I Love Boise!

I haven't written anything on this blog in a long time. I think it's been over two moths. Inspirations for a good blog take time to build, and I hope this one has brewed long enough. 

I love Boise! I've made my bunk in places ranging from one coast to the other, but by far Boise has infected my heart. There are many reason's my wife and I choose to make this our permanent residence. Lots of sun, few bugs, mild winters, hot dry summers, and good camping spots are just a few. However, I find the people to be my main reason. 

I found Boise as a result of falling in love with Sarah. I would never have thought to come here on my own. It was back in 1994 that we met, and it's been an incredible ride since. We came out here to visit her Dad a couple of times while stationed at Ft. Riley, Kansas in the U.S. Army. After our wedding that fall and another year of service we decided that Boise would be the place to raise our family.

We got here in the late fall of 1995. Sarah was pregnant with our first child, who was born the next spring. What I found upon arrival was an openness unlike anything I had previously encountered. People here are willing to look you in the eye, say hello as they pass by on the street and offer assistance at the the first sign of dismay. They care deeply for their surroundings and take pride in their property. Every town has pockets of decay, but none so few as Boise. From the most grandiose house on Harrison or Warm Springs to the little neighborhoods that blanket the valley, people just seem to take a bit more pride in their property, than in most of the other places I've lived. It isn't so much the place as it is the people that make Boise a great place to live.

For instance, I became a member of the George Fox University Toastmasters. It is made up of people who are there to improve themselves in a safe and constructive environment. I don't do very well in front a crowd, as I learned presenting various topics during my MBA coursework. I gave my first speech in a Toastmasters meeting and I can tell you that I was more comfortable during that talk than any time during school. Today's meeting featured three speakers; each amazing in their own way. Not only did I receive great information on three topics, but I was able to learn about giving a captivating speech. But the point here is that Boise is the place to find people of this caliber in concentrate. I know it's biased, but if you're thinking about moving here I recommend a second opinion. You can check out Move2Boise. They'll tell you a lot of what you may want to know. And if that isn't enough, come for a visit and ask people. You'll pretty much always find what you expect, but in Boise you'll find so much more.

PS. If you are thinking about coming to a Toastmasters, comment here and I will get in touch with you. It is really a good time.

A Culture of Responsibility

Now that all the hoopla is pretty much over, and it's time to get down to work, President Obama needs to be more specific. I've listened to the man speak, and he is an amazing orator. But I have to take issue with the fact that his speeches, inspiring as they may be, leave me at a loss in his vagueness. 

I've been listening to the rhetoric coming out of the new president. While the mere mention of the word "rhetoric" may lead one to think that I am naysaying the message of our new chief executive, nothing could be further from the truth. 

There is one statement coming from our new leader that I have been hearing repeated in the media over the last couple of days. If someone would explain to me how you can "embrace a new culture of responsibility," that would be great.

 If one were to look at this from an entitlement perspective, he or she might be lead to believe that those who had benefitted most from the blessings of capitalism should take on the responsibility of taking care of those who are not willing to take advantage of the freedom our system allows. The view of the other side of this coin is a very different hope for our society. It is the hope that those who have been taking advantage of a perversion of the purpose of law, will now begin to carry their own water, so to speak. You may wonder what I mean by a perversion of the purpose of the law. 

Our constitution says we are born with unalienable rights. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These are natural rights. It tells us to defend our lives and our property. In other words we have a right to the things we produce to make our lives better. If you go into your garage, or storage closet, and look at all the stuff in there, you will come to understand that you produced all those things. You may not have physically produced it all, but in essence you did, because you traded your productive abilities and time for the productive abilities and time of others; unless you stole it all, in which case, you should turn yourself in to the police because you have violated someone's right to the pursuit of their happiness. It is the purpose of the law to protect the rights of individuals, not groups or classes of people, individuals. 

So what happens when those who make the laws say that someone you don't know, who doesn't have your productive ability, has a right to your production. The lawmaker has just sanctioned slavery and theft, and you are the slave and the victim. Sounds pretty harsh, right? But what is slavery? Slavery is forcing an individual, against their will, be it at the end of a whip, the point of a gun or the threat of imprisonment, to produce something for the benefit of another. I'm hoping this isn't the culture of responsibility President Barak Obama is talking about.

The press seems intent on comparing our new President to another President who eliminated slavery. If it becomes a productive person's "responsibility" to pay for a non-productive person against his or her will, isn't that the same thing as putting a chain around that person's neck, and reversing a 148 year trend toward true equality? 

When we embrace this new culture of responsibility, lets reject wealth redistribution and take on the responsibility of securing the blessings of a free society. Please Mr. President, make sure that you clear this up--and soon. If you don't, those who produce won't do it for very long.