clearly ambiguous

As the election draws near, I have been thinking a lot about my own position. Yet the more I think of it, the more torn I am. The problem with the bipartisan system is that you must necessarily choose one or the other. One must force himself into either a square or a rhombus hole, even if you happen to be a triangular peg. Even more difficult is that Christianity doesn't fit easily into either. In my opinion, if Christianity were to become its own political party, it would be right-leaning on social/moral issues and left-leaning on economic and taxation issues.

Social conservatism and Christianity strongly overlap; the two are mostly in agreement with respect to marriage, divorce, homosexuality and abortion. But not the whole of conservatism is in agreement with Christianity. When it comes to taxation, the conservative tends to take the view of "every man for himself." The conservative says "I worked hard for my money, so why should I have to give it back?" Thus, the safety nets like health insurance are to be kept to a bare minimum. But this is a tricky issue. In an ideal world, people should be giving anyway. Unfortunately, they don't. In a secular society, then, there has to be some way to ensure that those who need assistance get it (with limitations on abuse, of course).

Likewise, conservatives believe that the market economy should be kept free and government regulation kept to a minimum. The problem, of course, is greed. Without regulation and enforcement, greed is bound to take hold of major corporations whose sole purpose it is to increase its wealth and size. This focus on profits necessarily leads to a disregard of morality. Even Greenspan - a strong advocate of free markets - has conceded his grave error.

In short, certain aspects of conservatism work in an ideal world - where people willingly give to the poor, use guns only for self-protection, and corporate greed is nonexistant. But such idealism is a fantasy and is downright dangerous.

the trouble with prosperity

The trouble with prosperity, wrote one Wall Street analyst, is that it is necessarily temporary. James Grant, one of Wall Street’s wisest commentators, theorized a model of “economic predestination” based on human behavior. Prosperity tends to breed overconfidence, which often leads to brash and risky behavior. When the economy is booming, Grant would be wary of a certain downfall to come. Egos often inflate quicker than the market, which eventually leads to a market correction. Likewise, crises encourage realism – a back-to-basics approach of how to handle a particular problem and emerge from it. In short, Grant theorized that when times are prosperous, the outlook will soon get worse; but in dismal times, one should expect to soon see the silver lining.

I think today's woes are a microcosm (or macrocosm?) of the cycle of life in individuals. Those who are living the life and rolling the dice now should be cautious. A good life often leads to sloppiness, idleness, and satisfaction with the status quo. But for those of us who are in some sort of personal recession, things are looking bright.

See the bird with a leaf in her mouth

After the flood all the colors came out

the trouble with prosperity

The trouble with prosperity, wrote one Wall Street analyst, is that it is necessarily temporary. James Grant, one of Wall Street’s wisest commentators, theorized a model of “economic predestination” based on human behavior. Prosperity tends to breed overconfidence, which often leads to brash and risky behavior. When the economy is booming, Grant would be wary of a certain downfall to come. Egos often inflate quicker than the market, which eventually leads to a market correction. Likewise, crises encourage realism – a back-to-basics approach of how to handle a particular problem and emerge from it. In short, Grant theorized that when times are prosperous, the outlook will soon get worse; but in dismal times, one should expect to soon see the silver lining.

I think that is a microcosm (or macrocosm?) of the cycle of life in individuals. Those who are living the life and rolling the dice now should be cautious. A good life often leads to sloppiness, idleness, and satisfaction with the status quo. But for those of us who are in some sort of personal recession, things are looking bright.

See the bird with a leaf in her mouth

After the flood all the colors came out

a fine line

The commandment not to worry about tomorrow is one of the most beautiful

a fine line

After hearing the commandment "do not worry about tomorrow,

A man’s heart plans his way,
But the LORD directs his steps.

be angry

One of the virtues I admire most about children is that one can be so angry at the other, to the point where one wants to kill the other - but 10 minutes later, they've both forgotten the whole matter, laughing and playing as if it never happened. For whatever reason, though, we lose this as adults. People grow up to hold grudges. Pride paralyzes us. Our memories become our enemies.

