Category Archives: Current Affairs

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Exhausting Ride

What a crazy couple of days it’s been. I don’t quite know what to make of it all.

I went to bed last night… well, this morning really, believing that it would be a week or more before we knew who won the election, only to be surprised this morning with news of Kerry’s concession. I have to say, Kerry gained my respect, or at least a level of it, by his actions today. He was well within his legal right to hold off on conceding, to drag his heals and wait for all the provisional ballots to be counted… even ask for a recount. But rather than pushing his own agenda, hanging  selfishly onto his ambition to win and dragging the country into another drawn out legal scuffle, he did the gracious and honorable thing: Stepped aside and let the winner be the winner, from the beginning. He scored some points with me with that one. Not enough to convince me to vote for him next election. He wasn’t that good. šŸ™‚ But he did score some points.

Work was rather crazy the last couple of days, especially today… I’ve never seen so much activity over an election result before. I’m actually used to the election just being one distraction of many during the day, not the whole focus of the day. And I’m definitely not used to my coworkers getting excited and celebrating wins for conservative issues or candidates. Wow, was that a weird experience! We had a staff meeting in which the president talked all about the election and how the outcome of the various "victories" will impact the future. I sat there, almost in shock. I kept having these crazy flashbacks to where I was 4 years ago. How different my situation was then!

I was working in tv post production at Paramount. The only, and I mean only Republican in my department. I tried not to discuss politics. But because the people there were so incredibly bored, and detested their jobs, they looked for anything that could distract them from their work… politics was great for that. Eventually it got out that I was one of those "right-wingers"… perhaps they just decided it had to be thus, because they already knew I was going overseas as a missionary. So I was constantly bombarded with questions and accusations. How could I support this or that in the Republican platform??? How could I be for Bush??? And against gays and against women’s rights and against…. yadda yadda yadda…

I think I handled it all quite well, actually. But that was only because God poured out His grace over me, and helped me keep my tongue in check… or in cheek, as the case was at times. šŸ™‚ He gave me the grace to have a sense of humor about it all… When you get down to it, it’s really all rather funny to me — and fun! — to watch and listen to liberals go off on the evils of conservatism and how virtuous their views are. I think that’s why I love "The West Wing" (tv show) so much. So often liberals trip over the truth, claim it as their own, without ever realizing 1) God came up with it first; 2) it doesn’t fit with the rest of their beliefs (pluralism at it’s weirdest); 3)even when they portray Truth as "evil" or "intolerant," their very arguments prove the rightness, goodness and wisdom of it; and 4)–and the scariest to them!– often it’s actually conservative values their espousing. They get it "right" more than they will ever know… amazing. For more on this, see my Democrats just don’t get it post.

When I was younger, political debates really frustrated me. My oldest sister, Paula (whom I love dearly, but don’t agree with hardly at all when it comes to politics) is a dyed-in-the-wool liberal. A Flower Child who never grew up — and never intends to. I would get so frustrated and flustered trying to talk politics with her. Not only can she talk/debate circles around me, but her passion and conviction are incredible forces to be reckoned with. As were the passions and convictions of my coworkers.

However, my coworkers weren’t my oldest sister — that is to say, I didn’t have a need to impress them or be liked and respected by them the way I did my sister. So I felt free to just smile and say, that’s nice… but it didn’t change my mind. I felt free to choose not to respond, not to defend my position (which I’d not felt with my sister, for some stupid reason). And I felt free to take time in thinking through, and giving voice to, my convictions. It made for interesting work days leading up to the election, that’s for sure.

Then Florida happened… have you ever noticed that since 2000, people refer to Florida as if it just appeared out of the ocean in November that year? It "happened". Florida. Happened. (insert dramatic music here). And I was at fault. I never figured out how I was, but my coworkers were convinced of it….

It was quite a ride, those recounts… and then came the accusations that Bush had stolen the election. Stolen Florida….
Poor Florida. First it "happened", and then it was "stolen".
And it was all my fault….

As I sat in the conference room today reflecting on those experiences four years ago, I marveled at how different things are for me now. TV Post was NOT a happy place to work. No one, not even the boss, liked their jobs. Morale didn’t exist, there was lots of gossip and backstabbing… it was a dark, dark place. My work environment today, on the other hand, is just the opposite. Everyone I work with now seems to enjoy their job. There’s no gossip or backstabbing, at least none that I’ve heard yet — and by now I would have heard it. You’d be amazed by what people tell temps! — and there’s a spirit of gratefulnes and humility that I’ve rarely experienced at a job — and sadly, even within many ministry teams I’ve been a part of.

I’m still completey mystified as to what God has in store for me at this current job. But today I was grateful just for the chance to experience, and celebrate, an election victory with coworkers who share my political bent

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Here We Go Again….

And the ride begins!

