Patriotism and the 4th and Death and Cell Phones
The two candidates have weighed in on patriotism.
http://news.yahoo.com/page/parade/patriotism/obama http://news.yahoo.com/page/parade/patriotism/mccain
Both have good sentiments. I will not compare. As Dr. Johnson said, "Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels," but he was only half right. To be a true patriot is to live the selfless life, to put one's self interest aside or cast it aside altogther for others to live in freedom and in a better country.
For Christians, the country comes after Christ and thus is in its right place. Putting it first would skew everything and justify a lot of behavior that should not be justified. The most patriotic people now are the Christians; I would lay money on the proposition that those who are serving in the military now are more proportionately religious believers than in the country as a whole. This is not to say nonChristians are by nature are nonpatriotic; of course not. It only means that balanced patriotism is part and parcel of true Christian faith.
Today we buried a dear friend. The funeral was short; it would have been nice for people to have been able to share memories. Her sweet elderly husband is devastated and it will be the responsibility of friends to check up on him and encourage him but we cannot make it better or his loss "go away." These days must be endured. We have no choice. We can say euphemistic things but loneliness is loneliness. I'm sure the five stages of grief was a helpful book but it is so misinterpreted by those who never read it that we would be better off without the ideas it has spawned. Grief is nothing but a circular, overlapping process, not a linear one, and recogizing one is in a particular step doesn't guarantee progression. "Moving on" has got to be the worst cliche. How many hasty remarriages have resulted from it? How many bad decisions about money?
I also wonder why people can't dress anymore. The clothes people wear to funerals--like a sporting event! And cell phones going off--is nothing sacred!? Twenty years from now we'll look back on this era of cell phone bondage and wonder why we were so enamored of a toy like that. I think the two most frequently said things into cell phones are "What are you doing?" and "Where are you?" A woman was in the stall next to me at Cracker Barrel today answering those questions, and she of course answered them truthfully.
The parts of this incoherent post share a commonality: my experiences on the day before the 4th of July, what I call the middle day of the year (I think it really is the middle day). We are living in an interesting time; I do not share all the pessimism of others because I believe in God and because I have studied history and know there were worse, much worse, times in the past. All we have to do is be countercultural, not an easy task but not an impossible one. And counterculturalism may be the best form of patriotism and Christian service around.
http://news.yahoo.com/page/parade/patriotism/obama http://news.yahoo.com/page/parade/patriotism/mccain
Both have good sentiments. I will not compare. As Dr. Johnson said, "Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels," but he was only half right. To be a true patriot is to live the selfless life, to put one's self interest aside or cast it aside altogther for others to live in freedom and in a better country.
For Christians, the country comes after Christ and thus is in its right place. Putting it first would skew everything and justify a lot of behavior that should not be justified. The most patriotic people now are the Christians; I would lay money on the proposition that those who are serving in the military now are more proportionately religious believers than in the country as a whole. This is not to say nonChristians are by nature are nonpatriotic; of course not. It only means that balanced patriotism is part and parcel of true Christian faith.
Today we buried a dear friend. The funeral was short; it would have been nice for people to have been able to share memories. Her sweet elderly husband is devastated and it will be the responsibility of friends to check up on him and encourage him but we cannot make it better or his loss "go away." These days must be endured. We have no choice. We can say euphemistic things but loneliness is loneliness. I'm sure the five stages of grief was a helpful book but it is so misinterpreted by those who never read it that we would be better off without the ideas it has spawned. Grief is nothing but a circular, overlapping process, not a linear one, and recogizing one is in a particular step doesn't guarantee progression. "Moving on" has got to be the worst cliche. How many hasty remarriages have resulted from it? How many bad decisions about money?
I also wonder why people can't dress anymore. The clothes people wear to funerals--like a sporting event! And cell phones going off--is nothing sacred!? Twenty years from now we'll look back on this era of cell phone bondage and wonder why we were so enamored of a toy like that. I think the two most frequently said things into cell phones are "What are you doing?" and "Where are you?" A woman was in the stall next to me at Cracker Barrel today answering those questions, and she of course answered them truthfully.
The parts of this incoherent post share a commonality: my experiences on the day before the 4th of July, what I call the middle day of the year (I think it really is the middle day). We are living in an interesting time; I do not share all the pessimism of others because I believe in God and because I have studied history and know there were worse, much worse, times in the past. All we have to do is be countercultural, not an easy task but not an impossible one. And counterculturalism may be the best form of patriotism and Christian service around.
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