Other impatience

The world is a scarier place than usual at the moment.  Tunisia, Egypt, perhaps Bahrain protesting and hoping for representative governments.  Libya, Iran and other places mercilessly murdering their own citizens.  Border wars and religious wars in Africa.  And elected men in the US who are determined to destroy women's health and the middle class to protect their oligarchy. 

People who tend to side with the underdogs have lots of people to champion. 

Those of us who try to follow what the Bible says Jesus taught have great difficulty loving dictators whether foreign strongmen or Republicans whose goal is to destroy all possible organized opposition to their getting as much money as humanly possible with no regard for others.

I'm getting impatient for revolution in the US.  The Tea Party people blindly elected government officials who have no interest in anyone's welfare other than their own.  They fiercely believe in survival of the fittest and are trying to legislate that.  But who is the "fittest"?  The oligarch or the father with a gun who can't feed or provide health care for his kids?  The Republicans want to arm everyone.  That could be their downfall. 

Who's responsible?

Am I my "brother's" keeper? Yes. Is free speech important? Yes. Is there a point beyond which free speech becomes hazardous to others? Yes.

A disclaimer. Yes, I'm passionate and outspoken. Yes, I am guilty of speaking without thinking and causing mayhem on occasion. We all do. Altho I shoot my mouth off too often, I am not on public airways. Well, Facebook and blogs aren't exactly broadcast media. Any influence I might have is very limited.

Awhile back I had a Facebook argument with friends about whether or not I should feel responsible for other drivers on the road. They said an emphatic "No". I disagree. Beyond the hazard of texting or talking, driving in a manner which may cause others to take risks is, in my opinion, unacceptable. We have had very snowy roads lately. There has been some extremely risky behavior by drivers, none of which has resulted in an accident that I've seen. Yet. Driving too slowly encourages some to take risks passing. When a long line builds behind, the driver who can't go faster needs to pull off and allow others to pass. Ignoring those behind can result in an accident or road rage. Yes, the impatient driver is ultimately responsible. I consider myself at fault if something I have done or ignored has caused someone else to do something that either had a lousy outcome or put others at risk.

Likewise with free speech. It is one thing to criticize policy with which one disagrees. It is another thing entirely to vilify another person, especially for the purpose of defeating that person in one way or another. In war, the enemy is reduced to object status to make it easier to kill. This policy has had devastating effects in incidents like Abu Graib and the My Lai Massacre. It has always been the tool of dictators. Today Muqtada al-Sadr is using the technique to urge his followers to get rid of the American troops in Iraq.

Some "Christian" clergy have tried to dehumanize LGBTs by teaching that their behavior is not "natural" and therefore despised by their god. We see the results of that as young people give in to the voiced wishes of bullies and kill themselves. No, the clergy and others are not legally responsible for the bullying or the deaths. I wonder if the God they claim sees it the same way.

Many of the Tea Party people carried ugly signs and exhibited uncivil behavior at meetings and rallies before the fall elections. They revealed much about themselves that most people wouldn't want known. Besides obvious illiteracy, they exposed opinions with no bases in fact, bigotry and hatred of the unfamiliar. They had no respect for others. They were desperate to demonize those who disagreed with their uninformed opinions, especially about the health care debate. They were funded and supported by Fox News, especially Glenn Beck, and on radio by Rush Limbaugh. Their goal was to make those who were too stupid/uneducated/lazy to learn about the issues support their goal of deregulation of business. They won.

Now we have a deranged young man who attacks a Congressional Representative and others in Tucson. The sheriff comments that others' hate speech is partly responsible and Arizona has become the center of the ugliness. He has been condemned for saying the truth. I loved the state when I was at UofA. I would not want to be there now. I'm sure there are good people in AZ. I know a few. They are not the public face. Arizona hates immigrants, prisoners, liberals and countless others. That is the impression one gets from the media. Hate dehumanizes. Once a person becomes somehow less than others, they can easily become a target for those who have a complaint which they perceive can't be solved any way other than eliminating the perceived cause. We see it over and over.

