This One’s For Me

It’s kind of hard to believe that this old man’s ramblings have been going on for over three years now. Prior to the gift of Incite from Rachel and Steve, I was trying to work my way through a self-imposed exile from the church by way of a supposedly cyber-ministry. If anyone is interested in taking a look at how that went, just click on the Profile link at the right and you will be taken to the archives of that rather sorry endeavor. I have not found it especially easy to be “called” to what I understand to be a prophetic ministry when no one can hear it but me. It is humbling and somewhat embarrassing to realize that what seems critically important inside my own head is often not a shared concern. The question of sanity is legitimate, and I repeatedly remind myself that the little voice within is symptomatic of pathological delusion. Hence, the therapeutic value of Incite. Something akin to one’s home being a castle, I find blogging to be the safest place to be crazy. Here I can be audacious enough to challenge the greatest powers in the world from the safety of relative anonymity. Here I can be presumptuous enough to believe I have something to say. Here I can pretend that I’m part of making a better world, and no one is the worse for it (perhaps with the exception of you, dear reader). Tomorrow should prove to be somewhat historic in the life of our family, and with the achievement of that milestone I intend to turn the corner and head Incite in a new direction. Fear not, however, because I won’t be able to shake off the lunacy that easily. I’m just looking forward to new and different ways to express my insanity.

Thank You!

Gratitude is the key. Not the “thanks for the gift (that I’m going to exchange for something I really want)” kind, but the genuine kind that comes from the realization that it is a miracle simply to be alive. Selfish greed thrives when gratitude is absent. Generosity is thwarted by the perception of insufficiency (i.e. not sharing what you already have because that might leave you without enough for yourself), while the perception of sufficiency generates a voluntary desire to share. Few things in life are so simple, but widespread gratitude can change our world for the better.

Knock Knock Knockin' on 6k's Door

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Adam Henry's Got Balls

My rant about Adam Henry is going to be cut short by a much timelier, but related, subject. The image we have of Jesus of Nazareth is one of a man much too polite to call anyone an Adam Henry, but that may be because we don’t understand the full meaning of ‘hypocrite’. The gospel accounts reveal a man not at all reluctant to call a spade a spade, of a man not afraid to point out the ‘sin’ of hypocrisy. The ball is presently in the Republican’s court with John Ensign and Mark Sanford confessing to extramarital affairs, but a report on NPR this morning rightly pointed out the bipartisan nature of what seems to becoming a characteristic of men in high places. The blade slices a little cleaner, however, against Ensign and Sanford because of their display of righteous piety that seems to come more easily to the Christian Right. Disparaging homosexuals, pro-choicers, and, in general, intellectuals as void of family values was shown as the blatant hypocrisy it is when these men violated the sacred bond of marriage. “Why do you attempt to remove the speck from your brother’s eye when there is a log in your own?” The real violation of this ilk is not just being human—which each and every one of us is—but the presumption of superiority based upon a particular ideology. If these men have an ounce of decency left in their wretched souls, they will resign from public office and devote themselves to the proposition that all men are created equal, even those who aren’t God-fearing Republicans.

Have You Met Adam?

Mary asked if I had encountered a particular Adam Henry yesterday. “No,” I replied, “not one in particular.” What prompted yesterday’s “tirade” was my realization of how ubiquitous Adam has become. I commute 17.8 miles to and from work, Monday through Thursday. When incidents don’t otherwise prevent it, I drive the freeways that are all posted 65 mph. As a rule, when I drive the speed limit (which I have fanatically observed ever since one Officer Adam cited Rebecca for traveling 5 mph over the posted limited) I literally impede traffic, including the Officer Adams that speed past me in their squad cars and motorcycles. A very unscientific observation is that the most flagrant violators are driving obscenely large, gas-guzzling, emissions-belching behemoths, but that may be because there are just so many of those to begin with. I am privileged to park for free in the county garage, and I am absolutely amazed by the preponderance of these vehicles being driven by county employees. Some are so tall that they barely clear the ceiling, some are so long that they protrude well beyond the parking space into the driving lane, and, again, the Adams and Evas (my attempt to be gender inclusive when referring to the Henrys) driving these vehicles do their best to reach top speed (and maximum inefficiency) by the end of each ramp for which they need to slam on the brakes and attempt to negotiate the turn onto the next ramp. One sterling Adam actually has to jockey his intimidator back and forth a couple of times to make the turns. Did I encounter a particular Adam Henry yesterday? No, I just get to survive them daily like all the rest of us do. I can dimly remember a time when rudeness and slovenliness was unacceptable, but in the Age of Adam Henry there is little hope that the meek shall inherit the Earth.

