Politics Only Occasionally

Politics Only Occasionally

Jesus was crucified because in part he railed against the political system of his time and yet He adeptly functioned within it until God’s appointed hour.

The Pharisees sent their disciples to Jesus. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" "Caesar's," they replied. Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away."
(Matthew 15:15-22)

I think this kind of sums it all up. Jesus doesn’t call Caesar names; Caesar isn’t painted as the Devil, Hitler, Attila the Hun, Stalin, a Socialist or Communist. Caesar is painted as simply a man, Caesar, and as such what is his, is his.

Why then in our day is there such hate, animosity and treachery? Why have so many of us bought into the un-qualified, un-quantified prattle and rattle on the air waves? What on Earth would possess tens if not hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom claim to believe; tune in daily to either television, the Internet or radio to listen to a group of folks talk in highly rhetorical terms that lack true ideas, true insight and dare I say truth?

Any true believer by the very nature of following the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, God incarnate, should when this kind of stuff starts whether it is in media or in person, RUN, not walk to the nearest door. I might point out too that it DOES NOT MATTER FROM WHICH SIDE OF THE AISLE THE NOISE IS COMING FROM…RUN.

Yet, we don’t, we forget. What is Jesus' greatest commission and commandment?

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (NIV, Mark 12:28-31).

I say participate in the process, vote, read, listen but don’t become consumed with politics and the partisan chaff; no good can come of it. Each and every side and facet has made their mission the verbal annihilation of the other side. Unfortunately many who are inundated with this daily rattle and prattle don’t know how to draw the line between language, hurt speak and actually hurting and harming others. The purveyors of “entertainment” that feed this frenzy laugh; they laugh all the way to the ad generated revenue bank.

I believe that the worst thing to happen to our society recently is the 24 hour news cycle. When we relied on the printed word, long contemplated and judicious thought had to go into what actually got typeset; sure there was prattle and rattle; but a lot less of it and it took us much longer to consume it. With the advent of 86,400 seconds per day to fill up with “something,” little if any thought needs go into the process. Truthfully in most typical days there isn’t even 3600 seconds/1 hour to “true” news. How then can we fill up a full day? We can’t! The media conglomerates and entertainment moguls must find SOMETHING to fill their valuable air time lest they not make money; and often what they find is dissent and hostility, the dissection and regurgitation of the most infinitesimal mish mash that may or may not be important and much of this disguised as “NEWS” when it is in fact “ANALYSIS” and “COMMENTARY.”

In a word, a final word or two…turn off the television, turn off the radio, turn off the computer and go serve your fellow man.

A Return to Traditional American Values?

A Return to Traditional American Values?

EVENT DESCRIPTION--- (from Glenn Beck .com)
Throughout history America has seen many great leaders and noteworthy citizens change her course. It is through their personal virtues and by their example that we are able to live as a free people. On August 28, come celebrate America by honoring our heroes, our heritage and our future.

Join the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and many more for this non-political event that pays tribute to America’s service personnel and other upstanding citizens who embody our nation’s founding principles of integrity, truth and honor.

Our freedom is possible only if we remain virtuous. Help us restore the values that founded this great nation. On August, 28th, come join us in our pledge to restore honor at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.

Yesterday on the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream speech,” there was a rally at the Lincoln Memorial sponsored by conservative entertainer Glenn Beck. The purpose of this rally was to champion a return to traditional American values and restoring honor in the United States. All of this left me wondering exactly what traditional American values are and if all of those traditional American values were worthy of returning to.

On an extreme level and in much of the United States for a long period of time; the ownership of another human being was a much accepted practice; slavery in and of itself isn’t a value per se, but the practice of accepted abuse, defilement and dehumanization was. I don’t imagine that any in attendance at this rally would propose bringing those values back but given how reactionary some folks on the right and left can be and how knee jerk and unenlightened some thought processes can be perhaps clarification of what the rally was about should have been articulated before hand. A couple from Florida was interviewed at the rally and they equate folks who aren’t working and collecting assistance to animals in a zoo. Hmmm, a de facto rationalization or VALUE of slavery was equating slaves to...animals. Was this honorable?

On an extreme level and in much of the United States for a long period of time; the theft of land from indigenous folks was a generally accepted behavior. Theft isn’t a value, it is a behavior but the generally accepted abuse, defilement and dehumanization of the Native American peoples would be considered an accepted value at the time. Now I am certainly not saying that those at the rally or those sponsoring the rally propose theft from others or abusing others, but clear articulation of purpose is required. For example a man named Don Jellema traveled from South Dakota for the rally, this man is concerned about immigration and a system of commerce that needs much LESS regulation. Is this honorable? Let me clarify.

