Hypocrisy

I see lots of bumper stickers during my daily drive to work.  Some are funny, some are impolite, and some are thought provoking.  One that provoked my thinking was “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.”  It got me to wondering, how do others view Christians?

Christians are in the news a lot these days.  Whether the issue is separation of church and state, alternate lifestyles, TV and movie content, or politics, Christians are quite often vilified for their stance on these and other subjects.  Why would followers of Christ, people who were commanded to “love thy neighbor” and “turn the other cheek” be vilified?

I wish I could say that Christians are vilified because of their adherence to their Christian values, refusing to condone immorality. I wish it is due to a misunderstanding of the beliefs of Christianity.  I wish I could say it comes about because Christians are persecuted for having a strong faith by people of uncertain faith and beliefs. I wish I could say that its simply because people, looking for acceptance of or justification for their beliefs, attitudes, and actions, lash out at Christians because Christians refuse to accept those beliefs, attitudes, and actions.

It would be satisfying to say it is due to those things, but I can’t.  David Kinnaman, in his book, UnChristian: What A New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity… and Why It Matters, discusses the negative perceptions people have towards Christianity. The primary negative perception is that Christians are hypocritical, saying one thing while doing another, pretending to be a virtuous and morally superior people.  

Face it, in many cases, the perception is warranted.  Churches, especially those in the South in the 1960s and earlier, preached of loving thy neighbor, but in practice, many church members loved their neighbor only if that neighbor had a certain skin color.  The Catholic sex abuse scandal adds to the hypocrisy perception because of the hypocritical actions of priests, but also those who participated in the cover-up.  When members of the Westboro Baptist Church picketed funerals of US service personnel and participated in other protests, carrying signs stating “God Hates Fags”, “God Hates Jews,” and “God Hates America”, there were no statements from the United Methodist Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Catholic Church or other major religious organizations denouncing the actions or statements of the Westboro members.  

While these examples contribute to the perception of hypocrisy, the real source of the hypocrisy is some of the Christians that people encounter daily.  In Mr. Kinnaman’s book, he reports that many people have had bad experiences in a church or with a Christian, representing nearly 50 million adults who admit they have significant emotional or spiritual baggage due to past encounters with so-called Christians.

How many times have you seen rude drivers with “I love Jesus” stickers on their car? How many times have you seen people participating in unchristian like activities while wearing a crucifix or a “What Would Jesus Do” wristband? What about congregations that seem cold and unfriendly to visitors?  It’s easy to point out the hypocrisy of others but hard to admit hypocrisy in ourselves.

Christ warned us about hypocrisy.  In His Sermon on the Mount, He tells us that performing acts of charity in order to be seen by others offers no reward in Heaven. He warns us not to pray as the hypocrites do, in public for show, but to pray genuinely in private. He warns us not to judge, lest we be judged.  He tells us to love and pray for our enemies as well as our neighbors.  It’s terribly difficult not to be hypocrite, ever.  Especially when dealing with rude, inconsiderate people or people who choose to act dishonestly or without integrity, it is difficult not to act in kind.  

Only God can see into the heart of a person and see the good there.  Others can only see your goodness through your actions.  But your actions may also illuminate your hypocrisy.  Be polite. Show compassion through words and actions. Greet a visitor (or church member) warmly at church and show them you’re glad they attended.  Do a good turn for someone, regardless of whether anyone sees it. As Christ commanded, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven (Matthew 5:17).

Christians aren’t perfect.  It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being genuine.

Uncommon Sense

I noticed a sticker on the big, foldable sunshield I use in the windshield of my truck while it is parked. The warning label states: “Warning: Do not drive with sunshade in place.” Since common sense tells me that driving with the sunshield in place would interfere with my vision, it would be pretty stupid to do so.  The printing and installation of the label costs the manufacturer, so either the manufacturer has experience with people attempting to drive with the sunshield in place or the manufacturer’s lawyers, assuming that people will be stupid, required the label in an attempt to avoid litigation. 

