Frustration...

So its been awhile since I have written, things have been so hectic, and to be honest, I was afraid if I wrote anything in the last couple weeks, it may not have come out the way I wanted to because I have been so frustrated with the election and social networking. I figured since the election was over, things would begin to settle down and people would relax a bit, but apparently, the results of the election has caused a bigger uproar than I first imagined. I am starting to become increasingly concerned with how much aggression people are expressing towards one another. I wonder if its because times have changed and people are  starting to talk more openly about politics, whereas, many years ago, politics was something you only talked about with your significant other. I remember turning 18 and registering to vote, when they asked me what party I wanted to be, they had to explain to me the difference between a democrat and a republican because I had NO IDEA. I think the reason for this is because my parents didn't want me choosing a political party based on their beliefs, they wanted me to choose based on who I wanted and who I felt was best fit. I also think its because my parents were raised to never discuss politics with anyone, so politics was not something openly talked about in their house, even to this day. 

However, now that social networking has been introduced into the picture, people are using these networks to discuss, debate, argue, and often times flat out downgrade one another. I guess my frustration is coming from the amount of open rudeness I have seen towards one another, all because of political stance and how it is still going on even after the election has ended. The change in time, where politics were never discussed to a time where politics are discussed so freely has only proven to be disastrous and has been jeopardizing family relationships, as well as friendships.

I have quite a few points a want to talk about, so if I jump around a bit in this blog post, please forgive me. I want to talk about the most recent thing I have come across first because the emotions are still there. The picture below is a sign that is posted on a business door in Arizona, does it spark emotion for you? Do you agree with it? Should this business owner be held accountable for such actions?

Photo of Gun Shop Denying Business to Obama Voters'

Alright, so I couldn't get the photo to post, so I posted a link to where you can find the photo, and while you are there, if you get a chance check out the comments that people leave under the picture. I am not sure what irritates me more, the photo or some of the comments. I wish we would just go back to a time where nobody discussed politics or how they voted, but since that is clearly not going to happen, I have to vent some things that are bothering me. For one, the fact that there is a business owner turning customers away based on how they voted, shows politics has definitely taken over this country and not in a good way. So after seeing this picture on Facebook (go figure, where else would I have seen it), I did some research. Although it is against our constitutional right to deny business based on things such as race, religion, and sex, there is nothing that clearly says they cannot deny business based on political stance; however, if this company were to be taken to court, they would have to provide a reason that is arbitrary and political stance is not an arbitrary reason to deny business, so I imagine this business owner would lose any lawsuit and is therefore being very ill-informed in his decisions to post such a sign!   

So this is one of the most recent things I have seen and all political parties aside, it would bother me not matter if I voted for President Obama or not. I feel like this election has completely divided this country and this is not a good thing. It's not going to matter who the president is, if the parties do not come together in a mature, responsible manner, this country is going to fail, not just for us, but for our kids and their kids because at the end of the day, this is affecting their future just as much, if not more than ours. If we allow such behaviors to continue, what are we teaching them? Something needs to change and fast. 

After hearing about this businesses antics, I woke up today to find out that several states, some 500,000 people have signed a petition to "free the people" or secede their state from the union. This means they are asking their state to become its own state and to be free from the United States, however, the state governments are not wanting any part of this and feel this is not the way to go, and I agree. Separating a state from the United States is a drastic measure that has intense  ramifications, did these people never learn about the Civil War? I have also learned that people are filing petitions to have the people,who want to secede from the United States, citizenship revoked. This is also a drastic measure, but one has to wonder, if they do not want to be a part of the United States through thick and thin, maybe they are better off. Either way, whether you agree with either of these petitions or not, this is not the path we should be choosing. Such behaviors are showing exactly why nothing seems to be getting fixed the way it should be. This is proving that the two parties have become so divided and want to fight each other all the way, whether they agree or not; it seems both parties want to make the other party look bad. 

I am not going to sit here and tell you guys which party you should choose, yes I like to explain why I think one person was better than the other and I would provide research to back my position, I respect everyone's right to choose which party best fits their family and their lives. Perhaps if we all starting respecting each-others beliefs and views and understand why one person may want the one candidate over the other, we could put aside our difference and just enjoy what we do still have, which is freedom!! Freedom that our troops fight for every single day and whether people want to believe it or not, freedom the commander in chief tries to protect daily as well. Perhaps we should all just go back to the acting like the previous generation did and keep politics to ourselves or between a husband and a wife. If we went back to doing this, maybe there wouldn't be as much hate and fighting and arguing amongst ourselves and maybe, just maybe, we could prevent a potential disaster from happening amongst our own people!! 

