The Wanderer of Leixlip.

"...And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yeat a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, FATHER, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the Father said to his servants, bring forth the best robe, and put it on him: and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it: let us eat, and be merry. for this my son was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry."
LUKE 15:20-24
     The silence in the ourr household was prevalent as usual around the time of 630 pm- except the kling klang of forks hitting the China plates like a faint churchbell ringing in the distance. Alfred the elder finished slicing a bit of pork. He than paused and looked across the table at me, Alex, his only son.
    "I don't want you to go," He said, his northern brogue rising up and down charismatically. My face felt red hot as I squeezed my eyes shut tight. I opened them slightly and stared down at my mashed potatoes.I did not want to look up at   dad.
   "But all of my friends will be there."
   "Ya can't go." This time he was more firm, as if I hadn't gotten the proper message the first time. "
    "I'm 16 years old- shouldn't I be allowed to go out with my friends on a friday night?"
    "Only friend you need is Christ, son. You don't need to lose your salvation through being around lewd talking, drinks and smokes."
   I could've mouthed that sentence by now. My thoughts turned to MA. She would have let me go. I imagined her smiling, those warm brown eyes, with hands reaching out to touch my shoulder.
    "I remember how kids were at your age- don't forget. I was one."
    Well, at least he was emphasizing with me. I couldn't imagine him ever having fun, or getting into mischief. I tried to change my thoughts because I felt like Dad could hear them.
    "I'm only doing it for your own good, son. When you grow up and move out on your own you will have free will to do what you like. But you're still under my roof and my rules."
    I put down my fork and stared again at the potatoes. I hated it when he said he was doing it for my own good.
    "You aren't going to finish your potatoes than?"
    "Lost my appetite."

Petition

To Whom it may concern,
    I have been denied financial aid for school because of actions of mine 20+ years ago. I withdrew from a lot of classes back than- sometimes not knowing that I hadn't dropped them. Sometimes it was because of work (I didn't know about financial aid back in that time so I worked.) In many cases I was just taking any classes I could get and didn't have a plan. Now that I have more experience, and went back to school in Los Angeles maintaining a 3.1 average, and I know that I want my bachelor's degree, I hope I will be given another chance. Back in the early 90's I left high school because I was feeling unwell and harassed.I took classes at JC, and in 1999 even tried to complete classes after I started a job in LA for United Airlines in April. I should have dropped the classes. I managed to pass English 1 A but failed Critical Thinking, which I am retaking.
    There are a lot subjects I'm interested in majoring in,   film or creative writing, Marketing, etc. but right now I'm focused on completing general ed courses. My financial situation is dire however and it would help a lot if I could get Pell Grants and possibly loans. Thank you, I appreciate your understanding,

Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address –

Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address – 

      In Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, he mentions that the Economy is stronger than ever

with 14 million Jobs being created. This is what I would ask him. How does the rate that these

employees are being paid compare with the standard of living? If I'm being paid $15 an hour, it may

sound great until you figure out that the average is rent for a studio apartment in this area is about

$1000 a month. So it takes about 60 hours just to pay the rent! I had to pretty much quit being an Uber

driver because I couldn't afford the bills. I was inspired to complete my schooling, which goes into what

he said about student loans. I love the idea of not having student loans, and school being free. I signed

up for school and wasn't able to get the Pell Grants because of withdrawing from classes 20 years ago.

    I think Barack Obama seems like a very nice guy, if not a little out of touch. To recommend free

college seems like a great idea, but is it something that can actually happen yet at the same time he says

that we need to pay teachers more. Where is all this money coming from? I would be all for taking

money out of our military budget and putting it towards education.  I believe for America to be great we

need to be less interested in expanding our powers and focus on problems we have at home.

     The fact that he says that people are full of hot air that say the economy is not in good shape

is hot air itself. I feel that he’s out of touch with the Blue Collared Americans who can barely pay bills.