Umm, ok simplistically less regulation works, but Jellema needs to understand that because there is so LITTLE regulation his 99 cent Lettuce is born on the backs of cheap, cheap, cheap migrant labor which equates to abject slavery and really involves stealing from others. Theft of dignity; is it dignified to leave one’s home, travel by night, sneak across the border and live a life in the shadows while performing manual labor for all but slave wages? Is this a traditional American value? Looking long and hard at our history perhaps yes it is but is this honorable?

In Salem at about 1692 neighbors vilified neighbors to the point of proclaiming witchery and then burning at the stake, drowning, and imprisonment without due process. Of course none of these are values; they are behaviors, which lead to value thinking. Thinking that because of some petty difference between oneself and one’s neighbor that the neighbor could be denounced, tried and killed, the value is in the thought that a neighbor is NOT valued. Is this a traditional value that we want to return to?

When I listen to the rhetoric from the podium and endless notes to turn back to God and honor, I understand and agree with those assertions; but I have to point out that our founding fathers and slave owners believed in God. They saw NOTHING wrong with their behaviors and VALUES. Similarly those who stole from the Native Americans believed in God, but they saw NOTHING wrong with stealing from the indigenous people, dehumanizing them and relegating them to “reservations.” The same is true of those who indicted at Salem.

So it is easy for me to sit here and tippitey tap out my thoughts, without offering a solution to any and all of this. In watching the news and reading the news Beck’s crowd was by appearance white and affluent. These folks had the means to in some cases pay $300 to bus ride from South Dakota to DC. To use a tax funded interstate transit system, tax funded water systems along the way, transported by fossil fueled buses powered by petroleum shipped in to the US through tax funded ports, fed by farmers subsidized by tax; clearly they have benefited from our system. Do they recognize to what extent?

Matthew 25: 35-40 "‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ "

AND...if we won’t do this voluntarily and individually, and WE DON’T then we must do this collectively. It is honorable to be gracious and charitable. It is honorable to look to our past and recognize GREAT acts by human beings. It is also honorable to look at those human beings with a realistic eye, they were human, fallible and driven by thought values of their times. Our goal, our charge is to be driven by thought values of OUR time and OUR circumstances. Look to the past for lessons but reason our own destiny.

God is God

God is God and God’s love for humanity is endless, limitless and eternal, otherwise the gift of Christ is diminished. I just finished reading an interview with Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church, the interview was in the Huffington Post. Fred is the man whose followers picket funerals with signs and pictures proclaiming that God hates fags, America, soldiers and anything else that bleeps across Fred’s radar. Side bar, the congregation is made of Fred’s family so it is very easy for him to preach to the choir; he has I dare say a very captive and damaged audience.

The Bible is a love story between God and humanity. Yes there are stories of anger and violence; but after each such episode there is often love, hope, compassion and redemption. Fred and his followers miss this, God is God; they miss this concept so eloquently illustrated by Carlton Pearson in The Gospel of Inclusion. “If we are being saved from God’s punishment, and if God’s punishment is Hell, then both God and Hell are one in the same. Who should we fear the devil and Hell, or the God who created both?

Thinking about this can make your head spin and dare I say that typically those with a fundamental bend, like Fred don’t think about this. Fred and his views and his hate are scary to be sure; though, my belief is those who are less vitriolic are much more dangerous and scary. Those who paint God as angry, vengeful and dare I say it, spiteful miss Calvary. God did not come for the saved, the reconciled, God came for the sinner; all of us, because none of us are sinless. None of us are always reconciled. Don’t miss me here, I’m not indicting like Fred and his lot, I’m pointing out our humanity, especially my own. This does NOT make us bad people, even those who are NOT followers of Christ. It makes us what we are, human and removed from God since the fall in the garden. We all sin, daily, every day and Christ paid for those sins. End of story, we are redeemed.

So what do we do with Fred and people like him? What do we do with the barrage of hate speak and hate action that we are assaulted with daily, in newspapers, on fair and balanced news channels, in headlines, on our roadways, in markets and in every sector of our society? How do we cope with preachers in the pulpit who spew venom, damnation and hate? Hard as it is, difficult as it may be, we do what God expects us to do, what God calls us to do, what God demands us to do; we love them.

We recognize that they don’t or can’t see the light of God in us but in return we see the light of God in them. God loves all of his children whether or not those children love one another or God. This higher calling to humans is difficult and testing. Our human nature leads us naturally to greet hate with hate, anger with anger and vengeance with vengeance.

