"The truth shall set you free." This famous line has an important context. Jesus of Nazareth declared this at the end of an insightful description of his true followers: "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. THEN...you will know the truth..."
Truth is liberating for all that decide character and integrity must trump expedience and power. Admitting our personal failures and offering proper credit to others for our successes are both part of truthfulness that liberates the soul and earns the respect of others now and forever.
The Benghazi fiasco is compounded by an Administration unwilling to admit its foreign-policy failures. The terrorist attacks on 9-11-12 were not a spontaneous reaction to an obscure and obscene film produced months before. They were the deliberate actions of groups bent on the destruction of Israel, the USA and any other powers impeding a global caliphate. These attacks undermine the mythology that recent "outreach" to radical Islamicists has been successful. The hubris emanating from the Bin Laden assassination has obscured judgment and promulgated increased self-deception and public resistance to investigation.
If the President and Secretary of State had forthrightly declared, "We were ill-prepared and will correct our policies" the day after the attack, Benghazi would still be a tragedy. But it would also fade from public memory and we would not be subject to the current polemics that only increase the cynicism on the Left and skepticism on the Right.
The Watergate scandals of 1972-1974 were quite similar. If Nixon had fired the responsible parties and cleaned house, he still could have won the election. But paranoia won the day and two years later our nation had a new President they did not elect to that office.
Free the film maker. Admit the failure. Apologize to the families of the dead. Restore the positions of the whistle blowers. Come clean with no excuses and many Americans will offer a second chance - we love stories of redemption for those that repent. Continued defiance may preserve a public myth, but it subverts private and public morality and erodes of national character. Do the Republicans have political hay to harvest? Yes. But any such schemes have no fuel when humility triumphs over hubris.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Sunday, April 07, 2013
A Time for Affirmations
Our world is drowning in the quicksand of polemics, negativity and perverted reasoning. Sometimes I wonder if I am in a bad dream or B-grade movie where the universe is sideways. Everything is inverted. Sound fiscal policies mean starving children. Calling for good work ethics is "code" for racism. Supporting traditional marriage is intolerance. Affirming limited government and sound immigration is right wing xenophobia. Criticizing Palestinian Holocaust deniers is apertheid and condemning Muslim terrorism is Islamophobia.
It is time for unapologetic affirmations of indisputable truths. Rather than labeling and libeling those that disagree with me, I choose affirmation over attack, life over death and faith over fear. Here are some affirmations that I pray will guide all people of conscience:
It is time for unapologetic affirmations of indisputable truths. Rather than labeling and libeling those that disagree with me, I choose affirmation over attack, life over death and faith over fear. Here are some affirmations that I pray will guide all people of conscience:
- Life is precious and sacred, from conception to coronation. Whether a boy or girl, healthy or infirm, challenged or gifted, all humans deserve a warm welcome, a kind farewell, and love in between. It is a baby inside the mother, not a piece of tissue.
- Marriage is one man and one woman discovering depths of intimacy, heights of mutual purpose, experiences of sorrow and joy, and for many, the profound stewardship of raising the next generation.
- Freedom of conscience and religion is the first freedom and foundational to all others. This does not make evangelism coercion or the truth claims of religion unimportant. It means living peaceably with our deepest differences and sharing convictions without fear.
- Hospitality for all legal immigrants and secure borders are symbiotic and critical for national cohesion and diversity.
- Israel is a moral and political good for the world. She is a beacon of sanity in a geography rife with political and religious turmoil.
- Spending less than we take in and fostering economic productivity within the rule of law and an ethos of generosity will help the most people flourish.
- Wealth can be created without destroying the environment. We do not have one pie for seven billion people - we can bake more pies!
- It is the height of arrogance and overweening will-to-power to manipulate the populace with fear about global climate. Most of Rachael Carson's and Paul Ehrlich's predictions were (and are) wrong. Current climate "science" must be separated from globalist economics and politics.
- Our choices can add to the beauty around us, from works of art to words of wisdom, from life-saving medicines to laughter that heals the heart.
- The colors and clothes, accents and dialects, food and music of our many cultures is cause for celebration as we discover our common humanity and diverse tastes.
