Creating Wealth

One of the amazing things about our planet and human nature is that we can create wealth, enriching our lives and serving others as we discover new artistic expressions, products, services and skills that enhance our human experience in diverse ways. From colorful canvasses to new mathematical formulae, we keep on uncovering new mysteries of the universe and unveiling new artistic visions. Someone helps folks connect with each other and a thousand millionaires are about to be born. Life saving medical knowledge and life-giving wells are transforming famine-ravaged parts of our world. We do not live in a zero-sum bubble of limitation and scarcity. We have a vibrant world of possibilities that we are called to steward well.

Our economic future will be as bright as our imagination, as solid as our ethics and as sustainable as our love for others. Wealth creation is more than economic opportunity. We enrich the world and ourselves with every encouraging word and each act of kindness. When we look past our personal wants to the hopes of others, our vision grows and possibilities become tangible. If each of us thinks deeply and acts decisively for the good of others, present pathways of self-destruction can be altered and new avenues of prosperity unearthed.

We do not need Utopian promises from political elites or dystopian rumors to dissuade our efforts. Equipped with faith, hope and love and empowered to act, our daily decisions forge a future far richer that any stump speech.

What Can I Do?

In the midst of the passions of political debate and the problems confronting our civilization, it is easy for us to feel helpless. Massive deficits, Middle East tensions and visceral concerns for our own families can have a paralyzing effect on the soul. What can one person do? Leaving aside either a "bunker and bullets" strategy or noble crusades for charitable causes, is there anything we can do to forge a better future for our country?

We can be PRESENT. This is an acronym that is also descriptive of the disposition that can change the future. Are we really present when listening to others? Are we present at work, using our time well? Are we present to the hopes and needs of those we meet everyday? Let's explore each facet of this important quality:

P: this stands for being present, fully engaged in whatever the moment brings us. Imagine the dignity we bestow on others when we give them full attention. Think about then clarity that comes when we confront what the politicians are actually saying.

R: is for reverent. Whether we are part of a religious community or not, life calls us to humility and awe as we consider the magnificence of creation and our own consciousness.

E: is for encouraging. All of us can help another forward, offering support and insights that will stimulate courage under fire.

S: stands for supporting the success of others as we realize that all work is service, and that life is much more fulfilling when we help others rather than focus only on ourselves.

E: this second E represents engagement. We need to find our causes and commit our time, talent and treasure to their missions. We cannot do everything, but if all of us do something, we will change the world.

N: stands for nurturing the next generation as we parent, mentor, teach and open doors for younger women and men. Whether we are married or single, childless or with a full house, we can create a better tomorrow by nourishing the dreams of today's children and younger adults and even inspiring seasoned citizens that they have much wisdom to offer.

T: truth must guide our decisions, whether it is the transcendent precepts of our moral and religious convictions or the empirical discoveries of careful investigation. Opinions are not facts and the internet is not the final arbiter of reality.

Lets implore God for mercy, give to charities and vote. In all of these and other activities, let's be PRESENT and not lose our liberty by default.

Kyrie Eleison

Today I paused and considered the state of our nation, the political discourse and my recent essays. While I remain deeply concerned about our country's future and profoundly troubled by the current administration, I think a moment of introspection is due - for me, for the churches of our land, and for every thoughtful person that possesses some reverence for God and respect for others. In the midst of passionate polemics, we can forget our own personal proclivities for good and evil. In the middle of debating economic policies, we can be ignorant of needs across the street and around the world that we can help solve.

For years I have been calling - along with thousands of others - for a moral and spiritual awakening that compels consecration among believers, conversion of many and transformation of economic, moral and social spheres of our world. We need to be aroused from our selfish stupors and embraced by Divine love and holiness. Such conversion is not for our own ecstatic delight alone; authentic awakening compels service to those that cannot return the favor. Consecration to God also stimulates creativity and cooperation that can engender new wealth.

Where do we start? New mass meetings? Viral sermons and prayer times? Another 3, 7 or 12-step book? All of these may help. But there is a ancient prayer that we can offer that may be the spark for the millions of brush fires we need.

The prayer I speak of is the Kyrie Eleison prayer used by all streams global Christianity. Rooted in the texts of Old and New Testament, the prayer means, "Lord, have mercy." The Orthodox tradition adds the famous, "Jesus Prayer" - "Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy (on me)." These ancient words of humility and dependence are needed in our hour of nattonal and personal crises.

Yes, we must debate, vote and work. Yes, we must allow for civil discourse and not impose any religious tests for citizenship, public office or neighborliness. I am not speaking of a movement that imposes prayer - I am calling on all people of faith to pray these words from the depths of hearts hungry for change. We must not make this prayer privately engaging and publicly irrelevant. "Lord, have mercy..." needs to offered for all women and men, whether we agree with their personal choices or political ideas. "Kyrie Eleison" applies to churchgoers enslaved to food and pornography as well as all who struggle with all addictions.

