Protest against school desegregation (Little Rock, 1959), Photo by John Bledsoe of US News & World Report, Source Library of Congress (Donated to the public without restrictions)
“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
– Evelyn Beatrice Hall, summarizing Voltaire’s view
“…[F]alse brethren… came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage…[But] we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you” (Galatians 2: 4-5).
America is a “big tent” nation. We welcome those from all backgrounds and all faiths, with all points of view.
The Founding Fathers felt so strongly about freedom of speech that they enshrined it in the First Amendment. But the right to express our political and religious views has limitations. Lawyers make a comfortable living litigating obscenity, slander and libel, copyright, and sedition cases.
That last is particularly relevant. Sedition is conduct which tends to subvert authority and/or incite insurrection whether by ethnic and racial hatred or other means. Read more…
White Horse Temple Doorway, Luoyang, Photo by kevinmcgill of Den Bosch, Netherlands (CC ASA 2.0 Gen)
Over the past year or more, my mother has been so often hospitalized we have lost track. One hospital room looks much like another. One ambulance trip, one emergency room visit blends into the next.
As it turns out, the valley of the shadow of death is frequently linoleum tiled. Acrid medicinal odors, cries of pain, and calls for help define its borders. Silent prayers rise from its depths like incense. Angels wearing scrubs hover nearby.
This journey we call life takes us places we do not wish to go. Read more…
“We have got this tailspin of culture, in our inner cities in particular, of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning to value the culture of work, so there is a real culture problem here that has to be dealt with.”
– Rep. Paul Ryan“ ‘Six days you shall labor and do all your work…’ ” (Ex. 20: 9).
Rep. Paul Ryan is being criticized for his statement that generational poverty is the result of a Welfare-dependent way of life which does not value work.
Many have interpreted this as a derogatory comment on black culture, with the term “inner cities” serving as a coded reference. The remark is, also, considered racist because of the implication that black men are shiftless riffraff, a stereotype dating back to the days of slavery.
The reality, of course, is that the wealth of the Antebellum South was generated from the labor of slaves, while slave masters convinced themselves they were doing the work of the Almighty by giving slaves something useful to occupy their time. Most of us know that.
A Need to Work
But Rep. Ryan gets it right in one respect. Human beings must be taught to value work. We are not born with that knowledge.
What we are born with is a need to work, in other words, to do something useful with our lives. This encompasses the need to put bread on the table, but is greater even than that. This need is tied to our sense of identity, to our self-respect, and to our independence.
With purposeful work – the work for which we were designed by God – we can conquer the world. Without it we are chaff, subject to the winds of fortune.
When work is chronically unavailable, the need within us goes unmet. Whatever the color of our skin, we grow restless, then angry, and finally despondent. We take up other activities – lawful or not – in an attempt to fill the void. We lash out randomly at whatever or whoever is within reach. Attempt to numb the pain with sex, drugs or alcohol. Deep down, however, the wound still festers.
This is what we see in our inner cities: young people searching for something they cannot find. Hopes dashed, dreams shattered. And all against a background of poverty. Read more…
Michelangelo’s “Rebellious Slave” (Louvre), Photo by Yair Haklai (PD)
Those of you familiar with the perfection of Michelangelo’s “David” or “Pieta” may not know that he created a series of sculptures loosely referred to as the slaves, prisoners or captives.
Art critics argue over the merit of these – the central issue being whether Michelangelo intended them as finished works of art or not. Details on these statues are vague, chisel marks still clearly visible.
The figures though are striking. Incomplete, they struggle not only to free themselves from their chains, but from the very stone in which they are encased.
The Figure Within
Michelangelo’s entire approach to sculpture was to envision the figure within. He saw his role as first identifying that figure, then removing unnecessary elements to reveal the image present all along.
God works in much the same way with us. Like a sculptor, He shapes us to an image only He can see. Bit by bit, He removes unnecessary elements, always aware of the ultimate outcome. Read more…
Homeless veteran on the streets of Boston, MA (2008), Photo by Matthew Woitunski (CCA – 3.0 Unported)
There was an old pop hit titled We Built This City which contained the line, “We built this city. We built this city on rock and roll.” An appealing lyric, if not entirely accurate.
Nehemiah was a man concerned with building – or more precisely rebuilding – a city. With the population of Judah forcibly deported during the Babylonian Captivity in the 6th Century BC, Jerusalem fell into ruin. When Persia, in turn, conquered Babylon, Jewish captives were permitted to return to Jerusalem. They did so in three waves. Nehemiah led the third such wave, and began rebuilding the defensive wall around the city.
Though Nehemiah was not a builder, he was an exceptional leader and a man of faith. The Book of Nehemiah is effectively a manual on godly leadership. It is believed to contain prayers from Nehemiah’s own journals, the language is so personal.
“Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were few, and the houses were not rebuilt” (Neh. 7: 4-5).
Father, great and awesome God, hear the prayers of Your children now, as You heard the prayer of Nehemiah on behalf of Your people. Keep Your promise of mercy toward those who love You and observe Your commandments.