"'Be angry, and do not sin': do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil."
--Paul the Apostle, quoting King David. Eph 4:26.

It's quite possibly one of the oddest commandments I've ever read - but I've realized recently why it's so crucial to be angry. My best work is often performed during periods of anger and passion. This is not uncommon. In advising new comedians on how they should perform their act, experienced ones will often advise them not to think of what makes them laugh, but rather what makes them angry; those tend to be the best acts.

When one is angry, one is necessarily sincere; few people can successfully fake anger. Anger is irrational - it comes from the heart. It is therefore crucial to examine what the heart holds; what makes it angry, and what doesn't, and adjust accordingly. We are permitted - and indeed commanded - to become angry with evil. One who isn't angry when their beliefs are under fire holds a degree of apathy. One who is angry all the time is likely self-centered. Somewhere between those two extremes lies the proper dosage of anger.

Once we've figured out the dosage, we need to figure out how to apply it. We are not to use it to protect our own pride. It's often said that "X will get you in a mess, pride will keep you there." It's refusing to turn around when the signs unequivocally say "you're going the wrong way, idiot." Thus, the second part of the verse is just as crucial as the first. Like children, we should get angry, but once we cool down, we must rid ourselves of it entirely.

the unexamined life

It's often a good idea to take a step back, remove yourself from the continuum of time [if even for 5 solid minutes], and sit in silence to think about where your life is heading.

Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.
-Proverbs 4:26

But in establishing your ways:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
-Proverbs 3:5-6

on frankness

There are two extremes when it comes to being honest with people. There is the overly frank, to the point of being unnecessarily rough, and there is the one who we'll call overly "kind" and refuses to point out the other person's flaws for any reason.

Pope Shenouda addresses extreme frankness;

You want to be sincere in defending the Truth. But your frankness often hurts people, they become upset and take a stand against you.
You ought to speak gently and wisely, with consideration for the feelings of others, as our Lord spoke to the Samaritan woman, so that he won her soul without hurting her (John 4).
-Pope Shenouda's Experiences in Life

and the other extreme, insincerity:

This hypocrite who speaks different from what is in his heart - his looks reveal him, as the eye is often the mirror of the heart which shows all his feelings. The features of his face or the tones of his voice could disclose him. The spiritual man is simple-hearted and does not conceal other than what he shows.

He is an open man, and what he says is what is in his heart. If he praises someone, he trusts him in his heart. If he apologizes, his apology truly comes out of his heart. Another may apologize, but his apology is not accepted because it does not come out of the heart.
-Pope Shenouda's Spiritual Man

Pope Shenouda writes:

One of his brother monks offended him very deeply so that he
came and said to me: “Should I go and tell him off ! “
So I said to him, “If his conscience is alive he will come of his
own accord to apologise to you. Otherwise there is no use in
telling him off. It will probably make this end up worse.
However, if he is really ignorant of the seriousness of what he
has done, it would be better for a third party to intercede
between you in this matter, to explain to him the extent of his
offence.
Whatever the case, it is better for you to wait, and who knows,
you might be lucky enough to forget him and forget his
offence!”

where the light is

One of the most embarrassing feelings known to human kind is being in the dark about something. When you're later enlightened about your misconception, you realize how foolish you were for saying something or acting in a certain way while in your ignorant state.

It's a lot like being angry for someone for driving slowly, then later learning that the driver was in fact a father who had just come back from the hospital and was bringing his newborn child home for the first time. Or like yelling at the young man behind the counter for counting too slowly when in fact he has a mental disability. Or like making fun of someone's parents only to realize they're deceased (that always happens).

Thus, one can say that most disagreements simply arise out of lack of information. Two sides have differing information, but they think the root of their disagreement is that the other person has poor judgment and poor values. Yet in fact, most people would likely share opinions if they had the same information. To get two people into agreement, you need to determine where the information gap is and fill it. Instead, what often happens is that the two sides attack each other on more superficial grounds, and one or both sides leave just as uninformed and determined as they came in.

