Manns Medium

  When a Dream becomes so much more than just Reality   Adam Dixon had a dream, he dreamed of one day creating a space for at risk youth and adults that would go beyond the typical programs and offer something that no other has ever. He did not expect that this dream would materialize into far much more than that. He created The Adam Dixon Perseverance Foundation in 2014 after 3 year professional football career playing arena football and brief stints in the Canadian Football League. He recognized the immense and immediate need for this kind of organization providing not only sensible solutions but educational scholarships, mentorship, and leadership development. He was acutely aware that there were many others at-risk youth and adults programs out there but there were still a very large part of what was needed to guarantee the success of the students missing. He made it his heavenly mission to not only discover what they were but solve those issues.   It is n...

A parents number one concern is to try and prevents any harm, injury or death from coming to their children and to that end, we often rush to their defense considering that this actions proves our love but what if I tell you, it is not the action that you perform then but the actions you perform during the beginning stages of their lives that really shows your love.  Each and every time you step up and provide a buffer for your child, you are essentially setting them up for paying a heavier price of pain, injury or death because who will shield them when you are no longer around?  They have grown accustomed to you jumping in to save them and they have lost the fear of jumping in the deep in of the pool because they know you will jump in after them but what if there is a time they jump without thinking and you are not there to save them?  Do they now perish; do you now have to bury them?  The mistake your child makes growing up is the time to educate them and fin...

Find me anyone who disagrees with this title and allow me to have a conversation with them, before long you will see clear and convincing evidence that this is more than just pure speculation, it is fact.  It will begin, as all things normally do, as a frank debate and civil discussion but soon it will elevate to personal attacks and in some cases violence because one of those speaking will run out of defenses for their indefensible behavior and resort to that tried and true method of dismissing, ignoring and cowardly act which is violence.  Begin to notice people, that those who turn to personal attacks do so because reasonable retorts to opposition of ideas are no longer available to them. To watch children play proves that they do not care what color that other child is as long as they play nice.  They do not care about color as long as the other child treats them with respect and as a friend.  They do not care unless they have reason to care and that reason ...

This thought occurred to me as I was looking at answering yes to all of my youngest daughter’s recent requests.  I surmised that since she has already gone through things that no child should ever have to endure at such a young age, that saying yes would make her feel and know that she was loved and appreciated.  It wasn’t until she kept asking for one thing after another that it dawned on me that maybe what I was doing was not actually for her but only to make myself feel better.  I dawned upon me that I was actually doing her more harm than good by saying yes to everything. I began to truly think about that concept of giving in makes them give up and the more I thought about it the more it began to make sense and possibly explain why kids today have little or no respect for anything or anyone.  The primary reason is the lack of a good example set by their parents, guardians or caretakers but a large factor appears to be our desire to try and make things better...

Talk to any Child Protective Service employee and they will without a doubt proclaim that they are the true protector of America’s children.  They are allowed to proceed into your home based on a single unanimous phone call, snatch your children from the only home that they have ever known, rip up the only security blanket a growing child has and tear apart a family because they are the experts in child development and even though many cases are unfounded or the evidence found would not honestly convict a fly, they remain vigilant in their pursuit of their rights versus all others.  The courts refuse to administer equal justice simply based on the position and title of those representing these agencies and any defense against their sometimes wild and outlandish accusations is the defense you must provide for yourself because those provided by the courts are merely pawns and normally have little to no backbone when it comes to proper and accurate presentation of your side of t...

Sometimes the best lessons are those things we learn from the past because history teaches us that human nature rarely changes, but the major difference between good history and bad history is not the person or people written about it’s the results of their actions.  Case in point:  The pilgrims ran from England and the result is them being credited with establishing a new nation later called America.  The slaves ran from their masters and the result is freedom and a much better opportunity at a better life.  These are examples of lessons from the past about running away from a problem that ultimately resulted in much better things for the runner and all those that came afterwards.  An example of bad history is when a young child run away from home to seek a better life which normally results in finding that the better life does not exist and results in  lonesomeness ,  isolation  and often times more trouble than staying home.  An...

Can someone please tell me when the job of school counselor went from teach our children how to settle disputes without violence and morphed into their only job being changing a student’s class schedule, handing out those class schedules and locker combinations?  Maybe it’s just me and this was always the case.  If so then please forgive my interruption but if it’s not then it is high time we looked at reversing that policy and put them back to the purpose of which that position was formed. I thought that a school counselor’s job was to teach our children how to resolve disputes without violence even if that student home life and surroundings are filled with it.  I thought they were allowed to pull each student into their offices, find out what the real problem was and then find avenues to fix that issue so that student could proceed with getting a good quality education and not be allowed to fall through the cracks of a system normally comprised of people with grown...