- Disagreeing with another person's choices is not judging their soul nor being intolerant. My neighbor is made in God's image and worthy of love and respect. Where we differ, we may argue passionately...then go to a PTA meeting and help our schools together.
St. Francis of Assisi rebuilt a church with his bare hands, rejoiced in his poverty, gained Papal approval, evangelized Muslims and could hear the songs of the trees and whispers in the wind. I do not share his monastic vocation, but I long to share his joy-filled humility and love for God and others.
Jesus of Nazareth healed the sick, delivered the oppressed, forgave sinners and reconciled enemies. He also pricked the consciences of the comfortable, condemned the abuse of the powerful and refused to compromise on matters of morality. All progressives need to heed his words of judgment and all conservatives must awaken to his compassion.
Today I choose affirmation because in the Incarnation, humble and sinless life, crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, I discover my identity and worth, my destiny and discipline, and the affirmations and affections that shape abundant life now and forever.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Observations
Observations on a Friday:
The human condition is summed up well by watching preschool children play. One minute they are hugging, laughing and sharing...the next they are crying, pushing and refusing to share.
Federal government leaders are like dieters confronting a box of doughnuts. They know they should walk away after eating one and sharing the box, but they end up eating all of them. Restraint is not an easy virtue.
"Redefining" marriage and family does not change the empirical and intuitive truth that humans are conceived by one man and one woman and children are best served by their biological parents staying together.
Just when I am about to embrace pacifism fully, Iran, North Korea and the Taliban do or say something that awakens a sensibility that we need military force in a fallen world.
But when the noxious odor of crusading and militarism appears, I realize that I am first a citizen of God's kingdom and must love and pray for my enemies even as nations try to resist evil.
Judaism, Christianity and Islam see the world very differently, even as they share certain monotheistic and moral concepts. Civil discourse with love and respect is a must; pretending that "they worship the same deity" is intellectually and spiritually dishonest.
Academics are a funny lot sometimes. They love to rage against capitalism while teaching in buildings funded by people that were productive and employed others...and, gasp! - made a profit.
Why do so many environmentalists express deep concern for obscure animal species while allowing the elimination of unborn humans? Conversely, good ecology is good economics...if we care for creation, it will care for our posterity.
The local church can be the incubator of spiritual and social transformation. As people connect with God and each other, they become creative and productive and the world is better.
We cannot regulate all risk out of our lives.
Warm homemade bread and butter shared with people you love is profoundly gratifying.
The human condition is summed up well by watching preschool children play. One minute they are hugging, laughing and sharing...the next they are crying, pushing and refusing to share.
Federal government leaders are like dieters confronting a box of doughnuts. They know they should walk away after eating one and sharing the box, but they end up eating all of them. Restraint is not an easy virtue.
"Redefining" marriage and family does not change the empirical and intuitive truth that humans are conceived by one man and one woman and children are best served by their biological parents staying together.
Just when I am about to embrace pacifism fully, Iran, North Korea and the Taliban do or say something that awakens a sensibility that we need military force in a fallen world.
But when the noxious odor of crusading and militarism appears, I realize that I am first a citizen of God's kingdom and must love and pray for my enemies even as nations try to resist evil.
Judaism, Christianity and Islam see the world very differently, even as they share certain monotheistic and moral concepts. Civil discourse with love and respect is a must; pretending that "they worship the same deity" is intellectually and spiritually dishonest.
Academics are a funny lot sometimes. They love to rage against capitalism while teaching in buildings funded by people that were productive and employed others...and, gasp! - made a profit.
Why do so many environmentalists express deep concern for obscure animal species while allowing the elimination of unborn humans? Conversely, good ecology is good economics...if we care for creation, it will care for our posterity.
The local church can be the incubator of spiritual and social transformation. As people connect with God and each other, they become creative and productive and the world is better.
We cannot regulate all risk out of our lives.
