Tea Party April 17, 2009

My friends, you are reading the blog of a right-wing extremist. At least that is what the media would have you believe.  On April 15th I proudly attended a tea party held in Provo, Utah.  Along with 700-1,000 concerned citizens I gathered in the cold snowy weather to protest for the first time in my life.  As I have mentioned many times on this blog- I am not a die-hard Republican.  In fact, I have realized lately that I lean more Libertarian than any other party; however, I do not define myself by a party.  I define myself by my core values of faith, charity, integrity, hard work, and liberty.  I have a deep patriotic vein within me, and I feel the United States of America is a sacred land.  I believe it was founded by men inspired by God as a sanctuary for freedom.

What does freedom mean?  I don’t know what it means to you, and I could go on a mini-rampage about the various theories, but I will spare you.  I can tell you what freedom means to me.

One of my favorite books is called Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs or Linda Brent.  In this stirring narrative Harriet Jacobs tells her story of fighting for freedom.  Even as a little girl Harriet Jacobs refuses to concede the idea she is a slave- that she is property.  Despite terrible trials she keeps the pursuit of freedom as an unending goal.  Eventually she ends up hiding from her owner in a garret under her grandmother’s porch for 7 years- watching her children grow up, unable to mother them or help in any way.  Why does she do it?  Because she believes that freedom is worth the price.  Of course, such a price should not be required of anyone, but it proves the point that freedom is a precious gift from God- worthy of sacrifice.

Harriet Jacobs wanted the chance to pursue happiness- to create her own life.  That is what she and many others fought for.  One of most famous phrases from the Declaration of Independence is:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

To me this phrase means that we are born equal and with the same potential for greatness- the same potential to pursue happiness.  This is something Harriet legally did not have but she created it anyway.  The triumph of her character would not be stifled.  Just imagine what she could have done without the grasp of slavery trying to throw her down. Amazing. In many ways our current President, Barrack Obama, is proof that the potential for greatness is available for any American.  He is the son of single mother who grew up in Hawaii.  Of course, he is also the first African American president.  Nothing stopped him from becoming a success.

So, back to my extremist activities.  I believe this country is great.  I want to keep it great.  I want to be able to pursue happiness- to be free to own a business, raise a family, or live singly and happy.  It is my opinion that the current over-spending in Washington is removing some of that ability from  my life.  They want to burden me with debt, regulation and my neighbors mortgage- something I resent as I have sacrificed to be debt-free. I feel strongly that 12.8 trillion dollars in debt (caused by both parties!) is drowning our country’s future.  My sweet nieces will not be able to pursue happiness the way I have and certainly not the way the founders intended.

We have become a country that has twisted the Constitutional idea of equal creation with equal outcomes.  Perhaps part of this is a result of the unequal beginnings groups such as African Americans, women, and other minorities clearly had.  For years they had an unequal opportunity to succeed; therefore, the outcome was inherently unfair.  Government intervention in such a situation is appropriate and fair.  Today’s situation is mostly different (and where it isn’t intervention is still appropriate).  For the most part, equal opportunities exist for all but naturally so do unequal outcomes.  This is part of life in a free society. The government has decided to step in and create equal outcomes, which is not only costly but it strips freedom from citizens under the guise of equality. Because we are unwilling to see people (and yes big corporations) fail we are piling on more debt each second.  We forget that part of freedom is the potential for unhappiness too.

It is my belief in freedom that pushed me to attend my first government protest- coined  a “tea party” by the organizers.  The tea party refers to the Boston Tea Party of the Revolutionary War, where angry citizens dumped tea in the Boston harbor because of the unfair tax Britain was imposing.  This was a violent act perpetrated by men who were angry at having their freedom to chose taken.  They were angry at being forced to pay for programs and a government they didn’t want or believe in. They felt their voice was marginalized and ignored.

In this modern movement the protesters ALSO FEEL MARGINALIZED AND IGNORED BY BOTH PARTIES.  Instead of doing something violent, however, these men and women including myself peacefully gathered.  I was proud to be there.  I was proud to be waving my sign, and I will never forget the moment of connection I felt with my country.  It was a great moment.

On a lighter note, it was also a lot of fun. I brought my sign and a couple of boxes of warmers and made friends with the crowd.  I even got a few hugs!  My friend Bethany Maddox and her family were there and we cheered together.  It was interesting that even in Republican Provo, UT there were democrats in the audience waving signs.  This is about anti-spending, not anti-Obama, or anti-Democrat.  It is about pursuing happiness which according to some very wise men is my “unalienable right”.  These were not weirdos or extremist as the media would have you believe.  It was men and women who want small government, want less taxes and believe both parties have let them down.  This is how I feel and I will do whatever I can to continue in this cause- even if it means running for local office down the road.  It is like they said at my rally as they announced “This is the end” someone said “No, this is the beginning”.  That is how I feel, so I guess this extremist is going to keep on being extreme until I see a difference.  I am going to do my part that’s for sure.

