this was my moms response on how to deal with my step mothers reaction from the previous few posts, please read those as well but this is very chruchy as my mother is a pastor and this is a sermon, but she is also a social worker and has many of those ideals so prepare yourselves....
Sermon
July 24/25, 2004
Pastor Karen
A few weeks ago I had dinner out with my oldest son, James. He’s 22 and he’s become a man who is full of hope. He wants to be a part of changing the world and making it a world that is fair and just for all people.
I can look back on his life and see the influence of two social worker parents, it’s all he’s ever heard, “we need to help other people.”
If nothing else, my kids have this one value absorbed in their bones.
As we sat there talking about our lives and sharing I told him some of my frustration with what’s happening in Minnesota and in our community.
Frustration with how money is used and frustration with issues like education and healthcare.
After listening to me for awhile he said, “Mom, you’re a pastor, people listen to you and respect you, why don’t you take leadership to organize the church to work on these issues???
After I listed my top ten excuses I felt convicted.
Convicted by my son who knows what I value and sees where I have failed to stand up to work towards making these changes.
Have some of you had this conversation? Or one very similar?
Maybe some twinges of guilt over the years for not following through on trying to make our community a better place?
When we read the paper or watch the news do you hear yourself saying many times….”this is wrong”.
We shouldn’t let it continue.
I wish someone would change this.
There’s a whole list of issues we can agree on…it doesn’t matter what political party you consider yourself.
As Christians we hold values that Jesus taught us that at the bottom line have to do with love for our neighbors.
And as my son pointed out to me, the church, the whole church ecumenically, has failed to collectively organize our power to make changes in our community to care for each other as neighbors.
In the culture of the church, we often shy away from the whole issue of power.
Some of us even consider “power” a negative word.
God doesn’t consider power to be a negative word.
Do you remember the story of when the early church received the power to go out to all nations?
At Pentecost the Holy Spirit gave us power.
Do you remember what book in the Bible this story is recorded in?
ACTS
It’s not called the musings of the apostles,
or the dabblings,
or the social concerns of the Apostles,
it’s called the ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.
[please follow the bulletin cover with me]
We live in a time in history in which the American dominant worldview is one of:
1. Isolation: I am on my own. It’s very sad for me to hear that our elderly people in this congregation when they have to go to have a medical procedure done, two women I recently spoke to, serious things like having her heart shocked or receiving a skin graft and they had to take a cab or arrange for the bus from the building they live in to drop them off and pick them up.
That’s not the way I want our elderly people to live. Do you agree with me?
I want someone to take them by car and hold her hand through the pain and be with her when she’s afraid and take her home and make sure she feels okay before she’s left alone.
Another example is kids who are home alone. Latch key kids who want to go outside and play in the street after school.
But now we live in a world in which moms have to tell their kids, “Stay inside until I’m home.”
It’s the only way parents can protect their children when they’re at work and unable to be home to watch the kids.
Because the neighborhood no longer cares for all our kids.
Scarcity: I am in competition for scarce resources.
How often do you find yourself trying to think through how much money you should give and one important thought is, ‘I don’t want to give too much or we won’t have enough?’
Or you feel jealous of someone who appears to have a lot more money or toys or cars – a bigger house, and you feel badly that you wish you had more.
2. Fear: I have to protect me and mine and fight for what is mine.
Every man is out for himself, you better stand up for yourself or you’ll be taken advantage of.
Don’t be a fool, no one is going to help you, you have to help yourself.
The disciples, James and John, might just as well be sitting in a church pew in the year 2004.
They express to Jesus the values of the dominant culture.
Are they really so far off? I don’t think so.
Power – can be a ticket to making sure you’re on top in a world that lives with isolation, scarcity and fear as dominant values.
But Jesus works with James and John with some powerful imagery of his own, the cup and baptism.
These two symbols turn the dominant worldview upside down.
There’s a paradigm shift for those who follow Jesus.
Jesus calls his disciples, each one of us, to a different set of values and to ACT on these in our community.
Let’s look at a few of our faith values that contradict the dominant world view.
FAITH VALUES
1. Community: All are made in God’s image and our lives are intertwined. Like the example in Acts, each gave according to their ability to those in need.
