Where Is Religion? Part 3 (Finally)

Yes, I know, it's been like a week since the promised part 3 was supposed to appear. My 2 reasons for the dereliction of duty are thus:

1. My job

2. This final post which I believe is the most important reason why religion has lost it's perch of importance in today's society, indicts me personally in my current life and has prompted a lot of soul searching and question asking, not to mention that it's been tough to write.

Nonetheless, my excuse making is done, and the topic waits for no one anymore. As I mentioned, I think that this reason overshadows the previous two by large amounts. I included the other two because I think they play a vital role in this discussion, but added together, do not measure up to the impact of this one. I will state however, that I am speaking in terms of Protestant religions, and specifically Christianity, of which I am a member.

For any who know me relatively well, they may have heard a certain quote which I refer to all the time. It is my favorite quote, not to mention my own.

"Words are mere sound until backed up by real action."

To me, and I'm sure to many of you, someone's 'word' just doesn't hold as much water as it used to. Broken promises are as common as three leaf clovers nowadays. This was the inspiration behind that quote when I first thought of it, but in light of the topic I write about, it takes on a new meaning. People go to church week after week, special services/masses, pray while they are there and are seemingly devout in their attendance and behavior in that building. What about after they leave? Day after day, whether in person, through stories someone has told us, or from the media, we see that the religious people in our society do not act much differently than anyone else. I know that no one is perfect and above sinning, and I know that there are very good people in the world who do not profess any relationship with God. This is where I speak mainly about Christianity.

Are we simply Christians at church? If that's the case, then is God in the building or in you? So often, myself included, we go to church, get our weekly pep talk, see our church friends, sing some songs, bow our heads to pray, have the occasional cracker and grape juice, and that's it. We have relegated God's residence to a building made of wood and stone. The church has become out spiritual mechanic, changing out our sin-filled oil and giving us a little tuneup every so often. What's supposed to separate believers from non believers is the presence of God in their life, which should reveal itself through our actions and our decisions we make on a daily basis.

I remember discussing spiritual topics on a pretty regular basis with my now former roommate Matt. I look up to Matt as a Christian and often envy his knowledge and relationship with God, but consider it a privilege to have him as a close friend. I remember one conversation in which I was pondering salvation and whether it can be taken away from you or not. My argument was what if someone got saved, but later down the road, started killing people and doing horrible things. (To anyone who has actually studied or read the Bible, salvation is not won through deeds, just wanted to clarify that) Matt's wise response was something along the lines of this:

"If someone is truly saved, then they wouldn't do those kind of things if God was really in them."

It's a very general and broad answer to a difficult and complex question that can't definitively be answered, but it brings an interesting point. Again, no one is above sin, I've already conceded that. But there is a difference between repeated sin and just a one/two time deal. The presence of God in our life should be the difference maker here. Yeah we sin, but that difference maker will often be why you don't continue to commit the same sin, or commit a sin that you know is wrong but willfully do it anyway. This is one of the big things that should show itself in the life of a Christian, but so often does not. Many of our moral beacons have dimmed to the point of near irrelevance, leaving our Christian words, prayers and proclamations hollow because of our actions that do not back them up. Words are mere sound, and your professed faith is too, until backed up by real action. I myself, admittedly, have fallen woefully short in not only this, but the next part too.

Passion. Oh believe me, I know we humans do not lack it, but what do we reserve it for? Sports? Sure. Politics? Umm, yeah, perhaps a little too much. Sex? Partying? Work? Yes, yes, yes. God? Tell me when the last time you met someone who was passionate about God. Leave a comment, seriously. And I'm not talking about the guy on the street corner with a sign about the end being near. (Notice how I didn't call him crazy. So many times we tag that person with the 'crazy' moniker simply because of that one thing. Like we know any better about when the end of the world will be.) Gather round kiddies, let me tell you a story.

For most of my adolescent life, I was never really a fan of baseball. I played some as a kid, but never continued it and never followed professional baseball. I knew I was a Red Sox fan, but that was about it. Then I moved to an area just outside of Boston and lived there for nearly 4 years. My casual interest in baseball and the Red Sox in particular went from tepid to passionate, and it didn't take long. Everyone up there is a Red Sox fan. Any restaurant that you go to, upscale or bar & grill, will have the game on every TV in the place if the Sox are playing. 70% of the guys and ladies (yes, ladies too) have jerseys on as they dine, acquiescing to the fact that conversation will be, well, spars. It's contagious, you cannot escape the fervor of the fans. I moved there as a casual observer, and got swept up in it, leaving a semi-rabid follower.

Ever had a church do that to you? I bet not. Ever had a group of believers do that to you? I'll parlay my wager on that one. It is rare to find someone who is truly passionate, excited about God. And there is a difference between someone who is passionate for a selfish or outside reason, and someone who is just genuinely excited about something. That kind of excitement spreads. That kind of excitement and fervor takes over you and radiates throughout, it's unavoidable! You have to tell someone else about it because of what it's done for/to you. You have to experience more of it and take in all that you can. You want to know everything about it and you don't want to wait, you want to know it all now! Sound familiar? Kind of sounds like a new relationship to me. The unfortunate thing however, is that those feelings of exhilaration often display themselves in romantic relationships, and not in the relationship I've been talking about in the past couple blogs: The relationship between you and God.

