I am feeling conflicted today about 2 things.
The 1st is this story about a teenager in Germany who just underwent gender reassignment surgery. Tim took hormones from the age of 12, in anticipation of his 16th birthday when it would be legal for Tim to become Kim. I don't believe any of us can fathom what it must be like to go through life feeling like you are in the wrong body. Seriously, I have deep compassion for those with this affliction. But the other side of me wonders if a 16-year old is actually mature and responsible enough to make such an important decision that will change the rest of his/her life. Kids think, do, and say lots of crazy stuff when they're kids. I wonder if the legal age limit for this procedure should be moved up to 18. This might be enough time to make sure some kids don't make a mistake. But for Kim, that would mean 2 additional years of torment.
Maybe you see why I feel conflicted. What do YOU think?
The 2nd reason is the pending economic stimulus act. You may recall that former president Bush signed the economic stimulus act of 2008 which put a $600. check into the hands of most Americans. The concept was that Americans would spend these checks and therefore stimulate the economy. Spouse & I both received checks, and promptly deposited them into our savings account. We did not spend them, so we did not contribute to the stimulation of the economy.
President Obama may sign another stimulus act that will give us checks again, with the idea that we will stimulate the economy by spending the money. Part of me sees the advantage of this, and feels we should do our part to put this 'goverment gift' back into the economy. This same part of me says we should move forward with our garage/bathroom/closet project, as this may keep a contractor and several subcontractors employed. Or, that we should take a vacation where we'd be putting money into the travel and tourism industries in the US. But the other side of me knows that these are uncertain times. Either of us could lose our job, so we should save our money in the event of that unfortunate potential. But by acting wisely and saving our money, we are not helping to stimulate the economy, which is the purpose of the goverment checks.
Maybe you see why I feel conflicted. What do YOU think?
Crush du Jour: Joseph Fiennes
