A Nation of Sissies

One of the huge problems in America today is that we are a culture of sissies. The majority of America doesn't man up and take care of their own problems. No... Like a spoiled child to it's parent, the majority in America appeals to the government when anything goes wrong. We are a sue-happy, spoiled, sissy society and it makes my blood boil. What has happened to your courage, America? Where is your pride? Do you have no shame? Do you not care that the person that you are suing for an amount of money large enough to fill the national treasury's coffers will lose everything that they have because of you? Have you no pity for your fellow man, or patience for their mistakes? You make a big deal of the starving in Africa, and yet starve your fellow countryman!
Excuse my language, but where are your balls?! Did you drop them somewhere on the way home from the prostitute's house? Do you not have enough manliness in you to deal with your problems on your own? What makes you think that you are entitled to take everything another person has simply because they offended you? Seriously. Get over it. Be a man.

^^^ That up there, it's the truth. Go look around on the internet. You'll find plenty of stories about sue-happy people that are pretty well off because of this or that minor mistake by someone else. And it goes beyond suing other people. It's just called common decency. If someone gives you the wrong drink at a restaurant, kindly point it out to the waiter. Don't sue them. If you have to learn the Mexican national anthem and pledge in Spanish class, suck it up. It's not going to hurt you, you're not going to die.

Just... Just be human, okay? You don't have to be perfect. Just deal with your own problems. Don't ask the government to deal with them for you. Be a man.

Happiness

I think that happiness is not the opposite of sadness, but the opposite of pain.
And the more I live, the more I realize that the way to enlarge one's capabilities for happiness is to go through pain.
Not that pain is what brings happiness, because it certainly doesn't. But it seems to me that pain shows one how bad things can be, and thus how good things are when one is not in pain.
The way to pain is in hard and difficult things. Because pain is simply a physical manifestation of the idea that things can be difficult. And whether the pain in one's life is self imposed or not, it doesn't matter. It shows one how bad things can be. So really, pain is simply enlightenment.
One can be the most enlightened person in the world though and still not be happy. Because happiness requires action. It requires conscious effort. It seems to me that when Henry Ford said, "The man who thinks he can and the man who thinks he can't are both right." he was absolutely correct. Happiness is not an item. It's not an external force. It's not a girlfriend or a boyfriend or a motorcycle or a nice home. It's a very internal state of being. So thus, if you think you can be happy, no matter your situation in life, you're right. If you don't think you can be happy, you're correct as well.
So go live life. Do hard things. They will hurt you, I promise. But you will live.
Above all, remember this.

“Happiness is a state of mind, a choice, a way of living; it is not something to be achieved, it is something to be experienced.” -Steve Maraboli 

According to Scientists...

Do you know what bothers me?
The phrase, "According to scientists..."
It's so widely believed. Like... You can put anything behind it and stick it in a textbook and someone will believe it. I mean, you could say,
"According to scientists, Joe Biden is an idiot."
And while that may be true, just because it starts with "According to scientists" it will be believed to be true by most who read it, even if it isn't. Where has the people's desire for truth gone? Why are we content to dumbly listen and never question? Give me your sources! Let me figure it out for myself! I say that they man who doesn't provide sources is a coward, because that means he's afraid someone will contradict his work and find a better answer than he has. Now, I'm not perfect. There are plenty of posts that I have posted in the past that ought to have sources and don't. Well, get over it. I'm 16 years old. I'm still trying to figure this whole blogging thing out.
So anyways, I'll have sources on work that requires sources from now on. Be sure to correct me if I forget.
But I really can't stress how important sources are. In a post of his on his blog, one of my mentors by the name of Ben Brown discussed what is called the Sleeper Effect. Here's how he explained it.

"Here’s the breakdown: what we learn (the content) and where we learn it from (the sources) are controlled by different circuitry systems in the brain. The system for sources is more short term by default where the system for content is more long term. When we initially hear something from a low quality source, we will tend to be skeptical of the message because we know then that the source isn’t to be trusted. Enter the sleeper effect. We forget the source before we forget the content, so over time, a provocative message from a poor source will become more persuasive."
http://basicallyben.tumblr.com/post/73273942622/how-to-protect-your-brain-from-the-sleeper-effect 

Don't fall asleep, my friends. Stay awake, and go find the truth.

