Born to Die Update

So worth reading:
The Light of Death By Nancy Gibbs

Mr. Obama:

I hope you’ve already read this:
The Incredibly Shrinking Democrats by Joe Klein

Belated Happy Birthday, Mary!

Silly me! I let family interfere with my blogging. Hence, there was no splashy “Happy Birthday, Mary” headline on the 24th. Rebecca and Kevin traveled to Las Vegas to start the prelims, and then we returned together to Flagstaff on the day itself so that the whole family could be in on the celebration. Rachel and Steve are in the throes of relocating to Fort Collins, Colorado, and so I imagine that this may be the last nuclear reunion for awhile. I can think of no greater tribute to Mary’s life than her two daughters, a fact that became remarkably clear to me as we shared in the process of being family. Mary is a genuine teacher—not just the product of certification—and I reflected upon how many hundreds, thousands have been touched by her kindness and generosity. “As the twig is bent” so aptly defines Mary’s quarter-century of parenthood, and I am blessed to have been counted her significant other for almost four decades. Now that the hoopla is over, I shall return to a more normal routine which includes a lunch hour that is twice as long as it needs to be to fill with more unremarkable blogging.

Happy Earth Day!

I would be more worried that Mary doesn’t remember our participation in the first Earth Day in 1970, except that she (fortunately for me) has no clear recollection of anything that happened back then. It is our standing joke that I could repeatedly drive her up Coal Creek Canyon northwest of Denver and she would never fail to ask if we’d been there before. I think this speaks directly to how we’ve managed to stay married for thirty-seven years come next month.

Just because she doesn’t have a mind for trivial details doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a solid grasp of the larger issues. Ever since that germinal step of picking up trash outside the Nebraska Wesleyan Student Center we have attempted to “love our mother” Earth and live in harmony with her rather than rape her. Our lifestyle admittedly skews toward the traditional as opposed to the radical, but most of our home lighting now comes from compact fluorescents.

These are some of the thoughts that flashed through my mind as I backed into my preferred space in the County Garage at 6:28 this morning. The 2005 Prius now has 34933 miles on it; having gone 360 miles since I last filled it with gasoline on 04/04/08 (the dashboard readout conveniently informed me that we’ve averaged 50.1 mpg on this tank). Being “green” has been a whole lot easier because Mary and I share the goal—something that may make sense for more than just the two of us.

You Say Tomato…

It’s beginning to dawn upon me what I’ve been trying to do for the last several years. To assimilate the sacred into the secular—and vice versa—requires a theology capable of integrating with the arts and sciences. Whether to refer to such as venture sacularism or secredism might pose the first of many challenges to its successful pursuit. However it is expressed, though, there seems to be an inherent trap in the attempt to make synonymous such terms as sacred and religion, or secular and science. It was not until I left the church I had grown up in that I realized how unique and rare Dad’s integration of theology and religion was. Once exposed to other congregations of United Methodists caused me to realize rather quickly that a lot of religion has little or nothing to do with theology unless by implicitness or inference. “I believe in God the father” can be professed without any theological undergirding, although without such a foundation the significance of such a statement is put into question. For me it is akin to stating “I believe that two plus two equals four” without having any understanding of the mathematics that make it true. Having immersed myself in the secular world for the last decade has helped me to realize that many who reject religion do so because they have had little or no exposure to theology. The converse is true to the degree that religious people reject other kinds of thinking because of contrived and artificial polarizations between the sacred and the secular. So, I’ve been hanging out in the real world after leaving the church and in the process am discovering that there is a pressing need for both worlds to discover their common ground.

Take Time To Be Holy

Perhaps because it coincides with Earth Day and Konner’s birthday this year helps to explain why I am so keenly sensing the Passover. Concern for those I love along with those I am called to love is for their safety, desiring immunity to the world’s ills that result from human contrariness. There are many “issues” coalescing that do not bode well for the future unless they can be reformed and redirected into more positive, harmonious experiences. The authentic understanding of the blood of the lamb as the sign of mercy, forgiveness and salvation is so distant for many of us as to be incomprehensible. As for me and my house, however, I will pray that the connection shall prevail in a spirit of mutual respect and protection, in the spirit of the love that manifests wherever it is actualized. Faith survives, endures, sustaining those who accept and assimilate the omnipresent. I pray for all those I love and those whom I am called to love know that we all may experience the gracious illumination that dispels the darkness.

Clearly the Right Choice

Sage advice that I received early on was to look carefully at the mother of anyone I intended to spend the rest of my life with. While Jean James was not especially impressed with the skinny wannabe hippie that eventually married her daughter, I saw in her a woman of integrity and compassion that I could not help but respect as the mother who raised and nurtured the love of my life. I’ve already expressed the great love I have for my own mother. And so it is that I present The Story of Barack Obama’s Mother as reported by Amanda Ripley in this week’s TIME as further reason to elect this man our next president.

You’ve Got To Be Kidding!

