I Believe (Also 30 Days of Song)

A friend of mine wrote about what s/he believes (I’m under orders to protect identity in this case, so be aware of odd grammar in the next few sentences!). This person wrote that s/he hates his/her believes because s/he has been teased for them, but what this person wrote made me think about what I believe. We don’t have much in common when it comes to believes, this other person and I, but I appreciated the chance to think through what I believe.

• I believe that our culture has become far too casual. I believe that a certain amount of polite formality would help us as a group. That’s not to say that we should be formal with our friends, but I don’t believe that I’m friends with someone just because I know that person’s name. It shouldn’t be weird when I call the parents at my work by their titles (Mr. Parent, Mrs. Parent…).


• I believe it takes years to form a solid friendship, and that friendship (like any relationship) requires work on the part of both parties.


• I believe that friendly love (philo) is just as important as the other kinds (romantic and passionate).


• I believe, assuming the existence of a God who created us, and who loves us, He wants us to use the abilities He gave us. That includes being able to form reasonable conclusions about the world around us, whether those conclusions draw us closer to Him or not. That’s why we have free will, to make decisions based on all the evidence we can gather.


• I don’t believe in using credit for stupid things. Credit should be earned and used for big things that the general public couldn’t afford all at once (college education, cars, houses, etc). I do believe that people should use credit reasonably- if you have to use credit to buy a car, you probably don’t need the fanciest car you can find, you need one that satisfies your NEEDS not your WANTS.


• I believe most Americans do not know the difference between a need and a want. I don’t go so far as to say the only things you need are food, shelter and water, but I do think there’s a big difference between needing a car to get to work to provide those things and “needing” a Hummer to travel the perfectly travelable roads found in most of the country so that you aren’t uncomfortable in any way.


• I believe in being kind to everyone. It doesn’t cost anything to be nice, and honestly it makes you feel better.


• I believe in education. It bothers me when people are willfully ignorant on important matters, especially the things that affect us all on a daily basis.


• I believe that we can and must all respect each other, whether we agree about our believes or not. I’m not saying we have to pretend to agree, I’m saying that as long as one person’s belief is not endangering another person, we need to be able to RESPECTFULLY disagree.


• I believe…some other stuff that I can’t think of right now, so I can’t write it down.

30 Days of Song!!

Day 5. Song that reminds you of someone- I don’t just love music, I love musicals. I’ve blogged before about what the song “For Good” means to me. When I saw this item on the list, this is the only song I could think about- it makes me think of both my good friends now (especially Kristin) and in the past (especially Marissa). I’m not going to post the video again here, but if you want to see it, you can follow the link!