"Kyrie Eleison" means I will pray for our President's well-being and that God will help him change where needed as well as persevere where good is promoted. "Lord have mercy" begins with my own soul and reverberates to a world starving for moral leadership. Here are some Kyrie Eleison prayers to get us started in a new direction of civility and hope:

"Lord, have mercy on me for my myopic vision and self-centered living. Help me wake up every day with the desire to honor you and bring good to others. Help me see all my activity as service and keep me from merely advancing my agendas."

"Lord, have mercy on your church. Let every community, every parish experience gracious renewal as your love and holiness are the focus rather than consumer needs and personal preferences. Kyrie Eleison - renew us in this day. We deserve wrath - please remember mercy."

"Lord, have mercy on our nation. You love all humankind and will bless all who call on your Name in truth. Help us appreciate your work in our history while repenting of our arrogance. We are only as exceptional as our reverence for you and our integrity in life. Forgive our prejudice toward "the other." We forget that each person we see is made in your image and an object of your affection. Forgive our wanton disregard for life, from conception to coronation, from forgetting the poor and vulnerable to treating the aged and challenged as burdens."

"Kyrie Eleison for our current administrations in our cities, counties, states and in Washington, D.C. Help all in places of power to be servants not masters, stewards of a trust and not despots of select interests. Help all in service to debate well and forge solutions that move us forward. Keep them alert to the dangers of radical ideologies that hold so many captive. Let your love, holiness and mercy move them in pursuit of equity and opportunity, always sustaining faith in the Almighty and in their neighbor."

Many more prayers can be offered. What would happen if millions of us cried out every day, "Lord have mercy."? Perhaps we would forgive from our hearts and be less angry. Perhaps the glory of God and good of others would restrain our egos. Perhaps we would sit down with rivals and ask the question, "What is the best way forward regardless of who is funding our campaigns?"

One thing is certain: if we walk in this disposition, we will contribute more than we take from our world and make at least one person's day brighter. Perhaps that is where the awakening begins.

Disney Comes to Presidential Politics

The Disney brand is amazing. From amusement parks to films, from media products to toys, a colorful world of fantasy awaits the consumer. For entertainment and family vacations, no one can rival Disney's influence. There is a place for escapist fun and millions of people enjoy what Disney creates.

Today's political rhetoric rivals Disney. The fantasy worlds and outright fabrication of history and reality are stunning. We are facing the greatest crises in our history and all the American people are hearing are platitudes. Yes, there are a few practical policies buried within the sound bites; however, they are hard to decipher as the propaganda of image and word gush out over the airwaves and web.

Republican candidates need to stop lashing out at each other and debate the practical pathways to repairing the diplomatic, economic and policy disasters of the past three years. Let the press expose all the dirt - the candidates need to refine their solutions and explain to the American people the real road to a better future.

I wish Barak Obama was simply clueless or out of his depth. We could then elect someone else and remember a failed Presidency led by a Chicago political hack. What we are facing is the first President in our history who is contemptuous of our Constitution, disdainful of our heritage and determined to rule by fiat. Every honest measurement demonstrates the utter failure of his policies, from ballooning deficits (with no plan to change the trajectory), Un(der)employment growing, Islamofascism on the rise, family values under direct assault and an utter inability to carry on civil, rigorous debate. His favorite totalitarian phrase lately is "Don't let anyone tell you differently." Such language ends debate, stifles creativity and dooms us to paralysis.

Obama has created an alternate universe in his inner circles, with billionaires benefiting from terrible decisions (Keystone Pipeline cancellation). We have a burgeoning federal workforce and hundreds of union groups exempt from Obamacare, while small and medium business owners struggle to survive. Obama and the Keynesian socialists surrounding him despise private business (except for select Eco-groovy, organic progressives who will employ the undocumented). They hate the military and are gleefully touting a "peace dividend" as our troops come home from Iraq. There is no real "money" saved - just a slightly smaller deficit to corral. New agencies for ethics and environmental concerns sound good to some victims, but we have enough regulation. Obama's view of life is a government that bestows material well-being and political rights. He forgets that the US Constitution exists to protect the rights of the people and the states, while restricting the reach of the federal government.

Obama is not corrupt (he is faithful to his wife and family - a very good thing), clueless or just incompetent. Presidents of both parties have met these standards (Anyone celebrating Buchanan or Harding?). Obama wants to remake America - and the world - according to his globalist, post-American and anti-free-enterprise ideology. He really believes he is smarter that most and that he and his associates know what is best for the "the people." The fact that his election strategists keep on playing the class, race and envy cards is evidence of the paucity of substance at the heart of this Administration. Professors are placed in front of cameras and declare that anytime a Republican touts family values or hard work that they are homophobes and racists. Spin doctors ignore the sources of the Obama family's income and the extreme attempts to hide all childhood and young adult records, including published articles.

