What's more productive than matching wits with fools?

It can be easy to get into a heated argument with someone. Many times it's all the more easy when you are certain the other person is wrong. While continuing the argument might be tempting, one would be wise to consider the old adage,

"Never match wits with a fool."  

What is the purpose of continuing the argument? While it might feel good in the moment, the general purpose of the argument is often lost. One simply ends up fighting only to keep his or her own ego intact.  While your ego might be hurt for a moment, think about all the good you could do with that energy if it were redirected in a productive way.  How are you furthering your cause?

Gay Parents = Better Parents...?

According to a recent study featured in TIME magazine it seems that this is in fact the case.  According to the study,

"Children in lesbian homes scored higher than kids in straight families on some psychological measures of self-esteem and confidence, did better academically and were less likely to have behavioral problems, such as rule-breaking and aggression."

TIME was not alone.  LiveScience also reported similarly adding,

"Gay parents 'tend to be more motivated, more committed than heterosexual parents on average, because they chose to be parents," said Abbie Goldberg, a psychologist at Clark University in Massachusetts who researches gay and lesbian parenting. Gays and lesbians rarely become parents by accident, compared with an almost 50 percent accidental pregnancy rate among heterosexuals, Goldberg said. "That translates to greater commitment on average and more involvement.'"

Achieving success...

This morning I woke up and I turned on the news. Of course, with the GOP presidential primaries, I wasn't surprised to see Mitt Romney talking about his own "success" in the following clip:



 I believe it's important to understand that no one gets to where they are without the help of others. I encourage anyone who disagrees to look back to what they were told growing up. Were you told, "you can be anything you want to be, as long as you put your mind to it."?  If so, mentally and emotionally you were given just a little more help than someone who wasn't.  Were your parents educated?  If so, your "bounds of rationality" were expanded.  What became achievable to you was just a bit more than the "average" person.  The same is true with what society tells our youth.  If not, we wouldn't have what we think of as "good schools," and "Bad schools." Now I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that Mitt Romney wasn't born in Compton or Liberty City. (Areas some might classify as bad neighborhoods) He "worked hard" with the tools he was given and the family he had.  Is everyone afforded the same tools?  ...the same well-positioned family?  To Mitt Romney, the idea of success clearly involves large amounts of money... but to others, success might be quite different. I quote Garland Greene from the film ConAir

"What if I told you insane was working fifty hours a week in some office for fifty years at the end of which they tell you to piss off; ending up in some retirement village hoping to die before suffering the indignity of trying to make it to the toilet on time? Wouldn't you consider that to be insane"

I have to admit that he also makes an interesting point.  What he describes is the "success" that so many Americans work day after day to achieve.  What is your idea of true success?  Are you working your way toward it?  What can you do to get there?

Expectations

Today a friend of mine said,

"Expectations have no bearing on reality."

Your thoughts?

Striving for Excellence...

Without any qualifiers, the term excellence is meaningless. Often times one will hear companies, organizations or people speak of

"striving for excellence,"

it always sounds nice, but what does it mean if it's not specific? I expect a certain level of excellence in my endeavors, for some reason I also expect it from my colleagues. Others seem to be reluctant. If you've seen Mona Lisa Smile, you might remember this scene:

      

It can be a challenge getting others to open their minds, in this case it was a professor trying help her students look at their world in a different way. What if the professor was someone you know, perhaps even a supervisor or a colleague, who shared a new idea or way of looking at the world? Would it change the way you look at things? ...or maybe you've been in the professor's position. What, specifically, do you strive for excellence in? How have others opened your mind? How have you opened the mind of others?

Since 2007...

Originally I created this blog for a course I was taking in 2007. Since then I've gone on to earn a Master's Degree in Higher Education Administration. After taking the course, I stopped blogging, but looking back I wish I continued. There is a lot going on in the world right now which points at American Values, The most prominent topic for instance likely being the race for the white house presidency. It's occurred to me that all of the Republican candidates are against gay marriage. I always find myself remembering a quote that goes, "In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America." Obviously we are not governed by a theocracy, but it seems as if certain religious groups seem to want a foothold in dictating policy for the entire country based on their religious beliefs. Trying to cover everything that's happened in five years is somewhat overwhelming, so if you have any questions, let me know. Otherwise the blog will just continue from where we are now...

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (REVIEW)

Yesterday I saw the movie I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry. Going into this movie, I had no expectations but to see an Adam Sandler movie. While the movie perpetuated a number of stereotypes, I can honestly say the movie made me laugh the entire way through. In this movie, Chuck, a Brooklyn firefighter, marrys Larry, another firefighter, in order to reap the legal benefits. The marriage turns out to be more complicated than they expected, and when people find out, they find themselves fighting the same stereotypes that homosexuals face on a daily basis. Overall, I would applaud this movies efforts because I believe it's producers were making an honest attempt to end certain stereotypes, and one of the ways of doing that is through humor. People would not be inclined to sit through a movie if they felt they were going to be lectured on stereotypes; however, the movies genuine comic appeal will attract large audiences and hopefully deliver a powerful message of acceptance.

Watch the trailer here: