Be Civil, Will You!?

My dear friend, Craig, has invited me to a reception on the current atmosphere in politics and how it has become, to put it lightly, rather uncivilized.

Follow this link to read about it. The Beacon Journal has been running articles lately about civility and, I have to tell you, I'm interested.

Below are some of my thoughts about politics of late and the mud slinging that has become common place.

1. Politics is serious business. The decisions that our leaders make affect our lives in very noticeable ways. How much we make, whether we can buy a house, our health, just to name a few. But the way our government is run and how races are run, you'd think they were all in junior high gym class locker room.

Name calling, slandering, misleading information, or just outright lying is the new norm. At least no one is getting caned anymore but hey, that might make a come back soon!

2. It has become this way because we have allowed it to. We, the people, vote them into office. And I can tell you, they run hateful (not "negative", let's call it what it is) ads because they work. If the first guy that ran a hateful ad didn't get elected, do you think they'd still be running them? Of course not!

In today's reality show like political arena, people love to see the infighting, the wrangling, and the back stabbing. Every word that is spoken is analyzed and an opinion formed on it. If he's "your guy", you defend it. If he's "the other guy", then you attack and point out how this obviously shows how dumb/unqualified they are.

We want an 8th grade blood bath and that's what they give us.

3. The lies. Oh the lies. Lying has become the norm and bending the truth in ways that would make a gymnast jealous has become a regular occurrence. There are whole websites that exist purely to help one sift through all the B.S.

When did lying become okay? When did we come to expect it? Why do we allow it to happen? We'll write our senator about a piece of legislation that we think might affect our pay check, but when they lie through their teeth and we know it? We let it slide because it's "politics as usual".

I'm excited for this forum and to see where it goes. All is not lost, I hope.

Rev.

Muslim Movie Riot

If you follow the news like me (and then wonder why you do), then I'm sure you've heard all about the "Innocence of Muslims" movie and the current fall out in Libya, Egypt, and other parts of the Muslim world. All around, this is a tragedy.

There's a lot of talk in weird conservative circles that Islam is inherently a violent religion, and that every time someone insults their religion, the Muslims riot and people are killed. I can see why they believe that because, well, it's true. In the last few years, we've seen people killed over cartoons and movies that depict Muhammad in a bad light. Cartoons and movies!

But to simply look at the violence and say "Look at how violent Islam is!" is to over simplify the issue. The impetus of these riots have several causes, one of which I think is regardless of culture or religion and more to do with poverty and desperation.

Let me lay out my line of thought and how I came to this conclusion.

First, I started to look at the places where people are rioting. Libya, Egypt, and Yemen. Muslim countries, all of them. But why not other countries with large Muslim populations, like India and Indonesia? You've probably already guessed the answer. Libya, Egypt, and Yemen are countries that have more recently had revolutions. People there are poor, broke, and desperate. I'll go out on a limb and say that these countries, only having recently established governments, aren't thriving and aren't being ruled by law. The people there are are broke and confused and are looking for a scapegoat.

Think pre-Nazi Germany, where the people, broke and desperate for stability, were all too ready to accept a fascist regime and the Jews as the source of all their problems.

Muslims in the US and Europe aren't protesting in the streets. Why? They have something to lose. Their jobs. Their families. Their stability.

Second, I started to think about other major riots and their causes. The first one that came to mind were the LA Riots of 1992. Six days of utter chaos in a major US city. The reason? The acquittal of the cops who beat Rodney King.

Compare the riots in Egypt and Libya with those in LA and you'll see some striking similarities.

South Central LA in 1992 (in 2012?) was no Disney Land. High unemployment and poverty, like in Egypt and Libya, make for a particularly potent powder keg. People with no job, no future and nothing to lose. All one needs is a match big enough to light it. In this case, an unfavorable verdict in a police brutality case.

Another, the New York Draft Riots of 1863 (for the movie folk, this is the one that's in the Gangs of New York). Lincoln needed troops for the Civil War and decided a draft was a good idea. Every man fight for the Union! Right? Oh, but if you have $300, you can get out of it.

The poor classes, obviously, could not afford the $300 to get out of it. This lead to major resentment of the rich and, of course, to riots. But since there were no rich folk around to harass, they turned on the people we were supposedly fighting for in this war - black people. Three days of chaos in New York City.

