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Jason Stadtlander

  • Jason Stadtlander

Where Lilies Bloom
Where Lilies Bloom 150 150 Jason Stadtlander

Preface:
Growing up on a tree farm in central Ohio, some of my fondest memories are those of my dog Ben, a black lab. We would frequently play along the crick (creek) and pick tiger lilies to bring back to my grandmother. A part of me is always stretching to reach that peace that I had, living in the country. Living in the city stresses me so much that I must daily gather all my energy just to cope with all the people.

 

 

Where lilies bloomWhere do the lilies bloom?
They brought me peace
They cleared the gloom
Along the crick they lit the way
As Ben and I would always play

The brook babbled over rock and stone
Following banks to lead us home
But home was not wear we were meant to go
We created dams to and fro

Following our hearts the grassy blades
Chasing rabbits among the glades
The farm in our blood, the trees in our soul
The freedom within our only goal

But what now of life and sullied past
The country’s gone the gloom is cast
The brooks are dry and Ben is dead
My childhood gone but left instead

A skeleton stands tall and true
Dark clouds surround and follow through
Circling in endless storm
No break in clouds and perfect form

I search for peace, to find the room
To see the crick where lilies bloom

  • Jason Stadtlander

Huffington Post: Guns and Children — Don’t Be Ignorant
Huffington Post: Guns and Children — Don’t Be Ignorant 150 150 Jason Stadtlander

Guns and Children -- Don't Be Ignorant

I am a father to young children and also an educator of parents with a teaching focus of protecting children online. My compassion for children runs deep and having been raised around guns and being taught the dangers of guns at a young age, I believe that it’s critical to educate children on gun safety.

Gun ownership is not just a right under the Constitution, it is also a responsibility. It’s our charge to ensure that those who own guns are taught not only the safety necessary to protect themselves, but also the knowledge of how to make certain children understand the realities and dangers of guns.

It is our responsibility as parents to create and follow guidelines that will teach our children and make a safer world for them to live in. Ultimately it is we the parents that are responsible for our children, not our government.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-p-stadtlander/guns-and-children-dont-be_b_5923268.html 
  • Jason Stadtlander

Guns and Children — Don’t Be Ignorant
Guns and Children — Don’t Be Ignorant Jason Stadtlander

Last month I wrote an article discussing guns, gun bans and the concept that business bans or restrictions on guns offer a safe haven for killers in “Gun Bans a Safe Haven for Killers”.

During my research and discussion for this article, questions regarding children and guns came up and it was a topic I badly wanted to discuss, but did not feel that was the appropriate article to go into any detail.

Gun Safety and Children

I am a father to young children and also an educator of parents with a teaching focus of protecting children online. My compassion for children runs deep and having been raised around guns and being taught the dangers of guns at a young age, I believe that it’s critical to educate children on gun safety.

Gun ownership is not just a right under the Constitution, it is also a responsibility. It’s our charge to ensure that those who own guns are taught not only the safety necessary to protect themselves, but also the knowledge of how to make certain children understand the realities and dangers of guns.

As a child, I was never allowed to touch a gun unless my parents were with me. I knew exactly where they were kept. I even knew where the ammo was stored, but not once did I ever think of touching them. I knew guns posed a danger. I realized what guns were capable of and that they could mean the difference between life and death–in good ways (protecting yourself) and bad (killing another accidentally). My father would even mention that we shouldn’t even point toy guns at other children, in keeping with the consistency of his “gun” safety teaching.

When I did handle guns, my father had three strict rules:

  • Never have the chamber loaded unless ready to shoot.

  • Never point a gun at another person unless your intent is to kill.

  • Never point a loaded gun anywhere but the ground, in the air or at a target.

My father has taught children for years about gun safety, explaining the power that accompanies holding a gun, the inherent dangers and the fact that guns should only be held by those trained to wield them.

