Archive for October, 2009

I was rather forcibly reminded today that recovering from pneumonia isn’t exactly the same deal as getting over a case of the sniffles. The tight chest, the cough, the “I’ll lay down for a half-hour” that turned into five and a half hours… yeesh. I’ve definitely partied harder. Ah well.

As to the cartoon, no reason other than I thought it was cute.

There seems to be a strange affliction working its way through many people I know this month. Unlike such discernible illnesses such as the pneumonia from which I’m recovering, this disease is harder to pin down. Its effects, however, are all too evident.

It’s as if there’s a concerted effort to attack rational thought and behavior. People seemingly going out of their way to become forcibly unemployed. Folk normally blessed with clarity of vision and purpose becoming muddled, confused. Dark moments abounding; ones cared for and loved staring into the abyss while mulling over the thought of throwing themselves into its unknown finality. Strange things. Scary things. Scary things indeed.

Jesus, my Savior and Lord. Stay with me through these times. Do through me what I can never do by myself. Use me as a vessel of Your grace and love. Let the Spirit flow through me in spite of my own frail humanity to touch and encourage others. Help me to love as I am loved; to give with the same measure I have been given. I have empathy with these precious ones going through the dark times, for I too have been there. Take my hand and empower it to reach out in friendship, offering what I can. I don’t know why so many are being attacked at the same time. This I do know: through You, this malaise in October can be endured and overcome. Only through You.

And may this month end quickly.

If you want to read one of the all-time classic rants — trust me, you do — scoot over to Dan Collins’ Piece Of Work In Progress site and behold him from earlier today unloading with both barrels against the arrogance of the present administration. Also, make sure you check out the blog post to which he links by Nice Deb about Congressional shenanigans regarding ACORN.

It is difficult to imagine a government more drunk on itself, more determined to do things its way, more fanatical about lording over the people it allegedly serves at the pleasure of, more steadfast in its drive to destroy both the economy and civil liberties of the country than the one presently running amok in Washington. What is even more astonishing is how people such as Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters and Henry Waxman are returned to office election after election with little if any opposition. The utter foolishness of their constituents refusing to see the very real damage these people are directly inflicting on them is almost beyond comprehension. How people addicted to such high levels of brainless blindness can function in society is a mystery. Yet they do, routinely turning out election after election to return “their” representative to Congress. Amazing. And most disheartening.

Where is the realization that as currently proposed health care “reform” will do nothing but drive the country even further into unsustainable debt while precluding, not facilitating proper medical care for Americans? Where is the understanding that cap and trade, allegedly in the name of ecological concern, will devastate the economy via soaring energy prices? Where is the comprehension that thin-skinned attempted bullying of critics, professional and private citizens alike, is both abuse of power and total violation of the fundamental rights granted to all Americans?

Lord Acton was right. All power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely. Any power save that wielded by a perfect God is fraught with danger, both for the one using it and those touched by its use. The Scriptural warning sounds loud and clear: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” The fall of those believing themselves to be great will indeed be great. One can only pray the suffering of innocents from their arrogance and pride will itself not be too great.

[video http://www.diecast-dude.com/gac/moby_natural_blues.flv nolink]

I’ve mentioned before how I’m something of a cultural hybrid, having been raised in the late ’60s and throughout the ’70s in the San Francisco Bay Area by parents whose roots were solidly placed in central Indiana soil. This provided the experience of simultaneously finding such movements in society as the Haight-Ashbury district and all the other weirdness that permeated the area during those tumultuous days perfectly normal, since I had nothing else to compare them against, yet underneath having a firm grasp on traditional rural American values.  Which of these have served me better over the decades is a matter of debate, but I am glad for both of them.

That duly noted, as time has trudged on I’ve found myself more in tune with the country side of things than the city. Not that I’m averse to concrete and steel; I thoroughly enjoy the disheveled energy you can literally feel when walking around San Francisco. However, given my druthers I’d rather be sitting on a porch swing in a small Indiana town on a pleasant evening (i.e. when it’s not either snowing or blistering hot with suffocating humidity along for the ride), watching the fireflies dance.

