What color hat do you wear?

Click on picture to see a larger image. I am back from Atlanta, and things went well there. It was good to see a couple of old friends, and the presentations went very well. Finishing the work needed for this trip has been a definite weight off of my shoulders. I have been thinking about some issues and would love your perspective. I want to state something that I see as a plain fact. All people are not equal. I think that the concept of equality before the law (i.e., the law treats all as equal) is a good concept for running a justice system, but in terms of the rest of life...I don't think it is a good concept. Not everyone is smart. Not everyone is athletic. Not everyone is good looking. Not everyone is creative. Not everyone is good with numbers. Not everyone is insightful. Not everyone is good natured. Not everyone is right. Because of our relativistic approach in society, we end up acting as if anything and everything is AOK. All people are equal, all ideas are equal, all perspectives are equal. I say bologna! I wish I was more artistic than I am. I am just not. Some people just can't get up in front of a group to speak - I am pretty good at it. In some circumstances or for some purposes, creativity is what is required. Other times, certain leadership skills may be the right trick. It is good that people are not the same. You know what else, pretending that everyone is the same is silly. The same is true for ideas, If one person says the sun rises in the East and another the West, there is not compromise to be had. If one person says Christ rose from the dead, and another says he did not - there is no equality of perspective. There is a phenomenon in education where people are overly concerned about self-esteem. They won't give spelling tests because it makes kids who can't spell feel bad. You see, some kids actually have an easier time with spelling, but calling this out defeats the perspective of equality and may make some kids feel bad because they struggle with spelling. This would be hilarious if it wasn't so dangerous. Self esteem isn't something you need to protect so it doesn't get damaged - it is something that you earn through success. We should be giving children opportunities to develop their talents not fragile egos propped up with delusional self-esteem. Have you ever noticed that everyone says they are a "good person." Look at our world, heck just look at our society. How can we claim to all be good and have the homeless we do, or the high percentage of people in jail, or the uninsured, or all the people below the poverty line, or prejudice, etc. If we were all good, we would solve these problems - heck we would really care about them. Instead, when it comes to elections, what do we hear about? When is the last time anyone asked what we are going to do about the homeless in politics? Good people? Hmpf. Here is my opinion - we are not all good. I don't think there are a lot of evil people out there either, if by evil we mean those who seek to intentionally do harm. But there are too many who will not do anything for someone else if it requires any effort or sacrifice. Good is not the absence of evil - it is a positive manifestation of love that requires effort and sacrifice. If most people aren't good and aren't evil, what are they? Just selfish. Think about the old westerns. The good guys wore white hats and the bad guys wore black hats. I think most people wear grey hats. They are neither good nor bad - merely selfish. What color hat do you wear? Tags: relativism, equality

Leaving on a jet plane

Tomorrow AM I have to take a flight to ATL. This is a good and bad thing. As any who know me can attest, I am not the biggest fan of Atlanta. Now, that isn’t really fair. I guess I just would rather live in Southern California. Atlanta is a fine place, I just don’t want to live there. I must admit that the south has some of the best “bad for you” food. I love the barbecue and you have not had breakfast until you have had a Southern breakfast. But the culture is a shock – I do have stories, but not for sharing here. The one thing I can say about Atlanta is that some of my favorite people in the world live there. Getting to see them, even briefly, is worth the effort. The down side is that it blows routine, disrupts work (i.e., it makes the following couple weeks difficult catching up), and I miss my family. But in the end, renewing the connections with these people is worth it. Phone, email, blogs, etc. – these are all good. But nothing replaces seeing the person, sharing a hug and renewing that friendship in person.

Pope: faith AND reason - that's the point!

The events this past week are somewhat frustrating. The Muslim world is up in arms because the Pope quotes a Byzantine emperor. I read the speech. The point the Pope was making was about the West and that reason cannot be divorced from Faith. The Emperor's point was that violence as part of religion is a violation or reason, and thus why he rejects Islam. The emperor's point is that faith that is counter to reason is false. The Pope was scolding the west because reason without faith is false . His point ... we need both! Where is that in the news? It's not? Hmmm. Now, one can take the quote of the emperor as saying that violence has no place as official doctrine and dogma in faith beacause it is counter to reason. And the Muslim world, in their violent reaction, is acting unreasonably. Did Catholics burn buildings at the Last Temptation of Christ movie? Was there revolt at the Da Vinci Code? Are we revolting now as Muslims burn the Pope in effigy? Are we calling for "Holy War" as nuns are gunned down and churches are burned? No. There is a lot of reaction and condemnation by the Muslim world of things they don't like from the Western world (Catholic and otherwise). This condemnation is loud, clear, and violent. However, there is only quiet (if any) condemnation of the uncivilized, violent, and godless behavior done in the name of their very religion. How can anyone beleive this is reasonable? Of course, I find it equally interesting that the amoral (often atheistic) Western media delights in fostering (even hosting) these battles. Why the coverage here? Why the search for that which will divide and undermine? They miss the point of the Pope's speech (his whole trip, in fact), but delight in controversy. Read the Pope's speech. You will find that it is not a message of hate as the media and Muslim world would have you believe. It is a message of hope and a challenge to Western thinkers that they need faith as well as reason. The Muslim world, perhaps, should also listen. Perhaps more reason is a good idea with their faith. I read the speech here http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=46474