Without the passion from it's members, and the dedication to their values and beliefs, the church is headed downhill, and fast. Without passion, it won't spread. Without credibility, it is seen as Pharisaical. When only one is missing, the church as a body can survive, though not prosperously. When both are missing, it cannot survive, period.

As an end note, it's been a tough blog to write. Many of these rebukes take on a personal flavor in my life as it is. I have displayed little zeal in regards to my Christian life, especially when compared to sports, philosophy, politics, etc. Not only that, but my willingness to commit the same sins over and over is frightening to me, and leaves me questioning a lot about my spiritual life and commitment. I'm only getting extremely personal because I don't want to give off the impression of a "righteous anger" as someone alluded to in a comment. I appreciate the comment, but righteous is not the word I would use to describe myself or the motivation behind this 3 part series. I hope that it has inspired thoughts and queries that you have decided to seek out answers to. I didn't expect the last post on this topic to end in the place it did, but I'm glad it has, and I'm glad you were with me.

"A cessation of greatness comes from the loss of character."

-- The D

Where is Religion? Part 2

Now that you've hopefully made is safely past the first gauntlet, we arrive at big reason #2. (Making them BIG reasons sounds way more important.)

There is no "I" in team. Anyone who has played sports or been involved in some sort of team operation has heard this tired cliche. Anyone who is known as a "smart ass" has responded with this:

But there is a me.

Ahh yes, The D had to run a couple laps after uttering that brilliant one to his football coach in high school. Were it so humorous in today's socIety, where I is right in the middle and prevalent. (How convenient for me and my blog) Society today is geared toward us, the individual. Products are changed, introduced and eliminated to attract you, the consumer. Emails pop up in your inbox everyday advertising things that are tailored to your interests based on web surfing. TV comes in hundreds of channels to make sure you can get exactly what you want. Even reality tv puts you, the viewer and voter, in charge of the people in the show. (It is a very, very, very sad day in America when more people vote for American Idol than for the president. It's a travesty and a shame and pathetic.) You're told to look out for number one, what's best for you. You watch as politician after politician gets caught up in a scam because they were greedy and selfish. What I'm every so subtly getting at is that life in America is all about you.

With this selfishness (promoted or otherwise) that has invaded society, comes a loss of service. Let me explain a little better. What is a servant? As always, let's define

1. a person employed by another, especially to do household duties. 2. a person devoted to another or to a cause, creed.

The very definition is the opposite of selfishness. With selfishness comes many things, but being this is a specific topic, I will stick to it. Religion, and I'm speaking in terms of protestant/christian religion since it's all I'm very familiar with, is not there to serve you. Yes, there are things within that can help you, help your life, give you peace of mind, hope for a wonderful eternity after death, etc., but it is certainly not there to serve you. However, with everything else in life aimed at pleasing us, we often take that mentality and influence into the church, and expect religion to be the same way. It's as if we should go on religion.com and expect the religions to bid for our services like a car insurance company.

Yes, I know, it sounds ridiculous, but there are many times where people take religion and chance it to fit their needs and desires, kind of like a theological buffet. I'll take a bit of forgiveness, some peace of mind, a little of this heaven here, that looks good, I'll pass on the judgement and sin, and oh dear, the fire and brimstone just doesn't look fresh, no thanks. To these people, religion should make them feel good and happy and peaceful and help them out in times of need (notice the selfish theme in those demands), but shouldn't tell them what to do or scold them. Their relationship with God should be on their terms and involve only what they want, the true nature of selfishness, and the exact opposite of being a servant.

This part, however, is what turns a lot of people off from religion and church. Morality. There are a growing number of people in this country that have ascribed to a nihilistic relative morality in which right and wrong is subject to the individuals lifestyle and desires. How much easier is it to live a moral life if you yourself decide what a moral life is? It is the crowning achievement of selfishness and pomposity! But how can you be a religious person and still decide your own morality in this sense? Who wants to be bothered with religion when you can make your own morality?

And here comes the next small point within the big one right on the heels of that statement. Ease! Not only is life here in America a me centered life, but it's also a fast paced, immediate gratification and accessibility existence every single day. Information is readily available on lightning fast computers, cell phones, hundreds of radio and tv channels. Cell phones allow us to talk to anyone we want immediately. Don't want to wait for it to dial and for the 2 rings? Text message someone! Food is fast, microwaveable, or bought at any of the fast food joints that surround our daily travels. When we want something, we want it now.

This culture of immediacy has changed our perspective on life. We think in shorter and shorter terms everyday as life becomes faster and faster. Any need that pops up, we can take care of right away with our access to so many things. In some cases, that's great. Thirsty? Get a drink. Hungry? Get a snack. Feel an emptiness in your soul? Go do some drugs.

Wait. One of those doesn't fit. With such an instantaneous satisfaction of our needs, we expect it to be that way for them all, and unfortunately, often try to satisfy them all with quick fixes. Far too often, people use temporal means to satisfy ethereal needs. Please read that again. In essence, it's the crux of the last part of this point. Religion, church, relationship with God, whatever you want to call it; none of these are short term fixes. None of these will provide instant and tangible results every single time. To many who have been overtaken by this culture, that just isn't good enough.

