Cannonballs

My wife and daughter just got back from a trip to Arkansas, of all places to visit family.  They brought back a silly family game with them.  At random times during conversation, one of them will suddenly say, "Apology Accepted."  No purpose, no reason, just a goofy game.  In real life, apologies should matter.  That's what I was taught growing up, but somehow that has changed.  Demanding an apology is now just a tool of the overly sensitive and politically correct.

Hank Williams Jr. likens President Obama’s golf game with Speaker John Boener with Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu.  He is promptly castigated in the news media and issues a formal apology.

Johnny Depp likens the paparrazi taking so many photos of famous people without their permission to being raped.  He is promptly castigated by the news media and issues a formal apology.

Do a Google search for the phrase “…apologized for saying” and review the results going back a year or two and you’ll see dozens of people who made unfortunate (or sometimes completely accurate) characterizations of situations that they immediately had to apologize for.  It always follows the same pattern.  Someone says something comparing one thing to another.  The news media jumps on it and tears them apart.  Pundits speak out.  Activists call for their resignation.  The person quickly explains, “I didn’t mean it that way.”  The news cycle grows.  Finally, the person gives a formal apology, usually read  by their attorney.  This apology is never a real apology but is legalize that says something along the lines of, “I’m sorry if someone may have been accidentally offended by my words,” without actually saying anything that might lead to legal action or further misinterpretation.

Do we not know what a metaphor is anymore?  Have we become so afraid of offending someone that we cannot use symbolism or allegory?  Are we really that uptight that we cannot understand the core truth that can be found in a little hyperbole and that the exaggeration often points to the seriousness of the core truth?

Do we really need to explain that the President and Speaker have serious political differences that are radically far apart?  Can we not understand that having someone take your picture at all hours in all situations whether you want it or not is akin to having something stolen from you?

Our language has historically been very rich with the use of figures of speech to make a point.  Read some of the greatest historic speeches and you’ll find them littered with figurative language.  What a beautiful thing.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Speak what you think today in words as hard as cannon balls, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you say today.”

Let us be bold in our speech and not give apologies every time some delicate person feels their ears are wounded by a well placed simile.  Let them take this chance to grow a little and invite them to make polite, but ideally placed turns of phrase that give a strong clear picture of the point that they wish to make.

I'm not suggesting that we all be jerks just to be jerks, but certainly, we can say things without having to worry about our every sentence having to be run through a cleanser before being spoken.  How flat and grey would our world be if everyone spoke in carefully crafted legalese so as to not offend anyone.

With that, I must apologize for using Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote that suggests that cannon balls are the equivalent to hard words.  I am truly sorry if any cannon balls felt hurt by my poorly chosen words.

Apology Accepted.

Ten Things I Wish Non-Christians Would Move Past

Ten Things I Wish Non-Christians Would Move Past

OK, yesterdays Top 10 got the response I expected. You should have seen my email and facebook inboxes. As I expected a lot of people read down the list until they hit something that they feel strongly about and then stopped there. So much for moving past stuff and focusing on the important message.

Moving right along, today’s Top 10 is the things that I wish Non-Christians would move past. If you don’t believe in the Bible, please take a moment and read this list. Please don’t let any of these things be a stumbling block to you meeting God. He is there and He wants a personal relationship with you and He will make a difference in your life. If you want to know more, just contact me. I’ll buy you a cup of coffee, a soda pop, or even a beer and we can talk about any questions you have. I promise, no spiritual manipulation and no in-your-face stuff, just an honest conversation.

Number 10: Angels. I was at Bookstar the other day and I saw a lady buying this stack of books about Angels. How to get your angel to help you. How to be healed by your angel. How to hear your angel. The Big Book of Angels. OK. It’s all crap. Gotta be honest. Angels are in the Bible, but what you read in all those self-help books is mostly made up, goofy spiritualism which has little or no connection to how they are described in the Bible. Just a thought.

Number 9: Hypocrisy in the Church. Duh. There are hypocrites in the church. For the record, there are also hypocrites in your grocery store, laundromat, bowling alley, on the golf course, and at your work. Look in the mirror and you’ll see one there too. My favorite quote is, “I am comfortable with my own hypocrisy, it is everyone else’s that bothers me.” Laugh. That’s funny. The human condition involves hypocrisy, we all have blind spots to our own problems while seeing other’s very clearly. Don’t let that be a reason for avoiding God.

Number 8: Pushing my values off on you. I blogged about this once before (http://rodg3r.blogspot.com/2009/05/push-off.html). Please don’t accuse me of pushing my values off on you. Of course I am. I have an opinion, I vote, and I have freedom of speech. And, I am honest about it. If you use this as an argument-stopper, then you are the dishonest one. The truth is, everyone has an opinion, and if you vote, make any political comment, protest something, share your opinion, or even just express your belief; then you are pushing your values off on others. That is the great thing about the nation we live in. You are allowed to do that. Let’s go to the polls and you can try to push your values off on me and I’ll try to push mine off on you. Welcome to the process of living in community.

Number 7: I believe that all religions lead to heaven. Goofy, goofy, goofy. Not all religions even believe in heaven. Most religions directly contradict each other. Simple logic therefore is that they must not all lead to heaven. I really wish people put more logic into their thinking.

