And, I can hear the right wing nut-jobs right now: "You heathen! You need to repent! You're going to burn eternally if you don't!"
No, I'm not--but I am going to finish your sentence for you: ".. You're going to burn eternally if you don't--UNLESS YOU TURN AND BELIEVE THE NARROW BELIEF THAT I AND MY THRONG BELIEVE! AND WE'RE RIGHT, DAMMIT!"
Well, maybe not the dammit. But I think you get the picture.
This was all prompted by a bumper sticker I saw today, which read:
"Dear God: Why do we allow such violence in our schools?"
"Dear Concerned Student: I'm not allowed in schools."
As I finished reading this and was backing my vehicle out of the parking lot, all I could think is: this person's God is too small to be put in a box like that. And, as a fellow Christian, it infuriated me.
I've written about this before, but in case you're new to my blogosphere, I'll review. I am a Christian. I was baptized in the Lutheran Church. I was confirmed in the Lutheran Church. I currently attend a Methodist Church with my wife and daughter. So, I'm not anti-Christian at all. I believe in Jesus Christ as my personal savior, and I also believe that Christ will draw each individual near in His own way at His right time, and not mine.
Which brings me to my point in all of this: the veiled message in that bumper sticker, to me, was this: since this person believed God is not in our schools, violence happens. And the indirect veil of that bumper sticker, it seems, is that God is not allowed in school because prayer and Christianity as religion is not allowed in school. And, to both of those veils, I shine a light that says one word: poppycock.
I'll back it up with three points. First, since when did we, the CREATION, have the power to keep Him, THE CREATOR, out of our schools? He's bigger than that, and He's not going to be bound by any of man's laws or edicts. That's putting God in a box, and He's showed us time and time again what the penalty for that is (now's the time for one to REALLY know one's history).
Secondly, last I checked, there's no Muslim prayer, Hindu prayer, or Buddist prayer--or any other faith's prayers allowed in school either--at least in this country. And, reiterating a point I made in a previous entry, for those Christians that embrace "The Golden Rule"--you know--"Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You", consider this: if this was a predominantly Islamic country, would you want the schools forcing you to pray an Islamic prayer? Certainly not. You'd take your case to the school board or even hire and attorney and take the district to court. Well, again, embracing "The Golden Rule"--isn't forcing Americans of other faiths to pray a Christian prayer in school a violation of said Golden Rule? Of course it is, and that's what makes mandated and/or forced prayer of any faith in public schools wrong.
And, third, and this is the hardest one to fathom because it's still somewhat taboo in our society, but it's nonetheless true: violence happens everywhere--even in places where there's an abundance of prayer and practice of any faith. How about churches where children have been molested? Where there's been documented adultery? Where there's been arson and crosses burned? What about individual homes with the same aforementioned scenarios? Why don't we talk about those kind of situations as much as we talk about God in schools? Why don't I see bumper stickers like that as I'm backing out of the parking lot? It seems to me they all fall under the same umbrella: we as man are not greater than God, and His in finiteness is so far beyond our understanding right now that sometimes all we have to go on is our faith, and because He is infinite and we are not, it's not our place to tell God what to do. Therefore, we don't have the power nor the place to keep God out of schools--no matter what kind of violence makes the news.
And one more thing: I prayed every day I was in school. I did it on my own--silently. It didn't take somebody reading one over the loud speaker. I think we as Christians would do better at proclaiming the love of Christ if we'd wear our faith on our hearts and not on our sleeves.
Or our bumper stickers.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Recession Silver Lining? You Betcha!
Yes, this "Great Recession" reminds all of us of something we don't like to talk about--but must!
And, it's a truth that Congress, Hollywood, and Madison Avenue doesn't want you to think about:
IMAGE IS NOTHING!
That's right. And, it's hard for me to say that seeing as how I've spent the last 21-years of my professional life in a business that's built up on style over substance. But that doesn't make it any less true.
And, the proof is all around us: a struggling financial sector, the health care reform controversy (-ies), Washington politics, unemployment, and debt out of this nation's collective ass. And, the result of seeing what a fat, lazy nation we've become is the fruit of "image is everything".
