A New Hope

Episode IV of the Star Wars trilogy (i.e. the first Star Wars movie) was subtitled A New Hope.  Watching the movie, you would believe that Luke Skywalker is the new hope.  But after watching Rogue One, you come to the realization that the new hope isn’t a person at all.  Without giving away too much, I can say that the rebels are in a seemingly hopeless situation.  And they seem to be splintering.  Some question the reasons for fighting the Empire while others see nothing but futility in continuing the fight.  Because a few were willing to put aside their differences and work together, in spite of the odds, the movie ended with new hope.  There wasn’t any one individual that could be considered the hero.  They all worked together. Although the situation hadn’t really changed, the Empire still had the Death Star after all, there was a new hope that the Empire could be defeated.

I think a lot of people will say the country is probably not any better off than it was on January 20^th, 2009.  Some will disagree.  Some will see Trump or the new Republican Congress as a new hope.  Others will see them as the Evil Empire from Star Wars.  I don’t see either as the embodiment of hope or evil. Regardless, I do know if things are going to improve in this country, it has to start with us.

How do we create a new hope?  For starters, we could follow what Peter wrote in his first letter, “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”” (1 Peter 5:5) But doing that means we have to keep in mind:

1. Disagreement doesn’t mean hate. People can respectfully disagree. Trying to understand why they disagree may be helpful in reaching an agreement. Assuming that they disagree because they hate gets us nowhere. 
2. Most people don’t really want to hear our opinion or our complaints about politics, transgender issues, radical Islam, or the designated hitter rule, or whatever the complaint du jour may be. Our freedom of speech doesn’t mean we are entitled to have an audience.
3. Respect has to be earned; don’t demand it. 
4. Trying to shutdown opposing viewpoints prevents us from having meaningful conversations about important subjects.  Having a “safe space” to evade differing viewpoints because they might make you uncomfortable is silly.  If the differing viewpoint makes you feel “unsafe”, is it because we are afraid our viewpoint may be proven wrong?
5. Be polite in our discourse. Rudeness is a sure way to shut down a conversation.
6. If you wouldn’t say it to another person, face to face, don’t put it on Facebook, Twitter, or some other social media.  People probably wouldn’t spew the venom they do on social media if they had to look the subject in the eye while they said it.
7. Speaking of social media, we should count to 10, or 100, or 1000 before we type that reply.  Just because social media allows us instant communication doesn’t mean we should instantly communicate.
8. Our freedom of speech, within reason, is protected.  However, we should not assume that this freedom means that we are the only one free to speak.  Others will likely disagree with us.  Be prepared for that.
9. Just because we find something offensive doesn’t mean it was intended that way. We all come from different backgrounds and perspectives. If I use words you find offensive, perhaps it’s because I don’t have your perspective and, therefore have no understanding of the offense.  It isn’t malice, it is simply ignorance. Give me the benefit of the doubt.
10. On the flip side, try to be cognizant of the different perspective.  What may seem harmless could be deeply hurtful.
11. Live by the Golden Rule.  We should treat others as we want to be treated.

If we want a peaceful coexistence, all of us, regardless of race, politics, gender, orientation, income level, or other differences, will have to make an effort. That effort is the new hope.

Dear Hollywood

Dear Hollywood,

I normally don’t watch entertainment awards shows such as the Oscars or Golden Globes.  I assumed these events were just narcissistic self-adulation forums, but it turns out I missed a real opportunity to gain wisdom and enlightenment from Tinsel Town philosophers and sages.

Had I known Meryl Streep would take precious time out of her acceptance speech to warn the rest of us about the dangers of a Donald Trump presidency, I surely would have watched.  Believe me, I won’t miss another for fear of missing out.  But, as I consoled myself after missing an opportunity, I decided that I should thank you for sharing your wisdom and advice.

