Bushwhacked again?

I was trying hard not to tune in to Bush's State of the Union address, because it seemed, from all indications, he would be calling for "more of the same," and "Stay the course." I gave in to temptation, though and tuned in for the speech. Here are some of my impressions:

The Good (sort of):

-I was pleased that Bush is finally acknowledging that "climate change" is occurring, and that carbon emissions are at least partly to blame. I was also pleased to hear about his call to reduce gasoline consumption and increase alternative fuel and energy sources.

This is not enough though- he is still in favor of allowing big business to continue to pollute the environment, largely with impugnity since he rejects any limits on emissions or strengthened clean air and water standards.

Combatting AIDS and malaria in Africa- he is proposing another $ billion or so of relief funds to help fight disease. That is encouraging and I hope he and congress follow through on it.

No Child Left Behind- this is a good program with great promise, IF and only IF it is adequately funded at the federal, state and local levels- with a Democratic majority in congress, I feel this may be possible. I am concerned that public education funding not be diverted or undermined, though.

The Bad:

His rhetoric about "the war on terror" sounded much like fear-mongering and alarmist speech, designed to get support of Americans by scaring people out of their wits by raising up some terrorist bogey men. Terrorism is a real threat- no dispute there, the way Bush has exploited this issue to raise public fear, however is disgraceful.

"To win the war on terror we must take the fight to the enemy..." hmm... so how does the War in Iraq have anything remotely to do with 'taking the fight to the enemy??'

If he were really serious about this, he would have committed all our forces to root out bin laden and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan when he still had the chance in the weeks and months after 9/11...


The Ugly:

What about the people of New Orleans? Apparently the millions of people affected or displaced by Katrina have been forgotten by our commander in chief- not even a mention in the entire speech, unless I missed it somewhere...

Mr. Bush also went back to that tired theme of "they hate us for our freedom"

He is totally clueless about Iraq- Bush tries to present himself as some sort of deliverer who swooped into a chaotic Iraq to bring them freedom. He took out Sadam after falsely trumping up the bogus WMD claims, then pulling the plug on the weapons inspection process before they even had a chance to find anything.

The main thing Bush has brought to Iraq is more chaos, vicious civil war- that was not there before we invaded, and lots of casualties- 3300 American troops and counting, tens of thousands of brave American men and women seriously injured and some dismembered by the vicious improvised explosive devices (IEDs)... PLUS, by some reliable estimates (Lancet study, and U.N. estimates), hundreds of thousands of Iraqi casualties.

And what ever happened to the "rebuilding plan" and "democracy" in Iraq?? Non-existent. Instead, millions of people in Iraq are still without electricity and drinking water. Maliki is basically a puppet ruler with little or no real power or authority. The Iraqi military is another pathetic rag-tag bunch that we have cultivated a codependent relationship with, rather than empowering them to restore order, as this disturbing story from the New York Times illustrates.

How is sending tens of thousands of more American troops into such a zone help lead to any sort of tenable solution to the crisis in Iraq that Mr. Bush is, at least partly, responsible for creating?? I believe it will only further exacerbate the situation, encourage more co-dependence in the Iraqis and, sadly lead to more casualties and shattered lives.

On the whole, I am very troubled by this speech. And now, the proposed "solution" to "win in Iraq" is this "surge"?? By sending tens of thousands of more American troops into harm's way without any substantive changes in tactics, he thinks things are going to change for the better??

Let us all pray for discernment and guidance for our leaders, and also courage and boldness for those in a position to hold our leaders accountable. Ultimately, that is EACH ONE OF US... Call or write your congressional representative and even President Bush, and let them know what you most want them to work on to help make our nation and world a better place.

Here's hoping and praying for peace,

John

The Genius of Miles (Jazz as Spiritual Metaphor-II)

I have been reflecting more and more recently on the art of jazz as a metaphor for spiritual life.

