I'll Name My Kid Whatever I Want, Dammit

Every day I wake up glad that I'm an American.

NOTE:  Of course, not quite as glad about our leaders as I was 2 weeks ago, as I just got my first 2013 paycheck and DAMN -- so gross.  Bush tax cuts need to return immediately, Mr. President!

I am glad because I know that every single person I pass on the street is wealthier than 98% of people on the planet -- at least that is what our minister Paul Rasmussen always says at HPUMC.  Let this sink in:  Three billion people in the world live on less than $2 USD per day.

I am glad because I feel safe walking down the streets of Dallas and we have non-profit organizations to roll up their sleeves and do the tough work for those in our community who need help.

NOTE:  Community Partners of Dallas is fabulous (of course), but there are so many great agencies doing great work -- contact the Junior League of Dallas (or me) to find out about lots of different agencies focusing on different needs.

But I was never more glad about being an American than when I was reading the Dallas Morning News the other day.

On Friday, January 4, 2013, there were two small articles that stopped me in my tracks.  The first was a follow up article about the 23-year-old woman in India who was gang raped on a bus and subsequently died due to internal injuries.  In India rapes are often ignored and women are routinely mistreated.

I'm glad I'm an American.

The second article in the same issue of the DMN was about a 15-year-old girl in Iceland who is suing the government for the right to use the name given to her when she was born by her mother.  You see, her name is not on the Personal Names Register -- a list of 1,712 male names and 1,853 female names that the government approves.

NOTE:  Apparently a "handful" of other countries like Germany and Denmark also have rules about what a baby can be named.

Now, not that I think a bunch of Apples and Hashtags (yes, someone really named their kid this in 2012) running around is such a great thing, but it FOR SURE isn't the government's job to tell me what to name my kid.

So, please join me in being glad you're an American too!

Cue Lee Greenwood please...