Ignorance Kills – Guns Don’t

Few things upset me as much as hearing people say, “Guns kill people.” They might as well step out into a crowd with a megaphone and announce, “Hello. I’m ignorant.”

Not once in my life have I ever seen or heard of a gun jumping off a table, aiming itself at a person and tripping its own hammer.

Are guns dangerous? Yes. Are knives dangerous? Yes. Are cross bows dangerous? Yes. Are cars dangerous? Yes.

Every single one of these is both a tool and a weapon and should be respected as such. But no single weapon kills a person unless the person behind that weapon either has the intent to kill or is ignorant. Sadly, I do believe that a greater number of fatal gun accidents are due to ignorance than due to intent. Ignorance is our number one problem when it comes to all weapons–ignorance of how they work, ignorance of how to protect our children from their inherent dangers, and ignorance of use and purpose.

Resist the urge to be an ignorant parent who dismisses guns entirely in stating, “I don’t believe in guns” or “I won’t allow my child near guns.” The reality is, your child will end up around guns someday. The right to own a gun is a constitutional right and isn’t going away. That being a given, I encourage you to either educate your children on gun safety or move out of the country.

Please consider the fact that teaching your children to be safe and understand guns doesn’t mean that you need to own one or even approve of owning them in general. Your teaching them gun safety does mean that you are a responsible parent. The last thing you want is for your child to be in a gun owner’s house with a parent who has refused to teach their own children safe gun practices, thus putting your own child at risk of being injured or killed–only because you were negligent in instructing your child about gun safety.

What can we do to ensure that our children are safe?

Too many people expect the government to make laws and set rules in place that will protect their children and take away the responsibility that they have as an American to educate their own children for.

William H. Taft said:

We are all imperfect. We cannot expect perfect government.

It is our responsibility as parents to create and follow guidelines that will teach our children and make a safer world for them to live in. Ultimately it is we the parents that are responsible for our children, not our government.

Follow these simple rules religiously; what I call the T.A.F.T.T. rules:

Tell your children that you own a gun. Hiding it and not telling them that it’s in the house is a recipe for disaster.
Alert an adult if they see a child near or touching a gun and always leave immediately.
Fear guns. Explain the real dangers to your children that guns pose. A strong fear should be put into them (especially young children) regarding guns.
Take your children shooting as they get older (pre-teen and teen). They need to understand the reality of guns and how to properly handle them.
Treat your guns as you would treat your car. Both can save a life or take it away.
Source: Huffington Post

  • Jason Stadtlander

Money Is Evil and Wrinkles Are Blessings
Money Is Evil and Wrinkles Are Blessings 150 150 Jason Stadtlander

If money is the root of all evil, then contempt and jealousy is the tree that blossoms from it. Not that I believe money in itself is the root of evil, but that people’s desire, quest for, obsession with and what they compromise to get it, is often what we see as “evil.” We relate and assume it is the money, when in fact it is how people use and or abuse money. It is no different than drugs, alcohol or sex.

I know someone that is obsessive about holding on to every fraction of every cent that they can. They are always concerned with how big their ‘nest egg’ is to the extent that they fail to enjoy the amazing things that are before them.

Don’t get me wrong, I do feel that savings are a very important and critical part of our lives. We have no way of knowing when we will lose our job, when a tragedy might strike or when we will need funds to buy a house, buy a car or help our children with school. But, hoarding money and holding on to it with an iron fist does not allow you to enjoy life.

When you pass from this world, will your children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews say “I’m sad to see them go, but at least they died rich”? I suppose there are those that might say that, but at the end of the day as your body lies in its coffin or it lies next to the incinerator waiting to be turned to ash — that money, all of those savings — will be worthless if you haven’t lived your life.

Two Sides of the Coin
My father and step-mother are not wealthy. They are simple farmers, but they are the richest people I have ever known. With weathered skin and wrinkles here and there, they welcome anyone they meet with open arms. They bend over backwards for the man they have never met, not because they hope to get something in return, but because it’s the right thing to do. In turn, people do things for them, fix a fence, help bale hay, feed the horses.