So no, there is no I in team, but there is a me, and as I can attest, that will get you the immediate fulfillment, of running some laps.

--The D

(I apologize to my readers for this post. I'm very very tired and worn out and my mind just isn't with it right now. To me, it is my best effort within these circumstances, however far from my best work. I will do my best for tomorrow which will be far more passionate and personal. Please join me.)

Where is Religion? Part I

I recently had a conversation with someone, and the topic turned to religion. The person I was talking to was wondering why religion has taken such a back seat in today's society, and why it has lost importance and become nearly archaic. It brought up a lot of thoughts over the past couple days, and so I've decided to explore this topic with you, my readers. (Ok, I only have one reader, but I'm campaigning for plural readers.) I've thought about this over and over, and have come up with three reasons for this happening. Being that I would like to talk about each reason with enough depth to be of value, and because it's my damn blog, I'm going to split it up into a 3 part series, one per night starting tonight. Well, let's get started.

1. When was the last time you were in awe? For those of you who have read my entries over the years, you know I love to define terms so I know exactly what I'm talking about. Let's define awe:

a mixed feeling of reverence, fear, and wonder.

Now try and answer it. When was the last time you were honestly in awe? It's a tough answer for anyone. I myself am not completely sure, and I pride myself on being someone who thoroughly enjoys little things in life that are meant to be noticed and appreciated. But awed? I'm not sure.

There is a startling lack of awe in this country. (I speak in terms of America because of my lack of cultural and sociological knowledge of other countries. Canada doesn't count though, they're like JV America) Rarely in everyday life are we awestruck by nature, or something that happens, or anything really. Not a heck of a lot even surprises us anymore! Think about this, you get in your car, turn it on, play a cd and get GPS directions to anywhere in the country right on your screen in the dashboard. (I don't have GPS, but I'm just saying) Raise your hand if this impresses you. Exactly, no hands, not even mine. But think about it for a second. Do you know how complex that whole process is? That satellites up in freaking space are beaming down information that is precise within a couple feet!? It's amazing! But to us here in lavish America, it's daily life. I won't bore you with examples of more things that should amaze us but don't. Instead, I'll bore you with the reason behind it.

Science.

Ahh yes, science. Before I even start, I will try and fend off the knee-jerkers before I get a bunch of comments like "Why are you against science!?" or some other idiotic rant. I'm not against science by any means. Science has created a level of comfort and progress unheard of in the history of mankind. Besides that, there's a lot of science that's just damn cool to know about. Big fan of science over here, big fan. What people use science for however, is a different story. Science to me just shows how amazing this world is and points to a creator. But in this time of ever increasing knowledge (which creates an ever increasing feeling of independence and pseudo-sophistication), science is often used to disprove religion, rather than establish even more credibility for it.

Science has given us reasons for everything, seen and unseen. There's even a lot of science so advanced, that normal adults will never understand. It has percolated into everyday thought that everything must have a reason; everything has a rational explanation. This is what I refer to as the over intellectualizing of America. That's why no one is in awe anymore. We have come so far in this country, and it is wonderful because of the luxuries it provides and the quality of life it has improved, but it has filled us with a sense of pride, super confidence, and a corner on the market of sophistication. This also ties in with how we look at previous generations. Let me explain.

Religion to the previous generations was a vital part of life. I'm not saying it isn't now to a lot of people, but you can't disagree with it's decline in importance in today's society. To the generation that came to America in the first place, they came for religious reasons, desiring a land where they could practice their religion without persecution. (Regardless what history books NOW say) Our founding fathers were no doubt religious. The documents that we adhere to to this day (i.e. Constitution, Declaration of Independence) allude to God on several occasions, and in their personal writings, they founding fathers speak of God many times over. Moving up a hundred and some odd years, the previous generations in the 1900's still stuck to religion as a base for so many other things, and were not ashamed of it. Pop culture in the 50's and early 60's even had God in it, and no one got all hussy about it. Religion was important to the generations of our past. However, the scientific explosion of the past 40 years has given the more recent generations this feeling of being so much more sophisticated than our parents and grandparents. But how does this relate to religion? I'll explain again.

Progress is the driving force behind science. Oddly enough, it is also one of its products. There are two types of progressive thinking in my opinion. First, a progressive thinking that desires to build upon something already in place to make it better, but not eschew the original. Second, a progressive thinking that desires to eradicate the original and replace something that you think is better. Here's where religion comes in. Religion, by many, is seen as the credo of the generations before us, and because of our intellectual pride, it is unfortunately seen as antiquated. This is where progressive thinking #2 comes in. Instead of seeing religion and building upon it by adding science, we have come to try and replace it with science.

Science has become our intellectual tower of Babel.

Read that one again and think about it. If you know anything about the tower of Babel, great. If you don't, I'll give a quick lesson. After the flood, you know, the one with Noah, his descendants moved to this new place, and decided to build a tower so high, that it would reach to heaven. God, seeing this prideful display, confounded their speech so that further work on the tower would be impossible because no one could understand each other. Actually, it sounds rather amusing, but that's your history lesson.