God be with you,
Dallin

Possible Free Energy

So this guy right here claims to have created a nuclear fusion reactor at his home that produces more energy than is put into it. Thus free energy. Awesome. :D Even if he hasn't actually done it, it's still cool. :)

Just a thought, could this be the way to power space ships to the ends of the galaxy and beyond? I mean, it seems that one of the major challenges of getting a spaceship really far out there would be fuel, but if there is an energy source on the ship that can produce unlimited energy to drive the ship... Well, that's just plain awesome. Haha. :)
The thing that makes this all so much cooler is that this is just a guy living his dream and inventing just for the love of inventing. Kudos to him. Maybe there's something we can learn from how he lives.

When The Going Gets Tough

I have... So many conflicting feelings going into this post.
If you've followed this blog since the beginning, you remember this post. It was the post I wrote after I lost state last year. The one where I decided to quit feeling down about losing state and start doing something about it. Well, I did it again. I lost state. In the finals.
Gah. I don't know what to say, besides that it hurt. I hurt. I went into state seeded #2, and any of the top 4 guys were good enough to win it, so I was just happy to make it to the finals. I told myself and everyone around me that I was just happy to be in the finals. I told them that I didn't think I would be too upset if I lost.
And then I stepped out onto the mat for that match.
It's hard to describe what it looks like to wrestle in front of a crowd like this in an arena this big.

But once I stepped out onto the mat, I realized how much I wanted to win. I remembered how hard I worked for it. I thought of what standing on the top of the podium would be like.
So I put my heart into it, and I went at him.
In the end, he didn't outwork me. Not even close. He wrestled like the coward that he is.
But he did win.
After the match I shook his hand like a man. Because I am a man. I walked off the mat like a man. I talked to my coaches for a minute, and then I went off alone. And then I cried and cried. I cried and prayed until I didn't have any tears left to cry, through they would have flown freely had there been any left. And as I was praying I said to God, "God, You'd better make me quite the man, because You've made my life pretty hard and You don't give easy things to great men. I know that. So Lord, please help me to be the man You want me to be. Please make this worth it."
I believe that prayer has been and will continue to be answered.
Now, you might wonder where the conflicting feelings that I mentioned come into play here. The feelings mentioned so far are all pretty sad. They're not easy feelings to deal with.
Then we won state as a team.
Gah. It's so hard to smile and be happy with the team when you've just lost an individual state title. But it's hard not to smile when you see your brothers filled with so much joy.
So there I am. Right in the middle of my brothers in my black warm up jacket. Trying to smile while holding the state trophy with the other state finalist from our team. He's a stud.

Even after being with my team to accept the state title though, I still couldn't be happy. It was too hard.
But I was trying, I really was.
So after all of this, we had a 5 hour bus ride home. The guys in the back were partying. I was doing my best to kill my feelings. I couldn't deal with them yet. Not yet. And then we stopped at Ihop for dinner.
**Sigh** Something about good food in good company will lift even the lowest spirits.
By the time we left Ihop, my spirits were pretty high. My spirits still weren't high enough to go party with the guys in the back though. But there was a freshman, bless his heart, that sat up in the seat next to me and talked with me for 4 straight hours on that bus. What a man. Instead of spending the entire bus ride home partying with the other guys, he talked to me. And he listened to me as I poured out the agony of my soul.
And then when I was done and we both were silent, he showed me this picture.

xD
That picture right there made my day. :D Oh goodness. I laughed so hard. He and I laughed until we couldn't breathe. This freshman's a great kid. One of the best I know, and that's saying something. I know some great people. God bless him.
So anyways, we got home. I cried myself to sleep. Went to church the next day, (Yesterday) and didn't cry. Was proud of myself for being at least somewhat pleasant to everybody around me.
Well, now that I've had a day to recover, it's time to focus once again, and use my loss to drive me.
So practice for state in 2015 started this morning at 5:30.
Yup. The Monday after state.
I do not want to lose it again.
As they always say,
"When the going gets tough, punch the going in the face and determine your own future."
Actually, nobody says that. Except me. And I made it up just now. Haha. :)
Have a great day, my friends. :)