Republicans are not exempt from weaving fantasies in place of facts. The policies of both Bush Presidents did not arrest the spending patterns of a generation. We simply cannot sustain a warfare and welfare state at the same time. The fact that anyone listens to Newt Gingrich or Oliver North after their records of corruption is startling. Ron Paul's popularity is directly connected to the deep dissatisfaction of diverse groups with the current crop of candidates. Romney needs to tell the world, "I am rich. Here are my records." Gingrich needs to withdrawal and go back to a think tank and send ideas to the next President. Santorum is a solid citizen, but not without flaws. He must atone for some of his Senate pork, clearly affirm civil rights for all Americans while defending traditional marriage, strengthen his support for real borders and e-verify and communicate more compassion for those contemplating abortion (without compromising an admirable pro-life position).

The best thing that could happen would be the insertion of Mitch Daniels or Tom Pawlenty into the mix. Their combination of character and competence would be refreshing and confront the vacuousness of the current regime. At least they have led states toward a better future and not wasted their energies weaving mythological worlds.

Collective or Community?

The chattering classes and politicians enjoy offering sweeping pronouncements. I am not immune to this, so I will claim here and now, "mea culpa" for my declarations of principle. I only ask that they be evaluated.

One of the disturbing trends of the past century has been the collectivization of people-groups and voting constituencies, at the expense of individuality and true community. The 2012 Obama's strategists have "written off" the white blue-collar votes and are aiming their election appeals downward to non-White poor and working groups and upward to academic and professional elites advocating maximal private (read sexual) liberties. This cynicism is not absent from Republican campaigns, as populist tirades against Romney multiply, with capitalism under fire. Analysts and spin doctors evaluate ethnic "blocs" and "evangelical" groups, with little attention to the variegated realities of the American populace and, most ominously, almost no regard for individual dignity and freedom rooted in truth and virtue.

Ideologues and totalitarians love to see people collectively, often with eyes of exploitation or benevolent despotism. When Republicans limit increases for federal social programs, they are "starving the poor." Of course, no one dares questions the terrible inefficiencies and unethical practices of those administrating these programs. When Democrats suggest that military spending be curtailed, they are "weak" and "unpatriotic." Cynicism and immediate quests for office, power and wealth override what is good for the community and nation.

Community is not the same as "the collective." The latter has its roots in the insipid and insolent ideology of Marxism, while the former is founded upon the cooperation of free people associating for the common good. The collective focuses on conformity enforced by an elite; community is cooperative and driven by shared values. The collective breeds dependency, true community empowers personal flourishing in an ethos of service. The collective subverts moral, political and religious traditions with fabricated unification. Authentic community strengthens the deepest beliefs and bonds and helps us live with our deepest differences.

Our Founders were not Cartesian individualists, Ayn Rand libertarians or theocratic ideologues. Somehow through their arguments, compromises and passionate debates, they forged an experiment in freedom we are still aspiring to realize. They would be aghast at the Marxism that permeates the collective unconscious of so many thinkers. They would equally recoil at the hyper-libertarian ethics ruling the extremists of the Left and Right.

Community begins with the dignity of the person and the freedom to love and serve. Government exists as a subsidiary agency to familial, personal and religious mores. Government does NOT exist to bestow rights, but to protect them! At the same time, there is no liberty without transcendent truth, virtue and the rule of law.

"Structural change" in economics is a Leftist euphemism for government intervention and forced redistribution of wealth. "The magic of the market" is sometimes a cover for libertarian disregard of racism, redlining and oppression. We need free markets and morality. We need effective oversight and maximal creativity. We need community compassion joined with personal responsibility.

I challenge all the Presidential candidates to articulate honestly the reality that without personal virtue, liberty is doomed. I further call on candidates to celebrate the diversity of American flourishing as people of all ethnicities and faiths fulfil their dreams in a land that remains fertile for the responsible.

Let's choose community over the collective. Community can be messy and will always be imperfect; however, it offers the most for all to thrive and the least repressive ethos. The collective may distribute resources, but in the end it will restrict and oppress in the name of an impersonal ideology. Community welcomes diversity and debate; the collective calls for uniformity ("don't let anyone tell you otherwise"). Community fosters individual potential; the collective suppresses "counterrevolutionary" thinking.

When we choose community, we are freely serving others in love. This love is not primarily a feeling. It is rooted in a vision that sees every person as valuable, from conception to coronation, from the least-able to the very talented. Community says, "Yes!" to creativity, wonder and joy. Will you join me in building community? Or will we acquiesce to elite-driven collectivism that will quell our future?