Dear Adam Henry,

I know it sounds quaint, but law enforcement officers are not supposed to use the word “asshole” on the two-way radio. It’s something about using the public airwaves, yada yada yada. This protocol does not diminish the number of assholes that a cop is going to have to deal with on any given shift simply because this is the nature of the beast. Early on in my tenure I learned that the truth of the situation was best communicated by referring to Adam Henry; everyone on the road knew exactly what that meant and would start rolling in the direction of the brother or sister who was encountering Mr. or Mrs. Henry.

I’ve decided to dedicate my next few posts to Adam. I apologize for having used the despicable term twice in the preceding paragraph, but it was necessary to establish the context. Adam Henry has grown since I was in law enforcement (1976-1982), and has managed to infiltrate the profession itself—Adam, meet Officer Adam. The really troubling thing, though, to my way of thinking, is how prevalent Adam has become in the general population. Once considered a lowlife, Adam has taken up on Wall Street, in Washington, D.C., and just about every other place that was once considered respectable.

Adam’s family managed to take over the White House from 2000 to 2008, and he didn’t go quietly when his time was up. Adam now has radio and television shows through which s/he propogates on an ever-increasing scale the essence of Adam Henryness. Adam likes guns, SUVs, and buxom ladies while despising niggers, spics, kikes,… One of the great satisfactions I found in law enforcement was being able to subdue Adam, and the great frustration I live with now is having to tolerate and accept it. Granted, in our civil society it is not permitted to call Adam what s/he really is, and given the mandatory low IQ required to be Adam means that yelling “way to go, Adam Henry!” isn’t going to register.

Which is cool, in a way, because I can now spend some time talking about Adam and s/he won’t even know.

Monday, Monday

I continue to suffer from cognitive dissonance. Fewer and fewer things going on in the world around me make any sense. My (I guess it was liberal) Christian upbringing with focus upon other above self seems to have been just some sort of delusional fantasy that has nothing to do with the born-again zealotry being preached today. Jesus’ thoughts on an eye-for-an-eye mentality are all but forgotten as religions intensify their judgments upon one another. I know that there are still sane people in the world, but what has happened to our voice? How have we allowed ourselves to be silenced by the likes of Limbaugh, Cheney, and on and on and on. I watch and listen incredulously to Republican Minority leader John Boehner and ask myself when it was that dolts managed to take over our government. Oh, I am well aware that Barack Obama is the antithesis of everything I’ve said so far, and that is the sole thread of sanity that I find myself clinging to these days. I don’t know how else to say it: it’s time to stop being stupid.

Learning to be Human

I consider it mistaken thinking to believe that we have learned all there is to learn about being human. The great irony of the Cosmic Age is that technology is presently the best illustrator of the more we know the less we know. What is happening in Iran right now is being communicated to the world in ways that were not available even a decade ago. Thank God that the Iranians are using whatever means are at their disposal to enable and defend their sacred freedom of expression. How differently recent history might have been had Americans exercised their same sacred freedom on November 4, 2000. The hawks need to sit down, be quiet, and nurse the wounds suffered in their resounding defeat of last November. The progressives need to support President Obama in his efforts to lead the world into what may one day be spoken of as the New Enlightenment. The New Enlightenment of the Cosmic Age. This is today’s lesson, and those who want to disrupt class are invited to leave before they are expelled.

What a strange compulsion to work with words. Language. Thought. I am told that most humans comprehend visually, in words and symbols. Where a word does not exist, the human propensity is to invent one. We have a story to tell, and for some words prove the way. The challenge before us now may be to discern what distinguishes the individual from the whole and vice versa. Protecting personal privacy and liberty while ensuring that all is for the larger good is an incredibly complex paradigm that historically demands to be understood. The voice of God. The Word. Logos. Perhaps we are at that threshold of transcendental Oneness, our dawning realization that every single One is aboard this spaceship Earth as it navigates the Cosmos.