Untitled

I've been asked why I didn't go down to 106 pounds to wrestle this year. Why I went up to 113 instead. I mean, logically it makes sense to go down to 106. We did the math, and if I cut weight this year like I did last year, I'd make it. Last year by the end of the season, I was cutting from 111 to 98. This year I would have had to cut from 118 to 106. I really could have done it. If I made it, chances are I would take state no problem. I would be a state champion. The first Sophomore to take it from Malad High School. Taking state is one of my biggest goals. It's one of my dreams. I really, actually dream about it. I want it so bad. But do you know what I want more? I want to become good at life. I want to become a better person. And you don't become better at life by doing easy things. The people that are really, really good at life do the hardest things. So that's what I did. I went up to 113.
113 has been so much harder than 106 would have been. And it's been awesome for me. I have grown so much. Instead of having a 40 win - 2 or 3 loss record like I would have at 106, I have a 36 win - 11 loss record at 113. I've went from the pretty good wrestler that I was last year to the great wrestler I am this year. And as hard as it's been, as much pain as the losses have caused me to endure, it's been worth it.
State is this week. I'm going to go in ranked somewhere between #1 and #4. The rankings are a mess with some recent developments, so I could be anywhere in there. What I know is that whether I win state or I lose state, I've put my heart and soul into it. It's been worth it. I've become a better wrestler, but more importantly a better man. I'm becoming good at life.
So ready or not, here I come.

The People's Lost Connection With Education

There is something very important that America is missing today.

While education is more widespread than it has been in the history of the world, and more abundant, it's empty. People shove facts into their heads all day long, and they do learn, but do you know what they are missing? A connection. The questions asked millions of times by thousands of students every day go something like this, "Why am I learning this? Does it even apply to my life? Will this knowledge make me happy?" And the teachers have answers to two of those questions. Yes, this knowledge will apply to your life, and that is the reason you are learning it. But... Will that knowledge make you happy? The teachers don't know. But I'll bet you do. I'll bet you know if math brings you joy, and helps you feel fulfilled. I'll bet you know the same for every subject. And do you care about the subjects that don't bring you joy and help you feel fulfilled? No. Of course not. Nobody ever does anything willingly that doesn't bring them joy or help them feel fulfilled. Not at first anyways. But after years and years of uncaring teachers telling inquisitive students that they ought to stop asking those questions and to sit down and shut up, the students stop caring. They stop asking. They lose the essence of education.

I don't care what the arguments against my stand are, but I will go to my grave with the opinion that memorizing math formulas, complicated grammatical rules, and facts in a science book is not education. It's empty knowledge. Education is learning how to ask questions and find answers. I don't care if you can't count past 10 and don't know your ABCs. If you know how to question everything, even to the very existence of God, and have learned how to honestly seek answers, I will place you as more educated in my book than almost any college professor and any world leader, and I believe God will too. Why? Because you are not a full bowl of empty facts. You are not a robot. You are an honest seeker of truth, and that is why you are so brilliant. Because you're connected to your education. You actually care about what you are learning. And so what if all you want to do is study science? Does science interest you? Good. Soon enough you're going to need to learn how to read to continue your study of science. Not long after that you're going to need to know a little bit of math. See, knowledge cannot be split into the categories of math and science and literature and still have meaning. Because they are connected. They need each other to live. Without any one of them, they all would fall apart, or lose purpose.

There is more though to this education crisis than just the fact that students are learning empty knowledge. They are losing, or have already lost connection with their mentors, their teachers. 

Have you ever learned something from someone you really admire, or care about? Do you remember what they said? Do you remember how they said it? Chances are, you do.

Now think back to your last class with a teacher that had no interest in you whatsoever. Do you remember what they said? Did you even care? Probably not.