When my children visit them, they do not say, “I like Grandma and Grandpa because they buy me things.” In fact, I asked my son why he loves his grandma and grandpa so much. His reply was, “Because Grandma reads to me and because Grandpa plays with me.”

Could they afford to do more? Yes, of course, and they do things like take them to the zoo, take them to a local cave and take them canoeing. The things they choose to do with them aren’t inexpensive because they don’t have the money, it’s because the quality of what they are doing is more important than the cost.

I have an acquaintance I know who lives just outside of Phoenix. He owns a very profitable automotive software company. He has two children, who he rarely sees, has had several plastic surgeries and could no doubt be mistaken for being in his thirties, despite the fact he is in his fifties. When he does see his children, he takes them out in his private jet to California so that he can take them to a theater or to a posh restaurant where he will spend $400 on a meal with them. This same man has everyone at his beck and call, but take away his money and no one would do anything for him, because he treats others with contempt and has an attitude of entitlement.

Two extremes perhaps, but extremes speak volumes. One buys the affection of others, while the other earns it.

Reality and Perspective
There are of course a million shades of gray between these two examples. However, I notice frequently that they still follow suit with either buying or earning. Those that buy, feel that they are entitled to a higher level of society and respect than those that earn, whereas those that earn do not feel they are entitled to anything but gain a deeper respect from those around them.

I live in a fairly affluent community. No, I am not one of the affluent members, but I have many friends who are. There is a large Jewish community and a large Catholic community within the neighboring towns, two more strangely divided groups which themselves have divided subgroups.

Both the Jewish and the Catholics in my community (and I’m sure others around the world) have those that are considered ‘high society members’. People who hire someone to do everything for them and expect their children to have better treatment than the other children, simply because they have a higher ‘standing’ from an economic perspective. Then you have the polar opposites; those that are strong in their faith and cast aside monetary possessions for the greater good of their faith in God.

Am I generalizing? Yes, and no. The members of the community, whether they want to admit it or not, do indeed fall into these generalizations. Not because they strive to meet one objective or another in being as I described, but more because of who they socialize with. A middle-class, stay-at home-mom socializes with other stay-at-home moms who have wealthy husbands. The middle-class mother wants to fit in, wants to live the life that she sees her friends living and thus starts to change her home, her car and her possessions — losing sight of what was most important and what made her more wealthy than all her friends; her children and the joy that they had in the time that they spent with her.

Our Fundamental Values
What makes America special? What makes the UK, Japan and many other modernized countries distinct? It is the affluence of these societies. But, has our affluence caused us to somehow mitigate the importance of family, friendship, love and relationships?

I have been working on editing a book called Money and the Human Condition for a good friend of mine. In the book he states:

We dream and fantasize about having wealth. Not only do we desire wealth but we are also impatient in our quest for wealth. Instant gratification seems to be in our genes. This is why state lotteries are so successful or why casinos can be such big money makers. And this in spite of the fact that every person that has ever stepped foot in a casino or ever bought a lottery ticket knows unequivocally that the vast majority of people lose and that their odds are extremely slim of winning. So why do we do it?

Why do we do it? Because we have been taught that the dollar is what gives us self-worth. But it’s wrong, so wrong. Go home tonight and hug your spouse, your kids, your parents, your grandparents, your cat, your dog or even your friends. Because those are what make you rich… that is where your true wealth lies.
Source: Huffington Post

  • Jason Stadtlander

MMOs and MMORG — Control Your Kids Online Gaming
MMOs and MMORG — Control Your Kids Online Gaming 150 150 Jason Stadtlander

I have a strict policy in my house. No MMO games, or rather — no MMOs that are actually enabled online.

I know, some of you parents and grandparents are saying, “What? What’s an MMO?”

