The drama heats up in politics - Democrats and Republicans share equal blame.

Oh brother . . .

As if we didn't have enough drama last week with plagiarism and last-minute Scott Baio cameos, this week with the Democrats promises to be something special.

Julian Assange, founder of Wiki-leaks (a media association that publishes secret information that is leaked from anonymous sources), released 20,000 emails from the Democratic National Committee this weekend - right before the Democrat's Convention this week.  The emails are pretty damaging - damaging enough to force the Democrat National Committee Chairwoman to resign.  

I am not as interested in the politics of it - more interested in the humanity of it.  What I mean to say is that it doesn't matter what political ideology you subscribe to - we are all human and capable of some very manipulative and short-sighted behaviors.

Here is what these emails reveal . . .

 - In one section, the CFO of the Democrat National Committee tries to put Bernie Sanders in a position where he has to talk about his agnosticism - which would presumably cost him votes in a very Christian Kentucky:  "I think I read he's an atheist.  This could make several points difference with my peeps.  My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist."  Now, not only is this bordering on racism but it is plainly manipulative.  His recipients return emails chiming in with 'amen.'

- In other emails, directors within the DNC talk about donors as "clowns" and compare who gave certain amounts of money and whether they get better seats closer to the president of the United States.  They even used donation amounts in ranking who gets to sit where.  It is almost Orwellian the way that they talk about people as pawns in their game of politics.

- In still other emails, leaders of the party are purposefully trying to derail Bernie Sanders' campaign.  These leaders were supposed to be impartial and let the people decide who the nominee should be but it is obvious they are strategizing over how to take Bernie down.  There are plans of payments being made to people who would counter political arguments on social media.  At one point a strategist proposes delivering a narrative that Sanders never had his act together.

. . . the whole thing is a mess.  

And if you think the Republicans operate any differently you are sorely mistaken.  

The true casualty here is Bernie Sanders.  This is what he said:

"I told you a long time ago that the—that the DNC was not running a fair operation, that they were supporting Secretary Clinton. So what I suggested to be true six months ago turns out, in fact, to be true. I’m not shocked, but I am disappointed." 

Sanders goes on to suggest Shultz, the leader of the DNC be fired . . . and that is exactly what happened.  The long-term loyalist to Hillary Clinton was dumped in a heartbeat and the convention will go on with forced smiles and closed curtains.  

And if this is the kind of stuff that is done to get elected - regardless of your political affiliation - can you imagine what might happen if these people were actually in power?

Drama.

One of the dozens of reasons I don't put my faith in Republicans or Democrats . . . and neither should you.

We don't need more education and laws . . .

This is a dark time in our world . . .


Four weeks ago almost 50 people are shot in a club in Orlando.

Two weeks ago IS was bombing a new city everyday.  Hundreds were killed.

Last week 5 police were shot to death amid days of anti-police protests.

In the last instance the only way to neutralize the situation was to strap a bomb to a robot and blow up the assailant.   I would not have done anything differently - but this is the land of the free, where you are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.  Apparently even justice needs a bomb when evil people decide to capriciously take the lives of the innocent.  We are in a different age - there is a war in our streets.

And all we can do is argue on social media whether you should or should not say, "Black Lives Matter."  

Seriously?

And the best we can come up with is more education.  More laws.  We have the most legislated and educated generation of humans to ever walk the planet and we still are incapable of governing ourselves.  Because for as much as we try to educate or indoctrinate we are human.  

Human - in God's image - capable of realizing great dreams . . . and great nightmares.

Sadly, as humans, we prefer the darkness to light.  Darkness blocks out the light.  Darkness says we prefer to do this on our own.  We can make our own laws.  We just need to educate others about what we are enlightened about.  Jesus is a nice moral example.  The Bible is a nice collection of stories.  Real solutions come from the halls of power and the application of the human will.  It is an error of pride - we can do it ourselves.

