Floridians... Get Out and Vote!!

If you live in Florida, today is primary voting day... Voting is an important constitutional right and responsibility as a citizen of the United States!!  So get out and vote!!!

Trayvon Martin and Hermeneutics for Life...

(Originally posted by me on:  dear world... postcards from life... )

I'm guessing that you may be wondering what the word "hermeneutics" means...  in theology, it is a fancy word for how people approach the reading, study and understanding of the Bible...  are we unbelieving or suspicious of Biblical scripture even before we read it ... or do we approach scripture with a mind-set of acceptance and belief before reading it?  You can think of these as ends of the "hermeneutics spectrum" with a whole lot of ways to approach scripture in-between...

Now you are wondering, "So what?"... 

I suspect we all have a hermeneutic for how we approach other people - our family, our friends, our acquaintances, the people we don't know... that this hermeneutic is different and shifting for the various people we encounter and the times we encounter them... that there are other complicating factors we are not even aware of that influence how we approach others... factors that have been ingrained in us through family and/or societal expectations from the time we were infants...

We rarely even think of any of this, as we see another person and evaluate, judge and approach them...

Again, "So what?"

I think we need to be honest with ourselves... to recognize and pay attention to the underlying factors that guide how we approach others...  our "hermeneutics for life", as it were... and I believe that we need to push back against the ones that would have us immediately be suspicious and perhaps fearful of the people we don't know, the people who are dressed differently, or who talk differently, or who (       ) differently (you can fill in the blank)... the people who we think of as "those other people"... 

Maybe Trayvon Martin might still be alive if George Zimmerman had done just that...  

Maybe all the Trayvon's of the world might still be alive...

Today.... Get Out and Vote!!!!

We who are citizens of the United States of America have a privilege that many Americans take for granted, because they have never known anything different...  we have the right to go to the polls and vote for the candidates of our choice.  Unfortunately, there are many who do not take advantage of this privilege...  no, not privilege...  this responsibility!!  It is our responsibility as citizens of the United States to vote for those who will be our representatives at all levels of government.

Why?

Well, it has been awhile, but somewhere in my education, I learned about The Gettysburg Address, in which then President Abraham Lincoln referred to the government of the United States of America as a government "of the people, by the people, [and] for the people."  He could refer to our government in this way, because we, as ordinary citizens of the United States, could go to the polls and choose our leaders!!

Granted, in President Lincoln's day, not all people over the age of majority who had been born in and lived in the United States had the right to vote...  or were even considered to be citizens...  it was not until the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was ratified in July of 1868, that all persons, born or naturalized in the United States, were legally assured of citizenship status within the United States and within the individual state in which they resided...  and it was not until the 15th Amendment [ratified in February of 1870] and the 19th Amendment [ratified in August of 1920] that all people, regardless of sex, race, color, or previous condition of servitude, were given the right to vote.

But... we in the 21st century, all of us who are legal citizens of the United States of America, and who are above the age of majority [18 years old], no matter whether we are male or female, no matter what our race, ethnic background, socio-economic status or religious creed might happen to be...  we still have the government that President Abraham Lincoln described as "of the people, by the people, [and] for the people."  It is because of this very reason that we have a responsibility to exercise our privilege and our right to go to the polls and vote!!

Being able to vote for those who will be our representatives at all levels of government is what gives us Americans a government that is "of the people, by the people, [and] for the people."  Voting is the fundamental thing that gives us a "voice" in our government!!

So, take the time...  exercise your privilege... your right... your responsibility...  let your voice be heard...

Today...  get out and vote!!

worries...

I must admit... I am worried about America...

There are many problems that we face as a nation...  unemployment...  war...  people losing their homes...  the economy...  

Two years ago as we elected a new president there seemed to be so much hope...  "Yes we can!" was the rallying cry...  in spite of the fact that the problems we faced did not seem to have an easy end in sight... "Yes we can!" was our answer...  

Our new president told us in his Acceptance Speech as President-Elect as well as in his Inaugural Address of the many problems we faced as a nation...  the economic recession being only one of them...  he told us that we would need to work together to find the solutions to our problems and that it would take time... that there were no quick fixes... that full recovery might not even be accomplished within a single term of office...   and still we answered, "Yes we can!"

What has happened to us Americans?

Are those of us who are older and in influential and wealthy positions within our country so secure in our own financial futures that it really doesn't matter to us about those who are struggling?   Has our thinking become, "We have what we want and need, so who cares about those who don't!"?

Have we older adults become so selfish, unfeeling and uncaring [unless of course the problems touch our own "pocketbooks"] ... or have we become so hungry for political power that we give up our common sense, civility and integrity to get it?  Are those who are in a political office so unwilling to work together with others who do not belong to their particular political party, that they are willing to sacrifice those for whom they are supposed to be working?   [...in case you aren't sure who I mean, I am talking about us common, not so wealthy or influential folk...]

And what about our younger adults?  Have we in our country under the age of 25 or so become so enamored with fast foods and the instant access that the internet gives us to almost anything and everything that we want, that we have forgotten what it means when someone tells us there is no quick fix…  that things will take time for us to recover fully?    Are we two year olds who throw tantrums and stamp our feet because we want it “NOW!”…and then because we have not gotten what we want as fast as we want, we lose hope, we give up and we give in to fear? 

What happened to the hope in the seeming infinite possibilities that existed two years ago, in spite of the difficulties we were enduring and that were sure to continue?  Has our, "Yes we can!" turned into, "No we won't!"

What has happened to us Americans that live in “the home of the free and the brave”?  Have we lost our courage in the face of those who would use fear and half truths and innuendo and outright lies for political power and gain, all the while hiding behind flashy smiles, cute “mama bear” rhetoric, and pretty faces?

Has the “home of the free and the brave” instead become a cesspool of fears and lies in which its residents have become mired?

Yes, I am worried about America... because I am worried about Americans!!

bullying = abuse = big problem...

Recently I have heard more in the news about young people who have killed themselves because they were being bullied by others...   picked on mercilessly because they seemed "different"...  or "gay"...  or "nerdy"...  or ...  well, actually, someone who is going to be a bully doesn't really need a reason...  I suspect they just feel as if they have a right to be a bully...  and if the person being bullied doesn't like it? Well, whose gonna make the "bully-ers" stop, anyway?

Bullying has probably been around as long as people have existed...  it is an old, old, old problem that has mostly been overlooked with its consequences underestimated...  by parents, teachers and school administrators alike.  The stock answers ... "its just a part of growing up" ... "it'll toughen you up" ... "oh, its just harmless fun" ... "they didn't really mean anything by it" ... just are not acceptable anymore!!

Even worse, the attitude that the victim of bullying "deserved it", because they are perceived as gay, or because they are gay, is unconscionable!!  Whether or not you like a person, their life-style, their religion, or even their favorite sports team... does not give you the right to bully someone else!!

Bullying and intimidation is abuse, pure and simple!!   How many more children, teenagers, and college students will choose to die because they see death as the only way to escape being bullied, before people will begin to choose to help those who walk around with a "target" on their backs?  Yes...  it is much easier to ignore the problem or talk about the ones being victimized in disparaging ways than it is to really try to tackle the problem...  but we must find a way to help the victims...  to end bullying... we are losing too many precious lives!!


[video link]

Telling the Truth

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."                                                                  ~George Orwell