If you look around, you will see many similar warning labels.  “Warning: May cause drowsiness” on the package for a sleep aid, “This product not intended for use as a dental drill” in the instruction manual for a rotary power tool, “Do not spray in eyes” on glass cleaner, “No smoking” on a gasoline pump. All of these warnings should be intuitively obvious to someone with common sense.  Are these warning labels there to protect a small segment of the population or is a lack of common sense rampant in our society?  Based on the number of people I observe daily who drive while reading, texting, or performing other equally distracting actions, all of which common sense should tell them not to do, a lack of common sense is widespread. You may believe you can drive safely while texting but the rest of us beg to differ.

During a drive to a recent Scout camping trip, my son was reading aloud a collection of quotes. Most of the quotes were ostensibly geared towards teenage male humor because the three teenage boys were in tears from laughter, while I chuckled only occasionally.  However, one quote really caught everyone’s attention.  “Common sense is so rare; it should be classified as a super power.”

Wow! That stopped the laughter and brought about a conversation on common sense.  What I gathered from the conversation is they believe a lack of common sense is characterized by “people doing stupid things” and common sense is “people doing smart things.”  Not bad for teenagers, given the definition in the dictionary is “sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts.”

Sounds good, but what does it really mean?  Based on the definitions of judgment and perception, it means making a sound decision based on a simple understanding of the world around you.  Karl Albrecht, in his book, Practical Intelligence: The Art and Science of Common Sense, defines common sense as “the mental ability to cope with the challenges and opportunities of life".

Common sense requires a perception of the facts and situation grounded in reality, not your perception of reality. We all have equal access to common sense.  Common sense shouldn’t be uncommon. Don’t rely on the warning on a sticker to keep you safe. Exercise your super powers; engage your brain, observe the real situation and facts, not the situation and facts as you want them to be, and then act.

Volunteerism

The Cleveland Plain Dealer, under the byline of Mark Naymik, carried a story concerning Cleveland, Ohio, Boy Scout Troop 983.  After 25 years, the troop is folding. In his article, (http://www.cleveland.com/naymik/index.ssf/2012/04/cleveland_is_losing_a_piece_of.html), Mr. Naymik states the troop is folding because of apathy.  You see, no one has stepped up to take over from the current leaders, who have been there from the beginning. The current leaders have attempted to find replacements for nearly a year, yet no one has stepped forward. It’s a shame that the community hasn’t stepped up.  Troop 983 is an inner-city troop and the Scouts come mainly from homes where there is only one parent or grandparents are raising the Scouts.

Kids need positive adult role models. They need those role models to mold their character, teach them right-from-wrong, and most importantly, be their champion. But if the role models aren’t in the home, where do kids find them? TV no longer has strong father figures like Ward Cleaver or Howard Cunningham.  The TV role models today are slackers, shirkers, and thugs. And positive female role models on TV are pretty scarce, too.  Sports figures, movie stars, and music stars, while idols to millions of our youth, are often poor role models.  Pick a few famous names, do a Google search, and you’ll see an abundance of misbehaviors in the results.

Charles Barkley famously stated in a Nike commercial, “I am not a role model.” While it raised quite a controversy, viewing Barkley as another spoiled, overpaid athlete, many failed to realize his true message. Barkley called for parents and teachers to quit looking to him to “raise your kids” and instead be role models themselves. If we can’t rely on parents to be role models, what can we do?

A study documented on the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine website found there is a strong relationship between adolescents having an adult mentor and a decreased participation in risky behaviors such as smoking, illicit drug use, risky sexual practices, and the carrying of weapons.  A Juvenile Justice System Bulletin, published by the Department of Justice in 1997, documented the effect of mentoring on youth participating in Big Brother/Big Sister programs.  That study found that mentored youth were 46% less likely to initiate drug use, 27% were less likely to initiate alcohol use, and 52% were less likely to be truant than youth who weren’t mentored.  The statistics are just as relevant today.