Take some time to dig a little deeper and I'm sure you'll find more similarities. I'm sure there are more examples both currently and in modern history.

People, when desperate and broke, with nothing to lose, are easily guided and misled to riot. They're looking for easy answers to usually very complicated problems. They lash out at people that are easy to spot (Jews, black people, Koreans) and that are minorities.

My plea is that when looking the current ails of the world, don't be tempted to over simplify the situation. Take a moment to look at who these people are and why they are doing this.

To be clear, I believe this explains peoples actions but it doesn't excuse them .Murder is murder. Hate is hate. Use your head. Don't follow the crowd.

Rev.

Voting Day!

Voting Day is nigh! The day when Americans, who are as diverse as many fine wines, distill all their uniqueness down into chocolate or vanilla (that could be construed as racist now that I think about it. Oy.)

However, as with most political discourse, I have my silkies in a bunch about a couple of topics and thought I'd put my thoughts out there. And what better place to spew opinion than on a blog.

Without further ado. . .

Let's All Vote On. . . Tuesday? 

Tuesday? Yes, Tuesday. And not just any Tuesday but the first Tuesday that follows a Monday in the month of November. Why Tuesday? Well, because science has shown that Tuesday is the day when you are at your mental peak and will be most likely to make the most informed decisions concerning our nations future. Or because 200 years ago it was the most convenient day for farmers to make it.

Yes, the day we vote is based on what was most convenient for farmers 200 years ago. You see, Sunday was out because that was church day. Monday? Eh, it might take a day to get your horse and buggy all the way to ye olde voting boothe. So Tuesday it was.

The more important question is: Why haven't we changed it? My conclusion after reading through the interwebs: stupid people can't just put something simple into action.

My proposal?

One, move it to Saturday. This makes sense, as this is when most people have the day off. The only reason you wouldn't want it on a more convenient day is because you don't want people to vote.

"But dear Reverend! What about people who have to work on Saturday?!"

Ah, I'm getting to that.

Two, make it a national holiday. The government gives out holidays like it's nobody's business but we can't make election day one? Columbus discovered a land that was already discovered and inhabited and he gets his own day. Why not elections?

Voter ID

This one baffles me. We, the Americans, are going to fulfill our solemn duty to elect the leader of the free world (screw the free countries that have their own leader, ours is better!) and who will represent our ideals, hopes, and dreams. Oh wait, you forgot your ID, no problem! Vote anyway! No, no. No reason to prove that you are who you are or that you haven't already voted ten times. You're an American and by golly, there's no way you'd tell a lie!

Ugh.

Why is anyone against this? This makes so much common sense that you'd have to be a little off to see this one. You wanna vote? Bring a picture ID.

They're cheap. I'm pretty sure they're $7 here in Ohio. The BMV has pretty convenient hours, so you should be able make it at some point in the year leading up to the election. There is no reason you shouldn't have an ID of some kind.

"But you're disenfranchising the homeless! or the poor! or the elderly! or that guy that just hasn't had the time to go get one yet but will just as soon as the Price is Right is over!" Dude. Voter fraud is a big problem and trust me, the benefits of not checking ID's do not outweigh the problem.

Also, if you're so upset about these people possibly not being able to vote, then I encourage you to start your own little non-profit with the mission of getting these people ID's. In fact, that's a great idea. You'd have no problem getting grants and donations to do it. People need ID's to get jobs, too. So you'd be doing them a double favor.


You got a problem with what I said above!? Oh yeah! Yeah?! Well then, feel free to put them in the comments below. I'd love to hear them. :)

Yours Truly,
Reverend

Beard Sightings

I had two beard related incidents this weekend. I have to tell you, you want a conversation starter? Grow a beard.

First, we were at a swimming park with my nephews and nieces. They all, in their 3rd grade humor, think it's hilarious to call me Santa Claus. "Hey Santa!" or "Whatcha gettin' me for Christmas, Santa?!". They have a great time with it and I like to play along.

Well, I think one of them might be taking it a little too far. As we were in the pool, as a few of them were joking around calling me Santa, she very innocently swam up to me and told me "I changed my mind. I want tap shoes for Christmas." . . . she wasn't joking along with the others.

