Why Obama Now

And Shopped and Shopped and Shoppped

 



 

 

 

 

 Post# 200!

 

This post plus the post below make up the Bending Romney Series

Unshopped Romney Shopped

Since the photo (that had to have been shopped) wasn't shopped... I thought I would go ahead and shop it.

Just a spectacular graphic! Unknown source. Found on someone's blog.


Finally I decided to go ahead and explain this the way I see it.

Remember, Romney was pushed through by the elite of the party, which disconcerted many, with the goal of ridding the White House and country of Obama. Here the analogy is to the Trojan Horse in this case  built to fool the voters to let the Republicans who caused the financial mess back into power.  Once in power they fully intend to control Romney so he is basically a non-entity, a facade. Remember the quote about not needing a candidate that could think but one who would get elected? They would do the thinking and he would have to tag along for the ride. Remember, these are people who do not compromise, who do not back down regardless of a country in dire need of help. They are willing to go the edge of doom to get things exactly their way. They are willing to play chicken with a car speeding at them until the other guy develops the sanity of pulling to the side. The other guy has no way to stop them without sacrificing everything.

Point, well, taken.

Assumptions, or postulates, are pretty much standard stuff in many fields of knowledge, including mathematics. They are seldom made clear or obvious and I feel that their importance is shoved to the back burner, when they should not be.

I often bore people with the personally startling story of when I learned that these life assumptions were extremely important and that the knowledge subsequently derived from such baseless but expedient assumptions was knowledge not to be fully trusted as truth but more on an intuitional basis.

When just a young man, the significant moment occurred as I was confronted with one of Zeno’s paradoxes. Zeno was a Greek philosopher from the 5^th century B.C. There was a grade school level cartoonish article on the bulletin board in my elementary math class which I am fairly certain did not mention Zeno by name. I did not know that there was a great thinker behind the thing. I would love to have that little piece of paper now because it began a lifelong healthy doubt in all established thought. Zeno needs to be added to my list of heroes.

An adult version of his paradox is as follows:

The Dichotomy Paradox

“That which is in locomotion must arrive at the half-way stage before it arrives at the goal.”Aristotle, Phisics

Suppose Homer wants to catch a stationary bus. Before he can get there, he must get halfway there. Before he can get halfway there, he must get a quarter of the way there. Before traveling a quarter, he must travel one-eighth; before an eighth, one-sixteenth; and so on.

The resulting sequence can be represented as:

This description requires one to complete an infinite number of tasks, which Zeno maintains is impossibility.  -Wikipedia

When I tell this story I often tell of how much it disturbed me at the time. I was ever the worrier. Even without an impressive authority to back it, this thing on the bulletin board was not striking me as particularly humorous as intended, but was an attack on the “number line” itself which was posted above the black board of every elementary math class I can remember. Its importance was preeminent to the class. Do not attack my number line!

Further along in my education, with Zeno nagging me constantly, I found that our numbering system, or rather numbers in and of themselves, were derived from one important assumption or “postulate.” This was the concept of the “spatial point.” Between the point marked “Zero” and the point marked “One” is an infinite number of divisions. This is because, as I learned later in geometry, each point on the number line is infinitely small. Add these infinitely small points together and get an infinitely thin line. I promise I am not making this up from whole cloth but you should be suspecting me, because you should suspect everything you believe that you know. Zeno should be sitting on your shoulder when making any decision.

My mind raced as a young man. If the points are infinitely small, they cannot really connect together. I have fairly good “spatial reasoning,” I think. So, from this hazy notion I concluded that the “number” part of the number line was pretty much based on something called “the point.”  They actually tell you these things in the beginning but you pass over them and go on to build huge structures of elegant thought based upon them. It would be different if the teacher came in every day and stated what needs to be said: “Accepting the postulate that there is such a thing as a number, let us proceed with the class.”

After further research to make sure once again that I was not dreaming in elementary school when they told me that mathematics itself was fairly a guess, it seems that this postulate has further degraded in its ability to convince me.

In Wikipedia, the entry on “point”:

In geometry, topology and branches of mathematics, a spatial point is a primitive notion upon which other concepts may be defined. In geometry, points are zero dimensional, they do not have volume, area, length or any other higher-dimensional analogue. [emphasis mine]

And the entry on “primitive notion”:

In mathematics, logic and formal systems, a primitive notion is an undefined concept. In particular, a primitive notion is not defined in terms of previously defined concepts, but is only motivated informally, usually by an appeal to intuition and everyday experience.