Today I’m Announcing…

Just for kicks, I’ve decided to announce my candidacy for the United States House of Representatives from Nevada’s First Congressional District. Oh, I know, that pits me squarely against Shelley Berkley, but she’s had her chance to make a difference since 1999, now being in her sixth term. I like Congresswoman Berkley. I have voted for her. And if I don’t get the nomination, I’ll vote for her again. It is, you see, the principle of the thing. When you finally stop laughing, ask yourself what was so funny about my announcement. I know that I don’t stand an ice cube’s chance in hell (which is an interesting thought given that some describe it as icy cold) of competing with a professional politician, but that’s exactly the point. I don’t owe one red cent to anyone but my creditors. And while it would be nice to think that CitiGroup and Bank of America might waive my current indebtedness in exchange for voting as they want me too, it’s not likely to happen (which is their mistake, because they can have me for a lot less than Berkley). Will Rogers observed decades ago, “Congress is the best money can buy.” That’s what’s so laughable about someone like me announcing a desire to run. The corporations that have bought and paid for our government are in no way threatened by the likes of me. Nor would they be intimidated by the likes of Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, etc. We’re approaching the Fourth of July, and we’ll more than likely do just what the corporations expect us to: toast our wienies, chug our beers, and ooh and aah at the spectacular fireworks they’re picking up the tab for.

K.I.S.S.

Only obstinate diehards continue to debate the threat of climate change and global warming. I, too, understand the argument that our planet has historically moved through periods of cooling and warming, but only the blatantly unscientific continue to argue against the truth that the industrial emmissions of greenhouse gases have significantly—and frighteningly—accelerated the process in unprecedented ways.

The latest round of reports is citing emissions as a culprit that can be quickly turned around. More to the point, automobile emissions can be drastically reduced—today! Record high gasoline prices not that long ago started people to thinking about better miles per gallon from their vehicle, but that abated as soon as the prices started coming down. The virtue of hybrids is not only their exceptionally high m.p.g. but their ultra low emissions!

We Americans are such a litigious lot that the only solution we can think of sometimes is to make something—like gas-guzzling SUVs—illegal. Surely we’ve been at it long enough to realize that we cannot legislate morality, or even common sense. We are a greedy people, and it is time to effectively utilize that greed to the common good. Therefore, President Obama, I propose that instead of investing billions in auto companies like GM that weren’t smart enough to see the handwriting on the wall, those monies need to be redirected as subsidies for hybrid engines that already save gas and the atmosphere.

Initiate a program whereby the government picks up 50 – 75% of the tab for a new Prius, and watch just how quickly Americans will change their thinking about how stupid it is to drive an Escalade. There won’t be any more spent than is currently going to the bailout of GM and Chrysler (and Ford still needs to be held accountable), and we will reduce gasoline consumption and emissions all at the same time. Cash for clunkers? I think not! Let’s put our money where it’s going to do the most good for everyone! (See Prius Privleges 04/01/08)

Dear President Obama:

Is this true? If it is, how is it going to change? I haven’t heard a word about this as we are encouraged to endure the recession and accept that life as an American will not be the same afterwards. I voted for you with the confidence that this was going to stop. Is it?

Insanity

Back in the seventies when I was officially a student of the behavioral sciences, I remember reading in our abnormal psychology text that some study had determined that only 13% of the American population was “normal”. That, of course, left the other 87% of us to be “abnormal”. I also remember my amusement at how the findings utterly contradicted the definition of the words. At any rate, today I find myself wondering just when it was that we came to accept idiocy as the norm. The Supreme Court’s appointment of George W. Bush as President in 2000 comes to mind, but it sadly started before that. I remember a time when I touted Methodism as a thinking person’s religion but there is sore little evidence of that to be found in today’s populist church. We supposedly shudder in horror when shootings like yesterday’s at the Holocaust Museum take place, and yet Americans have a worldwide reputation for their idiotic interpretation of the right to bear arms. I have no idea where we are all headed, but I don’t hold out a great deal of hope for the nation of idiots we seem to have become.

