Archive for May, 2009

History of memorial day

Monday, May 25th, 2009

Did you know that Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day, a time when Civil War dead were honored by decorating their graves? You probably identify Memorial Day as a marker of the beginning of summer, a time to head to the beaches and lakes, cook barbecue, and relax in the sun.

According to Professor David Blight of the Yale University History Department, in 1865 freed slaves observed the first memorial day at the historic race track in Charleston.

The site was a former Confederate prison camp and mass grave for Union soldiers who died in captivity. These freed slaves re-interred the dead Union soldiers from mass graves to individual graves, fenced in the graveyard, and built an arched entryway. On May 30, 1868, the freed slaves returned to the site with flower picked from the countryside, and placed them on each of the graves. That same year, President James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000 participants decorated over 20,000 graves in the cemetery.

After World War I, Memorial Day became a way to honor the fallen dead of any war. Although many towns claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, that honor actually goes to Waterloo, New York because it observed the day on May 5, 1868, and each year thereafter. The term “Memorial Day” was first used in 1882, but was not the official name until declared by federal law in 1967. On June 28, 1968, the United States Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which moved three holidays from their traditional dates to a Monday, which created a three-day weekend. Memorial Day then changed from May 30 to the last Monday in May.

Originally, many southern states refused to celebrate Decoration Day because of lingering hostility towards the north, and also because there were relatively few Union Army soldiers buried in the south. Columbus, Mississippi was a notable exception because on April 25, 1866 it commemorated both Union and Confederate soldiers buried in its cemetery.

Memorial Day weekend also kicks off the “Click It or Ticket” highway safety campaign, as well as the Air Force’s “101 Critical Days of Summer.” The running of the Indianapolis 500 also takes place on Memorial Day and has since 1911. But not everyone appreciates keeping the day to create a three-day weekend. The Veterans of Foreign Wars and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War advocate returning the holiday to the fixed date of May 30. Hawaiian Senator Daniel Inouye, a veteran of WWII, has introduced measures since 1987 to revert to the original date.

Regardless of whether you call it Memorial Day or Decoration Day, or whatever day of the week it falls, it should be a reminder that so many died before us to allow us to live in a country where we value our freedom above all else. Whether you celebrate by laying a wreath on a grave or having a family get-together, take it as an opportunity to be thankful for your freedom.

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The history of Armed Forces Day

Monday, May 18th, 2009

“United in Strength” is this year’s theme for Armed Forces Day. Celebrated each year on the third Saturday in May for over half a century, Armed Forces Day is our opportunity, as citizens, to say thank you to all the members of our military while we watch them “do their stuff.”

America emerged from World War II as a superpower. The world of 1950 was awash in tension, struggling with the aftermath of that horrible globe engulfing war.

The 45 year face off between the Soviet Union and it’s allies had just begun. The National Security Act, signed during the summer of 1947, unified the American military under the Department of Defense.

The first Armed Forces Day, May 20, 1950, was a single day celebration with the theme: “Teamed for Defense.” This was the day for the newly unified American military to show their “state of the art” equipment and the dedication of it’s members to the citizens of American and to the world.

President Truman stated in his proclamation that “It [the first Armed Forces Day] is the first parade of preparedness by the unified forces of our land, sea and air defense.”

Make no mistake. The first Armed Forces Day demonstrated to the world that the U.S. stood ready and able to defend our hard won freedoms from any and all threats.

But Armed Forces Day is more than a show of American strength. General Earle G. Wheeler, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1967 put it eloquently when he said, “Armed Forces Day, above all, honors the dedicated individuals who wear the uniforms of their country. Each serviceman, wherever he may be, whatever his task, contributes directly and importantly to the defense of the nation. The task of each one is the task of all the Armed Forces to protect the freedoms which underlie the greatness of America.”

Themes have changed over the years. Deter if Possible, Fight if Necessary; Power for Peace; Liberty; Pillars of Freedom. Equipment and personnel have changed. But the mission hasn’t. The dedicated men and women of our military put themselves in harms way every day to defend our way of life. Armed Forces Day is our chance to say thank you. America Supports You.

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A guide to positive first impressions

Monday, May 18th, 2009

Social acceptance is a difficult realm to transcend. The impressions we first give will forever dictate the boundary of our interactions with the one we are meeting. There are times we may want to give an impression of foreboding or intimidation, but mainly, for business or for pleasure, we want to make others feel comfortable around us. We want to appear socially skilled and respectable.

We want to be deemed trustworthy. We want people to like us!

Appealing to the senses is the first and most important step in creating a positive first impression. When you have a planned meeting, it’s obviously much easier to be prepared. Dress to impress and smell your best! This will immediately give your acquaintance the concept that you are conscientious and confident. You will feel more confident as well, which will be a great advantage when it’s time for the next step in making acquaintances; SMILE GENUINELY and introduce yourself.

