I Will Say This About That

"America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You've gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, 'You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours."

The above quote is from the movie The American President in which Michael Douglas portrays the president of the United States.

Freedom of speech in America is a cherished right that we all share and should all guard with diligence and fervor. I will defend anyones right to express their thoughts or beliefs be they political, religious, or any origin of their opinion even if I don't agree.

In light of what one of the members of Duck Dynasty said this past week I feel the quote above is appropriate for us all to remember. I will defend his right to free speech, In fact I  think we all should. I may not agree with his religious beliefs and I might not like the tone of his comments but I will defend his right to express it. I don't know this man and I will not sit in judgment of him.

On the other hand, I see people divided over what was said and the issue of freedom of speech, which is interesting to say the least. However, many of the people that are coming to his defense are blaming liberals and the liberal press for A&E's decision to suspend him from the show. 

Let's get one thing straight, the liberal community and the so called "Political Correctness Police" did not remove this man. These same people who are often heralds of capitalism fail to understand the bedrock of capitalism is the free-market. Consumers drive the free-market and since A&E has sponsors who are concerned about losing business because of this mans view, they can pull their sponsorship of the show. The show makes everyone a lot of money and that is now at risk. Consumers drive the free-market with the power to buy or not buy and watch or not watch the show. This isn't liberalism this is a business decision "aka" capitalism at work.

When you are a celebrity everything you say is printed or captured in a sound-byte or video. Celebrities are equally entitled to their opinion the same as us. The difference is there is more at risk for them because of the exposure. They can be misquoted or taken out of context resulting in a public relations disaster. Journalist integrity in America doesn't exist anymore it seems. 

This man must understand that he arrived at the place in the spotlight as a result of this show. He had a decision to make, he could express his inner thoughts in this interview with great risk or he could decline to answer the question, or, he could have been more thoughtful with his response so as not to offend anyone and place the show and its sponsors at risk. The perception is that he felt compelled to speak his beliefs in a magazine interview in a rather tactless manner. 

He is the author of this problem for he made a decision to make his personal thoughts public in a thoughtless manner. Blame the liberal community all you want but remember that the conservative community responded in outrage when one of the Dixie Chicks expressed her views about then President Bush. In fact, the country music community disowned them and the country music channels quit playing their music and consumers quite buying their music.

It's a heavy price to pay to be a celebrity when it comes to expressing your views in public. Celebrities have the same freedom of speech all of us do but subject themselves to the condemnation of consumers and place their celebrity status and possibly their careers at risk.

Same Old Lang Syne

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I always dream of a white Christmas but seldom see one. It was Christmas Eve a few years back and the snow began to fall while I was at work. I was already excited because it was Christmas Eve and to see snow falling just excited me all the more. When I left work around 3PM there was a light layer of snow on the ground. I needed to pickup a few last gifts so off I went in my Mustang with the snow falling listening to Christmas music...perfect. 

I didn't call Lisa to tell her I was off. I headed straight to Target to pickup some movies and music to give as gifts. Once I was done making my selections I headed up the isle toward the long line of cash registers. In the distance I saw a strikingly beautiful woman with a big warm smile coming my way and she took my breath away. Then I realized it was Lisa and I experienced that warm "falling in love" feeling.

For a moment the song by Dan Fogelberg called Same Old Lang Syne began to play in my mind. "Met my old lover in the grocery store, the snow was falling Christmas Eve" are the opening lines to the song. I thought "what if we were no longer together" and as quickly as the thought crossed my mind I realized just how much I love her and that I would never want her to be my old lover that I met in a grocery store.

Time Cannot Heal All Wounds

The truth is time cannot heal all wounds. What time does provide is perspective. When our body is wounded, it can heal but a scar is left behind as a reminder.

When our soul is wounded, the scar is not evident to anyone but you. A scar on the soul is the emotional trauma in the form of a memory of what happened. This leaves us with the dilemma of choosing how we react to the memory.

Perspective... introduces reason informed by understanding that allows us to comprehend the circumstances surrounding the wound. Choosing to forgive and to forget requires an active choice each time the memory surfaces. Sometimes we become stuck in the moment and cannot move forward. Sometimes the perspective that time provides allows us to reason and move forward.

The depth of the wound determines the thickness of the scar and we may never totally recover regardless of the amount of time.

The soul is as complex as it is delicate

Time cannot heal all wounds.

The Ongoing American Revolution

Revolution is described as an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed.

John Adams said the "Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people . . . . This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution." He went on to say that this revolutionary thinking began 15 years before the first shot was fired.

Did the American Revolution end? The answer is yes and no. Yes, the war with the British ended in 1783. No, the American Revolution did not end. In fact, it is more an evolution (Evolution: any process of formation or growth; development) today then a revolution.

Are we currently experiencing a revolution without a physical war? Are we on the verge of the slow evolution of our society speeding headlong into a second great revolution unlike the Revolution of 1776?  According to eminent historian Gordon S. Wood, we are experiencing the common characteristics of most historic revolutions. “The American Revolution does not seem to have the same kinds of causes – the social wrongs, the class conflict, the impoverishment, the grossly inequitable distributions of wealth-that presumably lie behind other revolutions” Woods explains. Woods is describing the historical motivation (seeds) of every revolution except the American Revolution of 1776.  Look again at the characteristics “social wrongs, the class conflict, the impoverishment, the grossly inequitable distributions of wealth”.