MMO or MMOG (which also falls under MMORPG) stands for Massive Multiplayer Online, Massive Multiplayer Online Game and Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, respectively. In a nutshell, it just means you are connecting with hundreds, thousands or even millions of other people out there playing the same game. In this type of game, you can normally see each other in some form of virtual construct and help, attack or conquer each other.

Most of it is pretty benign and fun. However, as with any form of interaction (online or in person), there are those who choose to use it for malicious purposes — purposes like bullying, using profanity, stalking or preying on the innocent.

My children are currently under the age of 10, so it’s relatively easy to put a parental ban on these kinds of games. Many people have asked me, “What kind of MMO games could there really be for children out there?”

You might be surprised to know there are quite a few. IOS has tons of games in the app store that allow children to play with each other — Minecraft, Clash of Clans and Beach Bomb, just to name a few. As a rule, I always test the games my children want to play, before they play them, and it is not surprising that most game companies try and implement some form of interaction with other gamers online. It allows the gaming company to have an unpredictable element that keeps their players hooked and allows people to socialize.

Now I’m not saying I don’t allow my children to play with other children. I do. But that play is controlled. I have “LAN” parties for my kids and let them invite over multiple friends with their own iPads, Kindles, etc., and they get on my Wi-Fi and I isolate them to only the local network within my home. They have a blast — we order pizza and they get to play and create and attack their friends in the games, and I have control over who they are talking to, playing with and what they are doing with their time.

It may sound like I am a control freak, but I prefer to think of it as smart parenting. Here’s why.

I have had detailed discussions with the FBI and other state and local law enforcement, and if you have read my other two articles about online child safety (“Your Child: A Sheep Among the Wolves” and “How to Handle Your Child’s Social Media Disaster”) you will know that I always state it’s better to monitor than block. Kids want to play with their friends and want to socialize — and they should — but just as you’d want to know whose house they are visiting and how to reach them there, you should also want to know who they are playing with and who can reach them through their activities.

I understand that not everyone is as tech-savvy as I am, and there are parents who might not even know how to launch a game, much less play it. So here’s my advice to parents, when your child comes to you and says, “Mommy, can you install _________ ?” do the following:

  • Ask them why they want to play it. Most of the time, the answer will be, “I saw _________ playing it” or “I played it on ________ iPad”, etc., which is fine as long as you approve of said friend.
  • Research the game. Doing a simple search online will usually pull up a Wiki page, a vendor page or something that can tell you more details about the game.
  • If something doesn’t make sense or you don’t understand something, contact someone who might, or feel free to even contact me on my website. I’m always happy to help parents if I can.
  • Make sure that you have in-app purchases disabled (usually can be done in the settings of mobile devices). There’s nothing worse than having to dispute a charge on your credit card for “shark food” from some iTunes game.

Source: Huffington Post

  • Jason Stadtlander

“Loss of Innocence” – My First Story
“Loss of Innocence” – My First Story 150 150 Jason Stadtlander

Introduction

Once upon a time, there was a young boy by the name of Jason Stadtlander who sat at his desk in 6th grade and was given the assignment to write a creative story based on one of the objects sitting on the teachers desk. Without looking at any of the other objects, the teddy bear immediately caught his attention.

I saw that bear sitting upon the teacher’s desk and for me the bear had a story, had a life that no one else in the room knew. So, I grabbed my pencil and wrote my very first short story “Loss of Innocence”.

Here is that story for your reading pleasure.

 

Loss of Innocence
By Jason Stadtlander

(Written for 6th Grade Class in April 1986)

 

Sarah could hear a muffled thump from her nine year old’s room upstairs. She got up from the table and walked to the edge of the stairs. “Parrin? Everything okay up there?”, she called

A muted “Yeah Mom, just dropped something.” called through the closed upstairs door.

