The Fifth Commandment

The Fifth Commandment is "you shall not kill." This is easily one of the most important commandments in the Ten Commandments. Within the Fifth Commandment there are many moral issues discussed such as abortion, euthanasia, and racism. These moral issues are looked at by the Catholic Church and discussed by many people. 

Abortion is a violation of the Fifth Commandment because one becomes a human person at the moment of conception. Any intentional killing of unborn life is murder. Abortion is a choice and many people look at it as an escape from a bad decision. If you were mature enough to have sex and get pregnant, you should be mature enough to take care of your child, or give it up for adoption. I do not agree with people who have abortions because it is selfish and not giving a human a chance to live. 

I feel that euthanasia is a personal choice. If a loved one has been suffering for a long time or terminally ill, it should be their choice on what they want to do with their life. I understand why it is looked at as morally wrong in the Fifth Commandment, but this is a free world and it should be the choice of the ill what they want to do with their life and no one else's choice.

Racism is another sin against the Fifth Commandment because it is a hatred or lack of respect for other persons because of their skin color, ethnicity, or national origin. This attitude has led to problems and injustices for many years and it is very wrong. Every person was made in the image and likeness of God and we are all equal in God's eyes. No one person is better than the next. We are all the same no matter where we come from.

Hoods Up for Trayvon

As each day passes since the murder of Trayvon Martin, more and more people are finding out about this horrific case. It is spreading throughout the nation and people all around the country are demanding justice for Trayvon and his family.  There have been songs written, rallies, marches, prayers, and love coming from many people in the United States. There have been many "million hoodie" marches around the nation where people come together wearing hoodies, many of them carrying skittles and ice tea, and walk around a city for Trayvon saying he deserves justice. 

Millions of people now know about this case and want justice for Trayvon and his family. This story has been getting the spotlight for weeks now and many people are standing behind Trayvon and his family praying that Zimmerman gets what he deserves. To be put into jail. 

Miami Heat basketball team with their hoods up for Trayvon Martin 

Trayvon Martin

On February 26, 2012, a 17 year old African American named Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in Sanford, Florida. The shooter was George Zimmerman, a 28 year old white man. Zimmerman admits killing Martin, but claims he was acting in self-defense. Almost a month after Martin's death, no arrests have been made and Zimmerman remains free.

The day Trayvon was killed, he was walking home from a convenience store with a bag of skittles for his little brother and a can of iced tea. Zimmerman called the police to report Martin's "suspicious" behavior, which he described as "just walking around looking about." Zimmerman was in his car when he saw Martin walking on the street. He called the police and said: "There's a real suspicious guy. This guy looks like he's up to no good, on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around looking about." Zimmerman kept complaining about the suspicious behavior and even after the police told him to stop following Trayvon, he continued to.

Zimmeran was not even a registered member of the Neighborhood Watch group but he violated basic Neigborhood Watch guidlines by carrying a 9 millimeter handgun. The sound of the gunshot that killed Trayvon was on the 911 tapes and it is clear George Zimmerman murdered an innocent young man. Zimmerman claims he killed him for self-defense however he cannot prove that Trayvon was doing anything suspicious. On top of that, Trayvon was unarmed and had no criminal record.

I think that George Zimmerman is a racist and was racial profiling. Trayvon was wearing jeans, white tennis shoes, and a hoodie. Zimmerman saw him and said he looked odd and suspicious. If a white person was wearing the exact same thing I don't think Zimmerman would have thought twice about the guy. I think that if the shooter was black and the victim was white the case would be handled differently and the shooter would already be in jail. 

It is really upsetting to think that Trayvon's parents have to live their lives thinking about how the murderer of thier son is walking around free. Zimmerman needs to be put in jail for the horrible deed he did and justice needs to be served. Rest in peace Trayvon.

Ending the "R" Word

Many times, either in school or outside of school, you hear someone say the word "retarded." This word can be very hurtful to those with mental disabilities or special needs. It is not a word you should just throw around and say all the time because it can cause a person with special needs or someone who knows someone with special needs to feel horrible about themselves or the person they know. 