Thank you Jim Carrey, and others, for putting together a video to inform me of the evils of gun ownership.  I assume that your years of making movies where gun violence is rampant has made you an authority on the dangers of guns and law-abiding gun owners.

I’d like thank Katie Perry, Madonna, and others who took time out of their busy schedules to remind me to vote.  If you hadn’t stripped to your birthday suit, I would have assumed that voting was unimportant.  And thank you for warning me of the dangers of voting for Trump.  Since the mainstream media didn’t report any of Trump’s racist and misogynist language, I would certainly not have known.  I also want to take thank those celebrities who said they would leave the country if Trump won.  I would not have known that our Presidency would suddenly become like a third-world dictatorship just because the wrong person was elected. I stupidly thought that the systems of checks and balances ensconced in the US Constitution would have prevented it.

Clearly, I am not as educated or wise as you.  If I may, I’d like to ask a few questions so that I may become more enlightened.

1. Did you or any of your loved ones lose a job due to the increase in federal regulations introduced during the Obama administration?
2. If yes, did any of these people lose their home resulting in a stay in a homeless shelter or did they have to visit a food bank in order to feed their family (your gardener, stylist, or maid doesn’t count)?
3. Did you or a loved one lose insurance coverage because of the Affordable Care Act? If you were able to keep your insurance, has the rising costs of insurance premiums impacted your ability to meet your other financial obligations like car insurance, house payments, or the like?
4. Have you ever had to worry about school violence, overcrowding, or failing grades in your children’s schools?
5. When was the last time you filled out your own income tax form? If you saw how much was going to the federal government, did you wonder where it all went?
6. When you protested the racist, draconian law officers who massacre the blacks of America, did you also think to protest the 762 murders committed in Chicago last year, especially since most were black-on-black homicides?
7. I was taught in school that the Electoral College was set up so even the least populous states have a say in the presidential election process.  Did you demand the Electoral College be abolished because you knew the President should be elected only by the four or five most populous states, which, coincidentally, tend to vote overwhelmingly Democratic? Or was it based on the fact your candidate lost the election?
8. When you demanded that Electoral College electors not vote for the candidate to whom they were pledged, was it because you believe the rules and laws apply only to the common folks, not liberal elites? Or were you just being a sore loser?
9. Speaking of rules and laws, do you believe that a Secretary of State President should strive to protect National Security assets and information, even if it means the inconvenience of using US email systems? Or are do those laws only apply to the “common folk”?

I look forward to being endowed with the wisdom of your responses to these questions (since I am not on Twitter, a response of more than 140 characters is acceptable), considering anyone who lives and works in the land of make-believe is obviously wiser than the rest of us.

Sincerely,

Active Thinker

Happy New Year 2017

2017.  A brand new year.  2016 is now history.  To be honest, I am glad 2016 is gone.  It certainly felt like a year full of hate and anger.  It seemed as if everyone was either hating or accusing someone of hating, or both.  I pray that 2017 isn’t like that.  In my gut, I am afraid 2017 won’t be much different. But in my heart I believe there is a way to make it a much less hateful year.

Most people have heard the New Testament story of the Good Samaritan.  On the surface, it’s the story of someone helping a stranger.  But it’s deeper than that.  And it’s the deeper meaning that is the key to a better year, if only we’ll try to live by it.

In Luke, chapter 10, an expert in Hebrew law is trying to test Jesus by questioning him.  Jesus answers his question with a question.  The expert “…answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’, and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”(Luke 10:27 NIV)  The expert, still trying to test Jesus, then asks, “…And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29 NIV) Jesus responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan.

 

In the parable, a man was robbed, beaten, and left for dead.  A priest and a Levite both ignored him.  These were Jewish religious leaders, the good guys.  People who should have stopped to help but didn’t.  So why didn’t they?  One can only speculate but I imagine that their reasons would sound familiar.  “I didn’t want to get involved.” “I was afraid.” Or, “I was in a hurry.”  However, a Samaritan did stop.  Not only did he stop to help, but he took care of him and arranged and paid for additional care for the man.

