Kia Ora-

I'm a bit tired, but I want to sort of recount a conversation I had with my friend and brother Jordon. First off, let me say that I am so proud of Jordon's decision to join the Navy. That is a very noble and brave thing to do, especially in times like this. (And the military is very zen, though I will explain that statement later.)

Yesterday, we discussed the pros and cons of living in such a free society. I want to recap everything we discussed, but I would like to in full as I don't think I could do our coversation justice if I didn't. At this moment, I can't coherently recall the order of things (it is 1:00am) and anything I will say will be out of context. Also, a little background--just a few years ago, maybe even months, we would both be on the far active left side of all the protests and anti-war propaganda. Now we find ourselves on the exact opposite side, very conservative and very pro-patriotism.

In short, we agreed that by being blessed with the amount of freedoms we have in this country it also opens the door of opportunity for unstructured and undisciplined lifestyles. (What's the old addage of being careful what we wish for?) I am not complaining that we have too many freedoms--I know that some would argue that that's the base reason that this country is so great. And that is true, freedom is what makes this country great. But unstructured nature with unlimited freedoms is a very bad thing. Please don't misinterpret me, I'm not trying to advocate any type of restrictions on freedom at all. As with all things there is an amount of moderation.

All of us have grown up in a very 'microwave oven' lifestyle. When we want things, we want them now and we have easy access to get them pretty instantly. There is no waiting or even earning. An example I brought up, say I wanted a certain Spongebob Squarepants DVD at 3:00am. I could jump in my car and head to Wal-Mart and have it in my player in 20 minutes. Or even quicker, I could log on to the internet and download it instantly. And that's just something we all grew up assuming was just part of life, since we are the first generation to grow up with such access like this. Did our parents have the instant gratification we can obtain? Just about anything can be gotten in an instant--food, clothes, sex, money, bill payment, work. It's mindboggling.

I'm not trying to get down on the internet or the avilability of everything. I'm just frustrated with our ability to control ourselves. Is it good to push the boundries? Yes, challenge brings new thought. However, boundries are there for a reason. Even when we don't agree with them, they are there for our own good.

I'm tired and rambling and just sort of cutting int off right here, but that was the gist of our conversation. It made much more sense and perhaps I'll attempt to straighten it out, but that's where I am in my philosophical mindset at the moment, and it's good to know I am not alone.

Keep the faith.

-N.