For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”(Esther 4:14, ESV)
I don't believe that it is at all arrogance to believe that we were born for a purpose, born to serve something larger than ourselves. And I've long wondered when it would be premature to discuss openly the direction in which I firmly feel my footsteps are being led, where conviction and circumstance have conspired to give me traction. And I believe, after reading through Eric Metaxas' biography of Deitrich Bonoeffer, that the time is now.
Through the last few years, I have watched as the workers of the world are villainized, are called parasites, accused of not paying their fair share, and, in the case of my undocumented brothers and sisters in labor, of stealing from the American worker. The lies of the leaders of this fair land should not continue to go unchallenged, and those of us who know better MUST speak out. If not me, who? If not now, when?
It has long been said that "well behaved women rarely make history". Well, I'll take it a step further and say that "well behaved ANYONE rarely makes history". If you march in the rank and file, you only allow unjustice to continue unchecked. And unjustice is the birthright for far too many.
My years in labor have led me from the kitchens of many fine restaurants, through the factories, the dusty underground mines, and the hot summer sun of the Mojave Desert, and to my current position of relative comfort. In all of those places, I have certainly found people who could be described as "slackers"; in NONE of those places was "slacker" a standard employed by even the plurality of those workers.
Understanding, as you must, that I have a committed pledge to nonviolence, I commit everything I have to speaking for the workers, to aiding their cause in obtaining fair pay, fair housing, food and healthcare, and to actively opposing those who would deny them these dues, which are owed to them by those who steal their wealth for their own private comfort.
I may be a lone voice, and I may die a lone voice, but I speak from conviction, and that is a position I will not surrender. The cost of discipleship is one I am willing to pay from this day forward, even if it costs me comfort in this world.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Why I support fair wages
In my years as a Christian, I've noticed that the line between what constitutes a "liberal" or a "conservative" is a rather complex one. I have not met a single person who exclusively fits the mold of either standard; while they lean one way or another, they have certain beliefs that "cross over" to the other direction, sometimes radically so. This is because thinking people choose their beliefs based on reasoned though, not based on how it fits into a stereotype.
When it comes to the issue of wages, I could well be described as a liberal, and I am unapologetically so, for a number of reasons that will shortly be made clear.
While I abhor the attempts to politicize Jesus Christ, to make him into some kind of holy politician, there is no doubt that he stood on the side of the working folk. He often spoke of the poor, and He often spoke of the wealthy in terms that suggested that the pursuit of wealth (although not necessarily the mere possession of it) was in direct conflict with the role of being His disciple. "No man can serve two masters" is fairly clear, as is the admonition to the wealthy young ruler to sell everything to follow Jesus. Add to this the Lukean Beatitudes, which specifically castigate the rich, as they have received their reward, and the call to social justice becomes rather clear. I'm holding off of a lengthier discussion, as I am working on a lengthier treatise that will delve more deeply into the scriptural side of things.
But as we look at the social and political climate, we see a culture heading towards a conflict. The rewards of nonproductivity are nearing the point where they begin to exceed the rewards of productivity for the poorer workers. In short, financially, you are almost better off living off of benefits and government programs than you are in working to improve your financial situation. Never mind the matter of principle; principle does not put food on the table.
If a company, or an individual, profits off of the labor of an individual, one should not need a Bible, a Torah, or a Qu'ran to tell them that it is only reasonable to compensate that individual for the wealth they produce. ANYTHING LESS than full, just compensation for services is slavery, and any pastor, any Christian, any individual that condones it is complicit in the unjust subjugation of the poor. Such complicity is not only unethical, it is the very basest sort of evil.
We can debate the specifics of a fair wage policy, and to debate that is fair, but one thing is certain: if full time employment is inadequate to meet the financial needs of a family in a given community, they are not being justly compensated, and the call to change that must be so loud and so pervasive that it cannot be ignored. If the church and the community would issue that call, if they would stand up and boycott the industries that refuse to pay a fair and just wage, then there would be no nee for government intervention. But when we're walking in the doors of the churcchhouse with iPhones built in factories equipped with nets to prevent employees from jumping to their deaths, when we're plying them with coffee picked in fields where the workers are exploited, then the government has a responsibility to step in and insist that certain standards are adhered to.