     Some of the things Obama said I agreed with. When he said it’s easy to believe that politics don’t

matter, I feel a tinge of guilt for sometimes feeling in the past that it wouldn’t matter whom I voted for,

that my daily life would remain unaffected regardless who is elected. I also like the fact that he believes

everyone should learn coding. However, I also feel coding isn’t for everyone. Some people are drawn to

it more than others. But I do understand his sentiment that maybe a lot of people who don’t have

access to computer programming could benefit from it. On the other hand, with websites like Udemy

and Youtube, virtually all you need to teach yourself coding is online anyways.

   A lot of other stuff he said seemed like obvious issues- criminal justice reform, equal pay, minimum

wage, recruiting great teachers for our kids, etc. He  didn’t mention that overall crime is

 down, because it’s more socially acceptable to look at the negative aspects of Criminal Justice than to

admit there have actually been some improvements. 

     Closing Statement- Debate on Religious Freedom 

In the first amendment of the constitution, it says Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Even if it seems outdated to allow people their religious freedom, it is still important to honor what it says here. Hobby Lobby has outstretched it’s hand above and beyond, providing 16 different measures of contraception, copay free.  

    They include Male condoms, Female condoms, Diaphragms with spermicide sponges with spermicide cervical caps, Birth Control pills with estrogen and progestin, Contraceptive patches and rings, Progestin injections, implantable rods, Vasectomies, Female sterilization surgeries and Female sterilization implants. Where they draw the line is at Abortions.

    Picture yourself having grown up your entire life abhorring and renouncing the idea of Abortions. Everything in the fiber of your being is against the concept. Whether you agree or disagree with these people, it is wrong to not let them have their religious freedom. A sin of Omission, in other words a wrong that is not directly done by somebody, is as frowned upon as a direct sin in the Christian Religion. So by forcing somebody to provide something that they see as a mortal sin is something they shouldn’t be asked to do. The constitution is there to protect the rights of everyone, including those who merely don’t want to be part of an act that they don’t believe in.

    In addition, the Freedom Restoration act “Prohibits any agency, department, or official of the United States or any State (the government) from substantially burdening a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except that the government may burden a person's exercise of religion only if it demonstrates that application of the burden to the person: (1) furthers a compelling governmental interest; and (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest.

    I’ll end on this: If you can only stick up and agree with people who are in your own Political party and live the way that you want to, what is the use of a Constitution? What is the point in living in a Nation where some people deserve rights and some people don’t? I ask you to consider how difficult it would be for somebody to go against their beliefs and have empathy for their cause. Thank you.

    In Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, he mentions that the Economy is stronger than ever with 14 million Jobs being created. This is what I would ask him. How does the rate that these employees are being paid compare with the standard of living? If I'm being paid $15 an hour, it may sound great until you figure out that the average is rent for a studio apartment in this area is about $1000 a month. So it takes about 60 hours just to pay the rent! I had to pretty much quit being an Uber driver because I couldn't afford the bills. I was inspired to complete my schooling, which goes into what he said about student loans. I love the idea of not having student loans, and school being free. I signed up for school and wasn't able to get the Pell Grants because of withdrawing from classes 20 years ago.

