Thursday, May 31, 2007

A New Direction

Motivation and perception are two of the many unquantifiable factors that thwart claims by the behavioral sciences to be true sciences. For as much progress has been made in better understanding these areas of human behavior, what remains unknown is vastly greater. Because psychology, sociology, anthropology, etc, want so desperately to be recognized as empirical, the mainstream schools of thought have all but rejected the role of theology in trying to explain why people do what they do. As I’ve said repeatedly, this is because a profound confusion between the differences of theology and religion is commonplace. I’m not real sure why my lunch hour ramblings are in this vein today, but it may have something to do with my belief that as this planet’s population continues to grow exponentially we are ultimately going to have to give some serious thought to what makes us tick—to what makes us who we are and do what we do. I’ve long been fascinated by Kohlberg’s research on moral development, and while he could not afford to impugn his scientific credibility by alluding to theology, I have to guess that he understood well the high degree of correlation between the two. An atheistic perception (worldview) is going to motivate differently than a theistic one, just as the motivation of a starving person is going differ from that of someone who is well fed. Religion is once again a campaign issue for aspiring presidential candidates. Why don’t we take things in a new direction by questioning how their theology influences their view of the world and their motives?

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Hump Day Hilarity (don't you just love alliteration?)

Rob (aka the Colorado Dude) brightened my day with the following, and it is funny enough that I choose to share it with all my (approximately 3) readers:

It started out innocently enough. I began to think at parties now and then -- just to loosen up. Inevitably, though, one thought led to another, and soon I was more than just a social thinker. I began to think alone -- "to relax," I told myself -- but I knew it wasn't true.

Thinking became more and more important to me, and finally, I was thinking all the time. That was when things began to sour at home. One evening I turned off the TV and asked my wife about the meaning of life. She spent the night at her mother's. I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment don't mix, but I couldn't stop myself. I began to avoid friends at lunchtime so I could read Thoreau and Kafka. I would return to the office dizzied and confused, asking, "What is it exactly we are doing here?"

One day the boss called me in. He said, "Listen, I like you, and it hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If you don't stop thinking on the job, you'll have to find another job." This gave me a lot to think about. I came home early after my conversation with the boss.

"Honey," I confessed, "I've been thinking . . . "

"I know you've been thinking," she said, "and I want a divorce!"

"But, Honey, surely it's not that serious." "It is serious," she said, lower lip aquiver. "You think as much as a college professor, and college professors don't make any money. So if you keep on thinking, we won't have any money!"

"That's a faulty syllogism," I said impatiently. She exploded in tears of rage and frustration, but I was in no mood to deal with the emotional drama. "I'm going to the library," I snarled as I stomped out the door. I headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche. I roared into the parking lot with NPR on the radio and ran up to the big glass doors. They didn't open. The library was closed.

To this day, I believe that a Higher Power was looking out for me that night. Leaning on the unfeeling glass, whimpering for Zarathustra, a poster caught my eye.

"Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?" it asked. You probably recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinkers Anonymous poster. Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering thinker. I never miss a TA meeting. At each meeting we watch a non-educational video; last week it was "Porky's." Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last meeting.

I still have my job and things are a lot better at home. Life just seemed easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking. I think the road to recovery is nearly complete for me.

Today I registered to vote as a Republican.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

In Remembrance

Yesterday was set aside as a time to remember all those patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. This is a good thing. It is unfortunate that more attention isn’t paid to the true observance of Memorial Day without the interference of commercialism and recreation. As I attempted to reflect, however, on the price paid by those who gave up their lives for their country, I could not help but remember a greater sacrifice made on behalf of humankind. Protestant Christians kept only two sacraments from their Roman Catholic roots: baptism and communion. Focusing upon the symbolism of the bread and cup instead of supernatural transubstantiation, the Protestant sacrament is grounded in the words: Do this in remembrance of me. This creates a real dilemma for those of us who consider ourselves both patriotic Americans and faithful Christians. The truth is that the sacred calling preempts the secular. For those willing to adopt the sacrificial spirit of the Prince of Peace there can be no opportunity to lose one’s life to the throes of war and violence. This is certainly not intended to demean those who have lost their lives in service to their country, but it is rather to say that true disciples of the Christ pledge their allegiance to the Cross which makes it impossible to embrace any endeavor other than turning the other cheek in the spirit of love. Yes, it is a good thing to remember our war dead. But it is a far better thing still to remember—and to follow—the one whose life and teachings triumph over evil and give the true victory to those who love one another as they have been loved.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