If I were to start with a notion like “Let’s assume there is a God…” or “Let’s assume no God…” well, you get the point, which is infinitely large as well as infinitely small, being zero dimensional as it is, or was, or whatever.

Cutting Edge Intelligence

By accident, Fox News (the channel which the TV set was left on by the previous occupant of the condo we are using for vacation) played for about 20 minutes and the two most air headed "contributors" from right and left traded commentaries about President Obama's convention speech of the previous night. At first I thought that the liberal lady (model type beauty) was chosen simply because she looked good and was air headed. She talked only in platitudes like "played to the base" that could have been said after any political speech ever given. But, then, just as I was about to change the channel thinking Fox News had obviously and intentionally provided a bad spokesperson for the left, a twin air headed person speaking for the right (same model type beauty) said things even more platitudinous and devoid of intelligent thought. It was worth about five more minutes before I turned the channel and landed on a local area public access channel. I watched two very youthful Orange Beach girls teach me how to make mini pizzas and how to slice various vegetables correctly and with safety. Hold the knife like this so that it doesn't slip; slice onions like this; slice bell peppers like this; and remove this funny looking piece and throw it away. These girls were brilliant. They made smiley faces out of the vegetables on the tomato sauce covered dough they had already taught me to roll out and stretch. As one dropped a pizza round after trying the on "top of the knuckle" method that professionals use to stretch the dough, she said, "It's okay if you drop it as long as it doesn't go on the floor. Obviously this method is not working out for me so I will use the rolling pin some more." It was quite enjoyable to see how well they had prepared for the show. "This is the part of the onion where the roots come out, and this is the part where the green growth comes out, because onions grow underground." Mom was called in to put the pizzas in the oven for safety. Really cute AND thoughtful stuff. I loved it! Oh yes, do not wash the mushrooms in water but use a dry paper towel to clean them. Mushrooms soak up water like a sponge. These budding TV personalities and intelligent girls were clearly not destined for the likes of Fox News.

Mitt's Flaws, Not Clint's

I have been kind of wondering why some people think all of the jokes about "the chair" are somehow mean spirited and cruel. The reason the speech seemed so odd was precisely the cruelty and disrespect Clint Eastwood showed towards the President. There were snarky remarks, remarks that blamed a war from President Bush on President Obama, and worse, two remarks that basically said the President (with no way to respond) had asked Romney and Clint to go F themselves.

It is not uncommon for a mob to create an effigy of a hated figure and do terrible things to it. It is not so common at a convention. The Romney, or GOP people, responsible did not vet the speech, trusting Clint Eastwood for some reason, to ad lib without teleprompters. The jokes about "the chair" are mostly not pointed at Clint Eastwood's personal character but at the incompetence of the Romney "kiss my a**" people who all let Clint Eastwood twist in the wind.

Not unlike every other touchy situation, they found other people to blame and swallow what should have been their responsibility. For those who have made this some kind of mean spirited attack on Clint Eastwood, I even hesitate to criticize them. Clint Eastwood burned an effigy of Obama in one of the most public of places and, despite what some people think about some imagined infirmity on his part, he is a highly intelligent man capable of writing, directing, and acting. His weakness is in having the ego of a man who believes he knows better than those around him and overestimates his own ability to create a spontaneous stage presence.

Comedy aside, the whole affair was such an accurate metaphor for the GOP, it is hard to overstate it. In attacking people with meanness, making untrue accusations, creating an evil Obama out of thin air, and treating those of us who respect the President to a sorry display of utter hatred, THEY cross the line. The Democrats have, for all too long, rolled over in the face of things like this, the dehumanizing of us all. In general liberal folks do not display the type of hatred that, say, the tea party folks, display without reserve. Liberals generally do not even do this in response to the hatred they receive. But times have changed as hatred has piled upon hatred, often by those who act morally superior, and now the liberal side is actually fighting back. And enough IS enough. Eventually you punch the boy in the nose who constantly steals your lunch money.