Proof? Think back before this time last year, the stock market was soaring above 14,000, housing prices were booming, and hardly anybody had heard of Bernie Madoff except those who were collecting nice checks from what "looked like" a track record of great deals (minus the warnings from those who weren't buying Bernie's image). And, every single thing I just mentioned was nothing but "image"--and back in late August of 2008, **image was everything**.
And, ever since? My, oh my, what a lie! And, you know, it's been a flaming hayride down the hill pretty much ever since. And, to think--some of the very same folks who perpetuated **the lie** are some of the same people some are counting on to lead us out of this mess. And, I call that the residuals of **the lie**.
But, give "The Great Recession" its due-- it did strip away **the lie**. A-I-G was the first domino, and then they all started to fall down, and we got to see the ugly truth: greed run amok in the financial sector, and Washington politicians caught with their pants down covering for their buddies. But, I'm not done, and this is the part that's going to hurt: a good chunk of the responsibility falls on a fat, lazy general public that has a collective debt problem of its own that it doesn't want to deal with (see massive credit card debt, financed consumer items that go down in value like autos, big-screen TVs, boats, personal watercraft and clothes--and that's just the start)--all in the name of fitting the "image" of being rich--when in reality, they're broke. Thus, more perpetuation of **the lie**. And now, Madison Avenue is paying the price because said fat, lazy public--and even those who aren't part of hte fat & lazy horde--can't afford to finance and/or support **the lie** right now.
Yes, everything has been exposed. The light has been shed. Image is nothing right now, and we'd be better off as a nation if we'd quit buying into **the lie**. I know, it's hard. But what in life has been worth anything that's been really easy? Not very much, and this is no different. It's called living within our means. And when we, the public start doing it, perhaps our public servants that we elect will start doing the same--believe me, they fear/worship public opinion. And, when the public wises us, they'd do well to do the same. But if the public doesn't, our elected representatives are going to be nothing but a reflection of us--and this recession has done just that.
But now, it's a question of whether all of us are willing to do our part of continuing to shine the light on **the lie** of "Image is Everything"? That's something that each individual will have to reflect on personally--if they reflect at all.
And, it's a truth that Congress, Hollywood, and Madison Avenue doesn't want you to think about:
IMAGE IS NOTHING!
That's right. And, it's hard for me to say that seeing as how I've spent the last 21-years of my professional life in a business that's built up on style over substance. But that doesn't make it any less true.
And, the proof is all around us: a struggling financial sector, the health care reform controversy (-ies), Washington politics, unemployment, and debt out of this nation's collective ass. And, the result of seeing what a fat, lazy nation we've become is the fruit of "image is everything".
Proof? Think back before this time last year, the stock market was soaring above 14,000, housing prices were booming, and hardly anybody had heard of Bernie Madoff except those who were collecting nice checks from what "looked like" a track record of great deals (minus the warnings from those who weren't buying Bernie's image). And, every single thing I just mentioned was nothing but "image"--and back in late August of 2008, **image was everything**.
And, ever since? My, oh my, what a lie! And, you know, it's been a flaming hayride down the hill pretty much ever since. And, to think--some of the very same folks who perpetuated **the lie** are some of the same people some are counting on to lead us out of this mess. And, I call that the residuals of **the lie**.
But, give "The Great Recession" its due-- it did strip away **the lie**. A-I-G was the first domino, and then they all started to fall down, and we got to see the ugly truth: greed run amok in the financial sector, and Washington politicians caught with their pants down covering for their buddies. But, I'm not done, and this is the part that's going to hurt: a good chunk of the responsibility falls on a fat, lazy general public that has a collective debt problem of its own that it doesn't want to deal with (see massive credit card debt, financed consumer items that go down in value like autos, big-screen TVs, boats, personal watercraft and clothes--and that's just the start)--all in the name of fitting the "image" of being rich--when in reality, they're broke. Thus, more perpetuation of **the lie**. And now, Madison Avenue is paying the price because said fat, lazy public--and even those who aren't part of hte fat & lazy horde--can't afford to finance and/or support **the lie** right now.
