Top 10 Reasons I Hate Election Years

 

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  • 10. People stop listening to reason!
  •  9. All sides act like bullies and try to sway voters with put-downs instead of logic, setting bad examples for our children.
  •  8. Families and friends make a game out of turning on each other, instead of supporting each other, again setting bad examples.
  •  7. People argue with emotions instead of with facts, and too many politicians campaign totally on emotions rather than facts.
  •  6. People send chain e-mails without checking the facts first.
  •  5. Both sides ignore the real issues, and many in the news media join in instead of reporting facts.
  •  4. The campaign ads do not give reliable sources.
  •  3. We lose at least one year of action while our leaders are campaigning and fighting each other.
  •  2. Too few focus on the good both sides have done and instead focus only on the negatives.
  •  1. It divides our country, families, and friends at a time we cannot afford to be divided.

Please Unite in the Aftermath of Arizona Shooting 12

American flag - Copy

My hope is that our country will come together over this tragedy and maybe learn something about how words might influence people in a negative way. It would be nice if “the powers that be,” be they political leaders, journalist, or just commentators, would learn to set a better example and stop trying to bully each other.

How can we hope to get our children to stop bullying each other when so many adults speak and post without thinking of the consequences of their words? Did the politicians pull the trigger in Arizona? No, they did not, but do they need to learn the same lessons that our youth need to learn? Yes, they do. They need to learn kindness, respect, and tolerance of differences just like we want our children to learn.

I would love to see our country united instead of being so angry that we divide. Anger is a scary emotion that ultimately causes more harm unless it is redirected toward positive change. Look at the history of the world including more recent history in countries such as Rwanda and you’ll see the devastation that anger causes. Please let’s learn something from the bad examples instead of perpetuating them.

See the blog post below for a wonderful take on this:

Try Defying Gravity

I’m sending love and prayers to the victims of Saturday’s shooting and to their families. I hope and pray the adults in our country grow up and learn to set better examples. Leaders lead by example too! Is there hope for our country? I hope so and I honestly do have faith that there are more good people than bad, so let me know what you think.

Oh one more thing, a blogger over at Blog Her was among the victims, who thankfully survived the shooting, but please send her good wishes at the blog below:

The Burrow: Tough

Mahalo,

Sue

Bullying in the Aloha State

Lanai from hotel roomWhen my children were younger we read a story book about the Aloha Bear which taught that aloha means hello, goodbye, and love. People also use it to mean peace, compassion, and mercy. Yet, even in Hawaii, we have a bullying problem that isn’t going away. Those who have been reading my blog know this affected my family directly a few years ago.

Hawaii is one of the few states without legislation specifically aimed at bullying, yet the problem is no longer being ignored. The harassment law was amended last year to allow for prosecution of technology related bullying. State leaders are working on ways to curb the bullying. The news media has also been giving it more attention this year. See the following for more information: Cyber bullying affects 1 in 2 Hawaii teens – Hawaii News Now – KGMB and KHNL Home

It is time to educate the parents as to their responsibility. For more information about this see my accountability post: Accountability for Protecting Our Children | dswalkerauthor.

A parent’s primary job is to teach their child right from wrong and to protect them from harm. Protect your child no matter what anyone at the school or anywhere else tells you. Protect them by legal means please! Work with me to change the system.

Unfortunately, you will probably also have to help your child learn to forgive so they can completely heal. Becoming the bully is not an option. Becoming an advocate is. It is truly time to change the school climate to one of tolerance and acceptance of differences. I hope some of you will be brave enough to publicly agree with me by commenting here.

Addendum: Hawaii’s anti-bullying law became effective in 2011. However, it excludes over 150 private schools. You can find more posts about bullying by clicking on more supportive schools from the menu or entering bullying in the search area.