A Reason to Pause

I recently started following David Platt on Twitter. In fact, it was just today that I started to follow him. He mentioned in a recent tweet that this video was quite powerful. Given the trust and respect I have for Mr. Platt I thought it would make an interesting study break during lunch while I am working on my master's thesis.

well, it certainly is an interesting video, though it doesn't go that well with lunch. I hope you will watch it. I found it educational and compelling. I will not say whether or not I liked it or agreed with it, as I would prefer to dialog with you about below in the comments. Be advised, the video is 33 minutes long and has very graphic images.

After watching the video please let me know:

1. Did you like the video and why?

2. On what points do you agree or disagree?

3. What did you learn?

As for me, the video made me sad for many reasons but I really liked the dialogue and seeing how many people were willing to engage in dialogue and to engage their minds.




Thanks for stopping by and please say "hi"!

Just another Mike

Reminiscing...Guatemala

I recently spent a week in Guatemala City , Guatemala. This was a business trip to the capital city of Guatemala to teach story writing and presentation skills to a group of 24 students and young adults.



This is one of 4 videos I have made about my trip. You can see the others on my YouTube Channel

I found the city to be both beautiful and tragic. There is a rich history of Spanish and Mayan culture. there is also a very strong delineation between the classes. Some sections of town reminded me of a set from some post-apocalyptic movie. The streets were dark and teeming with cars and people shuffling around. The smell of smoke in the air burned my eyes and my heart. It saddened me that people live this way. Of course, this scene is repeated in every country around the world, even the US.

 I heard stories of surviving murder attempts and death threats. I saw people scrimping and working to provide for themselves and their families. It was truly humbling and remarkable: remarkable that people can treat their brothers and sisters so cruelly. Remarkable that people are so resilient and resourceful. The spirit of perseverance is indeed remarkable.

I must say that I found my hosts incredibly warm and generous. I truly love them. Especially humbling was working with three Mayan men. these men came in from the country side to attend our training. Between the three of them they oversee nearly 1000 home churches among the Mayan. Another student was traveling at least 3 hours each day in order to attend the training.

So, why work so hard to get to our training? Is it because our training is THAT good? Well, it's good, but I think the real reason is because of the spirit of hope they possess. In a country that boasts one of the highest murder rates in the world and is fraught with corruption, they have hope. That hope is rooted not in a political party or process. Nor is it in their own skills. Their hope is in God, more specifically Jesus Christ. The words of the apostle Paul ring in my ears, "If Christ is not raised, our hope is in vain and we are to be pitied above all others" (Paraphrase 1 Cor. 15:13-19). I continue to be amazed at man's ability to be cruel and find it unconscionable that anyone could think we are capable of living in peace. The mountain of evidence to the contrary is convincing; we prefer war to peace.

How do you see it? Do you have hope? If so, in what do you place your hope? I really would love to know.

Thanks for stopping by.

Really, why keep lying to America?

This quote below is a stunning example of the way politicians lie and obfuscate the truth. This is yet another example of the Democrat party and the Obama administration lying to the American people about what happened in the financial meltdown. 

"Freddie and Fannie ewre not instumental in the decable in the financial crisis," [Geithner] told Fox News. " there's no denying it: we gave motgages in america to people who hadterrible credit histories, who had no down-payment, that didn't have a good. solid work history, that really shouldn't have been given a mortgage. Fannie and Freddie competed for some of those mortgages. They were part of the problem, yes, but the private sector was five times as irresponsible as they were."


Read more: Geithner tells bold faced lie to American people

Here is the truth…

Yes, Fannie and Freddie made bad loans, but to then point the finger at the banking industry and make the childish claim – “But they were way worse!” (Sic.) is only half the truth.

Do you know why banks were making bad loans?

The Clinton administration through Janet Reno’s Justice Department threatened banks and lenders with prosecution if they did not expand President Carter’s initiative of providing loans to people who really can’t afford them.

The banks had no choice but to make the bad loans, knowing that collapse was inevitable.

In the meantime, Chris Dodd and Barney Frank were making out like bandits in the ensuing real estate boom, knowing it was all a fraudulent house of cards. To make matters worse, when George Bush and Sen. McCain actually tried to ward off the impending disaster by entering legislation to stop the practice of sub-prime loans the measures were defeated by, wait for it...the Democrats! Convenient for them that the collapse happened on Bush’s watch so they could blame him and the republicans, when in reality it was a crash of their own making going back as far as Jimmy Carter.

For more on this see US Financial Meltdown Backstory

Once again, the law of unintended consequences puts us on the path of destruction paved with good intentions. (Though that assumes the Dems didn’t want to crash our economy as a means to secure more federal power.)

I am no huge fan of Bush, and am disgusted with the Republicans, and yes, the banks played a role, even if they were coerced, but come on people; the Democrats need to be held accountable for their complicity in this mess and rampant lying.