It’s interesting the reactions I get whenever I mention my dual heritage. Country folk wonder if the Bay Area in general and San Francisco in particular are as bizarre as they’ve been told — for the most part, no, although to be honest I’m so used to it I wouldn’t notice if by everyone else’s measuring stick it was strange — while city dwellers ask how I could possibly enjoy visiting the hicks out in the sticks. Um, because it’s nice not having to be in street survival mode with every step I take?

This all is reflected, methinks, in my assorted political views. Despite having been born, raised and spending almost all of my life as a denizen of the home base for such leftist loopies as Nancy Pelosi and the People’s Republic of Beserkley I am a stalwart conservative. However, even with my unimpeachable resume as a city kid I have zero hesitation to chew out other conservatives who demonstrate disdain for the country side of things; the notion that common sense and life experience far outweighs any purely academic approach to political and/or social thought.

I’m sadly amused by the self-proclaimed intelligentsia of conservatism who routinely bash and are bewildered by the immense popularity of a Sarah Palin, a Mike Huckabee or a Glenn Beck. The fact is their inability to grasp the reason why Palin, Huckabee, Beck and others like them have such an unshakable place in not only the minds but also hearts of their fans reveals how high-mindedness often leads to short-sightedness. They can’t for the life of them figure out the appeal of what to them are commoners. Why? Frankly, they’re so busy looking down on them they never for a moment stop to consider maybe there’s nothing common at all about people who appreciate the fundamentals, live simply, speak plainly and have no patience for cocktail chatter.

Certainly intelligence and intellectual pursuit are worthy goals, ones we all should embrace. Yet even as we chase after these things, we should never lose sight of how much pure wisdom there is in the country side of things. They don’t have the refined manner and talk of the city. But when you look at the city, is that such a bad thing?

[video http://www.diecast-dude.com/gac/garth_brooks_friends_in_low_places.flv nolink]

Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and author of The Purpose Driven Life, left a beautiful comment on Twitter yesterday:

You measure success by how much others benefit from your work, not by how much you benefit. Selfishness isn’t success.

Man, did I need that reminder.

I’ve decried more than a few times the fundamental snobbery that permeates far too many sections of the conservative blogosphere. Busy is busy, and everyone including me understands that sometimes “I’ll get back to you later” is the only possible immediate response. But when your e-mails and tweets and what have you are routinely ignored, that’s not busy. That’s plain being rude.

If someone who is no better than you acts like you’re beneath their station, what are you supposed to do? Quoting myself from earlier this month:

An example is someone who repeatedly ignores requests made by someone else to be acknowledged as being on the same planet, let alone be engaged in conversation or action, until the one trying to get the first person’s attention barks out of frustration. The first person will respond to this… by criticizing the other person’s rudeness.

Bit of a no-win situation there.

It is frustrating when you know you have something to say, but because you’re not one of the Kool Kidz your voice is ignored. You have to shake it off and keep pressing forward. Keep Pastor Warren’s thought in mind. If you do what you do in order to reach others with something of value as opposed to doing it in name “for the cause” but in fact for the egostroke, you’re never going to be that popular. Why? Your example shames those who act on their own behalf while paying lip service to the notion of promoting something other than themselves.

Also, beware those who preach to the choir while accepting a generous love offering from the congregation. These people are not here to help you, recognize you, or so much as acknowledge you. In fact, they will angrily eject you from the building should you request permission to speak because you have something to say. They do not want to share the spotlight. No amount of worthiness on your part is going to change that, so you’d better get used to it.

So, rather than focus on the negatives pursue the positives. Consider the people you’ve reached; the lives you touched. Is not each of them far more valuable than a turn in the politics spotlight? Certainly politics are important and have their place. However, most any fool can — and these days does — preach politics. Preach Christ first and foremost. Political persuasion counts. But nothing, absolutely nothing, compares to the life-changing power of a heart given over to Jesus.

Ten thousand hits a day on your blog are nice. But ten lives influenced by living for and speaking about Him? Way better.

Way, way better.

P.S. You didn’t think I could let a post title take from a Steve Taylor song go by without the song, did you?

[video http://www.diecast-dude.com/gac/what_is_the_measure_of_your_success_steve_taylor.flv nolink]