Hard as it might be when we are assaulted, we must turn the other cheek both literally and metaphorically, if we don’t then we debase ourselves. If we don’t seek the light of God in others; then like the hater we become the embodiment of hate, like the abuser the embodiment of abuse, like the killer the embodiment of murder. We must seek to recognize that people aren’t bad, behavior is bad, situations are bad, circumstances are bad; but people, humanity created in God’s image are NOT bad and no man or woman or child no matter what their circumstances are beyond redemption. We must come to know that it is however impossible to lead another to redemption by shouting them down, demeaning them, indicting them or vilifying them. Those actions seek simply to drive the unredeemed further from the loving care of God.

Bocci observations

On Friday evening I met my group of very close friends at Bocci here in Durham NC. Here is the web site for Bocci, http://www.bocciitalian.com The food was wonderful, the conversation scintillating and the weather on the patio warm but not over powering.

As we dined and talked I was struck by what a difference forty years can make in a society and culture. When I was a child and if we happened to go out to eat, which wasn't often at all, we simply didn't have the extra income or time; I was expected to stay seated at the table with my parents and demonstrate good table manners and not impose on any one for any reason especially Larry and Eleanor, my parents.

My brother and I were not permitted to run around the restaurant or to simply "do our own thing." Whilst sitting in Bocci, there were several tables populated by families with younger children. All of these tables bar none allowed their offspring to, well, run a muck. One table in particular found the fact that the young ladies with them could for reasons unknown to me, strip down the decorative Magnolias in the courtyard at the restaurant. These children repeatedly ventured to the shrubs and all but assaulted them, denuding the lower branches of the bushes and depositing the leaves on the family dining table.

In fact one adult even arose from her seat to help the little princesses in their plunder of the bushes. What I find amazing is that none of the adults, presumably parents, at the table found anything wrong with the destruction of another persons property. In fact NO ONE SAID ONE THING TO CORRECT THIS ABHORRENT behavior. Their wine, their food, their conversation was simply too important to pay attention to THEIR CHILDREN except to aid and abet after the destruction was already out of hand.

Of course I could write a novella about the little boys "playing Bocci," and where one of the large game balls ended up sailing across the dining patio and went crashing into the building with an ear splitting crack...but alas that is a different story. Those parents...on cloud nine too.

Which leads me to this...in fifteen years when these girls and boys are at driving age will they be part of the maniacal horde of tailgating, texting, cut you off to get there first drivers who lack any and all common decency? Will these children grow up to be the toss your litter on the ground because someone else will deal with it generation of socially inept barbarians? Will these and other children grow up to have the attention span of a gnat that needs constant outside entertainment to feel engaged? I sure hope not, but I can't help but wonder and to some extent be afraid.

A Mosque at the World Trade Center

Psalm 145:8-9
The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love
The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.

Wow, what a fire storm over a building and community center at Ground Zero; the storm rages all the way to the White House and poses a difficult lesson and decision. I understand the hurt, agony, pain and anger of those opposed. I appreciate that some would want the ground at the spot to remain hollowed and the "enemy" kept away.

When an adversary is denied, slighted, pursued, marginalized or persecuted; or even if they FEEL persecuted then they are emboldened. Hard as it is; we must graciously allow those with whom we disagree to make their decisions even if those decisions lack wisdom and common sense. When we allow ourselves to be consumed with hate and anger then we diminish ourselves to the level of those that hijacked and flew planes into the towers and inflicted grievous pain and suffering on so many. Hard as it is we must find a way to dig deep and forgive or else we become consumed.

One of the most difficult lessons to learn and abide is God's unfailing love for us; all of US, even those of us who may not even know Him. When the hater hates he becomes hate and ultimately hates himself. Look to any number of despots throughout history. Look at what they became as they inflicted abuse on others; examine the life of Stalin; how warped he was, how fundamentally damaged her was, how in the end when he fell sick his brokenness killed him, he had a stroke and his minions were afraid to open his bedroom door. Look at those in South Africa during apartheid and what they became. Look at Idi Amin and where his life took him. Sadly, look at those folk who angrily proclaim the Gospel and yet rant about a vengeful angry God; look at how hard their hearts are, how broken they are, how dare I say it...how sad they are. Is this what God wants for us?

The Psalm says slow to anger, steadfast in love; Genesis says we are made in God's image, Christ was sent as our model, therefore we are called to be steadfast in love. Sometimes that steadfastness requires that we sacrifice and indeed make the ultimate sacrifice, better we martyr ourselves than make a martyr of an enemy; you see a martyr never dies and is impossible to defeat, but an enemy or adversary who is loved is defeated by that very love.