This leads to evil.  We don't prefer evil - we just naturally are bent to evil because we think we can do it on our own.  When that backfires it seldom drives us to the light - we prefer the darkness because it hides our ineptitude to govern ourselves.   John 3:19-20 says it well:

God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.  All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 

Without ever admitting we need help in this we will never come out of the darkness we are in.  Pray that we have the sense to turn to God and ask Him to lead us out of this mess.

This is less about a religion and more about the human condition.

So what is the point of radical Islam?

Seriously - what is the goal here?

Of course I get it that terrorism is supposed to get people scared.  The goal is to get people tired of constant fear - like today, when the Air Force One air base reported an active shooter.  It was a planned drill.  But it had us freaked out.  Fear gets us tired - it wears us down.

I remember being in London days after the Docklands bombing and there was an evacuation of Piccadilly Circus because of a bomb threat.  My sister and I were ushered out of a restaurant by mounted police.  We were asked to "walk briskly" in crystal clear British accents.  As I turned the corner a construction crew dropped a large sheet of steel which sounded like a bomb going off.

One of the most terrifying moments in my life . . .

Instinctively I hit the ground.  So did everyone else.  The ten seconds of silence following it and the realization that it was a construction accident gave us all a wave of relief.  But it was draining - and I was just a tourist.  Can you imagine living in that environment of constant fear?

Sadly, some of us can in this age of terrorism.

But what is the point?  Like the West will one day say, "alright . . . we are tired of being scared . . . whatever you want, it's yours!"

Like we will all convert to Islam?  Never gonna happen.

And I understand enough about Islam and it's radicals to know that terrorism is the radical Muslim's eschatology.  And end-of-the-world scenario where terrorism reaches a tipping point and God knocks out the infidel and Mosque and State are merged.

But really . . . do they think this is going to happen?  Is it really just a religious mask for wanting to cause mayhem?  At what point does fatigue even settle in for a jihadist?  Because the thousands that have been killed in the name of terrorism are just one of many reasons that we can never allow even one goal of the terrorist to be realized.

This is precisely why some warn us of the evils of religion.  Religion makes good people do evil things in the name of what is sold as holy.  But it isn't religion - it is humanity that we should be wary of.  The evils that can be perpetrated by the retrenched and ignorant religious are just one side of the spectrum of human misery.  History has seen plenty of intellectuals and progressives do horrible things in the name of progress on the other end of the spectrum.

We don't need education.  We don't need legislation.  We need redemption.

Thank God that there is a day of redemption that is coming - not from any human hand.  

Our leaders are shouting at each other and nothing gets done.

Insanity.

It's not true that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.  It has been (incorrectly) attributed to Einstein in the meme-dominated world of social media but it is too insipid to have come from such a smart person.  

Actually insanity is easy to define - even easier to witness.  

Just look at what is going on in our society today - we have a love affair with guns and violence in our entertainment.  Every form of entertainment: from TV shows to movies to video games all showcase death and mayhem from weaponized violence.  These forms of entertainment are exported all over the world (yes, that means we are tutoring incipient radicalized jihadists in Syria).   

But that isn't the crazy part.

The crazy part is when we wince at the brutal violence that is brought to our cities with these mass shootings.  We hold vigils for peace and then go play Assassin's Creed?  That's crazy.  A culture becomes what it is fascinated with.  A culture of death and mayhem receives death and mayhem.

But that still isn't the craziest part.

The craziest part is that we have leaders who are trying to figure all of this out and are acting like kids.  Last week our leaders voted down four proposals (two from each political party) to try to reign in gun violence.  Are you kidding me?

Both political sides voted each other down?

Yes, I get it - one side wants to establish universal background checks that allow the government to deny dangerous citizens the right to purchase guns (like those who are identified as terrorists and are currently on a list of not being able to fly anywhere).  Seems reasonable.  Just vote on it already.

The other side wants to make sure that we don't mess with the Constitution that made sure to include wording that says the government cannot limit a citizens access to weapons. They feared that at some point the government could turn evil and impose its will on a people who are unable to defend themselves.  I get it.  That is important as well.

