Liar

 

Do to some recent occurrences of unordinary events I have been forced to consider the anti drug/alcohol campaigns that have been floating around lately.  It has become blatantly aware to me that those leading these campaigns have a severed relationship with the intended audience and it has become detrimental to the cause that they are fighting for.  A prime example of this is the anti marijuana commercial in which a young girl’s dog speaks to his owner about drug use.  The dog informs the girl that he is in opposition of her smoking marijuana because it is coming between their relationship.  Before I go on I would like to make it clear that I have never used marijuana.  With that said, I would like to say that I fail to see the effectiveness of the commercial.  Although I am most likely outside the intended demographic of this commercial I was at one time, and I don’t think that I would have been turned away from smoking a joint if I thought my dog would be disappointed in me.  As comedian Doug Benson said, “If I thought there was a type of weed out there that would let me talk to animals, my weed intake would actually increase!  Apparently there’s “talking to animals” s*** out there and I’ve been smoking the “can’t find my keys” s***.”  My point in writing this is not to encourage young people to try all types of drugs.  My intention is to point out the holes in the systems that attempt to lie to children in order to keep them in line.  When these types of programs lie about marijuana or alcohol or anything, their credibility only lasts until that lie is revealed.  “They lied to me about marijuana, I’m sure they lied to me about cocaine.”  The only reason that marijuana has become a gateway drug is because we have made it one.  The only reason there is a counter culture of apathetic young people who are not motivated to move out of their parent’s basement is because we lied to them in an attempt to keep them out of harms way.  The point is when we lie to our young people we are lying to our future, we are lying to their and our dreams.  This isn’t about a joint and this isn’t about a glass of scotch, this is about being honest with people.  If you’re over 40 and you’re upset about how young people treat you, look at the way you treat them.  No wonder they’re pissed.  We’ve dealt them and hand of jokers and told them to keep quiet and now it’s coming back to bite us.  Be honest with people and maybe, just maybe, they’ll be honest with you.     

Patriotism

 

No longer will they pin patriotism upon this dead heart

I will join those of broken spirit

They will no longer appease my appetite for reform by this ribbon claiming that I am aiding the Tired, the Poor, the Huddled Masses

 

No longer will they pin patriotism upon this dead heart

This pin purges my heart of the blood of the greedy

I am bleeding out but I feel that bleeding in would be much worse

 

No longer will they pin patriotism upon this dead heart

We stand amongst a people of unclean lips but we have a chance

May we taste the coal but never forget the cold

 

No longer will they pin patriotism upon this dead heart

We will not fall behind the congregants seeking of another tongue

This one works just fine it the users who are wrong

 

No longer will they pin patriotism upon this dead heart

We will not be appeased, oppressed, enticed, or forgotten

We will be We in a way that can never be invisible

 

No longer will they pin patriotism upon this dead heart

Those who are weak will lead us

Those who need will be the ones by which we establish ourselves

 

No longer will they pin patriotism upon this dead heart

Or respect

Or money

Or Individuality

Or America

 

From now on we will pin Love upon our hearts

In the hope that once again our hearts will beat

May the rhythm of our hearts bring back to life our eyes that we may see not only what we’ve done, but what we can do

 

May this election be one for the Tired, Poor, and Huddled Masses

www.one.org

 

Children of Our Future

These are the Children of our future, may we follow in thier foot steps.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/content/education/chi-meeks-boycott-schools-websep04,0,6496470.story

08/25/08

Today I become a vegetarian…for 30 days. It is a trial of what I hope to become later on in my life. There are many reasons that I could give you that would be eloquent and inspiring but I will avoid those avenues. I will simply tell you that I want to be a vegetarian because believe that torture is wrong. I believe it should not be exercised on humans and it should not be exercised on animals. I would chose to eat the meat from an animal that was raised in an ethically sound way but I see that many processing plants are finding creative ways to deceive the buyer into believing that their animals lived a good life. So as a result I will not eat any meat… for 30 days. I have chosen to dedicate myself for 30 days first to this venture so that I will have a clear and definite finish point. Once I have reached that point and I have not become deathly ill, from lack of nutrition or what have you, I will most likely become a vegetarian for the better part of my life. Throughout these 30 days I hope to let you in on situations that this lifestyle has posed, or just insight that I have gained. This will certainly be an interesting experiment.