When it comes to writing, for me, there has to be a passionate point that I feel needs to be made and probably hasn’t thus far.  I say probably because, unlike God, I am not omnipresent which means others in other locations may have addressed these subjects and I not know anything about it until someone who happens to spy both would then educate me.  That being said let’s get back to the purpose of this article. Many often ask why those who are supposed to be adults seldom act like it and choose to act more like children when it comes to certain things.  For me the answer is convenience and nothing more.  Convenience because when we are comfortable within our skins, anything that seems contrary or could threaten our comfort is looked upon as foreign and an enemy to our happiness. We say this because we may think we truly know what makes us happy but the truth be told, if we pay even the slightest attention to ourselves, we may come to realize that it’s the simpl...

First please allow me to say that I was one of the most argent detractors from those people that I referred to as “eggheads” when they first came out with this thing about “parental involvement” being necessary to help children develop better.  I was one of the ones who claimed that it was just a few “know-it- all ” who was attempting to shift the blame from educators and teachers doing their jobs.  After seeing evidence of this just a few days ago and thinking back to all the times this happened that I did not capture makes me wish now to ask all those for their forgiveness because I was wrong. It took a matter of ten minutes to turn my failing daughter in math, spelling and reading into someone who now cannot only do the math assigned but has advanced to geometry.  She now craves reading and was recently excited about reading the dictionary.  This from a child whom we were told just a few weeks ago was reading at a lower level than others her age.  Ten mi...

Parents always say that the reason they are working 2 jobs and struggling so very hard and even are willing to chase that all mighty dollar more diligently is to give their children a much better life than they had.  You hear that, it sounds good and so you embrace and own that phrase to excuse the truth behind why you work so hard.  You know, s well as all who know you, that this has nothing to do with your kids, it’s all about you being in a position to have all that you desire without having to be responsible for doing the only job you were created to do.  You may have accomplished major things and landed that prestigious job that make you feel like a giant but none of that compares to the job you choose to take on of raising children.  To allow anything or anyone else to do this vital job means that the most important thing in your life was shifted off on someone else so that you could feel less guilty of concentrating on yourself.  History has taught and c...

Often we dream about what others will say about us when we are gone and what, if any, affect have we had on the world while we were here.  Many attempt to get their names in lights or on the tongues of many others who remain while there are some whose idea of making a difference is meddling in the affairs of others.  But what seems to be missed by so many who claim to be paying attention is the greatest lesson you can teach and the only real legacy you will leave is the education you have passed on to your children. An example of this is an article titled “ Beloit Police arrest two 12 year olds in Family Video robbery ” posted by Mark Mayhew for our local station WREX.  In it he reports that “ Beloit Police arrested two 12-year-old boys in a Sunday night robbery at the Family Video store on Henry Avenue.  The original report stated two black males displayed a handgun and left with cash.  Beloit Police were able to identify the boys and arrested the first on...

Some time ago, I penned an article titled “Police Brutality is not something you already have it is cultivated and taught” (you can find it here: http://copwatchnews.com/exclusive/police-brutality-is-not-something-you-already-have-it-is-cultivated-and-taught-2/ ).  In that article I included a portion of a story I read involving Officer Larry Bushart attempting to show how the failure of supervisors and managers of our police departments can result in good cops going bad and making bad decisions without first considering the ramifications that comes with the honor of wearing the badge.  I was contacted by Mr. Bushart with an explanation of his situation and even though we disagreed about whether his divorce and the circumstances around it were included in this article, I did come to realize that both his and my own personal experience was quite similar.  I then took up his call to pen this article and I share all this with you in hopes that you gleam from it that even th...

Was a little disturbed by this article written by Harriet McLeod for Reuters titled “Police hunt man who killed nine in historic South Carolina black church” not really because of the information found within but basically by the enormity of how often this is happening within our communities.  While trying to figure out what seemingly strong force is guiding these people to violate even God’s will, I had to look past the normal excuses given when something like this happen and look much deeper.  What I found was even more disturbing than my initial reaction to this story. In the story it is reported that “Police in Charleston, South Carolina, were searching on Thursday for a white gunman who killed nine people in a historic African-American church including the pastor, a black state senator, in an attack the U.S. Department of Justice called a hate crime.  The FBI identified the shooter as Dylan Roof of Columbia, South Carolina. An uncle of Roof's said he recognized ...