In the same way speeding must be regulated to prevent people from driving at speeds that endanger other driveways, business must be regulated to prevent corporations from maintaining wages and working conditions that oppress the worker. If the church doesn't want to see such regulation, the church must step in and take the lead in ensuring such government intervention is unnecessary.
The reason the church is so roundly castigated by its critics is because the church refuses to be the agent for social change. There are notable exceptions to this rule, but the churches that are actually being well attended are the churches who neglected that call a long time ago.
And so if you must label me a liberal based on my support for fair wage and workplace equality, then I am proud to accept that label, even as I personally know it is wholly inaccurate. It is far past time to call for fairness in the workforce and I personally am proud to take an active role in doing so.
When it comes to the issue of wages, I could well be described as a liberal, and I am unapologetically so, for a number of reasons that will shortly be made clear.
While I abhor the attempts to politicize Jesus Christ, to make him into some kind of holy politician, there is no doubt that he stood on the side of the working folk. He often spoke of the poor, and He often spoke of the wealthy in terms that suggested that the pursuit of wealth (although not necessarily the mere possession of it) was in direct conflict with the role of being His disciple. "No man can serve two masters" is fairly clear, as is the admonition to the wealthy young ruler to sell everything to follow Jesus. Add to this the Lukean Beatitudes, which specifically castigate the rich, as they have received their reward, and the call to social justice becomes rather clear. I'm holding off of a lengthier discussion, as I am working on a lengthier treatise that will delve more deeply into the scriptural side of things.
But as we look at the social and political climate, we see a culture heading towards a conflict. The rewards of nonproductivity are nearing the point where they begin to exceed the rewards of productivity for the poorer workers. In short, financially, you are almost better off living off of benefits and government programs than you are in working to improve your financial situation. Never mind the matter of principle; principle does not put food on the table.
If a company, or an individual, profits off of the labor of an individual, one should not need a Bible, a Torah, or a Qu'ran to tell them that it is only reasonable to compensate that individual for the wealth they produce. ANYTHING LESS than full, just compensation for services is slavery, and any pastor, any Christian, any individual that condones it is complicit in the unjust subjugation of the poor. Such complicity is not only unethical, it is the very basest sort of evil.
We can debate the specifics of a fair wage policy, and to debate that is fair, but one thing is certain: if full time employment is inadequate to meet the financial needs of a family in a given community, they are not being justly compensated, and the call to change that must be so loud and so pervasive that it cannot be ignored. If the church and the community would issue that call, if they would stand up and boycott the industries that refuse to pay a fair and just wage, then there would be no nee for government intervention. But when we're walking in the doors of the churcchhouse with iPhones built in factories equipped with nets to prevent employees from jumping to their deaths, when we're plying them with coffee picked in fields where the workers are exploited, then the government has a responsibility to step in and insist that certain standards are adhered to.
In the same way speeding must be regulated to prevent people from driving at speeds that endanger other driveways, business must be regulated to prevent corporations from maintaining wages and working conditions that oppress the worker. If the church doesn't want to see such regulation, the church must step in and take the lead in ensuring such government intervention is unnecessary.
The reason the church is so roundly castigated by its critics is because the church refuses to be the agent for social change. There are notable exceptions to this rule, but the churches that are actually being well attended are the churches who neglected that call a long time ago.
And so if you must label me a liberal based on my support for fair wage and workplace equality, then I am proud to accept that label, even as I personally know it is wholly inaccurate. It is far past time to call for fairness in the workforce and I personally am proud to take an active role in doing so.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Lori (Kirtley) Wilson: Requiem
It was with great sadness that I heard from a friend that a teacher from childhood had passed, a lady that I knew as Lori Kirtley. Coming very close on the heels of the news of the suicide of a high school classmate, this gave me pause to think about the role that Lori had played in saving me from a similar tragic fate. I'd like to take a few moments to share what she meant to me.