Samaritans and Jews were taught by their respective leaders to avoid each other and to not even speak to each other.  The Jewish historian, Josephus, writes that through much of the first century there were numerous violent conflicts between Jews and Samaritans.  They were, in other words, political and religious enemies.  So why did the Samaritan stop?

Perhaps he looked beyond the race or religion.  Maybe he ignored the injured man’s politics and simply focused on the fact that man was in need.  Regardless, the one least likely to help a Jew was the only one who did.

So in this New Year, we should all resolve to love our neighbor in spite of their color, creed, political or religious beliefs.  We can show our love by helping those in need, obviously.  But we can also show our love by not attacking our neighbors for holding a different viewpoint, different belief, or different political affiliation.  If, in 2017 we truly love our neighbors as our self, not just the ones who speak like us, look like us, or share our same opinions, maybe it will be a better year than 2016.

Happy New Year!

Jagged Holes

Last week, I lost a co-worker and friend to suicide.  While some knew he was suffering from anxiety and depression, none of his friends, family, or co-workers knew he had entertained thoughts of suicide.  So when it happened, we were all shocked.

My friend was a devoted father and husband, active in his church and community, a good friend, and a heck of an engineer.  He will be missed.  His passing has left a huge whole in this world.

I believe many of us left behind are wondering if we could have done more to help him.  Some are hurt and angry that he took his life, leaving the rest of us to deal with the fallout.  Others are simply sad that a good man is gone.  I know I am.  I’m left with feelings of guilt for not doing more.  But how could I have known if even those closest to him didn’t know?

 

Wondering what more I could have done won’t help my friend.  He’s gone and I can’t change that.  But, there are others out there who are hurting, who are drowning in despair and hopelessness.  According to the Center for Disease Control, 41,149 Americans committed suicide in 2013. According to Randomhistory.com, someone in the US attempts suicide once every minute, and someone completes a suicide once every 17 minutes.  Perhaps we can help them.

I’m not talking about “raising awareness” or ice bucket challenges or things like that.  I mean truly helping.  Volunteering to man suicide hot lines or donating time and money to suicide prevention and mental health organizations is a good way to help.  Learning how to recognize depression and indications that friends or family may be considering suicide is important.  There are a lot of reputable resources on the internet.  Although it isn’t easy, talking about the elephant in the room is a good start.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth aged 10 to 24.  We can help by volunteering time and money to help youth organizations.  Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, church youth groups, school organizations all need adults to help our youth.  Especially since so many youth are coming from broken homes where the adults may be in jail or drug addicts or simply don’t give a damn about their children.  Too many people feel hopeless.  We need to talk about depression and suicide and let people know there are people that care and ways to heal their despair.

I’ve never experienced the depth of despair that drove my friend to suicide.  But I do know that his death has left a big, ugly, jagged hole in the hearts of those who loved him, knew him, and worked with him.  Let’s get involved and volunteer so we can reduce the number of jagged holes left in the world. 

American Sniping

“American Sniper” is a movie about Navy Seal Chris Kyle, who had 160 confirmed kills as a sniper during four tours of Iraq.  It’s a well-made movie, directed by Clint Eastwood, and judging by the box office records, a very popular movie.  Nevertheless, it has attracted its fair share of criticism.

Many critics refer to Chris Kyle as sociopath. Comedian Bill Maher referred to Kyle as a psychopath.  Some referred to Kyle and the other servicemen who fought in Iraq as murderers. Political cartoonist Ted Rall called our servicemen “government’s poorly paid contract killers”.  Others derided Kyle’s “racist tendencies”. 

Many of the comments I’ve seen online paint our servicemen and women as murderers and warmongers for not refusing to serve.  Some even went so far as to state that true justice would be served if the servicemen in Iraq turned their weapons on their superior officers.  But most lamented about the number of innocent civilians killed by our forces in Iraq.  What really caught my attention was the comments that our troops don’t deserve our support.