Jason Chaffetz (who I just love) spoke at my event and here is some  video I took of what he said.  (sorry you can’t see him and the camera is shaky but you will get the idea).

Here is Jason again.  I agree with what he is saying.  He is the kind of representative I believe in.

The tea party was wonderful!! I encourage all to take part in anyway you can.

Giving Blood April 15, 2009

So, today I gave blood on behalf of Edward Cullen! Let me explain…

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago I have set a goal to perform one day of community service a month.  Luckily I found out that my apartment complex has a day of service a month as well.  This month they decided to do a blood drive.  As part of the promotion every donor had to pick a Twilight hero to donate their blood in behalf of.  As creepy as donating blood to a vampire might be it was actually kind of funny.  They even had the movie playing in the donation center.  Everyone knows I am not the most die-hard Twilight fan but I liked the first and second books and it was a creative idea for a blood drive.  I also thought the movie was campy and fun.

The actual giving blood part was a different story.  My veins are always tough to find. When I was 17 I had my appendix taken out and at the hospital the nurses tried and tried to insert my IV.  Eventually once the expert phlebotomist failed they had to insert the IV through my finger!  It is always tough and to be honest that is why I don’t give blood much.  In fact, I haven’t done it for years.  So today I walked over to the clubhouse and gave blood.  It was painful and it took both arms and 3 attempts to get things going but I did it.  It hurt and I am battered and bruised as a result.  I look like a drug user with pricks all over my arm!

Like I said, it hurt and was a sacrifice, but I feel it was worth it.  Hopefully my hard earned blood will go to help someone who really needs it. I challenge all of you that are able, to go out and do it!

Here is a website about the Twilight promotion. http://www.freewebs.com/twilights-bite/

Here are some interesting statistics about donating blood in the United States (some of them are a little obvious like there is no substitute for human blood- really!). I found them from the New Jersey/New York Red Cross website:

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BLOOD STATISTICS

Usage:

–4.5 million Americans benefit from life-saving blood transfusions each year.

–40,000 pints are transfused each day in the United States.

–New York Blood Center alone requires over 2,000 volunteer blood donations each day to meet the transfusion needs of patients in close to 200 New York and New Jersey hospitals.

–1 out of every 3 people will require a life-saving transfusion sometime during their lifetime.

–Someone in this country needs a life-saving transfusion every 3 seconds.

–Transfusion recipients include cancer patients, accident, burn and trauma victims, newborn babies, transplant patients, mothers delivering babies, surgery patients, chronically transfused patients suffering from sickle cell disease or thalassemia, etc.

–Each donation of blood can help save 3 lives following component (red cell, platelet, plasma) separation.

–Much of today’s sophisticated medical care ( transplants, heart surgeries, etc.) rely on blood transfusions.

–Car accident and trauma victims may need as many as 50 or more red cell transfusions.

–Severe burn victims may need as many as 20 platelet transfusions.

–Bone marrow transplants may require platelets from over 100 donors and red cells from over 20 people.

–Blood products are perishable.
* Donated red cells last only 42 days.
* Donated platelets last only 5 days.
* Plasma can be frozen for a year.

–The need for blood never takes a holiday.

Eligibility:

–Nearly everyone between the ages of 17 and 75, weighing a minimum of 110 pounds and in good health can donate blood. Donors over age 75 who are healthy and meet all other donor requirements simply require a doctor’s written permission note to donate.

–60% of Americans are eligible to donate blood; yet on average only 5% of Americans donate blood.

–In the New York/New Jersey community, less than 2% of eligible people donate blood.

–People can safely donate blood every 8 weeks.

–People can safely donate platelets every 3 days or up to 24 times a year.

–Of New York Blood Center’s approximate 450,000 donors, 8% self identify themselves as African-American, 11% self-identify themselves as Hispanic and 5% self identify themselves as Asian. But more donations from people of color are needed so New York Blood Center can better match its community’s richly diverse population and the need for “precise match” transfusions.

How Blood Works:

–Red cells carry oxygen to the body’s organs and tissues.

–Platelets act like band-aids to form clots and stop bleeding.

–Plasma is the liquid through which blood cells, proteins, enzymes, nutrients and hormones “swim”.

–White cells, also called “leukocytes”, are the body’s primary defense against infection.

–The average person has between 8 to 10 pints of blood in their body and can easily spare one for donation.

–After donating, blood volume is replaced, or regenerated, within 24 hours. Red cells need 4 to 8 weeks for complete replacement.

–There is no substitute for human blood.