For further reading on the "chair" incident and the flaws it illustrates:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/scocca/2012/08/clint_eastwood_gop_convention_the_romney_campaign_sells_out_its_surprise_speaker_.html

 

This is brilliant, i.e. not mine. :)  I wish I had time to be more aimless.

my own

Most Well Received Photoshop to Date

Patting myself on the back for this time sensative satire on Hurricane Isaac, the GOP National Convention, and Todd Akin's incredibly bad timing for making his devastating remark. I understand Todd Akin is now trailing his opponent for the U.S. Senate by 10 points when the race was pretty much even before. While this powerful shift in local numbers does not translate into national numbers for the GOP in general or for Romney-Ryan in particular, it is still quite a shift in a local race where people have made up their minds and usually don't let national stories cloud their focus.

Welcome to the Machine

I lke to think of myself as fairly well educated but when I was informed by someone at work that Paul Ryan likes the musical group "Rage Against the Machine," I admit I had no idea about the group but looked it up in Wikipedia. I was dumbfounded:

Critics have noted Rage Against the Machine for its "fiercely polemical music, which brewed sloganeering leftist rants against corporate America, cultural imperialism, and government oppression into a Molotov cocktail of punk, hip-hop, and thrash."[1]
Integral to their identity as a band, Rage Against the Machine voice viewpoints highly critical of the domestic and foreign policies of current and previous US governments. Throughout its existence, RATM and its individual members participated in political protests and other activism to advocate these beliefs. The band primarily saw its music as a vehicle for social activism; De la Rocha explained that "I'm interested in spreading those ideas through art, because music has the power to cross borders, to break military sieges and to establish real dialogue."

Further: Morello spoke of wage slavery in America:

“

America touts itself as the land of the free, but the number one freedom that you and I have is the freedom to enter into a subservient role in the workplace. Once you exercise this freedom you've lost all control over what you do, what is produced, and how it is produced. And in the end, the product doesn't belong to you. The only way you can avoid bosses and jobs is if you don't care about making a living. Which leads to the second freedom: the freedom to starve.

I have gotten used to stunningly idiotic events as I get older. It seems they multiply as one gets older. I often muse about the way I must have looked to my father who had a rather wide breadth of political knowledge on a local level. I always hated local politics but Dad read the Montgomery Advertiser every day cover to cover, I believe. I must have looked so idiotic to my father with all his experience in the world. Sure I was being taught things in school that he did not understand, but I had no wisdom or practical knowledge to go along with the education.

I first heard about Ayn Rand from someone, when I was in my early teens, and formed an opinion, without reading her books, that she must be cool. She was described as anti-society and that was enough for me. Look at how thick those books are. I did not want to read them.

With the "Rage Against the Machine" debacle....and, oh it got worse than just his fandom being picked apart by a few other fans or so...I sort of got a glimpse of myself as a younger man. Had someone mentioned Ayn Rand in a conversation back then, I would have pretty much acted pompous and lied, "Oh,  I know all about her. She's the coolest," without ever truly reading a word. But I wasn't running for public office at the age of 14.

Paul Ryan was inspired to go into public service by Ayn Rand who did not believe in public service, or God, or any other moral values. It would seem to be an author one might want to stay away from with a ten-foot pole regardless of which party one was in. But even more certainly it was an anathema to someone running for office in the GOP. While the voters may not understand the term "obectivism" I'm sure they have a handle on "atheist."

And then the followup to this in revealing more of his taste in art, was "Rage against the Machine." I'll let Frank Morello one of the band members whome I quoted earlier describe this:

“Paul Ryan’s love of Rage Against the Machine is amusing, because he is the embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades.”

The group actually burned an American flag at the Woodstock '99 concert.

Ryan falls back on the fact that he liked the music rather than the lyrics. It's not really his fault. I mean how was he to know Ayn Rand was an atheist? The answer is in the wisdom factor. If you can't understand the themes your favorite author is writing about, don't bother to research a person that inspires you to go into public service. and don't bother to consider the lyrics or even titles of the songs you are listening to (or even ponder what the name of the group means) then I would say you are a bit shallow. I take that back, you are idiotically shallow.

Or a pretender: "Yeah, Ayn Rand, she's the coolest."  :) 

More on "Rage Against the Machine": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_views_and_activism_of_Rage_Against_the_Machine

More on Ayn Rand: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_rand

More on which side is winning in defining Paul Ryan: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/President/2012/0816/Which-side-is-winning-the-battle-to-define-Paul-Ryan

Do Republicans really read anything other than Glen Beck, or a host of other right wing stuff they can use as argumentative material?  Is Moby Dick on their reading list?