Let your smile be your calling card. It’s not always easy to smile and smiling is an art-form. If you’re not in the habit, practice smiling until it becomes natural. In a chance meeting, your smile may be all you have to make that first impression a success. Your facial expression is worth a thousand words. Smiling sends the signal that you are inviting and pleasant to be around. That is the message you want to send. Failure to smile will give the impression that you are not happy to make the acquaintance and give the signal that you are cold and inaccessible. Such a signal can immediately ruin any hope of a productive relationship. Following your genuine smile, don’t hesitate to introduce yourself. It may seem redundant, but it’s a wonderful way to break the ice and begin a conversation. It also exudes confidence and conveys amicable feelings, placing the person you are meeting at ease.

Following the initial introductions, a good host will actively invite people to join them. You may do this by offering a chair in near proximity to yourself or by inviting them into your current activity when appropriate. Whatever the situation, create a relaxing atmosphere by remaining calm and collected. If you are not the host, relax and go with the flow! Creating a positive mood will draw out others and allow for smooth interaction. You will send a signal that you are comfortable to be around. You may open the conversation by discussing the current situation of the moment. It will project a sense of safety for your acquaintance and make it easy for everyone to engage in the conversation.

When conversing, make eye contact and lean in slightly when others are speaking. Listening actively will show that you are interested. Failing to be a good listener will give the impression that you are self-serving and self- absorbed. It also helps to ask questions of your conversational partner to further convey interest. Use the other persons name in the conversation to show that you are connected and attentive. Expressing respect for someone’s thoughts and opinions will make you likable, even if you can’t agree with everything they may be saying.

Remember to be amicable, positive, respectful, responsive and flexible. Smile, be inviting, and listen to the thoughts and opinions of others. By practicing these skills, you will make a glowing first impression and will build strong and lasting relationships. You will be respected and admired by whomever you may meet.

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A Small Family is a Happy Family

Monday, May 18th, 2009

There was a time when people were proud of having large families. But Today, Things have changed. People are realizing the importance of having small Family.

There are so Many Advantages of having a small family. Below are listed some of the advantages of it:

1- The size of the family and financial condition of the are tightly related to each other. The Living cost of larger family is much higher as they have more expenses on food, cloth, toys and education whereas expenses in small family are very low.

2- Parents can easily fulfill the needs of one or two children. They can provide them best education and look after them very well whereas when there are many children to look after parents just cannot fulfill even the basic needs of the children. Therefore, as a result, children suffer, the parents suffer and nation suffers.

3- Parents can look after their child properly if they have one or two children. They can pay due attention to their upbringing and needs. Parents can give them their best support. Naturally, the children will grow into good citizens.

3- A child in a small family receives more support from their parents than in large family. When parents have many child to look after, they can not give their best support to everyone whereas when parents have few children to look after, they can give more support to them.

4- Family size also affect the health, especially that of mother and child. Frequent pregnancies can cause illness to both mother and children. It can disrupt the health of the women. It puts mother and baby’s health at risk.

Thus A small Family is indeed a happy family.

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Sacrifices We Make For Our Families

Friday, May 1st, 2009

The sacrifices we make for our families are numerous. These sacrifices are either made out of love, necessity or simply because it’s family. If you grew up in a very religious household you learn from a very early age the importance of the family unit in God’s eyes. Each and everything you do should either bring some benefit to your family or not bring disgrace to your family. It is common to find individuals who do not have autonomy of themselves because they are attached to their families.

Unfortunately, it is not unusual to see one person who takes on the role of the “sacrificial lamb”. These are the individuals who take it up on themselves to sacrifice their life for the “good” of their family. Many of you learned to sacrifice for your family before you were even taught to love your families. The result is having you sacrificing your life for a family that has members behaving in the most atrocious of manner.

As mentioned previously, having a love for your family is not a necessary requirement when it comes to sacrificing your goals, dreams and loves for your family. You willingly do these things because it is what you “should” do because it is “family”. It is easy for someone to say, well, you are the one who willingly sacrificed your life for your family because you wanted to or maybe because you loved them. Sad to say, sometimes the sacrifices you make has nothing to do with love.

Maybe from an early age you were bombarded with messages from your religion, society, and your culture that you should put your family first. If you should ever make the mistake of doing for yourself first then you are being selfish and stubborn. Family members may become so use to you sacrificing your dreams and your life for their betterment that when you decide to finally take the plunge and begin living your own life they start to feel their comfort cushion being pulled out from under their feet. They begin to harshly criticize you, gossip about you behind your back and completely forgetting the sacrifices you made so that they would have a better life and not having to experience the things you had to experience.

There was once a young woman who along with her sister who was two years younger, was left with a religious couple who served as their Guardians while their parents were away. During the time the young girls were living with the Guardians, the husband, who was a religious leader in his religion decided to begin molesting the older sister.

