Health Care. The very mention of this topic stirs up strong emotions in a large number of Americans. There's nothing new about the polarization of opinions in this country... in the grand scheme of things, it's just the next issue in line, though no less important to address.
In the last couple years I've largely ignored politics and economics, choosing to use my free time more efficiently with personal endeavors, rather than just immersing myself in current events. I get tired of stupidity spewed from both ends of the spectrum... with the spectrum essentially going from "socialists" to "fascists". The ironic thing is how much they have in common.
Like I said, there's nothing new about this fight. And I've largely ignored it because of the self-defeating nature of getting caught up in the debates. We all have a duty to understand what's going on in our own society, but I love to argue for the sake of exploring an issue... often getting myself in trouble because I play "devil's advocate" for the sake of stirring up discussion, ;-) What disgusts me about the political scene is how it tends to make even admirable individuals twist their reasoning for the purpose of taking a specific side they want to defend. Someone pro-life might vote pro-choice to defend who they normally identify with, and vice versa.
But what saddens me the most is seeing others vehemently voicing a side and being naive to what they're defending or attacking. How self-righteous the voices become. And so it goes with the Health Care bill. Next time someone you know voices their opinion of Washington politics concerning the current bill, ask them to summarize what's in it. How about another example... Bin Laden's audio/video tapes he's been releasing since 9/11. Have you ever actually SEEN/HEARD what he has to say? Ever read a translation of his arguments? Neither have I. And that, my friend, is sad. We take popular sentiment and news outlet bias to heart, and do no research for ourselves. Now OBVIOUSLY I'm not pro bin-laden (that would make me devil's advocate in a literal sense lol) it's the principle of the matter i'm trying to get across.
So guess what... I'm not going to give my own opinion. I know, you're heartbroken, lol. I'm just greatly concerned about human nature, I suppose, and how it rears its ugly head in politics. How much Bush was hated by half the country for his abuses of power, and how much Obama is currently hated for what history may or may not judge as the same. How we've become so polarized that someone worthy of praise for a decision would never in a hundred years receive due credit because of previous judgment ruled upon them.
I admire those who passionately defend what they believe in... when they've done their research.
/end rant
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
A little Perspective
Worth watching, I promise.
(click on the play button below the video. Clicking on the video itself goes to the originating website for some blasted reason :P)
(click on the play button below the video. Clicking on the video itself goes to the originating website for some blasted reason :P)
Thursday, March 11, 2010
If I had two hands...
Only a few lessons into The Truth Project @ church, and more questions I've had about life have already been answered than in 20 years of formal education. So that might be a stretch. But at the very least the importance for a solid foundation in our worldview, concerning what we believe, is becoming so apparent.
I'm not going to turn this into a synopsis of what i've learned. But a simple observation from the latest lesson is what's been tugging at my heart for the better part of the last few years, in one way or another. I'll expand on this.
It's amazing. How people... being inherently social creatures who need and seek out relationship with others, can pack themselves by the millions in urban areas, travel the earth, become so much more connected by technology year after year, work closely with colleagues, eat dinner with family every night, and all too often still feel so very, very... alone.
I used to be that kid in third grade who constantly had his hand up, because I was so excited to know the answer to something and wanted to share it with the rest of the world. Like I was going to explode if I didn't get it out. Or how about when you're so madly in love with someone, and you just want to shout it out so every last soul in the world knows (or you can rest your vocal chords, cuz it's the 21st century and we have something called status updates on facebook. Or tweets.) It's really not much different from getting to the point where all the big question marks in life start to disappear... when you finally begin to see how it all works, and understand who you really are. And you wonder why everyone else can't see what you're beginning to see... you wonder what's getting between them and the truth. It's nothing short of being transformed.
In my case, I wonder what I can do, with my education, my experiences, with my own two hands, to help others bridge the gap. To see how our culture, our society works and want to open eveeyone's eyes. Set them in the right direction. Specifically, bridge the gap the church struggles so much with in reaching out to the masses... andin turn nurturing community that reaches beyond the steeples and relatively few homes that practice what is preached. To connect and transform not just a select few, but villages, towns, cities, nations. What can I do. Where can I start.
Sometime around seventh grade my hand stopped flying into the air for every question. It's been about that long since I've felt equipped with the answers. But as with many things, you need to be looking in the right place...
I'm not going to turn this into a synopsis of what i've learned. But a simple observation from the latest lesson is what's been tugging at my heart for the better part of the last few years, in one way or another. I'll expand on this.
It's amazing. How people... being inherently social creatures who need and seek out relationship with others, can pack themselves by the millions in urban areas, travel the earth, become so much more connected by technology year after year, work closely with colleagues, eat dinner with family every night, and all too often still feel so very, very... alone.
I used to be that kid in third grade who constantly had his hand up, because I was so excited to know the answer to something and wanted to share it with the rest of the world. Like I was going to explode if I didn't get it out. Or how about when you're so madly in love with someone, and you just want to shout it out so every last soul in the world knows (or you can rest your vocal chords, cuz it's the 21st century and we have something called status updates on facebook. Or tweets.) It's really not much different from getting to the point where all the big question marks in life start to disappear... when you finally begin to see how it all works, and understand who you really are. And you wonder why everyone else can't see what you're beginning to see... you wonder what's getting between them and the truth. It's nothing short of being transformed.
In my case, I wonder what I can do, with my education, my experiences, with my own two hands, to help others bridge the gap. To see how our culture, our society works and want to open eveeyone's eyes. Set them in the right direction. Specifically, bridge the gap the church struggles so much with in reaching out to the masses... andin turn nurturing community that reaches beyond the steeples and relatively few homes that practice what is preached. To connect and transform not just a select few, but villages, towns, cities, nations. What can I do. Where can I start.
Sometime around seventh grade my hand stopped flying into the air for every question. It's been about that long since I've felt equipped with the answers. But as with many things, you need to be looking in the right place...
Shout it out let the people sing,
Something so powerful
should shake the whole wide world.
~Matt Redman (Beautiful News)
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