Blitzkrieg Campaigning

I’m wondering if the problem with Fox News for the Republicans is that they rely on this network and its viewers so much that they fail to reach anyone outside the sphere of the nonsensical, which might include middle of the road voters. They can lie here and no one calls them on it but is that good for them in the long run? The big Ryan/Medicare problem is a case in point. Romney said something to the effect that they have Ryan in line now... about his plan to lay Medicare to waste. This being said the more powerful Fox News approach was just around the corner-- just make up a story. You see, Obama cut Medicare with his health care program. You remember that, right?  Yeah, that’s the ticket.

It’s a great Fox News type story but after the curtain is pulled aside does it do much for Romney? I’m not sure.

Obama made Medicare stronger not weaker, pushing the date out further that other action would be required, as I remember, and also giving additional benefits to seniors as well. Saying the opposite of what is true in a huge way is like a statue of liberty play in football.  It might be generously called misdirection but this misdirection depends on a propaganda technique called “The Big Lie” developed in WWII:

[The Big Lie is defined as the] use of a lie so "colossal" that no one would believe that someone "could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously."  - Wikipedia, from “The Big Lie”

In a way, this seems to be the overall format of Fox News itself.  The label “News” adds credibility to what we might otherwise expect to come across in a supermarket tabloid or dirty trick campaign literature. How could they distort the truth so consistantly? So surely they are speaking the truth. This “news” is of the veracity of what you might expect to hear in a robocall. This channel has always reminded me of the late night infomercial format but more particularly it reminds me of a radio commercial for a penis enlargement medication that stated “This has to be true, or we couldn’t say it on the radio.”

Romney’s “Big Lie” about Obama and Medicare follows this time honored formula. It plays to a Fox News audience and just might enlarge your willy-wacky as well if you believe it; seriously, anything is possible. Admittedly, a number of seniors may be in the Fox News audience, and their meanderings in life with word of mouth news, may well turn the tide somehow, maybe, I guess.  But I'm still not sure relying on the Fox News format will work.

Obama’s campaign strategy has been to very quickly respond to what it deems to be misrepresentations and lies. Perhaps Romney can lie quicker than can be corrected as seems to be the case lately. Perhaps there is a new twist on the Big Lie strategy, a modified Big Lie strategy, the RFBL, if you will: Rapid Fire Big Lies.

An Unaccountable Obliquity in my Manner*

After spreading the calamine lotion, that were the words from my last essay, and spreading it on thick over the effects of the poison ivy that society often has been to me, I am comfortable and ready to move on as if I had disposed of that swelling itch and it's purveyor, by the roots, well and surely. As if only...

It came to my attention the other night that my mother would have loved me no matter the disagreeable nature of what I had become. No matter the ache, no matter the change to her customary way of thinking, she would have loved me and have been as proud, no, way more proud, of what I had done than I. Putting aside all the social media computer high definition blogging obliquity as if it were as inscrutable as a cassette tape recorder, she would focus on whom and what she loved.

I wish I had carried my mother's superpower with me throughout my life, but there are times when simple events of coincidence assure me that once in a while I do embrace her and her love, and she is there as if never gone, but only away for a short while. In these small moments, I rejoice.

*phrasing of title from Tristram Shandy (I think I am happy to put forth all the knowledge I have as if 'twere my own except that of this master who coincidentally was not ill disposed himself in putting forth all the knowledge he had as if 'twere his own)

Ridgecrest Baptist Church of Montgomery Alabama (circa early 70’s) and the Southern Baptists of Today

(The current Ridgecrest Church in Montgomery Alabama had an earlier version. The older church building is now occupied by a church of a different name.)

Let me begin with the thought that statements of absolute certainty have always bothered me. I know I have made my share of them over my lifetime and most all of those I have usually regretted later. However my very belief in God is based upon my understanding that God can never be truly known. He must be ineffable, too great to be described by mere words invented and reworked over time by limited humans. I have had this belief in a wondrous and yet unknowable God for quite some time. Throughout my life, it ebbed and waned in importance, but at many important junctures it was the only important thing that mattered. When I think enough about it, I think it might have always been the one thing that truly mattered.

I studied many books on religion throughout my life. First on the list was the Holy Bible which was on my parents’ bed stand. I remember the tactile feel of that old copy very well. My parents would, through the short time I had with them, never interfere in my religious development and for this I am grateful and happy. Some Good Samaritan, I'm not sure who, enrolled me in vacation Bible school. However I learned very little. It was all pretty much above my head or at least did not make it across to a young child of about 7, I guess. Maybe it influenced me but I cannot remember it. However, at the end of the summer, I received a gift - my very own Bible. It was all wrapped up like a birthday present. I remember being disappointed when unwrapping it because it was just a book, and without pictures. The print was small and it looked very unappealing.

