Unusual Thoughts

As we enter the Advent Season and attempt some moments of normality ("normalcy" was a new term coined by then-Presidential candidate Warren G. Harding in 1920), I offer the following reflections on current events:

• Wikileaks is not a crusade for righteousness, but one more group of arrogant elitists with an agenda. They are happy to expose any and every national leader, but will not reveal the names of their supporters or the Bilderberg Group of globalists. What they are doing is part amusing, historically interesting but ultimately concerning to all who value some measure of confidentiality.
• The new Congress will be on a short leash and the expectations are high. If the current "deficit panel" can only recommend changes that save $200 billion, we will continue to drift toward economic oblivion. The cure for our current disease is real movement toward a genuinely balanced budget.
• The number of waivers for Obama Care may end up exceeding the number of people assisted! Major unions are bailing and support is only found among the hard-core Left and the uninsured. There has to be a better way.
• The 2012 race is already interesting. Their are only two questions: Will Hillary or another Democrat make a serious run at Obama? Will the Republicans find a charismatic and electable leader who can offer an alternative to the mushy middle the party elite seems to gravitate toward every four years?
• "Bring him [her] home." This needs to be our theme for the brave women and men in the military. Let's bring them home with dignity, remain a presence against Middle Eastern terrorism and forge a new future in foreign policy. No more bowing to national leaders. No more apologizing for our history. Warts and all, America is still an exceptional place, especially since we confront our problems and work on them!
• Israel should suspend settlement building. But the future of any peace accord with teeth in it rests on the moral integrity of Palestinian leaders who will unequivocally acknowledge Israel's right to exist and initiate full diplomatic exchanges and recognition. If the West Bank is returned (the Oslo Accords) and Israel's security concerns are addressed, there is hope. The PA must give up the demand for a "right of return" for all the descendants of the 1948 conflict. There is only safety for Israel if she is a majority Jewish State.
• Positive changes in the America begin with each one of us choosing ethical, gracious, hospitable and wise pathways that secure for our neighbors the opportunities and rights we desire for ourselves.

Let's find a million families devoted to God, family and community. We do not want a communist or fascist state, but a free people enjoying the fruits of their faith and hard work and learning to live with their deepest differences as well as finding common cause against injustice, poverty and hopelessness.

I am still an optimist, because there are enough people who can make daily choices to turn this nation in a new direction.

Grateful: Pre-Thanksgiving Thoughts

Somewhere in-between the cynicism of fatalists and the Pollyanna sentiments of too many greeting cards is the sentiment of gratefulness. Let's strip away the cliches of "an attitude of gratitude" and the moronic, "it's all good" and choose to be grateful for the abundance of blessings that most of us take for granted.

Before sharing these simple sentences, it is wise to affirm that all of us have pain and unanswered questions. Whether we are poor or rich, an outsider or insider, a minority or majority member, we all "walk with a limp." (This is a reference to the Israelite patriarch Jacob, who had a dramatic encounter with God, received great blessings and a name change to Israel...and came away with a disability.) Death, disease, distress and disaster seem ever-present, impacting us directly as victims or indirectly as caregivers, donors or neighbors.

As a Christian, I believe that our world is simultaneously full of dignity and depravity. We live longing for completeness and enduring unspeakable agonies. We see the glory of God is the macro- and micro-cosmos and the effects of the cosmic tear in unexplainable events. We see humankind capable of creating sublime beauty and sulfuric evils. We long for justice, love, beauty and spiritual connection and often find cruelty, hatred, scarred landscapes and narcissism run amok. I also believe that in the person of Jesus we see the better world to come. In Jesus' life we hear words of grace and see works of goodness that bring the future into the present. In Jesus' death he identifies with our deserved and undeserved suffering, offering forgiveness and experiencing the alienation of unanswered questions. All my "Whys?" to God are collected in his piercing Aramaic exclamation of, "Lama?" In Jesus' resurrection I see a portent of my future: body and spirit renewed, with continuity and contrast with the present cosmos and my community.

Whether my readers share all these sentiments or not, here is why I am grateful:

• I took a shower today. A third of our world could not.
• I ate well today. Millions hope for such abundance.
• My wife and children are happy, healthy and they love me. My parents and in-laws love and care about us. (I am the richest person in the world)
• I get to spend most of my time doing what I love.
• I get to meet interesting people from around the world. They hear and see with different ears and eyes and it helps me expand my horizons.
• I am in the company of good books, while many wait to open their first Bible.
• This past weekend I went to Belize to serve and now I write these words from the USA. Millions will never leave their ghettos or hamlets.
• I have choices - almost too many - about everything from breakfast cereal to soap, while millions hope to eat well and bathe this week.
• I can go to the YMCA and improve my health.
• I live in a country where we can argue about our deepest differences in politics and religion and still be neighbors.
• I voted two weeks ago and I am pleased with some results and displeased with others. I greeted the poll workers, thanked them for their hard work and commented that it is a privilege to vote without fear. Democrat, Green Party, Independent or Republican - we get to participate.
• In the past few days I had the joy of helping several people. To be a part of someone's blessing is the greatest blessing of all.