There’s the answer. Be a role model, be a mentor and set an example.  Volunteer to read to children in a school or library reading program. Volunteer with the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, or Cub Scouts.  Be a Big Brother or Big Sister. Teach Sunday School. Coach a community league sports team.  If you volunteer that most precious of commodities, your time, you are likely to create a legacy that last far longer than your name on a hunk of granite in a cemetery.

I pray that someone steps forward to serve as leaders for Troop 983.  Boy Scouts is one program that sets a standard of conduct that has molded many of our leaders and achievers.  Time is a commodity that gives a greater return than money.  Your simple act of volunteerism will leave a mark on the community that grows exponentially with each youth that you mentor and every person they influence.  What worries me is that the same apathy can happen in my town.  If we are to save our communities, save our country, we have to start by saving our youth.

Respect and Courtesy

A colleague of mine, an amateur photographer, recently posted a photograph of an older man wearing a shirt that, in essence, referred to the President as a liar, a radical, a Marxist, a socialist, a tyrant, and a subversive.  My colleague posted under the photo, “The lack of respect for the office of the President of the United States appalls me.”  Can you respect the Office and not respect the Office holder? Should the Office be respected without considering the person holding the office?  Good questions.

If someone cuts me off in traffic, has that person “disrespected” me? Since chances are good that I don’t know that person, I would say the person was guilty of discourteous behavior, but not necessarily disrespectful behavior. What’s the difference? Courtesy is defined as “excellence of manners or social conduct; polite behavior”. Mr. Webster says that respect, the noun, is “esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability”.  Furthermore, the dictionary states that respect, the verb, is “to hold in esteem or honor” or “to show regard or consideration for”.

I went to Google and searched for “disrespect” and “shooting” which returned almost 6.3 million websites.  Obviously, many of the results were multiple references to a news story or incident. But even if ten percent of those results are unique stories, then that’s a lot of shootings based on perceived disrespect. One convicted murderer claimed he felt “emasculated” and “disrespected” because the victim had threatened to beat him if he harmed the victim’s daughter. A mass shooting in Miami began because of a perceived disrespect at a wake. A Maryland teen killed a man who had earlier yelled at him because the victim “disrespected” him.  A Wendy’s employee in Florida attacked a customer because she felt disrespected when the customer, after being told several times, would not speak up when placing her order. More recently, an ex-student opened fire at a small Christian college in Oakland, California, and killed seven people.  The ex-student told police he was upset because he felt the students at the college had mistreated him and disrespected him.

I’ve heard the saying, “Respect cannot be learned, purchased or acquired; it can only be earned.” I don’t know who first said this, but I agree.  It is my belief that respect is not a right but an earned privilege.  And, as my friend has lamented, respect isn’t bestowed upon all old people just because they have reached old age, it is given based on their character.  Take a minute to ask yourself, “Have I earned respect today?” If the answer is no, do something to earn it.  It may be as simple as being courteous and kind to others that earns their respect.

When I was a kid, there were some personal behaviors collectively referred to as common courtesy.  These included saying “please” and “thank you”, not using offensive language in public, holding a door for someone, essentially, following the Golden Rule (“Do onto others as you would have them do onto you”).  Courtesy is no longer common.  The results of an Associated Press poll conducted a few years ago indicates that people believe Americans are more rude compared to 20 or 30 years ago and that the blame lies with parents failing to teach good manners, the affects of TV and movies showing rude behavior, and celebrities, athletes, and public figures behaving rudely and being poor role models. The rude behaviors most frequently cited were loud or annoying cell phone use in public, rude or offensive language in public, and aggressive or reckless driving.

Many feel that the absence of courtesy is reflected in a general lack of civility, especially in politics.  Will this lack of civility tear our country apart? If it does, we can’t say we weren’t warned.  Samuel Adams, in 1779, wrote in a letter to James Warren, “A general dissolution of the principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy”. In 1802, John Witherspoon, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, wrote, “Nothing is more certain than that a general profligacy and corruption of manners make a people ripe for destruction”.