I know people who have mental disabilities or special needs and they are some of the kindest, most loving people I have ever met. Just because they don't look or sound like you, does not mean that they are any different than you. I can imagine life is already hard with a disability and by saying they are retarded, just makes them feel worse and makes life harder. They did not choose to be born the way they were and people should not judge them for something they cannot control. 

I do not think that the "R" word should be banned however I do think that people need to be more conscious of what they say. People should stop judging others and start worrying about more important things. Those with mental disabilities can accomplish just as much as you or I can and they are no different than we are.

My Teacher Won't Let Me Swear On the Internet

At the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year, my religion teacher asked all students to make a twitter account for educational purposes to make it easier for him to grade the blogs that we have to post for the class.  In just a few short months many of the students started using twitter more and more for recreational purposes and not for school.  Students started using profanity and became careless with what they were posting on twitter. 

Our teacher had a conversation with us about not swearing on twitter and if we want to use profanity, we need to make two accounts, one for school, and one for fun. Some people are upset with this because they say that their twitter is theirs and they should be allowed to say whatever they want on their twitter. I think that since our twitter accounts are for school we should not swear on our twitter until we are done with the class that requires us to have a twitter.  We should respect the teacher and stop using profanity on the internet because once you say it, it is on the internet forever. 

I personally started using profanity on twitter, however now I will stop swearing on the internet and I will try to help others stop using profanity on twitter as well. It is important to respect the teacher and even though the twitter accounts are ours, we got them because of religion class and we should not be using them to swear or say anything inappropriate. 

New Years Resolutions for the World

1. Help end world hunger
2. Stop crime and murder
3. Pay more attention to the church
4. Fix the economy
5. Keep families together
6. Keep kids in school so they can get a good education
7. Make more jobs so everyone can have a good income
8. Support countries less fortunate than America
9. End obesity
10. Try to have less teen pregnancy

Invisible Children

In the spring of 2003, three young filmmakers, Laren Poole, Jason Russell, and Ben Keesey traveled to Africa in search of a story. What started out as a film making adventure transformed into much more when these three boys from California discovered a tragedy that both disgusted and inspired them, a tragedy where children are both the weapons and the victims of a violent war.  They spent some time in Uganda and when they returned to the States, they created a documentary "Invisible Children: Rough Cut," a film that exposes the tragic realities of northern Uganda's night commuters and child soldiers.  This film was originally just for friends and family but soon it became a huge success and now has been seen by millions of people, effecting every person who lays eyes on this documentary.



The war in northern Uganda started by Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, has been called the most neglected humanitarian emergency in the world today. For the past 23 years, the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Government of Uganda have been waging a war that has left almost two million innocent civilians caught in the middle. The Government of Uganda's attempt to protect its citizens from this rebel militia has largely failed, resulting in an entire generation of youth that has never known or seen peace. 

Since Invisible Children: Rough Cut was filmed in 2003, night commuting has ended for the children of northern Uganda. In recent years peace seemed to be within reach, mostly due to the Juba Peace Talks. From June 2006 to March 2008 in Juba, Sudan, the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Government of Uganda engaged in a series of peace talks in order to end the conflict. These peace talks, supported by special envoys from the United States and other nations, allowed for the longest period of peace in northern Uganda’s 23-year war.  A great accomplishment for all people forced to be involved in this tragic violence.

"We are story tellers. We make documentaries about war-affected children in east Africa and tour them around the world."

Invisible children's staff and founders use the power of media to inspire young people to help end the longest running war in Africa. Their model has effected hundreds of thousands of people and many of those people have been called to action through the films and the volunteers that tour them.  These people do everything they can to help out and believe that the problems of central Africa need to be tackled comprehensively, from peace to education. Solving them will be no easy task, and it will take many people doing all that they can to ensure the best result by the end of this war.