Warm homemade bread and butter shared with people you love is profoundly gratifying.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Deficits and Surpluses
It is difficult enduring the childish squabbling and crush-the-opponent-at-all-costs strategies emanating from Washington, D.C. and so many devastated cities. While politicians collect their pensions and salaries, and a few favorites (like General Motors!) store billions in cash overseas, most of the nation awaits leadership that is honest and wise, with the good of all Americans in mind, not just select constituencies that ensure victorious elections. Some decisions border on the tragicomedic: Colorado lowering tuition for the undocumented while qualified US citizens pay more for an education. Millions go on food stamps (with government urging) and Homeland personnel get a cool grand for uniforms while our President cancels White House tours and plays more golf. Obama has dinner with a few Republican insiders, but legitimate budget plans in the House are rejected sight unseen.
Something is broken.
Most Democrats know the gravy train must end soon. Republicans cannot seem to find a tune that will be hummed by hard working African-American and Hispanic citizens whose values are closer to theirs that the current Administration.
The problem is not the politicians.
Yes, the Mayor of New York is out of control with lifestyle regulation. Parts of Detroit are Haiti with cold weather. Everyone is so afraid of libelous labels that immigration "reform" will only encourage more defiance of the law.
We have deficits of discipline. We have surpluses of state control. The former leads to the latter.
It is difficult to hold politicians accountable for balancing a budget when we expect way too much of government agencies. Mayor Bloomberg's crusades against fat and sugar are meddlesome, but we have become a super-sized nation and without discipline medical costs will force the kind of rationing we abhor.
We are scandalized by elected officials and their sexual peccadillos while we have a divorce rate of almost 50 % and voraciously consume "adult" entertainment. Our leaders need to keep clothing on and hands off the public till. And we need fidelity to our spouses and children.
We penalize economic success with excessive regulation and taxation and insist on more laws for gun ownership. Meanwhile, we pass legislation allowing Hollywood to produce more violent movies. Federal agencies are buying ammunition in wartime quantities. Such contradictions will not bear close scrutiny by thoughtful people.
We are living on our impulses, not insights as we satisfy whims instead of seeking wisdom.
We must begin a grassroots movement of personal and public integrity, with truth and transparency in deed as well as speech. We need to self-regulate and produce more than we consume, thus arming ourselves with moral authority that will cause politicians to think twice before passing more unfunded mandates. We can reaffirm the best of our founder's virtues without repeating their mistakes. Freedom requires virtue and virtue rests on unchanging principles, not "evolving" notions of truth.
Let's discharge our deficits of discipline and enjoy surpluses of sanity. Failure to reform from within our hearts and homes will end in totalitarian demands for our hearts and homes.
Something is broken.
Most Democrats know the gravy train must end soon. Republicans cannot seem to find a tune that will be hummed by hard working African-American and Hispanic citizens whose values are closer to theirs that the current Administration.
The problem is not the politicians.
Yes, the Mayor of New York is out of control with lifestyle regulation. Parts of Detroit are Haiti with cold weather. Everyone is so afraid of libelous labels that immigration "reform" will only encourage more defiance of the law.
We have deficits of discipline. We have surpluses of state control. The former leads to the latter.
It is difficult to hold politicians accountable for balancing a budget when we expect way too much of government agencies. Mayor Bloomberg's crusades against fat and sugar are meddlesome, but we have become a super-sized nation and without discipline medical costs will force the kind of rationing we abhor.
We are scandalized by elected officials and their sexual peccadillos while we have a divorce rate of almost 50 % and voraciously consume "adult" entertainment. Our leaders need to keep clothing on and hands off the public till. And we need fidelity to our spouses and children.
We penalize economic success with excessive regulation and taxation and insist on more laws for gun ownership. Meanwhile, we pass legislation allowing Hollywood to produce more violent movies. Federal agencies are buying ammunition in wartime quantities. Such contradictions will not bear close scrutiny by thoughtful people.
We are living on our impulses, not insights as we satisfy whims instead of seeking wisdom.
We must begin a grassroots movement of personal and public integrity, with truth and transparency in deed as well as speech. We need to self-regulate and produce more than we consume, thus arming ourselves with moral authority that will cause politicians to think twice before passing more unfunded mandates. We can reaffirm the best of our founder's virtues without repeating their mistakes. Freedom requires virtue and virtue rests on unchanging principles, not "evolving" notions of truth.
