College Admissions Scandal...more like EPIC PARENTING FAIL...

So wealthy people are buying their kids way into elite colleges…I can’t say I’m surprised. I suppose that the personality of those who would do anything to become famous lends to expecting the same for their kids.

Doesn’t make it any less sorry an example, and especially for those kids, some of whom were complicit. It’s pathetic that parents would teach their children that the ends justify the means; that being the center of attention is one’s main goal in life; and most of all, that their child isn’t good enough as they are. They think so little of their child that they don’t trust their abilities or strength to achieve a worthy goal. They communicate to their kids that they are only worthy when they have achieved the highest, even if they have to cheat to get there.

And they call that love...SO far off the mark!

I continue to wonder why we care about celebrities’ opinions on life.

Prepare to meet your Maker...

If I had been in Hawaii when the ballistic missile alert was issued, I would have turned to Randy and said, “I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN!”

This is precisely the kind of event I expect to happen when I venture outside my safe zone. This, or a natural disaster of some sort: earthquake, volcanic eruption, tornado.

My safe zone, when I am feeling audacious, matches the boundary of Whatcom County. I confess that sometimes it is not even that big.

For some reason, I grew up believing that stepping outside of this area was akin to inviting a disaster to occur.

And therefore, I would have been unsurprised to get such an alert. In fact, my biggest surprise has been that I have traveled a fair bit and it has NOT happened to me yet.

It’s such fun to plan a vacation with me.

I have worked hard to get over this phobia, and learned how to enjoy the journey. I try to be rational, and have made good progress…but underneath is still the conviction of throwing responsibility to the wind and taking a grave risk, pun intended.

Yes, I know that statistically it is almost certain that I will die within the confines of my safe zone, whether by terrorist attack, natural disaster, accident or old age. And irrationally, I don’t worry about that. Ha!

I finally hit on something that comforts me when I step out into the World of Risk: I want to be the kind of person that you are grateful is there when disaster strikes.

So I guess I should imagine that after I said, “I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN!”, I would have followed with, “How can I help?” Because, after all, I have the blessing of knowing where I am going if the worst happens. How can I help while I am on the way there?

Hmmm. Not a bad question for everyday…

MY OBSERVATIONS ABOUT MERYL STREEP’S SPEECH AT THE GOLDEN GLOBES

I think the general populace would do well to remember that Ms. Streep comes from The Land of Perpetual High School, where your fate is directly linked to your popularity, and your ability to act like someone you are not.

Why should we care what she says? The world she lives in is nowhere close to what reality is for the majority of Americans.

I would rather hear from the winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Truck Driving, Auto Mechanic, Grocery Store Manager, or any other number of leaders who have spent a lifetime working with real people who face real problems.

Besides, if your fate is linked to your popularity you are compelled to say what is popular in The Land of Perpetual High School. Pretty much anything an actor says is suspect, though if they are bucking the trends, I might give a listen and see what would motivate them to abandon the security of Popular Opinion in their Land.

But mostly, I don’t spend much time worrying about what People Who Are Good At Acting Like Someone They Are Not have to say.

I suggest you do the same.

I'm already sick to death of The Election...

So the Iowa caucuses are meeting tonight, and I am sick to death of hearing about the pretentious Trump and the sprawling remainder of the Republican field; Hillary, the denying deceiver; Bernie, the inane. I’m also unutterably tired of the constant extrapolation of a relatively small number of facts that the press delivers. Redundancy and repetition abound.

It seems that politics is currently the country’s favorite sport.

And it IS a sport. Strategies for victory that include subterfuge, aggressive confrontational action, misdirection, secrecy, claiming or re-claiming territory, personal attacks, strong defense against untruths and misinterpreted communications.

It seems that no one has the issues correctly identified, or the solutions reasonably expressed and understood. And with that I feel a kind of despair that anything will ever be changed. The blather will continue, ad nauseum, ad infinitum, while the people of this country lose hope, and the freedom to make their lives as good as they can be.

Assaults on every side, and we have a bunch of candidates trying to make their approval percentage jump because they have some zingers to deliver against their opponents.

Yeesh. I’m thinking my despair is justified, and my intent to turn away from the noise and do nothing, entirely reasonable, if not an act of survival.

But then I remember reading this as I plodded my way through G. K. Chesterton’s very logical book, Orthodoxy: “…I thought (and still think) sincere pessimism the unpardonable sin.”He speaks of suicide as “the ultimate and absolute evil, the refusal to take an interest in existence; the refusal to take an oath of loyalty to life.”