We are all responsible for the Tucson shooting. We are all responsible for the LGBT suicides. We are all responsible for Abu Graib and My Lai. We are all responsible for saying or doing anything that dehumanizes another person no matter how despicable that person or person's behavior may be. As a society we have means of dealing with those who harm others. We all must stop preaching hate. We all must stop trying to put others beneath us and making them therefore subhuman in some way.

The US Congress, especially, must find a way to debate not demonize. Boehner and McConnell need to stop their diatribes against the Obama administration and seriously consider the needs of the nation above those of the people who purchased their party. Those two men can calm the atmosphere by learning and exhibiting respect for those who disagree with differing ideas but just as much passion and concern as they claim to have for the country. Will they?

I'm not holding my breath.

Time to go fishing in England...

Seems to me that TEC needs to go fishing in England. Surely there are parishes hungry to hear the Gospel. Surely there are clergy who preach love and inclusion as taught by Jesus. Surely there are people who experience Godde's love and acceptance and seek a place to worship and be part of an inclusive community. Surely there are many who believe that the Archbishop of Canterbury has lost his way and are eager to reach out to the world and spread the real message of the Gospels. TEC has the hook - Godde loves all Godde's creation.

The Anglican Communion as currently visualized by the ABC has little if anything to do with its historical roots. It seems to have become a political organization responding only as dictated by certain conservative clergy and, perhaps, by Parliament. After all, some of the world's most needed resources are located in provinces once converted by CoE missionaries and now totally separated from Jesus by homophobia. While almost instant criticism results from the consecration of a partnered lesbian as bishop, nary a peep is heard when one of those countries presents legislation to kill people or advocates imprisoning people who love each other and those who are their friends.

Who knows who is pulling the strings at Lambeth? The ABC seems unaware that those strings seem to have no hooks with which to catch new Christians. They don't even have bait which might lure people back. Time for TEC to go fishing in England...

Ashes from this lay perspective...

There seems to be a big flap about clergy meeting people at public venues like the subway to give them ashes without the liturgy that normally accompanies Ash Wednesday. There are opinions here and here and here and here. I find the Ash Wednesday liturgy especially moving whether in my former Lutheran or current Episcopal setting. Part of the flap is the perception that getting ashes without the accompanying liturgy is meaningless, symbolic of the superficiality of today's culture. I have mixed feelings about it. While I agree that something is missing, I believe that those who sought the dirty forehead still have some connection to faith in spite of what many are doing to alienate people from Christianity. If there are clergy who are willing to get up at the crack of dawn, endure nasty weather and provide even this almost remote connection to the Gospel to anyone who asks, they should be celebrated or at least thanked. Who knows how many of those folks will one day return to a parish? No matter how tenuous, the connection needs maintained somehow.

My opinion

While reading the comments on a blog this morning I had a somewhat unusual word come to mind. Fortunately this website provided the image. The word is a fitting response to the following:

•The Episcopal Church has abandoned the traditional teachings of the Bible.
•The _____ church welcomes all sinners...
•The Anglican Church in North America is Anglican.
•Homosexuality is exported from the US (or the "West") to Africa.
•There are no homosexuals in Nigeria (or Pakistan or...).
•Same sex marriage will destroy traditional marriage. (As if straits didn't do that already.)
•Universal health care in countries like Canada, England, Germany and France doesn't work.
•Republicans want to work with Democrats on...
•Anti-abortionists are pro-life.
•Allowing LBGTs to be involved in their partner's funerals would harm strait marriage.

I'll probably add to this as the day goes on...

Not just education...

Knowledge is dangerous. It can cause people to think. Thinking can cause questions. Questions can be embarrassing. It is not good to expose our children to anything other than what we "know" to be "true".

Thanks to Susan who got it from Ann.

The health insurance debacle

How can so many people be so blindly stupid as to believe everything they hear from talk radio and Fox Opinion regarding universal health insurance? How can so many people be willing to put their ignorance on public display at open meetings in front of cameras? Let alone their disgusting lack of manners or respect. How is it possible to get real honest facts to these people to try to convince them of their blindness?