However, later in my life as a young teenager, I took this Bible every week to Ridgecrest Baptist Church which a few kids my age and I had begun to attend. Again my parents did not influence me one way or the other. The church was always a nice place to hang out. People were friendly and often there was food from various events. We were always welcome. We often sat in the back and enjoyed "revivals" that would last an entire week. One of the small group of us was baptized in the glass case filled with water that was located high above where the pastor preached. I remember a microphone for the pastor to say the ceremonial words with the sounds of water sloshing when he was up there. Those to be baptized were dunked backwards completely into the water and brought up. This was always a highlight because the whole production was rather difficult and often led to interesting moments of odd sounds or exclamations echoing loudly out of the church sound system. It was entertaining for the kids, like us.

The Bible was my first written objective resource. There was consistent encouragement in the church services to read it. Later, I received a "Living Bible" which I never quite trusted. But it certainly did help with my understanding of difficult passages. This was given to me by my sister as a Christmas present. I have kept both of these meaningful copies of the Bible, of course.

But by and by, Ridgecrest Baptist Church of Montgomery, Alabama had started struggling with a problem. School rezoning was occurring in order to help the goal of integration. Many church members’ houses were being sold to “Negroes” as the zones changed for their children, who would go to predominately black schools. White people just fled instead of sending their kids to schools that were purposely built and staffed to be inferior. White people without kids eventually sold their houses as well. After all, their property values seemed to be decreasing as homes went on the market everywhere by homeowners desperate to sell. Might I also say this revolution in thought was to the delight of the local real estate moguls? Real estate folks in Montgomery Alabama seem to always have something to be delighted about no matter what the problem.

At the time it defied my imagination as to why the church had problems with allowing certain human beings to come into the church. For one, there was unlikely to be a mass flood of African Americans into this hostile land. To think of this active discrimination happening today would pretty much defy everyone's imagination. Even at the young age I was back then, I was a relatively deep thinker (not correct just obsessive). In my naivety I pondered exactly what the problem was. Why was this question being asked? Apparently, in plain view to everyone, Ridgecrest Baptist Church was holding a vote to decide how the Word of God came down on whether to allow people of a particular race to come inside their church.

As instructed by the church, I had been reading, studying, and thinking about these bibles given to me as presents. Using what I had already learned, some of it in sermons, I had already reasoned that the Vietnam War was immoral. It did however seem to be a question of significance and doubt. Yet this simple question, of whether to open the church to everyone who wanted to come inside and worship, had not occurred to me as worthy of pondering. The group of us young kids, attending the church from our own choice, argued the point as we walked to and from church like it was a debate. I was of the opinion that a few would vote for exclusion of black people and the vast majority would vote for inclusion. I remember kids with opposing views pointing out that racists attended the church, including a Ku Klux Klan member that we knew well, but I remained convinced that the choice of inclusion would obviously be the majority opinion.

I was wrong. I quit attending church.

Much of my later theological development stemmed from the complete disconnect organized religion had made with my personal understanding of what I had read in the Bible. One incident of intolerance by a majority of church goers had ruined the whole organized movement for me. As I learned world history and the full story of the development of mankind in school, despite one college instructor's rabid bias against Catholicism and probably religion itself, I came to realize that the world was larger and encompassed many more ideas than I previously had an understanding of. My first years of college were consumed by my increasing awareness of learning for the sake of learning. There were no classes in religion so I studied the 4 gospels on my own with commentaries from every possible source that seemed to be scholarly. I focused on Jesus Christ and his teachings.

What I found was nothing like what I had been taught in church and was much more involved than my previous rudimentary readings as a child. When I look back I can see I was a bit obsessed with trying to come to an absolute understanding of an ineffable subject. I am none the worse for it now, I believe, but I was still very naive at the time. Somehow something very deep stuck with me, however, for the rest of my life.

