Jaxon Lee Hansen: A little boy with big struggles

“Do I sound like a snake?” Jaxon Hansen asked as he hissed a streaming “s” sound. 

“Now you try.  Heather says you have to make your teeth like this,” he instructed, using his mouth to show me the right position.  

Heather is Jaxon’s speech therapist, and Jaxon visits her at least once a week.  

At five years old, Jaxon’s favorite sport is baseball, he loves math problems and his favorite color is orange.  His wardrobe consists of basketball jerseys, jeans he’s constantly outgrowing and a leather jacket of which he’s extremely proud. Jaxon is a diehard fan of the Utah Utes and Toy Story, and his playroom is full of dinosaurs and racecars.  He won’t leave the house unless his brown hair is spiked like Daddy’s, and he’ll be the first to let you know how strong he’s gotten lately.  

At 46 inches, Jaxon is tall for his age.  Watching him shoot hoops in the backyard, chasing the rebounds every which way, one has to wonder if this kid ever runs out of energy.  

“Come shoot with me!” Jaxon called toward the house.  

It sounded a little more like “thoot” and “wif,” though.

Such sounds are a struggle to pronounce with a mouth under construction like Jaxon’s is.

Born with a unilateral cleft lip and pallet, Jaxon’s struggles are quite a bit larger than his bright character and enthusiasm let on.  

Traditional Love, or Just Love?

In the past few years, homosexuality has claimed a strong foothold in modern politics and media.  Personally, I never paid much attention to it until my best friend turned down the radio one day, looked over to me in the passenger seat, and said, "Lisa, I think you should know.... I like dudes." Since then, this issue has been very near to home for me, and my interest has grown a great deal.  

I know this video isn't exactly current, but I saw it for the first time when it popped up on my Facebook feed earlier this week.  During a public forum in the Iowa House of Representatives, this young man gives his very personal view of same-sex marriage from an insider's perspective.  I thought it impressionable enough to share.

The debate to legalize gay marriage has become more and more pressing in recent years, and the range of opinions is wide.  I've enlisted a few friends, who come from varying points on this range, to represent their views of the controversy.

Macklemore is Coming to Town

Northwest hip-hop.  Oh, how I miss home.  A center piece of the underground hip-hop movement, Seattle's music scene is unlike any other and its presence is deeply prominent in community culture.  With this comes a widespread appreciation for art, sincerity, and creativity.  However, this scene also embodies a culture of rebellion, sex, and drugs.  One of Seattle's most prided contemporary figures, Macklemore sees the darker side of such deep-rooted culture, and he realizes how great his influence as an iconic hip-hop artist can be.  He recognizes the power popular music holds over the decisions of teenagers and young adults.  Through his music, he strives to reveal the devastation that comes with violence and drugs, rather than glorifying it.  He's got too much integrity for that. Macklemore knows the profound effect his words have on his audience, and he uses them to positively impact society.  Because he understands that if anyone has the capacity to change culture, it's artists like him.  I think Macklemore has something very right here.

What if all contemporary icons recognized their capacity to inspire audiences towards art and sincerity and abandoned the commercialization of sex, drugs, and violence?

Here goes conviction...

I'm not a liberal.  Or a conservative.  I'm only slightly religious, but won't ever really shake sunday school morals.  I believe in loyalty, family, and art of every medium.  Oh, and coffee.  Above all, I believe in learning, and in never closing doors.  In the end, I'm still figuring it out.  But let's be honest... Aren't we all? 

Growing up, my parents were deep rooted Repubs.  I went through phases of passionately defending their opinions and then rejecting them on the same level.  Now, a college student three states away from home, my foremost objective is to find an entirely independent identity.  So I've been thinking a lot, discovering which aspects of society, and even humanity, are most important to me.  The first step is to shape an opinion, to take a position.  My new personal resolution is to no longer stand in the middle, because where's the integrity in that? And how can one possibly contribute to the world with no integrity? I'm not quite a Kantian, but I do agree when Kant pushes an individual to claim control of their own intrinsic property by deciding on a personal moral law.  With any true conviction, one must believe in this law enough to make it universal.  Okay, so maybe I am a Kantian.  


I won't claim to have any authority to shape universal law, but I will offer an explanation as to how I shape my own.  Hopefully, my words will help you do the same.