The Hazard Chronicles

To start out this post, I want to do a quick highlight on Evelyn. Rachel says I tend to favor Ev on this blog than the other kids. I'm not sure about that. Either way, her recent activities definitely deserve a shout out. I am so impressed by her.

So, a couple of weeks ago she just announced out of the blue that she wanted to organize a community service project with some of her friends and asked us how she would go about doing that. We told her we weren't sure, but that city hall could probably point her in the right direction. Evelyn then made a script for herself and started making phone calls. Eventually she found someone who could help. Since then, she has had several back and forth phone conversations where she grabs a pen and paper and retreats to a quiet area of the house. Rachel and I just stand by and let her update us on how things are shaping up. Last week she told us she had set up a meeting with this person, and told us when and where we would have to get her there. She went to the meeting on her own and came out with instructions and plans for a project at the local community gardens. She is now making invitations for people to come and help.

Her initiative in all of this is astounding! I mean, I doubt that there are very many 8 year olds out their who, on their own accord, set up meetings with local civic leaders to organize things like this. I doubt there are many 8 year olds who even clean their own rooms (she does), let alone look outside of themselves to the greater community. What a great example she is to me.

But that's not all. A couple of days ago she came up and asked me if I could help her practice a speech she had written.

"A speech? For what?"

"Oh- I am running for student office. I already made a poster, but I have to give a speech as well."

Alright then. Once again, here she was acting on her own- believing enough in the power of her own ideas to take definitive steps to seeing them implemented into action. We went in the shop and practiced the speech until she had it down. She gives it tomorrow, and I am holding my breath for her. I also asked her what would happen if she lost the election. Her response- "I'll try again next year."

I am a proud daddy. I get to take at least a little bit of the credit, right?

*****

Speaking of elections, I feel like I have to say something about the events that will transpire during the day. Please skip this next part if politics are not your thing.

Over time I have become more and more reserved about sharing my views regarding pretty much anything that people could disagree with, because I find all too often that disagreement is mistaken for hatred or intolerance. Obviously, if this were the case then our country, not to mention most of our relationships, wouldn't work. Thankfully, it is not. The United States has a longer history of a peaceful transfer of power between parties than any other nation on earth. That is significant, and I believe a large part of this success can be attributed to the fact that we do argue about things and force each other into considering other perspectives, and into compromising to find workable solutions to problems that may arise. In fact, I would be very nervous if the arguing stopped.

That said, it is a matter of historic fact that the rhetoric of this election is uglier, less substantive, and more dismissive of basic facts than anything we've ever seen in the recent past. This, I feel, is trading an important thing- arguing, for a destructive one- fighting. I also think that, while nobody is completely innocent, the vast majority of this negativity can be attributed to one person and to one political party, and there is broad agreement from both sides of the isle over who this is. That this person is a serious contender for what is arguably the most powerful position in the world has me completely baffled. Reality itself seems to have taken a back seat to bullying, intimidation, and blatant fear mongering, and this trend is troubling to say the least.

And yet, despite all this, there remains a more alarming trend that is taking place under the surface. According to recent surveys, roughly a quarter of millennials in the United States do not believe that democracies work as a form of government. There has never been a time, as far as we know, that a group of Americans this substantial has felt this way. It is also astounding, given the broad set of evidence that history presents us with regarding the success of such a model, not just in our own country, but in virtually every stable and successful government around the globe.

Unfortunately, such disillusionment cannot be attributed to a single election cycle, no matter how nasty things may have gotten. Rather, this is the result of elected officials failing to do their jobs in the way that our social contract requires them to. When bald-faced obstructionism and party politics become more important than running the country, then the system begins to sag. When quality journalism is dismissed by voters and politicians alike in favor of self-reinforcing ideological bubbles, then our legs are cut out from under us. And when sincere and insightful opposition is falsely characterized as either intellectually stupid or morally bankrupt, then it becomes no wonder that fighting ensues and that trust goes out the door. All of these things are happening in this country as we become more polarized, and moderate voices are pushed to the sidelines. Both parties are culpable, though definitely not to an equal degree. The resulting disagreements between elected officials though, are causing a measurable rift in our government that hasn't been seen since the years immediately following the Civil War. In many political circles, compromise seems to be a bad word and is taken as a signal of a weak leader. And yet, it remains the only way to reconcile the varied interests of a free society. Oh, how far we have come...but in what direction?

In spite of all this, I continue to have faith in people. The ability that human beings have to cooperate with each other has been the driving force behind civilization. Without it, we are left a squabbling mess of individuals who cannot see beyond their own self-interest, and in doing so, become unable even to obtain that. On the contrary, as we try to actually listen to each other and acknowledge that compromise may be needed in the service of the public good, then I believe great things can be achieved. This is not something that will happen overnight, even if saying so is what politicians have to do in order to get votes. No- instead it is a messy process that can be frustrating and sometimes ugly, and which requires humility from all sides. But I am still one hundred percent convinced that it is the best we've got, and that up until recently, America has done a pretty good job of it.

So no matter who wins or loses tonight, I sure hope that we can all move forward to the business of getting stuff done. Obviously I have my preferred candidate (not that it matters in Idaho), but either way I think America is on solid ground and can move forward productively as one of the greatest nations ever established. Rachel and I are going to an election party with fellow Democrats tonight to watch as the results come in, and it should be a fun night regardless of the outcome.

Then it's on to other important things, like the Seahawks game, the argument about whether or not hot dogs can be considered sandwiches, and the dispute over the status of golf and shuffleboard as sports.

God Bless America.      

*****

Halloween!

What a fun year we had. The kids got boatloads of candy since we went trick-or-treating at three different places. The first was a Trick-or-Treat-around-the-world event hosted by the local AAA. That was fun because we got lots of sweets from other countries. The next stop was downtown Coeur d'Alene where local business handed out candy in a festive atmosphere. Our church took part in this event and gave out over 500 pounds of job security (I'm a dentist) in just a couple of hours! Finally, we headed back to our neighborhood where we went up and down the streets in order to fill the buckets yet again. What a day!

I took the three oldest kids to a Halloween concert. At one point they all got to go up on stage and dance. So much fun!

*****

The weather up here has been awesome for the past couple of weeks and Autumn seems to be lasting a bit longer than usual. I love it! Here's some pictures from a walk we went on:

This was a beautiful park in Spokane- it has become one of my favorite places to visit in our area.

*****

Random Sampler:

The other day, Lindsey went in the bathroom and accidentally closed the door on herself. Minutes later, I heard terrified screaming. I ran back to see what was the matter and I saw her backed up against the door with a look of pure horror on her face. One hand was covering her mouth, and the other was pointing to my electric toothbrush on the floor, which she had inadvertently turned on. She is terrified of that thing.

They say the average driver puts about 12,000 miles on their car in a year. We have put that much on our van in the past three months. We like driving.

We were trick-or-treating and suddenly I heard Maren yell, in a high pitched voice of excitement, "LIFE IS SO GOOD!"

Yes it is, here in North Idaho. We love it.

Have a good week!