I understand why many in the business sector of our economy cast a terrified eye on the possibility of competition for the health care dollar. There is money to be lost in reformation of the system or lack thereof. Salaries and bonuses might be frozen or even cut. Lobbyists could lose their jobs and influence. Drugs that sell outside the country for a fraction of the cost to US users might yield smaller profits. Companies that refuse to cover certain individuals and illnesses might have that right curtailed and expenses increased as a result. Investors could see their income drop. That's why those who profit from the health care industry are spending billions to try to protect their empires.

I have great difficulty with willful ignorance. I have too many friends and acquaintances who have experienced the health care systems in other countries and wonder why Americans are so backward and uncaring about each other. As far as I can see and hear, those who oppose universal health care in the US are of two main categories - those who will profit less financially and those who are willfully ignorant about the advantages of it. While I have some sympathy for the former, I pray the others never have to experience the fun of a health crisis with no insurance. (If I didn't pretend to follow Jesus, I'd pray they have a crisis immediately and learn the hard way.)

There is more information and incentive to act at Acts of Hope. Go read and do. And watch the following:

Dear ABC Rowan Williams,

I don't understand all the fuss over a covenant which has been proposed to hold the Anglican Communion together. It seems to me that there should be one and only one criterion by which anyone can be part of the AC.

If you would invite everyone to the eucharist, you would quickly learn who is and who is not in communion. Anyone who will share the meal with you and everyone else is a member. Those who discriminate are not.

Who needs anything written?

Sincerely,

Me

And on GC 2009

Obviously - see week's postings below - I was not able to follow every nuance of General Convention. Nevertheless, as does everyone else, I have a few barely supported opinions garnered from what I did have time to read.

I am greatly disappointed in our bishop Sean Rowe who voted against inclusion of all the baptized in all the orders of TEC. I find clericalism disgusting and very unChristlike so I was really irritated to read the following which admittedly contains the opinion of the writer:

Then a bit of a blockbuster, Bishop Sean Rowe of Northwestern Pennsylvania, (the youngest bishop in the House) supported by Bishop Kirk Smith of Arizona want the resolution discharged (killed.) Rowe says legislation doesn't work. What he offers sure plays to me as a sweeping attack on the House of Deputies authority. Smith says the bishops should do a pastoral letter. (Maybe it is just the fact that I am helping hte House of Deputies with media, but this seems disrespectful of the Deputies.... Another attempt to disenfranchise them for the governance of their church.) Most of the debate seems to be going against it.

The Bishop of Hawaii, Fitzpatrick, speaks in favor of discharge, as does Doyle of Texas.

it is very hard for me to see this as anything other than an attempt to assert the authority of the bishops and the bishops only on this matter.

Rowe asks for a roll call on the discharge vote. This feels like an effort to run out the clock. What possible reason can there be for getting this vote on the record. It is of no lasting significance.

Halfway through, the move to discharge is losing 42-19. The vote isn't over, but 55 no votes are already in, so I'd say the move to discharge fails. Final now 42-94-1, the motion fails

You can read the entire live blogging article at The Lead. +Gene also mentioned his action tho not by name.

Fortunately, those who try to live by the Gospel and love Godde and others unconditionally and leave judgment to Godde prevailed. I pray for the people who seem to worship Jesus but refuse to do as he taught. That is a divide which may never be crossed except by the individuals who eventually get it. May there be many more of them/us soon.

The concept that sexuality can cause schism among Christ's people is amazing. The Anglican Communion has been no real communion for quite awhile - ever since the first bishop decided the others present were not worthy of his sharing the eucharist. As if it were his invitation to issue. I'd like to say a pox on the men who are so pure and holy and knowledgeable about Godde that they can't stoop to Jesus's level and share his meal with someone. But I'd rather pray they grow in the knowledge and love of Godde. Tempting however...

I seriously doubt that many butts in the pews care much about sexuality until the clergy stir them up. I'm not too fond of clergy sometimes, in case you never noticed. In general the people are ok but they get corrupted by the collar?