Our cities are in ruins, Lord. Poverty, drugs, and crime have decimated them, as they have decimated the lives of the people living in them.
We cry out to You, Father. The task before us is enormous. We cannot accomplish it without You.
Restore us, Father. Revive us. And help us rebuild once more.
Amen
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
https://avoicereclaimed.com
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
https://avoicereclaimed.com
Unnamed woman, age 70, from Greeley, Nebraska, Photo by Dorothea Lange (1940), Source National Archives and Records Administration (NARA No. 1372774, ARC Identifier 521788), (PD-By Govt. Officer or Employee as part of official duties)
“Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails” (Ps. 71: 9).
When asked, my mother proudly proclaims herself American, in heavily accented English. A naturalized citizen of the United States for over 50 years, she has owned a home here, raised a family, voted regularly, and paid taxes in this country.
In her 70s, however, she had difficulty obtaining a state issued photo identification card. That my mother was seriously ill at the time only exacerbated the situation. Repeatedly hospitalized, she was asked over and over for a photo ID she did not possess.
With no alternative, my mother was required to retell her life story again and again. Since she had earlier suffered a stroke, this was difficult (and embarrassing) for her. It was, also, distressing, as she felt the inquiries impugned her integrity. There was little I could do to aid or protect her.
Funny thing about documentation… Read more…
“Why seek ye the living among the dead?” (Luke 24: 5) by John Stanhope, Art Gallery at New South Wales, Source/Photographer UAGDbjen5rNJDg at Google Cultural Institute (PD-ArtlPD-Age 100)
The undead are popular these days. They are featured in numerous films, video games, and television programs.
The concept of ravenous dead restored to a perverse version of life requiring that they devour human flesh has multiple origins. Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein are just two. Director George Romero’s much-imitated horror flick, Night of the Living Dead, is another. The Scandinavian draugr, the Chinese jiangshi, the Arabian ghoul, the Jewish golem, and the European revenant have all contributed to the lore.
Few enthusiasts of this genre realize that the dead walk among us. They fall into three categories: those worn past the point of exhaustion by the effort simply to make a living; those unmoved by the plight of their fellow man; and those unsaved, whatever their economic status.
On any given day, heading to work at 5AM or home from the job at midnight, millions of Americans living below the poverty level – and millions more overseas – struggle to get from one day to the next. On buses and subways, behind counters and newsstands, holding bedpans or brooms, these men and women are largely invisible to us. They fill a need, but are often overlooked. They might as well be furniture. Read more…
Declaration of Independence, Author Thomas Jefferson, Source http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html (PD)
“My country, ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing…”— My Country ‘Tis of Thee, lyrics by Samuel Francis Smith
I am the proud daughter of immigrants who came to this country in search of a better life. As a child, I drank in the American Dream with every glass of milk, the promise on which immigrants still stake their lives and fortunes, that with hard work they can achieve a life with more possibilities, if not for themselves, then for their children.
Work hard my parents and grandparents did. Scrimp, save, and do without. Long before the word “recycling” ever existed, my grandmother kept a large can beneath the sink for the shortening she would use, over and over. Under her roof, paper bags and pieces of aluminum foil were carefully folded and put away, until they might be needed again. Socks were darned; clothing was washed, mended, then handed down to the next child.
Without a single 8th grade education among them, my parents and grandparents managed to purchase a home, and raise two daughters who actually finished college; a banker and a lawyer – girls yet! – who went on to make their way successfully in the world.
Growing up in an immigrant home, I had the ideals in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address fused into my bones. This was a country in which pedigree did not matter. This was a nation in which to dream BIG. So I grew up believing.
But I woke one day to find that the homeless could be seen on every street corner. To find that manufacturing jobs had been sent overseas to profit large corporations. I woke to find that someone searching diligently for employment could be out of work not just for months, but years. That, despite this, the unemployed were labeled unmotivated, slothful, and the disabled labeled malingerers.
I woke to find that American children in American cities were attending American public schools without text books. Read more…
“His truth shall be your shield and buckler” (Ps. 91: 4).
Truth is slipping away from us, and ignorance taking hold. This is a dangerous trend.
Opinion rather than accuracy governs public discourse. We applaud the clever sound bite, the pungent tweet, but must rely on search engines to locate the facts bearing on a subject. This makes for intellectual laxity. Children learn the rules to 15 different video games, but not the capitol of Nebraska.
According to the National Adult Literacy Survey, 42 million Americans cannot read at all. Others can read, but lack comprehension because their rudimentary education failed to provide them sufficient general knowledge for context.
Television programs about aliens now purport to be history; the search for “Bigfoot” and ghosts purports to be science. Paranormal abilities are seriously studied, with children encouraged to explore their own. Nostradamus has become a cottage industry. Psychic hotlines abound. Housewives claim to be clairvoyant.
The Founding Fathers feared mob rule, and justly so. An ignorant populace can be lied to more easily, whether by political or religious leaders. History can more easily be manipulated.
As Christians, we know that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14: 6). Every other source of information is secondary at best. We must hold fast to that knowledge, as the tide of truth goes out.
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
https://avoicereclaimed.com
