Innocent?

"My son did not shoot President Kennedy - if he did, he would have told me so. . "

-Marguerite Oswald, mother of alledged Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald

Incompetent

Food for thought:

"I know I'm incompetent; there's nothing wrong with being incompetent, you don't have to do as much."

Convicted mass murder Charles Manson to NBC Reporter Heidi Schulman

Politics, Jesus, and Me

Don't ask why I changed the font color - I don't know myself, but I thought it might be something of a change after all this green - it's not easy being green - ask Kermit the Frog. . . .

The least of this morning's felonies is that while writing this (I'm an evangelical Christian) I am listening to Led Zeppelin, the first studio album, you know, the one with the recreation of the Hindenburg disaster on the cover. It's a classic cover, and I've seen framed repros fetching several hundred dollars. The music on the disc is timeless and yet gets called demonic by the Reactionary Right. I don't get it - but maybe I do. That's another conversation for another blog - maybe I'll upload the cover image to this blog to make it appear more artsy and interesting.

Topic of focus today: Politics, Jesus, and Me - in other words, I'm ranting about the political scene, Jesus (Yes, Him), and my relationship to both.

Politics - keep it out of the church. If you're going to vote, do so by the convictions and persuasions of your own mind, and whatever you do, don't tell anyone about it, unless of course the person you tell is a trusted and true friend, one that doesn't think that godlessness and the Democratic Party are synonomous. Author David Kuo ("Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction") referenced a quote in this latest book that Christians could be Democrats, which ran counter to the belief that Democrats are liberal, tree-huggers, pro-abortion, etc., etc., ad nauseum. Wonder of wonders, Democrats can be Christians which is wonderful news to the present writer who has endured at least two decades of being told that God is a Republican. If so, I would like to make my views on the Iraq War a matter of earnest prayer. Personally, I think God is bipartisan, but that's what I get for thinking.

Vote, then. If you've examined the issues and feel your vote is a wasted vote, stay away from the balloting box and protest in absentia. There's nothing wrong with that, and it beats the heck out of choosing the lesser of two evils.

Believe half of what you hear and less of what you read. Both sides of the issues have ther spokespersons. Get informed. Stay with the issues and read between the proverbial lines. Buy a few books and watch the 5:30 P.M. news. Learn to think outside the parameters of special interest groups, the Sunday morning talking heads, and Nightline (but watch them all). Check out how you feel about all of it and perhaps go with you gut instincts. Take no one's word as authority for anything, especially mine. I am one person with one opinion. I took me a few years to discover that despite my passion, I am still just that: one opinion and one only. The world has many and will continue to produce opinion after opinion, so don't get too snooty about what you believe.

Jesus - now we bring a major player into the discussion.

I don't think it matters any to Jesus how you vote or whether you swear alliance to the Republican or Democratic Party. What he wants is your heart, not your vote. He wants compassion instead of political passion and wants 100% of me involved in the process of making the world a better place. And He wants you as well. We can't legislate this stuff from some stuffy, smoke-filled room (I don't think it's smoke filled anymore with the anti-smoking lobby hard at work, thankfully) in Washingnton. It has to come from the heart. Change the heart, change the mind, and you might just accidentally change the action. That's where all of us fit in, you and me.

Politics, well, I don't think that matters as much as Jesus. When He does the changing, people change, and when people change, society changes. It's not a quick fix - we got ourselves into this mess and it's going to take each of us to get us out of it. As for me, well, time for another cup of coffee.

Is Anyone Out There?

Sometimes I wonder if anyone out there reads any of this stuff - could one of those anyone's please let me know?

Friends

Spring is in the air. . .is that a phrase corny or what?

Let's see - how creative can I be describing the newness of the season?

I've got. . ."the newness of the season smells good". . .

Nope, won't do; maybe the season doesnt't smell so good downwind from a hog farm.

Okay, it's a great day to be outside doing something; the grass isn't just green, it's real green and beautiful and I'm having a good day. A good, hot cup of coffee started my day at 5:15 along with the writings of one of my favorite authors, Philip Yancey ("Prayer: Does It Make A Difference?"). I opened the front door just a tad, the freshness of the chill of a new day worked its way through the screen and birds outside were rivaling the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. No matter what else happens to them today, they're happy and don't mind letting the rest of the slumbering neighborhood know it. Three rabbits invaded the area around one of the bushes seeking breakfast, making unnecessary any weed eating this week. It's a season of newness, color, optimism, music, and the return of leisurely days. Oh yes, I can put the snow shovel away until next winter. It's a good life.

And it's made better with friends - went out to lunch with a pal today; we got tired of the crowded restaurant and came back to my place and sat in conversation. He kicked off his shoes, threw his feet up on the couch, made himself at home and shared with his views on the culture and values of the 1950s - a decade he missed thirty years too late. It was good to hear his perspective - he's got well developed insights and I respect his point of view. He's proof that youth is not wasted on the young.

Happy Spring!