Part 1 in a nutshell? Science has created a vacuum in the unexplainable, and in many minds, replaced religion, seeing no need for a God when everything else can be explained or intellectualized. If it can't be explained now? Well, look at our progress! It will be soon. Proof is what is required now, not belief. And brick by scientific brick, our tower rises.

Part 2 tomorrow night!

Muslims and ILLEGAL immigrants

Whether or not you follow politics and current events is immaterial right now. Today, news was out about a terrorist plot to kill "as many Americans as possible" at Fort Dix in NJ. Some of you may have heard about it, some of you may not pay attention. I'd like to take some time to delve into this subject and some things behind it, and i urge you and plead with you just to give me a few minutes of your time and read on. After all, whether you like politics, or hate it, it affects you in many, many different forms, and can be as important as life or death. Thing I'm exaggerating? How about the thousands of people who died in 9/11, I'm sure many of them couldn't give a crap about politics, and yet it was part of their demise. Moving on.

To give a quick recap, a group of 6 men who lived in NJ had been infiltrated by the FBI after a video store clerk called the cops after receiving a suspicious video tape they had asked him to convert to DVD. That's the gist of it, and that's pretty much what you'll hear on TV and in print. These 6 men had planned to use AK-47's and other firearms, possibly using RPG's as well, to kill as many Americans as the could at Fort Dix. Why Fort Dix? Because one of them delivered pizza there for a long time and knew the place like the palm of his hand.

What you may not hear is that all 6 were muslim. Surprised? I hope not. If you're surprised by that last statement, I will ask you to please get a clue. 4 of the 6 were born in the former Yugoslavia and are ethnic Albanian (see: Muslim). One was born in Jordan, and another in Turkey. Now Darrell, you say, how can you assume they are muslim just because of their birthplace? Good question. The video they wanted reproduced at the video store was titled "19" in reference to the 19 hijackers of Sept. 11th. They replicated other al-Qaeda videos in their dress and actions, and chanted repeatedly, Allah Akbar, which means god is great. So yes, they were all muslim. Further more, only three of these men were legally in the United States. Yes, that's right, three of the men were ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS (I will never call the anything other than that) Wow, you mean, not all illegal immigrants are Mexican? Nope. Let's move on.

For now, we'll look at the Muslim aspect. Again, it should come as no surprise considering that basically every act of terrorism in this modern age has been committed by Muslims doing this in the name of Allah. This alone begs scores of questions. I will attempt a few.

1. Considering we have yet another in the long line of terrorist plots by muslims, is there some reason that we are not profiling in every arena of society? Profiling has been given such a dirty name lately, but we forget that there are FBI and CIA people who are professionals at profiling. It's one of the ways they catch serial killers! That you wouldn't target young to middle aged Muslim men for more searches than anyone absolutely flies in the face of logic. Oh, but Darrell, most Muslims are peaceful individuals and are not associated with this fanaticism. You're right, absolutely. 99% of all Muslims are peaceful, I won't dispute that, I agree. As of now, there are about 1 billion Muslims in the world today. Anyone know what 1% of a billion is? That's right! 10 million. So if only 1% of all Muslims hate us and want to kill us, then I would profile them like nobodies business, cause that's still a LOT of people who hate us.

2. Why do Muslim extremists hate us so much? According to people I have talked to on this subject, and this also goes along with much I've heard and read in certain news arenas, it must be because of something we did to them. Oppression is a good one batted around, though I'm not sure what oppression they refer to. Here's the problem. First, we look at this fanatical brand of Islam through American tinted glasses. Things here are relatively rational. There is an explanation for things, there is a cause and effect in place here in America for the most part. It is stupid to use logic that works in America for other cultures and regions that have had a history of fanatic violence dating back to the 7th century! This is not some new development people! By looking through these glasses, we come to the conclusion that there MUST be a reason for it, it couldn't be irrational. Hmm, wrong. Just today, by odd coincidence, I ran across a story in the Daily News. It talked about a TV show called "Tomorrow's Pioneers" for Palestinian kids that had a Mickey Mouse clone dancing and singing and talking to these delightful children. (For those of you who don't know Palestinians, they are the country always fighting Israel. Yes, the middle east.) In his squeaky cute voice, Farfur the mouse, the clone of Mickey, tells children to drink milk, pray daily, and to take up AK-47 assault rifles to defeat Israel and the US. Yummy. He taunts Bush, Rice, Israeli prime minister current and past. His side kick, a girl named Saraa, says things like "we want to resist against the enemy, and we don't want to surrender." This is only a piece of the story and what they were saying to little kids in that area. Yeah, this sounds rational. We must be oppressing them by not letting Barney spew this hatred.

I would also like to point out one quick thing before moving quickly to illegal immigration. Back in mid February of this year, a lone gunman opened fire in a Salt Lake City mall, killing five and wounding four people before being shot by an off duty cop. His name was Sulejmen Talovic, he was 18, may he rot in hell. Our foully departed was a MUSLIM refugee from...*drum roll*...Bosnia! Means nothing to you does it. Didn't think so. Bosnia is party of the former Yugoslavia, where four of the six men in this latest terrorist plot came from as well. Hmm. I'm not making some wild assumption, but it's an interesting point, and should be thought about. Moving on.

