I am not primarily about making political comments; I am about trying to help our kids with Purpose in Life principles.  Those principles state that we are each to do the best we can with our ‘Talents’ and our ’Opportunities’ so I conclude that this is part of my purpose.  I am trying to honor my Loved Ones by doing my best to make our world a better place for all. 

I am also using this article as an example of what any of us can do.  We all can and should make our thoughts and feelings known.  We should express our opinions and we should try to help make the world a better place for all.  Your ideas and feelings are part of your ‘Talents’.  And, you make a difference when your ideas are heard by others.

The Democratic position on drilling is confusing to me and I think to a lot of the American people.  Here are the arguments that I see being put forth:

 “Big Oil and their White House allies want you to believe that opening up America’s coasts to offshore drilling will lower your gas prices.  Yet our Department of Energy says that offshore drilling would have “no significant impact” on gasoline prices, and we wouldn’t see those savings until 2025.” -

But, even if it is ‘no significant impact’, which I and a lot of people don’t believe is an accurate statement, every little bit helps.  The other side of that comment is that:  yes it will have some impact.  In addition, there is no evidence at all to support the statement that the oil and gas wouldn’t be available until 2025.

So why not do all we can?  Why not have these sources readily available?  We can use them while we develop alternative sources for ourselves and the rest of the world.

Don’t you agree that whatever the American companies spend drilling here stays in America and provides jobs and the companies and suppliers and employees pay taxes to our government?

Don’t you agree that every dollar we spend for oil and gas here reduces the amount we send to the other countries of the world?

Don’t you agree that if Clinton hadn’t vetoed the Anwar drilling bill more than 8 years ago we would have a significant new American source of oil right now?  Wouldn’t that be reducing the amount of our wealth that we are sending to the Arab states and the dependence we have on them and therefore result in a lower price of oil for us and the whole world? 

Wouldn’t we have sent a lot less money to them over the last few years? 

Wouldn’t the price of oil and gas have been much less several years ago as the certainty of a significant new source coming on line was looming?

And, what is this about calling the idea of drilling offshore or anywhere in America a ‘land grab’ for big oil?

If they pay our government, i.e., US, a big leasing fee to drill, agree to our limitations and restrictions,  pay us taxes on everything that they get out of the wells and the leases expire and can be taken away at the end of the leasing period how can that be a ‘land grab’? 

It seems to me that anyone who thinks about it would agree that it is a very misleading statement and must have some ulterior motives behind it.

If the oil companies will pay for any damages they cause; and they have not had any problems for the last 30 years in the Gulf of Mexico, and they have even better equipment and methods today, it seems that again these statements are at the very least misleading.

Jerry W. Willis

www.jerrywwillis.com

When a child hears that the UPIL, the Universal Purpose in Life™ says that we are to honor our parents and loved ones by the way we live our lives some may say: “But, my dad left us and never even tried to help.  I don’t want to honor him!”.  Or something like “But, my mom/dad was mean to me.” or “My mom/dad did such terrible things and I don’t want to honor him/her!”.So why would we do our best to honor our parents even if we don’t feel like they deserve to be honored?  The answer is you do it to experience some of ‘the best things in life’ and to ‘live the good life’. You do it because that is your Purpose in Life.

But how can trying to honor them help me and what are ‘the best things in life’ anyway? 

Well let’s look at the example of Barack Obama.  His dad deserted him and his mother.  Barack later found that his dad had multiple wives and kids, had been an alcoholic and wasted much of his potential of being a very bright man with great opportunities.  What had he done to deserve to be honored?

The answer is he fathered Barack Obama.  And he fathered other kids who also have the potential to be honorable people and who can also help to make the world a better place because they are here. 

Your parents had you.

And although it may not be Barack’s main goal to honor his dad by the way he lives his life, he is doing that as well as honoring his Mother and Grandparents and his wife and kids by doing and being his best with his talents and opportunities.

True, most of us can never do all the wonderful things that Barack Obama has done or can do.  He is so fortunate to be very bright and have good grandparents with money and good educations and a good lifestyle to help him.

But he is doing just what you can do.   

Each of us honors our Creator and our parents and loved ones best by doing and being our best with what we have.  All we need is to understand the ‘Talents’ and ‘Opportunities’ we really have and how we can fulfill our Purpose in Life while feeling that we truly are living ‘the life of our dreams’.   

 Jerry W. Willis

www.jerrywwillis.com

Education seems to be getting a bad rap in some circles and to a certain extent, it is well deserved.  Our public schools only offer one curriculum, only one type of degree. 

But what if you can’t do well in school the way it works today?  What are you supposed to do?  

The only option many of our kids see is to drop out and that leads to lots more problems with unemployment, gangs, drugs – wasted lives and wasted potentials.

We’ve lost track of our real purpose in education: to provide the skills and understandings needed for our children to become productive and satisfied members of our society, living ‘the good life’ with their family and friends.  

In addition to offering only one degree we don’t provide an understanding of their Purpose in Life to guide them in making good decisions in their life. 

All of our programs are designed to help the kids achieve some ‘passing grade’ level of achievement to entitle them to that ONE degree.  Never mind that our DNA proves that every one of us is completely unique.  Never mind that in some areas 50% or more of the kids drop out and never get that degree and end up with a criminal record that further reduces their chances to achieve that good life. 

Let’s start with Step 1; becoming fluent in basic reading. 

Fluency comes from repetition.  Great coaches have their players practice the same plays over and over, week after week for the whole season to get better and stay sharp.  Reading simple sentences is the first ‘play’ you have to learn to get along well in our society.  

Reading the same simple words in different types of simple sentences over and over, day after day, week after week until that level of reading requires no thinking at all leads to fluency.  Then you can move to the next level of simple words and sentences and then on to other subjects. 

They must have the ability to learn at the next level which they can’t do if they don’t have the ability to read well.

A clear sign of fluency is to pronounce every word exactly as it should be pronounced and read every sentence just the way it should be read.  We recognize the lack of a good education immediately when people don’t speak and read fluently. 

We should have degrees at each level of attainment.  This isn’t about taking a test and getting a ‘passing grade’.  The ability to read and speak fluently is WAY too important to accept anything less than absolute fluency!  This is step one in our goal of ‘No Child Left Behind’.  Every child should be taught to the highest level at which they are capable.

What those new degrees would show is that this person has achieved a certain level of fluency.  But more importantly, it will show that they will stick with it to do their absolute best. That is what we want to know.  They are clearly able to perform most jobs and our government and employers should change their standards for hiring to recognize the level of education that they have achieved and what that means about the types of jobs they can perform.

How can we as a society think that a teacher is not good because a kid can only learn up to a certain level?

How can we think that a kid can’t learn a subject when they haven’t yet become fluent in reading the material?

How can we insist that all kids must be able to do this exact curriculum that we keep cramming more and more into or it is the fault of our teachers and school administrators?

That is the amazing level of thinking in the standards we are now giving our schools.  Amazingly BAD! 

Kids that appear unable to handle school now will be able to do much more when they are first fluent in reading.  Kids that are taught and rewarded for their successes with degrees will be much more likely to stay in school. 

Businesses will be happier to have more good employees to choose from and to help support our public education system and our nation. 

Teachers will be much happier when parents understand what they are doing and when they aren’t being criticized no matter how dedicated they are. 

Parents will be happier when their kids are given the respect they deserve for doing their best and when they stay in school because they can achieve successes and get the understandings they need to live a good life. 

Politicians will be happier when changes they make in our educational standards and systems produce better results. 

This is simple and it is a win-win.

Jerry W. Willis

www.jerrywwillis.com

http://thelifeofyourdreamsbooks.com