Celebrating Christmas

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone we can really get into the celebration of Christmas. I cannot say that I am one of these huge Christmas people. I do not do decorating and stuff like that. But Christmas does have important spiritual significance for me. And I do like hearing the Christmas songs that I only hear at this time of the year.
Because I am a Christian it is natural that Christmas has meaning to me. But do some Christians go overboard and become rude with their celebrations. There are probably some cases of that. But it does not seem to me that the generic wishing of "Merry Christmas" or talking about a Christmas tree instead of a holiday tree should be so offensive.
I remember when I was in grad school that one of the professors on my dissertation committee was Jewish. When I went to visit him about my dissertation I notice a menorah on his desk during the Christmas holidays. Even back then there was controversy about Christmas celebrations. I looked at that menorah and wondered what the fuss was all about. Looking at it did not offend me as a Christian. I felt no pressure to become Jewish or feel that he was going to treat me differently because I am not Jewish. I am as serious about my faith as they come but this did not hurt my feelings in the least. For me this was just his expression of his culture and beliefs.
I gotta wonder about people who get offended by the term Christmas or expression of "Merry Christmas." I wonder what all the fuss is about. Why do these people not see it as merely an expression of a person's faith and culture? Many of these same people often emphasis ideas about tolerance but this does not seem very tolerant to me.
So I wish to all "Merry Christmas." If you want to wish me "Happy Hanukkah" or "Good Kwanzaa" then that is fine with me. I will not be offended.

Sincerely,

Trouble-Maker

Living in Transparency

The recent news about Herman Cain and Joe Paterno have got me thinking. Thinking about my past. I have to wonder if there is some event in my past that will come up and bite me someday. I am certain that I have never tried to stick my hand up a lady’s skirt as Cain is accused of doing and I am doubly certain that I do not know of any unreported child abuse that Paterno has confirmed not reporting. So I think I am clean of any of the really horrible potential bombs that can explode in my life.
But that does not mean that I am squeaky clean. Like just about everyone I have done things in my life that I am not proud of. There are events that if they came to light have the potential of embarrassing me. (And no I am not going to tell you in this public forum. They are embarrassing remember.) I have tried my best to live a good and moral life but I am human and at times I have failed. Fortunately my faith has helped me to deal with the guilt that can come with those failings but I have to recognize that they are there nonetheless. Sometimes, as I think it was in the case of Paterno, a person may not fully realize how much he or she has failed until the event blows up. Paterno probably had forgotten about the molestation until it became public. This is not to excuse him but I can see how this has taken him by surprise and now has greatly damaged his legacy.
What if we lived our lives as if our worst actions can be made public at a later stage of our lives? That is not a pleasant thought to consider but if we ever become famous it is a wise thought to have. If we lived our lives this way would it change what we are doing right now? If you would change your life then why not go ahead and make those changes? It is a kind of selfish motivation to not do bad because you are afraid someone will one day “out” you but if this means that one less spouse is beaten or one less child is abused then I will take it.
So I challenge all of us, myself included, to live as if people are watching and will report on you someday. I hope your worse sins are never revealed to the rest of the world. But who knows? Maybe one day they will be.

Sincerely,

Trouble-Maker

Sometimes the Stereotypes are True.

All groups like to stereotype out-groups. Even those groups that pride themselves on tolerance engage in stereotyping of those they disagree with. For example, I notice that a common stereotype progressives tend to have of conservatives is that they are stupid. You saw this a lot in comments about President Bush and Governor Palin. I do not believe that you can become President if you are stupid and such a stereotype undervalues the fact that Palin became governor of Alaska without a lot of resources. I do not agree with those individuals all the time but that does not mean I have to think they are stupid.
But then there is Governor Perry. You know. Sometimes the stereotypes are true. Tonight during the Republican debate he forgot the government departments he wanted to cut. Yes you read that correctly. He is eager to cut governmental agencies but just do not know which ones to cut. Hope he does cut the wrong one by accident. You know we may want that department of defense to not be cut in case we go to war or something.
Yeah Perry reminds us that some people do exhibit the stereotypes of their group. I do not believe that liberals are smarter than conservatives. But a whole lot of them seem smarter than Perry. The task for those of us who want to be fair to others is not to look at the performance of Perry and then buy into the stereotype of conservatives. We have to remember that any stereotype will have people who fit them. Some women are bad drivers. Some poor people are lazy. But women are on average not worse drivers than men, and the poor are not lazier than the rich. So even if Perry is as intellectually challenged as we think this says nothing about conservatives as a whole. But that does not mean we have to stop having fun laughing at his mistakes.

Sincerely,

Trouble-Maker