 How to make courtesy common again?  First of all, be courteous yourself. Say please and thank you when soliciting and receiving assistance. Turn down the volume on your cell phone conversation, or remove yourself and go somewhere that your conversation will not annoy others. Turn off the ringer in the theatre and in other similar situations. Obey the driving laws, use your turn signals and don’t tailgate. Focus your attention on your driving. Don’t use offensive words in public. And turn off the sense of entitlement that sets you up to respond discourteously.

Second, politely demand courtesy.  If the situation warrants and wait staff isn’t courteous, speak to the manager. If the sales clerk is rude, talk to the store manager. If people around you are impolite, call them on it, if it is safe to do so. Be aware that your request for courtesy may be met with increased rudeness. If that’s the case, walk away.  But remember, making courtesy common again starts with you. As Emerson wrote, “Life is not so short but that there is always time for courtesy”.

Common courtesy should be common, but respect must be earned.  Practicing common courtesy goes a long way towards earning respect. Be worthy.

Follow the Creed

In the history of Auburn University, my alma mater, George Petrie occupies a very important place. Petrie organized the first Auburn football team and the first football game in the Deep South, the 1892 contest between Auburn and Georgia in Piedmont Park in Atlanta.  In 1943, as an Auburn professor, Petrie wrote a set of beliefs and principles that he believed to be common to all Auburn students, faculty, and alumni. These beliefs and principles, known as the Auburn Creed, embody the spirit of Auburn.

The Auburn Creed

I believe that this is a practical world and that I can count only on what I earn. Therefore, I believe in work, hard work.
I believe in education, which gives me the knowledge to work wisely and trains my mind and my hands to work skillfully.
I believe in honesty and truthfulness, without which I cannot win the respect and confidence of my fellow men.
I believe in a sound mind, a sound body, and a spirit that is not afraid, and in clean sports that develop these qualities.
I believe in obedience to law because it protects the rights of all.
I believe in the human touch, which cultivates sympathy with my fellow men and mutual helpfulness and brings happiness for all.
I believe in my country, because it is a land of freedom and because it is my own home, and that I can best serve that country by "doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my God."
And because Auburn men and women believe in these things, I believe in Auburn and love it.

As a student, I accepted the words of the creed without question because I thought everyone everywhere felt the same way.  The beliefs and principles of the creed were the same as those practiced by my family.  It wasn’t right to get something you didn’t earn through hard work. That’s why everyone in my family worked.  An education was a privilege, not a right.  That’s why my parents made such a fuss over my grades.  A man’s word meant something because his word was backed by a history of honesty and trust. That’s why telling a lie incurred my mother’s wrath.  We obeyed the law because laws were meant to be obeyed. And we believed in God and country because God is the source of all our many blessings and the freedoms we cherish were paid for by the blood and sacrifices of those who came before us.

As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to realize that not everyone shares the beliefs encompassed by the Auburn Creed.  For example, 21.8% of the total US population do not count on only what they earn and thus receives government assistance. (This percentage (67.3 million people) does not include federal government employees.) How much assistance do these people receive?  On average, each person received $32,478 worth of benefits from the federal government (source:  William W. Beach and Patrick D. Tyrrell, The 2012 Index of Dependence on Government, The Heritage Foundation, https://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/2012/pdf/sr104.pdf).    What message does this send when there is no incentive to stand on your own two feet?  Why work hard when the government, i.e., taxpayers, will provide for you? Combining a shrinking taxpayer base with a growing number of people who rely on the government for their daily existence is recipe for financial disaster.  Although the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 placed a time limit on benefits (two years consecutively and five years collectively over a lifetime), it is estimated that as many as 44% of welfare recipient cases are exempt from these time limits.  Furthermore, other benefits such as federal housing subsidies, which cost taxpayers over $33 billion in 2009, have no time limit on benefits nor are there incentives in place to wean people from these benefits.