I think she sincerely thinks I'm Santa Claus.

I could have corrected her but I thought, nah, this is too much fun. So I told her, okay, I'll be sure to note it.

Second, I had my first random find in my beard.

Before a meeting on Sunday night, Sarah and I took a little nap together on the couch. Obviously, there's not much room on the couch so she slept with her head on my chest.

We got up and went to our meeting. As it was beginning to start, I ran my fingers through my beard and lo and behold, a bobby pin! The guy sitting across from me at the table asked, "Did you just pull that out of your beard?" For one second I thought about being embarrassed and then I just went for it and started laughing.

It was awesome.

The BeardCon is in October. If any of these are indicative, I've got a good starter beard.

Rev.

Bias Much?

Who says that the news is biased? Not me.

Here's the front page of MSNBC's site after the healthcare announcement. 

And here's the cover from Fox News. 

Nah. No bias at all there. I mean, the people on the front of MSNBC's site look like their team just won the Super Bowl of Supreme Court Decisions VII. Whereas the cover of Fox appears as though ObamaCare just came down in ominous cloud of doom and destruction wrought by evil forces from beyond.

But no bias. 

Love, 

Rev. 

ps - personally, I get my news here. 

Lack of Focus

There are about a million things that I would love to do. I'm exaggerating. More like one hundred thousand.

The problem is that I'm not doing a very good job at any of them and not doing a very good job at prioritizing the ones I should.

Below is a list of what I'm working on how it's going (crappy).

God - man, I always wish I prayed more, studied more, and meditated more on what He would have me do but honestly, this is probably the one I put on the back burner the most and, of course, is probably the most important one.

Wife - I love that woman but just like God, some times easy to look over. However, she does have an advantage over God in that if I'm our too much, I hear about it very directly! Ha ha. But seriously, I love spending time with her and talking with her but again, I slack on it.

First Glance - My list of things to-do for Monday night Young Adults seems to be growing and I can't seem to zero in on what to do first or how to do it. This, of course, would be the time when I should really listen to the Big Boss but, as you read in the first section, my time with Him is lacking right now. Oy. So I struggle to lead this very important program.

Blog - I really like writing on this thing. I'd like to get it to where I was posting at least once or twice a week but alas, no go. I have a couple of bigger articles I'd like to write on (anarchy!) but finding the time to read and write is taxing.

There are more things - video games, friends, family, reading, movies, discipleship, running, getting into shape, gardening, and more! I'm sure when I get done writing this article I'll think of ten other things (oh, just thought of one) that I would love to work on.

Anyone out there have any thoughts on how to prioritize? How to focus on what's important? How to create more hours in the week? Now that would be great!

Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments.

Rev.

Tee's

One day at work, we were bored. I'd like to say that we were bored because there was no work to do, but I don't think that's the case.

I found a site where you can design and sell your own shirts. We proceeded to waste 8 hours of our work day.

So if you click the link above labeled "Merchandise", it'll take you to my T Shirt site. Go ahead, take a look. Browse around. Chuckle at a joke or two. You'll enjoy it.

And, if you're feeling saucy, go ahead and buy a shirt. I'd sure appreciate it.

In the mean time, give someone a hug today.

Rev.

Cell Phone Shuffle

If you didn't know, I'm cheap. I hate paying full price for things. I hate it when I think I'm paying too much. I like buying used. I like getting the hook up.

Right now, I am getting none of that with my cell phone and it irks me to no extent.

Currently, my plan is with Verizon. I'm paying $55 a month for 450 any time minutes and unlimited texting. No data plan (my phone, a Samsung Intesity II, ain't smart). Yeah, real exciting. And I'm stuck in this plan until March of next year. Double exciting.

Walking around First Glance, I see most of our teens walking around with smart phones. Texting. Going to websites. And generally going nuts with their little phones. At first, I thought that their parents must be the ones paying for them. But there were too many and for some of them, I knew there was no way they OR their parents could afford it. So I inquired further.

Turns out there is such a thing as a No Contract cell phone plan. Further, these plans are close to HALF PRICE than the regular, major carrier plans.

