I Am Now Eagle Scout - Thanks To All

Tonight I completed the requirements of my Eagle Scout by passing the Eagle Scout Board of Review. I should hear back from Boy Scouts of America soon, as all of the information is processed nationally. I would like to take this time to thank all of you who have encouraged me along the way, whether as a friend, family member, scout, any or all of the above.
Just below is a picture of how the area of my project looked before hand.


I began as a scout in Tiger cubs, and worked my way a little there. But after a while, I lost interest to basketball and left. I came back in Pack 335 where my Uncle was Den Leader with my cousin Devin. I had fun in Webelos I & Webelos II. I left there to Troop 351. In 2003, I left Troop 351 and went to Troop 335, where I have been since. I have been Patrol Leader, Senior Patrol Leader, Historian, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, and finally now Chaplain's Aid and Troop Guide.
Below is a picture of some of the work being done.


My project was a bit difficult. You have probably been seeing some pictures from my project on here. But with many people encouraging me, I succeded, even if my original goal of laying some 14 yards of concrete was not accomplished! It was difficult and time-consuming, but it was all worth it.
And as you see below, we are moving right along. The images speek for themselves!


I would like to thank everyone for whatever part you have had. God, my family, my friends, and those in the Troop- especially my Scoutmasters- Mr. Cuntiff, Mr. Watkins, Mr. Lenz (RIP), and Mr. Milam. Also a thanks to my Uncle David who got me back into Scouts when I was about 9. If you received an e-mail from me telling you thanks, then you are included - even if I did write to my entire address book. If I left you out, then don't worry. I might not have your e-mail address, or something could have messed up in sending it to you - or you may just be a random viewer of this. I know that there's many of those! (Not really). I will let you know of the plans for my ceremony. Thanks again, and God bless,
Hey, I am working! I am in the picture below!

And there is some of the final work being done.


Ryan

The Great Fraud

THE GREAT FRAUD


An important and controversial topic in today’s world is the issue of illegal immigration. Many people believe immigrants come in and try to take over of America for its freedom, and all the many great things in this nation. Once, I overheard two people talking, one person half-jokingly say (to more or less of this degree), "If you take away a free economy, free education, and all of the other things that make America great, then the Mexicans won’t want to come here anyway, and it will all be good." He was half-joking, but the main point was that America has many great things that the Mexican immigrants are after- even illegally.

This may be true somewhat, but one thing really caught my ear in what was said. He used the term "free education." Before going into detail, may I give you an economics 101 lesson: "Nothing is free- someone pays for everything somewhere."

The teachers are paid. The people who write the text-books are paid. The people who build the school buildings and all other on-campus facilities are paid. In fact, many people are begging for teachers to get paid more, and more great things in the schools. There is money involved in the public school system, and it is coming from somewhere. Where is it coming from?

Essentially, it is coming from the government. But where does government receive its money? There are three basic ways the government gets money. One is to print off money. One is to borrow money from other countries. And the third way is to tax its people. The first of these ways is basically useless, because inflation will take over and make the "money" useless (as has happened in America). The second way will get you money at first, but then those nations will want it back. The third way is the way the government obtains useful money without having to pay it back. This way is, of course, taxing the people.

So essentially, you pay for education. You pay for the public schools, and the government, the official treasurer of them, controls the schools. In fact, government (public) schools spend more per pupil than the average private school costs per pupil- and all of this is at the expense of degrading the education system. Furthermore, you still pay for education even if you are widowed, have no children, have two children in school, or eight children in school. It is unfair. Some claim that it is fair because it helps the "common good." But you will privately pay for the services the products of public schools do anyway. The private sector seems to offer better people for the "real world" than public schools do anyway. America, with all of its money, is still just mediocre in education when compared to other countries. The public school students fair worse than the private school students.