Zogby says the polls trend towards Kerry…. Gallup says…???? CBS says, Bush is up, but not for long… and Fox Channels says, "stay tuned"…

The polls aren’t even closed in California yet and already the news pundits are speculating. That’s always been the case… always frustrated me as a California resident/voter. But now, being a Tennessean/frustrated non-voter, I’m actually chomping at the bit to get results….

Ugh… I think it’s gonna be a loooong night….

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God & The Choices

Perhaps I’m being a pessimist, but I just have this creeping, crawling feeling in my stomach that things will not go well tomorrow. I fear that we will not have a clear winner, that one side or the other will become angry over the way the numbers are going and that litigation mayhem will ensue (pun accidental, but ultimately intended).

Please tell me I’m being an incredible pessimist. Please tell me that this election will go better than the last presidential one. Please tell me that….

…well, just tell me when it’s over.

The sad thing is, normally I would say, I’ll cast my vote and hope for the best, knowing I gave it my "all"…. But I can’t do that this time.

I missed the registration deadline. Yes, that’s right all you lovely Democrat friends of mine. My vote will not cancel yours out this year. Celebrate this fact now. Because there won’t be a next time (I hope!). Blame it on the move… blame it on absent-mindedness… heck, blame it on Nashville…. Hey, I think there’s a country song in there somewhere! šŸ™‚

Actually, blame it on Tennessee and California. See, California’s deadline for voter registration is sometime in mid-October. So, I thought I had plenty of time. Who knew Tennessee had a different deadline??? An earlier deadline.

Drat! Shoot! Crap! Daggumit! (see me stomping around my apartment in complete frustration) This is the first, FIRST mind you, election EVER since I turned 18 that I haven’t voted. DRAT!

So, who ever wins, or doesn’t win, this election, I won’t be able to say it wasn’t my fault… because, who knows, maybe my vote could’ve been the one to push it over the top….

Of course, this won’t keep me from complaining about all the stupid things that whoever gets the Office does. I’m an equal opportunity complainer. I’ll even complain about the one I wanted to win, if he does.

Who  should win this election? And does God really care about who the US elects as its leader?

I think so… I think the wackiness of the 2000 election proves that God does weird things…. yeah, some people say it was Florida’s fault. Others say it was the Supreme Court’s fault. But I personally think it was God’s doing. But that’s just me… I have no real proof to back that up. Just raw gut belief. Down-to-the-core-of-my-being-belief. God does what He wants, despite our stupidity…

And then again, sometimes He lets us wallow in our self-made mud-encrusted, crap-filled pig-styes… so who knows?

Wow. Re-reading this, I think some may say I’m making God out to be some wacked-out Puppet Master, who does what He likes when He like and how He likes, regardless of our wishes. I don’t believe that at all. I think the writers of ‘Bruce Almighty’ had it right when they wrote: "You can’t mess with free will." We all get to make our own choices… and so does God. He acts on His choices and sometimes His action negates your action based on your choices made in free will… We’re not His puppets, or pawns. We, instead are players in our own right… but we are players in a larger game than we realize. A cosmic one where our souls are the prize and our lives are the on the line….. But I digress….

By the way, if Jesus looks like Jim Caviezel (which I wouldn’t complain if He does!), then God should look like Morgan Freeman. Don’t you think? He made a good God… if I do say so myself… But I digress, again…. which I’m allowed to do, because it’s my blog….

I heard a question the other day on a tv news show, "is God on America’s side?" How quaint. How silly. How down-right arrogant of us "Americans" to think that God would be on our side.

"God doesn’t have any side but His own!" I screamed at the tv media dork who thought to ask such a silly question. Yet even as the words left my mouth (along with chunks of my milk-saturated Oreo cookie), I realized…. many people in America think that very thing. God is on our side. Whatever side they stand on: liberal, conservative, libertarian, independent… for, against, undecided, in the middle…. it doesn’t matter. We all think God is on our side.

When all the while God is walking a completely different path. Playing a completely different game. Waging a completely different war, on a completely different front, for vastly different reasons… and with much higher stakes.

When I lived overseas, American politics was so far removed from my daily activities that it actually annoyed me greatly when someone sent me a politically charged email. Today, working for an organization plumb in the middle of the political arena, by its own choice, I find myself living and breathing it… and choking on all the smoke and…um… fertilizer… I see across the whole political arena.