There are a few people whose lives intersect with our own, whose footprints carve a path through the untamed and often frightening wilderness that lies ahead of us. They inspire us to greater heights, to journey to places where angels fear to tread, and to find our own inner strengths to battle the tumultuous storms that attack us frequently through life.
Lori Wilson was just such a person. I met her through a time in life when I didn't have much else, and she was one of a very small group of people that I allowed in to the anger and frustration that was a part of my adolescent existence. For four formative years, I called her my teacher, my mentor, and my friend, though I only had a vague understanding of what those latter two words meant.
In my junior year, I worked as an aide in the library, and my journey of self discovery was in its infancy. Mrs. Wilson and I would discuss dreams and their interpretation, the troubles of adolescence, and life in general. She was there without judgment, without the anger and frustration I met with more than a few of the adults in my life, and without condescension, to teach, to guide, to correct, and to encourage me, having the wisdom and tenacity to apply each when it was appropriate. She taught me to dream beyond the dusty wheatfields of my Northwest Oklahoma home, and to see a vision greater than my narrow 17 year old's existence. While others taught me how to read, she taught me to savor the words of the great writers like a rich food or a fine wine, and, in some small way, how to craft them. She never directed me, but she gently pointed the way as I headed out into the next chapter of my life.
But the reason she is and always will be near and dear to my heart is because in a dark time, she was a beacon of light. There were others, of course, but precious few that I trusted, and Lori was one of the few that understood enough to keep me from surrendering to the dark thoughts that often filled my mind during that very, sometimes impossibly difficult time. She gave me hope when I had none and she set my compass to aim for the stars.
When we think of greatness, we think of people who changed the world, people who moved mountains, and brought hope to the hopeless. Lori Wilson did all of those things in the life of at least one young teenager. My world as I know it would not have existed without her, and with her guidance the mountains of bitterness and the world of hopelessness and despair slowly dissolved to allow me to become the husband, the father, and the person I am today. Lori's was a life well lived, and a legacy we should all be honored to have. I hope her family remembers her not only fondly, but proudly for the lives she molded. Thank you, Lori Kirtley. You truly were (and are) the wind beneath my wings.
There are a few people whose lives intersect with our own, whose footprints carve a path through the untamed and often frightening wilderness that lies ahead of us. They inspire us to greater heights, to journey to places where angels fear to tread, and to find our own inner strengths to battle the tumultuous storms that attack us frequently through life.
Lori Wilson was just such a person. I met her through a time in life when I didn't have much else, and she was one of a very small group of people that I allowed in to the anger and frustration that was a part of my adolescent existence. For four formative years, I called her my teacher, my mentor, and my friend, though I only had a vague understanding of what those latter two words meant.
In my junior year, I worked as an aide in the library, and my journey of self discovery was in its infancy. Mrs. Wilson and I would discuss dreams and their interpretation, the troubles of adolescence, and life in general. She was there without judgment, without the anger and frustration I met with more than a few of the adults in my life, and without condescension, to teach, to guide, to correct, and to encourage me, having the wisdom and tenacity to apply each when it was appropriate. She taught me to dream beyond the dusty wheatfields of my Northwest Oklahoma home, and to see a vision greater than my narrow 17 year old's existence. While others taught me how to read, she taught me to savor the words of the great writers like a rich food or a fine wine, and, in some small way, how to craft them. She never directed me, but she gently pointed the way as I headed out into the next chapter of my life.
But the reason she is and always will be near and dear to my heart is because in a dark time, she was a beacon of light. There were others, of course, but precious few that I trusted, and Lori was one of the few that understood enough to keep me from surrendering to the dark thoughts that often filled my mind during that very, sometimes impossibly difficult time. She gave me hope when I had none and she set my compass to aim for the stars.