America is missing the one room school houses. They are missing the connection that comes when a small group of like minded people come together in order to advance their education. In mass education, there will never be connection. Only mindless learning. And you can't really blame the teachers. Some of them probably would get to know each and every one of their students, and form a deep connection with them. But they can't. It's physically impossible. There are too many of them.

Isn't it sad?

Don't you wish that you could feel this connection in your education?

I do.

And I had it for a while.

But then things changed. The school I go to got bigger, more people came, and the connection was lost. Not to say that my mentors don't still care, but they don't have time for me. Or most anyone else. Not real time. Maybe a bit here and there. 

And the connection wasn't just lost between the mentors and the students. It was lost among the students as well. My first year was amazing. Everybody cared about each other. And even though we didn't all know each other, it didn't matter. We were Burgers, therefore we were friends. Then clicks and groups started forming as the school size grew. Not that this is a bad thing, it's necessary as the size of a school grows, but it further killed the connection the students had. 

Now, please understand that this isn't a post bashing on my school. No. That's not the purpose. It's just an example of what I'm trying to say.

So please, if you don't have one, get yourself an education. Stop learning for a little while and start thinking. Start asking. Because that's how you're going to become truly educated.

May God be with you.

-Dallin

The Pain of a Wrestler

Today was a rough day.
Several of my brothers lost their lives.
But not really. Only figuratively.
I don't know if you as a reader understand what wrestling is like.
I don't know if you understand how hard it is.
I don't know if you understand what it feels like to put your heart and soul into something, and never give it up no matter the odds, and then be rejected in the end regardless of how much you gave.
But I understand.
Today was the day that we wrestled off as a team for the top two spots in every weight class. Today determined who goes to district and state wrestling, and who's season is over. And it hurt. It hurt so bad.
Before we go more into that, let me tell you a little bit about wrestling.
Wrestling is not a sport. It really isn't. Nobody has ever "played" wrestling. There isn't a verb to precede the noun "wrestling." If you're a wrestler, you wrestle. That's it. It's not like "playing" basketball, or "playing" any other sport. It's something different. Something greater.
In all honesty, wrestling is a lifestyle.
And for this lifestyle a wrestler will run hundreds of miles and do thousands of push ups.
He will give hours and hours of sleep.
He will put himself through Hell, just so that he may learn how to beat the unbeatable.
He will practice move after move after move after move, and after millions of repetitions still not be perfect enough.
He will miss many meals just to get to a lower weight class, and forgo plenty of irresistible sweets in order to stay in prime condition.
He will overcome injuries and defeats, and that relentless voice telling him to stop. Telling him that he's not good enough. That he never will be. That he never can be.
Even in his sleep wrestling does not leave his mind, because he dreams about it.
He will give up his weekends, and his date plans.
He will eat, sleep, breathe, and bleed wrestling.
Wrestling becomes his life.
For most wrestlers, the ultimate achievement is to win a state wrestling title. For a select few, a national title, or even a world title.
And through all of the above mentioned, a wrestler's brothers are his team. And they support him. They keep him going. They help him to shrug the pain off, and rise above the difficulties.
Imagine living like this. Imagine all the difficulties, and the pains, and the victories. Imagine it becoming your life.
And then imagine all of that ending at once in the blink of an eye.
Imagine it ending because one of your brothers beat you for that second spot going to district. One of your very own brothers crushing your dreams. One of the few people in the entire world that can understand everything you've been through ending your life just to continue his. It hurts. It hurts bad. And this is what makes wrestling so hard. Because whether you win or you lose, it hurts. It hurts to crush your brother. It really does. Trust me, I've been there, and I've crushed the dreams of my brothers before. I have broken them. And I have embraced them as they cry and as they ask God how this could happen. Because for them, life is over. And I have cried with them. I have prayed for them.
To those whose seasons are over, it's okay to hurt for a while. It's okay to cry. It's okay to sleep in, you don't have early morning practices anymore. Find something else to do for a while. Something that will keep you productive. Learn a new hobby or something. Unless you're a senior, you've still got another shot. Keep your head up. Everything is going to be all right.
As a reader, I don't expect you to understand this.
I don't expect you to know what I'm talking about.
Because unless you are now or were at one time a wrestler, it's nearly impossible to understand.
I just needed to get all of this off of my chest. Maybe ask you to share a piece of the pain with me so that I don't have to bear it all. Because I can't. I cannot bear it all on my own. Even coming out as one of the victorious, it hurts me so much.
Anyways, I'm done with this post. Thank you for reading, I really appreciate it. May God bless you all the days of your life.
Love,
Dallin