My list keeps growing as I write. Some are simple things, like a shower. Others are more esoteric, like the company of books. I challenge all of us to write our own "grateful list" and allow our hearts to swell with humble thanks.

I will enjoy a feast next week in the company of my family. But the feast has started today as I ponder my place in life and recognize God's blessings and the wonderful people who enrich my life.

The Morning After

On November 3, all the newly-elected and the survivors of the recent political battles must wake up from the parties and realize a sobering fact: the way forward for America is hard. The difficulties have been exacerbated by Obama's policies, but neither he nor one political party are responsible for our current state. Our challenges have been a century in the making, with the last forty years accelerating trends of prior generations.

The new Congress and President must confront

• Runaway federal expansion and spending - but where will the cuts be made?
• Stasis in Afghanistan and Iraq - but when do our troops return and who is in power in each nation?
• A psychologically-scarred electorate who intuitively know that government largess must decrease even while a large percentage depend upon it for their livelihood.
• How to rebuild our infrastructure.
• Ways to keep all types of jobs in the USA and still be a competitor in a global economy.
• A Constitutional re-balancing - more power to the states and the people - but this means more accountability from state capitals and from each person.
• How to transform a "warfare and welfare" nation into a "workfare" land once again. We cannot have federal guns and butter with ever-increasing deficits forever. We can have a strong defense and trim military spending. We can make sure the needy get help - and do it more efficiently and kindly.
• Allowing some states to go bankrupt and restructure - strong but necessary medicine.

The above list is a partial one and represents the easiest issues. The real challenges are much deeper and will require courage, deft communication and integrity beyond the norm. Here is another list that unveils the full picture. Our class of 2011 must call for

• A new era of moral and spiritual responsibility. Fathers need to father. Mothers need to mother. Parents need to send their children to school ready to learn. Even the working poor can put a bowl of oatmeal in a child's stomach, wash behind the ears and give her or him a hug.
• Local responsibility for welfare. Those who need help of all kinds need to receive it, but with personal care and efficient administration. We DO need basic guidelines from Washington; however, care needs to be as local as possible. The goal of welfare is not jobs for middle-class government workers - it is helping those in need.
• An end to racism once and for all. Pride in heritage and identity is good, but the politics of anger and bitterness only fuel tensions. Red and Yellow, Black and White - we are all precious in God's sight. If this is true, we need to hear more about love than about "hate" crimes. All crime is wrong, regardless of perceived ethnic issues.
• A new way forward on private and public morality. It is nonsense to say, "You cannot legislate morality." All legislation IS moral - we pass laws and ordinances that reflect principles and values we affirm as part of our social compact. It is possible to protect traditional marriage and give alternative family arrangements legal status. It is possible to allow private adult activity while not forcing public schools students to be subject to radical ideologies.
• Citizenship must mean something again. Why do my friends from Europe face years of hassle and thousands in lawyer fees to procure legal status while millions of "undocumented" workers await some form of amnesty and brazenly set up consular offices in public schools? We need to welcome everyone - legally. We need to confront Mexico for her corruption and subversion. We need to confront our addictions and greed.
• Israel must be protected from her enemies while a new peace treaty with a peaceful Palestine is negotiated. Iran must be confronted and not allowed to go nuclear under her current regime.
• American "exceptionalism" must be reaffirmed, without arrogance or obeisance to foreign leaders. Our exceptionalism is found in our Constitutional principles - and in our continual self-corrections to live up to them! We must not be proud of our colonial and imperial history. But we can take pride in our heritage of religious freedom, economic opportunity and gradual alignment with the Founder's vision. We must not try to reify some halcyon days that never were. However, we can learn from the sacrifices of generations who laid the foundation for unprecedented prosperity and opportunity.

The morning after...will the new leaders actually arrest spending and make the tough decisions? Will President Obama learn how to compromise? Will "we the people" decide to "love our neighbor as ourselves" and stop calling on the mysterious "someone" to "do something"?

Positive change is possible, but only with a new "great and general awakening" of faith hope and love. In the end, the future begins with our own decisions today.

False Comfort and True Hope

As we approach the 2010 midterm elections, prognostications are everywhere about the extent of the Republican gains and the fractures in the Democratic Party. Of course, two years ago, the Republicans were deeply divided and the Democrats were unstoppable behind their leader of hope and change. Politics is a fickle enterprise and the patience of the electorate is not endless.

