Strengthen The Family

Archive for September, 2010

A few days ago I received a set of coupons from a local grocery store. It displayed an interesting lead phrase: “The Dining Table – The Original Chat Room”.

It then said, “Studies show that in Utah, parents’ involvement in their children’s lives drops by half between the 6th and 12th grades. Meals are a great opportunity to drop the distractions and reconnect.”

This is good advice from a grocery store.

It seems that in today’s fast paced and hectic world that families do not each their meals together as much as in days that are past. When I was young eating family meals together was the norm, especially for breakfast and dinner, and for lunch when we were not in school. They were good times and sharing times.

Many families still have meals together. In others the rule is grab something from the frig whenever you are hungry.

If your family is not doing your meals together, try returning to that olden practice. If you do you will see your family becoming closer and stronger.

Yesterday was Citizenship Day.  I received an email from Mike Lee regarding it and our constitution.  It was a good email, so I am entering it below.  Mike Lee is running for the vacant senate seat in Utah.  The title of his email was “Constitution at the Kitchen Table”

Some of my favorite and most vivid memories from my childhood are of my family sitting down for dinner around the kitchen table. It gave us a chance to reconnect after a busy day, share stories from school and discuss current events. Something as simple as sitting down and sharing a meal together allowed us to bring our individual and active lives together as a united family.

One of my favorite topics to discuss was the keystone of our great country-the U.S. Constitution. My father, the late Rex Lee, was a great man and regularly included this document in our conversations.  It wasn’t until I got a little older that I realized this wasn’t a typical subject discussed universally around the dinner table. As I look back, I truly value those discussions and attribute my great love and passion for our country to those kitchen-table talks.

Since becoming a father, I have made it a priority to keep this tradition alive in my own home. My wife, Sharon and I have wanted our children to grow up knowing about our forefathers, about the purpose of the Constitution, and what it provides us as Americans. We want our children to know that we live in a free land full of opportunity and possibility, and that it’s this document that holds the answers to many of the obstacles facing America today. It’s because of the Constitution that we have the freedom and ability to reach our full potential and truly live the American dream.

The greatness of our country stems from the fact that we live under a constitution that limits the power of the federal government. It is designed to make sure that our government can’t take too much of our wealth or control too much of our lives. This document makes it possible for Americans to earn a living, to pass wealth on to future generations, and to take care of their family’s needs. It’s by returning to the principles set forth in this document that America can return to greatness.

As a father, I want the best for my children. I want them to have all the benefits that I had available to me. By engaging in conversation about the Constitution around our dinner table, I feel that I am giving them the foundation they need to truly understand what it means to be an American, and how they can utilize the gift of freedom that was granted to us with the signing of this remarkable document.

Today our country pays tribute to this document with the recognition of Constitution Day. If at no other time this year you discuss the Constitution in your home, I encourage you to take the opportunity to talk about it with your family and those you care about on this day. Whether you’re a scholar of the document or haven’t read it since your last history class, take a minute during dinner tonight to find out what your children know of the Constitution, and share with them, what it means to you.

If you need help on topics to begin your discussion you can find some great information and resources at www.constitutioncenter.org.  Here are some interesting facts from the site to get things started:

Written in 1787, the United States Constitution was signed on September 17th. But it wasn’t until 1788 that it was ratified by the necessary nine States.

The Constitution was written in the same Pennsylvania State House where the Declaration of Independence was signed and where George Washington received his commission as Commander of the Continental Army.

Some of the original framers and delegates were concerned that the original Constitution lacked a description of individual rights. In 1791, Americans added a list describing individual rights to be granted to citizens, which became known as the Bill of Rights.

The Constitution was prepared in secret, behind locked doors protected by guardsmen.

The Vice President of the United States is designated as the President of the Senate, but will only cast a vote to break a tie. Since 1789, 244 tie-breaking votes have been cast.

The Constitution outlines three branches of government: legislative, executive and judicial. This system prevents any branch from having too much power. The executive branch is made up of the President, Vice President and departments; legislative contains the House of Representatives and Senate; and judicial is composed of the Federal and Supreme Courts.

The first national “Thanksgiving Day,” established on November 26, 1789, was originally created by George Washington as a way of “giving thanks” for the Constitution.

Of the written national constitutions, the U.S. Constitution is the oldest and shortest, with just 4,400 words.

The Tenth Amendment states that powers not granted to the federal government nor prohibited to the states by the Constitution of the United States are reserved to the states or the people.

The length of a single term served by elected officials is outlined in the Constitution. Once that term is up, officials are required to receive the majority vote once again to maintain their post. Term lengths are two years for Representatives, six years for Senators and four years for the President. A president may only serve a maximum of two terms, which was established by the 22nd Amendment in 1947.

At 81, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania was the oldest delegate at the Constitutional Convention and at 26, Jonathon Dayton of New Jersey was the youngest.