What You Get is What You Got

I recently had a conversation with my parents and our family friends about a video created by a man named Rob Bell.  The video is basically Bell delivering a powerful talk while illustrating it on a large marker board.  Through the talk he touches on varying subjects but comes back around to how the universe is built on spirituality.  He speaks about how there is no “spiritual life” and “real life” there is just life. 

During this talk he speaks on how sometimes the answers to some of the hardest questions are never clear cut, such topics as Creationism vs. Science, Humans Rights, etc.  Bell explains this by comparing it to three dimensional objects vs. two dimensional objects.  “A square is not a circle” says Bell, “And a circle will never be a square.”  But when one examines a cylinder from a two dimensional standpoint one first sees a square and then sees the cylinder turn and one eventually sees a circle.

While I was watching this video, with my parents, I understood this to mean that maybe the answer to Creationism vs. Science is that God can create anything God wishes; maybe God did it through evolution.  Well Bell concluded the video by saying that people who want to be a certain way can see whatever they wish.  If one wishes to be skeptical, there is plenty to be skeptical about.  If one whishes to be hopeful, there is plenty to be hopeful about. 

The reason I am writing this is because recently my parents and I were having a conversation with family friends of ours about various religious topics, our friends being Baptist were happy to oblige.  The conversation leaked on towards the topic of Creationism vs. Science.  “There is just no way that any of that bologna could be true!”  Says our friends, referring to the scientific end, “to me it’s just obvious that what the Bible tells us is true, no matter what they say.”  “YES!”  Exclaims my father, “and that’s exactly what this video is about,” pointing at Bell’s video.  My jaw dropped and I couldn’t say anything.  Then it came to me, “What you get is what you got.”  Whatever my parents wanted to hear from that video is what they got.

Some people have created their own reality.  It doesn’t what goes on around them they are going to see everything through their Billy Graham colored glasses.  But maybe it does matter what goes on around them.  It only means we have to do something extreme to get their attention.  Like get in the way of their normal lives like sitting in the streets congesting traffic, chaining ourselves in front of buildings, marching, rallying!  And they ask why we have to be so loud about it…    

Judaism & Christianity

After living with a dear friend who is Jewish I have gained an amazing perspective about the relationship between Judaism and Christianity.   These two faiths share a significant relationship but I feel that there are many estrangements found between them.  Many Christians today have received everything that they know, and everything they care to know, about Judaism from the New Testament’s perspective of the Pharisees.  Many Christians view Jews as people who are closed minded and only obey Torah because of the belief that God will love them more.   In the following I will explain what I believe Judaism has to offer the Christian faith.

                 I must begin with the starkest contrast that I find between Jewish and Christian belief, hell.  Ladies and gentlemen you can rest assured that the bulk of the Christian concept of hell did not derive from Judaism.  In fact this concept mostly derived from Zoroastrianism which is the belief in two opposing, equal forces constantly battling on earth over humans.  The Greeks also contributed with the belief of a nether region located beneath earth but, it is interesting to not that, this place is for all dead.  Ironically Judaism also shares the belief that all souls reside in the same place but in Judaism this place is Sheol and in this place you are united with every other soul.  I do not blame the early Christians for they view of hell that resides in the faith today.  It was necessary for the belief of demons and a place were demons resided, hell, when everyone was getting sick and one cannot explain why.  Now that we are a little more advanced there is no more need to believe in such a place.  Moral of the story: Christians, don’t be so quick to assume that your belief about hell is shared with Judaism.       

                 What if Jesus never meant to start a new religion? This is exactly what the apostle James believed. He also believed that Jesus’ teachings should be open to all but should be specific towards the Jewish faith.  Isn’t it odd then that Christians today claim that all people who don’t believe in Jesus are going to hell yet one of the founders of the faith would completely disagree?  I do believe that Jesus never meant to start a new religion but I don’t believe Christians are completely lost.  I do believe that the Christian faith should not be so much about what you believe but about what you do. Obviously James’ ideas were never truly adopted since he was silenced by Paul.  As they say, history is written by the winners and as a result, the winner, being Paul, got to write most of the New Testament.  Moral of the story: lay off the Jews, you were one meeting away from being one.   