The Obama message of hope, change and government spending is facing stiff opposition. His failure to extract US troops from the Afghan and Iranian theaters frustrates his party's anti-military base. Even the Democratic health care victory is Pyrrhic, with most Americans wanting drastic modifications or outright appeal. Attempts to marginalize Tea Party participants as dangerous extremists get only momentary traction before losing ground to the everyday realities of a bad economy and rising global tensions.

For Republicans, this is an ideal opportunity to make real gains, not only in House and Senate seats, but in clarifying their message and policies and helping to set a new direction. Failure to seize this moment could result in the exact opposite of what conservatives are hoping for - a resurgent Left in 2012. The mistakes of 1994 must not be repeated and the false comfort of political gains must not obscure the hard work ahead if the American ship is going to to be put to rights.

I think there is an opportunity for Truman Democrats and Eisenhower Republicans to find their sea legs again and actually govern wisely. Admirers need to remember that President Reagan's success rested upon deep moral and philosophical principles and the ability to connect with people with love and respect. The coldness of former Presidents Bush and the condescension of Obama are not the way forward. We will need character, charisma, competence and cooperation in order to solve the serious issues confronting our nation.

Our problems require reversing the 80-year trend toward federal centralization and control of our daily lives. Actually following the intent of the our Founders and releasing more power to the states, local governments and individual citizens is the way forward. But saying this - even sincerely believing it- is one thing; implementing it is quite another. It is easy to say, "Reduce the size of government!" until thousands lose their federal jobs and millions are affected by a loss of federal funds. It is going to take careful thinking, bipartisan planning and real courage to turn the tide toward local responsibility.

We must get spending under control - including military spending. There is a great difference between weakening our security and finding ways to be more efficient. We must work to privatize public employee pensions - and hold the managers of such funds under greater ethical scrutiny. We must have immigration reform without capitulating either to racism or self-destruction of our citizenship process and the rule of law. We must reassert our uniqueness as a nation and refuse bow to any foreign governing authority or monarch, all while leading the world in peacemaking efforts. We must improve education - through local choices and control, not federal mandates.

Even Reagan failed to reduce the size of the federal government. Much to the consternation of conservatives, it was President "Slick Willy" Clinton, in cooperation with Newt Gingrich and company, that came the closest to a balanced budget (albeit during the dot.com boom) and helped four million folks get off welfare. There is no progress without cooperation, sacrifice and temporary traumas.

Republicans need to beware of false comfort and make sure that new power does not intoxicate them and reduce their sensibilities to govern wisely. Just ask Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi how "easy" it is to govern when in power!

Democrats must not take false comfort in their ability to resist the will of the American majority, paralyze attempts at compromise and hope to come roaring back in 2012.

Both parties must work together on deficit spending, infrastructure needs, military strategy, decentralization and re-empowerment of the people, and rediscovering core values that all can agree on for a civil society.

True hope is found in moral and spiritual transformation, not elected officials. True hope is not a new government subsidy, but healthy choices that create a better future. True hope is not wishful thinking, but substantial confidence in God and the principles of liberty our Founders bequeathed to the world. True hope is not libertarian anarchy and narcissism; nor is it centralization and collectivism. True hope is unleashing individual initiative in an environment pf personal and social responsibility guided by the Golden Rule.

Regardless of the outcome of this election, all Americans must reject false comforts offered by power-hungry demagogues in both parties and choose the true hope found in faith, hope and love.

Dissent and Liberty

It is fun to read bumper stickers. My travels take me to many locales across America, and I am intrigued by the language of these ubiquitous message boards.

From the Left - usually plastered on old Volvos or new hybrids - I read phrases such as, "Dissent is the purest form of freedom" and "subvert the dominant paradigm" and even the oxymoronic, "pro-child, pro-choice."

From the Right, there are numerous digs at our current President: "NObama" and "Impeach Now." There are also the standard 2nd Amendment symbols and even the humorous, "Buyer's Remorse?"

In addition to standard political fare, there are environmental, religious and social messages that festoon our autos. From Christian to Darwinian fishes, from "love your [Earth] Mother to "Jesus loves me and my tattoos" we enjoy getting attention with a snappy line.

All of these observations compel me to stop and thing deeply about our public language and the people that are shaping the current debates. America has a long history of acrimonious public debate and it would be categorically wrong to say that our current exchanges are worse than ever. What is different is the meaning of words and how perceptions can be shaped so quickly by a few visuals or a sentence or two.

Words like "dissent" and "freedom" and "liberty" are used by all parties to express their "rage at the machine" or frustration with "the elites" or fatigue concerning "business as usual." What is interesting about 2010 is that these terms are being used by people who heretofore have been quietly part of the American tapestry, patiently working, voting and hoping for a better future. I am speaking about most of the participants in the grassroots Tea Party movements. Much to the horror of the Established Left, these folks are claiming the right to speak their minds, actually hold elected officials accountable and even be a bit noisy (and properly nosey) in the process.