2. Abundance: God provides enough for all and we are stewards. Even in places we consider poor, places like the Phillips neighborhood or near north Minneapolis where we serve Loaves and Fishes, the homes I visited as a social worker when I worked for LSS, the people I’ve met share what they have with me.
They know at some deep level that God has given that they might give and so they share from what they have.
3. Hope: In partnership with God, we have the power to transform our communities by actively living out our faith.
This takes me back to my conversation with my son James.
Hope. I need to live my life with a belief in our power to organize to change the systems in our community that stand outside our values to love our neighbors.
Not be building more food shelves, although God knows we need them.
Not be educating people about how they may be eligible to receive a government subsidy,
Not by teaching our Sunday school children to collect for the homeless……..all of these are good things, but you know what?
They just become bandaids until we decide we are going to ACT to change the systems that enable people to continue to live in poverty.
Poverty isn’t rocket science.
I honestly couldn’t possibly figure out how to build a rocket to carry a person to the moon.
But even me, I can see how together we could end poverty in Minnesota.
It is doable and I do have hope in God’s people that with God’s help we can do this.
I believe that collectively we have the power in the church to effect our community by working with our government to make changes that are for the good of all.
Today I want to tell you about one opportunity to be a part of bringing your faith values to the way we shape and decide how we will live together here in Minnesota.
On October 10, at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, we can be a part of an event that brings hopefully 50 of our state legislators together with 4,000 people of faith.
It’s called Faith In Democracy.
It’s Republicans and Democrats coming together.
It’s people of faith gathering together in our hope that we can create through our power and organization the community that we hold in our hearts – where all people are valued and cared for.
Now I have to be honest on a personal level again.
Being a powerful person, using our power to lead or to organize is not easy. Stuff gets in the way.
Like those top ten excuses I mentioned earlier.
#1 is fear I’m afraid to take leadership.
I’m afraid to step up and take a stand on things because people may not like what I say and conflict is hard – especially here. I want you to be happy with me in my work.
I remember a story I once heard about a heckler who interrupted Nikita Krushchev in the middle of a speech in which he was denouncing the crimes of Stalin.
“You were a colleague of Stalin’s,” the heckler yelled, “why didn’t you stop him then?”
Krushchev apparently could not see the heckler and said, “Who said that?”
No hand went up. No one moved a muscle.
After a few seconds of tense silence, Krushchev finally said in a quiet voice,
“Now you know why I didn’t stop him.”
All of us who want to act as Jesus’ disciples have to work through our own fear. Because what we’re working towards – matters.
#2 Uncertainty I don’t know how to organize people to work together to effect change.
The good news is, that there’s people who do know how to identify an issue and form a strategy for how to act and help the people involved stay accountable to each other to do what we say we want to do.
They’re called organizers and their education, gifts and training are in the area of organizing people like us to act on what we want to change.
#3 Lack of Confidence I’m not sure I have the knowledge or skills.
I don’t want people to find out I don’t really understand how our political system works – it was a long time ago they taught us about government in school and I’ve forgotten, I don’t want to look like a fool or feel stupid.
I’m with you….but I’d hate to go to my grave realizing the reason I didn’t act in the world on the values I hold as a Christian is because I was too afraid to ask questions and show people I don’t understand….that’s just plain human that until we get into something fully we don’t really understand it all and how it works.
#4 Church and Politics don’t mix
Jesus was very political. He took on all the leaders of his day to challenge the systems in the government and in the church that oppressed the poor and those who had no power.
Martin Luther began the Lutheran Church by pinning a note on a door with 95 reasons why the church had to reform its direction.
There was corruption in the government and in the church and he acted.
The church needs to have a strong voice in politics and government. Not just from one perspective, like the evangelical far right, but from all those in the middle who hold the values of love for neighbor.
#5 Busyness I have a lot on my plate, life’s a game of picking and choosing and this isn’t my top priority.
True for all of us. At my husband’s church a few people found out during the coffee hour one Sunday that Elsie, an 80 year old long time member had drug dealers in her apartment building. It was scary and she felt afraid in her own building.
The people who heard about this said it’s not right for Elsie to live in fear and they organized a meeting with their councilman and the police chief and had Elsie tell her story.