Not enough will be made about the fact that 3 of these guys are ILLEGALLY here in the USA. This begs some more points and questions. In regards to the immense problem we have with illegal immigrants (not freaking undocumented workers, they're ILLEGAL), there are two issues. What to do with the millions already here, and what to do about the millions trying to get here. As far as I'm concerned, we should place top priority on closing our borders to illegals. Legal movement between countries is fine; illegal is not. It is, in fact, illegal. Just making sure I mention that seven or eight times. Most people think that the illegal immigration issue is just about Mexicans coming across the border in droves. While it is mainly about that, and mainly concerning economic issues, it's not the only thing. Our insecure borders leave a weak, vulnerable point through which people wanting to "kill as many Americans as possible" can enter into our society, blend in, and plot our destruction. Have you heard about the story of middle eastern men shaving off their beards and posing as Mexicans coming across our southern border? Please wake up and pay attention! Our southern border is a sieve right now. It is estimated that around 8,000 people cross the southern border EVERY DAY. Every freaking day!!! Not everyone of those people are nice and gentle Mexicans just looking to have a better life for themselves. Some of those are people looking to kill you, yes, YOU. To them, it makes no difference what your political stance is, how much you love Iranian culture, how much you make, or whether you have the latest iPod or not. To them, you are an American, and that is reason enough to shoot you, cut your head off, or whatever despicable act of death they have in mind. This issue trumps politics because of those very reasons, and yet nothing is done.

If you've read this far, I thank you. I feel that there is a lot of really important issues here that affect every single one of us in this country (that are here LEGALLY, not ILLEGALLY like all the ILLEGAL immigrants). I've heard so many reasons for not liking politics, whether it's boring, or not entertaining to them, or it just doesn't affect them. Like I said about the victims of 9/11, it makes no difference whether you like it or not, it WILL affect you, and that effect could be life or death. In my mind, that's reason enough to pay attention. As always, I encourage intelligent comments and questions as I have done plenty of research about all this stuff and given a lot of my intellect to the topic. I would appreciate the same. Below are a couple links that are also important.

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070508/NEWS01/70508027

This link is a brief description of the men involved in this plot.

http://epaper.pressofac.com/images/Duka%20Dritan%20Complaint.pdf

This link is the actual complaint in this case and is a very interesting and detailed read about these men, their actions and their words which were recorded by the FBI infiltrators and is written in this. Simply to read some of the things they say is very important in understanding this blind hatred they have for you and I, and their desire to kill us all, regardless of everything else. Please read it, even just for that reason alone. And please, get involved. You don't have to join up on a campaign or something like that, just know what's going on in this country and in the world. You are affected by a score of political issues, both socially and economically, and if you sit back and ignore it and continue to spend all your time watching Dancing with the Stars and worrying about the plight of Paris Hilton, then you will have no say or idea about those effects that could mean dire consequences for you, whether you like politics or not. Thanks.

The D

The Deception of "Diversity"

Ahh diversity, thy deception is so subtle. Gather round kids, we're in for a doosy on this one. Just the other day, while eating breakfast, I ran across a tiny little news story in Newsday, informing me that the First Annual Diversity Day was coming up in Huntington, a town about 45 minutes from me. Well, those of you who know me must have assumed I wrote it down on my calendar and planned the 45-minute trek to show up for this wonderful occasion.

Right.

Diversity is a sham in its current state, and is also wrongly named for what is actually happening. Let's take it one at a time.

Let me start off by saying that natural diversity in society, workforces, etc. is a great thing. It means that there is something appealing to every human regardless of national origin, race, beliefs, or anything else. There's nothing wrong with diversity. Having diverse anything is good, it creates more options, outlooks, choices, etc. Diversity in America in its current state, however, is a sham. There is nothing natural about diversity when it is a forced program upon people. For instance, if I was a college and admitted the top 10,000 students in the country based on test scores, grades, and extra curricular activities, and it happened to be a very diverse group of incoming students, then wonderful. That's what I'm talking about when I say that NATURAL diversity is a wonderful thing. FORCED diversity is admitting the very best of the country, but not allowing many of them because they aren't a diverse enough group and you need more black people, more asians, and more people of hispanic origin. Notice how I didn't say that you would need more white people. If you can name of diversity program that forces more white people into a group, then my friend, you get the gold star for the day, cause I can't think of a one.

This is also why diversity is the incorrect name for what is actually happening. Diversity by definition is this:

Differing from one another, unlike. Composed of distinct or unlike elements or qualities.

Look at America now. When you meet someone new, a question that is often asked is "What are you?" By this, the person is asking what your heritage is. Little ol' me answers with Irish, German, English, and Native American (f.k.a. Indian). By definition, isn't this diverse? I bet that less than 1% of the population of this great nation is 100% of anything. Nearly everyone has at least 2 different cultures/countries in their background. That's diverse! And nearly everyone in this country has this kind of diversity within their bloodline! We are indeed diverse already! Is that what's being celebrated? As hertz commercials would say, not exactly.

Oh, well then they must be talking about ages. We have people from ages 1 day to over 100 years old and every minute in between. Surely that's diverse!

Maybe they’re talking about talents. We have numerous professional sports, occupations innumerable, hobbies, interests, etc. This is even more diverse than the previous two! Surely they must be celebrating this!