Does it matter, in the end, who ends up in the Oval office next January? Living here at the crossroads of politics and religion, where it feels like a dark storm is brewing, some part of me wants to give in to the alarmist’s cries and say, "yes! It’s of vital importance." Which causes anxiety to rise from the depths of my stomach and work its way up into my little brain, dragging bits of my Oreo with it…

But when I quiet my soul and listen, I hear God whispering that His will, His work and His plan doesn’t hinge on the one election of one man in one nation on earth. Does He have His favorite, whom He would cast His vote for? I’m sure He does, but He hasn’t bothered to tell me that juicy tidbit… not that it would matter. I can’t vote anyway!!! (hear me stomping around the room again in frustration)

I realize the above appears to contradict what I believe about what happened in 2000. But, really, it doesn’t. God’s plan isn’t hinged upon this election, any more than it was hinged on the 2000 election. But sometimes, God does extraordinary things… sometimes to prove He’s God, sometimes because there’s a bigger picture He’s working on… sometimes I think it’s just because He can.

Not that He plays with people the way I play with my Oreos before I devour them. I think sometimes He gives us something, does something for us just because He loves us and wants to just bless us, for whatever reason.

I realize there are some out there (Kat, I love you!!) who definitely do not see Bush’s election as a blessing for anyone other than Bush… and perhaps it wasn’t a blessing for you. Or for others. I know his choice to go to war in Iraq had all of us serving overseas in the "neighborhood" quite nervous, anxious… and even a little frustrated at how that war would impact our ministries to those we love and were working hard to serve in that region of the world.

But when I quieted my soul, I heard God whispering that His will, His work and His plan doesn’t hinge on one war by one nation in another one nation on earth. He is bigger than that. And so is His purpose.

All this to say, I don’t know who "should" win tomorrow. I don’t know if there even will be a winner tomorrow. I don’t know what the American political landscape will look like come January 2005… Heck, don’t even know what my own life landscape will look like come the new year!

So many things are uncertain. But of this one thing, I am convinced:

I survived eight stinkin’ years of Clinton. I think I can handle whatever comes next year. šŸ™‚

"Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels.
Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say:
My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please."
— Isa 46:8-10

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The Democrats Just Don’t Get It

Kerry Clarifies Cheney Daughter Remark

I saw this story earlier today as I scanned the Headlines… and then tonight, as I watched a repeat episode of "The West Wing" on Bravo (I loooooove Bravo!! What a great invention, cable television…) the same issue was raised, and it so reinforced my viewpoint and convictions that I decided to go ahead and post about it here. You may want to shoot me… but you’ll get over it. I’m too cute to hate for long. šŸ™‚

The democrats, or liberals, whatever you want to call them… anyway, the democrats pride themselves on being a party of inclusion, and non-labels, on being the open-minded and tolerant of all peoples and religions (except conservatives. And Christians. And evangelicals). They pride themselves on their non-judgementalism. Yet they can’t seem to understand that, for all their chest-beating, they put people into boxes with little labels more than any other group I’ve seen.

Why is it that Kerry and Edwards both felt the need to bring up the fact that Cheney’s daughter is gay? Of what consequence is it? Are they just trying to push the buttons of the rare arch-conservative who actually thinks gays are bad? Or are they just so convinced that one’s sexuality is all of who you are?

I think  it’s much more the latter than the former. I don’t think they were trying to push buttons. I think they were earnestly trying to show how inclusive and nonjudgmental they were — by bringing up a topic they think the average Republican approaches with guns loaded and aimed. They wanted to show they are the kinder, gentler party. The party who thinks all gays and lesbians are "just being who they are."

And they don’t have a clue how sycophantic, pandering, and foolish they look. And I’ll bet anything that most democrats are completely perplexed by all the hoopla surrounding Kerry’s comment… or they think it’s more proof that the republicans are homophobic.

Clueless.

Here’s the thing. Sexual orientation, race, color… they don’t make up the whole of who a person is. Unless, of course, the person chooses to make their whole life revolve around those few things.

The West Wing episode I watched — and let me just say this. West Wing is one of the, if not THE, best produced, best written and best acted shows on television right now. It is thought-provoking, funny, entertaining and just plain good. The funny thing to me is — and having worked in Hollywood for many, many years I’ve noticed this is a pattern with most liberals — they get it right, in more ways than one, more often than they will ever know. Clueless. They’re all just clueless. They stumble and crash headlong into the truth and prove the republicans/conservative "agenda/platform/values" right and the democrat/liberal ones wrong so many times, often as they attempt to portray republicans in a bad light.

It happened in the episode tonight. A republican congressman who just happens to be gay was supporting a bill defining marriage. Josh finally gets frustrated with him, asking why in the world he was in "that party" — the party, he said, "that says who you are is against the law."

The congressman then speaks precisely to my frustration over this issue — and over the Democrat party in general. He tells Josh that he agrees with 95% of the Republican party platform, things like empowering local government, individual rights not group rights, a strong defense, etc…. Then comes the punch. The thing Democrats/Liberals just cannot seem to comprehend:

"My life isn’t all about being a homosexual. It doesn’t have to be entirely about that."

