The advice I give my kids

I tell my kids to do the right thing, even when no one else is doing it. To do the right thing, even if they don't think anyone cares or will notice. To do the right thing, even if doing something else might be easier. And that's a big part of why I'm voting for Mike Maturen and the American Solidarity Party for President of the United States. Many people feel this is a 'wasted vote' but I've never felt like my vote meant more nor felt so good about who I am voting for.

I know many good people who are voting for one of the two final major party candidates and I respect them for following their conscience. However if I was to vote for either one of them, I would not consider myself a good person. Especially when there is another candidate and party that so closely align with my views. A party that is centered around a 'pro-life for the whole life' ethic at it's core and is inspired by Catholic social teachings. In my opinion it represents the best of the two major parties at a time when both of these parties have their worst on display.  If I don't support this new party that stands for what I believe when given the opportunity, then I have sold out and can't complain when the two major parties continue offering options I strongly oppose. Voting for the American Solidarity Party IS the right thing to do and my conscience knows it.

"But Mr. Maturen has no chance of winning," I often hear. This of course isn't technically true as he has secured write in approval from enough states to theoretically win the presidency. The only reason he has no chance is because people have bought into the lie that a write in could never win. What I find paradoxical is that so many people would love to vote for ANYONE else besides the two major party candidates, but refuse to do so because they feel they are helping the worst of the two evils. All it would take is for these very people to take a stand together and Maturen or another third party candidate could definitely win. I strongly believe that if Maturen had an 'R' or a 'D' by his name, people would love to embrace him.

And yet I am a realist and know that there is a better chance of that the Vikings will finally win a Superbowl then there is that Maturen will win the presidency. This disappoints me but it also brings me to where voting for him has it's greatest value. You see in voting for Mike Maturen, I'm not just voting for an individual in our current election. I'm giving a vote of confidence to party that can make a difference in the future. Everything no matter how large or successful, started as something small. Voting for the American Solidarity Party is building something good that I hope can one days soon become big enough to influence politics in our country in a major way.  It's building a party of Common Good, Common Ground and Common Sense. It's not just saying that I reject the major party options put forward, but also offering a solution. It's offering hope at a time our country and world desperately need it.

I'm not throwing my vote away when I vote for Mike Maturen and the American Solidarity Party. Especially here in my home state where the Democratic candidate will easily win, my vote for either of the two major party candidates would truly be the 'wasted vote'. No, my vote will actually stand for something that I believe in and can be proud of. I'm not simply voting against someone. I'll be one of the rare individuals who is actually voting FOR someone. Time will tell what will become of Mike Maturen and the American Solidarity, but in the words of St Mother Teresa,  “God has not called me to be successful; He has called me to be faithful.” There's certainly never been a better time to take the advise I give my kids.

Voting for Life

You know what’s great about our country is that when this election is over in a couple days we’ll all still be friends. Obviously there are some very differing opinions on who the best candidate is to lead our country and I’m glad people feel open enough to share there views with everyone. With that being said and having read many of your emails, I’d like to add my thoughts to conversation.

I’ve always considered myself pro-life since my early upbringing and I think much of that can be attributed to growing up in a family that cherishes and loves life so much. A year ago when the campaigns were just getting started, I questioned many of the same social justice issues that have been brought up by some of you and wondered if these could out way the importance of the abortion issue. Then my wife and I conceived our first child and I saw his heart beating in an ultrasound when he was only three weeks old. As the pregnancy continued my wife and I got to see and feel him kicking and waving….hiccuping and definitely growing inside her. Then the morning of September 8 we got to hold our baby boy for very first time. I know many of you have experienced this feeling before but what an amazing moment that was. It was at this moment and in countless others since then as I’ve stared into the eyes of my child, that I knew without a doubt that the greatest cruelty or injustice possible was that we as a society would turn our heads and let millions of innocent children die.

Think about it this way….You see two people on the street. One is a child being brutally murdered. The other can be a person facing whatever other evil or social justice issue you can think of. If you can only save one which would save? Looking at it this way makes the answer blatantly obvious to me.

Recently Dr. Alveda C. King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, stated that, “The fight against abortion is a new frontier in the Civil Rights Movement…We are not following Martin’s dream if we do not stand up for the voiceless.” I wholeheartedly agree with her and truly feel that abortion is the civil rights issue or out times. There are many issues that affect us more directly as individuals and perhaps that is why many people choose to give more importance to them. As a society though, there can be nothing more terrible then the thousands of babies who are legally slaughtered each day. Whatever struggles and injustices my son will face in this life at least he will get to experience them. Friends and family, the way I see it the war overseas is terrible and our economy is a problem, but let’s not forget that there is a bigger war taking place right here in our own nation. Sacrifices need to be made but innocent children should never be the price.

So I guess you can probably guess who I’ll be voting for tomorrow. Obama and McCain are so far apart on the abortion issue that it’s not even close decision. I’ll gladly cast my vote for the millions like my son who don’t get a say in the matter. I’m voting for life.

"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."
-- Mother Teresa

First Experiences with my Unborn Son

I've always been pro-life but somehow experiencing my wife's pregnancy with our first child has made me a much more adamant defender of the unborn children's right to life. It was so amazing to see our baby's first ultrasound at only 6 weeks into the pregnancy. I wasn't expecting to see really anything much so early on but surprised that I could easily make out were the head was even though it wasn't fully developed. What really made me stop and marvel however, was seeing our baby's heart pulsating on the monitor clear as day. I just couldn't get over that the small beating heart was my child complete with my DNA. It was really one of the most amazing moments of my life.

Since then we've had multiple ultrasounds and found out that we are having a baby boy. Somehow it never ceases to amaze me as I see my son and hear his heart beating, what a little miracle he is. It's just an awesome feeling to know that this little person who is waving his tiny fingers and moving around will be such a large part of my life. I look at his face and wonder if he has my ears or my wife's eyes. Just recently I've started to feel him move. My wife has felt him move for probably over a month now and after many attempts with my hand on her tummy, I finally got to feel him as well. I was expecting the first time I felt him he would just feel like a little indigestion but instead I felt a really big kick almost like my wife had the hiccups; Just another incredible sign of the life inside her.

After all of these experiences with our unborn baby it's become even more clear to me that abortion kills innocent children. How can people say it is abuse to hurt a child after he or she is born but at the same time ok to kill that same child while in it's mother's womb? Where a person is located doesn't make that person any less of a person. Some argue that while in the womb the baby is relying on the mother for survival. To that I would say that a 3 year old child is just as reliant on his or her parents and home to survive so that doesn't change the fact that the unborn baby is a person. Other's will bring up that women should have a choice if they want a child and of course the truth of the matter is that they do. The choice should be made before the baby is even conceived and even if the parents aren't ready to have a child they still would always have the option to put their baby up for adoption.

This all seems so obvious to me now and yet apparently many people in our society see it quite differently. You simply cannot tell me that my son, still in the womb, is any less of person now then he will be when he is born. Believe me he moves when he hears loud sounds at sporting events and has capacity of all his senses. How can people say it would be ok to kill him? Mother Teresa often said that, "The greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion," and thanks to my unborn son I now fully understand what she means. Nothing could be more wrong then if I as this baby's parent didn't allow him to live. I know many people face less then ideal circumstance when faced with unplanned pregnancy's but if you are considering an abortion as way out of a rough situation, make sure you stop and think about what the procedure actually does. Giving life to your child is one of the greatest gifts you could ever give. Choose life! Choose love!

My Baby Boy