From the 1960s to the present, the Left has has claimed exclusive rights to certain words and phrases. "Freedom" means sexual experimentation, document theft (OK if it is from the Pentagon, but we will ban you from reading Obama's school records), flag-burning, anti-military protests, environmental sabotage and other expressions against "the machine." Ironically, the Left have failed to see that they are "the machine"in so many facets of public life! Consider

• The stranglehold the Left has over the academic discourse at most universities and their utter disdain for dissenting opinions from well-educated women and men. When guests are verbally and violently forced off platforms at "free" places like Berkeley, there is something wrong. When a defender of Israel is caricatured as a "Nazi", we have reached the height of deconstructionist hubris and mental torpor.
• The media monopoly of the networks and newspapers that this elite have enjoyed for years. With the advent of the Internet and Talk Radio, this "machine" is threatened and has to resort to shopworn rages against capitalism and unregulated communication. They will defend the late George Carlin's foul language, but they want to "balance" public debate. Sorry friends, but the First Amendment includes liberty for conservatives to speak.
• The ownership of terms connected to "social justice." Oh my, this term has been the Left's hammer against the rapacity of capitalism, the evils of American imperialism and the need to levy higher taxes on the productive so that the dependent will keep voting for the candidates of "the people." For a half-century, the Left has claimed moral superiority because they want to forcibly redistribute wealth, alter the nature of how Americans read the Constitution and redefine what is "fair." They want "smart-growth" - a euphemism for social planning and control. They want "green" policies - good, but who regulates the regulators?
• One final set of terms: "Global Climate Disruptions." Here we see another fabrication of manipulative language to keep Americans in a state of fear and coerce more tax dollars for pet causes. With the current science is turmoil over global "warming" the academic and financial elites whose livelihoods depend on propaganda have to find other ways to advance globalism. Ironically, no one on the Left criticizes Al Gore's personal fortune or lifestyle. No one exposes George Soros' amoral destruction of currencies. As long as certain rich folks own a hybrid and give to the right causes, all is forgiven. But woe to the CEO with a smokestack!

Tea Party participants are calling for

• "Dissent" - this means confronting the awful administrative and budget processes of all elites in power, Democrat or Republican.
• "Liberty" - this means less government intrusion into all aspects of public and private life.
• "Accountability" - our elected officials are responsible for how they mange public funds and whether certain projects are needed.
• "Borders" - this is not a call to vigilantism or xenophobia, just legal immigration and the end to violence.

Having defended the agitators from the Tea Party Movement, let me hasten to add that merely reacting to current policies and trying to reify some kind of nostalgia past will not do in the 21st century. The Right must demonstrate, in real deliverables and dollars:

• How the "magic of the free market" is going to help the unemployed whose jobs are overseas because of multinationals looking at the bottom line.
• How"'family values" will unleash compassion on the single mother who must cope with child rearing, work and the stigma of being abandoned.
• How "pro-life" translates into policies that protect the unborn and prosecute the truly guilty, while holding parents accountable for their freely-chosen actions.
• How "strong national defense" can also mean less wasted money for defense contractors, pay-offs for politicians and a leaner, more efficient military.
• How "more local control" must translate into infrastructure rebuilding a private-public partnerships.
• "How "equal opportunity" means a fair shake for those still affected by centuries of discrimination and structural rejections.

I commend the right of all Americans to dissent, to make their ideas known and to rigorously debate issues. I condemn, however, the gratuitous attacks of both sides - not one wins when we use terms like "tea bagging" of "femi-nazi." It may get attention and a chuckle, but it is a destructive diversion from real debate.

For my friends on the Left and the Right - you must want for others the liberties and opportunities you crave for yourself. The Left must make the case that "smart-growth" is not Big Brother creating an Orwellian system rules by an academic elite. The Right must demonstrate that free markets require ethical oversight and that personal responsibility but be balanced by community compassion.

Both sides of our political divide need to balance a budget and within this context argue passionately for particular priorities. When a millionaire "green" builder calls for an additional dollar-per-gallon gas tax so we can develop more public transit, he is taxing the working poor and still underfunding real research. Answers for long-term problems are almost always a "both-and" approach. For energy, let's judiciously drill domestically AND fund alternatives. Let's consider nuclear energy AND solar power. Simply yelling at each other and taxing current habits will not propel us forward!

Word matter and in an era where Truth is up for grabs, we need to be clear what we mean by any words we use. Integrity demands no less, and the future of our nation rests on creating a narrative that aligns with reality and maximizes the potential of each person.