I’ve Been This Way Before

I am sorry to have missed my post yesterday, but, to put it discretely, I was indisposed. The human body is a miraculous thing even when it’s not 100%. I am so blessed to be holding my CML at bay with Gleevec that the occasional “inconvenience” is not. I’ll be finding out in a couple of weeks if cutting my dosage in half is still doing the job. If it is, hallelujah! (A chorus resounded by our health insurer which has yet to determine that I’m not worth the extraordinary cost.) I’m guessing that something I share in common with other cancer patients is never having a day pass by that you don’t give at least brief thought to your disease. I somehow acquired a morbid disposition long before I was diagnosed with leukemia, but now knowing has just accentuated the reality. The journey home that I started out on some weeks ago came to rest, as regular readers know, in Platteville. I think that this has happened for a couple of reasons. First, beyond Platteville awaited the realization of evil in ways so painful that I’m not really eager to relive them. And second, it was a metaphor for what I am truly interested in: the homecoming of every human being. Robert Wright has a fascinating article in this week’s TIME, Decoding God’s Changing Moods. His scriptural analysis screams for a theological basis, but he expresses an understanding of God that I am sure many people will be able to identify with. Whether literally or figuratively, I’m happy to resume the quest for my (and your) ultimate home.

How Do You Say Zeitgeist?

I am incalculably blessed to be alive when Barack Obama is President of the United States of America. He is everything this nation could have hoped for, and more. Obama speaks with a moral authority that has been absent from the Oval Office and politics in general. No, Obama is not perfect. He has already made mistakes, but refreshingly unlike his predecessors he has the courage to admit it. The harmonious relationship between Obama and his Creator is strikingly obvious, to the degree that anyone wanting to know what such a relationship looks like need look no farther than our President. We the People can no longer postpone doing the right thing. Evil has seen to that. Our example, our hero, our role model is before us, and now is the time for We the People to rally behind him with our trust and support. I find it hard to believe how fortunate I am to be alive when Barack Obama is President of the United States of America.

GEE! IT SEEMS LIKE ONLY A YEAR AGO...

...we hit the big 5,000. Thanks, Incite fans!

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Perhaps of Interest...

http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/04/obama-in-cairo-a-just-peace/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-zelinsky/conflict-and-cooperation_b_211678.html

The Politics of Fear

When we went through security at Logan International Airport in Billings, Montana, a prominently placed sign warned that we were at orange, the high risk level. Admittedly, I had not been following the news very closely as the family gathered to celebrate Konner’s graduation. I thought to myself, what’s going on in the world to warrant the second-highest level of warning? I still don’t know. I always pose a security risk by having stupidly armed myself with a fake knee prior to 9/11. Had I known then what I know now, I probably would have just had it amputated. America’s theatre of fear has not gone away. There are many who benefit (dare I say, profit?) from convincing the masses that we need to be afraid, very afraid. My study of psychology informs me that anxiety is defined as fear of the unknown. That definition covers quite a bit of territory. We do not know the future. We can speculate, cogitate, surmise, and estimate, sometimes with surprising accuracy, but we never know the future with absolute certainty. Therefore, the fear-mongerers can take great advantage of maintaining the attitude of, well, you just never know. As a child, I don’t remember having a great deal of fear. I had to be taught. And it was for good reason that I was taught to fear (I like the word respect better) things like fire, electricity, etc. But fear of the unknown is more of a developmental acquisition that comes, I suppose, from the ability to abstract. The unknown is always present, but anxiety requires the seed of fear to be planted in order to take root. I don’t know about that thing over there, but it may do me harm. The prudent course, then, is to be afraid and avoid it. Prejudice becomes a defensive measure; better safe than sorry. To what degree do I let anxiety control my life? I’m afraid I don’t know.

Congratulations, Konner!

We returned to McCarran International Airport last night after having flown to Billings, Montana, for Konner’s high school graduation last Monday. It was a most impressive affair befitting a most impressive young man. I was trying to remember just when such events lost their solmenity, and although I can’t pin down a date, I’m guessing it coincided with the loss of reverence for just about everything. We Boomers were groomed for conformity, no doubt an explanation for our rebellious adolescence. Nonetheless, there was nothing allowed to decorate the top of our mortarboard and possession of an air horn would probably have meant jail time. It would be hard to say which way is best. Ritualistic tradition isn’t very meaningful, but neither is a party-animal mentality that hoots and hollers at everything. I haven’t seen this kind of behavior at a funeral yet, but I’m guessing that it’s coming. Konner graduated with honors, as did many of his classmates, and to an old-timer like me a bit of decorum, a bit of dignity and respect, certainly would have been in order. That was then, however, and this is now. The hope will be that treating every occasion as if it were a sports event is secretly pointing to a new degree of respect and support among peers that only appears to be rude. That’s the hope.