Sprinkler time!

  Little Chase has a blast as he runs through the sprinkler in the backyard of his Escanaba home June, 2011.

Playground!

The delight of a child
Playing in a playground
Sliding down a slide
Swinging on a swing
Teetering on the teter toter
Up down, up down
Collecting wood chips
in their shoes
Wondering which
Jungle gyme to choose
The smiles never fade
Until the sun begins to
Time to go but
They want to stay
Comfort for the little child
We'll come back another day!

Poem and photograph by Angela A. Casperson

Religion and Morality.

I believe that morality does not need to be based just on religion although it plays a big part in it. This is a subject that confused me quite a bit because I am a very religious person.  "Whether or not religion keeps people in line is an interesting sociological question; most philosophers stay out of it." (Sandra Lafave) After doing a lot of research, I have a better understanding of how religion is involved in ethics.  Some people think that without religion there would be no ethics. Some people believe without Heaven and Hell, people would have no moral values. (Sandra Lafave)  Religion has an effect on people's values in many ways though.  The first three of the ten commandments focus on the supernatural (God) and the rest focus on the people. (Digital Textbook) I feel that the ten commandments play a huge part on how Christian people act.  Some Christians follow the ten commandments and base their entire moral values off them. There are many types of religions though with different rules, different morals, and different supernatural beings. Buddhist and muslims for example worship a whole different being. In the olden days, religion served as the most powerful way to get people to behave morally.  Today morality does not have to be religious.  In some ways religious people can be immoral and nonreligious people can be moral.  There are many arguements about this whole subject.  Some people in favor of capital punishment feel it would keep people in order. Athiests have moral values based on what they believe is right not what God says is right.  The natural law is another system that people base their morality off of.  What is just right according to nature could be all a person needs to be moral.  Other areas where a person can have moral values without religion is through oneself (individual) or social relations.  People individually act upon their own concience or through the relations of other people. My moral values however, are based off of religion of course.  Everything I do, every decision I make, and every act that affects another is all done after asking " what would Jesus do?"

Lafave, Sandra  West Valley College "Ethics and Religion"  April 27, 2005

http://instruct.westvalley.edu/lafave/religion.htm

What about the Baby? (My views on abortion!)

There are many arguments between pro-life and pro-choice views today.  Some people say abortion should be legal and some say it should not.  Some say it is murder and some say life doesn’t start until birth so it isn’t murder.  These arguments can be very personal and very destructive when it comes to protests and debates.  Is abortion moral?  Is it even a liable option?

Pro-life states that life starts at conception therefore the fetus is a developing human life and should have the same rights as a person already born.  A fetus is innocent and cannot defend itself against abortion.  Pro-life also states that the psychological effect on the women after having an abortion can be very destructive.  The guilt of murdering a human life will be with them the rest of their lives.   There are also arguments that alternatives such as adoption should be considered before abortion. Women should take responsibility for their sexual behavior. 

Pro-choice states that life doesn’t start until the birth of the fetus therefore, it does not have any rights.  They feel the conceptus is part of the woman’s body so she has a right to say whether it lives and is allowed to be born.  Women have absolute rights over their own bodies.  They also argue that adoption is not a viable alternative to abortion.  The women still have to go through the 9 months of pregnancy and give birth which can have a huge psychological effect on the woman.  Also the adopted children often feel rejected and abandoned.  Pro- choice agrees that women should take responsibility for their sexual behavior but believe the responsibility includes the right to terminate the pregnancy.

I feel very strongly about abortion and am on a pro-life viewpoint but in a moderate way.  I am a religious person and believe in the sanctity of life.   I have 4 children and 3 of them were unplanned.  Abortion never was an option for me and today I look at them and wonder how people could even consider it.  I believe if a woman becomes pregnant, God wanted that baby to be born for a reason.  Outside my religious views, I firmly believe that a woman should take responsibility for her sexual behavior and it doesn’t include killing an innocent fetus because she was careless to use protection.  Women know exactly what the consequences are for not using birth control or protection when entering into sexual behaviors.  They should be prepared to face them.  There are plenty of couples out there that cannot have children and are looking to adopt.   Children in an adoptive family are not loved any less than ones that are not.  My sister gave a child up for adoption once because she was not in the right state of mind to care for a child.  She found a stable and loving family that took her little boy in like he was their own.  It was an open adoption so she is able to see him grow up and he is able to know who she is and not feel rejected. 

There are a few exceptions I feel abortion can be acceptable even though I am pro-life.  If a women is raped or in the case of incest and becomes pregnant, I feel she should not have to be forced to carry that child inside her and feel violated for the 9 months of pregnancy.  Hopefully in cases like these, they are reported soon enough where proper conception and precautions can be taken.   Another exception I feel abortion can be acceptable is if the women’s life is in danger.  This of course is if it is detected in the early 1^st trimester of pregnancy. 

My moderate pro-life viewpoint is something I feel very strongly about and am not afraid to state it but am not about to force my own opinion on other people.  I feel everyone has a right to their own opinions and beliefs.  Women may feel they have an absolute right to do what they want with their bodies but that absolute right is forfeited when another human life is involved.  Everything that affects the woman, now affects the body and the life of another human being. 

Is suicide moral?

 Suicide is the eleventh leading cause of death for all Americans.  On average, one suicide occurs every 16 minutes.  Many people argue that people who commit suicide are mentally unstable and need psychological help.  One would not take their own life if they were in their "right mind".  Is it moral to take your own life?  I am religious and believe it is not.  Our lives belong to God and only he has the right create and take a life.  Who are we to say if someone who is suffering should live or die?  I can understand if the terminally ill wants to die so they do not have to suffer, but maybe that person's suffering is meant for good.  Maybe it will teach another person how to be stronger or give someone the joy of knowing how valuable life is.  God makes things happen for a reason.  His plan is for life, not death. A really good friend of mine died last fall of an overdose of pills.  Everyone knew she was depressed and had been for years and years before.  Although she had so many problems, she was greatly loved and had thousands of friends. She was actually one of the sweetest and caring people I knew.  Was this enough to keep her alive?  No it wasn't and her death caused pain to many people. Suicide may seem like the easy way out for one person who is suffering but it just brings more pain and suffering to all the people surviving that persons death. The survivors pay the penalty. Although that could sound selfish for the survivors to think of their suffering and not the suffering of the person committing suicide but isn't suicide selfish for not thinking of the survivors?   I believe we should respect human life at all costs, even our own. I believe we should protect life no matter how dark the outlook is. It is in God's hands.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest

 (Matthew 11:28).