I've been listening to Kind of Blue- recorded by jazz trumpet legend Miles Davis in the early 1960s. Apparently, the album is the best-selling jazz recording of all-time- and with good reason- it is a true masterpiece of artistry. The pre-eminent ensemble of Miles, piano geniuses Bill Evans & Wynton Kelly, sax giants John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderly, as well as Paul Chambers on double bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums.

These names may not mean much to you if you are not a huge jazz fan, but pick this CD up and give it a listen, and you will soon experience what I am talking about. There is an artistic synergy- full of creative permutations, intricate explorations of every melodic, harmonic and rhythmic nuance that leaves no stone unturned on this album.

An on-going dialogue and negotiation of sorts unfolds before one's ears. Truly amazing to behold- even listening to a recording of it after all this time.

Here is a snippet of some early footage of Miles, Coltrane and a larger ensemble playing for a live TV broadcast (shortly after Kind of Blue was recorded):

All I can say is "wow!" There is a creative flow and interplay there that is quite rare!

You may be asking "how is this spiritual??" Well, jazz is a unique, creative expression that has a basic, yet elegant structure, around which gifted musicians combine to make something wonderfully rich, and energizing, that often transcends words.

Authentic spiritual growth is like jazz in some key ways: it occurs in dialogue and/or relationship, it is the result of a creative synergy, and it inspires and uplifts us in ways we cannot fully express in words. More than that, while jazz is ethereal and fleeting, (even though we have these great masterpieces on recordings), our spiritual relationship with God transcends even space and time. Pretty amazing stuff! So, enjoy great jazz and be inspired; deepen your walk with God and experience the transcendent One, with whom we can also have an enriching personal relationship.

Peace on the journey,

John

"The Surge" as Bush's deus ex machina?

In ancient Greek and Roman dramas, the clever playwrights sometimes "painted themselves (or at least their audience) into corners" with plot lines that seemed to have no clear resolution in sight...


Alas, enter the deus ex machina to save the day! Homer's The Odyssey is one classic example... the protagonist, drawing on unseen forces (or calling upon "the gods") to somehow pull a victory out of a hat and triumphantly save the day- presto > from zero to hero!

Another more contemporary example (somewhat loosely based on Homer according to some critics), is the Coen brothers film "O Brother, Where art Thou"



In which three country bumpkin con-men set out on a wild chase to find hidden treasure (and maybe even try and prove their innocence and redeem themselves)... It looks almost certain they are going to get caught, and end up right back on the chain gang making big rocks into small rocks... but lo and behold, enter their deliverer... metaphorically represented by the elderly blind man on the railroad push cart, to lead them to the promised land > a modern day deus ex machina (or god in the machine)!

Meanwhile, George Bush the younger, is realizing that he is a lame duck president, and wants desperately to do something- ANYTHING to try and salvage his reputation, plummeting approval numbers and quagmire of a war in Iraq. So his handlers dig deep into their playbook, searching hoping for some sort of "hail mary pass," a deus ex machina, if you will, to try and win the game in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter and victory from the jaws of defeat, and re-write Bush's developing legacy as one of the most incompetent foolishly stubborn, and ineffective presidents in American history. Bush, Cheney and Rove ain't the Soggy Bottom Boys, though... (or are they??)

So what do they come up with in their tactical brilliance (drumroll please)... "The Surge"... first it was "shock and awe" (in a war totally waged on lies- remember the WMD tall tale?)... now our illustrious president claims that sending tens of thousands MORE troops into harm's way, and throwing them into the middle of a raging civil war of rival factions, that were largely created by this ill-advised war, and somehow, MORE OF THE SAME, is going to win the day?!?

By the way, did anyone else find it more than a little unsettling to see the smug glee and hubris with which Mr. Bush seemed to exhibit when speaking about the war in Iraq on the recent 60 Minutes interview?

I want to be very clear that I strongly support our brave troops and their families, and pray for their success and safe return...