Heroes

Sorry, no larger image. The picture above is of Grace Michelle, who is due to arive in a couple months. You'll see the connection to the picture as you read on. Adoro Te Devote has started a meme, and has tagged me. Here are the rules: 1. Honor a living hero 2. Preference given to Firefighters, Police Officers, Paramedics, EMT's, Dispatchers 3. Not everyone is acquainted with someone fitting into these categories. If this is the case, then honor someone else, a hero in your life who is willing to "give all" in some way. It can be a priest, a pastor, a teacher, a relative, a friend...etc. First, thanks! I kinda like these. :) Second, let me say that this is not easy. I am one of those Gen Xers who doesn't have much in the way of heroes. There have been people who have influenced me, whom I admire, whom I appreciate, for whom I thank God. But not any real "heroes." Oh, I could probably pull a cliché, but that would not be much fun for you or me. So I was stumped. But as I was driving Sunday night it came to me. I hope this person is still living, but I don't know - the event happened about 23 years ago, and it didn't happen to me - though I witnessed it. It was early in my high school years. I think it was between freshman and sophomore year. I was living at school then and was either home on the weekend or for Easter break. Anyway, Mom was having medical issues. Something was wrong. She had gone to the doctor, and he said he thought she had a tumor. I am not sure of the details, but I did know that she was worried. The doctor prescribed some sort of medication that would help if it was tumor, and I remember us going to the local Sav-on drug store to get the prescription filled. I still remember that day because, something happened that I had not seen before nor since. Later that day I remember sitting at the kitchen table, where you can see the front door. I don't remember how long it was since we had gotten home, but there was a knock on the door. I think my sister opened it. A man was at the door asking to see Mom. It was the pharmacist. Now, perhaps in the "old days" (circa 1880) pharmacists would visit your house. But in the early 1980s, to have a stranger make a house call...? It isn't really "me" decade behavior. He told Mom that if she had any reason to think that she was pregnant, not to take the medication. Now, the doctors told Mom that she would never have children again after my sister (who was 12 by then). This was very odd to hear, but with a warning like that, would you take the medication? Mom didn't take it. The tumor turned out to not be a tumor, but my brother. When I look back at my life, there were lots of people who helped me and made a huge difference in my life. But I can think of only this one time where I witnessed a person save the life of someone close to me. To keep this going, I tag: Jerry Grosso at My Autistic Boy and Other Adventures in Fatherhood Moneybags at A Catholic Life (if he is not too swamped) Amber at This Catholic Journey Ukok at Ukok's Place and... Aaron Calloway, who is lurking as a reader here. AC, just post it in the comments. :) Tags: heroes, pharmacist, miracle

What a week

Click on picture to see a larger image. This has been one crazy week. My last post I said that I was coming out from under a heavy load. I guess I was wrong. I do see a light at the end of the tunnel, but it was an illusion that it was close. My projects heated up in a huge way with two clients asking for accelerated deadlines - yikes! I think it will be better soon though. I may get next weekend for myself. It has to get better sometime soon -- we have a baby due in 2 months! My daughter turned 10 this week. I am noticing that I am getting older. She won't be a little girl much longer. I need to find more time to enjoy it. It goes too fast! That is her in the picture above. She is a delight, but I'd like her to stop now. Our kids our not ours, they belong to God. We get them for such a short time before they are on there own. I want the time to last. These 10 years have flown. School started this week. This is good AND bad. Good that they get to learn, and Lynn and I get a little quiet time. But one of the huge advantages to working at home is that I get to see them and Lynn so much - even when I am swamped. We get to have lunch and dinner together. We also went to daily mass and had daily rosary together. Try that working 14 hours a day at a corporate gig. Now I get dinner and rosary. Since they are in Catholic school, they go to weekday mass once each week. So I get to see them there - but it is not quite the same. A couple of people at daily mass noticed the kids gone. Mike likes to sing loud, and his voice is missing. The dog is depressed with them gone all day. Peaches and I will miss them together. I really do hope to have more posted soon. As soon as my load lightens, I have a few things to share. You are all in my prayers. Tags:Work, family

Light at the end of the tunnel?

Click on picture to see a larger image. Work has been wild crazy. I have not dropped off the map, but I feel like I am in a different world. Work has been intense, and I spent Labor Day weekend laboring. I am still not finished with my current projects (maybe Sep 25th-ish), but I think I can get my weekends back (I lost the past few). I do owe a response to the well articulated comment from Jerry Grasso, one of my friends in ATL. It will come Jerry. In the mean time I wanted to put in a post letting people know I am still alive. In fact, I did take a few hours to celebrate my 38th birthday with my family on Sunday. I got what I wanted as well (and hadn't expected). My mom went to the Charismatic Convention in Anaheim - she got me a beautiful image of the Agony in the Garden, a picture of the Pope, and a couple of John Michael Talbot CDs. My sisters, brother, and dad went in together to get me the Liturgy of the Hours and a daily missal. The kids got me cologne (which I was running out of). We also took a quick drive to the beach today to stick our toes in the water,take some pictures and having dinner at an Irish pub (one of the pictures will be up this week). Beyond that, it has been all work. I am thinking of those of you who have commented - and keeping you in my prayers, and ask the same. This has been the most intense patch I have had in a couple years. I know I'll make it through, but it has been rough. I hope to have another post in a couple days.