When we think of greatness, we think of people who changed the world, people who moved mountains, and brought hope to the hopeless. Lori Wilson did all of those things in the life of at least one young teenager. My world as I know it would not have existed without her, and with her guidance the mountains of bitterness and the world of hopelessness and despair slowly dissolved to allow me to become the husband, the father, and the person I am today. Lori's was a life well lived, and a legacy we should all be honored to have. I hope her family remembers her not only fondly, but proudly for the lives she molded. Thank you, Lori Kirtley. You truly were (and are) the wind beneath my wings.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
The Reason the Conservative Church Turns Me Off
This is one of those blogs I've debated writing because parts of it are intensely personal, and because I don't feel I should need to answer for why I have such contempt for the conservative church. But I have friends who are part of that church, and I feel it only fair to help them understand that my frustration is not targetted against individuals, but rather the institution; and that it is quite well founded.
I had gotten over and accepted the fact that I would not be a full member of the Baptist churches in the Texas Panhandle. Although I was baptized in a Baptist church, I wasn't baptized SOUTHERN Baptist, and they didn't feel it counted (sidenote: Emo Phillips has a TERRIFIC routine on this very topic that's worth checking out!). In addition, they would not baptize my daughter, despite her request to be baptized. Since they pretty much consider baptism into the faith essential, that tells you something right there.
We'd dealt with them in a nearby town and learned they could be truly horrible people, but nothing prepared me for what I, at this point at least, hope will be my last experience with a Baptist church. I had been working very hard to work my way up the food chain and build a better life for my family, and was working at pittance wages to manage the network at a school district. That January, I got extremely, unimaginably sick. It turns out it was "just" Type II diabetes, but there was a stretch during which I had very real reasons to fear lymphoma. I was going broke with the school gig, and fast.
So when I got a very nice job offer about 200 miles away, I was very excited. The plan was simple: I would move up, prepare to relocate, and drive home on the weekends, The kids would finish out the school year, and that would give us time to find a decent house.
But the Baptist church had other plans. No sooner did I pull out of the driveway than they called CPS with allegations that we were neglecting our kids. The CPS worker investigated, saw nothing wrong with the house, but was concerned that we didn't have a furnace. We were left with instructions to remedy this and asked to call CDSA.
The problem is, CDSA doesn't do furnaces, and even if they did, there's no way we could have it installed before winter was out. Basically, our choices were to either surrender the children temporarily or go ahead and move them up ahead of schedule. To top it off, if we stayed with the original plan, the drive back and forth for court appearances could well have jeopardized my new job. This choice was put upon us by a church that pretend to care for us.
The move was brutal. We had to take out signature loans at VERY high interest rates to make it, and the only rental available was a local motel at $500 a week. We spent 2 months there, and still could not find a suitable rental; settling for temporary housing in a small 2 bedroom house (try THAT with 7 kids!)
| Our local church was a blessing, and helped us out on a couple of occasions, although it was unsolicited on our part. But for that first six months, our housing expenses were nearly $10,000. All because the Baptist church we had left forced our hand.
I have nothing against conservative Christians; in fact, I love them and agree with them on a good number of issues. But I've personally experienced enough hate from their ranks to last a lifetime. And if I have to choose between that and someone who is loving, even if I disagree with some of their theology, I'll choose the loving one any day of the week.
I had gotten over and accepted the fact that I would not be a full member of the Baptist churches in the Texas Panhandle. Although I was baptized in a Baptist church, I wasn't baptized SOUTHERN Baptist, and they didn't feel it counted (sidenote: Emo Phillips has a TERRIFIC routine on this very topic that's worth checking out!). In addition, they would not baptize my daughter, despite her request to be baptized. Since they pretty much consider baptism into the faith essential, that tells you something right there.
We'd dealt with them in a nearby town and learned they could be truly horrible people, but nothing prepared me for what I, at this point at least, hope will be my last experience with a Baptist church. I had been working very hard to work my way up the food chain and build a better life for my family, and was working at pittance wages to manage the network at a school district. That January, I got extremely, unimaginably sick. It turns out it was "just" Type II diabetes, but there was a stretch during which I had very real reasons to fear lymphoma. I was going broke with the school gig, and fast.