Community & Secession: what others are saying about breaking up...

Congress is debating whether or not to plunge our nation into greater and greater debt. We have already sold out how many future generations to our inability to delay gratification and control spending? Simply put, if I were to run my personal finances the way the federal, and many state governments do, I would be in jail.

I suppose there are options to us us voters. The most obvious being to stop electing people who promise to provide for our every need, because they have to get the money from us in order to do it. 

furthermore, in addition to their hypocritical approach to money management our federal government continues to encroach on our personal liberties, from TSA checks to what we eat, and thanks to GPS systems even where we go.

So what is an honest citizen to do? Here's an interesting idea from the Front Porch Republic: Taking Secession Seriously - At Last. Give it a read and dream about how life in a "free country" might appear. Here's one possible scenario...

Hmmmm, why not have a few states set up their own country. A country founded on individual liberty, limited government, personal responsibility and an eye toward the promotion of a spirit of community and cooperation. Sound familiar?

It would be an interesting experiment. History seems to bear out that such a country would likely fair well and possibly rise to the top of the heap. It would probably be very popular with people, but unpopular with jealous leaders from other countries.

It wouldn't be easy. People would have to make great sacrifices and probably fight off predatory countries. Ah, but what a beacon of light a "free" nation would be to other nations who would be shamed by their oppression.

What do you think? What might be other, or better solutions to bring about productive, emancipating change?

Pots and Black Kettles

I have been pretty quiet for a while on the blog front. Sure, life is busy, too busy, but more than that I have been thinking about how to "find my voice." In other words, how to write a commentary on life that is not closed but is part of a dialogue with cojourners who happen to stop by. To be sure, I have opinions and as those around me know those opinions can be strong. Still, I don't want to be strident when so many things in life are merely a matter of preference. Additionally I truly believe that "different is not wrong."

So rather than get stuck in paralysis of thought, I have decided to just put it out there and hope that you will be gracious with me, even as I hope to be gracious with you. If we agree to disagree, then so be it and "vive la différence."

I was saddened, though not surprised, when Sen Giffords and others were shot last week. I was not surprised because it seems our "public servants" are not interested in serving the public as much as they are interested in serving their carreers and legacies. I was glad to know that the shooter was a madman and not a conservative or tea party member. If anything it seems he was more of a leftist.

As it turns out he is simply crazy.

How ironic that voices on the left immediately began blaming, condemning, and even threatening people on the right. Actually, more than ironic it was pathetic and hypoctirical.

I am reminded of how fiercely a pacifist will fight for his/her life and kill rather than be killed.  Anecdotal, I suppose, but there is truth in there even as the saying goes, “There are no atheists in foxholes.” I’ve been in a foxhole. There is something profound about digging what may become your grave.

  

I encourage us all to acknowledge our own hypocrisy. We are all hypocrites. It really is that simple. With that in mind let’s not fight vitriol with vitriol, or think the worst about someone who is different.

To be perfectly honest, the voices I hear on the left,  Olbermann, Maher, Matthews, Maddow, Stewart are truly mean spirited, and arrogant and they seem to have no problem calling for the death of conservatives. Where is the acknowledgement that their speech is hateful, wrong, or hypocritical? Where are the apologies for totally gaffing by blaming the right for the shooting? This is truly a case of "the pot calling the kettle black."

So in the wake of the Arizona shootings where is the space for reflection? Why are voices on the left given a pass for wishing Palin dead, or laughing about the failed attempt on Cheney’s life back in the day? Our time would be better spent in self-reflection and an honest assessment of our part in contributing to the problem rather than blaming others.

What does this have to with community and leadership? I think that honesty, humility, and patience rather than knee-jerk accusations will make us stronger. Think about it.

Remember the Constitution?

Well, the latest version of the U.S. Congress is now seated and in session. I am not sure if that is good or bad. I am inclined to agree with the statement, "That government is best which governs least." (attr. to Thomas Paine) Honestly, I was kind of hoping for a shut down of government. We can talk about the implications and consequences of that in another post.

I will say this, I think that starting each session with a reading of the Constitution is a good idea. It may be the best idea from Congress in decades! Likewise, having to defend bills based on constitutionality will hopefully increase the amount of good legislation and put the breaks on the government takeover of the private sector and personal freedoms. Next, how about having the Constitution read aloud in public schools as well? I say only public because they are under the purview of the government as opposed to private schools, but including all schools would be nice.

My part will be to encourage us all to give the Constitution a read. Honestly, I think it may be a first read for me, as my memory of my social studies classes is somewhat dim.  So whether it is your first time or a familiar passage, give the Constitution a read. Here's the link and let us know what you think or learned!

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html

Yup, first read for me, I admit it. Now, I do have the preamble memorized, thanks to Schoolhouse Rock, but I don't recall reading the body of the document. Be advised, it is a bit dry and written in old English, but don't let that scare you!