The budget seems to reflect a bunker mentality. That never works. A budget needs vision. Most people will not pour money into a sinking ship. TEC is not sinking. There is now a clear way ahead. TEC is for all people. Period. No more hatred or exclusion. What a gift! What a vision! Why not aim for it? If you aim for the floor, you may shoot yourself in the foot. Is that what TEC expects?

There were some wonderful affirmations coming from GC. There were some wonderful programs that will go unfunded and unimplemented. Sad. I think there should be a limit to the number of terms a deputy can serve. Say 3 - one to learn the ropes, one to work and one to help pass on to the next generation. Perhaps every diocese should be required to include one person - lay or clergy - under the age of 30? Tradition has rarely served the church well and tradition is embedded in long term service in any field.

Well, I may have other thoughts but that's it for now. I rejoice that TEC voted for inclusion and the recognition that the church must serve the community or die especially where the laws permit marriage between two people who love each other and seek to commit their lives to each other. The rest of it and our bishop, well, I'll share the eucharist with anyone. It is not my place to choose.

In defense of same-sex marriage

After decades of rising cohabitation, divorce and out-of-wedlock births posing a threat to traditional marriage, we should be delighted that gays and lesbians are trying so hard to prop it up.

That is the last line of Clarence Page's column in the Chicago Tribune on 17 June. Unfortunately bigots like Robbins and Eichelberger will probably tell you that the LGBTs caused this havoc.

A prejudiced fool

Listen to PA Senator Eichelberger make a fool of himself on the radio. For the life of me I can't understand how his reason functions as it doesn't seem to at all. He repeats and repeats fallacies that the bigots stress and refuses to listen. He seriously seems to believe that LGBTs do nothing for society. He needs to get a life and his constituents need to get rid of him. He is evil.

By the way, Eichelberger is NOT from western Pennsylvania. His district is in the south center of the state. To people from Philadelphia, Harrisburg is the center of the state and everything west of Harrisburg is western PA. Harrisburg is in Dauphin County. Eichelberger's district includes Bedford, Huntington, Blair and Fulton Counties as well as part of Mifflin County. Well, those are west of Harrisburg.

Local ugliness

is definitely NOT Working for a Better Pennsylvania. He is one of the sponsors of Senator Eichelberger's bill to insert bigotry and discrimination into the Pennsylvania Constitution by banning marriage equality.

He doesn't care if partners are not allowed to visit each other in the hospital. He doesn't care that the family of one of the partners can steal everything that is not in other partner's name when their family member dies. He doesn't believe that two people can love each other unless they are opposite sexed. He doesn't believe science. He believes that one class of Pennsylvania residents is somehow less than the rest and not entitled to his representation.

Bob Robbins seems to have bought into prejudice, particularly that preached by those who do not understand the message Jesus taught. I used to think he was a decent guy. Boy, was I wrong!

Senator Robbins should be supporting Senate Bill 935, the Marriage Equality Bill. Please tell him by calling or emailing or writing a good old fashioned letter. His information is on his website.

On a secret committee to study homosexuality

The Episcopal Church bigwigs appointed an 8 person committee to study homosexuality but refused to say who is on the committee. Two participants were revealed in a Nashotah House publication. The others will probably eventually be named. There has been much angst over the entire matter. Secrecy is not the Episcopal way of doing things.

And why study homosexuality again? And again? And again? It is. It has been. It will be. Either we are all Godde's creation and loved or we deny what the Bible says about Godde. Jesus didn't say to pick and choose and exclude some over others. Jesus told his followers to love everyone and leave judgment to Godde.

Most of us are tired of this fight. The best way to study homosexuals is to know someone and learn that the homosexual lifestyle is as normal and boring as everyone else's. The way I confront someone who opposes gay marriage is to ask how someone else's marriage affects theirs. If the idea of gay sex is repulsive, don't do it. If it isn't an option, it is irrelevant in a person's life.

TEC needs to uphold baptismal vows and strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being. GC 2009 needs to get rid of every prejudicial aspect of past decisions. Barack Obama needs to suspend DOMA and DADT immediately and deal with the political fallout later.