But the way we are dealing with this is crazy.  Our 'leaders' are currently shouting at each other.  This is really sad.  Listen, those who think differently than you are not morons - respect each other and work together.

Those who say the solution is simple are adding to the insanity.  It is not true Americans from either party want to sell guns to ISIS.  Yes, a politician said that.  Yes, that is crazy.  But we can't let organizations with financial interests in guns convince us doing nothing is an option.  That is equally as crazy.

But let's not kid ourselves.  "Why is God letting this happen?" is not a valid question.  We have breezed past the teachings of Jesus long ago.  This is not His fault, it's ours.  You become what you are fascinated with.  And as we seek to find a way out of this mess, I hope we have the smarts to see that we can get out of this mess if we become a little more interested in God's rhythm of life than our own fascination with death.

Resources that link entertainment and aggression:

1. Brad Bushman, Mario Gollwitzer, and Carlos Cruz, "There Is Broad Consensus: Media Researchers Agree That Violent Media Increase Aggression in Children, and Pediatricians and Parents Concur," Psychology of Popular Media Culture, July 2015
2. Jeff Grabmeier, "‘Broad Consensus’ That Violent Media Increase Child Aggression," news.osu.edu, Oct. 6, 2014
3. Paul J. Lynch et al., "The Effects of Violent Video Game Habits on Adolescent Aggressive Attitudes and Behaviors," Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Apr. 19-22, 2001
4. Dave Grossman, "Conditioning Kids to Kill," killology.com (accessed Sep. 16, 2015)
5. Corey Mead, "Shall We Play a Game?: The Rise of the Military-Entertainment Complex," salon.com, Sep. 19, 2013
6. Brandon Keim, "What Science Knows About Video Games and Violence," pbs.org, Feb. 28, 2013
7. Douglas A. Gentile, "The Multiple Dimensions of Video Game Effects," Child Development Perspectives, June 2011

The Orlando Shooting - we are the ones . . .

The Orlando Shooting.

There are so many things wrong in our culture that come from the Orlando shooting.  Gun violence.  Radicalized religious nutjobs.  Fear-based responses to violence.  Downplaying radical Muslim violence.  Politicking in the days that followed such tragic loss.  Hatred in any form.

And we all get on social media and push our myopic perspectives.  Here is the 'hard to hear' truth:  No gun ban, no law would have kept this guy from killing fifty people.  Violence is in the heart, not the hand.  Proposing that we ban all Muslims would do nothing either.  The guy was born and raised in America.  There are no walls that keep out hatred.

What we keep coming back to is violence.

Seriously people, how can we attend peace vigils and then throw on Walking Dead on Netflix and not see a problem?  Assassin's Creed.  Grand Theft.  How can we not see that we are creating a culture of great violence and indiscriminate bloodthirst?

I once sat with a Muslim in Africa at a cafe.  He began our conversation with the words, "the reason your culture has fallen is . . ."  He went on to describe the pornography that pours out of our country all over the world. He talked about the dissolution of our families.  The selfishness that we exude.  The violence that we export through our entertainment.

So you can ban guns.

You can ban Muslims.

But you will never touch the problem until we have leaders who see a need for a new set of morals and ethics.  We need cultural leaders that show us a new way to look at life and people and relationships.  We need a country that would wince at the violence portrayed in our homes and theaters and quickly turn it off.  As it is now we are our own worst enemies.  Violence has visited us because it comes from us.

Think about it.  Gruesome depictions of hatred and annihilation is our entertainment.

That is sick.

So enough with the bans of people and weapons.  Let's start a new culture of life.

going forward by looking back . . .

Sometimes it is helpful to go back to your roots to know the way forward.

Really back . . .

