Showing posts with label Curating Original Content. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Curating Original Content. Show all posts

Monday, July 23, 2018

Of Most Importance + #MyPostMonday Curating The Week's Best Original Content

I love feeling healthy and energetic! I do a few things daily to make sure I stay feeling that way. It's something I conscientiously work towards on a daily basis. 

Another thing I hold dear and work hard to keep is my relationship with my kids. They are gone and on their own--definitely not mama's boys. So sometimes it's up to me to keep the communication going and the home fires burning. I work on that as well because it's really important to me.

And of course, marriage is definitely something one needs to keep working on, unless you plan on letting it dwindle into a series of auto-pilot conversations and mundane schedules. Apparently my husband thinks it's important too, because he takes part in the maintenance of our relationship too, especially when food is involved! We've been married for 18 years now! It seems like just yesterday that we decided to not delay things and to just go for it, 4 months after we met.

Image - Gina Herbert
The above are some of the more obvious things that a lot of people might agree are important and worth fighting to keep. But there are some less obvious things that I find are just as important to keep.

One of them is something I have taken for granted all my life but am now starting to wonder if I really should have...the freedom of religion.  

A religious person shares a common belief that there is "a right and wrong in human behavior that has been established by a Supreme Being." (Dallin H. Oaks) That person may be a member of any given number of religions, but that one belief, at least, is held in common. 

Religion is good for society because it has been found that, in general, religious individuals have better family lives, stronger marriages, less substance abuse and crime, higher educational levels, a greater willingness to volunteer and donate to charities, better work habits, longer lives, better health, greater income, and higher levels of well-being and happiness. These are all things that, as a whole, will benefit society! *See Sources below

Unfortunately, protections afforded to freedom of religion and belief are often weak, unheeded, and attacked. Powerful pressures attempt to restrain religious freedom, even in countries that historically protected it most vigorously. These pressures seem to be gaining ground in many countries. 
*See Sources below

I am saddened when I see the historical tradition of public prayer, giving public credence to God, historical edifices referencing divinity, and individuals wanting to publicly display their heartfelt belief in God attacked and belittled. 

When someone is censored when moved to say what they truly believe, how can they claim freedom of speech? And the same with freedom of press and freedom of assembly. When they can't write what they believe or assemble to speak about what they believe, how can the claim of "freedom" be made?

Amazingly, in 2013, approximately 5.5 billion people--77 percent of the world's population--lived in countries with high or very high restrictions on religious liberty, up from 68 percent just six years earlier. *See Sources Below

"Sadly, religion is often countercultural and thus unpopular. For this reason, religious freedom, even where it is generally supported in principle, is often vigorously opposed in practice." (D. Todd Christofferson) 

What We Can Do

This is a freedom I have decided is too valuable to lose and I would like to do more to help protect this inalienable right here in my own country. If you are also of a mind to protect religious freedom, here are some things we can do to fight for that cause:

1) When we hear of someone being unfairly treated because of demonstrating or vocalizing their religious beliefs, find out the source and write a letter in support of the person who was treated unfairly.

2) Openly state our support of religious freedom and religion in general.

3) Don't openly criticize others of their differing religious beliefs . They have the same right as we do to practice their beliefs. We need to unite rather than be divided in this important freedom.

4) Don't be critical of those who profess no religious beliefs. No one should be compelled to be religious.

5) Write to our elected officials and make it known that we are supportive of religious freedom.

If more of us speak out and stand up for what was granted us when the U.S. was founded, we can preserve that important freedom. It is important and worth fighting for to keep!
*Sources

Today is "My Post Monday!", a curation of the week's best original content. It's all about posts from Crafts to Camping, Wellness to Wealth, Fashion to Food, and whatever else is on the brain!  I  open up with a post of my own and then follow it up with a linky of the week's top original blog posts! It's all about what the writer thinks, believes, and knows--in other words, they are active, writing blogs. If I happen to find a great original, non-sponsored post, I'll link it up and share it with you here and on Twitter via the #MyPostMonday hashtag!  I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!  So, in addition, if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too!  I'll visit your site, comment, promote and publicize(Affiliate links welcome)