I do NOT support, however, this administration's gross mismanagement of and dishonesty about their motives for this conflict... Mr. Bush must be held accountable, otherwise can you say "national nightmare, part II"?

Here's hoping and praying for peace, and greater accountability from our leaders.

Some of my fav CDs from this past year

Here are some my favorite CDs that I discovered, or re-discovered during this past year (some are recent and some have been around a while)... I am a huge jazz and classical guitar fan, but also enjoy many styles of music:

(Some of) the books I read in 2006

These are some of the more memorable books I read in 2006- when I have a little more time and can think of something semi-intelligent to write about them, I will post a few mini-reviews... in the meantime, take a peek and check out any you haven't seen yet:

Books I am reading (or thinking about reading) now...

Since Christmas I have been stocking up on books I saw on some of those end-of-the-year reading lists...

Along the way, I even found some others that weren't on the list, but captured my attention. (By the way, my apologies for the rather hodge-podge, somewhat disjointed appearance of this post- I am still learning how to embed images in my bloggings- any helpful hints for the technologically declined gladly accepted!)...

Here are the books I am reading now:

The Faith Club- Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver & Priscilla Warner

At Canaan's Edge- Taylor Branch


The Politics of Jesus (no not the Yoder book- although that is definitely a classic!)- Obery Hendricks

Letter to a Christian Nation- Sam Harris

As you have done to the least of these...

One of the gifts my wife and I bought for our six year old daughter this Christmas was the re-release of "The Little Mermaid" on DVD. When I was cueing it up to watch it with her one Friday evening, we noticed a little gem of a short animated adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's poignant story The Little Matchgirl...

Here is a link to the recent animated rendition of it I found on Youtube, which runs a little over six minutes, and is set to music with the story being told completely through the animation:



I hope you will take a few minutes to watch it and reflect upon "the least of these," all over the world and all around us like this poor little one...

All I can say is "WOW!" That brought me to tears, and reminded me to open my eyes to people in need all around me.

I can honestly say for myself that often in life I get so wrapped up in my own self-centered routines that I often miss the opportunities to reach out and share a bit of hope and joy with "the least of these," that are truly all around us.

Shane Claiborne, partner-founder of The Simple Way Community, has dedicated his life to living among and serving the least and the lost. Check out his poignant and thoughtful book The Irresistible Revolution:

There are so many people in this world who feel broken, lost, without hope. We can help make a difference in their lives by opening our hearts and homes and sharing God's love with them- as God has done with us. Are we willing to take the bold risk of reaching out?

The Holy One says "behold I stand at the door and knock..." will we open the door or, like the rich young ruler, will we turn away and miss some of the greatest opportunties of our lives- those of experiencing the hidden Christ in our midst?? The decision is ours... What will our answer be?

Peace,

John

The Eagles have landed... (a bit too soon)... :-(

My hometown Birds got their feathers 'plucked' by the Saints in a tough 27-24 loss yesterday... They battled hard and, I believe gave it their all, but the 1-2 punch of Deuce McAllister & Reggie Bush proved too tough to stop for the smaller defensive backs on the Iggles.

This photo shows one 'stomping' that McAllister dished out for a TD...

The bone-shattering, knock-the-bejeebers-out-of-ya hit that Sheldon Brown laid on Reggie Bush in the first quarter, was definitely pretty sweet, though:

Well, as the famous Philly mantra goes "there's always next year..." but they were perhaps one fourth down 'blink' away from winning this one... oh well, I guess it's a good thing that there is more to life than football...

Peace,

John

Are you fast-forwarding through your life??

I recently saw Adam Sandler's latest junior high style laugh riot called "Click." I must admit that I did not rent this piece of sophomoric artistry primarily for my own viewing enjoyment (it looked like something my wife and I might enjoy watching "together"). Sort of a compromise between the thoughtful thriller genre I gravitate toward in movies vs. the (dare I say) "chick flick"/Lifetime move of the week fare that my wife seems to enjoy.