Number 6: There is no such thing as absolute truth. Another goofy one. That is a self-refuting statement. You are making the statement as if it is truth, but then saying that there isn’t truth. You cannot really believe this and live your life accordingly. (more on this: http://rodg3r.blogspot.com/2009/06/you-cant-understand-this-because-its.html and http://rodg3r.blogspot.com/2009/05/you-cant-handle-truth.html)

Number 5: Televangelists. Yes, most of us think they are ridiculous too. Just turn to the next channel and ignore them. If you want to know about God, find a local church and talk to the pastor. Yes, some of them are weird too, but such is the way of things; every group of people has its weirdos, even Christians.

Number 4: Church is just about money. I believed this too, when I first started coming to church. Every time we met, they passed a plate. They sure are greedy. Actually, the truth is, the church is not a group of pastors asking for money, it is a body of people who are working together to do God’s work and pooling their money to do so. Generosity is an act of worship and obedience that is the complete opposite of greed. If you show up to church, don’t feel guilty or pressured into giving. If you become a part of God’s work, it will be amazing how much you want to be a part of this.

Number 3: Megaphones. That guy standing on a box out front of the stadium telling you that God is condemning you to hell, but Jesus loves you. Yeah, he’s a freak. I agree. Same with Fred Phelps and his gang of protestors with their offensive signs and awful website. And Steven Anderson praying for Obama to get brain cancer and die. Yeah, they embarrass and offend me too. I don’t know what to tell you other than to say that this sort of behavior isn’t found in the Bible. Don’t let those guys turn you off of the real message of Christ and the multitude of Jesus’ followers who would love you to know him.

Number 2: Perfect People. Church people are no more perfect than you. Everyone sitting in those pews is fighting an enormous battle with something in their lives, just like you are. We all face different things. That’s why we need God and why we need each other. Sometimes you will meet the plastic Ken and Barbie Christian who smile and say, “God bless you” all the time, and never have any problems. For the record, those are the ones that usually have the most problems hidden in their closet. They need God too.

Number 1: It really is OK to talk about belief in mixed company. Your beliefs are so much a part of who you are, it is a shame that our culture has decided that you don’t share in mixed company. The rule should be, don’t be a jerk about your beliefs in mixed company, but feel free to talk about them. Who knows we might learn something from each other.

Tomorrow: Ten things that I struggle with in the Bible.

The 'h' word.

This blog originally posted Monday, April 16, 2007

Current mood: cranky Category: News and Politics

Up to this point, I have avoided the issue of Don Imus and his ignorant comments about the Rutgers team being 'nappy-headed ho's'. It should be self-evident that what he said was wrong (along with many other racist and sexist comments that he has made over the past years).

The biggest problem that I have with this whole issue is the deceitful, hypocritical stance taken by so many in the black community. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are quick to jump on his comments and call for censorship solely because he is a white guy proclaiming his ignorance. Yet, at the same time, they say nothing over the entire hip-hop industry's treatment of women. Further, when Bill Cosby spoke out against these things, he was vilified for speaking out against his black brothers!!!

Russel Simmons and Dr. Benjamin Chavis even issued a statement:

"Hip-Hop is a worldwide cultural phenomena that transcends race and doesn't engage in racial slurs. Don Imus' racially-motivated diatribe toward the Rutgers' women's basketball team was in no way connected to hip-hop culture. As Chairman and President of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN), respectively, we are concerned by the false comparisons some in the media are making between Don Imus and hip-hop. We want to clarify what we feel very strongly is an obvious difference between the two.

"HSAN believes in freedom of artistic expression. We also believe, with that freedom, comes responsibility. Don Imus is not a hip-hop artist or a poet. Hip-hip artists rap about what they see, hear and feel around them, their experience of the world. Like the artists throughout history, their messages are a mirror of what is right and wrong with society. Sometimes their observations or the way in which they choose to express their art may be uncomfortable for some to hear, but our job is not to silence or censor that expression. Our job is to be an inclusive voice for the hip-hop community and to help create an environment that encourages the positive growth of hip-hop. Language can be a powerful tool. That is why one's intention, when using the power of language, should be made clear. Comparing Don Imus' language with hip-hop artists' poetic expression is misguided and inaccurate and feeds into a mindset that can be a catalyst for unwarranted, rampant censorship."
What kind of ignorance is that!!!! I almost don't even know where to begin. First, he is saying that censorship is OK as long as it is racially motivated. A black man can say the 'n' word and degrade women all he wants because that is what he sees around him!!! Who is the racist here? Who is putting down black culture? Secondly, he is saying that art shouldn't be censored, but public speech should be. Thirdly, I would say that most rap and hip-hop lyrics (as with most other song lyrics) are shallow and have little 'artistic message' to them. Yes, some are well done commentary such as 'Gangsta's Paradise' by Coolio in the mid 90's, that really captured the hopelessness felt by someone in the ghetto.

But, for the most part, there is little or no redeeming value to any of this style of music because it glorifies a lifestyle of ignorance while simultaneously denigrating women. (I would say the same of most country music, but that's another blog). Simmons/Chavis are right, Language has Power, and when abused, it can be dangerous.

The duplicitousness of Russel Simmons and Dr. Chavis puts them in the same category with Don Imus, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Jesse Jackson.

I don't respect any of them. They are all racists in their own way. They all help to perpetuate negative views of black women.

I do respect Bill Cosby. I do respect C. Dolores Tucker. There are very few who stand up against the thugs who use shock, hate, and evil as a tool for money or political gain, who stand up for what is right, who stand up for honesty.