She stood there looking up the stairs for about thirty seconds, then shook her head and walked back to the table to finish her shopping list for tomorrow. Earlier she had checked in on Parrin and he had been playing on the floor. He had all of his toys spread out and was having his usual battle of the stuffed animals over the plastic soldiers. She supposed he liked to do that just because it was something of contrast. Toys that were hard and cold battling something soft and cuddly, she thought it amusing.

Upstairs Parrin had all of his soldiers lined up in a U formation facing his bed. His slightly worn B-Bear (short for Benjamin the Bear, which Parrin’s father had helped name) was sitting against the twin bed facing the soldiers. “I’m coming to stomp down your legions!” Parrin said in a deep,  menacing voice. He picked up the bear and made it slowly stomp towards the soldiers with heavy feet. This was a game that he regularly played with B-Bear. In his mind’s eye he pictured the old movie that his friend Jeff had shown him; Godzilla. He also thought it was funny seeing all of the little men flying about as a giant bear stormed thier way through.

The soft bear jumped out of Parrin’s hand and ran over to the dresser, and plopped down beside it. He frowned and looked up at the boy. Parrin looked at his old friend and asked, “What’s wrong? We had almost defeated the evil brigade.” There was an aura of innocence and wonder in his voice.
B-Bear Teddy (Loss of Innocence)B-Bear looked at the child for a drawn moment, his deep brown eyes not losing contact with Parrin’s green innocent eyes. The bear thought about the years that he had spent with Parrin. The games they had played, the warmth of his touch in the middle of the night as he hugged him close to his chest. The boy was a kind, loving child and always treated the bear as his best friend, carrying him everywhere and confiding in him his deepest secrets. B-Bear’s mind wandered back even further to the time when Parrin’s grandfather browsed through the FAO Swartz toy store in Boston, so long ago.

Joe didn’t want to return home to his little girl empty handed, so here he stood looking at the rows of animals and other toys. The bear had been sitting on a narrow shelf along with two dozen other bears that looked identical to him and Sarah’s father had walked over and examined all of the other bears carefully and picked him up. The bear had been elated to have been chosen out of all his other neighbors on the shelf. “I like this one, she’ll love it.”, Joe said glancing back at the other bears and then giving a nod to the bear in his hand.

“But he looks like every other bear on the shelf.” his wife replied.

“No, this one is special. He has… personality.” he said smiling.

A then four year old Sarah had been overjoyed when her parents got back to Knoxville and gave her the warm plush toy, his ultra-soft, plush fur shimmering and his eyes sparkling like none she had ever seen. He was magical. Sarah and “Jake” would be friends for almost a decade until he started to collect dust and was eventually put into a box where he sat in the dark for over a decade, until one day there was a new child to introduce him to. The bear couldn’t remember feeling as alive as he had the moment he was taken out of that old box and presented to Parrin. The boy’s eyes had lit up with amazement and awe as he grabbed the bear and held it close to him. “Oh! Thank you Mommy! Thank you so much!” he cried

“Be very careful with Jake, he’s old and a little fragile. Okay?” she said

“Ok mommy, I will. But do I have to call him Jake?”

“Hmm. No, I guess not. You can call him whatever you want just take good care of him. He was mine when I was a little girl” she said

Parrin was sincerely shocked, “YOU were a little girl?”

Sarah laughed at the earnestness of her four year old son and replied “Yes honey. I was a little girl and I was very well behaved when I was little.”

Parrin’s father cleared his throat and grinned. She looked at him with a smile and told him to ‘just be quiet’.

“What would you like to call him?”asked his father

“He does look old doesn’t he? Like that guy on the ten dollar bill.” Parrin stated

“You mean Benjamin Franklin?”

“That’s his name?”

“Yep, one of our country’s forefathers.” replied his father

“Benjamin. Yes, his name is Benjamin.” Perrin announced

 ~

 B-Bear glanced down at the floor and back up to Parrin who was looking at him patiently. “I’m just… tired. I’m not as young as I used to be.” said the old bear.

“Do you want to sleep? I can tuck you in bed.” The boy replied.

