Rules Aren't the Enemy

It's the end of a long day, and I hardly have the brains to write a weblog. In fact, probably the LAST thing I should be doing is writing a weblog, seeing as I have a good many papers to write, and even more articles to read.
But there's something so therepeutic about writing for fun. Leave it to school to turn something fun (like reading and writing) into mundane academics.
Here are three things I've been thinking about lately:

1. My development: social, cognitive and moral.
My social development is a little less-than-perfect. I don't FEEL like an awkward person, but I'm afraid I can scare even the most benevolent strangers with my one-word answers and lack of eye-contact. There are days when I feel confident and beautiful...capable of talking to anyone about anything...and there are days when I long to hide behind my colorful striped 3-ring binder, berating myself for ruining a perfectly good conversation.

My cognitive development...well, I get mostly A's, so I'm not worried about my intellectual abilities. :)

Moral development is an interesting thing. According to Lawrence Kohlberg's theory, the highest level of moral development is where a person forms a moral code based on what is good for mankind, and not necessarily based on what other people have established. Sometimes this leads to civil disobedience. This is both fascinating and scary, because a moral code that is not based on biblical truth could go in any direction.
A man spoke in chapel this morning about how we're in danger of throwing out the old testament and forgetting the importance of God's law. He said without the righteousness and justice of God (His law), we'd be apt to create our own moral set, and judge others based on their compliance with it. Having the guts to question authority when it's in the wrong is one thing...but ungrounded disobedience isn't smart at all...and we need to realize that rules, in themselves, aren't the enemy.

2. The "Black and White" problem. Racism in our modern world.
I'm in a 'Diverse Populations' class. We've been talking about racism in its modern form: White advantage. According to many of the articles I've been given, racism is more subtle today, taking the form of hidden priviledges and advantages which are only present for light-skinned people.
I can see the validity of this idea. I hate racism...I wish I could change our world into a place where people respect people, regardless of color and culture.
BUT. There's one thing I don't like...in my class I've felt as thought "white people" have been pinpointed as the single reason for racism.
I don't believe that's true...anyone can be racist. It can't be only the caucasian's problem, right? I can't help but believe that racism is a monster which everyone has helped feed, and now everyone must help destroy. Blaming the whites for all racism isn't going to help much in my opinion (of course, I'm not excusing what my white ancestors did to the African Americans...it was horrible and I can't even imagine what they were thinking).
I'm just beginning to form my own opinions on this...it's a touchy subject, but so important!

3. Decisions.
We all make decisions.
We all make decisions based on our personal feelings and our "gut"...or even based on what other people tell us to do.
We all have made bad decisions and looked back on them, realizing our mistakes.
How can we know how to make the "right" decision, the first time? Do we NEED to make those bad mistakes? Can we avoid those moments?
Can a decision initially be good and then become bad over time?

(I think once God is added to the "decision picture", we have a whole new angle from which to view our lives and consequent choices. God has a way of guiding and directing us, sometimes even when we don't know it. But we also have a free will, so does God LET us make bad decisions? He must...if we truly have a free will. I conclude then, that our job is to seek His will in every decision we make.)


I rather like having a website which no one goes to.
It reminds me of writing your name on a tree...like a secret hid in the open. :)

God bless,
Briana