It Worked for Hitler

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently compared U.S. foreign policy to that of the Third Reich. The old cold war hackles immediately went up, but upon reflection there is truth in what he says. George W. Bush et al are ruining this country in any number of ways, not the least of which is the illegal and immoral war in Iraq. The cost in both dollars and human life is inestimable, and yet even a newly elected Democratic majority on the Hill is incapable of reining him in. What makes us think that an administration which effectively stole two presidential elections is going to start paying attention to the will of the people now? If the military industrial complex succeeds in placing another neo-conservative in the White House in 2008, I think it will mean that we can pretty well kiss democracy in this country goodbye—that’s if we haven't already missed our chance to wish it bon voyage. The haunting truth about Adolph Hitler and the Nazis is that the German people supported the regime, even if by nothing more than their apathetic indifference. The fascists in our own government are counting on the same pathetic acquiescence from us. It is time for us to stand up for our beloved country by taking down those who are destroying it!

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Happy Anniversary, Mary!

Thirty-six years ago today Mary and I became husband and wife, and the rest, as they say, is history. Rebecca just introduced me to the Potato Valley CafĂ© for lunch, and so I must be necessarily brief to stay within my lunch hour limitation, but I can only tell you, Mary, that you are the light of my life. My wish for the rest of humankind is that it might know the happiness we’ve shared, and I thank you for even entertaining the notion of spending your life with me. The ’63 Chevy, the 8-track, even my dancing mania to which you were initially attracted, have all disappeared, but I continue to be blessed by your love. I am as excited as I was those many years ago as we embark on number thirty-seven!

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

It's Tuesday, So This Must Be Vegas!

Tuesdays are turning out to be when Rebecca and I eat lunch together. This Las Vegas climate of which I’m so fond has not yet turned on its deadly heat and that makes it just perfect for lunching at Mayor Oscar’s Centennial Plaza. There is something mystical about the arid desert which makes toweling off after a shower optional. And yes, there’s something about the intrigue of Sin City which makes the hottest days of July and August seem bearable, a phenomenon that I wouldn’t think as likely in, say, Tonopah. As we prepare to mark our eleventh year here next month, I continue to surprise myself that I remain attracted to this Mecca for the unvirtuous. They say that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, and so maybe that means I happened here.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

What Do You Think?

I am always more than happy to yield the floor to one of my favorite journalists, Nancy Gibbs:

The Religion Test

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

A Touch of Class

Reading Vance Packard’s The Status Seekers piqued my growing fascination with the human propensity to discriminate by labeling and categorizing almost everything. This process is extremely vulnerable to prejudice, the kind that I probably displayed in yesterday’s post. The whole issue of classism is as relevant in today’s world as it has ever been. The critical need to address its deleterious effects has been sublimely covered-up in our society by the unending propaganda of what a free and democratic country we live in. To be sure, this is true up to a point, but just try telling the CEO of your company that he needs to start driving the same sort of car his employees do, parking in the same area as everybody else…I think you get the idea. Status and prestige are the means by which our culture rewards conformity, even if going along with the crowd lifts up those who “excel” at setting themselves above and apart. I can think of no institution—education, business, religion—that does not separate into classes the not-so-worthy, the worthy, and the more-than-worthy. While it is almost unfathomable to grasp, a classless world is worthy of dreaming about.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Busted!