I honestly dislike the word "faith" for it seems to imply a blind faith. I prefer the word "belief" as I have spent some time forming my beliefs. Had I ever experienced that one moment in my life in which I would become "baptized" and "saved" from that day on, I would have missed out on the most important of learning processes: doubting. It is the questioning that life poses that has led to such fulfilling moments of clarity as I get older and hopefully wiser. I have been through years of belief and disbelief. Until I tired of it, I have held argumentative discussions with anyone who wanted to "save" me. I pointed out the problems of interpreting the Bible as the literal truth, and many times along the way I found myself lost. The constant barrage of fundamentalism coming from living in the south had at times caused me to pivot into a pretty much atheistic stance. Was this the best God could do with His followers? Were these the best arguments for faith? Did things really depend upon the theory that the world was only thousands of years old when I knew without much thought needed that it was at least millions of years old? I have come to realize that those who sought out arguments with me were not always on top of their game, and the discussion, unfortunately, is far from a game.

Just recently someone showed me a historical geological timeline which showed the history of the Earth with all the various Christian events and personalities carefully lined up below. He showed it as if it was proof of God and the truthfulness of the Bible. I said "The Bible really shouldn't be limited by this idea." As the necessary disagreement ensued, this person asked me why I could not see that the chart proved the Bible was correct. At this point I realized that the act itself of putting things in a chart meant that something was proven to this person, but I went on anyway. "It is just that you limit God with human knowledge. I personally believe the world is millions of years old and I am fairly certain that the star light we see is millions of years old. Don't you see? God is beyond science. Our knowledge is limited and God is infinite. You can lose people you wish to 'save' just because they do not believe your chart."

I had almost been led astray by the failure of Ridgecrest Baptist Church, which eventually moved to the new white section of town where it now resides. I had almost given up because of the disappointment I had felt with small minded Christians. While I understood this chart person's desire to battle science and prove his religion, I kept worrying about the people who would choose science over God when confronted like this with such shoddy evidence. As I have learned just recently from the book by Karen Armstrong which I have been incessantly reading and mentioning, science has no business in criticizing God because science deals with only things that are not supernatural. It is one of Science's original postulates. Things are not supernatural, superstitious, or magical so the scientific method begins with the postulate that there is no God. Because some (over the centuries) have been attempting to use science or knowledge to "prove" God exists, to prove the ineffable, Christianity seems on a precarious ledge easily "proved" wrong when one makes the assumptions that science makes. It is not an effective battle to fight. Proof for a human being must necessarily limit God who we suppose to be limitless.

______________________________

Much of the previous comprised a longish essay I had written with a different ending. I am tossing the ending. It was unfinished, so I am not throwing away all that much. I explained in the original essay (as if I were some kind of expert) how the next mistake made was organized religion’s foray into politics. Thus, if one disagreed politically with the church, one might as well not attend the church. This strategy seemed to be less than effective in gaining followers for Christ. Speaking out on a national stage and basically saying that close to half of Americans had political views of which God did not approve seems a little uninviting. Yet, I jumped too fast to this next problem. In my humble opinion, organized religion is further down the scale of understanding than this. Additionally, the original essay began not about the church and my weak knowledge of it, but of my own experiences. Politics only plays tangentially into my recent experience. This intolerably ugly moment, the second I personally beheld, has prompted me to finish this essay and add this rewritten ending:

_______________________________

My wife has been going to church for quite some time. Again, I had pretty much given up on organized religion but I am very happy my wife rekindled the issue. it is not easily dismissed that I do not study the Bible anymore and do not take the time to contemplate God. The part of the Bible that said to gather together in His name had seemed a weakened concept when the reality was that gathering together might only result in people being pushed irretrievably away from a personal relationship with God as a result of their disagreeable political views, one’s politics now being a strongly exclusionary factor on the national stage. Worse, this sudden exclusion of seekers is during a period of history when America has less respect for the concept of community and a great deal more for individualism. The concept of community is branded by the “Christian Right” (the word “Christian” is now part of a political term) as socialist. Receiving help from charity is un-American. The idea of a bit more tax on the rich to help our floundering economy is unacceptable. Christianity will not abide socialism in America. It will not abide more of a burden on the rich man. In my opinion, it will also not abide community. The whole thing is kind of mind boggling to one who read and studied the Gospels so deeply without church interference. I mean. Jesus said things which I believe.

I tried for a while to go to church with my wife but found the local pastor not really communicating with me. He was from a different background, I guess. It is surely not his fault as he tries very hard and he does communicate with others in his church and apparently my wife. As far as I know from the few times I went and from my wife’s description, he has stayed away from politics and all forms of discrimination. All this and he is a self-labeled “country preacher.” My admiration is strong but I was not quite happy because frankly I wanted a deeper discussion of God and not a discussion upon the act of becoming a Christian.