Por example, Straight Talk is a company that provides No Contract plans. You buy the phone or bring in your own phone (yes, bring in your OWN phone) and you simply pay them for whatever monthly plan you want.

For One Month of unlimited Talk, Text, and Data, it's $45. You read that right. $45 for unlimited everything. If that's not a deal then I don't know what is.

Just recently, a No Contract provider by the name of Cricket started selling the iPhone on a No Contract plan. Again, you have to pay up front for the phone but the plans are uber cheap. This plan gets you unlimited everything for $55 a month. I believe most of my friends who have the iPhone are paying closer to $100 a month. Wow.

There are several other plans out there to pick from and I'm definitely looking for advice and opinions (leave them in the comments). I'll keep you posted as I find better plans (or worse).

SM

Future Kenmore

This week, through the inspiration of Noelle Beck, the executive director at First Glance, multiple churches, organizations, and people have been praying for Kenmore. Praying for revival. Praying for our students. Praying for our leaders. Praying for our businesses. Just about everything and anything to do with Kenmore.

At the same time, I went to the Kenmore Board of Trade meetings, and the business owners there have been inspired to revitalize Kenmore Blvd by putting up a clock tower, maybe putting awnings on the businesses, and a business open house for the vacant buildings on Kenmore Blvd.

Kenmore is changing.

All of this energy has got me inspired and feeling energized about the state of our small burg. First Glance and its partner churches are working on the spiritual aspect, while the business owners work on the economic aspect.

I'm excited about this, to say the least.

What does a revitalized and renewed Kenmore look like? Is it a thriving Blvd? Churches bursting with parishioners? Less crime and drugs?

Here is one Reverends view on what a new Kenmore looks like.

The Boulevard: 

Ah, Kenmore Boulevard. Once the place of only lost youth and a few bus riders, it is now a place where families come to have lunch, go to the library, and visit the park. I see new restaurants with seating out front on the sidewalk. With the trees in full bloom, I see couples laying on a blanket in the park with a small picnic, while groups of kids play tag and swing on the swings.

The multiple junk stores have given way to open air coffee shops with singer/song writers playing music in a corner. The check cashing store is replaced by niche shop, selling locally made crafts and music. Nearby, a man with a thick, graying beard sells gourmet hot dogs.

No longer does one just walk down the Blvd to get to where one is going, but to simply relax and take in the views, the smells, and the people who now inhabit our main street.


The Schools: 

Ask any of our students what they think of Kenmore High School and they will probably say "It sucks." Soon, though, we'll have a new school. Not a new building or even renovations, but a school filled with revitalized teachers, parents with sincere concern for their children, and students who truly want to learn.

Our football team is competitive with Coach Peltz at the helm and our new, lighted, stadium is packed every Friday night with students and adults ready to see Kenmore take the City Series and move on to States.

Local businesses, who see the benefit of having a thriving school, now invest time and money into programs and awards for students who achieve and put money towards programs to help those who are struggling.

Kenmore High School is now a magnet school for the Arts and Sciences - with a waiting list for students eager to attend.


The Churches: 

No longer constrained by old ideas of protectionism and theological axes to grind, the Church in Kenmore reaches out to the entire community with the hope of Christ. Churches send out missionaries into the community with the command to love as Christ loved, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting those in jail, and giving everlasting water to the thirsty.

Deciding that unity is more important than division, the church comes together regularly to pray for our leaders, youth, adults, and everything in between regularly.

Because of this, the Holy Spirit has a visible, undeniable presence in all that happens.

The People: 


The people of the community, now inspired by all that is happening and what can be done, flourish. Civic groups are now flush with volunteers and new ones pop up regularly. No project is understaffed as volunteers come out in droves.

Neighborhoods look beautiful as people band together to beautify and take care of all the properties. Housing values are high and no home sits empty for more than a few weeks.

Ward meetings are packed as people are now very interested in what is happening in their community and want to be apart of the process.


Yes, I am dreaming. But I don't think much of what I wrote here is very far fetched or hard to imagine. All it takes is for a few people to inspire others, and for those people to spread the fire further.

Kenmore is my home and I will always love it, for better or for worse. But as one who has been through the worst, I'm excited to see the better.

The Rev.