I am going to end this blog with that for now, I may create a new blog post expanding on the other points I wanted to write about, but for now, I am just going to end it on the note that I am happy we are free, living in a country that allows us to keep that freedom, and that we should all put this behind us and start enjoying the days we are given, because in an instant your life could change forever!! 

Random Thoughts

 I have done a couple different blogs so far, one was more of an  introduction, while the other was more of a formal blog. This time I wanted to do something a bit different. Something that was more opinionated and me just free writing. Hopefully it turns out the way I want it to. As I mentioned before, everyone bare with me as I begin to get use to this whole blogging thing. 

I guess my thoughts are kind of heading towards the direction of the election and the behavior of people during this time, so this is what my blog is going to be based on. Some of you may not agree with what I write, while other's may, but that's just something I am going to have to accept when I am writing an opinion based blog post, especially when it is about something as sensitive as politics. 

I am starting to notice, as I have been reading tons of posts via Facebook/Twitter and comments on various web-pages, that people are expressing extremely strong emotions during this election. Is it because the fate of our country rests in the hands of one of these two candidates or is it because the race for the White House is neck and neck or is it simply that stereotyping seems to be a huge issue amongst both sides? Perhaps its a combination of all three, one can only speculate, but I will talk a little on each of these scenarios. 

I want to start with stereotyping and emotion because time and again I am seeing this with many of the comments and articles I am reading. Of course stereotyping in politics has  been around for many elections, where else would people have gotten the images about republicans and democrats, but how much validity do they hold and why has it been so strong during this election? Could it be that we have two men of two totally different races, backgrounds, and religions running for office? That is possible, especially since I see people hinting around that Obama only got elected the first time to prove they were not racist, however, race is the last reason Obama got elected into office. Could the stereotyping be the direct result of  one of the Candidates disregarding 47% of the country, therefore allowing people to think they have the right to do the same? This could definitely be a contributing factor!!  How about social networking as a reasoning? Definitely! For one, just look at the amount of pictures and comments circulating social networks like Twitter and Facebook! Plus, how many of us either write political posts or have someone on our social network sites who do? People are definitely hiding behind the computer to say things they wouldn't say otherwise, it is convenient, its easy, and most of all it prevents direct confrontation....most of the time.   

I think people have it all wrong though, for one, all republicans are not rich and crooked and for two, all democrats are not poor, lazy, and living off of the system. However, these images will always remain strong & prevail no matter how hard one fights to change it because somewhere along the line, whether through debates, conferences, or hidden video recordings, political parties were put into two categories: rich & crooked and poor & lazy. 

The race for the white house is neck and neck and it is causing such an intense amount of emotions amongst voters everywhere. If you have been following the polls lately then you know that both candidates are about tied for the race to the White House; this in itself is causing a wide range of emotions amongst both sides. The reason for this is because people either want change or they are afraid of change, so not knowing which way this election is going to fall is causing stress, nervousness, anxiousness, etc. and some people are releasing these emotions through strong, opinionated, and often times rude remarks, often via the Internet. There has to be a better way though, the negative hatred I am seeing everywhere is not going to solve any problems our country is facing. The negativity towards the opposite side is part of the reason many things that are good for this country are not getting approved because nobody in politics seems to be able to get along together long enough to come to a bi-partisan agreement on things, not just during the last 4 years either. Perhaps,  bi-partisanship is what what we need to bring this country back from the point of no return; democrats and republicans, conservatives and liberals all coming together to make solid, positive decisions, instead of decisions just to make the other person look bad! This is just a thought though!