Committees are not needed for either. Just, um, cojones.
Perhaps a study of prejudice should be initiated?

What if...

What if people worried more about their own lives and allowed others to do the likewise? What if people stopped being preoccupied by how other people relate to each other in love? What if people stopped being preoccupied by what consenting adults do in the privacy of their bedrooms? What if people were able to walk a mile in someone else’s moccasins? What if people were able to accept a person as they relate to others rather than as they look or talk or believe? What if Christians were willing to do as their Jesus taught - love Godde, love each other, take care of each other and leave judgment to Godde?

In other words, what if those who claim to be “Christians” acted in ways that don't seem to be the opposite of what I believe the Bible says Jesus taught?

What if people ignored difference as long as being different doesn’t hurt someone else. Americans seem terrified of difference. Why? We avoid people who are blind or deaf or missing an arm or are otherwise physically different. We avoid people who don’t dress like we do. We avoid people of a different social class. We avoid people who have a different lifestyle. We avoid people others avoid.

What if people weren’t so quick to judge something or someone different as wrong? We are quick to judge others’ habits as wrong. We are quick to judge others’ beliefs as wrong. We are quick to judge others as wrong simply on appearance.

What if the people arriving for worship toward the end of the eucharist last week were told to not bother? There was no later service. I’m happy to say I didn’t think of them as “wrong” but I did wonder why they bothered. In their culture time seems to be relative. It is not my culture. Should I consider them wrong if they don’t exactly do what we do when we do it?

What if we all admitted we can't know exactly what is “right” in Godde's world anyhow?

Culture without the Arts is dead

I do not like this jerky, sound bite, disjointed presentation that has become popular these days. No wonder our kids have attention problems. The message is important regardless of my irritations.

Arts and Citizenship from Pittsburgh Filmmakers on Vimeo.

Don't want to pay for health care

"My friend spent her last years suffering not only the pain of cancer but the indignity of having to worry about how she was going to pay her rent and feed her child. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer 2½ years ago, and was able to get Social Security disability payments only nine weeks ago."

Read it all here.

If there is one Christianist out there who wants to keep as many pennies as possible without helping anyone else except those s/he chooses, may I suggest s/he go read the Bible s/he worships, especially the things the Bible says Jesus taught. People without health care will bankrupt the system eventually as they flood hospital ERs then can't pay. And their illnesses are far more expensive than they would be with early intervention. This is not a Christian nation. It is a cruel collection of individuals who will donate huge sums to international disasters while allowing their neighbors to die.

This has been a nasty day.

But Sotomayor is a bright spot. Too bad the uglies are parading their venom all across the media. Ugh.

Thoughts on Prop 8

On second thought, I'd better not. Mom was right that I shouldn't say anything if I couldn't say something nice. I have nothing nice to say about Christianists.

Dear President Obama,

Dear President Obama,

Yet another excellent military person has been fired because he is gay. He is a highly decorated Air Force pilot, Lt Colonel Victor Fehrenbach, who is two years short of retirement. That is cruel and stupid. Firing those who speak languages needed in the Middle East is equally thoughtless. Firing military people who are functioning well in their positions simply because of their sexual orientation demonstrates that sex is more important than national security to those who make the rules.

Certain religious groups are saying that LGBT people are not created in God’s image and do not deserve the rights and responsibilities everyone else has. This is fear talking. Fear that LGBTs will somehow cause them harm is ridiculous, unfounded and destructive. If those who believe that this is a Christian nation actually followed what Jesus taught, we would not need unconstitutional laws such as DADT and DOMA.

When are you going to tell the military brass that they are simply prejudiced, wrong about lesbian and gay people in the armed services and harming our ability to protect the US? When will you order the suspension of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell"?

Thank you for your prompt action to remove this serious flaw in our military preparedness.


cc: Sen. Arlen Specter, Sen. Robert Casey, Jr., Rep. Kathleen Dahlkamper

Five steps to being miserable

HT to Elizabeth.

This makes me sooooo angry