I can’t help but think of my apathy and despair in the same light. If I believe that God is the omnipotent Creator, full of love and care for His creation, there is no greater disrespect than my pessimistic certainty that all is lost. I am choosing to look away, to disengage and doubt what my God can do, when I should be waiting expectantly for redemption and hoping for revival.

Another great writer, Oswald Chambers, reminds me: “Our Lord trusted no man, yet He was never suspicious, never bitter. Our Lord’s confidence in God and in what His grace could do for any man, was so perfect that He despaired of no one.”

I despair of men and women on this earth, and many are unworthy of trust, but I must not forget what God’s grace can do for any one – ANY one! I need to live in hope by engaging with the fray as best I can, from my small platform, which, in this case, mostly means praying, and praying fervently…God is GOD…He is capable of things beyond my understanding. I should be asking Him about that.

Many of us who call ourselves Christians are convinced that there have never been times as bad as these. The moral fabric of our nation seems to be torn beyond mending, soon to be rent and destroyed. I don’t believe we are that far gone. Indeed, we are heading toward the loss (some already experienced) of values we hold dear, but we have no idea how unique in this world, and how extravagant, are the freedoms we enjoy. We have little understanding of how dark and dangerous previous ages have been by comparison. There is much good that our country can and will do in the world in the ages ahead. We are not finished yet with freedom, but we need to protect it at each small erosion so it will not be swept away.

We can do this – if we despair of no one, and trust God. 

Simple thoughts about complex issues...

Americans are conditioned to expect solutions – complete solutions. When a problem is presented, we want it eradicated. Less than that is considered a fail. Close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades.

When faced with huge problems like the Syrian refugee crisis, we paint with a broad brush saying “Keep them out. The risk is too great.” Or “Let them in. We are compassionate people.” We’d like to choose A or B, and the problem is solved.

But it won’t be…both sides are right in their arguments. Short of a radical change of heart on the part of our administration, there is no possibility of defeating the source of this problem, and even then the complexities of the crisis do not bring a satisfactory solution for innocents in danger.

We have to do the thing that Americans are reluctant to do…fight the small battles. We cannot take a broad action, declare a clean win and then move on. We need to beat back the enemy, reclaiming ground one small parcel at a time. Expressing compassion in practical ways to those in distress will take tenacity, arduous effort, prudence and wisdom. And the progress will be painfully small and slow for our American mindset. We don’t appreciate or understand centuries of conflict between people.

While our government is capable of making broad condemnations and taking strong military action against the perpetrators of evil, (if only they would) compassion is best expressed by the people of this great nation. It is better to do the small things at hand, even if it means helping only a few and not all.

Compassionate Americans need to be asking themselves how they can help those few right now. It is a temptation to throw up our hands that the problem is too big to be solved, and absolve ourselves of action. It’s easy to hide behind the conundrum that all deserve help, but not all will receive it – so nothing should be done until all can be helped. A life saved, is a life saved. A family receiving the opportunity to live where they can use their talents to provide for themselves, is one less family caught in the crossfire of evil – territory taken back from the enemy, however small.

There are organizations and efforts now that are in need of our abundant financial resources to do this. We need to seek them out. I suggest Samaritan’s Purse, and Glenn Beck’s Nazarene Project. (Read about the Nazarene Project here: http://www.glennbeck.com/2015/09/09/the-nazarene-fund-frequently-asked-questions) I am sure they are more that are doing good work as well.

As well, I am challenged about my attitude toward the refugees that already reside in my community. How can I help them step into opportunities to experience freedom and autonomy? How can our community appreciate their identity, and encourage their education in liberty as they begin to enjoy a life without fear of danger and death? How do we live out our values to instill trust and hope in those who have suffered so much?

We are far from the danger zone; yet we are capable of simple and compassionate actions to assist those that are in the middle of the battle.

And we should.

In which I can't keep quiet about politics...

VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION 1

District Only Voting is the most Fair and Equal system available to our county.

Across our nation, states and counties are divided into districts. The premise behind these divisions is that not only should we give equal populations equal representation, but that we should recognize diversity of needs as dictated by different geographical locations, e.g. cities have different needs than do rural areas. Districts allow multiple geographical areas with diverse needs an equal voice in government.

Currently, our county government has been operating under the misguided premise that it is more fair for everyone in the county to vote on every council position, and that every councilperson should represent the entire county, striving to represent all citizens, no matter their district.

The problem with this premise is that not all citizens’ or locations HAVE the same needs or community values. Effective government recognizes this truth and, by creating districts and electing representatives that are residents of each, allows a diversity of community needs and values to be equally addressed by county government.