I know that some would say the reason private schools do better is because the private schools have more money (this myth already busted above, however), because they can accept and deny their students, and because they have to be better in order to obtain any students. Even the last two are not completely true when backed with statistics, but even yet, however it is, the point is that the private education system is above the public school system. If education is so important (as it is, and as proponents of government schools claim), then we should have the best system for our children. If the private school sector does it better, then shouldn’t this be the standard?

Proponents of government schools tell us that education is "too important to be left to the competitive free market." But isn’t the education of our children too important to be left in the hands of politicians- politicians we may or may not like, and who lie and buy their way into office? The free market provides competition and choice. Competition and choice offer great incentives and opportunities for teachers, parents, and students.

Still, public school proponents tell us it is to help the poor people. But if this was the case, should the government set up a government housing system, where you pay money and the government gives you the house of their choice, not your choosing? This is essentially how it happens in education. You pay money for the government to send you to a school you may or may not like.

This brings up another point. What if the government did "give" you a house as was mentioned above, and that this house was not one of your choosing? This gives a "one size fits all approach." Do we want this in education? I think not. There are many different ways one can learn. We don’t want a post-office style education. We want advances, an freedom. There are many different areas where people are gifted at such as sports, music, business, mathematics, communications, etc. This may sound like college, but we can still use the same general basic principle of choice in elementary, middle, and high schools. People learn in different ways, and do not need a "one size fits all" approach.

Furthermore, all of this is not even to mention the different religions, and political ideologies. If there is a separation of church and state, there should be a separation of school and state. Ultimately, one’s education is going to come in terms with religion, politics, and moral philosophy. Why do you think there is debate over prayer and God’s name used in school, evolution taught in school, sex education in school, etc? Ultimately, these are decisions that should be made by the parents, but can not to some level be avoided in education (especially when education is for over seven hours a day, five days a week, and nine months a year). Questions such as the existence of God, the probability- or lack thereof- of evolution, and all other sorts of political, religious, and philosophical questions can not be avoided entirely- at least not without minimizing education to a politically correct standard, which would make many parents mad. Even neutrality is a special kind of bias.

So what does all of this tell us? It tells us that the government takes your money, forces you to go to school, then funds and teaches children according the government’s standards. Our founders showed no signs of favoring a common and government-sponsored education system. In fact, it was mostly Northern intellectuals in the mid 1800’s that favored this- for the purpose of indoctrinating children with their views and interpretation of history and the world around us. Perhaps "free education" should be renamed "forced indoctrination." This really is a great fraud.
So what should happen? All education should be made private. Taxes should be lowered so that any money being budgeted for education would go back into the hands of the people- where it belongs. Furthermore, all compulsory attendance laws should be taken away. Education is your choice and your duty. Compulsory attendance laws hurt the private sector too because it gives the government a chance to define what school is or is not. Even in the private sector, this is a certain amount of government control.

If this seems so foreign to you, I understand. But I ask that you open-mindedly ask yourself two questions. First, is government education Constitutional? Politicians that we elect swear an oath of loyalty to the Constitution. Where does the U.S. Constitution give government the right to sponsor much less control education? The second question is whose right is education anyway- the free people, or the government? I think that that question is obvious.

What do you think?

God bless America

Pray for our troops.