So when I got a very nice job offer about 200 miles away, I was very excited. The plan was simple: I would move up, prepare to relocate, and drive home on the weekends, The kids would finish out the school year, and that would give us time to find a decent house.
But the Baptist church had other plans. No sooner did I pull out of the driveway than they called CPS with allegations that we were neglecting our kids. The CPS worker investigated, saw nothing wrong with the house, but was concerned that we didn't have a furnace. We were left with instructions to remedy this and asked to call CDSA.
The problem is, CDSA doesn't do furnaces, and even if they did, there's no way we could have it installed before winter was out. Basically, our choices were to either surrender the children temporarily or go ahead and move them up ahead of schedule. To top it off, if we stayed with the original plan, the drive back and forth for court appearances could well have jeopardized my new job. This choice was put upon us by a church that pretend to care for us.
The move was brutal. We had to take out signature loans at VERY high interest rates to make it, and the only rental available was a local motel at $500 a week. We spent 2 months there, and still could not find a suitable rental; settling for temporary housing in a small 2 bedroom house (try THAT with 7 kids!)
| Our local church was a blessing, and helped us out on a couple of occasions, although it was unsolicited on our part. But for that first six months, our housing expenses were nearly $10,000. All because the Baptist church we had left forced our hand.
I have nothing against conservative Christians; in fact, I love them and agree with them on a good number of issues. But I've personally experienced enough hate from their ranks to last a lifetime. And if I have to choose between that and someone who is loving, even if I disagree with some of their theology, I'll choose the loving one any day of the week.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Sign the Petition to Make Ending Homelessness a Priority!
One of my concerns with the present administration is that they are concerned with economic issues that benefit the upper and middle classes, with gun control, with health care, but not with issues such as homelessness that occur longterm cost and create a significant economic burden.
I believe that eliminating homelessness should not only be a priority, but should be addressed by the White House on a five year plan. Previous attempts to address this on a state and local level have only resulted in the homeless migrating to new locales that are friendlier to the homeless, thus kicking the can down the road.
The Coalition for the Homeless presents some sobering statistics. I've presented a few of them below. More can be found at the CFH website (Coalition for the Homeless):
-- Over the course of a year, the odds of experiencing homelessness for a person in the general US population are 1 in 194;>br>
-- for a person discharged from prison or jail, the odds are 1 in 13;
-- for a person living doubled-up (living with friends, family or other nonrelatives for economic reasons), the odds are 1 in 12;
-- and for a person who has aged out of foster care, the odds are 1 in 11.
-- Although the national homeless population decreased, the homeless population increased in 24 of 50 states plus the District of Columbia.
--The average real income of the working poor increased slightly from $9,300 in 2009 to about $9,400 in 2010.
-- However, there’s not a single county in the nation where a family with an average annual income of $9,400 can afford fair market rent for a one-bedroom unit.
--The number of poor households which pay more than 50% of their income on rent increased 22% from 2007 to 2010.
-- Nationally, 1 out of every 45 housing units had a foreclosure in 2010, a more than 100% increase from 2007.
I have decided, laptop in hand, to create a White House petition on the site now infamous for the secession and Death Star petitions. I need 100,000 signatures to merit a White House response, a total I believe I can reach with your help. If hundreds of thousands can "vote" to secede, of tens of thousands can "vote" for the construction of a Death Star, surely 100,000 can vote on a five year plan to end homelessness.
With effort, we can once again become the greatest nation in the world. But we'll only do it by remembering to care for "the least of these". (Petition site: )
I believe that eliminating homelessness should not only be a priority, but should be addressed by the White House on a five year plan. Previous attempts to address this on a state and local level have only resulted in the homeless migrating to new locales that are friendlier to the homeless, thus kicking the can down the road.
The Coalition for the Homeless presents some sobering statistics. I've presented a few of them below. More can be found at the CFH website (Coalition for the Homeless):
-- Over the course of a year, the odds of experiencing homelessness for a person in the general US population are 1 in 194;>br>
-- for a person discharged from prison or jail, the odds are 1 in 13;
-- for a person living doubled-up (living with friends, family or other nonrelatives for economic reasons), the odds are 1 in 12;
-- and for a person who has aged out of foster care, the odds are 1 in 11.
