Being of Hope

Maybe, They Can't Breed Because They're Not Related to Begin With

   I remain tentatively in the camp that says evolution happened, just as they say it did. Only, I say God was behind it.
   But, I certainly find a lot of arguments against evolution. Last night, as I was going to bed, I thought of perhaps as big of an argument against evolution as I have ever ran across.
   Very few species can interbreed. The ones that can, are so closely related, perhaps a little evolution did occur. Now, I can't see too much reason a lion and a bear shouldn't be able to breed, and produce a, liobear or whatever you want to call it. It seems a cross breed could come out of it.
  But, nope, it'll never happen.
  Now, if we all descended from the same one-cell being, if all the animals on earth are related, then how does it come to pass that they can't interbreed? With any creature, the descendants biologically can breed with each other. Mules being one of the rare exceptions. What happens, is you have the mother's DNA and the father's DNA, and the offspring is part from one and part from the other. You can go down the species history, and while there might be some changes -- some evolutions, if you want to call it that, such as Chinese and American Indians and Blacks and Caucasians -- still, they all can still interbreed, and the offspring will take its features part from one and part from the other.
   So, where going down the timeline, two creatures diverging from a single common ancestor, does it happen that they become no longer able to interbreed? And, why can they no longer interbreed? Is it because their DNA isn't compatible? That doesn't answer the question. It only restates it, for we know it must have something to do with their DNA. Otherwise they would be able to breed.
   But, given that it has something to do with their DNA, still, the DNA of any two parents will not perfectly match. Why is it the two parents can breed even though their DNAs do not perfectly match?
  So, what of this? Two species evolve from a common ancestor, yet somewhere along the line, lose their ability to interbreed, despite the fact they carry in them common genes from that common ancestor?
   Maybe, the truth is, they can't interbreed because they were never related in the first place.

The Level of Perfection Equals the Level of Correction

   The level of perfection equals the level of correction. In other words, how close you come to perfection depends on how much correction you receive.
   Whether from yourself, your parents, or whoever.
   A person will only achieve what he thinks achievable. If he is taught perfection cannot be accomplished, it won't. If the small errors are not brought to his attention, he cannot go after them. This does not mean the person doing the correcting needs to shout, and chide, or demean. Correction can be and should be done in a loving, happy, smiling way.
   I think of the scripture that says, For Whom the Lord loveth he corrected. I wonder if that implies that He knows that without His correction, we will not move forward.
   I think of friends around me, who need correcting, who need someone to point out to them things they are doing that perhaps they shouldn't be. And, I wonder if I will have the courage to be their friend.
 

The James Lawrence 50-50-50 Should Bring Attention to Dangers of Sugar

   Deseret News writer Amy Donaldson says it might be the most grueling sports experience ever. James Lawrence, a Utah man known as the Iron Cowboy, reportedly just completed 50 triathlons in 50 days in 50 states.
   The James Lawrence 50-50-50. A feat so astounding, yes, we must wonder whether he really did it.
   To properly respect the achievement, consider a triathlon consists of a 112-mile bike ride, a more than 2-mile swim, and -- to boot -- a marathon, which is 26.2 miles. Now, Lawrence isn't reaping much attention -- so far -- which seems strange, considering how unbelievable this all is.
  And, just as what he did is not getting the attention it deserves, so it is with the cause. He ran to raise awareness of and funds to fight child obesity. Too much sugar is the big reason for child obesity (and adult obesity), of course, and the dangers of sugar are as not as known as they should be. Sugar has been linked to heart disease, and with cardiovascular disease being the number-one cause of death, that is significant. It may take more study to determine how strong the link is, but we should perhaps be concerned about this just as we are concerned about cigarettes and cancer. Oh, sugar has also been linked to cancer . . . and to liver problems, and to cognitive disabilities and to the shortening of life, itself.  
   I stayed up late last night, reading about the dangers of sugar. Then, this morning, I awoke to learn about Lawrence's phenomenal 50-50-50.
   It isn't catching the attention it deserves, not nearly. And, even so, the cause for which he ran is not  drawing the headlines it should.

A Fourth Opened the Door Uninvited and Stepped In

   Let the immigrants in unimpeded, and our country will be overwhelmed, overpopulated, and our resources stretched to the breaking point. So the argument goes.
   For my part, though, I do not like the thought of locking them out just because they are poor, just because they are in need. It would seem that as much as any of the people wanting to come here, the ones in need should be ushered in first.
   For that very reason: because they are the ones in need.
   Let's say you were the sole gatekeeper to America's doors, and you made the rules and whatever you said, went, and you invited applications, and received back three, and the applicants came and stood before you, each begging you to choose them, and you felt you only had room for one.
   "Pick me," said the first. "I want to come to America to learn your language, and to see the sights, and to enjoy your pastimes."
   "Pick me," said the second, "I want to come to get an education, and then return to my homeland all the better for it."
   "Nay, pick me," said the third. "I want to come to America to become rich. Yours is the land of opportunity. Pick me and I will make you proud."
   But, then, a fourth person opened the door, uninvited, and stepped in. "Forgive me, sir," she said. "I have heard you might help me. Things are not well for me in my home country. I am hungry and homeless and have a child on the way. Is there anyway you can help me?"
   Which would you pick?



Take up all the talk of how the immigrant strains


I tend to think our fear of overpopulation is over valued. There would be strains, if we were to let in those who were poor. Already, many are upset with how much money must be spent on the welfare of immigrants. For my part, though, I do not like the thought that we are locking them out because they are poor, because they arrive in need of help. Rather than banning the needy, I think it better that we should find a way to help them help themselves, I believe we should take them in and provide them work.

I also think of how California, home to the gold rush, became one of the most prosperous of states. I wonder if, to some degree, the economic result of immigration is reflected in the ambitions for which they come, the purpose for which they come. If they come seeking to be industrious, you reap prosperity. If they are seeking welfare and someone to care for them, you do not reap prosperity. That said, I do not like not helping them. See the paragraph above.

If the Immigrant has Ambition, Skills and Work Ethic, All Should be Well

   Whether immigration strains your economy or builds it, depend largely on the ambitions and skills and work ethic of the people who come, and on the reasons they have for arriving on our shores. If they are ambitious folks, anxious to work, or people dreaming of what they can achieve in the land of opportunity, it will be well with the economy.
   But, if they see the new homeland only as a place of relief, a place of comfort at the hands of others, it might not go so well.
   The skills they bring with them? You will be well served if they bring entrepreneurial and inventive abilities. And, even if they lack skills, other than just a desire to work and contribute, you will be well served, for there is a need in economies for people who will work for others and be of the working class.
   This is not to say problems cannot arise. But, to a great extent, if the immigrant has all three characteristics -- skill and ambition and work ethic -- all will be well. If, though, he has just one of the characteristics? If he is ambitious in that he desires to make a wonderful living, but lacks the skills to make it happen and lacks the work ethic to take a menial job, then you are more likely to catch him becoming unemployed. And, if he has a strong work ethic, but lacks many work skills, there might be times when the menial, unskilled job is not available, or when the menial job does not provide a great enough of an income to meet all his needs. If he is barely putting food on the table, and has no insurance, and gets hospitalized, then look to him being an expense to the welfare system.