September 16, 2007

Ryan Hampton

Stupid in America

I believe whole-heartedly that America is one of the greatest nations in the world. We are a nation of freedom, liberty, and power. We are a nation whose people are friendly, kind, and loving, and are not afraid to defend their American liberties. We are a nation of pride, love, as well as great, rich, and special history.
However I also feel that America has its problems. I fear that the people are often ignorant to this great, rich, and special history it has. Americans seem so ignorant to history- even to their own national history. America seems ignorant to many other areas as well. America is perhaps the richest nation in the world, but according to international tests, not the smartest. Rather, America is simply "mediocre."
Even watching Miss America, where the contestants should be some of the brightest young women in America, I feel that there is a certain amount of ignorance that the contestants have to current events. What makes it worse is the fact that they do not realize their ignorance. I do grant that some of the questions asked would have been hard to answer in any way other than one that was politically correct, but the ignorance on both the judges and the contestants could be seen. Miss Georgia said that No Child Left Behind was "very near to her heart," and from my own state, Miss Alabama, seemed to show favor towards a stronger global government in worldwide problems. Many people seem to use the logic that if there is a problem, then the government is here to fix it. This is simply not good logic, and what makes it worse, is many people look to either their emotions or to the media to tell them what the problems are.
The average American is clueless on many current issues, much of American history, or why they believe what they believe, whether it be religion, politics, etc. Many Americans do not know how the electoral college works. Many Americans do not really know the definitions of monarchy, aristocracy, democracy, republican, confederacy, etc. Many Americans simply assume that America is a Democracy, although they are not sure why. Furthermore, in all reality, America is far from a pure Democracy. Many Americans do not know much at all about the "American Civil War" or its causes behind it, and the effects of it. They simply assume it was a war fought over slavery. Many Americans do not know of any of the early compromises our founding fathers made, such as the three-fifths compromise, or any of the compromises on elections. Americans assume that all of our elections were designed to be Democratic votes by the people, but that is really not the case. Many Americans assume that our government is here to provide for us, whether it be our housing, clothing, or education. Many Americans do not know what purpose government is here for.
Even on a more serious side, many Americans do not know why they believe what they believe in regards to their religion. The typical American says what their religion is, but would be clueless when it comes to defending their faith. Many Christians don’t know the books of the Bible, the Ten Commandments, or the meaning of much of the symbolism we see in the Bible. American individualism and American emotionalism has swept through the minds of our youth, leaving many to falsely reject religion, or claim religion in a watered-down defenseless way. This is very dangerous. It has become obvious that America, whether it comes to politics, history, religion, etc., is as a nation clueless.
In perhaps his most controversial television special ever, Stupid in America, which aired on 20/20, John Stossel blames this ignorance not so much on the children or parents, but on the government and teachers unions. Stossel claims that it is sticking children in a government monopolized education, that answers primarily to politicians and teacher’s unions, is the cause for such ignorance.
Although I do not really agree with Stossel on everything, I feel that he makes many points that many Americans are scared to admit, or too ignorant to realize. Liberals consider him a right wing fraud, while conservatives consider him one of the most liberal in the liberal media. But Stossel is neither a conservative or a liberal, but rather a libertarian, a word that many Americans do not know the meaning of, not that they would know much more the real definitions of ‘‘conservative’’ and ‘‘liberal.’’ The show was politically motivated and politically incorrect, but many Americans would not hear him out. Some things Stossel stands for I do not completely agree with, but whether it be his articles, television specials, or books, he actually defends his points, and shows he knows why he believes what he believes. Many times, he is right.
Many Americans think that because there are problems in the public school system, that a higher government with more government spending would be the key. However statistics and common sense tell you that that is not the case. Our founding fathers would be devastated to see our American Government today, with the way the Federal Government has control on the free market and education.
But it must start with the people, not the government. Care about your vote, or your no vote. Care about your government, nation, and education for yourself, or if you’re a parent, for your child. It is time that we take initiative, and help make America a better nation than what it already is. It would be a shame to see this wonderful nation fall apart because of its people’s own ignorance.