They got on it and her building is now clear of drug dealers.
Sometimes it is only when something hits close to home with someone we know or care about that we get off the dime and it matters enough for us to do something to change it.
I think these same kind of issues exist in the lives of our members and in our neighbors lives.
I’m saying lets love our neighbors enough to care about the issues that effect them and work on the things that hit close to home in our community and Minnesota.
Let’s begin by having real conversations 1-1 in our church about the things we are passionate about and then let’s join together with those who have the same interests.
You can fill in some of the other top 10 reasons for not acting.
Just for a moment, I’d like you to name in your own mind what holds you back [pause] Then turn towards the person next to you and share. [allow a minute to share]
Jesus has given us the power to ACT.
Jesus has given us the vision for loving our neighbors.
Jesus promises to equip us for the task.
We have to say….I’m in, count me in Pastor Karen.
I want to be a part of the church organizing to share our values in the community.
I have placed a sheet for you to sign your name to in the sign up book in the narthex if you will commit to go with me on October 10, to the Faith In Democracy Event and join 4,000 other Christians who want to make a difference in Minnesota. I really want to see your name in the book.
When we were confirmed these words were spoken: [read from green book page p.201]
“You have made public profession of your faith. Do you intend to continue in the covenant God made with you in Holy baptism:
to live among God’s faithful people,
to hear His Word and share in his supper,
to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed,
to serve all people, following the example of our lord Jesus,
and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth?”
And you said, “I do and I ask God to help and guide me.”
Today, once again, I ask you to recommit to your promise to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.
Let us pray
Faithful Lord, you have set a vision before us and equipped us with the gifts that we need to bring peace and justice to a world in need. We ask this day that you would guide our actions and help us to organize ourselves in the church to love our neighbors in your name. Amen
Monday, August 23, 2004
read the preface in post below (my comments will be in bold)
Well Col, (my step mothers name is colleen) obviously I read the other e-mail first, here though you are asking some rather pointed questions. There is a certain naïveté which comes with being young and idealistic. I was there, I lived it. Does it mean in general terms that you are wrong to be that way, to fight for some of those causes, not at all. There is though a balance which must be struck. There is though a practicality and a sense of realism which must be introduced into the discussion. (makes sense)
There is not enough money on earth to fix all that is wrong, given the reality of life today.(probably true but have we tried, and there is certainly enough to get us half way there) Give all the money you want to “fix” all the ills which exist in the underdeveloped nations of this world and unfortunately, too much of what you give is “stolen” by the local government or those organized to manage the aid process. (true) Does that mean we don’t give? No, this means you learn to be selective as to where your assistance, in whatever form it might take, has the greatest impact. (weapons?)This applies whether you are an individual or the greatest nation on earth.
War is a terrible thing. Terrorism, one might argue is even more evil because its’ aim is to create the greatest amount of damage possible, on innocent people in order to undermine their will to resist. (not always true especially accordin to our standards of who terrorists are, by our standards the founding fathers were terrorists...) There are many acts of terrorism we have witnessed as a society during the last couple decades. Most of these acts of terrorism have been enacted in the name of God because of the religious intolerance which exists in so many places on this earth. (or by us in the name of money or "freedom")Arabs and Jews kill each other in the name of God, the Irish kill each other in the name of God, Muslims and Catholics kill each other in the name of God, Hindus and Muslims kill each other in the name of God.
I guess when the world was smaller and the risk of nuclear holocaust lied only with the Soviet Union and the United States, you could count on the balance of power to work. (right....so then those duck and cover videos were for?) You could count on those with the power to end life on earth to understand the futility of that course. Now religion enters into it, and the quickest way to become one with God is to die on the battlefield while maiming “your enemy”. There is no regard for life. Let’s complicate things a little further, give each of these terrorist regimes access to nuclear weaponry and give each of them the capacity to kill millions, hundreds of millions, maybe, even destroy the world. (has any of that even come close? and when we were supplying saddam with the weapons did we think he wasnt going to use them, rather just keep them in the refridgerator?)