Bingo! The big truth that democrats/liberals just cannot seem to wrap their brains around. For all their posturing and language, they honestly believe that sexual orientation, race, and/or creed defines a person. Why else would Kerry and Edwards make mention of Cheney’s daughter? What’s the point of bringing it up (especially when it has nothing to do with the original topic of conversation) except to point out that what she is is who she is, and all she is? Kerry says just that. "she’s just being who she was…"

This explains to a great degree why they are so opposed to individual freedom and so insistent that group rights trump individuals, quotas trump talent-grades-abilities. Because WHAT you are determines WHO you are and what you can BECOME… unless an outside force — like the government — intervenes and "helps" you make it to the next level.

And I know that every democrat reading this right now is growing angrier by the second and is convinced this is just not so. So insidious is this line of thinking that most who believe it just can’t see it for what it is.

Not until someone does something stupid. Like Kerry did last night.

Perhaps not even then. Most democrats probably won’t see it. Ever.

Kerry is wrong when he says, "she’s just being who she was… who she was born to be" when attaching that phrase to her sexual orientation. Can’t anyone see that’s akin to saying a pregnant woman is just being who she was born to be — a baby factory — or a poor black man is "just being who he was born to be…" What crap. What tripe. What bigoted, arrogant, condescending garbage.

And yet the democrats buy it, bottle it, sell it and put all their hopes in it.

They just don’t get it.

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Pro-Life From The Other Side of The Stage

debg: The semantic I hate the most

I ran across a blog of an author I used to hang out with ages ago.  A self-proclaimed pagan, you wouldn’t think we’d have much of a chance of getting along… But truth be told, I liked her a lot, and rather admired her as well. I counted myself blessed that she accepted me as a friend even though I disagreed with pretty much everything she believed in. Not everyone does that. Christians, in fact, are the worst I’ve found at this. I’ve met many self-proclaimed Christians in my life who could all tie as the least tolerant people I’ve ever met. Sad, sad, shame. They look nothing at all like the Christ they are named for….

When I met Deb  I was still rather young — in my mid-to-late 20s — and still trying to figure out how to be a woman in this wild new world beyond school and mom and dad’s house.  Deb was a few years older, so I felt like a young apprentice at times, learning how to be a strong woman at the feet of a mighty warrior…. It wasn’t what she stood for that I admired so much — nor do I believe she admired me for what I stood for. I admired her for the guts she had to stand tall regardless what others said or thought. To stay true to her convictions, embrace and own them, believe them with all her heart and live them out no matter the personal cost.

Granted, it’s a lot easier for her to "stand tall" as an ultra liberal living in San Francisco… šŸ™‚

Anyway, I ran across this rant on Pro-Life she posted shortly after the latest presidential debate (which, by the way, put me to sleep about halfway through). I love reading stuff like this; hearing what others who think very differently than me feel about things. It intrigues me, and gets all the wheels and gears going in my mind as to why they believe that… I want to crawl inside their heads and see the world the way they see it…

There was a long time when I was pro-choice, or perhaps it might be better said, pro-limited-choice and/or pro-abortion in certain cases (like rape, incest, etc)… and for me, the lines around this issue are still blurry. I’m still stumbling around it, looking for God’s clear opinion on it…

And I have to admit, I have also questioned the validity of the language used surrounding this issue. I think most of us use inflammatory language far too much for anyone’s good… whether we actually mean to inflame or not. I think Christians are sometimes the guiltiest of all in this regard. We can be so incredibly insensitive to the culture around us and, in the end, we’ve shot ourselves badly in both feet too many times to count.

Now, don’t get the wrong idea. I believe fervently in the sanctity of human life. I believe the magic of life begins the moment of conception, and abortion for convenience’ sake is abhorrent. I think abortion is a tragedy of idolatry. We no longer sacrifice our newborns to idols, now we sacrifice our unborn to idols of ourselves. And I think that’s incredibly sad.

But I can also see very clearly that our — meaning the conservative and Christian communities — current method of dealing with, and ending, this tragedy isn’t working. As Dr. Phil says, "how’s that workin’ for ya…?" Well, sir, it ain’t.

Perhaps it’s time to try a new approach….

Before you read Deb’s journal entry, remember the signs posted at the beach when no life guard is present:

                                           Enter at your own risk. šŸ™‚

She’s a very cool woman, but also a self-proclaimed pagan. Her language may offend some; her topic and arguments may offend others. But this is the world we live in. Deb isn’t an anomaly, she’s the norm. I just wanted to bring a bit of that into my little corner of the Internet (or is that innernets… geez-louise Dubya, did your brain disengage from your mouth or something…????)

I loved Deb years ago. I love her now. I love everyone like her!  They bring spice and electricity into every relationship. And I want to find every way I can to bring God’s spicy, electric, magical unexplainable love to every one of them! I want to drench them, not in political rhetoric or inflammatory arguments, but drench them with Love.

What amazing people God creates! How can I help them see how Amazing HE is?