Are these not the socioeconomic characteristics of our country today? We see more social legislation bills today presented by the minority party than ever before (mostly involving the rights of women and Gays). We hear of class warfare from our elected leaders and the media. We see a declining middle-class and a growing need for government assistance at a record pace and a corresponding historically inequitable distribution of wealth.

The minority party has gerrymandered in an attempt to swing congressional districts in their favor successfully evidenced by the last election where the majority party received 1 million more votes but have less representation than the minority party. In addition, we see the minority party imposing state voter legislation focused at minimizing the vote of citizens who now make up the majority party.  

In my opinion we are experiencing a slow nonviolent (so far) racial revolution perpetrated by the new minority on the new majority (the combined racial and social minorities who together represent the new majority). In the minds of the new minority the first shot of this war was fired with the election and subsequent reelection of Barak Obama. The new minority’s tactics are legislative obstructionism, talk of secession, anti-religion and socialistic rhetoric, and political attacks on the economy, women and minorities.

The minority party leadership would rather see our economy falter and our country decline so as to advance their political ideology (sacrifice of the majority for the minority) at the potential cost of the nation.  The will of the majority has spoken with the reelection of Barak Obama and yet the minority leaders resist the will of the people.

Unfortunately for the minority party, we have reached the point of critical mass with regards to our changing socioeconomic makeup and public opinion. Their attempt to ignore, block, and obstruct the power of change is like the well-known paradox of what happens when an irresistible force (change) meets an immovable object (resistance to change). Either the immovable object will be crushed by the irresistible force or cause it to deflect in a new direction. I hope its the latter and not the former.

We need both parties to be strong but both parties must be pliable or risk misrepresenting the will of the people and possible annihilation of their party.

Such a Time as This

I know not why you came like the passing of the wind
I will never understand the happenings in the womb
I may not ever discern what the meaning of your birth was nor comprehend the purpose of your death

But you were born for such a time as this

In birth our souls are perfected and our spirits are whole
None of us really know the purpose of our birth or know the length of our days
None of us understand the meaning of death

But you were born for such a time as this

There is only birth and death and it is called life
We all share the same beginning and end

For we were all born for such a time as this

In Memory of Wyatt and Brody

The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.

Amen.

We are here today as family and friends of Gabe, Katy, Carson, Wyatt and Brody. We gather now with desolate hearts; tear stained cheeks, and unanswered questions. I have neither answers nor words of wisdom of why these little souls were taken from us.

I say to you that there are no words of encouragement for the grieving
There are no words of consolation
There are no thoughts or prayers that can sooth and mend our wounded hearts
There is only silence and emptiness that emanates from the shattered pieces of our souls
Time doesn’t heal all wounds
We are left only with the sound of silence and wailing in the same moment
An ocean of tears fill our eyes
And a great hole in our hearts that not cannot be filled

As I held each of my grand babies in my arms and gazed upon their tiny innocent bodies I was reminded of a short bible verse, Jesus Wept.  I thought to myself that the sight of these tiny bodies brings tears not just to our eyes but our Heavenly Father too. To know that Jesus, who was both God and man, wept for the family at the passing of a dear friend lets us know that he is acquainted with our pain and suffering today, for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life; for it is not the will of our Heavenly Father that any of his little ones should perish. This is our hope, the foundation of our faith.

Gabe and Katy, I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of Wyatt and Brody. I am forever humbled by your strength and grace.

Wyatt and Brody, how very quietly you tiptoed into our world, silently, only a moment you stayed. But what an imprint your footprints have left upon our hearts and they are forever embedded there. Sometimes love is for a moment. Sometimes love is for a lifetime. Sometimes a moment is a lifetime. Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away and oh did you take our breath away. 

As time passes, we will struggle for more to hold on to, asking God again and again why did this happen? Maybe all we will ever know is that Wyatt and Brody were brothers and like a shooting star were here one moment and gone in another and that they were beautiful. We knew just as surely, just as clearly, that life is not a work of art, and that the moment could not last.

The Invisible Cord
We are connected,
Our children, we sigh,
by An invisible cord
Not seen by the eye.
It’s not like the cord
That connects us ’til birth
This cord can’t been seen
By any on Earth.
This cord does its work
Right from the start.
It binds us together
Attached to our hearts.
We know that it’s there
Though no one can see
The invisible cord
From our children to daddy and me.
The strength of this cord
Is hard to describe.
It can’t be destroyed
It can’t be denied.
It’s stronger than any cord
Man could create
It withstands the test
Can hold any weight.
And though you are gone,
Though you’re not here with us,
The cord is still there
But no one can see.
It pulls at our hearts
we are bruised…
We are sore,
But this cord is our lifeline
As never before.
We are thankful that God
Connects us this way
Parents to child
Death can’t take it away!

 
Heavenly Father, you know our hearts and share our sorrows. Please comfort us with the presence of your spirit and surround us with your never-ending compassion. Embrace us with your love and give us hope in our despair by showing us a glimpse of heaven and the light of eternity.

Amen