-- Although the national homeless population decreased, the homeless population increased in 24 of 50 states plus the District of Columbia.
--The average real income of the working poor increased slightly from $9,300 in 2009 to about $9,400 in 2010.
-- However, there’s not a single county in the nation where a family with an average annual income of $9,400 can afford fair market rent for a one-bedroom unit.
--The number of poor households which pay more than 50% of their income on rent increased 22% from 2007 to 2010.
-- Nationally, 1 out of every 45 housing units had a foreclosure in 2010, a more than 100% increase from 2007.
I have decided, laptop in hand, to create a White House petition on the site now infamous for the secession and Death Star petitions. I need 100,000 signatures to merit a White House response, a total I believe I can reach with your help. If hundreds of thousands can "vote" to secede, of tens of thousands can "vote" for the construction of a Death Star, surely 100,000 can vote on a five year plan to end homelessness.
With effort, we can once again become the greatest nation in the world. But we'll only do it by remembering to care for "the least of these". (Petition site: )
Friday, January 4, 2013
Learning to Fall
I have a confession to make, one that's probably a little peculiar coming from someone who's never ridden anything fiercer than the old mechanical horse that used to sit out in front of the TG&Y in my home town of Enid, Oklahoma: I love rodeo.
It's not very politically correct, and it certainly couldn't be called a gentleman's sport, but I have loved the intricate ballet between man and beast since I was old enough to see it.
I love it most of all, though, because it taught me life's greatest lesson: how to fall.
First off, I don't believe in failure. If you woke up today, if you're reading this, you have an opportunity to shake off all the mud, all the dirt of your past and move on. But first you have to change your mindset: you do not FAIL, you FALL. And when you falls, the first thought on your mind as you wipe away the dust, the mud, and the manure, should be what you are going to do next.
If you've ever watched a rodeo, falling happens pretty much 100% of the time in bronc and bull riding events. It's not a matter of if, but when. And if you watch the rider closely, you will see they tuck their extremities, they roll...and most of the time they hustle out of the arena before their mount decides to grind them into the turf.
And that is, I believe, one of the greatest lessons you can learn. When obstacles come, and they will, plan for them. Know how you're going to land, know where you're going to land, and know what you're going to do next. Each ride makes you stronger, each fall makes you wiser, and each time you rise and walk makes you bolder.
It's not very politically correct, and it certainly couldn't be called a gentleman's sport, but I have loved the intricate ballet between man and beast since I was old enough to see it.
I love it most of all, though, because it taught me life's greatest lesson: how to fall.
First off, I don't believe in failure. If you woke up today, if you're reading this, you have an opportunity to shake off all the mud, all the dirt of your past and move on. But first you have to change your mindset: you do not FAIL, you FALL. And when you falls, the first thought on your mind as you wipe away the dust, the mud, and the manure, should be what you are going to do next.
If you've ever watched a rodeo, falling happens pretty much 100% of the time in bronc and bull riding events. It's not a matter of if, but when. And if you watch the rider closely, you will see they tuck their extremities, they roll...and most of the time they hustle out of the arena before their mount decides to grind them into the turf.
And that is, I believe, one of the greatest lessons you can learn. When obstacles come, and they will, plan for them. Know how you're going to land, know where you're going to land, and know what you're going to do next. Each ride makes you stronger, each fall makes you wiser, and each time you rise and walk makes you bolder.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
The Answer is None of the above...and all of the above!
I've kind of had to sit on my hands for a bit as the news from Connecticut is being dissected. Although it is new, it is fresh, the details are hauntingly all too familiar. And in the bloody aftermath, the survivors are left to sift through the ashes and ask themselves a question that's asked too often these days: Why?
Many people are asking where God was yesterday as the events unfolded. However, as Longfellow penned "...God is not dead, nor doth He sleep, the wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, goodwill to men". God was not absent yesterday, nor was He gleefully punishing the school for the lack of prayer within its walls. I cannot pretend to speak for God, but I can say with authority that both of those statements are true.