Thanks you.
What do you think?
God bless America
Ryan

My Thoughts on School Vouchers

I have put in another post that we are not so open-minded today. We believe what our political party teaches (or what the party members say it teaches), we believe whatever our religous leaders tell us, we believe whatever makes us feel good, or sometimes worried even. That is all true. There are some issues that is not so much related to conservative, liberal, libertarian, independant, etc. The issue of school vouchers is interesting because a libertarian for example could make a valid point for school vouchers based upon libertarian philosophy, and a libertarian could also make a point against school vouchers using libertarian philosophy. Compared to most political parties or political names, libertarianism is good at it's members being consistent within their philosophy of the government (thought they may live totally different lives). It is probably the libertarians, but perhaps the conservatives, that support school vouchers the most.
The issue is still small, and nor real change from the current system to school vouchers seems to be happening any time soon, but the idea is growing. In 1985, homeschooling would be either unheard of, or considered stupid by most people. Now, a growing amount of people including myself are homeschooling or being homeschooled. This is not saying we should treat any education change as good change, but the system is not where it should be.
So what is school vouchers, if you don't know. Basically, the way I see it, would be a system in which the government takes education tax money, and sends it to the school of your choice. The schools then get the money, and use it the way they desire, and basically compete for your child. The argument for school vouchers is that it provides school choice, and eliminates a government/teacher union monompoly on education. Schools would hire and pay teachers based upon how good they are, not what the teachers unions claim. Furthermore, supporters argue, Protestants could go to Protestant schools, Roman Catholics could go to Roman Catholic schools, Jews could go to Jewish schools, and atheists could even go to atheist schools, and so on.
Still, some people are worried about the big "C" word- competition. Competition, they say is bad for schools. Schools are not supposed to compete for students. They say that education goes beyond competition. They also have other points against it- such as that school vouchers is wrong because the government uses tax money to go to religious schools. Another argument against school vouchers is that the government gets their hands into the what-is-now private school sector. They say that the situation becomes worsened because both what is now public schools and what is now private schools even out, and they all become bad. Some would say that any choice of getting a good school is thrown out the window because there is no good private school that is not government-controlled. The supporters claim that the government merely funds the schools, and doesn't run them.
So what is my take? I want to make the point, first, that the school system is corrupt- not just because people go to public schools and learn more about drugs and sex than about math and English (though that can be part of it), but because the government sends much more money to public education per child, than the average private school costs (I think they spend approx $10,000 per year per child); yet the average private school outpreforms the average public school by a lot. And it is the private school that help the "problem" children out more than public schools do. And about the "real world," I think that those who are homeschooled and in actual private schools do better in the "real world" than those who are in government education. The government school supporters tell us that they prepare them by letting them see different religions, for example, and decide for themselves (yet they still teach evolution and are minimum on God, prayer, and Christianity).
If that does not convince you, consider this. It would be bad if the government established a church, took your tax dollars, and used them without your permission to teach the governments theology, and you were forced to go to church. Furthermore, you would either go to a government-appointed church in you "church zone" or pay extra to another church, that the government still made sure was okay. That would be wrong. The public education system, or government education system, is a mirror duplicate of an established church. You go to church one to two days a week for an hour or two; you go to school five days a week for about seven hours a day. Religion can still be tied into education as well. That is why we have debates over what can and can not be taught in public schools. They are either offensive, or politically correct when it gets right down to it.
So if the system needs changing, then do I think that school vouchers is the way to go? One libertarian might tell me it provides competition which they say is good, while another libertarian may say it creates a bigger government. I understand both sides, but my gut feeling is that it does not hurt. If school vouchers made government bigger, then how come politicians don't convince us or try to convince us of school vouchers. Today, so many people would fall for it. If the government does take control of the schools, then we could start back with private schools like they are now. We wouldn't gain anything, but we wouldn't loose anything either. Beyond that, it saves those in private schools money by only paying for one education, not two for only one result. Yet, I do know that private schools may not want them getting money from the government. There is a chance you take. Furthermore, not every person wants an education. I do, but not everybody. Why should you be forced to an education. I want an education to glorify God, and to support a family, and make money. You are not forced to have a house, which is two of the three things I mentioned above. You are not forced to believe in God- that's the other. Why should you be forced to have an education.
Please don't get me wrong. I am not against minimum government spending on education. There are poor people who desire an education, and if charity's fail, then the government may can step in. They problem is once they step in, they want to step in more and more. I am not against public school students, or public school teachers. I don't like the system. The government does not provide houses for everyone, churches for everyone, shoes for everyone; so why should they invent a system for education for everyone. At least school vouchers provide choice, but even that is somewhat of a compromise I think.