"Lord have mercy"
Reflections (and photos) of a Catholic Dad.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Death, Life & Choice - Statistics
I deal a lot with statistics in my line of work, creating and using them to understand people and behavior. I gathered some statistics with their reference sites and wanted to pull these together to look at our society and our values. People talk about a culture of death, but what does that look like in numbers? Well, here is what I found.
Abortion: There have been more than 45 million legal abortions since 1973 There are nearly 1.3 million abortions performed in the US every year That is more than 3,500 abortions per day in the US There is about 1 abortion for every 4 live births in the US Abortion data comes from pro-abortion sources - these are their statistics http://www.guttmacher.org/ http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0764203.html http://www.abortiontv.com
Iraq War Coalition forces killed in Iraq from 2003 through 2006: 3334 (3,081 US) Reported Iraqi civilian deaths due to military intervention from 2003 through 2006: 55,221 to 60,907 http://icasualties.org/oif/http://www.iraqbodycount.org/
All Deaths In 2004 there were about 2.4 million deaths in the US If abortions are included, we have about 3.7 million deaths Abortion is the leading cause of death in America representing 35% of all deaths http://www.cdc.gov/
The culture of death comes down to the fact that we, as a society, have perpetrated the greatest holocaust in history with the senseless murder of millions of our children.
When we were at a parish during a stint in Northern Cal, we were invited to and later led a welcome dinner. This dinner was to welcome new parishioners. It was a pot luck and would be an opportunity for new folks to meet the priests and other community leaders.
Well, Lynn and I always liked that dinner, and the welcoming atmosphere of that parish. Let's face it, Catholic parishes are not all that welcoming. Too many people come to church and leave. I think some of our protestant brothers and sisters get the community part better. My theory for this is that when you don't have the Eucharist, one must rely solely on the community for nourishment.
Anyways, we did our first installment of this dinner at our current parish. I can't say it was a smashing success, but it was not a failure either. We learned a few things, and have some ideas for marketing it next time. We really enjoyed it, as did the people who attended. We just wished there had been a larger turn out.
Appetizer If you could take lessons to learn any musical instrument, which would you want to learn? I actually am taking lessons for the guitar. I always wanted to learn trumpet too, but I'll stick to the guitar.
Soup Have you ever mistaken a person for someone else? Oh yeah, usually strangers. It is absolutely awkward putting your foot in your mouth. Another problem I have is not remembering someone who remembers me. When I was teaching huge classes or giving talks at work, people would remember me but I didn't know who they were.
Salad On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how well do you keep secrets? 8. Not because of maliciousness or gossip, but every once in a while you can forget that someone doesn't know. But, on the whole I am very good. It also depends on how important the secret is. There are some things I have told no one, except my priest under the seal of confession.
Main Course What's the closest you've ever been to a dangerous animal? Define dangerous. I have been chased by mean dogs. I have seen coyotes on my street. I have been to Lion Country Saffari and the zoo. But being chased by dogs is probably the closest.
Dessert When was the last time you lost your patience? I have a 7 year old boy, so the temptation to lose my patience is always there. I think the last time was about 6 weeks ago, I remember him getting into trouble, but I can't remember why. Most likely doing something he had been asked 20 times not to do. I asked my wife, and she says I don't lose my patience much - that I am judicious. It feels like losing my patience some times, but maybe God is granting me the patience that I keep asking for.
Check out the pictures I have added to my photo project. I am up to 20 pix and still going. I'll post some here still, but have this photo site for posting them all. I have it so you can view it pretty large if you like.
It has been hectic since the baptism. I have had to finish a couple of projects, I had a school board meeting for our Catholic school, and we had family visiting from Indiana. Not much time to put in a blog. Everyone is doing well, I continue to do alright with Gracie. I have it rigged pretty good. She is getting more and more delightful as well. She has started smiling and we hear the beginnings of laughs.
On a personal note, I had a humbling experience last week. I was confronted with an error I had made. I had to own it - and that was not pleasant. I have been working on humility for years, and it is still not easy.
This error was work related to work. Now, those who know me, know that I worry. This combined with a couple of discontinued projects got me started. This time was a little different though - I was not as worried as I would have been even a year ago. As I look at my life, there has never been a time when God did not provide. It makes my worry seem so foolish. I am grateful that I am growing here, and pray for even more growth.
Appetizer Which television shows do you just refuse to miss? I have a few: CSI (only the original), Criminal Mind, Law & Order, House, Survivor, BattlestarGalactica. Thank goodness for TiVo - then we don't have to miss any of them.
Soup Who did you last speak to on the telephone? My mom, this morning. Lynn was getting ready and was talking to her on speaker. I added my two-cents to the conversation.
Salad How many pillows do you keep on your bed? There are 7 in the day and 5 at night. The two in the day are decorations. Two are mine, three are Lynn's.