And that is why St. Paul reminds us to speak the truth in love. Instead of attacking, we are to enlighten. It is our duty.

Have you ever been stuck in traffic, a“Have you ever been in traffic behind someone who
doesn’t move when the light turns green, so you honk your

“Most disagreements are like my example. Two people
have different information, but they think the root of their
disagreement is that the other person has bad judgment or
bad manners or bad values. In fact, most people would share
your opinions if they had the same information. If you
spend your time arguing about the faultiness of other people’s
opinions, you waste your time and theirs. The only relationships
thing than can be useful is examining the differences in your
assumptions and adding to each other’s information. Sometimes
that is enough to make viewpoints converge over time.”

Lately, I've been having trouble just sitting quietly and meditating.

Whatever things are true,
whatever things are noble,
whatever things are just,
whatever things are pure,
whatever things are lovely,
whatever things are of good report,
if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—
meditate on these things.

beautiful indifference

I woke up to a perfect day. 77, sunny and clear, with the smell of fresh cut grass in the air. The rabbits were playing in the yard, the birds were chirping, and that stupid squirrel still couldn't make up its mind about which way to go. Just another beautiful day.

While driving on my favorite backroads with the windows down, and the breeze just perfect, I decided to do something I now regret. I turned on the radio.

Today, the markets plummeted to historic lows. The U.S. debt is officially off the charts. Job security is an oxymoron. Every commentator has something to say about the "disaster."

Yet it seems that no matter what is going on in the world, the world itself hardly seems to care. Everything goes on as usual. The sun, believe it or not, will probably rise tomorrow. The grass will still grow, and the stars probably won't fall anytime soon. In short, all our problems, significant or not, collectively or individually, are just another drop in the ocean of history. But somehow we humans like to make our small problems become so big. While a third of the world's population starves tonight, we worry about a number on the boards.

One must realize his own unimportance before he can appreciate and understand his true importance.

Needless to say, I ignored the radio today. I switched to my iPod and drove on.

I worry
I weigh three times my body
I worry
I throw my fear around
But this morning, there's a calm I can't explain . . .

why america's youth love obama

Here's an important question: if one were to run an ad that encouraged the youth to vote, whose cause would it help? It is becoming increasingly clear that the liberals will overwhelmingly reap the benefits of a youthful vote.

Today's youth is bombarded with ultra-liberal views from a pre-pubescent age. I would have no problem with it if people were actually given a neutral set of choices, debated and discussed it, and chose a stance. Instead what we see are children being taught from a very young age that one's rights are more important than what's right. If it feels right, do it, so long as it comports with some vague societal standard that shifts from one generation to the next. The problem with blind liberalism, then, is not simply that there's no moral compass, it is that most adherents can't see why they even need one in the first place.

Liberalism is concerned with rights at the cost of morality. The liberal is constantly worried about his rights being infringed upon, never for a moment examining whether enforcing his right is the moral thing to do. He'll do anything to get what's fair, but maybe that's not what he really needs. Besides, who's moral values, and what moral values are we supposed to enforce in a secular society? The religious person is ready with an answer, but I often wonder what the agnostic/atheist has to say about morality. I would tell that person to look within himself to find the answer, but I'd be afraid that they have never thought about it seriously enough to give an answer.

The problem, then, is that these people often give the appearance of intelligence, societal progressivism, and elitism. Yet it's all an empty shell; nothing is holding up those beliefs other than self-interest. A conservative is criticized for being stagnant and for going against social progress. True, some conservatives may be very close-minded. But a true conservative will do not what is popular by today's standards, but by what is right under some form of objective moral guidepost that won't change in 10 years.

I pray that those well-educated conservatives can offer their views upon today's increasingly one-sided society so that at the very least, liberals can be given the chance to make an educated decision between at least two viable alternatives.