Was Chris Kyle a sociopath?  I never met the man. He did write in his book that everyone he shot was evil and that he had a good cause for shooting them. But, since he cared deeply for his family and his country, as well as his fellow warriors, he doesn’t seem to fit the definition of sociopath or psychopath.  Was he racist?  Perhaps.  But in a war zone where inhumane conditions exists and other humans are trying to kill you, maybe the only way to save a modicum of your own humanity and sanity is to dehumanize the enemy.  If that means you call them racist or other despicable names to cope, I certainly can’t judge, I haven’t walked in a soldier’s shoes.  I’ve never been in combat, never had another human being trying to kill or maim me, so I don’t know how I would respond.  But I know good, moral people who have been in combat who’ve used that coping mechanism and I don’t believe them to be racist.

Should our servicemen and women have resisted serving overseas?  The assumption is that they knew the war was wrong, yet failed to resist. How would they know the war was wrong? The fact of the matter is, we were all told that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.  We were told that Iraq had both chemical and biological weapons.  In 2002, Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing military action against Iraq and among the reasons for war in Iraq was Iraq’s “brutal repression of its civilian population”, its “continu[ing] to aid and harbor other international terrorist organization”, and that it posed a “threat to the national security of the United States.”  Those all appear to be valid reasons to go to war.  If our duly elected leaders, who have access to intelligence assets that the general public doesn’t, say we should go to war, how are we to say whether Iraq is truly a threat to our national security or not?

I would expect most of those who went to Iraq saw themselves as fighting to secure our country as well as being liberators of the Iraqi people.  In hindsight, we now know Hussein didn’t have weapons of mass destruction.  And we know that the Iraqi people, by and large, didn’t want or weren’t ready for a democratic government. Hussein held the country together by force; a Sunni Muslim, he brutally repressed both Shiite and Kurdish uprisings with chemical weapons and killing more than 100,000 Iraqis.  The enmity between Iraq’s ethnic groups is deep-seated, and much of the US efforts in Iraq were spent quelling sectarian violence.  And given that Islam, the major religion of the Middle East, touches nearly every aspect of life and society, conflicts with democratic ideals thus making it unlikely to survive in Iraq.

Were innocent people killed during the Iraqi War? Without a doubt, yes, there were innocents killed and wounded.  But innocents were killed by forces on both sides of the war.  One scene in the movie illustrates how ruthlessly the Iraqi insurgents treated their own people who were suspected of talking with the Americans.  US servicemen had to abide by rules of engagement (ROE) in Iraq.  Those rules, sometimes to the detriment of the safety of US personnel, were meant to protect innocent civilians. Maybe the rules weren’t affective but at least it shows that the US values lives.  While we no longer have forces in Iraq, innocents are still dying.  The Boko Haram, al-Qaeda, and ISIL Islamic terrorist organizations are still waging a campaign of violence against innocent civilians.  Beheadings, mass executions, and kidnappings are occurring in central Africa and the Middle East.  Muslims, Christians, men, women, and children are all victims of the violence.

President Obama is planning to seek a formal war authorization to fight against ISIL and al-Qaeda forces in Syria and the Middle East.  If our duly elected leaders choose to grant these powers to the President, then our troops will go into harm’s way once more.  Should we expect our troops to refuse to go?  Do we want them to demand proof of reason why force is necessary before they head out to the warzone?

I think we have to accept that there are those out there that want to do harm to the US and other peoples, regardless of what we do.  And we have to accept that sometimes, the only way to stop those that would do evil is through force.  When this happens, we have to understand that there will be a loss of innocent lives, regardless of how hard our troops try to avoid it.  We also shouldn’t label our soldiers sociopaths for performing the job their government has assigned them to do.  Regardless, if our leaders say that force is required, we should pray for the safety of our troops and support them.  They are the shepherds that protect the rest of us from the wolves of the world.