Why I Love The Life of a Cowboy

So... I'm not a cowboy. I'm really not. But I've been there. I've been on the roundups and to the cattle branding. I've seen the sunsets - and rises - as a long day of work begins or ends. I've had my fair share of frustration with that one stubborn cow, and also my fair share of peace and joy as I unsaddle my horse for the day at softly tell him what a good job he did. I haven't seen all of it, but I've seen a lot of what being a cowboy is like. And I love it.
There's a song entitled The Night Rider's Lament that seems to speak what I think on this subject. It goes like this:

Last night as I was out a ridin'

graveyard shift, midnight ‘till dawn

the moon was as bright as a readin’ light

for a letter from an old friend back home

Chorus:

He asked me why do you ride for your money

Why do you rope for short pay

You ain’t getting’ nowhere

And you’re losin’ your share

Boy, you must have gone crazy out there

But he’s never seen the Northern Lights

Never seen a hawk on the wing

He’s never seen Spring hit the Great Divide

And never heard Ol’ Camp Cookie sing

He tells me last night I run onto Jenny

she’s married and has a good life

Ah, you sure missed the track

when you never come back

she’s a perfect professional’s wife

Chorus:

She asked him why does he ride for his money

Why does he rope for short pay

He ain’t getting’ nowhere and he’s losin’ his share

He must have gone crazy out there

But she’s never seen the Northern Lights

Never seen a hawk on the wing

Never seen Spring hit the Great Divide

And never heard Ol’ Camp Cookie sing

Well I read up the last of that letter

and tore off the stamp for Black Jim

When Billy rode up to relieve me

he just looked at the letter and grinned

Chorus:

He sang . . .Now. . . 

Why do they ride for their money

Why do they rope for short pay

They ain’t getting nowhere

And they’re losing their share

Son, they all must be crazy out there

The audio to this song can be found here.

There are just so many things I love about cowboys, and how they live. Just look around. Their art is beautiful. Their songs have meaning, and their poetry is amazing.

Look at this.

It looks so peaceful, so serene. 

Now, it's hard to put all cowboys under one definition. In fact, it's not possible. But, most of them seem to live by a few important principles that the world lacks today.

Honesty.

Hard Work.

Honor.

Loyalty.

Determination.

Righteousness.

But most importantly,

Faith in God.

The life of a true cowboy is so simple. They lack many worldly possessions which tie other people down. In reality, they are free. Really, truly, free.

Doesn't that sound wonderful?

Well, it's time for me to stop dreaming now and go bed, which is terribly ironic, but think about this for a moment.

The life of a cowboy cannot be attained by everyone. It really can't. The simple, peaceful lifestyle of a cowboy is for a select few, and may God bless them. But look around for a moment and ponder what you could do to simplify your life. What could you do to make your life more fulfilling, more free? Whether it be something as big as getting out of debt, or something as small as taking half an hour every day to walk in a local park or meditate somewhere in nature. It doesn't really matter what you do, the only thing that really matters is that you actually do it. May God bless you in all your worthy endeavors.

Now go do.

Love,

Dallin

Thank you, Sarah McMann

I don't watch much UFC, MMA type of fighting. I think it's cool to watch every now and then, and certainly interesting, but I don't watch it much. 

As I was scrolling through my Facebook feed today, I saw this link shared about how two undefeated women's UFC stars, were going to fight on February 22. It looked interesting, so I clicked on the link and started reading about them. 

This is Ronda Rousey. 

She was an olympic bronze medalist in Judo in 2008. She's got an undefeated UFC career with 8 wins and 0 losses. That really, really gains my respect because those are hard things to do. 