Eh, not exactly.

What is being celebrated here is racial diversity; you just won't ever hear it called that. And when I say racial diversity, I really mean racial minority diversity, wink wink. If you know anything about these diversity festivals and events, you have seen the disproportionate numbers of the races. If it was truly cultural diversity, as the left propagandists would make you believe, then they would have representatives of England, Ireland, Wales, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Austria, and all those other European countries. Eh, not exactly. You see nearly everything from central and South America, plenty of African nations, Asian nations, even a couple mid east nations thrown in for good effect. What is being "celebrated" here (actually it's being promoted and pushed, not celebrated) is non-white diversity.

Further more, why is racial minority diversity being celebrated? Did we somehow become unaware of other countries, races and cultures? Seriously, what is the point? What do we as a society gain from this so-called celebration? I leave the floor open to anyone who can tell me what actual gain we get from this. Diversity celebrates something that in fact is random chance. When you're born, you are a product of those before you, both genetically and socially. But it's completely random, it's nothing you have achieved or accomplished, it's an accident. Do we celebrate little Jimmy at 6 months when he takes a dump in his diapers? It took more effort for him to do that than for you to be "diverse", so why not. I don't get it, why is this celebrated? Which brings me to my next point.

Diversity says to me that these races and cultures are more important than my own. Read that again. Now please believe, I'm not so sensitive that this actually affects me for more than one second, but this is the message that it gives off. These cultures (not yours) are worth celebrating, and yours isn't. This point hits harder at another topic that I can't get into right now, the topic of liberalism as a politics of feelings, and conservativism as a politics of logic. We'll get into that on another date.

Another thing I've heard a lot of is that America is the great melting pot of immigrants and cultures. Right you are! Well, actually, not exactly. This is a wonderful phrase that used to be true, and I won't get into it too much today, but let's touch on it. Do you actually know what a melting pot is since you use the phrase? I'll save you the trouble of looking it up.

A melting pot is this: A place where a variety of races, cultures, or individuals assimilate into a cohesive whole.

That's right! A bunch of things get thrown into the pot, melt, and join as one. Back in the earlier and middle part of the 20th century, this phrase was indeed true and lovely. Immigrants came (LEGALLY!) and assimilated to our culture, learning our language and staples. Nowadays? Not at all. We celebrate diversity instead of what we have in common. We celebrate what makes us unique rather than what makes us bonded. These celebrations further splinter our culture into sects of population that look out for their own interests rather than the collective interest of the country. Diversity divides. That is the root of the word diversity. Diversity is a product of division. When you divide, you get more than you started with. Take an apple, divide it, and you'll have more pieces. Diversity divides, it does NOT unite. Think about it, you have millions upon millions of ways that we are all different, unique. There is only one thing that we have in common in this country, only one as opposed to millions. We are Americans. (Those of us that are friggin legal) But yet we choose to "celebrate" the most common thing rather than the rarest, which is in opposition to every instinct and history of humans.

Even more interestingly enough, diversity is in direct opposition with something like feminism. Think about it, really. Diversity claims to celebrate what is unique in us. Feminism tries its damndest to make us all the same. Direct conflict, yet both are favorites of the left wing. Like I said, liberalism is a politics of emotion, not logical thought.

Look, I'm not against natural, true diversity. Diversity is actually what has made us such a great nation. People with different thoughts created this nation. People with different interests were behind the most important inventions in history. It provides us with many different channels and in fact lets us hone our own interests and uniqueness. All very important things, all very natural. Beware this new program of diversity though. It aims to divide us into factions and sects, not unite us. What is being celebrated here is forced and false diversity of only one type: Racial. They can call it whatever they want, they can double talk all they want, but in the end, this is what it is. Be on the look out, and tell it like it is, don't let this get pushed down your throat. In the meantime, I will continue to be who I am, somewhat regardless of my heritage, and continue with my life. My heritage is my past, it is what was before me, not what I am now. I define me, not my heritage. Thank you for reading. I'll see you at the First Annual Diversity Day!

Eh, not exactly.

p.s. I saw Little Miss Sunshine tonight and it's wonderful. If you haven't seen it, go see it, it's really really good.

Overreaction for justification

I will do my best to piece together my many, many scattered thoughts on this subject. It is semi political, but if you're not a fan of politics, you will still find this interesting from a human psychological perspective. If you follow current events, even slightly, then you have heard the extreme rhetoric in the political arena and even the political fringe.

People have been quoted comparing the President to Hitler. Our troops in Iraq to mercenary murderers. Bush has been called the greatest terrorist the world has ever seen. That he should be on trial for war crimes. He has been called a huge racist. Besides the hate speech (which I will get into that topic soon) against the sitting President, who deserves respect simply because he is such, whether you like him or not, there has been a ratcheting up of accusations at others as well. Just look at Imus and his situation. I have never seen such a firestorm over 2 1/2 words. (Nappy-headed is hyphenated, so i only give it credit for 1 1/2 words). Leading the way is the infamous Al Sharpton, with Jesse Jackson in tow. Now another shock jock talk duo is in trouble for making fun of asians, lampooning their speech characteristics. You know, like in "The Christmas Story" when the asians are singing Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra, Ra Ra Ra Ra instead of La's. It's funny. It's true in some cases.