                 Something else I find inspiring about Judaism is their devotion to knowledge, not only knowledge about the Hebrew Bible but knowledge in general.  I believe it is safe to say that many Christians today do not study the New Testament three times a day.  It is also safe to say that knowledge of it is not vital to becoming a Christian.  Depending on the denomination, one can convert and join a church without reading anything from the Bible.  What does this say about Christians?  I must say that Christianity is making a come back in this area and to explain I must share a personal story.  As I was purchasing some clothes from a store the woman working the cash register inquired about what I did.  After finding out that I was a religion major at a United Methodist university and intended to work in the United Methodist Conference, she asked, “So are you going to get you doctorate?”  A large smile swept across my face as she shared a story about a Methodist pastor that she knew who was extremely intelligent and in fact had a doctorate.  I do not know if I will try to obtain a doctorate but I am comforted to know that many of my future colleagues are.  Moral of the story: don’t be afraid to question and learn on your own. 

                 With all of this said one must be asking the question, “then why choose Christianity”   After much consideration I discovered that I must believe Christianity has something that others do not, which I do.  But I also believe that other religions have something Christianity is without, obviously.  In the end I believe that Christianity has the potential to offer the world what it is in desperate need of, Love.  I am not saying that other religions do not have Love as their foundation but I believe for our society it is most accessible from Christianity.  These are some things that Judaism has to offer Christianity but I believe the only way for our society to grow is to grow in Love.  Moral of the story: Love.         

Innocent Until Proven Guilty

Despite my constant denial and vain attempts to appear moderate I am with out a doubt what I would have called a year ago a “flaming liberal.” As a Christian pursuing religious studies, I hold a very liberal interpretation of the Bible and hold the same interpretation when it comes to politics. The position that I currently hold is a stark contrast to my position when I first arrived to this university which was what I affectionately call my This seems to be a normal event that happens with many college students and wouldn’t normally prove to be written about but there is something else that is thrown into the mix of the story.

I am in a long lasting relationship with someone who I grew up with in my home town but who presently attends a university much different than mine. The main difference between our universities is that where mine harbors the transition from conservative to liberal hers simply harbors conservative and allows students to remain in their ideology. This has proved to spark many debates between the two of must of which have ended with the two of us understanding something about where the other is coming from. But lately this has not been the case. A recent argument erupted when I mentioned that a Christian conservative organization claimed that it “informed” others about Islam but only distributed books that claimed that the religion harbored terrorism. This obviously angered her because she could view all the good that the organization was doing, i.e. the countless mission projects resulting in building shelters, churches and so forth. Was she ignoring the bad or was I ignoring the good? The answer to this question lies ahead.

Innocent until proven guilty is the ideology that the United States justice system is built upon. It states that if you are convicted of a crime the accusers must prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you committed the crime or you are free to go. But is this the way that our society really works? What I have discovered is that many of us deal out our sentence, innocent or guilty, along with our first impressions…and I am no different. I have done this repeatedly not only to people but to groups of people and organizations.

In my attempt to become a moderate, able to view both left and right sides of the fence, I have become a liberal, only siding with my fellow lefters and accusing the rights of stealing the lefters’ property. I cannot change the fact that I have a liberal interpretation of the Bible but in my attempt to be open minded I have actually closed my mind. I previously mentioned that I have become a “flaming liberal” but neglected to explain what ramifications this causes. A “flaming liberal” is one who views all conservatives as destroying our nation and what is wrong with society. The truth is that our society and our nation need liberal and conservative and moderate ideology in order to survive. For one side to claim that those on the other side of the fence or those seated on the fence are ruining the land is in fact idiotic and is in fact what I have been taking part of. My views have not changed only they way I see other’s views. I believe to claim that one has an open mind one must be able to be open to both ends of the political, Bilbilica, etc. spectrum.