The final scenario of why people are behaving the way they are during this election has to do with knowing the fate of this country, the fate of the economy, the fate of social security and medicare, as well as the fate of America's image among its allies and enemies rests in the hands of one of the two candidates. Don't worry, I am not going to sit here and tell you which one I think has a better plan for America (those who know me already know where I stand on that). I believe people are concerned that their decision is going to play a major factor in what happens to us as a country, which is a reasonable and understandable feeling. Perhaps people haven't seen the change they were hoping for in the last four years and are afraid that the next four years will only get worse or perhaps people have seen changes and our afraid that switching now would not be a good thing. Either way this is going to cause disagreements amongst one another. In addition, people from both sides feel like the opposite side is telling lies and of course the media doesn't do a very good job at easing those feelings. No matter where you look, you are going to find something that supports or opposes what has been said by either party, so arguing over it seems relevant at the time, but is actually pointless, because somebody will always find something to counter your argument or claim. 
At the end of the day, we can all agree that this country still has a long way to go to get back to the way it use to be. We can also agree that once a person has decided who their voting for, there is little anyone can do to change that; but I hope that we all can also agree that arguing about it and stereotyping people is doing very little to help our country, in fact, it is setting poor examples for our children, who will be the next generation of America! All that matters is we all get out there and vote for the person we think can help our country the best, the person we want to vote for, other than that, all the political talk is pointless and a waste of time, since there is no way to talk politics politely!!

Bullying......Will It Ever End???

      Bullying....nowadays there isn't a child who doesn't know what that word means and surprisingly 2 out of 3 teens know exactly how bullying feels as well! Is there anything we can do to stop it? How many kids have to suffer each year? Why isn't it reported as much as it should be? Are schools really taking the appropriate measures to prevent and stop it?? These are all questions we need to be asking ourselves and our schools!! 

      How many parents send their children to school thinking they will be safe and protected? How many think school is giving their child a learning and social experience that cannot be found anywhere else? If your answer was yes, then thanks to bullying and the lack of prevention against it, you may want to think again!

      Sadly, each year bullying is making our schools unsafe and is preventing our children from getting the education they should be. Astoundingly, 1 out of ever 4 students do not feel safe within their own school and bullying has now moved outside of school hours as well, via cell phones and social networking. The reason why most of us still think our children are safe at school is because 57% of students who are bullied and harassed will not report it. However it does't just fall on the students, it falls on the school faculty as well, because 1 in 4 teachers see nothing wrong with bullying and will only step in and stop such incidents from happening about 4% of the time. These numbers are scary, especially since bullying is becoming more frequent with each passing year. 

      Bullying not only occurs in high schools, elementary and middle schools are experiencing the same types of problems as well. In fact, majority, about 90% of  bullying, occurs between the 4th and 8th grade. High schools tend to see more problems with verbal and cyber bullying rather than physical, although physical bullying still happens in high school,  it tends to be at its peak during middle school years.

      With bullying so widespread, many children cannot possibly be getting the education they deserve and need, especially since more than 160,000 students miss school every day and 1 in 10 ultimately drop out before they ever get the chance to graduate, all because of the harassment and bullying they have to go through. Learning isn't the only thing affected by bullying either. The emotional and psychological damage that it causes will follow many of these children into their adult life. Children often times end up turning to drugs and alcohol or cutting themselves as a way to escape the pain. Some kids will even turn become bullies, thinking this will solve their own problems with bullying. Why are we allowing this to go on? Why are the schools not doing more? Clearly it has become an epidemic that needs immediate attention and action, bullying is not just kids being kids and it isn't just going to go away! No child should have to suffer at the hands of another child or at the hands of anyone for that matter.

     Tragically, children who are harassed and bullied on a daily basis are 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide and 2 times more likely to actually go through with it, just consider the case of Amanda Todd, who was just one of many who took their own lives because they saw no end and no way out. In addition, some of these children not only contemplate suicide they think about homicide as well, which is why 75% of school shootings are the result of bullying and harassment. Therefore the bullying of one person can hurt more than just that person, it could jeopardize the welfare of many. 

      If you can't send your children to school without worrying about what could happen to them, doesn't that mean something needs to change. In America alone, there are 2.1 million bullies, these numbers are unacceptable. If two-thirds of students believe that the school's response to bullying is ineffective or doesn't occur enough, that should be enough to realize that more needs to be done, but what? How do we fix a problem that has gotten so far out of control and appears to be a normal, daily occurrence within the schools?