When Christianity was just a baby - the days following the resurrection - early Christians were known as followers of "The Way."  Well, that is, if you heard of it.  "The Way" was an obscure sect -  a peculiar splinter group from Judaism.  Most people just heard of Jewish people trying to stomp out this weird religious cult that had someone named Jesus as their founder.

Fast forward a few decades and Christianity had begun to spread - especially in city centers and among the poor and neglected.  It rejected mainstream Roman values and so Romans joined Jews is persecuting this growing sect of religious oddballs.  That persecution seemed to fan the small flames of the faith into a worldwide community of believers.

For the next few hundred years Christians would go through periods of intense persecution (apprehended by law enforcement, tied up, covered in tar and lit on fire for the Emperor's gardens).  

Until the fourth century, when a certain Emperor named Constantine came to power having a vision that tied him to the Christian faith.  He signed an edict that expanded religious freedoms and allowed Christians to practice their faith freely. 

It seemed like a blessing from God.

Some, however, call it the death of real Christianity.  Because the Emperor now aligned himself with this new faith, Christians came out of the closet.  The cross was now en vogue.  Hundreds of years of persecution had suddenly come to an end with the state endorsement of faith.  It was now impossible to tell who was a believer and who was using faith to their social or political advantage.

It got so bad that some people just took off for the desert.  Like moving to Canada - these were the first desert fathers - monks who had no stomach for fake faith.

And so where is your desert?  And what will it take for you to forsake the surface for the substance?  Would we do better to be persecuted?  And what does it all mean with what is about to happen in the next six months?

God help us.

Are we really making fun of LGBT people?

I shared this photo this morning . . .

Underneath was a link to the article by Daily Snark - "Tony Romo Arrested in North Carolina for Using the Men's Bathroom."  It was just too funny not to share.  I am a rabid Eagles fan - I bleed green.  As a result, the Cowboys will always be The Evil Empire.

So after posting it there were a couple of people that got offended.  By their comments, they seemed to indicate that we were making fun of transgendered people.

I wasn't.  I was making fun of the Cowboys by saying the quarterback wasn't a man.  It's a joke - I don't really believe he's not a man.   That is what jokes do - they overstate things.

America . . . please listen.  You need to relax.

I am using Romo as a proxy for my disgust of a team by saying he is more of a woman than a man.  This does not mean I have anything against women.  I married one - I think they are great!

The joke in comparing him to a woman is that football is a very masculine game (hitting and tackling).  In the majority of the cases, women have feminine traits (not hitting or tackling).  So it was like I was saying Romo is more feminine and therefore not a good football player.  I am sure there are some great woman football players - but the majority of them aren't.  Sorry, it's just the truth.  It doesn't mean women are any less - it just means they aren't as good at football than men (in like 95.2% of the cases).  

It kind of robs the humor of it when you have to explain it.

We can and should have a laugh at this.  Loosen the belt a little bit here folks.  The humor is not about LGBT people and it is not even about women.  It is not saying masculinity is superior.  It is only saying masculinity is a necessary ingredient for football (and Romo lacks it).  Ha!  And it really has nothing to do with gender anyhow.  

We might laugh at a similar headline: "Rosie O-Donnell arrested for trying to use the women's room in North Carolina."  She is a pretty masculine figure - it is the stereotype we are having fun with here in both instances.  It would be funny watching Rob Gronkowski (or Rosie O'Donnell for that matter) dancing Swan Lake - because the required feminine grace would be missing.

This says nothing about how femininity or grace are superior.  And no one is saying we should make anyone ashamed for struggling with identity or any issue for that matter.

So no one is targeting innocent LGBT kids.  The only way we are making things unsafe for anyone is being so quick to jump to offended status.  Laugh a little.  This is a very difficult time for our nation to figure out how to respectfully balance the needs of the LGBT community with the non-LGBT community.  Christians especially should not be quick to write off the deep needs of the LGBT community.  We all struggle with what it means to be human.  We all need grace.  I think we will figure this bathroom thing out eventually but it is probably going to take some time.

In the mean time, let's have a little fun at our own expense . . .