Conservatives: Innocent until proven guilty
Liberals: Innocent until proven guilty
Moderates: Innocent until proven guilty

Southern Comfort

Last night as I sat on the couch of my parents’ luxurious two-story house I pondered what the rest of my night was going to look like. Just then I got a phone call from a number that I didn’t recognize. When I answered all I noticed was the thick southern draw and the elongation of the simple, “hey.” I responded as if I knew who it was but it was obvious to the caller that I had no idea, “this is Chad! Alex and I are hanging out and we were wondering if you wanted to do something.” It was two of my good friend from junior high that I hadn’t seen in a long while but had kept in semi-close contact with via facebook. “Yeah I want to do something!” I responded my mind racing of what they looked like now and what they had all been up to. The only thing I did know is that neither of them had gone to college and that they both had jobs that were…well blue collar. “Great we’ll pick you up in just a bit,” Chad said and I raced up stairs to change since I had not left the house all day and was still in my gym shorts. When they arrived I had no idea of what I was going to do or where I was going to go but I knew it was going to be different from my everyday experience.

As I opened the door with excitement written all over my face I found the same written all over theirs. Chad was decked out in his cowboy finest; a new pair of work boots, tight blue jeans, an old, camouflage, baseball cap, and a simple sweatshirt. Alex on the other hand wore the same clothes that I had always remembered hi m in; a hooded jacket, baggy jeans, and a vintage t-shirt. “Where do you want to go?” they asked. I didn’t care I just wanted to get out of the house. So we got in Alex’s truck and drove to new places that I have always been.
We came upon an arcade in a popular spot that I had passed many times but never been in. In the arcade we found “Buck Hunter,” an arcade game in which you actually have to shoot at the screen at deer and get points according to the size of the buck, a game which I had coined myself the looser of before we ever started. But in the midst of playing this game not only did I dominate but I found a new since of joy not only in the game but in a place that I had deemed too low for me to enter. Every time I passed the arcade I never wanted to go in because didn’t want to be bothered by the youngsters who frequented it. But now I was one of those youngsters but I was immensely enjoying the simple pleasure of letting free all of my worries and playing a simple arcade game. I was lost in Galaga and couldn’t even tell you my name if one were to ask me while I was playing. But in my loss of self I found a new self. I found a self that wasn’t worried about tomorrow I was only worried about shooting a space invader attempting to capture my ship.

The next stop was the new super Wal-Mart that had recently graced the main highway of our small Oklahoma town. The grand opening was a few days ago but not many people were visiting the attraction at 1 o’clock in the morning. The first thing that many of us noticed once stepping out of our journey vessel was the array of shopping carts that had seemed to be strewn across the parking lot. After little deliberation we decided that these carts could not be left on attended. The attending to the carts led to us racing and spinning the carts across the wide, vacant lot. All of us gasping, our lungs burning from the cold night air, we kept going and we kept racing our carts back and forth through the parking lot. On these shopping carts in the light of the street lamps I found more comfort in my companions’ enthusiasm for living life without worries of tomorrow. See both of my friends had found fine paying jobs after high school and were employed full time but I didn’t hear them complaining about having to go to work how bad their employers were. All I heard were cheers and laughter for the weekend and for living life the way it was supposed to be lived out.

I have dedicated my blog to my perspective in the hopes that some might find a new way to look at the world but never thought that mine would change in the process. My two friends have shown me some great southern comfort, and no we didn’t consume alcohol in fact Chad made the comment that it was better than drinking. I found southern comfort in my southern friends who at first seemed simply blue collar but pinned on that blue collar was a pin that signified more life experience than I had. In this comfort I found more than enjoyment of life but I found a life of enjoyment. Thank you to my southern comforted friends.

Greetings

At first, the idea of me writing on a blog seemed very odd. I do not consider myself an exceptional writer, and I did not think that I had any type of perspective that would benefit society. But at some point I realized that perspective is the exact thing that benefits society. One reason that there is war and injustice today is because of a lack of ability to perceive from another’s perspective. Throughout this blog I will attempt to comment on current events but I will also focus on things that I have realized that you probably have already thought about, but hopefully not. For a while I wondered who my target audience would be, realizing it would probably be a very small one, but then I realized that I am my audience. This blog is an attempt to say what I believe and hope that it encourages others to do the same. I hope that you enjoy reading what I believe and hopefully you can tell me what you believe. Enjoy.