I don’t doubt that there are those who need to discover the Word but once done, they need to live it. And if they are living it, they do not really need a lion tamer with a chair to constantly force them into renewing their belief. Please do not interpret this to mean that I think that I understand more than others. I just know what I would find personally fulfilling in a church.

All was well with our world with my wife going to church while I stayed at home. Then my schedule changed at work and Sunday became my first off day. This seems like a large change to me. I love my wife very much. I want to spend my Sunday morning with her now. Consequently we decided to branch out to try other churches. The first one that seemed fairly easy for various reasons was the First Baptist Church of Opelika, Alabama. The music was better if a bit too majestic for my tastes. Then, the pastor came up to give a sermon that was on the subject of the history of racism in the Southern Baptist church. I was amazed as he taught a passage from the Bible that I never knew existed which seemed to outline the responsibilities of masters and slaves as if the institution were completely acceptable. The pastor told us the passage had been used long ago to justify slavery. He then read and displayed the Southern Baptist Church’s apology for the period of time it supported slavery, which was from the very beginning as the Southern Baptists had made a split just for the sake of condoning slavery. But more importantly to me (as slavery is a done deal) the Southern Baptists were foursquare against all forms of racism.  

I was overjoyed that by pure chance (or something else possibly) this was the topic of the day and I was receiving an apology for having my faith ripped from me in my youth by bigots. I felt so wonderful. Things had changed, even in the First Baptist Church of Opelika, Alabama. My wife and I were both thinking the same thing, as it turned out—this might be our church. The pastor was well educated and I was on the edge of my seat listening to every word. “We were wrong,” he said.

Honestly, I am so gullible. To me there is nothing worse than taking advantage of my gullibility.

In the sermon, the passage on the Christian duties of slaves and owners changed into a passage outlining the duties of employees and their employers. I considered this not a bad message to continue with. After all, there must be some way to interpret the acceptance of slavery in the Bible as a positive message for today. He explained that the slaves at that time were more like what we later called “indentured servants” in early American history. They too could save money and buy their freedom. He admitted that some could never really purchase their freedom because of the vast amount they owed but it still was a vastly different concept from the slavery of the Civil War era. I was mulling over this concept of the slaves signing a sort of contract because I thought I had learned from world history classes that slaves were conquered peoples. Their problem was in living in a territory that was conquered, no contract involved.

Yet, I’m still hanging in there at this point. I mean, this guy understood the term “indentured servant” and got the metaphor reasonably correct (there were surely a few problems with indentured servitude that made it less than savory) and better, he thought his audience would not look at each other in mystification as to what the heck this guy was saying. In other words, he was not speaking down to me. Even though his concept of a Roman slave was a bit spotty, I was hanging on until….as the discussion of good employers progressed…. the big example was the wholesome Christianity of Chick Fil A and particularly Dan Cathy.

I was stunned.

In thirty minutes my emotions had been sent through the wringer. Earlier, he had shown a picture of a man (with no name) to illustrate the evils of slavery. It is a classic picture of a slave’s scarred back. This image, still in my mind at that moment, just melted into the background as a metaphor for the hatred he was subtly whipping up for those who did not have the proper Southern Baptist approved sexual orientation. How could he not know about bullying in our schools? How could he not know about the current uptick in seriously violent gay bashing? He must know. Then how could he not mention it? How could he not know the reasonable argument that spending money at Chick Fil A was giving a portion of one’s dollar to hate groups? (Hate groups given money by Don Cathy were clearly identified as such by the fairly objective Southern Poverty Law Center based in nearby Montgomery, Alabama.) The man who stood before me had simply made a choice not to address these issues while praising Chick Fil A. I was not absolutely certain, but I thought that the man who stood before me would someday be apologized for himself and “forgotten.” He would someday be as “forgotten” in the future using the same kind of sermon he just gave. He would be swept under the rug as neatly as the Southern Baptist church’s members who condoned, or looked the other way for, the violence this scarred slave and countless others received. It was so disheartening to feel this strong emotion akin to hatred inside myself in a church service, even if my hate was really only a strong visceral reaction to this pitiable bigot of a man chosen here as a leader.

I had been correct in my youth. That much was clear. There had been at some point in time, a public apology made for their past bigotry.