The answer to what happened yesterday is not gun control, not censorship, not "putting God back in schools". It is, to put it simply and succinctly, putting compassion and humanity back in our hearts.
We've come to worship things so much that we no longer care or concern ourselves with the needs of those around us. The shooter, whose name I will not mention in order to not be a party to the further spread of his infamy, was a person in a deep, dark place that most of us will never know. It's the kind of place a person doesn't reach without a lot of negative influences around them.
It's easy to hate the shooter, easy to wickedly imagine him turning on some spit in some deep, dark reaches of Hell. But if life has taught us anything, it is that the easy path is often the wrong one, and while we cannot in any way condone or mitigate the actions of the shooter on this fateful day, we can ask ourselves if there are any such people among us, and if so, how we can work to both save them from themselves and save those around them from their hurt. We are, after all, only as strong as our weakest link.
Looking at the myriad of solutions proposed by armchair policy makers, I have to ask: would strict gun control laws have made a difference? Reluctantly, I have to admit they might have; but they might have simply forced him to find another weapon. Would censoring violent material have made a difference? Almost certainly, but with the unintended consequences of opening the door to even broader censorship that would do more harm than good. Would prayer in the schools have made a difference? It might have made a small difference in helping to set the shooter's moral compass, but again with unintended consequences that would not be acceptable.
The only thing, the single thing, that MIGHT have made a difference is if someone would have taken the time to get to know this hurting individual; if several someones would have seen the investment in this tortured, tormented soul as more important than their own needs.
We can't unwind the clock, and in the end we'll never know what precisely ignited the series of events that unfolded on December 14, 2012. But wwe would be remiss if we didn't ask ourselves what we can do to prevent the next tragedy from occurring. Take time to reach out, to listen, to heal "the least of these". The life you save just may be your own.
Many people are asking where God was yesterday as the events unfolded. However, as Longfellow penned "...God is not dead, nor doth He sleep, the wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, goodwill to men". God was not absent yesterday, nor was He gleefully punishing the school for the lack of prayer within its walls. I cannot pretend to speak for God, but I can say with authority that both of those statements are true.
The answer to what happened yesterday is not gun control, not censorship, not "putting God back in schools". It is, to put it simply and succinctly, putting compassion and humanity back in our hearts.
We've come to worship things so much that we no longer care or concern ourselves with the needs of those around us. The shooter, whose name I will not mention in order to not be a party to the further spread of his infamy, was a person in a deep, dark place that most of us will never know. It's the kind of place a person doesn't reach without a lot of negative influences around them.
It's easy to hate the shooter, easy to wickedly imagine him turning on some spit in some deep, dark reaches of Hell. But if life has taught us anything, it is that the easy path is often the wrong one, and while we cannot in any way condone or mitigate the actions of the shooter on this fateful day, we can ask ourselves if there are any such people among us, and if so, how we can work to both save them from themselves and save those around them from their hurt. We are, after all, only as strong as our weakest link.
Looking at the myriad of solutions proposed by armchair policy makers, I have to ask: would strict gun control laws have made a difference? Reluctantly, I have to admit they might have; but they might have simply forced him to find another weapon. Would censoring violent material have made a difference? Almost certainly, but with the unintended consequences of opening the door to even broader censorship that would do more harm than good. Would prayer in the schools have made a difference? It might have made a small difference in helping to set the shooter's moral compass, but again with unintended consequences that would not be acceptable.
The only thing, the single thing, that MIGHT have made a difference is if someone would have taken the time to get to know this hurting individual; if several someones would have seen the investment in this tortured, tormented soul as more important than their own needs.
We can't unwind the clock, and in the end we'll never know what precisely ignited the series of events that unfolded on December 14, 2012. But wwe would be remiss if we didn't ask ourselves what we can do to prevent the next tragedy from occurring. Take time to reach out, to listen, to heal "the least of these". The life you save just may be your own.
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