Anyway...

This little ditty of a movie, while chocked full of flatulence, occasional mild humor, and colorful words, is quite a thoughtful and creatively done piece. No joke!

Okay- "Click" is probably not going to win any Oscars, but it is a thoughtful concept movie, if you can look beyond all the potty and bedroom humor and see the greater message.

And what would that be?

Well, what I took away from it (along with a few new fart jokes), was a greater appreciation for the opportunities for deepening the important relationships in my life:

• -my relationship with my daughter
• -my wife
• -my family
• -my friends
• -my neighbors

All too often the temptation is to "fast-forward" through parts of our daily lives that, at the time, we consider unpleasurable, tedious, or lacking immediate gratification.

The problem is that when we get in the habit of "fast-forwarding" through life, we miss precious opportunities to:

• deepen our important relationships
• strengthen our faith
• to reach out to our neighbors
• make our world a better place

Have you been fast-forwarding through life and missing out on precious opportunities?

Each day is precious and filled with opportunity and promise. We only get one life- let's make it count!

Peace,

John

I don't believe in that "god" either...

I am now reading The God Delusion by eminent scientist and Oxford professor Dr. Richard Dawkins. The book is engaging, well-written, and, in many places, quite humorous and witty. Dawkins, described on the book's inside jacket, among other things, as "the world's most prominent atheist," has a clear agenda from the outset of the book to debunk any notion of God's existence.

In trying to disprove God, though, this incredibly bright and gifted scientist casts aside much of the scientifically rigorous inquiry that has afforded him the honors and acheivements he has earned. Instead, he engages in a rather anemic 300+ page OP-ED style infomercial for atheism.

In doing so, he seems to be "preaching to the choir" of already disenchanted atheists and perhaps a segment of barely-on-the-fence agnostics. He also sets up religion, and in particular Christian and Islamic religion as a sort of one-dimensional straw man that he then knocks over with the very sort of "blinding with science" arguments that he rails against in some scientists who happen to be believers.

I have also learned (or been reminded of) some important intellectual perspectives from reading Dr. Dawkins book. I can hardly begin to unpack my thoughts about this book in one post, so I shall most likely revisit it a few times here on the blog to try and unpack the salient points.

Rather interestingly to me, Dawkins himself does not even list himself as an absolute atheist. Instead, in chapter two, he posits a continuum with seven nodal points between absolute belief and absolute disbelief in God:

Spectrum of probabilities for the existence of God

Seven milestones along the way:

1- Strong theist. 100% probability of God

2- De facto theist. Strong but not 100%

3-agnostic leaning toward theism

4- completely impartial agnostic

5- agnostic leaning toward atheism

6- very low probability but short of zero

7- strong atheist

Dawkins places himself in the sixth of his categories, so he does not totally rule out the possible existence of God or gods. He adds, with great humor that "I am agnostic only to the extent that I am agnostic about fairies at the bottom of the garden." (51)

A very interesting and engaging read, but rather disappointingly lacking, in my humble opinion, a substantive engagement with questions of ultimate meaning and human origins. There is much more to say about this, but my lunchtime has concluded, so I shall revisit it in more depth again in the near future.

Ultimately, I am of the mind that our faith can only be strengthened by reading, and genuinely considering, a wide diversity of perspectives, including atheist, agnostic and other religious worldviews, because- after all, if one's faith is truly worth embracing, then it will withstand the most rigorous human questions we can throw at it.

Peace on the journey,

John

Jazz as Spiritual Metaphor

I love all sorts of music, but I especially love jazz. The virtuosity of complex, rich melodies, harmonies and rhythms converging in a synthesis of musical creativity is truly awesome and inspiring to me. Several great jazz artists have put out works that were spiritually inspired. Here are a couple of my personal favorites:

The Sacred Concert- Duke Ellington

A Love Supreme- John Coltrane

Listen to some great jazz this week and meditate on God's creative purposes in your life!

Peace,

John