Unfortunately, Bush, Imus, the new poster boys for freedom from speech, and many others in the public view have been vilified beyond rational thought and reason. Why? I enjoy proving a point by simply asking questions and letting you come to the point I'm trying to make by yourself.

Think of 5 important people in history. Not just American history, but world history. Some of these people might come to mind:

Jesus Christ. Martin Luther King Jr. George Washington. Gandhi. Abraham Lincoln. Rosa Parks. Churchill. And the list goes on. So with this list, what do all these people have in common?

Try this. They all overcame something great. (Great as in large/huge not great as in good) Jesus Christ, well c'mon, he overcame hatred from his own people, umm, you know, death, temptation, challenges. Martin Luther King Jr overcame racism, TRUE racism, not what you hear Sharpton yelling about over Imus. Washington overcame the British in the war for independence and was the first president of a unique nation, overcoming doubt and the unknown. Ghandi, overcame the freaking British. Lincoln, overcame civil war and slavery. They all have that in common. They all overcame something great and usually evil.

So how does this relate to what's going on now? Think about it this way. All generations born in the late 60's and forward have not had that great evil to overcome. We have not had the severe hardships our previous generations had to deal with and overcome. Starting to see the connection now? The current "leaders" and politicos have exaggerated the evils of certain people to make their cause more just, more noble, more pious. Take Imus for example, since it's fresh. You're right, I'm not black, I'm not a woman, whatever. Nappy-headed ho's will not ruin your life. That phrase is modest compared to what I've heard in rap music and from comedians, mainly black ones. So spare me the fake outrage and devastation. But to Sharpton and Jackson, he's the worst of people, the most racist, etc. etc. They have to talk him up to be far far more evil than he actually is, otherwise their cause and position wouldn't be as important. Overcoming a bad thing or a semi bad thing isn't nearly as important or noticed as overcoming a super evil, a sociological wrong, etc.

This entry didn't come out as smoothly as I wanted, but I hope you got the point. The supercharged rhetoric you hear nowadays is simply an exaggeration to make their own cause appear more noble, more just. Without this over-vilifying of characters, they wouldn't have the position they have, such as Sharpton. If he makes race relations out to be the worst ever, then he has a position and will continue to rake in the dough. If he was honest about it, a clear defiance of his character, then we would know it's not nearly as bad as he makes it out to be, and he wouldn't have his lofty position of power and voice. If we were only so lucky.

This topic is tied into so many others that I want to outline over the next several days, including loss of perspective by Americans. Loss of humor. A loss of a common identity. An over selfish society destroying trust. The Knee-jerk generation of today.

Please, leave your thoughts. Leave your ideas. I'll be back soon.

D

Sobering Reality

I haven't written in so long, yet feel the need to let things out at this particular time. I just finished a week long master class in acting taught by Alec Baldwin. It was ten times greater than I expected it to be. I won't get into detail about it because I just don't feel like reliving it at the moment. I'll explain why.

It also went faster than I figured it would, and the week went by in a snap. Yet I bonded with those people there. We all had something in common, this common thread that linked us all together and led us there with a common purpose. I wanted to get to that class and spend all day with them because I fit in there, I made sense with those people, I loved those people and shared our emotional depths together. Being on stage with someone and sharing the experience of someone on stage is such a bonding event. I am connected to those people as they bared themselves on stage, and as I did the same. Today, Saturday, I had nothing planned. Mistake. I went from a week of something to do almost every minute and that something was so fulfilling and wonderful, to a day where nothing was planned. I crashed and am burning as we speak. I miss them, some more so and a couple in particular. I miss that acceptance, that admiration, that union of intent and emotion with those people. I miss that purpose we all had there. I miss that driving force. Not that I don't have it in me, that driving force is still there, but I was chasing it there, I was living it there, I was learning so many things and getting such great wisdom and advice. I didn't want it to end.

It's odd, one thing I kept hearing was about being in the moment when you're acting, and needing to actually be there rather than trying to act it out and putting up something false on stage. I find myself doing that in real life as well, and for that class, I was in my moment. I never thought about what it would be like when it was over; until it was over of course. And now I don't want to think about it, because I have come crashing down into a sobering reality. A reality that quite honestly, I wish was a lot less sober right now; a reality I wish was a lot less real.

Wide Open

This will be a stream of thoughts, more honest than I normally would be, and more open than I ever would get. Yes, call your uncle and tell him to tune in too.

I've lived tentatively for too long. I've lived in a way that hopefully makes me an amiable person to everyone else around me; though it has left me forgettable. I've taken small steps to ensure my confidence in where my next one will go; to ensure that my next one will be safe. I've lived bottled up because I'm too afraid to let myself out, and then not be understood. This, truly, is one of my greatest fears; not being understood.

I often say that I am not complicated, that I'm easy to figure out. I almost started to believe it too. I'm not easy to get, I'm not simple to understand, I'm not grasped by many, and this is a truth that has been hard for me accept, so much so that I have tried to convince myself and those that know me, that I am simple in nature, but complex in it's execution. This has created a deep rooted fear in me that I will share my innermost thoughts and feelings and self, and that it will fall on deaf ears, or dull minds, and be misunderstood for who I really am. I know me, I know myself very well because I spend so much damn time looking inward in introspection. I've spent so much damn time refining my character to make myself someone I would like, and I have succeeded tremendously on so many occasions. Like I said, I've taken so many steps to make myself amiable to those around me, well liked, respected and loved, and it has left me in a point in my life where I feel forgettable.