Main Course Name one addition to your computer (software, hardware, etc.) that you'd love to have. Voice activation software that actually works. I hear the really expensive Naturally Speaking 9 actually works. I also would like to have a second monitor. Or maybe one of those huge flat screens (24 inches or higher). Ah, dreaming.
Dessert What is your favorite foreign food? I would say Mexican, but being in So Cal, Mexican food is hardly foreign. After Mexican, I like all kinds - Italian, Indian, Thai, Chinese, etc. But If I had to pick one, non-Mexican foreign food, it would have to be Indian (Pizza counts as not foreign, right?).
Well, the baptism went very well on Sunday. Gracie is now grace filled. :) She was awake during the entire mass, but then was out like a light the rest of the day. We very much enjoyed sharing the day with family and the entire community. The celebration afterwards was wonderful. My cousin Jerry came. He is fallen away, but has been slowly coming back to the church. His wife seems interested in potentially converting. I am sure prayers would be appreciated.
Tuesday, I had Gracie all to myself for the day. Now, I can see how that could sound exciting, but I was a bit worried. I work at home, sure, but I had been relying on Lynn to take care of the rest of the household. Well, Lynn teaches music part-time at the parish school - and this was the first day back since Gracie was born. Of course I handled things perfectly. While it certainly does help when the child decides to sleep most of the day, but I was ready. Well, we'll see how Thursday goes.
Hurrah! Tomorrow is Gracie's last day as a heathen. Yes she has gone through CRIB (Christian Right of Initiation for Babies) and is set to be baptized at mass tomorrow morning. Prayers are welcome as she joins our larger Catholic Christian family. I'll let you all know how it turns out.
Appetizer What comes to mind when you see the color orange? Football teams I dislike – Florida, Texas, Tennessee
Soup Did you ever get in trouble while you were in school? If so, what was it for? Yes, in I lived away at high school. I was suspended once for being out of bed after lights out. We were out in the field smoking.
Salad Which topping(s) make up your perfect pizza? I like all kinds of pizza, but my favorite is “the special” – pepperoni, sausage, bell peppers, onions, olives and mushrooms (no anchovies, please).
Main Course Do you believe in UFOs/aliens/etc.? Why or why not? Nope. I see no evidence for them. I think we are it as far as creatures go. I could be wrong, but that is where I am at. Dessert What color is your bedspread/comforter/quilt? It has a flower patter with a lot of blues and mauves in it.
Well, I am expecting, hoping, and praying that 2007 is ready for a personal upswing. So far it looks like I am losing a client as they eliminate the team I have been working with, another of my clients is eliminating a sizable project, my brother has gotten into some trouble, my Mom has had some health troubles, a former boss died at 49, and work demands have been pressing. Not the easy start I had expected.
Still, the kids are healthy. Our marriage is strong. The weather's been glorious. We have been able to go to mass nearly every day. And I continue to experience countless blessings of every sort.
Lord, give me the wisdom see all the blessings in my life. Give me the fortitude to carry the few crosses I have. Give me a loving heart that I might love you and my neighbor better. Amen.
Today was the feast of the Epiphany - where we celebrate the magi bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. I hope your Epiphany was enlightening. Father Joe gave a wonderful homily today. I'd like to share the themes he touched. Not that the ideas are new, but he showed a connection I had missed before.
He was discussing the magi and how their attention to nature and their wisdom (i.e., reason) they were able to get very close to Christ...but not all the way. Wisdom and nature are wonderful tools, but insufficient by themselves. The magi needed to consult scripture (i.e., revelation) to go all the way. Reason and nature can get you going in the right direction, but God must reach out and guide us as well - we cannot do it on our own. That is what God does through Scripture - reveal Himself to us.
Father had a second point I caught. It was the magi and not Herod or the scribes that visited Christ. Even though the scribes had the answer, they were unwilling to do anything about it. Belief is insufficient. Action is required. Non-Christians who seek God, though they have not revelation may get closer to Christ than Christians who have faith but do not act. We must live our faith, take action, and follow where God leads.
I have decided to start a photo project. Info on it can be found here. The idea is to take a picture every day for 365 days. I like to take pictures, and some of them are not bad. But the concept of taking one every day is very appealing to me. So, while I won't post them everyday - I will be posting more of them.
It has been some time since I posted. I hope you all had a wonderful New Year. We traveled to Sacramento to see good friends. BTW, what other state can say that their capital is named for the blessed sacrament - I tell you, it sure is nice to be in California.
Kudos to the Trojans for showing Michigan that they really didn't deserve a second shot at the title. I think both of those teams (Michigan and USC) are going to be tops next year. Will there be a rematch in a bowl? It would be nice.
It was hard to watch the Notre Dame contest with LSU. I thought Notre Dame was better than that. They seemed to be flat after their time off. Hopefully Charlie Weis will get these guys in shape.