      Fixing the problem is going to require time, effort, and dedication, but if we want ALL our children to have a better experience in and out of school this shouldn't be problem. Since the most common cause of bullying has to do with body size and appearance, creating programs within the schools that help increase self-esteem and confidence would most likely have a positive outcome. Furthermore, as sad as this is to say, I hear a lot of parents making comments in regards to the appearance and whatnot of other people, this needs to stop! Our kids are likely to copy what they hear from us, it is a natural response, children learn from their parents! Prevention must start at home before anywhere else. While researching this topic, I learned that schools with smaller classroom sizes and schools with easily understood rules of conduct had less violence and incidences of bullying, this is something to think about. I believe school board members should get more involved with this issue, maybe getting together with other schools to discuss what policies and discipline measures they have in place for bullying would provide better insight. Schools could then create a policy that actually works. If so many teachers don't see a problem with bullying (1 in 4), then the schools need to address this issue as well. Perhaps they could implement awareness programs where victims of violence and bullying come and talk with the schools. This could help the teachers and students alike see what effects bullying can truly have on individuals and communities. If parents and schools worked together and took  this issue more seriously, a solution could be within reach!!

Reference: www.dosomething.org 

Introduction To Life, Politics, Randomness

       So this whole blogging thing is new to me, so bare with me as I get used to it. I will try my best to keep you all informed and hopefully entertained. I figured the best way to start my blog is with a post about myself. I believe it's fair that you know a little bit about who is writing and perhaps give you a better connection to me as a writer.

       I am a 30 year old wife, as well as mother of a 7 year old and a 3 year old. My family is everything to me, as you will probably learn through many of my life and randomness blogs, the political blogs will be a bit different, naturally. The reason why I chose "Life, Politics, Randomness" for the title of my blog is because I wanted a blog that included many different topics, not just one. When the election is over I will probably change the title to simply "Life and Randomness" then again maybe not, guess it depends on how I feel and the outcome of the election. 

       Ok so back to my family....My husband 'Chris' is everything to me. He is the backbone of this family, although if you ask him he may deny it and then say its me that's the backbone, just because that's the way he is, but I know the truth! He supports this family in so many ways, one of which is by working long hours to make the money we need to survive. With him working so much, it allows me to stay home and raise our kids, which I think is extremely important and a wonderful opportunity for us to have. So when he's not working, he spends ALL his free time at home, another wonderful plus, because trust me if I had to be here all by myself taking care of the house, the cooking, the cleaning, the kids, etc. without any help I don't know how I would manage. Major kudos to the single parents out there who have to do it all alone. My kids have the benefit of having him here enjoying every minute he possibly can with them and I have the benefit of having his help with everything while he's home, plus I get to spend much needed time with him while he's not working. We would be lost without him, hence the reason I say he's the backbone of this family!

        Now onto my two angels..Giavanna is our oldest, she will be 7 in November. I chose the name Giavanna for two reasons: One it means Joann in Italian, which is my grandmother and my aunt's name, as well as my middle name. My aunt was murdered when she was 18. The second reason was I wanted to call her Gia, after one my favorites movies 'Gia' which stars one my favorite actresses as well. When I found out I was pregnant with her, our whole lives changed, but definitely for the better. Once she was born there was no turning back, but it was definitely worth it. During her 7 years, she has had a lot of struggles. She was born with exotropia, which is where both her eyes wandered out. In addition, she has nystagmus, which is where her eyes shake uncontrollably! She has had two eye surgeries to fix the eye issues, however I am starting in last couple weeks to notice her eyes going out again. She is probably going to need another eye surgery here soon. :(               In addition, her nystagmus has contributed to her having ADHD, which is another topic ill get into in another blog. Overall she is doing well and is in 1st grade right now and of course is still the light of our eyes!!

       Our next angel is Gianni (I know, I know the names r quite similar lol) . Gianni is going to be 3 in January. The reason we named him Gianni is because we wanted another unique, Italian name like our daughters and it means John in Italian. John is my husband's dads name, so Not only did we get choose unique name, he also gets to be named after his grandpap (we nicknamed him Johnny). Gianni hasn't had an easy start either, just like his 'sissy' . He got really sick when he was three months old and was in and out of hospital until they finally figured out he was allergic to dairy and soy. He was extremely sick and was very emotional seeing him like that. The gastro doctor prescribed him prescription formula and he slowly started to get better, however, he is very limited on what he can eat because just about EVERYTHING has soy in it. Gianni is my cuddlier, unlike his sister, he loves to be hugged and kissed..I love it! I think Gia is not as cuddly and hugging all the time due to her ADHD, but don't get me wrong she still likes cuddle , just not an frequently as her brother...I think it's a girl thing, I have heard boys are more attached than girls, but I could be wrong!

       So this ends my first post, it is probably a little different format than what you will find in my other posts, but I needed to give you all background of my family, since they are my life!