Here is her opponent.

This is Sarah McMann.

She was an olympic silver medalist in freestyle wrestling in 2004. She also has an undefeated UFC career with 7 wins and 0 losses. Again, tons of respect. 

Being who I am, I wanted to choose a side on the fight so I looked up some information on the two of them - and was really disappointed with what I initially found.

I first googled the name, "Ronda Rousey" and clicked on the images link. It took me no time at all to figure out what kind of a person she is. To put it simply, she has sold herself out. She has allowed pictures of herself to be taken that are in no way appropriate. And it is revolting. 

All of the respect I had for Ronda Rousey disappeared in a moment. She went in my mind from being a great and respectable martial artist and fighter to being a (Excuse my language) slut.

After looking up Ms. Rousey, I was a little hesitant to look up Sarah McMann. But I did, and I am glad I did. She was modest. And I really appreciated that.

So to Sarah McMann, thank you. Thank you for not selling yourself out. Thank you for being a good role model to the youth. Thank you for doing what is right. 

God bless you, Sarah McMann. 

And go beat Ronda Rousey! :D

Minimum Wage

I've seen quite a bit of a movement recently in favor of increasing the minimum wage. Can I just say this?
PLEASE! DO NOT INCREASE THE MINIMUM WAGE!
Ah, that felt good. :)
Okay, here's what I'm trying to get to.
Increasing the minimum wage will give the people more money. For sure. It will give them more income, and therefore more potential to spend, therefore boosting the economy. It will not increase inflation - because that's not what it does. Inflation is created when the government floods the economy with massive amounts of cash, takes the money off of a base where it's worth comes from, (eg. The Gold Standard) and makes it worthless by doing so. To make it short, increasing the minimum wage will probably boost our economy greatly.
That's one side of the argument.
Here's the other.
Increasing the minimum wage increases unemployment, and also sends prices for goods skyrocketing. With increased mandatory wages, businesses can support fewer employees and therefore will fire some of them and raise the working hours of the others. If they don't take that approach, they will keep all of their employees, but raise their prices in order to be able to support their people - therefore making it even harder on those already unemployed. It's a lose-lose situation.
Personally, I lean towards the second point. It just makes more sense to me. But for this post I'm not going to take either of those sides. I'm going to create a new side.

Minimum wage kills creativity.

It's true. It really does. Do you know what minimum wage does? It gives a person a secure living. It makes them comfortable. They don't have to worry about getting a pay cut. They can make a solid budget based on a steady income and live by it. And they'll probably live very well in comparison to the common man of the last 200 years. But... Do you know what makes creativity?
Desperation.
It's the fear that one's family will go hungry that has driven many people to succeed. If a good living isn't guaranteed, one is forced to get creative, or give up. This type of desperation has started a million businesses. Patented inventions. Made a better employee, and a better employer. Desperation and unwillingness to fail has changed the world, and improved a lot of people in the meantime.
Don't stop it, please.
There is a problem with what I have said here though. Things aren't the way they used to be. Nowadays a person can't just start their own business standing on a street corner and selling apples off of the tree in their backyard. Or start a mechanic's shop in their garage. Because in order to do these things, they have to have business licences from the government in order to sell food, or to fix cars, or anything else. They have regulations holding them back. In reality, a broke person in modern America can't do anything for themselves anymore. They can't even hunt or fish for their own living. It's illegal without a license. So maybe minimum wage is the way to go. Maybe it is the way to help people. But I don't think so. I fear that increasing minimum wage will lead the people to be more dependent on the government. And with more dependence on the government by the people comes more power in the government. It's a trap, really. From the first welfare check handed out and the first employment law put into place, the people have slowly been sucked into what is now nearing complete dependence on the government. So really, minimum wage is only a small part of a large problem.
The problem of government being where it shouldn't be and doing what it shouldn't do.
I'm out of words for now. But do me a favor please and put some thought into what I have said. Think about how much the government really does for you. From road construction and snow removal to minimum wage and business regulations. From education to healthcare. They play a much larger part in your life than I can say, and it's not a good thing.
Stay free, my friends.