan 5, 2012

It’s very early, 2012, and it feels that I’ve left something unsaid. Oh, yes, my wishes for the New Year, for you, your family, your friends, and for my family, my friends, and myself.

So many years ago, fueled by the idealism of youth, I protested for Peace. Tonight, much older, perhaps no wiser, I prayed for Peace. A peace that will envelope you, your neighbors, your friends, your countrymen, the world, and selfishly, yes, myself and mine.

You and I are not that different, my friend; or my imagined foe. We have ideals, goals, and dreams. In the long term, even those ideals, goals and dreams are not so unique to you, or to me. I desire, and I believe you do also, to see our children grow and thrive, to watch from our well-deserved vantage point as our grandchildren become adults, see them espouse the real good and truths in life.

I pray and I hope, and I think you do as well, for our children and our grand-children, even our great-grand-children, to not have war as the focus of their lives. Too many of our families and friends have died, given the ultimate sacrifice, for an ideal that slipped through bloody hands.

It does not have to be this way. We, you and I together, have the power within us, the ability, to loudly say NO to those who lead us to the paths of separation, destruction and devastation.

We can accept, or better reject, the people and policies that fuel acrimonious racial, political, sexual, or ethnic division. Yes, there is a need, in fact a demand, for civil discussion on these matters. As I said, a civil discussion. There are differences in what we believe, how we worship, what we eat, who we spend our lives with, what we wear. But, long-term, are these differences worth killing and dying for?

I think not. Governments and ideologies that fuel hatred of someone different are not good, for you or for I. They only serve to divide, to separate, good peoples, good families.

We share, literally, a common ground. All of us have been given this planet, and its resources, for our use. We, you and I, need to be concerned about the best use of this world; how best to feed growing populations, how we can move people from one space to another, how to best dispose of our rubbish, how to provide water and power. These are discussions, ideas, that need to be held in a common meeting place, a place that addresses the concerns of all the peoples and all the ramifications of the decisions that are made.

No one idea, no one theory, no one ideology, no one religion, will make this happen. But you and I together, working, talking, considering each other and our diverse viewpoints, WE can make this world good, we can make this world great and peaceful. Working together, we can achieve great goals, great dreams.

This is my prayer; this is my desire, for you and for I, on this New Years Day.