So this is our brave new world. Do we stay on the sidelines hoping to negotiate a settlement, hoping they see the futility of their actions, hoping their hatred of mankind turns to love? (no) Do we placate as the world once did with the likes of Adolph Hitler, Benito Mussolini or the Emperor of Japan? (this is that question of if u had a gun to a young adolf hitlers head would you pull the trigger, i always answer no, but thats doesnt mean sit by and watch. there are plenty of routes to take that were not taken. same with saddam this time) Whether we like it or not, our role in today’s world will not allow us to risk the safety of our citizens, nor that of all of mankind’s by becoming an isolationist (true). Force is the only thing that will be understood. (false) Force is the only thing which can interdict this obvious terrorist inevitability. (false) Who knows, if done properly, this might even lead to the start of something new in the Middle East, though I doubt that.(so hes saying force will stop it but then saying he doubts that force will stop it) Given what I have seen and experienced in my life, military action is the right course of action, much to my chagrin. (the right course for whom? he just said it wouldnt help..and if it helps us now but doesnt stabalize the region then doesnt that bring 50,000 more terrorists to our doors in the future?)
Well Col, (my step mothers name is colleen) obviously I read the other e-mail first, here though you are asking some rather pointed questions. There is a certain naïveté which comes with being young and idealistic. I was there, I lived it. Does it mean in general terms that you are wrong to be that way, to fight for some of those causes, not at all. There is though a balance which must be struck. There is though a practicality and a sense of realism which must be introduced into the discussion. (makes sense)
There is not enough money on earth to fix all that is wrong, given the reality of life today.(probably true but have we tried, and there is certainly enough to get us half way there) Give all the money you want to “fix” all the ills which exist in the underdeveloped nations of this world and unfortunately, too much of what you give is “stolen” by the local government or those organized to manage the aid process. (true) Does that mean we don’t give? No, this means you learn to be selective as to where your assistance, in whatever form it might take, has the greatest impact. (weapons?)This applies whether you are an individual or the greatest nation on earth.
War is a terrible thing. Terrorism, one might argue is even more evil because its’ aim is to create the greatest amount of damage possible, on innocent people in order to undermine their will to resist. (not always true especially accordin to our standards of who terrorists are, by our standards the founding fathers were terrorists...) There are many acts of terrorism we have witnessed as a society during the last couple decades. Most of these acts of terrorism have been enacted in the name of God because of the religious intolerance which exists in so many places on this earth. (or by us in the name of money or "freedom")Arabs and Jews kill each other in the name of God, the Irish kill each other in the name of God, Muslims and Catholics kill each other in the name of God, Hindus and Muslims kill each other in the name of God.
I guess when the world was smaller and the risk of nuclear holocaust lied only with the Soviet Union and the United States, you could count on the balance of power to work. (right....so then those duck and cover videos were for?) You could count on those with the power to end life on earth to understand the futility of that course. Now religion enters into it, and the quickest way to become one with God is to die on the battlefield while maiming “your enemy”. There is no regard for life. Let’s complicate things a little further, give each of these terrorist regimes access to nuclear weaponry and give each of them the capacity to kill millions, hundreds of millions, maybe, even destroy the world. (has any of that even come close? and when we were supplying saddam with the weapons did we think he wasnt going to use them, rather just keep them in the refridgerator?)
So this is our brave new world. Do we stay on the sidelines hoping to negotiate a settlement, hoping they see the futility of their actions, hoping their hatred of mankind turns to love? (no) Do we placate as the world once did with the likes of Adolph Hitler, Benito Mussolini or the Emperor of Japan? (this is that question of if u had a gun to a young adolf hitlers head would you pull the trigger, i always answer no, but thats doesnt mean sit by and watch. there are plenty of routes to take that were not taken. same with saddam this time) Whether we like it or not, our role in today’s world will not allow us to risk the safety of our citizens, nor that of all of mankind’s by becoming an isolationist (true). Force is the only thing that will be understood. (false) Force is the only thing which can interdict this obvious terrorist inevitability. (false) Who knows, if done properly, this might even lead to the start of something new in the Middle East, though I doubt that.(so hes saying force will stop it but then saying he doubts that force will stop it) Given what I have seen and experienced in my life, military action is the right course of action, much to my chagrin. (the right course for whom? he just said it wouldnt help..and if it helps us now but doesnt stabalize the region then doesnt that bring 50,000 more terrorists to our doors in the future?)
anyway this is not the letter i will be writing back to my step mother, that will be more literate logical and i will have some proof as well as maybe some ideas that might help her see a different side, also i think i will post a sermon my mom wrote a few weeks ago. so sorry but it is interesting.
