Looking for Patriotism

This week National Public Radio reported on Somali-Americans recruited into terrorism. It got me thinking why these kids whose parents had gotten an opportunity in the States to start a new life would be compelled to go back to Somalia and fight Jihad. Following up I considered the likes of Louis Farrakhan and Al Sharpton, popular culture's references to anti-American sentiments, and partisan attacks; all of these are symptoms of the unraveling of our American identity.

Patriots are not ignorant, flag-waving yes-men blindly following selfish old white men who think they know better than everyone. This is the image of a patriot protesters of the '60s and'70s retalliated against. McCarthyism, Jim Crow, the war machine, and Wall Street big shots were the face of America in that era. So many were so very frustrated they rebelled. Consider these lyrics from a popular song:

Some folks are born made to wave the flag,
Ooh, they're red, white and blue.
And when the band plays "Hail to the chief",
Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord,
It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no senator's son, son.
It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, no,
Yeah!
Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Lord, don't they help themselves, oh.
But when the taxman comes to the door,
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,
It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no millionaire's son, no.
It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, no.
Some folks inherit star spangled eyes,
Ooh, they send you down to war, Lord,
And when you ask them, "How much should we give?"
Ooh, they only answer More! more! more! yoh,
It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no military son, son.
It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, one.
It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate one, no no no,
It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate son, no no no,
Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Fortunate Son"

There is a sad situation, then, where, as John Edwards put it, we have "two Americas." This stratification and sense of injustice and animosity threatens to tear our country apart. Like sectarian violence in the Middle East and immigrant anti-nationalism in Europe, this disparity among Americans is tearing us apart.

Patriotism is the answer. What brings us to the table should be our sense of national identity and the shared values and responsibilities we as Americans have. We will always have economic disparity. We will always have bigotry. We will always have disagreements. We will always have poverty, hunger, crime, favoritism. As Americans we can wrestle through these things without ripping our nation apart.

When someone says, "I'm embarrassed to be an American," or "they are un-American," or even hopes for the destruction of our nation and our neighbors they are chipping away at the integrity of our national identity. The Stars and Stripes, our Constitution, our government, and our national heritage are symbols of our country's greatness. Its values are greater than our differences. Its institutions are greater than partisan manipulation. Alexis de Toqueville is aattributed as saying,

America is great because she is good.
When she ceases to be good, she will no longer be great.

May we never lose that sense of goodness and belief in a good America.

one hundred thirty-five dollars

What could / would you do with $135? Try the new Jordans at Footlocker.com. I can think of better things myself. When I was a kid a pair of M.J.'s latest sneakers was a status symbol, and still is almost twenty years later.

Image from footlocker.com

Recommended Listening: Alli Rogers

She caught my ear on tour with Shaun Macdonald. It takes quite the mixture of vocal creativity and lyrical depth to complement one of today’s more introspective Christian musicians. Alli did just that. Her acoustic renditions of her songs accompanied by her own guitar filled the room. She had genuine fun with the group on stage as they performed some songs together.

When Alli launched her new album for pre-sale on her web site, AlliRogers.com, I ordered. The album is very well made. The vocals are evocative accompanied by soothing instrumentals.

I am replaying "The Things We Can And Cannot Keep" on my CD player. Her music and lyrics are strangely calming and driving. The passion of the lyrics — complimented by the music — communicate the desperation and release of recognizing the surrender of what is temporary for things eternal. Alli goes from a strong chest voice to soft head voice mixing for a pleasant sound.

Each song is well-written and deeply personal, capturing imagination, idealism and passion of a young woman in love with the One she is chasing, but trying to make sense of life. They are sometimes deeply passionate and other times provocatively playful.

The album is available for a remarkable price for this memorable album. Visit AlliRogers.com to listen to tracks and order your copy.

Tuning Out and Tuning In

Yesterday a neighbor reminded me of an important lesson: to hear the voice of God we have to get very quiet and very alone.

