John Denver: Relief During Troubled Times

In light of recent events in the world, I am doing three things:

1) Listening to John Denver. He calms me. Reminds me of home. Makes me feel comfortable again, and relatively safe. I love the song “Fly Away.” It reminds me of my sister.

2) Obviously the world is a dangerous place and feeling safe is more about your state of mind and how prepared you are for an emergency, rather than actually being safe. Dangerous things are unplanned for, generally. Even when a person puts themselves in a risky situation, they try to do it safely, like with rock climbing. It’s not safe to climb up the face of a rock wall, but you still give yourself safeguards (most climbers do. The ones who don’t, die climbing at some point)—ropes, harnesses, anchors. In light of these things, I’m figuring out how to be prepared for an emergency. For Stoker, for our cats, for me. I have some water stored up and something of an emergency kit with extra clothes, medicine, blankets, matches, etc. But I know it’s not enough. I heard an ad on the radio today for a web site maintained by Homeland Security. I’m looking at it, thinking about what I need to do to become more prepared.

Being LDS, emergency preparedness is not a new thing. Growing up, my parents often went to a place called the dry-pack cannery something something, where they helped dry- pack (I guess) and in exchange, they received a discount price on dry-packed food. This food was stored in (surprise) the storage room in our basement along with other sundry items, such as our dress-up clothes and Christmas decorations. Also, regularly, as in monthly, leaders counseled having at the very least, a 72-hour kit ready (for the mathematically impaired, that’s 3 days) for emergencies. What I didn’t realize then was that meant my mom had to have enough stuff for her five daughters, her husband, and herself. That’s a lot of stuff. It was a good thing we had a storage room.

When I got into college, the same counseling from church leaders persisted. In wards full of single people living in apartments and student housing, we were counseled to be ready for emergencies. Where was I expected to keep it? In my small closet? Obviously I didn’t do anything about it. I figured in an emergency, I’d find my way home, whether in a car or by bicycle. Or on foot. This was dumb thinking. 1`

And I can't get by on that anymore, being that my mother’s house is 1600 miles away. Plus I’m 28 and responsible. For Stoker, myself and our cats.

Whatever you are, Christian, agnostic, Buddhist, peace of mind comes from being prepared for anything. You can’t know what will happen, but you can do your best to be ready for what might come next. Leaning on the government, your church, your parents, doesn’t bring the satisfaction of knowing that you have done whatever you can to be ready.

3) And finally, I’m listening talk radio, trying to make sense of what’s going on. I prefer Glenn Beck, who, in Nashville, is on 1510 AM in the morning. It used to be that when I missed him, I could catch him at night on XM 152, but for some reason the jerks stopped carrying him. They’d be wise to go back to airing him. He’s insightful, funny, and seemingly, really genuine. I’d counsel anyone to listen to his show.

Speak Up

Today I read an article the in Deseret News about how the ACLU and other organizations are protesting the web page posted by Health and Human Services about teens and sexuality. They say the article preaches values, focusing on abstinence. The government can’t teach values, they say.

So I’m really opinionated about it. I loathe the ACLU. Anyway, I figured I’d go to this website to see how it taught values. Through a series of links, I found the site directed towards teens and their sexual health (link). Under the heading “Related Issues,” are links for “Abstinence” and then “Birth Control.” I went to both of these sights to read what was so offensive to the ACLU and the homosexual alliances.

First of all, I feel pretty bleak about America. My outlook for our country is dismal, and if history is any indicator for what will happen to us, then I’m certain we’re in for a major crumble. Or tumble. Like Humpty Dumpty, sitting upon a wall. It doesn’t help that no one in any station of authority can (or will) take a stand for strict morals without being attacked by the ACLU or the media or anyone. The only guy who doesn’t care what you say about him, who dares to call it like he sees it is Mike Savage. While I don't always agree with him, I respect that he's not swayed by popular opinion or harsh criticism.

Personally, the things I read on the HHS’s website were refreshing. I agree that the only foolproof, guaranteed way to not get pregnant or not contract an STD is through abstinence. Because of the human tendency to err. You can always make a mistake even after taking every precaution, and as a teenager, do you want to risk it? I don’t think so. Live young. Live without a care or worry about pregnancy or STD’s. What a way to rush old age, with heavy concerns like that on your mind ("Am I pregnant?" or "Do I have HIV?"). And aside from the risk for pregnancy, teenagers are not mentally equipped to deal with the ramifications of being sexual. (See National Geographic’s cover story on the brain.) It’s huge. And everyone knows that relationships are complicated beyond comprehension by the smallest kiss, let alone sex.

Anyway, I’m not saying teenagers shouldn’t be taught about birth control methods other than abstinence, nor does the HHS web site. It’s still instructive and explicit. Go visit the site, read about the controversy and speak up with your opinion. Be heard. If you don’t have children, like I don’t, it still matters. Someday you might have kids and think about what you’d want them to know. Think about what you’d want for them, what you’d want to do. You were a teenagers once, think about what you wanted to know and what you wanted people to say to you. You may disagree with me. Whatever. Just think about it. All of us are still teenagers within, looking for beliefs to cling to.