****PREFACE****HEY SO THIS IS A PREFACE TO THE UPCOMING POSTS
i recently found out my dad and step mother were attending the bush rally (meaning they are supporters) and this upset me to no end. but i figured that just meant i had to do something about it, so i decided i would talk them out of voting for bush. My first tactic came out of nowhere with a movie i happened to pick up from the uptown cheapo. it was a documentary (mostly interviews pushing a point) on the rise up to war with iraq and it was made by moveon.org which is a great organization, (though i dont follow up on a lot of their things). a sidenote to them is that they werent in fact created to get bush out but rather to push progressive agendas all around the country/world and so we can continue to expect more and more from them.
anyway this movie was brilliant, picking apart each speech for the lead up to war and using CIA agents and analysts, as well as political analysts and even white house staff members to contridct each statement made as a reason for war. it was actually quite amazing.
my step mothers response was irrational to say the least but illogical arguments followed and i became very frustrated. (my dad doesnt talk a lot during these arguments) my stepmother was raised wealthy catholic conservative BTW. anyway so after a hour or two i basically give up and she comes to the same conclusion as always which is "there is another side." though she feels no need to say what that other side is (because she chooses not to know about it, allthewhile believing in it)
her info comes from the post above this, her brother an ex military intelligence officer who was about to work for the cia but then had kids and didnt feel that would work. he writes her vague things with the overall assumption that she will listen no matter what (and she does)
her biggest thing from him is quote (cuz i have heard it so much) "there are things we dont know about, and they (the military and government) do. these are things we dont want to know, at least i dont" and thats a huge problem for me because the assissinations of former civil rights leaders were first proposed in those classified (need to know only) files and i think if that shit is continuing dont we want to know what our government that is for us by us is doing?
anyway on to her thing....
i recently found out my dad and step mother were attending the bush rally (meaning they are supporters) and this upset me to no end. but i figured that just meant i had to do something about it, so i decided i would talk them out of voting for bush. My first tactic came out of nowhere with a movie i happened to pick up from the uptown cheapo. it was a documentary (mostly interviews pushing a point) on the rise up to war with iraq and it was made by moveon.org which is a great organization, (though i dont follow up on a lot of their things). a sidenote to them is that they werent in fact created to get bush out but rather to push progressive agendas all around the country/world and so we can continue to expect more and more from them.
anyway this movie was brilliant, picking apart each speech for the lead up to war and using CIA agents and analysts, as well as political analysts and even white house staff members to contridct each statement made as a reason for war. it was actually quite amazing.
my step mothers response was irrational to say the least but illogical arguments followed and i became very frustrated. (my dad doesnt talk a lot during these arguments) my stepmother was raised wealthy catholic conservative BTW. anyway so after a hour or two i basically give up and she comes to the same conclusion as always which is "there is another side." though she feels no need to say what that other side is (because she chooses not to know about it, allthewhile believing in it)
her info comes from the post above this, her brother an ex military intelligence officer who was about to work for the cia but then had kids and didnt feel that would work. he writes her vague things with the overall assumption that she will listen no matter what (and she does)
her biggest thing from him is quote (cuz i have heard it so much) "there are things we dont know about, and they (the military and government) do. these are things we dont want to know, at least i dont" and thats a huge problem for me because the assissinations of former civil rights leaders were first proposed in those classified (need to know only) files and i think if that shit is continuing dont we want to know what our government that is for us by us is doing?
anyway on to her thing....
