Who Is In Charge

I read a bulletin board which is mostly dedicated to discussing the many formerly great palaces of Russia, as well as the Russian imperial family, but also discusses other former and current royal families. I have mentioned before that I am interested in Victorian and Edwardian history and dress, and that I like to read about and look at pictures of the royal families of that time period. However, I do occasionally read about modern royal families too, and so I came upon this quote: "Am not impressed by either William or Harry (British heir to the throne and his younger brother-BTEG) but (as the mother of a 26 year old son myself) I know just what a terrible culture of cheap and freely available alcohol can do. Here in the Uk (I don't know about the US where I thought the law was far more stringent), the Government just will not address what is an extremely serious issue."

First of all, I think this speaks to how modern culture is putting off growing up for longer and longer periods. This woman's son is 26, yet his mother seems to still be worried about his alcoholic escapades, just as the two princes and other members of the upper class in Britain are often photographed in the wee hours of the morning leaving bars or pubs or whatever, in various stages of inebriation. While I see nothing wrong with drinking alcohol in moderation, repeated drunken binges speak to a desire to keep acting irresponsibly, instead of in a more adult manner.

Her concerns about circumstances in Great Britain contributing to this culture are reflected here by the chief constable of the Cheshire police, who says: "Alcohol is too cheap and too readily available and is too strong. Young people cannot handle it." I'd like to know why young people in particular cannot handle alcohol, at least in moderation. Young adults are perfectly capable of the maturity required to do this; whether they are encouraged to be mature is another issue.

Although written in 2005, this writer also points at the culture as a reason for outrageous behavior fueled by alcohol. "The relentless expansion of the student scene has resulted in a section of young society that has disposable income gained from disposable jobs, and little to do with their time. The rise of singleton society and the falling birth rate have contributed to the erosion of domestic life - your thirtysomethings getting drunk all night with their colleagues don't have homes to go to, so they stay in the pub." While they may not have siblings, shouldn't people in their thirties have spouses and children to go home to? Again we see a lack of desire to grow up and take on the responsibilities of marriage and children. Prince William is a great example of this. In his late twenties, having dated one woman (on and off) for what I believe to be about five years, why on earth shouldn't he be ready to marry? If this woman is not who he wants to spend the rest of his life with, surely he ought to have figured that out by now. Either he doesn't want the responsibilities of marriage, or he does not want to marry this woman and is just hanging on for the monogamous sex which is less likely to lead to disease or his face splashed across the tabloids like Hugh Grant.

My last question is, why can't the culture be countered? Is it too easy for me, a person who has a faith and a large support group of fellow believers to fall back on, to avoid cultural traps? While Christians certainly do sin and have temptations like everyone else, one of the fruits of the Spirit *is* self-control. We have a built-in counter-culture, as opposed to the mother in the first quote, who seems to see her son as a helpless culture victim, from which only the Government can save him. Especially as parents, let us train our children and model our lives based on what we know is right, not on what the world tells us is cool. Let's promote personal responsibility.

Good For the Soul

Since we were on the subject of jealousy, I must confess to being jealous of one of the other mothers at Mother/Daughter ballet who obviously studied ballet for a very long time and still has a dancer's body. On the other hand, Mr. BTEG would not have been attracted to me had I been built like a dancer. I have to remember that God made me as I am and treasure all the things I have in my life.

Irish Pride/Ohio Pride

Students from the Burke School of Irish Dance perform to Ohio's "theme song" at the Irish Cultural Heritage Festival yesterday. I like going to the festival just to see the dancers. Burke is a top Irish dance school which has produced a world champion, although not at its Ohio school. Great achievement since it is my impression that it is very difficult for non-Irish (nationality) dancers to win worlds. We were lucky to get seats; the place was packed.
ETA: Hello Innocent Bystanders!

Envy

I don't understand advertisements for products that say "You'll be the envy of your friends and neighbors if you own this (home-car-watch-etc.)" Are there really that many shallow people out there who want their "friends" to be envious? Of course I know they exist, and maybe they're the only ones with money, especially right now. This kind of marketing is a total turn-off for me, but then I'm trying to cultivate better relationships with human beings, not inspire jealousy. Especially since I believe human relationships will last beyond our tenure in this world.

I've Gone and Done It

I never wanted the hassle of more than one blog, and I've managed to keep this blog a pretty even balance of commentary, family news, my hobbies, our activities and so forth. A little something for everyone. But I am starting to want to get serious about sewing doll clothes, with an eye to hopefully selling some, so I have created a blog where I can post pictures and progress with doll costumes. I know a lot of you won't be interested, but for those of you who are, check out my doll blog from time to time. Hope to keep seeing the rest of you here.

Accomplishment

I haven't felt much like communicating, and that includes Facebook. It's not like I am ignoring this blog while pouring out my heart over there. Not sure why I am feeling less sociable lately, but going incommunicado will not help me in the long run.

So I'm going to brag that I actually got a project done in time for the event it was planned for! I ended up skipping the Simplicity pattern and using the book I have instead, and the pattern went together very smoothly, so the Dancer and her doll were both able to be dressed up for Fourth of July. I'm sure all of you who sew or do other crafts will know how gratifying this felt, beyond the joy of creativity.