Let's discharge our deficits of discipline and enjoy surpluses of sanity. Failure to reform from within our hearts and homes will end in totalitarian demands for our hearts and homes.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Maturity, Please
Our current pop culture encourages permanent adolescence as prurient passions rule over consideration of others and thoughtful actions and words. Children are maturing physically sooner, yet staying immature longer, with many psychosocial experts affirming that the brain - especially of males - only reaches adulthood in the mid-20s. I only wish most in their 20s were adults!
This issue is not physiological development. Our founders did much of their greatest work in their 20s and 30s. The Greatest Generation that persevered through a Dust Bowl and D-Day matured in their teens - they had to work to survive and shed the decade of stupidity that characterizes our contemporary rites of passage.
Maturity includes physiology, but it is not limited by the body. Maturity - true adulthood - is marked by the growing triumph of principle over passion, reason over reaction, ethical choices over temptations and service to others over cheap self-gratification. Biblically, maturity is the Great Commandment (loving God supremely and others sacrificially) expressed by the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and the virtues of the divine life (II Peter 1:1-10).
Today's youth are far more capable than we think. The problem is their parents. Too many "adults" are acting like middle school students, exchanging gossip, struggling for acceptance through moral compromise and hoping for popularity at any cost. O wait! this sounds like Washington, D.C. and most media content! Legislative progress requires self-control, principled compromise and the ability to reign in emotion and honestly desire the best for others.
It is time for new icons of virtue. The reason we love Captain America is that he appeals to something beyond ourselves...and even Iron Man follows his lead and willingly serves the cause. We love WWII movies and documentaries because - if only for a moment - so many served at great cost. These fantasy and folk heroes are flawed, but their decisions are sound and point to the heart of maturity - looking beyond ourselves to the Almighty and the good of others.
How do we change our current psychosocial trajectory? One decision, one family, and one relationship at a time. Today let's open our Bible and turn off the computer. Mom and Dad, decide now that nothing will break your covenant...and if you have kids, your fidelity is the number one factor in their future. Let's encourage learning, reflection and service and discover the wonder that caring for others fills our own souls with delight.
And by the way, let's send a message to our city, state and federal public servants: We expect you to be adults and serve the common good. We are watching and we are voting.
This issue is not physiological development. Our founders did much of their greatest work in their 20s and 30s. The Greatest Generation that persevered through a Dust Bowl and D-Day matured in their teens - they had to work to survive and shed the decade of stupidity that characterizes our contemporary rites of passage.
Maturity includes physiology, but it is not limited by the body. Maturity - true adulthood - is marked by the growing triumph of principle over passion, reason over reaction, ethical choices over temptations and service to others over cheap self-gratification. Biblically, maturity is the Great Commandment (loving God supremely and others sacrificially) expressed by the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and the virtues of the divine life (II Peter 1:1-10).
Today's youth are far more capable than we think. The problem is their parents. Too many "adults" are acting like middle school students, exchanging gossip, struggling for acceptance through moral compromise and hoping for popularity at any cost. O wait! this sounds like Washington, D.C. and most media content! Legislative progress requires self-control, principled compromise and the ability to reign in emotion and honestly desire the best for others.
It is time for new icons of virtue. The reason we love Captain America is that he appeals to something beyond ourselves...and even Iron Man follows his lead and willingly serves the cause. We love WWII movies and documentaries because - if only for a moment - so many served at great cost. These fantasy and folk heroes are flawed, but their decisions are sound and point to the heart of maturity - looking beyond ourselves to the Almighty and the good of others.
How do we change our current psychosocial trajectory? One decision, one family, and one relationship at a time. Today let's open our Bible and turn off the computer. Mom and Dad, decide now that nothing will break your covenant...and if you have kids, your fidelity is the number one factor in their future. Let's encourage learning, reflection and service and discover the wonder that caring for others fills our own souls with delight.
And by the way, let's send a message to our city, state and federal public servants: We expect you to be adults and serve the common good. We are watching and we are voting.
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