I’ve just returned from another idyllic lunch with Rebecca at Mayor Oscar’s Centennial Plaza. I do love the weather here. I was in a happy frame of mind until I reached my building, whereupon I was reminded of what a hypocritical, classist organization I work for. Attorneys in this legalistic environment are just a step below God, and I remember when Sheriff Bray had just returned from a hearing before a federal judge saying he knew what it was like to be in God’s presence. A professionally attired attorney (I’m guessing her suit would pay for half a dozen of mine) entered the security area just ahead of me and proceeded with impunity through the gate clearly marked for use by the handicapped only. I’m sensitive to this, because the disciplinary action taken against me several years ago was precisely for my allegedly wanton disrespect for the building’s security policy and procedures (never mind that the gates weren’t even installed at that time and I was found guilty of having encroached upon an imaginary one) and proof positive of my defense at the time that someone from the rarified upper echelons of our organization would never find themselves being disciplined for the same infraction. Chalk one up for the kid being right; that and $1.99 will be enough to buy you a cup of (not Starbucks) coffee. I refer the reader to my earlier Gibbs quote on the antidote for hypocrisy while I give some thought as to how to charge an omnipotent superior with a violation.

Monday, May 14, 2007

The Day After

It’s my guess that a genuine appreciation for parenthood is not fully comprehended until one becomes a parent. As I reflect on yesterday’s observance of Mother’s Day and look ahead to its counterpart next month, I realize that even though I though tried to show my gratitude to my parents on their special days I didn’t truly understand the many challenges they worked through until I had to work through them myself. For several years now, Mary’s mom and mine have asked that we do nothing more than send a pretty card. I have always taken this as a rather unreasonable limitation upon the occasion that is intended to revere motherhood until this year I saw with new vision Mary doing the same thing (she has never felt that material gifts from Rachel and Rebecca were necessary to demonstrate their love and appreciation for her). Slowly but surely, I’m getting it. This is what unconditional love is all about; it is giving and giving some more without the least expectation of anything in return. And so, on this day after, I am filled with awe as I ponder the magnificent beauty of motherhood. A woman with children does not a mother make until glorious, unselfish love validates the title.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Church Humor

I just received this from my good friend, Ernie, and getting a good chuckle from it moved me to share it with you:

Baptist Dog

Ever mindful of the congregation, the Baptist preacher and his wife decided to get a new dog, and knew that the dog also had to be a Baptist. They visited kennel after kennel and explained their special needs.

Finally, they found a kennel whose owner assured them he had just the dog they wanted. The owner brought the dog to meet the pastor and his wife.

"Fetch the Bible," he commanded. The dog bounded to the bookshelf, scrutinized the books, located the Bible, and brought it to the owner.

"Now find Psalm 23," he commanded. The dog dropped the Bible to the floor, and showing marvelous dexterity with his paws, leafed through and finding the correct passage, pointed to it with his paw.

The pastor and his wife were very impressed and purchased the dog.

That evening, a group of church members came to visit. The pastor and his wife began to show off the new dog, having him locate several Bible verses.

The visitors were also very impressed. One man asked, "Can he do regular dog tricks, too?"

"I haven't tried yet," the pastor replied. He pointed his finger at the dog. "HEEL!" the pastor commanded. The dog immediately jumped on a chair, placed one paw on the pastor's forehead and began to howl.

The pastor looked at his wife in shock and said, "Good Lord! He's Pentecostal!"

Thursday, May 10, 2007

I Dreamed Up An Answer

My best friend, Rob (please forgive the superlative, but it’s true), called me as I was trying to fall asleep last night. Thanks, Rob! He’d read yesterday’s post and apparently didn’t get enough of the gory details. In the course of our conversation he reminded me that I’ve always had a problem with authority. What’s that all about?