Friday, August 20, 2004
the grass is greener?
most people look at the place they are now and say another place is better maybe thats true, i mean there are less mosquitos in other places. but i find it funny that in st paul people look at minneapolis and think it sucks, or is dirtier, or has a higher crime rate etc. and its true is some cases. of course minneapolis looks at st paul and thinks the same.
according to the 2003 stats minneapolis as a city has a higher crime per population than st paul, but hennepin county has twice the number of people than ramsey county and its crime rate is lower for population.
so thas fun
most people look at the place they are now and say another place is better maybe thats true, i mean there are less mosquitos in other places. but i find it funny that in st paul people look at minneapolis and think it sucks, or is dirtier, or has a higher crime rate etc. and its true is some cases. of course minneapolis looks at st paul and thinks the same.
according to the 2003 stats minneapolis as a city has a higher crime per population than st paul, but hennepin county has twice the number of people than ramsey county and its crime rate is lower for population.
so thas fun
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
mike is a consumer whore (sorry for the word whore)
today i spent approx $710
items and services purchased included
cds
cdrs
oil change
carwash/wax
air filter
new mouse for comp
comp games
digital camera
bag memory and batteries for said camera
battery recharger
and of course Gum....
like i said (title)
also becky made me a really sweet hat which u will all get to see soon hopefully.
today i spent approx $710
items and services purchased included
cds
cdrs
oil change
carwash/wax
air filter
new mouse for comp
comp games
digital camera
bag memory and batteries for said camera
battery recharger
and of course Gum....
like i said (title)
also becky made me a really sweet hat which u will all get to see soon hopefully.
Sunday, August 15, 2004
Why's this fussing and a-fighting?
I wanna know, Lord, I wanna know
Why's this bumping and a-boring?
I wanna know, Lord, I wanna know now
We should really love each other (love each other)
In peace and harmony (peace and harmony),
oohInstead, we're fussing and fighting (fussing and fighting)
And them workin' iniquity (... iniquity)
Why's this fussing and a-fighting?
I wanna know, Lord, I wanna know (... know), I wanna know now
Why's this cheating and backbiting?(I wanna know ...)
I wanna know,
oh, Lord, I wanna know now
I wanna know, Lord, I wanna know
Why's this bumping and a-boring?
I wanna know, Lord, I wanna know now
We should really love each other (love each other)
In peace and harmony (peace and harmony),
oohInstead, we're fussing and fighting (fussing and fighting)
And them workin' iniquity (... iniquity)
Why's this fussing and a-fighting?
I wanna know, Lord, I wanna know (... know), I wanna know now
Why's this cheating and backbiting?(I wanna know ...)
I wanna know,
oh, Lord, I wanna know now
Thursday, August 12, 2004
fda approves two new drugs to help deal with dirty bomb contamination and other radioactive substances if exposed to humans.
thats pretty crazy at first but then i read a little report from the government that said that dirty bombs arent much more of a threat than regular bombs, have never been used, and when tested were abandoned because they werent as harmful as people though they would be, i go "well great, another drug to help nada?"
apparently the perceived threat as a "terror" device is what "terrorists" would be counting on, like use it in a crowded area and watch as people panic.
thats pretty crazy at first but then i read a little report from the government that said that dirty bombs arent much more of a threat than regular bombs, have never been used, and when tested were abandoned because they werent as harmful as people though they would be, i go "well great, another drug to help nada?"
apparently the perceived threat as a "terror" device is what "terrorists" would be counting on, like use it in a crowded area and watch as people panic.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
another post from someone else's thoughts
(from david's site after his michael moore post)
not that anyone cares anymore but uh i love michael moores films even though i do know he twists the facts because it gives the bias i like to see the one that makes sense to me, the bias of people in power should look out for those without it (jesus) instead of hurting more people (bush) and the fact that michael moore misquotes exaggerates and cuts and pastes doesnt bother me one bit because i know that o'reilly and tucker and bush and ashcroft and rumsfeld (especially rumsfeld) and all of them are doing it too. Its true there is no unbiased reporting and there are no real documentaries. documentaries on birds (winged migration) are still showing a bias (as in birds are beautiful and should be appreciated and such) and yes if we are holding bush to a standard of truth, we ought to hold michael moore to one as well, but i think the fact that bush's actions and words are 100 times as powerful as michael moores also means that we should hold him to a higher standard.
