Independence day

As we near the day of our independence I wanted to take time to say a few words about our great nation. We live in a nation that was born of a desire to be free. Through representative democracy we have established a nation where the people rule, one of the first of it's kind. Through the blood and tears of men and women we established a nation where we could have all freedoms here including that we should be entitled to the life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Through a Constitution and Bill of Rights which I believe to be divinely inspired we have insured more freedoms. Some of these include the freedom of religion, the freedom of speech, the right to due process, the right to bear arms, and the right from unlawful search and seizure.
Throughout the history of our nation we have sought for more freedom, including to free slaves, give equal rights of voting, housing, employment, and schooling to all of the people of our nation no matter their race, religion, birthplace, gender or sexual preference.
These freedoms have come at a dear price, from the graves of Gettysburg to the shores of Normandy, freedom has been our goal. We have been called on by many nations to stand in the face of tyranny and injustice and we have fought for those freedoms. The blood of our soldiers both past and present stands as a reminder that the freedoms we now enjoy come at a price.
We must remember as the battle rages on that our nation is a great one and that in order to maintain the liberty we now possess we must continue to make it great. We must remember the words of our former president, John F. Kennedy who said “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”
As we celebrate our day of independence tomorrow let us remember what has transpired to make this nation great, let us remember in our hearts the sacrifice of the men and women who have made it great. That we must be "one nation under God indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." 
God Bless America

Death of Osama Bin Laden, War on Terror

On Sunday night (May 1st) we received news from the president of the United States that Osama Bin Laden was killed by U.S. military forces in a compound in Pakistan. To address a few concerns that some people have wondered about I decided to tribute this post to answering a few of these questions. The first, is he really dead?
Although a very few people are doubting this, and a lack of a public burial/photos of the dead Bin Laden may promote some few doubtful people I have a few threads of thought that several professors I have discussed the issue with support concerning these issues. 1st as to the quick burial, although I have not studied it myself I am told that Islamic law declares that the burial must be done as quickly as possible, and we are told that every Islamic rite was followed concerning his death. 2nd if he were brought to another country what country would he be buried in? Would we really want him buried in the U.S., and surely some major event would be sparked wherever he would have been buried. 3rd what benefit could there possibly be for lying? There would be no possible benefit other than a momentary spiking in poll numbers over a year before a presidential election, if Obama were wanting to use this as a lie to bump his numbers, why not wait until next year, when a momentary bump would actually help?

As for the second issue of why the pictures have not been released, I have two concerns. The first is that of proper respect for the dead, as some Americans have little respect for other people's practices and surely would have defamed the photo within minutes of it's release, and therefore would enrage his followers and possibly others(ex. the Florida church who burned a Koran and the aftermath in Afghanistan).

The second issue I wanted to address is that of the War on terror. We must remember that this is not the end of the war on terror. While this was one step and one major leader of terrorism we must not stop in our efforts to end terrorism. I believe this begins with education, and an increased understanding of others cultures, customs, and belief systems.

It begins with building bridging social capital(for more info see Putnam, Bowling Alone 2000). We must support our government and trust each other, because without trust we can not accomplish anything. United we stand, and divided we fall. This applies not only to our nation, but to the world. If we are to rise up from the dust and seize our potential we must learn to share ideas and work together, seek for ways to help build a stronger world for all. As we seek to rise out of the recession we have been in, we must look for ways to innovate and make changes that will increase our ability to make the world better, rather than to line our own pockets.
IN GOD WE TRUST