It has not been that way for me lately. I am an information junkie. With my lap top computer connected wirelessly to the internet I can receive and send information all day any day. It is convenient.

Perhaps that convenience is part of my current problem. You see, there is a lot going on right now and I should be really focused on discerning how to accomplish the things ahead. Most days I find myself overwhelmed. So, when overwhelmed I escape. And with my computer and the world wide web at my finger tips I can lose myself in a game, book, videos, or countless other distractions right there. After these distractions I rarely find myself fulfilled. Rather, I am more often disappointed that I am even further behind.

Here is the place for discipline. Francis Bacon said

If money be not thy servant,
it will be thy master

For me, my computer, TV or just mindless conversation can take over and monopolize my time. Even if I know there is something pressing I ought to do and really desire to do it, I often slip into time-wasting habits. Discipline -- teaching my self to do the right thing -- is so very important. When I get ready to go to a time-waster is when I am going to go to something that helps me tune in to that voice these distractions often tune out. Some things that help me tune in are

• taking a stroll
• writing notes
• prayer and meditation
• exercise
• power nap

I'm not giving up my computer. No, it is the primary tool for me to get work done! But when I am drawn to use it for distractions rather than production it becomes my "master". So, I am tuning out the distractions of instant information and entertainment and tuning in to those practices that get me closer to the answers I need in this time of transition.

Video: Jesus People

This is a pretty good parody of too many of us in the church

How Atmosphere Affects Effectiveness of an Outreach

Bill Strickland shares about his school in Pittsburgh (Manchester Craftsmen's Guild) and what they accomplish "with affection, sunlight and..."

Get your mind around how atmosphere and encouragement can build a place people want to learn and grow. Then figure that into your design elements for classrooms, churches, conference areas, offices, homes, everywhere!

Notes: spirituality of the cell phone

What does a Porsche salesman turned Mennonite pastor have to say about media and culture?

These are my notes from a relevant and important message from Shane Hipps at Mars Hill in Detroit.

Shane authored the book The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media Shapes Faith, the Gospel, and Church

buy the book at Amazon.com

shane hipps

mars hill church

2008/03/29

spirituality of the cell phone

http://marshill.org/teaching/index.php

the medium is the message.

it is how they are used that counts.

the content of any medium is the juicy piece of meat carried by the burgular to distract the watchdog of the mind

regardless of the content, the medium changes us

everything around us is media

electronic age: disorienting blindness in which it is increasingly difficult to discern reflection from reality

we are growing increasingly incapable of sustained face to face communication

hidden biases

the immense power of presence

how can you just be there in an email ? (ex. kathy)

location (being there) is anything but trivial

'the word became flesh' emmanuel

you are the message of the gospel

we are the body of christ

we are his media

This entry is part of Water Cooler Wednesday at randyelrod.typepad.com

Some Wounds Run Deep

Before you pass this up as another boring politics post, read on. This election promised to be historic. For the first time our country has presidential candidates from two demographics that are targets of discrimination. One is a woman, the other African-American. That is obvious just by looking at either of them.

We are challenged in our society to notice, but not judge others based on their gender or race. We are confronted when we even bring up some of the differences and distinctions, unless we value them. We even go so far as to specifically celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of people from different gender and race groups.

Despite tremendous changes in people's perceptions of women and African-Americans in society there still festers an underlying bitterness that divides us along gender and race lines. Women had to fight in this country to have the rights of men in the home, booth and workplace. African-Americans had to fight for the recognition as humans, to be free, to own and work, and to have access to things others enjoy. These fights were hard-fought and people were hurt in the conflict.

We still encounter the names, misperceptions, and inappropriate insenuations. Some people still carry those biases that were so long accepted. However, this is no longer the norm. It is unacceptable to discriminate or disenfranchise based on gender or race.

The 2008 Democratic nomination will prove historic. Among all of the potential candidates, a woman and a person of African decent became the contenders for the nomination. Today, though, we still have to acknowledge and address the resentment that leads people to slander and ostracize a woman and a black man based on those traits and the life experiences associated with them.