(from david's site after his michael moore post)
not that anyone cares anymore but uh i love michael moores films even though i do know he twists the facts because it gives the bias i like to see the one that makes sense to me, the bias of people in power should look out for those without it (jesus) instead of hurting more people (bush) and the fact that michael moore misquotes exaggerates and cuts and pastes doesnt bother me one bit because i know that o'reilly and tucker and bush and ashcroft and rumsfeld (especially rumsfeld) and all of them are doing it too. Its true there is no unbiased reporting and there are no real documentaries. documentaries on birds (winged migration) are still showing a bias (as in birds are beautiful and should be appreciated and such) and yes if we are holding bush to a standard of truth, we ought to hold michael moore to one as well, but i think the fact that bush's actions and words are 100 times as powerful as michael moores also means that we should hold him to a higher standard.
Monday, August 09, 2004
Hey david since i havent posted in a long time and dint have anything else to say i figured a post on that topic could be appropriate.
I do think that was a very well made stunning etc piece of propaganda and i think the republicans have definietely done their job with that one, because the way it was presented does indeed give the impression they want people to have and really i mean its not an entirwly wrong impression. so im gonna go into this piece by piece and hopefully not forget anything but thanks for bringing it up and i encourage everyone to go check that out. http://www.kerryoniraq.com
so first off i should say i dont really trust kerry all that much and i think he can be kind of tricky but not more so than bush, and even from a republican stance of traditional christian or conservative economic stance i dont see how any republican can not see how he has failed you. but anyway, chances are all presidents will fail in some regard. Its funny cuz i think one of the biggest questions people bring up is kerry on iraq, but lemme get to that in asec what im saying in this paragraph is that i dont think that presidents and nominees are wholly good or bad, i dont think they can win on every front and in terms of them as people i dont blame them for that but i do blame them while they are in the position, i do hold them accountable like i think CEOs of companies ought to be held accountable for stealing from their employees or making the world a shitty place (when those that do, do) so its not bush himself i cant stand but rather what he does. and yes that line gets blurry but the truth is i dont necessarily always think he is an asshole. anywho. the same with kerry. do i think he is better than bush? yeah by a long shot. but will he be perfect no. and i hope michael moore makes a movie about him as well. or a book cuz his books tend to have more info. anyway that said i will probably vote for kerry because i prefer to move on to a new struggle in hopes that it might be a small step in the right direction (but maybe it wont be and i will blame kerry and his staff) also nader would/will get my vote if mn looks full on kerry (but i see to many damn bumperstickers)
anywho lets get to the issue, i think its funny they take such a gray issue and turn it black and white, especially when i tend to do the same thing only find a better answer. (PEACE) anyway, i think in terms of kerry, his stance on vietnam changed because the war was shitty, and he didnt realize that till he got back, and i think he did the same thing here. and thats forgivable, not for those who may have lost their lives but kerry is not responsible the commander in cheif is. so maybe he was gung ho and when he realized how knee deep in shit they were he said "hey guys um, wanna try going back?" and thats better (if done safely) then saying "fuck it lets shoot our way out"
2nd i do think there is a difference between the point they are trying to make and what he did. because even in his earlier speeches he was saying "i give the go ahead after they exhaust other options" the problem is that this administration did rush to war, they did plant evidence (at least in the minds of the congress) they did convince them that there were WMDs and yes i blame the congress for being stupid and believing them but at the same time when the fbi the cia and several other top information groups say "they are bad guys" its hard to remember that those bad guys were once put in power by those same information agencies. (not that it should be, but apparently it is, stupid congress)
anyway i think he has tried to make it clear that he critisizes the administration for rushing, not having a plan, not being able to go through with what they did have planned and such. i blame them for losing history (sacking of museums) anyway. thats one of the things i think even pro war people can say "fucking bush" to because its clear that they werent ready, they knew exactly how to bomb but not how to rebuild. and thats what a responsible power (such as we should be) is supposed to be able to do. we "hated" communism because it was destructive and didnt give to personal freedoms and didnt support our economy but what did we just do to iraq, we blew up their buildings, put thousands out of jobs, didnt even have police up and running for like 3-4 months i mean we gave them mob rule at the point of our gun, and mob rule by gun point is not freedom. as for now, sure they get rigged elections in a few months, but in general our image over there has gotten worse, so something must be wrong there. so to blame bush for rushing to war is a different stance even though i think john kerry is for the war. I dont like him for that, but i like the fact he doesnt want to create more of these catastrophes because he has learned from the mistake we have already made. Some people say a good leader is one who pushes ahead through the swamp, i say one who can admit the mistake and then make up for it is better.
that wasnt exactly point by point like i wanted it to be but hey, hows life everyone?
