Thoughts by Emily

I have been thinking a lot lately. I know, that is not only unusual for me, but highly dangerous! But seriously, I have been thinking. I got my absentee ballot today from Escambia County for the elections, and I was looking over it and it "gave me pause." What is our world coming to? Do you think our founding fathers would have ever imagined that we would one day be "voting" on the definition of marriage? I think if John Hancock, George Washington, and all the others would return from the grave today and see what our country is like, the would be in absolute shock. They would be astounded at the "education" or shall we say LACK of education among our children. When a child is automatically passed onto the next grade whether he deserves it or not, just because we don't want to hurt their self esteem, something is wrong. When a teenager is unable to read, or can only barely read, something is majorly wrong. Sometimes, it is just depressing to think where our world is headed. I am talking about the USA and Canada in this.

That is why I think it is SO important that all those eligible get out and vote. It is not only our privilege, but it is our responsibility! I truly believe that if we do not go and vote, then we are letting the "bad guys"win. We are letting someone else control our future. We are giving in to the "enemy." And I also believe that if someone does not vote, then they have no right to complain or be upset about what is taking place, because they did not do their part to change it.
If you are anything like me, you are getting tired of hearing all the name calling, and slandering, and discussions and debates, and empty promises, and people's opinions. Matt and I are getting a double dose of it here because New Brunswick is having elections now as well. I can't wait till it is all said and done. But we are both going to do our part and vote. No excuses!

Okay, so you may be wondering where all this came from. Well, it mainly started in my own little mind the other day as I had a "discussion" with myself. I have been getting VERY frustrated with the Canadian government lately. We are still dealing with me becoming a permanent resident, Liam getting his citizenship papers, and Matt and Leila getting their health coverage. Liam and I can't get our health coverage until we get our citizenships taken care of. It is taking forever, and just when we think we have it all squared away, we find out we need to do something else, pay more money, or something. It is so frustrating - we are going to talk to our local representative this week to see what he can do. Since it is election time, most people are willing to be more helpful in order to gain votes, so we are going to use this our advantage!

Anyways, I was complaining to myself the other day about how dumb it all was. Then, I went to check my email and a news thing on the internet caught my attention. It was about Skype, the internet phone service. The reason it caught my attention was because my family and I use it to talk to each other over the internet with our web cams. Well, apparently, the Chinese version of Skype was found to be giving the Chinese government transcripts of private conversations people were having, mainly through the chat part of it. They have "filters" that catch certain words and stuff that alert the government to anything that "goes against the rules." The article did not specify, but I am sure that religious conversations are a big part of what they are filtering. The author of the article said that it is most likely that people in China have been arrested and put in prison over something they have said in what they thought was a private conversation.

That's when I was reminded of what I was complaining about is something that many people in China and all over the world would give anything to have. I have the freedom to live where I want, work where I want, say what I want, marry who I want, have as many children as I want, go to church and own a Bible, pray in public...etc. The list can go on and on. I am so blessed to have been born in the USA. I am blessed with so many freedoms. You know, the China that we saw on TV during the Olympics is not the real China. It was an "act" they put on while the world all had its eyes on China. I am truly blessed.

So, as frustrating as it can be at times, I am reminded that I shouldn't take anything for granted. These freedoms we enjoy can quickly be taken out of our hands. That is why it is so important to vote, and do our best to get the government officials in office who will fight for our rights. Our generations today do not know exactly how hard our fore fathers fought to give us this freedom. We can't let it all go to waste.

Whew! Glad I got that out! :-) Thanks for "listening" to my rambling tonight! Until next time!

I can't believe how grown up he is looking! He is so handsome!

Leila loves to "stand" on her own! She has been doing this for about two months now! She will stand with just a little bit of support! I keep telling her she is too young to be doing this!