I thought about it as I drifted into slumber, and here’s the answer my subconscious generated overnight. I defy authority that expects me to be subservient. I celebrate authority that regards me as an equal and seeks my cooperation. Put more vernacularly, I’m nobody’s nigger. I can honestly say that I’ve never argued with an authority that has treated me with the same respect it expects in return, and I’m pretty sure that I’ll fight to the death anyone who doesn’t realize that they put their pants on one leg at a time just like I do. I don’t know what to call people like Boenhoeffer, Schweitzer, etc, but for lack of a better word I regard them as my heroes. One such person is John Lennon, and I admire his ability to capture in words how I feel:

Working Class Hero
by John Lennon

As soon as you're born they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool
Till you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can't really function you're so full of fear
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV
And you think you're so clever and class less and free
But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

There's room at the top they are telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
If you want to be a hero well just follow me
If you want to be a hero well just follow me

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Falling Short, Again!

“If there is an antidote to hypocrisy, it’s humility; just admitting the possibility of weakness can be a source of strength.” --Nancy Gibbs

I’ve had another minor collision with the hierarchy that seems, in my life anyway, to be omnipresent. The details are so ridiculous as to not justify devoting any time to them, but the end result of being summoned to meet with Assistant District Attorney Robert Teuton deserves my comments. There are a few things to know about my assigned profession (I really didn’t choose this one) that are probably not readily available to the casual reader. In the area of Child Support Enforcement, only Guam rates lower than the State of Nevada with regard to compliance with federal guidelines. Roughly seventy-five percent of the state’s population served by the program resides in Clark County. Simply put, I work for the worst child support enforcement agency in the country. The powers that be are understandably defensive about this indefensible position, and the genius of the administration that I am employed by is its ability to blame the grunts in the trenches for all the things that go wrong. Hence, my e-mail sent to a few friends satirizing our awards committee’s need to conduct fundraisers in order to buy the employee excellence trophies didn’t go over when Big Brother intercepted it, and that’s how I earned an attitude adjustment session with Number Two. Now, if I could only think of a way to get the attention of Number One…

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I’ve just returned from a delightful lunch with Rebecca at Mayor Oscar’s Centennial Plaza Park. It is a gloriously beautiful day. I am truly blessed, even though I have done nothing to deserve it. To my brothers and sisters who are experiencing the pain of war and disaster I extend my heartfelt sympathy for your plight. I can only promise to continue to seek a meaningful and effective way of introducing such joy and hope into your lives.

Monday, May 07, 2007

Wake Up!

What portent must spew into our collective consciousness to incite our awareness of what is going on around us? Nary mass murder, war, poverty, scandal nor abuse seems to have the power to motivate us as a people to change the direction in which we are headed. The obscene practice of owning/operating SUVs will not disappear with even $10 per gallon gasoline, and neither will the fraying of the cultural cloth known as family repent for as long as greed is promoted over sacrifice. I find it interesting that the King James translation of Isaiah says it best: Where there is no vision, the people will perish. For those who assume that a utopian heaven is their ordained destiny there is little need to be concerned for this earthly existence. But for those of us who believe the Christ’s proclamation of the Kingdom at hand there is ample reason for us to finally decide whether we choose for it to be heaven or hell.

