A Sad, Sad World

This post is going to be a bit different from my normal posts, but there have been a couple of things have that happened lately that have really made my desire to get involved somehow to try and create a better world. As most of you know I've been getting very involved in the political world lately so that I can become more knowledgeable about what is going on in the world and which people I really do want representing me. So far this is the only thing that I've really done, but I know that I should be doing more, yet I don't quite know what that should be yet. If anybody has any ideas I would love to know.

Here are few events that have made me feel a little bit down about what our world has come to:

Fifth-graders arrested after alleged sex in class
I was not as shocked as I probably should have been when I saw this headline, mostly because a very similar (but I think worse when you consider both circumstances) broke last month. I know that these children need to be held accountable for their actions, but I just have to wonder what types of parents these children have waiting for them at home. Do they even have parents that know whether or not their children are home throughout the day? Do they know what their children are watching on TV or looking at on the internet? Do they know that their children are sexually active at such a young age? Do they care? It appears that good parenting has taken a back burner to getting that next promotion, making a name for oneself, partying, drugs, and anything else. If I were working full-time we definitely could get a better TV, go on that vacation sooner, shoot, we could even go out to eat every once in awhile! But I get to stay at home with my girls all day, everyday (which isn't the easiest thing in the world) and try to help them to grow up to be responsible, happy, Christ-following adults.

It just seems like so many parents in today's world either don't care what their kids are doing, or they are trying to change so many things to make their children's lives easier...to the point of hurting them in the long run. Some elementary schools in San Francisco have eliminated homework to "ease the stress" of the students. Now I don't know how much the public school system has changed since I was in elementary school, but I do not recall my homework ever being a stressful time for me. These poor children in San Francisco are learning that if you don't like something, you don't have to do it. Some schools in Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, California and South Carolina have banned tag, soccer and touch football, while other states have banned running on the playground. Even more states have gotten rid of recess completely and are also beginning to get rid of PE. Is this what our kids really need, especially considering the obesity rate among children? Why are parents allowing this, and even more interesting, why are parents pushing for things like this? Why do parents feel it's necessary to have a gay and lesbian awareness month? What has happened over the past few decades so that we've reached this point?

In the past few years I have noticed that the church leaders are really stressing that we, as parents, are responsible for teaching our children in the home. I am coming to learn that this is not only about gospel-related topics. We are responsible for teaching our children everything, while school, church, and things of that nature are just supplemental to what we are teaching them at home. We cannot send our children to school and hope they learn about the world surrounding them. I will be the first to admit that I will not be able to teach my children calculus or chemistry, but I know that I can easily teach them what it means to work hard, be self-reliant, be honest, what it's like to love and be loved. I am so grateful that I was raised by hard working parents who put the needs of their seven children before their own. I am also grateful that those same parents helped all of their children to learn of the gospel and then to gain our own testimony that gospel. I know that I am very lucky to have been born in the situation and family that I am in, which is why I feel it is so important for me to try and stop some of the crazy things that are happening in this world. This post is really long and I apologize, but I just needed to get it all off of my chest. Now here's to making this a better world!