Because Ms. Ferraro brings up her candidacy and being chosen because she was woman, and because Rev. Wright preaches about conspiracies that reinforce his experiences our nation still has to heal. Because people are still judged -- whether implied or implicitly -- based on gender or race we still need to heal. Because people are willing to twist and exploit these experiences we need to heal.

P.S. Most of this was written before Mr. Obama's profound speech delivered this day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He expresses some of these sentiments, which shows their validity.

Recommended: Spaghetti Sauce

Malcolm Gladwell shares a story of innovation in marketing spaghetti sauce and how it relates to our tastes as people.

Real Beauty and the Beholders

I was pretty miffed at this article posted on Yahoo! (http://nz.entertainment.yahoo.com/071202/6/2w9f.html). The topic is photos posted online of Jennifer Love-Hewitt at the beach, in a bikini, on vacation. Okay, they aren't the most flattering shots, but they're real life.

I've had a thng for Hewitt's beautiful smile and spunky charm since Party of Five. She has had decent movies and kept a pretty clean portfolio. Now, she has a pretty good show on CBS called Ghost Whisperer. No longer a teen star, she's put on some curves; I'll give anyone that. But it's not held her back at all.

The big hoopla over Hewitt's mature figure says more about the people in cyberland and our culture than her. Men have an unhealthy ideal woman and compare others to that unrealistic model. Women tend to the same. Voyeuristic people live out fantasy in celebrities' lives then attack when their illusion is disappointed.

We decry Muslims for their practice of covering themselves wih the hajib for modesty, then in the west a woman cannot enjoy a day at the beach without worrying about appearance. Whether she's more or less attractive than another woman is not the deal. Maybe we all need a bikini on the beach day to expose our insecurities to the world.

Christian Citizens

This month, I've been wrestling through Romans. Let me start by saying how refreshing it is to be able to wrestle with scripture unashamedly, instead of just sitting back and listening to it then bumping along. Back on track, this morning I was reading in Romans 13 about Christian citizenship.

In short, Paul writes two things that caught my eye.

1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

This wasn't written by a guy who is in some tolerant, God-fearing, fair society. Jews in Rome [at the time] were admired and despised. Some saw them as neighbors, business partners and patrons; others considered them a threat to the Empire. The new sect -- Christians -- were especially peculiar, what with their teaching on the Messiah and the Kingdom of God. The Jewish peolple had been kicked out of Rome and were just coming back (see Wikipedia, etc.) and even had disputes with Gentile believers who were running church affairs in their absence. All of this to illustrate things were neither fair nor rosy.

Fast forward to the 1700s. This idea of Democracy catches on, emphasizing individual and community over a central authority. All of a sudden, everyone has a voice. This philosophy catches on like a wildfire. In government, education and even church, everyone's view is relevant. Spawning from democratic thought came schism in the Catholic church and the revolt of the Americans (as well as revolution worldwide). The democratic ideal became our model.

Now, consider the American civil rights movement. Precipitated by unfair treatment, Dr. King rose as the leading voice for "civil disobedience". He got this idea from Ghandi, and East Indian monk, by the way. By nonviolent disobedience, these civil-rights activists changed the laws and perceptions.

Consider, now the second scripture:

5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.

Many throughout history put up with unfair treatment and even torture because they were submitting to the higher authority. The history of the church in the middle-ages is full of corruption because thoughtful people "submitted to governing authority" because it was the God-ordained order. Many Christians felt it was their duty to obey the laws that stirred the civil rights movement because of the role of government. Catholics and protestants fought it out because it was so sanctioned.

We admire the free-spirits and long to assert our freedom today. We are often admonished to do so in light of what's good. But have we lost something of the fear of the Lord and submitting ourselves in our self-determined culture? Have we become authorities unto ourselves, tossed around by the opinions of men because of our democratic ideals? What is the godly model for society? Are we living that out?