“No, unfortunately it’s a bit more then that Parrin.” There was a long pause. He wasn’t sure how to articulate his thoughts. “You see, I’m getting old. I have lived a long and full life. I’m afraid I won’t be around a lot longer.”

Parrin looked like someone had hit him with a brick. “You’re saying you’re DYING! You can’t die! You’re B-Bear! You are my best friend! I won’t let you die.”

Tears welled up in the boy’s eyes as he locked gazes with the bear across the room.

The soft bear got up and waddled over to Parrin, who was now sitting next to the bed and had several lonely tears streaming down his face. He put his soft paw on Parrin’s leg. “Don’t worry, death is just part of the natural order of life. It’s something that will happen to everyone eventually. As long as you always keep a part of me right here.” He touched the boy’s chest. “Then part of me will always exist. Please don’t be sad, we have had many good years together and I want you to remember the good times.”

Parrin, who had not made eye contact since the bear left the other side of the room looked down at his old friend. “But I don’t want you to die. It’s not fair.”

“Life is seldom fair. But I will always be in your heart.”

Suddenly the door opened and Sarah looked down at her son, his ragged old bear was laying against his leg. Parrin had tears in his eyes. “You okay?” his mother asked.

“Mm hmm. Just got something in my eye.”

She looked at him for a moment, sensing something was not quite right but felt he wanted to be alone.

“Well, you need to get to bed. Okay?” she said

“Okay.”

Parrin got up and went to brush his teeth, came back into his bedroom and changed into his Pajamas. He laid down deep under the covers, bear in hand. He reached over and switched off the small lamp on his bedside table and lay looking at the ceiling for a moment. “I love you B-Bear” he said softly.

“I love you too. Good night Parrin.” Said the bear.

As Parrin drifted off to sleep the bear in his arms slowly stiffened and took the shape of the wire frame that was inside him. His bright shining eyes glassed over and became the solid brownish orange glass that they had once been. His soft, wet nose became velvety leather. B-Bear’s soul was absorbed back into the child. That night, Parrin had gained a new level of maturity and with maturity, some things are lost forever.

 

  • Jason Stadtlander

New England Madness and the Wild World
New England Madness and the Wild World 150 150 Jason Stadtlander

For those of you who do not know me, I’ll the you a little secret about myself – I’m demophobic. It’s one of my only fears, that and of course the fears that comes along with being a parent; ketchup stains, malnutrition and the ability to live on ice cream alone.

Demophia is the fear of being in crowds or masses of people. With me, specifically it has to do with crowds in small places. I’m not claustrophobic by any means and I can stand before an audience of two thousand without a problem or go to a crowded county fair… But stick me on a crowded train, a crowded bus or even a crowded road with far too many cars and it’s all I can do to hold myself together.

New England Madness and the Wild WorldMost definitely NOT the ideal fear when living in historic New England. I love the history, I love the culture and I even love the people. What I do not love, is the quantity of people. On top of this, there is the ‘crowd’ mentality of Massachusetts. I can drive through New York City (and have many times) and never experience the types of drivers (and commuters) that we have in Massachusetts. There is a term we have here; “Massholes” and it is so apt.

You can have a guy (or woman) who is the nicest, kindest person you’ve ever met. They will bend over backwards to help their fellow man, but place them behind a steering wheel or force them onto an escalator on the ‘T’ (what we call our transit system here) and it’s like watching Dr. Jekyll turn into Mr. Hyde. They mutate as their eyebrows furrow, their shoulders turn inward and they cannot fight the beast within forcing their middle collection of phalanges to extend itself toward whatever human may be in their way. Add to that, a spew of expletives that can only be described as the opening of a rotting, putrid sewer ejecting profanity at an extraordinary rate of speed and you have a classic Masshole. Something that only coffee can help keep at bay.

