I Believe

A generation or two ago, children were taught that there was a Creator to whom they were responsible and to whom they had to answer in the afterlife. They were taught that a moral code was given to us to follow. A truly moral nation enacts policies that encourage personal responsibility and discourage self-destructive behavior by not subsidizing people who live irresponsibly and make poor choices. And because someone else pays the bill, the behavior continues and gets worse. Conversations in which people disagree yet respect one another are rare. Hopefully, God’s presence would be felt on both sides of the divide. Every day contains the possibility for a life-transforming encounter with God through some unanticipated new connection.

It would be a good thing if we expended energy on teaching people not to be offended when someone offers a different opinion, because we can learn something from everybody. No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him.

The costs and benefits of expanded preschool is not the answer to our educational problems because it does not get to the root of the cause, which is inadequate parenting. There is more to life than impressing others with our possessions, intellect, or talents. When we are feeling overwhelmed by life’s pressures, taking a hike (you name it) may be just the tonic we need for our troubled spirit.

Self-reflection is always a good exercise. What I believe is a work in progress, not limited to these statements and subject to change. What do YOU believe?

Daniel Taddeo

Longtime Parma Hts. resident and educator in the Parma School district.

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Volume 10, Issue 10, Posted 11:41 AM, 10.01.2018