My wife, anticipating my reaction to the praise of Chick Fil A, asked me if I wanted to leave early. No, I wanted to be face to face with the man. I had never confronted the Southern Baptists who thought themselves correct and of a superior race in my youth, who now have their successors to wash their hands, those whose hatred poisoned my life (even though I am white) for decades. After the service ended, I walked as quickly as possible to the front of the church accidentally jostling a few in the aisle, leaving my wife behind, hoping this man would be there at the front of the church. With as much civility as I could muster with my emotions still on high, I confronted him on the front steps of his church. While, again, I am never absolutely certain about anything, there are moments when logic can help guide one from “thought A” to “thought B” and this one was very clear. I was very strong in my confrontation but remained as polite as possible. “Praise God” was the response he used to fill the vacuum of silence and of reason that followed.

I found my wife and we went home. I took a shower. Thankfully, I thought, as the water came down around me, I had never been baptized by bigots.

Scarred back of Gordon, a slave. Louisiana, c.1863.

( We know very little about this man deemed to be unimportant at the time, I guess, now displayed in this embarassing pose for the rest of history. But just for the sake of that history, Mr. Pastor, his name was apparently Gordon.)

Official Dedication of my Blog

My Dedication Proper— [(OR, A Sterne-esque Moment Belabored with Thought and Attention For and To an Important Subject, Though Neglected Until Now-- Such Voluminous Neglect Befitting the Titular Nature of This Blog—Disguised as If a Deed of Emulation to Honor the Dedicatee —and as it Appears The Cat Has Strolled Easily Out of the Now Loosening Burlap Sack, an Entry Worth Only a Perfunctory Skim and Nod--) OR, My Dedication Improper, in the Light of Current Parenthetical Happenstance That is Bewildering Even to Me but Seems as I Say, "In Keeping...")] to Laurence Sterne

Recent events have me reading Mr. Sterne’s Tristan Shandy (a Cock and Bull Story) yet again, albeit this time in an electronic way hitherto unimaginable or of which I had only some vague notions, not affecting as it does the actual act of information dissemination but redefining it in some mysteriously dynamic way. This book being truly among the most personally inspiring visions of curmuffle ever penned, I bow in humility. In the memory of this great writer and man responsible for leading me generously astray in life, of which I know but piddlywads about personally or biographically, I have quite and most intentionally put off until this very proper moment, as a parody of Mr. Sterne himself, for my dedication of this blog.  With all the pomposity appropriate to any event that needs such artificial gravitas to signify its own importance and singularity, I, Michael DeVore, Esq. hereby dedicate my blog:

“To a Distinguished Gentleman of Mixed Humors Who Has Given Me Joy throughout the Years and to Whom I Owe an Excellent Mark in My All But Ill-fated Choice of Literature Classes Entitled “Eighteenth Century Novel” – a choice based hastily upon the word “novel” and a lack of historical understanding of the century involved—Leading to an Inevitable Understanding that a Literature Degree was Probably Not Worth the Bearing or Literary Instructor Worth the Baring. Yes, I Toast You Sir Sterne, if the Toaster be of Excellent Condition because Perfectly Toasted is A Must, I am Sir Sterne, Forever in your Debt though Not Literally for I Despise Many a Moneylender, Unless a Family Member of the Reader’s be of Such Temperament”

--No, I say, Barclay's be Damned. Banks All be Damned For their Accursed Immoral Values Regardless of the Reader's Ancestors and or Current Relations, or Distant Relatives, or Even Acquaintances and Friends, nor Withstanding the Fact that My Ex-Wife Became a Broker--

My undying thanks to Laurence Sterne for changing me beyond the hope of being a victim of the society of those of ill gained wealth and for unsuccinctly teaching me the importance of books and the written word.

Nice to be back here.

Good Intentions

That's it. I'm determined to be back here writing aimlessly. I just want to write. Go ahead and not read me. I dare you.

I cannot think of a time I was happier than when I was doing this blog and my others. Facebook is an awesome way to connect to people. Don't get me wrong, I went from hating Facebook to a sort of crush, then a love affair, then inevitable relationship problems coupled with a desire to see other social media on the side.

I just don't get those moments of aimlessness I long for with Facebook.

The new rundown of blogs are at the top of the page. These may change as well. Older blogs may jump back in, etc. I am a fickle paramour. But as of now these are the only blogs that are significant others.

I will post  updates to Facebook but I expect her to throw dishes at me.

Or, to put it another way. I just looked you up in my little black book. How have you been doing Baby?