Skip to main content

Fear and the OTHERS

I'm afraid we're afraid.

We don't like what we don't know. We don't like what makes us uncomfortable. We don't want to have to think outside the box, to think revolutionary thoughts, to think very much at all...

It is very interesting.

When I see bumper stickers that say things like - everything I need to know about Islam I learned on 9/11...

When I listen to people regurgitating Fox News, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, etc (guys who are admittedly just trying to make a buck, and don't really honestly believe what they are saying even as it comes out of their mouths) like they're some sort of expert...

When everything becomes a frenetic and emotional appeal...

When patriotism is not the last refuge of the scoundrel, but the first...

When we elect politicians either because that's the best they can do, or worse, we choose the lesser of two evils (because doesn't that imply that they're both evil?)...

When I hear talk about closing the borders and starting a massive deportation scheme...

When I see people promoting drug tests for welfare recipients...

We're afraid. We are running scared and we are being driven by a laughing, gleeful media that picks up the dollars as they fall jiggling from our pockets.

I wonder when the point comes in someone's life - someone who is an otherwise rational, thinking person - when they turn over their ability to think to a smiling face on the TV or frenzied voice on the radio?

When do we abdicate our complexity to cute bumper sticker phrases and overly simplistic pithy rhetoric?

When do we wholesale buy in to the grand, sweeping platitudes of the oiled media machine and their spokespeople?

What is it that makes us so afraid of others? Those who are different from us? Those who make us uncomfortable? Those who may look different from us, or behave different, or who make a different amount of money? And WHY?!?

I just don't understand.

Interestingly, and perhaps a bit ironically, these people are really people who should know better. These are they who claim to follow the Savior. These are they who claim charity as one of their most basic and fundamental principles. These are they who claim to follow the teachings of a Man who said that the rich will hardly get to heaven... who taught that we should sell all we have and give it to the poor... who said if someone wants your coat, give him your cloak also... who taught of Samaritans and lepers and prostitutes and tax collectors and how they were the salt of the earth...

It makes me a little dismayed, frankly. Discouraged. Because these are not the principles that were taught by the Prince of Peace.

We need to overcome our fear. The only way I know how to do that is to love. To have real, Christ-like regard, respect, and appreciation for ALL of God's children. Because, at the end of the day, we're all in this together. And we are all alike unto God. Vermis sum.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Other Art

I'm not sure we appreciate photography as much as we do other art forms. Part of this comes from the reality that surrounds and permeates a photograph - it's very, very real, and the photographer strives for clarity and crispness in the representations. Perhaps this is why black and white images continue to be relevant - they strip away extraneous information (color) and leave us with something that is at once familiar and also non-existent - for nothing exists in black and white. Nothing. I also think that pictures are becoming too common-place... Everyone has a camera in their pocket, and while that's a very democratic thing (everyone can express themselves in a picture easily and readily, and can find an audience for these images, which are casually taken and casually viewed, and perhaps just as casually forgotten) I think that we embrace that casual attitude, and it spills over to all aspects of the media, making it impotent. So I read this article this morning: h...

Lucky!

So Tomorrow is Amie's birthday. The 12 th is Andy's. The 14 th is Alex's. And the 26 th is mom's. Happy birthday everyone. I recently found that a member of our ward has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer has a survivability rate of less than 5% and you never, ever kick it, even if you live. Once diagnosed, people are expected to live about six months. My wife and I were talking about this wonderful woman. There are very few (too few) people in this world who shine. Literally. This sister shines with a light that is perceptible and discernible . The world will literally be a darker place without her in it. Life is short, folks. Too short for hard feelings, too short for pain and misunderstanding. I love you all so much. Sorry this one is such a downer... I don't mean to be lugubrious on your birthdays... I consider myself lucky to be your brother. You have and continue to bless me and my family in many ways, for which I will be eternally gra...

Excommunication

My heart is heavy this morning. I read that Kate Kelly and others are being brought up on Church disciplinary action. For those who are unfamiliar with the process/proceedings of LDS Church discipline, it can be a bit mystifying. There are several levels of censure that the Church may impose. These range from a simple removal of some privileges for a short period of time to the most severe action - excommunication. When one is excommunicated, the person's membership in the Church is terminated. It is a very extreme measure, and for the faithful it can be a very difficult thing to consider. What people don't understand - what is nearly impossible for someone outside the proceedings to understand - is the amount of love felt. It's discipline. It's intended to be harsh (at times). And it's intended to be unpleasant. But it is done with love and care for the person. Since excommunication is such an extreme measure, it is really only very rarely applied. There are ...