The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

I read an article on the left-leaning website Salon  recently which suggested it might be better in the long-term if a far-right conservative won the 2016 presidential election, so more could see how disastrous an experience it would be, wake up in the process, and be more apt to voting Democratic in the years following. I've always despised this line of thinking, for regressive changes in the short-term could have significant impacts in the long-term. However, for as much as I and many others fight to prevent those regressive changes, based on all I see and hear, maybe this country deserves a president like Donald Trump. Just last night, I heard a person say, "One thing I like about Donald Trump is the man makes people think," to which I laughed and said, "Uh, not really, but okay..." Yeah, proposing that a wall be built along our southern border to try and prevent Central American immigrants from entering our country is really thought-provoking. Barring th...

While I'll be the first to admit I think most parents tend to believe their children are a bit brighter than they actually are, JP Fugler's recent blog post, entitled, "Your Child Is Not Special," still rubbed me the wrong way. Fugler starts his piece with this: "'You don't understand. My kid always makes straight As.' That might be the most damaging statement to a child's education. Like many teachers, I receive a version of that story multiple times in e-mails, phone conversations, and parent-teacher conferences regularly. The parent is always well-intentioned when they say it, but this mentality is becoming an epidemic threatening educators nationwide." I admit I'm interested initially. Please continue... "I wish more parents understood that their child is not special. That they would listen to teachers like David McCullough Jr. when he told the 2012 graduating class of his school that there were 37,000 valedictorians in...

It's common for unhealthy cycles to bound in people's lives. Whether that be alcohol abuse during difficult times, finding oneself in abusive relationships, or becoming promiscuous after break-ups, even if we know deep down the cycles aren't healthy for us, it's often times very difficult to break these very cycles. As difficult as it might be to do this, however, if we don't eventually break these unhealthy cycles, it becomes increasingly likely that these unhealthy cycles will take control of and ultimately destroy our lives. Unfortunately, Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl running back Adrian Peterson and his children find themselves in a similar situation. Based on friends' and family's testimonies, it seems about as likely that Adrian Peterson's father beat him as a child as it does that the earth revolves around the sun. Since Adrian feels this harsh form of discipline helped him become the person he is today and he is ignorant of any alternatives, he...