I am currently working with a unit of The Family International in New Delhi, India. I am 23 years old, married, and have 2 sons ages 3 and 1 years. At this time I am trying to raise much-needed financial and material support for the Tsunami relief work we are doing. We have a team down in Tamil Nadu – the south of India - helping those who have lost everything. To think that at a time of international calamity like this all some people have to do with their lives is slander the rest of us who are trying to make a positive difference in society makes me furious. I can hardly believe it is happening.

I extend my heartfelt condolences towards the families of those whose loved ones’ lives met such sad and untimely ends. This is a tragedy that should not have happened, and yet there seem to be people who are not that bothered by it. That is weird, man. You are weird if news of the taking of a human life does not upset or sadden you deeply. The Bible, respected by millions of Christians and non-Christians alike says: “by their fruits you will know them”. Now, translate that any way you like, but to me that means if you are making death threats and worse, carrying them out, then what the hell is wrong with you as a person? That may be a Bible-based fact, but I believe it is pretty universal, and I don’t think I would have trouble with people agreeing with me on that score. If you are saying rotten things, it shows that there is something seriously wrong with you. Blame it on who you like, but the bottom line is this: each person is responsible for his or her actions, period. How you can excuse murder I just don’t know. God help you if you do.

I have 2 children, and the organization I belong to requires me to not allow people like that near my kids, thank God. That is one good safeguard for keeping them from abuse of any kind, which as we all know is becoming more and more common in the world at large these days. As well, I am required to have at least one hour of quality family time at least 5 times per week, as well as a minimum of 2 family-only days each month. This is apart from all the other time I spend with them throughout the day. Tell me an organization or company that does that. In our work here in Delhi, we impart corporate training for high-level executives. Anyone who knows senior level execs knows that usually they don’t have time for anything else except their work. Things that generally tend to suffer are things like their marriages, relationship with their kids, health, stress overloads and more. I am so glad for these minimum requirements focusing on parenting in The Family.

The Family focuses on home schooling. I just wish the parents of the victims of the Columbine High School massacre and victims in scores of other related incidents over the past years had the chance to know about home schooling. Their kids may very well still have been here today if they did. I for one was home schooled my entire life, being that I was raised in The Family. I now see that it has given me an edge in my interactions over those who would be considered my counterparts in other companies, organizations or institutions. I want to give my children that opportunity and privilege. Home schooling also allows freedom enough in the schedule to not only match or exceed standard grading systems, but also to focus on what I feel is as important if not more so. That is life-skills. A common complaint I personally hear from managers and position-holding businessmen is that they can’t find enough of the right people to hire. If you’re a large company and say you want to hire a new head for your marketing department, you won’t have a dearth of applications. However, finding someone honest is quite another feat. So is finding someone who is a good people person, someone who is not a pervert or lazy or will get violent. Or someone who takes the right amount of imitative, knows how to motivate his team, won’t sell out your secrets to your competition, is a proper representation of your standards, and on the list goes.

Come and see my home-schooling setup. It offers my kids education personally tailored to their needs, in all major subjects and many additional ones, taught by teachers who are personally concerned about my kids’ well-being, who I personally know. My children are allowed to develop at a pace they are comfortable with. It takes effort, planning, energy and a special kind of person to invest that kind of time into your kids’ future. That is an effort I don’t think twice about making because I want the best for them. I’ll make that effort any day when compared to putting them in a private or public school situation. Many people are probably not ready to invest that much. They would rather earn lots of money. That is so sad. Sometimes I feel that putting your kids in a public or private school can be a bit of a cop-out. Children are today’s investment and tomorrow’s dividends. You might want to consider home schooling for your own children. Do some research and make an educated decision on the matter.

I read a t-shirt once that said, “Don’t be so open-minded that your brains fall out”. Well, in all their efforts to be so open minded, those that fight against us seem to be pretty closed-minded about just letting us live our own lives. I mean, the way I see it is do whatever you want man, as long as you’re not breaking the law. I don’t promise I will agree with you, but hey, all my friends in and out of The Family have ideas and ways of doing things that I don’t necessarily agree with. But we’re still friends. On the other hand, if one of my friends says that he is planning on cutting someone’s throat, well, that is about where I draw the line in being friends with that person. He may tell me I’m not open minded enough, but I would say to him to take his so-called open-minded trip and shove it up his ass. I mean how far are you going to take this open-minded thing anyway? For God’s sake, leave us alone and go do something productive. Go and live your life, and let us do the same, if you can avoid legal prosecution for your death threats and obviously unfounded malicious lies. I mean it’s got to be illegal somewhere to threaten to cut someone’s throat, as well as to condone when it is done.

Let me get back to finding out how much that fiberglass boat and net cost, and see if we cant get someone to sponsor some and get this village that was destroyed by the Tsunami back on its feet. If you would like to help us in our efforts, get in touch with us. May God have mercy on the rest of you, and may the Judge not.

Asaph David Maurer is second generation member of the Family International.