The allegations of Barack Obama’s elitism become comical when contrasted to the genuine elitism being displayed during Pope Benedict’s visit to the United States. While I have no doubt that Benedict is a scholarly man of faith, all the pomp and circumstance surrounding him are clearly more vestiges of the Holy Roman Empire than of the itinerate Nazarene upon whom the Catholic church claims to be founded. Just as Jesus was not impressed by the pious and hypocritical Temple elite of his time, neither do I think he would recognize the current state of Christianity as representative of his life and teachings. “Blessed are the popes and presidents” didn’t make the canonical cut for good reason, because it is antithetical to the truth revealed through the Christ. I continue to be impressed that Obama doesn’t resort to publically downing boilermakers in order to prove he’s one of the guys, and if that public is gullible enough to swallow the elitism spin, it deserves to be stuck with the Machiavellian spinners for its leaders. Hang in there, Mr. Obama! You have the grassroots support that can see past the political chicanery to elect you our next president.

Go, John, Go!

John McCain is calling for the suspension of federal gasoline taxes during the summer months as a way to stimulate the sagging U.S. economy. I have to wonder if he ever once considered a truer long-range strategy of using rising fuel prices to justify the elimination of the obscene gas-guzzlers that have come to represent just how ugly the American consumer can be. McCain’s proposal makes sense for the truckers who are paying exorbitant diesel prices to transport the goods we consume to their destination, or for the airlines that are attempting to do the same with their human cargo. But the idiot who insists on driving a two-ton, eight cylinder behemoth in order to lay claim to the title King of the Road doesn’t deserve any breaks whatsoever unless it would be a mental health rebate for psychological evaluation and therapy. Mary and I are still planning a summer auto trip to visit our parents, but that’s because our Prius gets 50 mpg and not because we want to shirk our responsibility to pay for the public highways we’ll be using. I still don’t understand what’s fiscally conservative about subsidizing stupidity.

Post R & R

Oh, I’m back in the saddle again. I thoroughly enjoyed my belated Spring Break which included a quick trip to Billings to celebrate Mom’s birthday with her. It’s always fun to be with my sister, Kim, and her family as they revel in small city life (just when does a town become a city?). There was an air of excitement as Rachel flew to Fort Collins to interview with Colorado State University, a venture which successfully concluded with her getting the position. Again, it’s fun to observe her and Steve as they enter into the preparations that such a move will entail. Rebecca and Kevin will travel to Las Vegas the week before Mary’s birthday, and then we’ll caravan back to Flagstaff for a full-blown family celebration of the event. Life is good. I know that for many it could be better. Perhaps this explains the benefit of accentuating the positive while downplaying the negative. Many things are wrong that need to be made right, and I’m beginning to understand that this is most likely to happen in a culture of love and family.

Flickr Sabbatical Ended

I have no good explanation for my "vacation" from Flickr, but I just updated my account with some recent pictures you can view at the "photos" link.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

I am fortunate enough to have now celebrated both my parents’ eightieth birthdays with them. I wish that each of them was in perfect health only because that might mean each would be spared the many challenges they actually face every day; but face them they do, and well!

Mom is the most remarkable person I know. I realize that this superlative leaves out the rest of those who are profoundly significant to me, but I truly don’t know anyone else who so completely embodies the spirit of goodness as does she. No one knows for certain what kind of hand life is going to deal, but I know of no one who has done a better job of making the best of whatever’s been dealt.

One of Mom’s many successes has been the way she managed to raise her children to love each other. Kim is the best sister I’ve ever had. Now, passing beyond the perfunctory in order to seem serious, I am beginning to understand—through the lens of my own parenthood—how very many different ways there are it can turn out otherwise. Our children are extraordinarily close for cousins, and I like to think that this may have something to do with the example Kim and I set by loving one another in the way Mom has always encouraged us to.

Thank you, Mom, for the better understanding of what love is which comes to those who are graced by yours.

Is This Pro-Life?

Health Buzz: Maltreated Infants and Other Health News

My pro-choice conviction is stronger than ever!

A Day for Remembering

It is a solemn day as we remember the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. forty years ago. I was a couple of months away from graduating high school and had no way of knowing that Robert F. Kennedy would, too, be assassinated before our commencement. Whatever idealism was blooming in 1968 has since slowly withered away into apathy and cynicism. We boomers were aptly labeled, but for the wrong reason. The title is derived from the swell of newborns following World War II, but more appropriately describes all of those living in the wake of the Atomic Age born at 5:29:45 a.m. on July 16, 1945. At that moment the world changed forever, and only fools believe that we have outlived the repercussions and implications. Pundits today ask the question, what would King think of things if he were alive today? It is an empty question, however, because he is not. He is not because he was the victim of a hateful, violent, and destructive mentality that has only grown exponentially since the human mind conceived the means by which to destroy itself. In this respect we are all boomers, and I can only hope that it will be the succeeding generations that piece back together that which for the present seems irreparably shattered.

Prius Privileges

As gasoline prices hit record highs and evidence mounts that climate change threatens the planet, I’m proposing that societal perks be doled out on the basis of mpg. For instance, heavy trucks (SUVs included) and other low mpg gas-guzzlers should be restricted to the far-right lane of all freeways, if not banned altogether. Then there’s parking; the higher the mpg, the closer the space. It will do the polluters good to hike to their destination through the emissions they so cavalierly produce. Any tax-breaks should go to those who are consuming and polluting less, not the other way around. My fees should be lower, my rebates higher, and my status elevated to that of privileged in every way imaginable. I’m doing something good for the planet and I deserve to be rewarded. Come to think of it, there should be a correlation between income and mpg—what sweet justice that those who use the most could least afford it! In the end, you’re going to thank me for saving your sorry behind and there’s no better time to begin than now!