Other core beliefs are honesty, integrity, and obedience to law.  According to the US Census Bureau, there were 10.6 million crimes committed in the US in 2009.  Violent crimes, including murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault accounted for 1.3 million and property crimes (burglary, larceny and theft, and motor vehicle theft) accounted  for the other 9.3 million.  Stated another way, there were 429 violent crimes and over 3000 property crimes committed in the US for every 100,000 people.  The US Census Bureau data indicates there were over 13,000 murders and over 81,000 forcible rapes in the US in 2009.  I can’t even imagine how one would quantify the impact of a violent crime; a 2008 United Nations report estimates that financial loss due to violent crimes totals $45 billion.  While the direct costs of property crimes, approximately $9,000,000, can be quantified, the intangible impacts are more difficult. The Minnesota House of Representatives Research Department estimated in a 1999 study that upwards of 5 million people received mental health therapy directly related to their victimization. And the cost of incarceration for offenders exceeded $68 billion in 2006.  I really don’t know how this situation got so out of control.  When I was a kid, a person was measured by their honesty and integrity; they did the right thing because it was the right thing, not for fear of reprisal.  How can we condone a society that lives off the victimization of another person?

I get it.  Not everyone shares the same values and beliefs that I do. To expect that is folly.  However, some beliefs should be common to us all.  The beliefs that “I can count only on what I earn” and “obedience to law because it protects the rights of all” should be fundamental beliefs which all of us share.  If this great country is to avoid becoming a footnote in history similar to the Roman Empire, we must each take responsibility for our actions and our well-being and accept the consequences, either good or bad. Can you imagine the change if each of us took responsibility for our own welfare and obeyed the laws of the land?  Each journey starts with one step.  Just for today, don’t be a burden on others and stand on your own two feet.  If you fail today, tomorrow, try again.

Taxman

The first Beatles’ song I learned to play on guitar was “Taxman”.  It has a driving bass riff and McCartney’s guitar solo has a psychedelic touch. The lyrics of the lead track (on the Beatle’s 1966 album Revolver), were interesting enough that I did a little research about them.  Turns out George Harrison wrote the song to protest the fact that most of their earnings were being given away to Harold Wilson’s Labour government in the form of taxes. The line, “that’s one for you, nineteen for me”, is a reference to the 95% supertax liability imposed on the top tax bracket in the United Kingdom during Wilson’s tenure as prime minister

“Taxman” gets a fair amount of play time on radio and television in the days leading up to the US Tax Day. Tax Day this year is Monday, April 16.  The deadline for filing personal income tax returns fills many filers, especially the procrastinators, with stress and angst.  What many people may not know is that until 1913, the US Constitution did not allow direct taxation of income by the federal government without distributing it among the states or in proportion to the US Census results.  With the ratification of the 16^th Amendment and President Wilson’s signing of the US Revenue Act of 1913 into law, the personal income tax became a permanent fixture.

While you’re working on those tax returns, take a look at line 61 of form 1040, line 35 of form 1040A, or line 10 of form 1040EZ.  If the entry on that line is greater than zero, you’ve paid personal income taxes.  Interestingly enough, a study from the Brookings Institution’s Tax Policy Center indicates that 46% of Americans will pay no federal income tax in 2011 or will receive more from the IRS in the form of a refund than they pay in (http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/UploadedPDF/1001547-Why-No-Income-Tax.pdf).

But what if your entry on line 61, or 35, or 10 is greater than zero?  How is your money used? Obviously, it is used to finance the federal government, but what does that really mean.  How much is collected by the federal government?  According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report, “The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022”, (http://www.cbo.gov/publication/42905) the federal government revenue totaled $2,302.5 billion. Stated another way, it collected over $2.3 trillion dollars in revenue.  Of that total, $1091.5 billion came from individual income taxes, $818.8 billion came from social insurance taxes, $181.1 came from corporate income taxes, and the rest came from excise taxes, estate and gift taxes, customs duties, and miscellaneous receipts.  When you do the math, our federal income taxes account for approximately 47% of the revenue collected.

So where does it all go?  The graph below shows the various categories of government spending. The data used to build this graph is in the same CBO report.