The older sister, knowing that she was left in charge of her younger sister knew that if she stopped him, he would turn to her younger sister to carry out his perversions. She knew it was her responsibility to protect her sister from harm while their parents were away. The man had his daughters living in the same house, but of course he would not touch them. But because the two girls were not his, he knew he could go after them.

The older sister made an adult decision to sacrifice herself so that her sister would not be harmed. This went on for two years to this young girl who sacrificed herself for her sister and overall for her family because she knew that if her parents were to know what was happening they would be embarrassed regarding the shame she was bringing on the family and it would put what they were doing in jeopardy and the family would lose money. Understandably, the sexual abuse damaged the older sister’s life.

It took her years to work through not just the effects of the abuse, but the reasons why she sacrificed her life. She sacrificed her life and her childhood to protect her sister and to protect the rest of her family. As she grew up she was the one who took care of her abused mother, stood up to her abusive father and continued to protect her sister. She became the woman of the house, cooking, cleaning and setting the rules of the household. Her sister and her mother did not have to lift a finger.

Not once did her family express their appreciation to her for all that she had done. Would you believe that years later when she decided to have her own life, she was ostracized by ALL of her family and especially by the same sister for whom she had sacrificed her life for? She was criticized for wanting an education, for traveling and doing things for herself. She has contemplated suicide on several occasions and was almost successful on one attempt.

Thankfully she was not successful. Fortunately, she was blessed and highly favored in God’s eyes. Because of her personality she was able to make great friends, who while they may not have known her entire life they were drawn to her. As a result of all the love she was receiving, she was able to begin healing her soul. Today she is living a vibrant life filled with genuine friends and she has learned how to allow joy into her life and anything that does not bring joy she now knows how to walk away from it including her family.

There are those of you who may not know what it is to make sacrifices for your family. Chances are you never had to because someone else in your family was making those sacrifices for you and you may have a selfish nature because you may feel that your family or other people owe you something. Maybe you were the one who did sacrifice your life for your family and now you want your own life, so you may come across as selfish to others.

People may not know your life and they may get angry at you for your selfish behavior. Be mindful of this, but also know that people who are really your friends will always be around for you. They may get angry or disappointed over your behavior, but they still love you. Don’t let your time for you be a permanent thing.

Know that you can live a full life with genuine people who care about you and the things you do for them. Not everyone is like your family who are selfish. Your family may be behaving in the way they saw their parents behave and the behavior has been passed down from generation to generation. But we now have the ability to break the cycle. Families need to learn to respect each other and not take advantage of each other.

As individuals we need to be accountable for our actions. There have been family members who have done inexcusable things to another family member and it was overlooked, but then an outsider does the same thing and it is now World War III. Why is that? When did it become OK for families to be unkind, selfish and horrible to each other, but then it is not ok for outsiders to do the same thing. If you accept horrible behavior from your family, you are saying it is OK for you to be treated badly. So don’t be surprised when non-family members treat you the same way.

If you desire people to respect honor and cherish you then begin with yourself first. Know what you will accept and not accept and then let your family know that you will not allow them to neither disrespect you nor will you allow them to continue using you as their personal sacrificial lamb.

Do not allow your family to treat you less than you deserve. The way that you treat yourself stems from how you allow your family to treat you. You cannot expect people who are non-family members to treat you with respect, but yet you allow your family to disrespect you and treat you like dirt. You are a person with feelings and those feelings should be respected. Never allow anyone to treat you less than a human being.

It is okay to leave people behind including your family. You may love them, but if they are impeding your personal growth, then you need to love them from afar. Families do not get a free pass to abuse you and treat you like dirt. They should be called to task for their bad behavior. If they refuse to adjust their attitude towards you, then it is quite okay to respectfully step away and love them from afar.

Never allow anyone to disrespect you and impede your growth. You are an adult and you should never be treated as anything less. Even children should never be disrespected. Experiencing hate, criticism and dishonesty from your family is very devastating, but it does not have to be the end of your life. For your family to behave that way, they are unhappy and miserable with their lives. There’s a popular saying, “misery loves company”.

You cannot create happiness for your family. They have to desire it for themselves. Sometimes it is difficult for someone to acknowledge that their parents or their family is not really supportive. It is not unusual for that person to be in denial, because acknowledging and accepting the truth about your family can be very painful. Even if your family is not out rightly abusive, if they are not encouraging your personal growth and advancement, then it is time to walk your own path.

That is your first step to becoming an adult and having autonomy over your own life. You are responsible for your own happiness. If you decide to have a family of your own someday, you are going to need to have a sense of yourself and what makes you happy so that you can create a different dichotomy for you and your future family.

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Hello world!

Friday, May 1st, 2009

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

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