Let Him Sit Down

Oh my goodness.

So Colin Kaepernick set the world on fire by not standing up during the National Anthem in an NFL game and then stating:

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color . . . To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."  1

Lots of reactions to this - including this own coach who said "it's not my right to tell him not to do something."

Coach Kelly - of course it is in your rights to say what he should do.  Just as it is Kaepernick's right to say he doesn't support the flag, it is your right to say the flag is not a racist emblem.  You have the right to remind him that this is the same flag that came up over the hills of Maryland and then Tennessee and Georgia that eventually paved the way for a Constitutional Amendment that ended slavery.  It's not about the flag.  It's about who we are as people.

We don't change things by pulling out - we change things by standing up.  Getting involved.

In fact we all have a right to speak up and say, "look, the guy is a football player - we probably shouldn't take him too seriously."  I mean this is the same guy who got fined by the NFL for racial slurs in 2014.  The same guy who pronounced doom on Houston by Tweeting Houston flooding pictures. 2  Come on, people - let's take his sentiment seriously (we have a lot to work on in our nation) - but you and I can do a better job at leading this country toward change by the simple actions we take on our way to work, in our jobs and the communities we find ourselves in.

So let him sit down. 

The rest of us can live up to the ideals of what this country should stand for (and what our faith should lead us to do).   

What's good for the goose . . .

I would much rather be blogging about something else but I just can't.

There are still blogs running around out there saying that the best thing for a Christian to do in this current election cycle is to vote for Trump.

I really don't care about the politics.  

Vote for whoever you want to vote for.  But please leave 'Christian' out of this - it's awkward.

It's awkward because when our best hope as believers is to vote for someone who resonates so little with following Christ, you really de-value what it means to follow Jesus.  Have we forgotten that our hope is in God, and not in an election?  God does pretty amazing things when believers follow their conscience - not who will be on the Supreme Court.  You can't calculate the odds and pray at the same time.

This election cycle is the kind of stuff that gives great sarcastic ammunition to my skeptic and unbelieving friends.

And it is so well deserved.

Morals used to matter.  In 1998 Bill Clinton was on trial for what he did with Monica Lewinsky.   The entire Southern Baptist Convention said the character of the president is important.  Character is something that is essential to our Commander-in-Chief.

Character was important when Clinton had an inappropriate sexual relationship with an intern and then lied about it.  This was a serious charge.  The president's ethics and morals are important.  In 1998 Jerry Falwell said, "He is no longer worthy to fulfill this office."  (Washington Post)  It was all about the president's character and ethics.

How times have changed . . .  

In 2015, Falwell's son endorsed Trump for president and invited him to speak about "Two Corinthians" at Liberty University's chapel.  Talk about a flip-flop.

Now, I am sure Trump is a nice guy and probably fun to hang around with.  But even Trump has talked about how shady he was in his personal and professional life.  The guy recognizes himself that he is no boy scout.  That matters.

How crazy is it that there are theologians writing blog posts that tell us a candidates character is not as important as the rights that he will safeguard for believers?  (Townhall)  Like Cyrus, God could be using Trump to keep our nation 'Christian.'  How ironic that this kind of theology is exactly what is making our nation less and less like Christ.

Something smells fishy here . . .

If morals mattered then.
If ethics mattered then.
If character mattered then.

It all matters now.

Anything less than that tells the world that our Christian convictions are as thin as the width of a paper ballot.  Follow your conscience and let God take care of the political consequences.  The growth of faith has never depended on who is in office.

You can't get a moral result from an immoral vote.

So I have seen all of the articles that are going around arguing that Christians can vote for Trump and still feel morally justified:

See, here's the problem: Good people all over the United States find themselves in a pickle.  They don't necessarily 'like' Donald Trump as a presidential candidate but they definitely don't like Hillary Clinton.  So they are forced to embrace someone who is really difficult to embrace at times.

(this would have been a good thing to think through during the primary season, but that's none of my business)

So anyway, we find ourselves here - in the uncomfortable spot of having to either vote for Hillary, vote for Trump or vote Gary Johnson (the third party choice right now).  And yes . . . I know a vote for Johnson is a vote for Hillary . . .  keep reading.  The big question is how can a person who claims to follow Jesus vote for a guy who seems to be the antithesis of everything that is associated with Jesus?

And no, I won't argue details about that last statement.  It is just an accepted fact.  No matter how much you like Trump and how much you love Jesus - they are very different people.

But anyhow, in the meantime there are a slew of articles running around that tell me, as a Christian, that voting for Trump is actually a moral choice.

That may or may not be true . . .

A moral choice is something I choose regardless of the outcome.  That is what makes it moral.  I am not swayed by the outcome - the ends do not justify the means.  I am evaluating by decision by ethical, theological and philosophical standards that don't have anything to do with whether it achieves anything in the long run.  It is right because it is right.

Otherwise we are dealing with pragmatism.  Here is what I mean:

Take everything off the table: No Hillary.  No Supreme Court.  No bathroom-gender issues.  No E-mails.

Now I ask you - look at a candidate and ask yourself: "Would I vote for citizen 'x?'"  Are they an informed person who doesn't misspeak often in public?  Do they refrain from lying?  Cheating?  Do they make wise choices in their personal life?  Professional life?  Do people outside their family hold them in high regard?  Have they elevated humanity through their life's work?  Can you honestly say they care more about serving us Americans than they do their own interests?

If you answered no to more than three of those questions and still support this person, you are no longer making a moral decision.

You are making a decision based on pragmatics.  You don't really believe in the person, you just want to defeat the other person.  That is political expediency and it is robbing you of your own morals because you are no longer letting God lead.  Instead you are stacking the deck and working on your own behalf because there is no moral force of the universe that will have your back if you don't compromise on what you know to be true.

That is false.  And there are literally thousands of pages of scripture that tell you God is in control and your vote should be pinned to a moral compass that has nothing to do with whether or not your side wins.  The only thing immoral here is your belief that you can't vote on your morals.  You won't get a moral result from an immoral vote.

In the end you become a pawn in a very manipulative game of politics.

Don't do it.  Stay true to what you know is true.  And don't let slick arguments tell you anything else.

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