As defined by Stop Bulling dot Gov, bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose.  Wikipedia says it is the use of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively dominate others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception, by the bully or by others, of an imbalance of social or physical power. Behaviors used to assert such domination can include verbal harassment or threat, physical assault or coercion, and such acts may be directed repeatedly towards particular targets. Rationalizations for such behavior sometimes include differences of social class, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, appearance, behavior, b...

To say that the fighting between parents do not affect the children is to deny that there are bones within our bodies.  It does affect them and in a way that only those who grew up in a busted home where one or both of the parents were absent knows this.  But even with that knowledge, we still cannot help ourselves when that selfish moment hits and we fail to see the damage that we do to our own kids for the sake of getting back at the other.  I am as guilty of such an ignorant thing as anybody which is why I feel as though I am more than knowledgeable enough about this to scream and yell at others. The ultimate proof of how stupid we can be when it comes to trying to get revenge on the other parent is when we attempt to hurt the ones we love more than a total stranger ever could is in this article.  It is titled “ Schiller Park woman accused of trying to murder her children with poisoned apple juice ” written by Tom Negovan and Judy Wang.  In this article ...

After reading an article titled “ 15-year-old girl dies after suffering gunshot wound ” written by Audrey Moon for WREX-TV.com, I like many was wondering where were the parents.  I like many was thinking what parent would allow their 15 year old to break curfew, hang out with a 19 year old especially any time after 10 pm.  Then I was slapped by a reality, a reality that said my hypocrisy was clearly showing and that before I attempted to pass judgment on another person, I must first make sure that I was clear of this failure as well.  I found myself silently begging the parents for their forgiveness and asking my God to forgive me for attempting to declare how others should live according to my will and not his.  I then began to read some of the comments left by others about the subject and felt compelled to pen this article to say to them.  Let thee who are without sin cast the first stone. Normally I would include some or all of the article so that those ...

Wrote a story about 3 days ago titled “Another Reason not to Fear Death” and posted it to http://mannsmedium.blogspot.com .  I am sure that many who read it was thinking that I had something else mixed with my Pepsi but as I said so many times before.  Thoughts of how we are more connected to each other, this world and the universe are not always reasons to have someone committed or locked away in a padded cell.  Sometimes thoughts can lead you to discovery that may have escaped the mainstream or you avoided simply because it frightens you to know that those you see every day are as much a part of you as you are.  Many refuse to admit that we are all one with the same father but different earthly moms and dads but like Jesus, we are spirits created by God and cared for by him.  The reason I brought this up and decided to pen another similar article is simply to showcase a story posted on Facebook by a friend of mine.  I don’t know if she read my articl...

It was reported that “last week the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Peggy Young v. UPS case to determine whether employers have to make accommodations for a worker who needs them because of pregnancy.”  It further reports that “Peggy, a UPS delivery driver, became pregnant and her doctor recommended she take a hiatus from lifting heavy boxes until after giving birth. However, Peggy was denied temporary light duty and forced to take unpaid leave by the company.   Under this bill, pregnant women will be able to request reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions without the fear of being fired—a privilege that isn't included under current law.” We all should know by now how this court has made wide-ranging and volatile rulings especially when it comes to civil rights but a few of us are still holding out hope that those whose task is to interpret the law will not be guilty of over-reach again.  Not for something tha...

Many of us depend on the media to give us the pertinent information from which we can create and build our opinion but lately the media has become the catalysts that forms that opinion.  We read only a few of the lines because we now look only to the headline to tell us how we should feel about a particular subject.  Some of us have gotten wise to this and now will read the entire article once maybe twice and diagnosis what the writer was trying to get us to believe as well as seeing a few points that they might have missed.  This is one of these such stories. It is titled “Missing Atlanta teen was hidden in plain sight in Georgia suburb for four years” from an unknown author for an unknown publication but to understand what I am trying to say, you have got to read the entire article which is below. “Police found Gregory Jean Jr hidden behind a false wall, a captive in his father’s house, but for four years he had been in plain sight, an abused child growing up i...

Many parents are under the impression that buying your child name brand items and everything he or she wants is the ideal measure of good parenting.  They think that just by giving them all that they desire, it will prevent them from desiring anything that the parent cannot afford.  The only problem with this is they are wrong and have been for so long, I’m embarrassed that it has taken so long for many of us to realize it. If you buy your child only name brand items and everything he or she wants, you are setting them up to keep that mindset as they age and because of that, they now will do whatever they need to in order to obtain that desire.  People often wonder why children shoplift especially when they are quite affluent or have the money in their pockets.  Children shoplift because they want it now and the effort to walk up to the counter and pay for it is just too much for them.  You ask why children who are poor shoplift, simply because their parent...