To this day, I attempt to explain to my friends and family that live outside of New England the level of stress that I (and many of us) feel when commuting into Boston each day, but they just flat out don’t get it. There is no way to explain to those who don’t live here, the stress that is involved in traveling such a short distance. It is completely normal for my commute of fifteen miles to take between an hour to two hours.

Oh, baby, baby, it’s a wild world
It’s hard to get by just upon a smile
Oh, baby, baby, it’s a wild world
I’ll always remember you like a child, girl

~ Cat Stevens “Wild World”

Which moves us on to the final question that you are all asking yourself; “Why do you live there, if it’s such a pain?”

Ahhh… a question I have plagued myself with for nearly twenty years. I am a farm boy, despite the fact that I grew up in Columbus, Ohio, I spent nearly every weekend at our farm in Loudonville, Ohio and that is where my heart is, in the land, the soil, the trees and cicadas as I lay in the grass watching the clouds float by. Someday (soon perhaps) I will return to that peace that I yearn for so much. There are reasons that all of us have for sticking around here. My reasons are my children. They are in one of the best school systems in the country. There is theater, world class music, world class medicine, rich history and experiences that cannot be compared to anything else right here in our area. That doesn’t mean that my children can’t appreciate the love of nature and the farm. They go to my father’s farm several times a year and look forward to it regularly and there is an enormous weight that is lifted each time we drive out of the last “bury” in lower Connecticut.

Others in the area are here because they grew up here or because they fell in love here and lastly of course because the ocean is here. I too am drawn to the water, though my draw to water is more of the lake kind, being a mid-western transplant… but the ocean suits me fine – for now.

Until I can move however, I shall endure the commute from my micro-environment within my car, stay in my bubble on the train and shield myself from the massholes. Ahhh, coffee. What a wonderful invention.

  • Jason Stadtlander

Unapologetic
Unapologetic 150 150 Jason Stadtlander

For years I apologized
For whole I am, who I was

The person you saw was a mask, just a lie
For the creature within wasn’t true, wasn’t right
The creativity and passion hidden for long
You think you know me but always are wrong

For years I apologized
For whole I am, who I was

I am not someone to roll over
To be steam rolled and molded
I am not just some scenery
To be admired and folded

For years I apologized
For whole I am, who I was

Your words were like daggers that I must defend
To be untrue to myself and always to mend
Black and white aren’t the key, they are just an illusion
Shades of gray are the truth and require diffusion

For years I apologized
For whole I am, who I was

No more will I be untrue to myself
Nor will I table emotions to sit on a shelf
I am strong and unique and proud of the truth
I will live my life unwavering and empower my youth

For years I apologized
For whole I am, who I was

I will not say I’m sorry with your hollow demands
If I’m sorry you will know for I’ll hold out my hands
I cannot be commanded, I will not be halted
Your words will collide and I will not be faulted

For years I apologized
For whole I am, who I was

For this is the start of a new dawn and life
The masks have come off, no longer in strife
I’ll no longer be simply cosmetic
My words are now silent, I’m unapologetic

  • Jason Stadtlander

Interviews with Beta Readers
Interviews with Beta Readers 150 150 Jason Stadtlander

The film studio (Media Boss Films) is preparing the “Pitch” trailer. In doing so, several of my beta readers got to come out to the studio and were interviewed to let everyone know why they feel The Steel Van Man should become a movie.

Very exciting progress!
  • Jason Stadtlander

Gun Bans a Safe Haven for Killers
Gun Bans a Safe Haven for Killers Jason Stadtlander

Recently Panera Bread released a notice that they will be banning guns within all their restaurants. Although I understand the concern behind this decision, I believe this is not truly being thought through to its logical conclusion.

Panera is not the first to make such a policy. They follow an appeal from Moms Demand Action, an organization that supports preventing child access to guns, something I happen to agree with. However, I do not agree with this Panera policy, or the Kroger and Target policies, which have also been pushed by Moms Demand Action. It is my opinion that these policies have been hastily thrown together in an attempt to prevent firearms from existing at locations where children may be.