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Journal Entries Gone Public

07.04.21.lt
I am becoming numb to the killing. The Virginia Tech massacre crossed the threshold. Killing is reported via the local, national and global news on a scale that is truly incomprehensible even when presented in the horrifyingly intimate now. The perceived value of life is plummeting even as the Supreme Court superficially attempts to restore it. No partial birth abortions, baby, but the carnage wrought by sinful Evil still escalates exponentially by the day. As a people we are guilty of criminal negligence on a more widespread basis than ever before (yes, there is a correlation between the increasing population and the decreasing reverence for all life of which Albert Schweitzer spoke) but this is okay as long as it somehow falls under the pro-life banner. How hypocritical can we be to feign concern for the unborn while systematically killing the already born? The incredibly apocalyptic eye-for-an-eye insanity which is being promoted by the Christian Right is neither.
07.05.05.lt
Mary and I have just viewed The Frontline/American Experience production of The Mormons on PBS and found it powerfully moving. I had been taught that the Methodist church in all its developmental variations closely paralleled the evolving United States of America government in its political structure and conduct. The Mormons, however, makes a strong case for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints being a uniquely American faith tradition that borrows heavily from traditional Christianity and then presumes to take it to the next level of contemporary revelation. The irony here may be that that while the Mormon expectation of others to accept an incredible and miraculous prophecy as true, it seems unlikely that the LDS would not be highly skeptical of such an expectation aimed toward them requiring acceptance and practice of a hypothetically even more recent claim of prophetic revelation. There is a great (and curious) spiritual hunger emerging globally and The Mormons does an excellent job of showing how this particular culture is satisfying that quest for a growing number of people. Now if we can just figure out the part about letting our selves be drawn to the dynamically powerful I AM without succumbing to the static but equally powerful temptation to organize and institutionalize It.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Attention: Stephen Colbert

I just learned from this week’s TIME that Stephen Colbert teaches Sunday school! How great is that? This proves that there is at least one church somewhere that hasn’t succumbed to fanatical fundamentalism/evangelicalism (I find it important to reiterate yet again that in the early 1980’s American Christian fundamentalists of the Scopes trial ilk co-opted the term evangelical because of the bad press fundamentalism was receiving; learn more from Jim Wallis of Sojourners). I’m trying to imagine what one of Colbert’s classes must be like. Does he parody Jerry Falwell’s hermeneutic as adeptly as he does Bill O’Reilly’s punditry? Colbert has publicly stated that he was raised Roman Catholic, and I am curious to know if he continues in that tradition. So, Stephen, if you’re paying any attention to this citizen of the Colbert Nation, please respond! Tell us why an intelligent, witty celebrity such as yourself finds it worth your while to wax theological.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

What Do You Think?

I find the reluctance to engage in open-ended conversations about God to be both frustrating and disturbing. That my father and I had such discussions during his recent visit reminded me of how rare such occurrences are, and it makes me wonder. In one of the most free, democratic societies in history, how did we get to the point that theological discussions of the ultimate are either limited to rarified academic circles or to biblical/ecclesiastical catechism? Who convinced us that we are not able to theologize amongst ourselves? And if we consider the topic simply not worth our time, how did we ever arrive at such a notion? What is more important than delving into where we have come from and where we are going? I can understand how cynical atheism has taken the place in some minds of unexamined religion, but how in the course of human evolution did we let the most intimate of subjects succumb to institutionalization in the first place? I’m not going to give up. I can’t give up. I am compelled to provoke and incite theological discussion among the common people because the evidence of our failure to authentically do so is damning. A better world, a better life, is not the exclusive purview of preachers, priests and rabbis. The Truth grows as from a mustard seed when it inclusively draws all humankind into the discussion.

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Reflection

I don’t have much to write about today. Actually, this is not true. There are many things that I want to say, but years of inhibition through social conditioning don’t provide me with the assurance or confidence that I should. Dad and his wife made their annual visit to Las Vegas this past weekend, and for as much as I intellectually didn’t want to I let it emotionally get the best of me. Core personality factors are not easily laid aside (at least not for me) and I find that particularly with family they are awakened from their slumber by little more than real time exposure. The love/hate relationship between fathers and sons appears to be a dynamic as old as the species, and so I have nothing unique to claim in that respect. However, as one who fervently wants to believe that we determine our own destiny by virtue of the decisions we make I continue to wrestle with how best to cope with the fundamental disparities that exist between Dad and me. I am haunted by the sentiment expressed by Mike and the Mechanics that it is important to work through these differences “in the living years” rather than waiting until it is too late, but pain avoidance holds powerful sway with me. I suspect that I will never be whole nor healthy until I discover how to be authentic in this most primal of relationships, and this fact alone serves as incentive to keep looking.