The creation of districts, and district-only voting ensures fair and equal representation for residents of our county. In recent elections under the county-wide system, residents of some districts were not allowed the privilege of selecting their own representative. Though residents of the district voted overwhelmingly for a candidate, the population outside of their district over-ruled their choice. They were left with a representative that they believed did not speak for their concerns and values.

There’s nothing fair about that.

An example, simply put, would be that residents of Seattle wouldn’t be happy if their government representatives were chosen by the residents of Quincy or Yakima…and vice versa.

Our federal government uses district only voting in each state, and also in our nation. If we follow the logic of the current county-wide voting, our nation should allow every state to vote on every Senator or Congressman. No one would say that is fair, and neither is it fair and equitable in a county situation.

The result of county-wide voting is to disallow fair representation for the diverse communities within the county by giving power to the majority of voters who are more likely to live in urban centers.  

If we want to see fair and equal representation for all citizens of Whatcom County, we will approve Proposition 1, district-only voting.

SuperBowl 49...It seemed sadly familiar...

What a game! What an ending!

 

I know…despite the disappointment, life is generally unchanged for almost everyone who cared about a Seahawks win…But last night, I felt a significant sadness, and heaviness. I even wondered at the strength of my reaction, and then, it came to me…

 

That crazy Snatch of Defeat from the Jaws of Victory was just too reminiscent of a bad experience we have had with football before.

 

Back in 2002, Jess was a junior in high school, playing football for Lynden Christian. He saw lots of playing time, and was called on, during the playoffs to be the PAT kicker when the senior in that position injured his knee. The Lyncs were having a great playoff run, as was Jess, and they had made it to the semi-finals in the Tacoma Dome. A tough, back and forth game against the Elma Eagles was played there. As the clock wound down to only seconds left, the Lyncs had a slim lead (19-14) and possession of the ball – but fourth down. The coaches called an unconventional play to seal the win. Our quarterback kept the ball and ran backwards to our end zone to take a safety – which would give the Eagles 2 more points, but would not allow them another possession. LC would win 19-16.

 

Except for one little thing…

 

Our quarterback executed the play but as he ran out the back of the end zone, he dropped the ball – IN the end zone. As spectators, we were all trying to figure out just what had been pulled off. The play was so unexpected! As we began to realize the game had been won…whistle blown, safety signaled, score change registered on the clock, time expired…I saw the Elma coach yelling and yelling at his boys. In response, one of the Eagles went to the ball in the end zone, picked it up, brought it to the ref and showed him that he had possession of the ball in the end zone…The ref signaled a touchdown…a WHAT????...and all the refs ran off the field, no consultations with the coaches. The scoreboard was adjusted to reflect the new score: Elma 20, LC 19.

 

It was just like last night: a moment of soaring elation followed by a gut punch that seemed inexplicable, and was completely unexpected…And a certain victory became a crushing loss.

 

And it all hinged on one little point of execution.

 

If you were feeling badly for the grown men who suffered disappointment last night, you can imagine how we were feeling for the young men of the Lyncs for whom this disappointment, and ensuing confusion about what happened, was a big event in their lives.

 

We were sad for many days…and worried about our quarterback, who had to carry more responsibility for his action than I think a kid that age should.

 

The sadness and frustration might have been somewhat mitigated if the refs had shown the grace to explain their ruling to our coaches and team. Their lack of integrity on this point left everyone feeling that there could be some injustice to the call that ended their season. And indeed, there may still be some debate about it to this day.

 

In the end, it was a marvelous opportunity for our boys and their coaches to show good character, and they did. Our quarterback handled this challenge with amazing maturity and perspective. Our coaches, though encouraged to protest, declined to do so. We would take our lumps, and not cause a kafuffle for Elma. Rules are rules, and it’s true: life is not always fair. They learned things about life, and values, and integrity that they would not have if the game was won.

 

Best of all, our entire community showed a level of caring and support for our boys that was an encouragement and a solace…for all of us, moms included.

 

Jess was awarded the WIAA Sportsmanship Award for that game, but that didn’t mollify him. To this day, he would rather have had the win…as would every kid that was on the team. They don’t just remember that day; they feel it.

 

…Just like I did last night when the Hawks won the game…except for one little thing.

 

This time, I have the benefit of the hindsight of our first experience. Some disappointments are great for a moment, but they pass. What happens is not as important as how you handle it.

 

I think we are seeing the Hawks handling this well (with the exception of a few minutes of ignominy on the field…BOYS!). I’m admiring their willingness to take the blame, to be grateful for the opportunity of playing, to compliment their opponent, to just look ahead to what they will do next. I’ve seen good character.

 

Oh, yes, people remind us that it’s only a game…Regardless, it can be used for good, in many ways.

 

Go Hawks!