This I Believe...

I spend a great deal of time pondering my beliefs. Struggling with the contradictions of some of them. At times the absurdities. The differences between my beliefs and my fantasies. That one gets a bit fuzzy at times.

After reading Alissa's post about the, "This I believe" story from NPR, like many of us I have have been trying to decide just what it is that I believe in. Maybe it's the same as the things I dream about, maybe not.

So far the list is staggeringly long. The weeding process has began in order to make a short list. My Top Ten list if you will.

Insert theme music here (imagine something between a lite night talk show and a B Porn)

This I believe: The short version, it's not Ten, but Three. Lets start with that.

1)
Above all else I believe in love. It can cure all the worlds problems. Each of us has an endless supply of love within us. However, love only works when it is given away. Love is the easiest thing in the world to share. A smile, a helping hand, a kind thought...It has tremendous power.
Love is within us at birth, we are born knowing how to love. We have to learn hate, bigotry and prejudices.

2)
Children are the greatest gift to humanity. They are every possibility of mankind. Our greatest achievements that have yet to be.
Clean slates that will learn and remember anything and everything that we teach them. Good and bad.
To harm, mislead, corrupt or abuse a child is a crime against humanity and against God. (No matter whom your God may be) Teaching children to hate and be violent against those that are different from themselves is one of the worst abuses of children. Anyone who abuses a child should be gut shot a made to suffer a long horrific death, with a constant reminder of why it was being done to them.
If we taught children love, acceptance, respect and forgiveness, we would see a very different world very soon.

Yes I see the contradiction here but it's the way I feel. Protect them, love them, nourish them or else! It could be the parent in me.

3)
No one should be allowed to leave or drop out of school before they finish college. No excuses! Especially for things like sports or acting. Once you finish school, then you can pursue what ever you want to.
All of us should have to continue our education through college. If you can't pass you take it over and over until you can. No pressure, no humiliation, you go until you understand.
The more we all know, the better off we all are.

This, sadly is assuming that schools can give us a well rounded educations that would benefit the world and not just someones political agenda. This one may be more of a fantasy.