Yes, everything has been exposed. The light has been shed. Image is nothing right now, and we'd be better off as a nation if we'd quit buying into **the lie**. I know, it's hard. But what in life has been worth anything that's been really easy? Not very much, and this is no different. It's called living within our means. And when we, the public start doing it, perhaps our public servants that we elect will start doing the same--believe me, they fear/worship public opinion. And, when the public wises us, they'd do well to do the same. But if the public doesn't, our elected representatives are going to be nothing but a reflection of us--and this recession has done just that.
But now, it's a question of whether all of us are willing to do our part of continuing to shine the light on **the lie** of "Image is Everything"? That's something that each individual will have to reflect on personally--if they reflect at all.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
A New Beginning--from "DSG" to "VE Mod".
It all started with sports, and now it's become "mod".
You want to know what "mod" stands for?
Keep going..
Moderate.
That's right, moderate--the voice in American politics that's being lost in favor of the polar voices of the far right--aka "right wing nutjobs", and the far left "bleeding heart liberals"--and I for one am leading the charge to get the moderate voice back up on the state of the American political theater--and this new blog is my start.
And, it's about time--because there's SO MUCH B.S. being floated out there by both extremes. And I think there are enough moderates out there that have had just about enough--no, make that MORE than enough of that kind of B.S., but perhaps need a voice of reason to help nudge them along. Well, I want to be one of those voices.
I must tell you, though, this NEVER occurred to me when I started my original blog (dsgvince). But, like all good (and some bad) things, it started to morph into this: discussion of hot-button social issues that need civil & intelligent debate. And guess what? Neither the far right nor far left seem to want any part of civil & intelligent debate. All either side wants is to shove its narrow little point of view down our collective throat and make us like it--all because they think they're right. Well, I got news for both of you: you ain't shoving your shit down my throat.
However, as you also saw in "dsgvince", I'll also stand by ground against what I see as a fat, lazy general public that doesn't seem to know what it wants--but wants it right away. I abhor laziness above all else. Not voting is basically lazy. Not researching the claims of the far-rigth and far-left is basically lazy. There's a lot to be tackled on the battlefield that's become American politics and social issues, and this is as good of a place to start as any.
However, I can't go on without holding one other entity accountable, and that entity is me. I'll be doing my fair share of reading, checking and cross-checking facts to make sure that my opinions and observations have solid backing. Admittedly, that's my media background talking, but it's sound and time-tested. And, it works. Unlike the dogma of the far-right and far-left.
So, welcome to the blogosphere's version of the old board game "Stratego". Let's let the civil & intelligent debate begin!
You want to know what "mod" stands for?
Keep going..
Moderate.
That's right, moderate--the voice in American politics that's being lost in favor of the polar voices of the far right--aka "right wing nutjobs", and the far left "bleeding heart liberals"--and I for one am leading the charge to get the moderate voice back up on the state of the American political theater--and this new blog is my start.
And, it's about time--because there's SO MUCH B.S. being floated out there by both extremes. And I think there are enough moderates out there that have had just about enough--no, make that MORE than enough of that kind of B.S., but perhaps need a voice of reason to help nudge them along. Well, I want to be one of those voices.
I must tell you, though, this NEVER occurred to me when I started my original blog (dsgvince). But, like all good (and some bad) things, it started to morph into this: discussion of hot-button social issues that need civil & intelligent debate. And guess what? Neither the far right nor far left seem to want any part of civil & intelligent debate. All either side wants is to shove its narrow little point of view down our collective throat and make us like it--all because they think they're right. Well, I got news for both of you: you ain't shoving your shit down my throat.
However, as you also saw in "dsgvince", I'll also stand by ground against what I see as a fat, lazy general public that doesn't seem to know what it wants--but wants it right away. I abhor laziness above all else. Not voting is basically lazy. Not researching the claims of the far-rigth and far-left is basically lazy. There's a lot to be tackled on the battlefield that's become American politics and social issues, and this is as good of a place to start as any.
However, I can't go on without holding one other entity accountable, and that entity is me. I'll be doing my fair share of reading, checking and cross-checking facts to make sure that my opinions and observations have solid backing. Admittedly, that's my media background talking, but it's sound and time-tested. And, it works. Unlike the dogma of the far-right and far-left.
So, welcome to the blogosphere's version of the old board game "Stratego". Let's let the civil & intelligent debate begin!
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