    My Techie fast. I chose to completely abstain from my smartphone for a day. What's strange is that I use my smartphone in ways I didn't even realize. It's to the point where I don't even want to run if I can't use Strava. I've become addicted knowing how far and for how long I've been running when I do it. I often use the Waze app when I'm driving even though I know exactly where I'm going. I like to know how many minutes and exact distance I am from where I'm going. And the funny thing is I was not like this even a year ago.
    To be honest, it wasn't THAT challenging because I knew it would only be for a day and I knew it was good for me. It was kind of like going on a short juice fast but for the brain. I also had some books I've been wanting to finish that I had started and didn't want them interfering with my homework. It also helped that it was on a Sunday where I knew I wouldn't have a lot going on. I sort of planned it out. I imposed a no driving law on myself, which I broke to go to a Coffee shop and do some more reading. So my day was basically read in bed, eat a bit, go on a short run, read some more, go to A coffee shop and keep reading.
    Usually if I'm going to a coffee shop I'm going to want to bring my phone to listen to music while I read, and maybe type on my laptop. But things were more simple that day. I actually did bring noise cancelling earplugs because I get distracted easily by random noise.
   One thing I noticed is that it seemed like there was a lot more time in the day. When I checked the time at 5:30 I'd assumed it would have been much later than it actually was. And I felt an improvement in my overall sense of well being. In fact, the funny thing is, the next morning when I checked Facebook, I saw a few things that put me in a kind of sour mood.
   I find myself agreeing with Sherry Turkle's characterization of technology and it's effects on it's users. I think that if i continued this fast I would probably be better off it. I think that if I never signed into Facebook again I probably would not be missing out on much. I signed in today and I was tagged in a challenge to take a picture of a tree and post it. The person who tagged me is a friend and former roommate and I feel like if I don't do it, it will seem like I'm ignoring her. So I have another item on my to do list that has nothing to do with getting anything productive done. Not that that is her fault, and she probably wouldn't think twice if I didn't take the picture and post it, but I have a self imposed emotion that tells me it's the right thing to do!
   As Turkle says, "In every era, certain ways of relating come to feel natural. In our time, if we can be continually in touch, needing to be continually in touch does not seem a problem or a pathology but an accommodation to what technology affords. It becomes the norm."
    So in this new way of socializing, with Social Media, etc. I have become a digital hermit in some ways, in others not so much. I literally, this very second am getting a Twitter notification on my smartphone from a friend of mine who is in Dallas visiting from India. I recommended a restaurant to him and he "liked" my tweet, and returned with "Thanks, will try." This man is the owner of an App developing company that I interned with and I wanted to be helpful, as this man has been very helpful to me in the past. So when he asked for a restaurant, I tweeted one. I have a lot of friends from my trip to India in 2014 and I still keep in touch with them. It's important to keep in touch with our friends throughout the universe, and at the same time it's equally important to not neglect the friends who in a close radius.
    The ironic thing about technology that I've noticed is that now in this era, to be a Luddite is actually kind of an elite thing on a certain level. My father can do without a phone because he is already retired and doesn't have to earn a living any more. My mother books tickets if they travel, etc. He doesn't like modern technology at all. My take is that if you're a person striving to make a living in this day and age there's no way to get around it! If you even want to apply for a job you have to do it online.
    On the other hand, Jack White of the White Stripes doesn't have a cell phone but he doesn't need one. He earns millions of dollars and probably has assistants that use cell phones. Woody Harrelson is another celebrity who doesn't use a cell phone. Aubrey De Grey, the famous anti- aging researcher has rebuked cellphones as being terrible for the human need for solitude. I think the answer for someone like me, who is part of the soup of modern day humanity and cannot go forever without a smart phone, there is a balance to be had. I will continue these digital fasts as often as I can. If I can't go a whole day, maybe I'll just go part of a day. Maybe I will use Strava for running, but not go on Facebook. Maybe I will use Spotify to listen to music, but will not go on Twitter. I feel I can go online and be healthy and balanced person, I just have to do it a lot less.

    The book we're reading, "From Critical Thinking to Argument," outlines Critical Thinking in several different ways. The part that sticks with me is when the author speaks of a Critical Thinker being somebody who can draw logical conclusions to an array of different ideas, yet at the same time keep an open mind and learn to be self critical and open to other people's opposing views. Upon racking my brain trying to figure out what Critical Thinking really is, as opposed to meditation, where I am trying to clear my brain, I've come to the conclusion that a Critical Thinker must have a keen eye for the varieties of views that are not their own, and thus requires a certain amount of empathy, or as some have put it, an ability to "walk in somebody else's moccasins."