It's time to stop being so safe. It's time to stop being so hidden. Everything I say I analyze in 10 different ways before I even open my mouth. I'm not exaggerating. Before I even speak a word, even in a seemingly meaningless situation, I will do this:

How should I pronounce my words to get the desired expression and emotion to this person?
How are they going to accept it? Knowing what I know about them, how are they going to take this?
How can I phrase it so they take it like I want them to? How can I phrase it so they understand what I'm trying to say and what I mean?
Will this get to other people? If so, who might it get to? What will they think and how will they interpret my words? What will I have to answer if questions come up, and will I be able to answer them?
How should my body language be when I say this? What should my eyes be like? And my mouth, smile, frown, or something else?

Do you think of all these things before you open your damn mouth? I hope not, because it would take most people about 5 minutes to come up with all those answers. Actually that might be a good thing, there would be a lot less stupidity coming out of people's mouths if that were the case.

It's time for me to arrive. It's time for me to step out. (no closet jokes, i'm not gay, i LOVE women) I have a piece of paper tacked onto a piece of wood that is sort of above my bed. I wrote it a few years ago during a snatch of inspiration. To paraphrase, it talks about how I am a unique person with so much I can do, and the only thing holding me back is myself and my fears and laziness which arises from them. I should live my day with integrity, and honesty, and boldness. I should live this day that I have in front of me. It's inspiring, and I haven't read it in a long time though it sits above my bed along with a couple quotes below it.

I have lived too much in tomorrow and yesterday. I have lived too much in the hypotheticals, and what ifs, and maybes. I have died too much in fear, and lost too much to caution. Not anymore. Not anymore. From here on out, it's wide open...

A Little Bit Of Both

Life sometimes can be oddly ironic. Other times, it's just odd. During the past few weeks, I've met several new people through avenues that have opened up to me and opportunities I have taken advantage of. These people are new to me, and I to them. Several times from these new people, I've heard my abilities and good qualities listed. I'll spare you the boredom of listing the ones I heard, and I'll spare myself a certain embarassment as well.

Here's what makes this odd. Besides the fact that I had more than a couple people rattle off a list of things, it made people, well, "attracted" to me. I'm not speaking in terms of girl attracted to guy, although there was that as well, I'm just speaking of attraction in terms of people wanting to be around you, wanting to spend time with you and that kind of attraction. I guess it's not all that odd. I guess it makes a little sense. But when you're actually in that position and circumstance, it's awfully odd.

Here's what makes it ironic. This list of qualities, and this "attraction" has created rifts with others and made me someone "not safe" to hang out with or spend time with. I know I'm not explaining this quite right, but deal with it. It has left me enviable, and to me, that's not necessarily a compliment. It is not a position I like either. The other ironic part is that in spite of these qualities, I am also so terrible an influence or so much of a danger, that one should not be able to spend time with me, let alone even hear my words. Does any of this make total sense? Probably not, I just had to get it out. Despite all these things I apparently have going for me, there is so much, and many working directly against me.

Life can be odd. Life can be ironic. Right now, it's a little bit of both.

Positive Muscle

So it's been a LONG time my friends, who have all disappeared no doubt. That's ok. The musical I was in had taken up so so so much of my time, and it's finally over. Quick update, it was fantastic and apparently I'm quite good on stage, so I'll be doing this much mroe in the future and I'll keep you updated on that. Blah blah blah. Moving on.

I was speaking with someone today, and she was telling me about how I have this ability to get a touch of positive energy and then run with it and let it drive me. This ability to use my positive muscle to grow that energy. It was just an interesting way to hear that. I know that when I get into a groove and I get things going my way, I get on a roll and it's fantastic, but I never thought of it as an ability, or something I can do with my will rather than just going with the flow. Makes me feel like I have more control over it, and that's really cool.

It all started with a weekend in Massachusetts during a very difficult time in January when I, for some reason, started fiddling around on a piano in someone's house, and ended up recording my fiddling that night. I came home and thought big, went out and bought a keyboard and decided that I would write a couple songs for my church with no experience on the piano or keyboard. I did, and I was happy, very happy with them. I said yes to auditioning for a musical, not something I would always do, but because of my new years resolution (one of them) to say yes more, I wound up making my stage debut to impressive reviews, huge compliments, and now offers to do more shows, and the prospect of actually making this a career.

It all started with a weekend in Massachusetts. That's all it took. I remained open, and wound up with that piano ditty, which just got things rolling. That's a phrase I often use, and people close to me have heard it often. I stay open. I let things come, I don't crowd my mind too often with things, I just stay open to whatever is around me, aware of things and imaginative and open minded. Perhaps you are in a funk like I was. Maybe you're just in a rut, or maybe you're just feeling held down by the everyday drudgery of routine life. I often feel that way and I know many people do. Go let yourself open, let something come to you. All it may be is a nibble, but don't overlook it; don't squash it too fast. You never know what it might become...