I do think that was a very well made stunning etc piece of propaganda and i think the republicans have definietely done their job with that one, because the way it was presented does indeed give the impression they want people to have and really i mean its not an entirwly wrong impression. so im gonna go into this piece by piece and hopefully not forget anything but thanks for bringing it up and i encourage everyone to go check that out. http://www.kerryoniraq.com
so first off i should say i dont really trust kerry all that much and i think he can be kind of tricky but not more so than bush, and even from a republican stance of traditional christian or conservative economic stance i dont see how any republican can not see how he has failed you. but anyway, chances are all presidents will fail in some regard. Its funny cuz i think one of the biggest questions people bring up is kerry on iraq, but lemme get to that in asec what im saying in this paragraph is that i dont think that presidents and nominees are wholly good or bad, i dont think they can win on every front and in terms of them as people i dont blame them for that but i do blame them while they are in the position, i do hold them accountable like i think CEOs of companies ought to be held accountable for stealing from their employees or making the world a shitty place (when those that do, do) so its not bush himself i cant stand but rather what he does. and yes that line gets blurry but the truth is i dont necessarily always think he is an asshole. anywho. the same with kerry. do i think he is better than bush? yeah by a long shot. but will he be perfect no. and i hope michael moore makes a movie about him as well. or a book cuz his books tend to have more info. anyway that said i will probably vote for kerry because i prefer to move on to a new struggle in hopes that it might be a small step in the right direction (but maybe it wont be and i will blame kerry and his staff) also nader would/will get my vote if mn looks full on kerry (but i see to many damn bumperstickers)
anywho lets get to the issue, i think its funny they take such a gray issue and turn it black and white, especially when i tend to do the same thing only find a better answer. (PEACE) anyway, i think in terms of kerry, his stance on vietnam changed because the war was shitty, and he didnt realize that till he got back, and i think he did the same thing here. and thats forgivable, not for those who may have lost their lives but kerry is not responsible the commander in cheif is. so maybe he was gung ho and when he realized how knee deep in shit they were he said "hey guys um, wanna try going back?" and thats better (if done safely) then saying "fuck it lets shoot our way out"
2nd i do think there is a difference between the point they are trying to make and what he did. because even in his earlier speeches he was saying "i give the go ahead after they exhaust other options" the problem is that this administration did rush to war, they did plant evidence (at least in the minds of the congress) they did convince them that there were WMDs and yes i blame the congress for being stupid and believing them but at the same time when the fbi the cia and several other top information groups say "they are bad guys" its hard to remember that those bad guys were once put in power by those same information agencies. (not that it should be, but apparently it is, stupid congress)
anyway i think he has tried to make it clear that he critisizes the administration for rushing, not having a plan, not being able to go through with what they did have planned and such. i blame them for losing history (sacking of museums) anyway. thats one of the things i think even pro war people can say "fucking bush" to because its clear that they werent ready, they knew exactly how to bomb but not how to rebuild. and thats what a responsible power (such as we should be) is supposed to be able to do. we "hated" communism because it was destructive and didnt give to personal freedoms and didnt support our economy but what did we just do to iraq, we blew up their buildings, put thousands out of jobs, didnt even have police up and running for like 3-4 months i mean we gave them mob rule at the point of our gun, and mob rule by gun point is not freedom. as for now, sure they get rigged elections in a few months, but in general our image over there has gotten worse, so something must be wrong there. so to blame bush for rushing to war is a different stance even though i think john kerry is for the war. I dont like him for that, but i like the fact he doesnt want to create more of these catastrophes because he has learned from the mistake we have already made. Some people say a good leader is one who pushes ahead through the swamp, i say one who can admit the mistake and then make up for it is better.
that wasnt exactly point by point like i wanted it to be but hey, hows life everyone?