Love, Grace and Heaven

Matthew 22:36 Jesus said to him, ’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”

I had lunch with a friend a few weeks ago to talk about God. I still feel out of my element when asked to do so one on one. I am fine in front of a crowd, I can pray off the cuff at church, but when the rubber hits the road and I sit one on one. I worry, will I say the wrong thing, will I scare them off, will I come across as nuts, angry, vengeful, wild eyed? My prayer always is please God, let me come across as you would.

This friend had been "hammered" by the Old Testament. Yes, there are great, timeless and most relevant lessons in the Old Testament but as a follower of Christ I really have to go to the new and I have to go to Matthew. In God's own words through Christ we are given new commandments. These make all of it simple, we don't have to worry about blended fabrics, shell fish, milk and meat, hair, etc. we have to worry about two things. Loving God; that means spending time with God, praying to God, thinking aobut God and loving our neighbors. That means exactly what it says and loving ourselves. In theory these lines are "simple," in reality they are difficult and testing.

Involved in all of this loving is a remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice. In remebrance of that act we are called to feed the hungry, house the homeless, to be kind to others, to remember and serve those in pain, to remember those in joy and to sacrifice our own needs, wants and desires. Don't get me wrong, this is not a plea for work's righteousness, I don't buy that; there is one path to Heaven and that is Christ and through him God's grace, we can't work our way in. You see by God's kindness we are afforded Heaven and that model of His grace is how we are called to live. It is after all....the loving thing to do.

The Road To....Is Paved With

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN): “If Walker says that Proposition 8 in California does not survive the rational basis test, then we need to ask ourselves this question, is he implying then that the majority of California voters who voted for this measure themselves aren’t rational when they took this vote on Proposition 8?“

The road to....is paved with good intentions and irrational thought. Perhaps Ms. Bachmann needs a bit of a civics lesson here. Frankly, I don’t have much of an opinion on the whole uproar over marriage, my live and let live attitudes are pretty much, if two people love one another, are committed to one another and will care for one another then they should be able to marry or civil union or whatever and they should be afforded the same rights and RESPONSIBILITIES as the broader society. Anyhow...back to Ms. Michele and the civics lesson.

By her statement above, I deduce that this duly elected official from Minnesota believes that “we the people” live in a democracy. Majority make a decision and the rest of the folk then must live with that decision without recourse. Well, we live in a republic, majority decide, courts review and insure that majority isn’t denying rights in that majority decision; and if rights are somehow abridged then courts can over turn decision. Sadly, the folk that typically get hung out to dry are the judges; they get accused of activism simply by following or interpreting the law. Ironically in this case a judge appointed by a conservative president. This makes the howling from the right even more interesting and profound.

Ok, so back on track. Consider what MIGHT happen without judicial review or republican ideals...notice the small (r). A majority elect a man with xenophobic tendencies. He wants to build a society-country; strong and vibrant, wealthy, vital and secure in identity. In office without review he passes with impunity irrational laws which aren’t subjected to review; these laws take away basic civil and property rights of the minority within this particular society. The citizenry which elected this leader are helpless after a time to rein him in, the laws become more draconian, more minorities are targeted, whether they be civil minorities like communists or liberals or free thinkers or ethnic minorities like Jews and Gypsies or religious minorities like Jews, Catholics, Lutherans, Jehovah’s Witnesses or moral minorities like gays and lesbians. See what well intentioned voters wrought? They may have even been rational when they cast their votes but the outcome was far from rational and after awhile completely insane.

I’m not saying that we’re headed in the direction of Nazi Germany or Stalinist Soviet Union; I am saying that yes, voters ARE allowed to make IRRATIONAL decisions and then those decisions are subject to judicial review; holding those decisions up to the Constitution to determine of the majority are attempting to abridge the rights of the minority. Maybe Michele should remember this. Maybe the voters in Minnesota should remember this too the next time they vote.

Love not the World

Yesterday I saw my ex. He didn't see me. I was glad for that. He was with his ex from before me. Seeing the two of them set off a whole bunch of anxiety in me. My ex's ex, doesn't have a career, he doesn't have much of a job, he's much older than we are, he's been somewhat home bound for 20+ years and my ex has all but supported him emotionally, understandably and financially, not so much.

I left the CVS after seeing them with all of those five year old questions bubbling up. Why didn't it work with me? Why are they back together? What is it that draws them back together? Why does my ex have nothing to do with me? When he left, he left, no call, no look back, no contact no nothing. Yet with the ex ex there is still relationship, there is still time together, there are still weekends at Myrtle Beach, perhaps, perhaps too evenings here in Durham and obviously trips to CVS.

When my ex left I had to come to terms with the fact that due to age etc. that the end for me and romance, companionship of an intimate source was over and that was tough. I'm beyond that now, life I know is rich, full of blessing, full of great people and joys, yet still I question.