Hypocrisy Matters

“Black Lives Matter” is movement that started in the wake of the Trayvon Martin trial and acquittal of his killer, George Zimmerman.  The movement gained momentum after the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.  There have been over 600 “Black Lives Matter” demonstrations worldwide and the protest organizers and protestors have met with President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Attorney General Holder to demand that the federal government do something about the fact that, “[b]lack communities have suffered under racially biased policing and unconstitutional law enforcement policies for far too long.” Have the black communities suffered? In some ways, it depends on perspective.  However, the facts allude to a different story altogether.

The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports database provides a wealth of statistics on crime in the nation.  According to the FBI, in 2012, 123 blacks were shot and killed by police versus 326 whites killed by police.  However, the data doesn’t provide much information on whether the person was armed, unarmed, retreating, fighting with officers, etc., so it’s difficult to tell if the policing is racially biased or not.  But as I researched, I came across other facts that tell a different story.

In 2012, there were more than 8.3 million arrests in the United States.  Blacks accounted for 28 % of those arrests, while 69 % of those arrested were white (Note: The FBI data includes Hispanics as part of the white population).  The US Census bureau reports that blacks make up 13% of the US population, so one could say that there is a disproportionate number of arrests, but is that due to racial profiling or is the fact of the matter that blacks commit a larger portion of crimes?

When broken down by offense, 49% of those arrested for murder and 51% of those arrested for robbery were black.  Again, one could argue that this is indicative of widespread bias.  I think not.  Buried in the data are these two facts.  From 2003 to 2012, blacks were responsible for 44 % of the deaths of officers killed in the line of duty.  But more disturbingly, 91 % of the 2648 blacks murdered in 2012 were killed by blacks.  It seems to me that black-on-black crime is a much more serious problem than white on black (193 blacks murdered by whites in 2012) or police killing blacks.  So why don’t we hear more protests about black-on-black crime?

The professional rabble-rousers like Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and the like don’t want to talk about the real issues because they get no mileage out of it.  Which is more sensational and more likely to grab headlines, an innocent teen killed by a racist neighborhood watch volunteer or another story about blacks killing blacks?  Obviously, they can’t get attention if they can’t grab headlines so they focus on the sensational, ignoring the real issue and try to make the rest of us feel guilty about race.  And the problem of black-on-black crime continues.  Sounds like hypocrisy to me.

Do blacks have a legitimate concern about unfair and biased policing? I’ll concede that it is not only possible, but likely.  Is it due to racism or stereotyping?  It’s hard to say.  But FBI data indicates that the bulk of the violent crimes happen in urban areas populated primarily by blacks.  And FBI data indicates that the majority of law enforcement patrols are deployed to these same areas.  For the many law-abiding blacks living in these communities, the police are their only protection; the police patrols exist because black lives do matter.

Black lives do matter; all lives matter. But the next time you hear one of these protestors say that black lives matter, ask yourself if they mean all black lives, or only the lives that give them 15 minutes of media time. 

Good Cops Bad Cops

by John Galt

As a topic debated in the media, I’ll mention my thoughts on our policemen and women.  The majority of police officers are upstanding people doing an extremely difficult job.  I know I couldn’t make the split-second decisions they have to make.  I cannot imagine the remorse they must feel when they make an error in judgment that results in someone being harmed.  Wearing a gun isn't a responsibility I want to shoulder, much less wear one as part of my job.  I cannot imagine a society without the peace-keepers, so they have my admiration. 

If we look at the members of police forces across the country, I’m sure you will find officers representing all races, genders, and economic standings.  Our local police force is us, maybe not with statistical precision, but they are a product of our local communities.  Within the country-wide police community, there are some that use the power that comes with a badge to take advantage.  No question that these officers exist and they should be held accountable for their misconduct.  Just like the rest of us, there are good and bad.