Now, I’d like to point out some details.  The first thing to notice is the annual spending total exceeds the annual revenue total by almost $1.3 trillion.  For reference, $1.3 trillion dollars is $1,300,000,000,000 and if you earned $130,000 in wages per year for 10 million years, you would have earned $1.3 trillion in wages.

The second thing to notice is the net interest on the federal debt, $227.1 billion, is one-third the total defense budget.  As the debt increases, the interest payments increase accordingly.

The third thing to notice is the total spent on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, roughly $1.6 trillion, is nearly double what is collected by the government in the form of social insurance taxes.

It should be obvious that we, as a country, cannot sustain trillion dollar deficits forever.  Just the interest payments alone account for 6% of spending.  What can we do about it?  Can you imagine the consequences if you handled your own finances the way the federal government handles theirs? 

So, take action.  First, educate yourself. Read House Concurrent Resolution 112, passed by the US House of Representatives (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hconres112eh/pdf/BILLS-112hconres112eh.pdf).  The purpose of this resolution is to establish the budget for fiscal year 2013. It is an implementation of Representative Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) “The Path to Prosperity: A Blueprint for American Renewal”  (http://budget.house.gov/fy2013Prosperity/).

Read the  "Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2013", which contains the President’s budget message and information on the President’s budget priorities (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Overview). Compare the two budgets.  The CBO website (http://www.cbo.gov/) includes reports and budget projections based on both the President’s and Rep. Ryan’s budget visions.  Then decide for yourself in which direction the country should head. If you believe the plans fall short of your vision for the country, identify the pros and cons of each and use the pros to create your own plan.

Once you decide, contact your Congressman and your Senators.  Both the Senate and the House have websites (http://www.senate.gov/ and http://www.house.gov/, respectively) that identifies who represents you and how to contact them.  Tell them the direction you think the country should take.  Tell them what means the most to you.  And last, but not least, vote this November.  Use your vote to tell Congress and the President what you want.  The consequences are too grave to be uninformed about this and to sit by while the outcome is decided by others.

Awareness

Leaving work the other afternoon, I saw a sign that advertized April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.  Twenty feet further along, another sign advertized April as Child Abuse Prevention Month.  My first thought, a cynical one, was we’re going to need more months in the year if people assign months to things of which we should be aware. I guess the signs worked, I looked up some data on the subject.

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center says on its website that the goal of Sexual Assault Awareness Month is to raise public awareness about sexual violence and to educate communities and individuals on how to prevent sexual violence. That is an admirable goal and I hope they achieve that goal. Statistics concerning sexual assault and rape are listed on the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network website (http://www.rainn.org/statistics).  According to the website, someone in the US is sexually assaulted every two minutes resulting in an average of over 207,000 victims per year.  More disturbingly, 97% of rapist will never spend a day in jail. If that isn’t bad enough, 44% of victims are under the age of 18.

Child Abuse Prevention Month, its purpose is self-evident.  I pray that we can eliminate child abuse.  It is a horrible thing and if proclaiming April as Child Abuse Prevention Month helps, I’m all for it.  The National Children’s Alliance Statistical Fact Sheet (http://www.nationalchildrensalliance.org/file.php/3851/NCA-NationalStatSheet-2011TotalStatistics.pdf) reports that in 2010, an estimated 1,560 children died from abuse and neglect in the United States. Of those deaths due to abuse and neglect, 80% were caused by one or more of the victim’s parents.

My second thought, after raising awareness of these issues for one month, do we forget about them over the other 11 months?  Yes, it’s cynical, but these are important issues that should be on people’s mind year round, not limited to one month a year.  Maybe one month is enough to raise the awareness out of the background noise for the rest of the year. I sure hope so.

My challenge to you is twofold; don’t let this month go by without increasing your awareness about one or both of these issues (this is the thinking part), and don’t let these issues fade into the background the other 11 months.  Volunteer at a rape crisis center, a child advocacy center, be a foster parent, donate money or time (or both), but do something (this is the active part).