The original document can be viewed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

More than 11,000 amendments have been introduced in Congress. Thirty three have gone to the states to be ratified and twenty seven have received the necessary approval from the states to actually become amendments to the Constitution.

In order to amend the Constitution, three quarters of the states must vote in favor before the proposed amendment becomes law.

John Adams referred to the Constitution as “the greatest single effort of national deliberation that the world has ever seen” and George Washington wrote to the Marquis de Lafayette that “It (the Constitution) appears to me, then, little short of a miracle.”

I know my children have learned a great deal about the Constitution in their classes at school.  I also want them to gain a greater understanding of what it means to me and what it can do for them.  The Constitution is truly the foundation and support structure for the ongoing success of our country.  Above all I want my children to see and sense and know that the Constitution contains real, practical, common-sense solutions for the challenges we face today.

After announcing my candidacy for the Senate back in January my first campaign brochure contained this sentiment, “That which we ignore or forget our children may never know, and what our children do not know our grandchildren may never realize.”  We must remember the Constitution for ourselves, for our children and for our grandchildren. I invite you to take some time today, or over the weekend, to sit down with those you care about and engage in a dialogue about this extraordinary document which defines and defends the principles and values we hold deal as Americans.

Mike Lee

Extremely violent and addictive video games are polluting the minds of an entire generation of children, and most parents are clueless. Young players earn game points based on how many murders they commit, with increasingly realistic bloodshed splattered around for teenagers and pre-teens to learn to enjoy.
These highly disturbing video games encourage players to shoot innocent bystanders to win points and to commit acts like using shovels to decapitate people so dogs can then fetch their chopped-off heads. If you find that shocking to read, just imagine how much more shocking it is for a seven-year-old to see it acted out in gory graphics and to win points for committing such crimes.

Other scenes include having sex with prostitutes and then killing them or committing heinous acts of terrorism. These deadly role-playing games not only desensitize and reward players for acts of extreme violence, but are highly addictive.

Parental control isn’t the solution because parents typically have no way to fully review these games before giving or denying permission to their children to play them. Some games are programmed to become more violent while the game is being played, and parents usually don’t or can’t play the games.

Children don’t necessarily know the difference between fantasy and reality. Brain research indicates that teenagers’ brains, as well as children’s brains, are still developing and may store violent images as real memories.

Virtually every school massacre can be traced to the young killers’ addiction to violent video games. The video game industry reaps tens of billions of dollars in revenue and now even surpasses Hollywood in profits, revenues and influence.

A case challenging a law limiting the sale of these violent video games to children is now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. This case reached the High Court because a couple of lower federal court judges, the kind we call supremacists, ruled that these games are entitled to as much free-speech protection as, for example, Shakespeare, and laws limiting sales to children are unconstitutional.

The video game industry is trying to wrap its evil products in the First Amendment. The industry is asking the High Court to create a new type of free speech that would make it impossible to put any limit on this victimizing of children.

The video game industry could lose billions of dollars in future revenue if the Supreme Court rules against creating a new free speech right to corrupt children’s minds and morals with what can be called image abuse. One commentator described this outcome as “apocalyptic” for the industry.

We would expect the law-and-order state Attorneys General, many of whom were elected on promises to protect children and families, to weigh in on this important case and stand up against the harm to children. Eleven state Attorneys General have joined a friend-of-the-court (amicus) brief on the side of California to stop the sale of violent video games to children: Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia.

So far, the other 38 state Attorneys General are either ducking this issue, hoping the voters won’t notice, or are even considering signing an amicus brief in favor of violent video games! Apparently, some care more about getting big campaign contributions than upholding their campaign promises.

Money talks, and the video game industry has megabucks to lobby and motivate politically ambitious public officials. State Attorney General is an office that is frequently seen as a stepping stone to be elected Governor.

The deadline for states to submit arguments in this case is September 17. State Attorneys General are now making their decisions about whether to be on the side of the children or the video game industry.

The California Supervising Deputy Attorney General defending the law limiting sales of violent video game to kids, Zackery Morazzini, said, “It’s our understanding that there’s a pretty intense lobbying effort” by the video game industry. Given that plenty of money is available to support aggressive lobbying by the wrong side, families need to speak up and tell their state Attorney General to get on the right side.

In Utah, pro-family legislators and voters held a press conference on August 23 to tell their Attorney General to help protect children against violent video games. Groups in other states should do likewise, and fast.

State Attorneys General may hold the key to which side wins this landmark legal case. It’s time for families to make clear to their own state Attorney General that the voters will hold them accountable for what they do about this problem of filling children’s minds and memories with gory, criminal images.

The above article  is a guest article by Phyllis Schlafly. September 10, 2010

My comments on this article:

Violent video games are another front in the battle against families.  If they can weeken or distroy the youth they will weeken the youth’s family.

Parents, please be aware of this danger to your family and be more involved in what your young people are playing.  Talk with them about this subject and warn them about the dangers.  There are plenty of good, non violent games to pick from.