This policy is something Starbucks already contemplated, but they decided instead on a statement that guns are “unwelcome” rather than stating that they are banned altogether, which speaks volumes about an organization that appears to have actually put thought into their policy.

Gun Control vs. Gun Bans

A ban on guns is not gun control. I am for gun control — that is, controlling who can have guns and who cannot. I do believe that individuals who own guns should go through a screening, licensure and perhaps even medical-history evaluation, but this is not the same as banning guns or preventing ownership of guns.

Alexander Hamilton once said, “The constitution shall never be construed … to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.”

Second Amendment Rights

“Peaceable citizens” is the key term here. We are maintaining a level of peace by providing knowledge that there are repercussions for certain actions. During the Cold War we never fired a nuclear weapon at Russia (though there were very close calls, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis), but it was not because we were “good guys.” It was because we knew that if we struck them, they had the power to retaliate. It was two sides possessing strength but respecting the other’s strength. As long as guns exist in the world, criminals will always have guns — but we law-abiding citizens have the power to choose whether we will hold our own strength against them.

Britain used to have strict gun laws in place for those who wanted to own handguns. Despite this, Michael Ryan killed 16 people and wounded another 14 people before shooting himself in the town of Hungerfold. Because the public and police were unarmed, Ryan was able to roam the streets for eight hours with two semiautomatic rifles before anyone with a firearm was able to come to the rescue.

This, along with a shooting spree by Thomas Hamilton in 1996, resulted in Britain banning guns with the Firearms Act of 1998. The effect was totally opposite to what the proponents of the act intended. Gun violence has soared to a point where some British police are now carrying guns for the first time due to gang-related gun violence.

Safe Haven for Terrorism

“When the law disarms good guys, bad guys rejoice.”
–Ted Nugent

Words to live by?

The CEO of Panera stated, “Within our company, we strive to create Panera Warmth. This warmth means bakery-cafes where customers and associates feel comfortable and welcome. To this end, we ask that guns not be brought into this environment….”

Questions to ponder:

  • Thinking this through, one needs to ask what “warmth” it offers customers, knowing that the immediate line of defense for neighbors, friends and family is not an option in an extreme situation?
  • Casting aside emotion, let’s think logically about this. What good comes from preventing people who can legally own guns — those who have passed federal, state and local licensure and are required to pass a gun-safety course — from bringing concealed firearms into a public building?
  • Are the violent people who walk in with the intent to shoot up a Panera Bread, a Walmart, a Target or a Kroger grocery store going to care what prohibitive gun policies are in place? And at the front end, will these intent-to-kill people have a license to carry to begin with?
  • In our legitimate desire to ward off disastrous gun violence, might we actually be preventing the only people who stand a chance at stopping said criminals from, at the very least, avoiding a worst-case scenario? Yes, the authorities can be called, and perhaps there would even be a police officer on site, but might people who are licensed to carry a concealed weapon be our first critical line of defense in such desperate situations?

Extremes on Both Sides

As much as I love my country, the United States is replete with extremes, which can drive most of us insane. We are a country with two political parties, whereas many other Westernized countries have multiple parties and never allow a single party to have a majority by itself.

One group would like to see guns outlawed completely — a pointless endeavor, as it will not prevent criminals who have no respect for the law from acquiring guns. We have another group that believes in ownership and feels that the laws are too tight to begin with for those who own guns legally. Then we have the rest of us, who would like to see some kind of happy medium. Ironically, those of us who would prefer a happy medium are the ones without much of a voice, because we do not choose to follow either extreme.

Ask yourself this question: If you were a criminal, had a bone to pick with society or were mentally unstable and wanted to snuff out as many innocent lives as possible, would you walk into a McDonald’s where there is no ban on guns and you might get shot, or would you set your sights on a Panera Bread, where you do not need to worry about resistance of any kind?
Source: Huffington Post

Copyright © Jason Stadtlander - All Rights Reserved

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