livin' la vida mocha
That professional football is a business I know all too well. Since the day of the unceremonious firing of the honorable Tom Landry, I have been painfully conscious of it. That singular event muted my rooting enthusiasm permanently, but still I clung to my team.
Eventually, and much like in earlier years, a new crop of Good Guys helped me not to notice the occasional rotten coach or player. You see, I still want to root for the guys in the white hats even if in the real world, perfect heroes are not to be found. The Cowboys were just good enough for my willful disbelief to be sustained.
So imagine my horror when MY football team signed the infamous and odious Terrell Owens.
The day after the Owens signing I saw some idiot wearing a Cowboy’s jersey with his name and number on it. At that moment, I though about how quickly attitudes can change when Character Doesn’t Matter anymore. The new mantra has become “whatever helps my team win is good.”
This fundamental shift in what people look for in their sports heroes set me thinking about all kinds of things. Things like who we, the American people, have become. And the more I contemplated our corporate identity, the more it seemed that Americans have changed over the last four decades in fundamental and profound ways.
Whether Americans or I have changed or not, it is my first responsibility to keep my own house in order. When I stop and reflect, I know that my inability to root for the Cowboys this year is truly inconsequential to my life outside of spoiling a few Sunday afternoons. Afternoons should be more profitably spent anyway.
So in my small quest for self-improvement, I quickly noticed that I needed to find more time for prayer. Since I started a new job some weeks ago, the miles involved in that change caused me to lose access to the Church sanctuary I used regularly during the week. I knew that I was overdue to fix the situation.
To my dismay, looking for a place to pray on a day that is not Sunday has made me feel like TO looking for a football team willing to take him. The difficulty has been shocking. I do not begrudge Churches their locked doors even if I find the realities of good stewardship unfortunate. In fact, my old place of respite was always locked and a very nice lady was always there to let me in when I knocked. But Church after Church was the same experience: locked doors and groundskeepers staring at the strange fool who wanted in the Sunday Place.
I went to a LOT of Churches.
At three of them, at least I actually got to see a kind friendly face. The friendly looks seemed to give way to confusion when I asked if I could use the sanctuary or other chapel for prayer, but each did offer places to pray. The one offering that wasn’t a couch in a hallway was a brightly lit glass walled sitting room next to the entrance of a busy day care facility. Sadly, all three of these churches had nice big sanctuaries sitting dark and lifeless.
There was a fourth Church I snuck into. My intention was not to sneak but there wasn’t a soul around to ask permission of. Perhaps this would be a good place I thought as I entered and sat in a pew. I could not help but notice how beautiful the place was. It was so magnificent, perfect and unused as to feel sterile, almost surreal.
As I prayed silently, two older gentleman entered as well. They were talking loudly and examining the magnificent architecture seemingly oblivious to my presence initially. When I noticed their repeated inhospitable glances my direction as they loudly toured the facility, I did as they wished and left as quietly as I had entered. I skipped my usual practice of dropping a small offering on the way out: it was better to let others pay to polish this edifice of excess.
Slowly then it has dawned on me that even here in the Bible Belt the ancient tradition of going to a holy place for quiet contemplation and prayer is essentially dead. Our Churches have become Sunday Places. Not a place for life, but a place for a weekly fill-up. The signs outside our theaters invite us eagerly to the Sunday matinee.
I have to admit, I am jealous of those who can make it on a single fill-up for the entire week. My mileage is not nearly so good.
Perhaps I get poor mileage because of the time I spend in the drive through lines at Starbucks. After all, when I want a mocha, I want it quick. Unfortunately, I increasingly find that when Starbucks is not quick, my anger often is. My defense is that it is all a part of my conditioning as a modern. If a website does not appear in a couple of seconds, the back button takes me quickly to Google where I try the next link on the list. For better or worse, we are all living at the speed of the Internet.
One’s tank can get drawn down pretty quickly in Internet paced plastic America.
Americans have become so comfortable with plastic things that we are remaking our notions of even our most fundamental values with the stuff. A prominent nominally Christian evangelist starts their slick television production with the theme, “This is Your Day”. It is no longer God’s day apparently: the world revolves around me.
I can see now that the future really was plastics.
Truly, both the Owens signing and Sunday Places fit our plastic lives perfectly. If MY Cowboys are to win at internet speed, then how they go about it is of little consequence. If I am to be sanctified, then I need to get it done efficiently in the time allotted on my Outlook calendar for Sunday. I want what I want, when I want it.
The greatest concern of franchise owners and ministers is that back button and the cornucopia of choices.
We are so fortunate in America because our Horns are truly full of Plenty. I would not trade life here in the land of Milk Duds and Honey Buns for that available elsewhere—at least not yet. But when I look a little harder and see that the horn is made of polycarbonate fiber and the fruit is enhanced with genetically modified high-fructose corn syrup, I can not help but wonder if life at the speed of electrons leaves too much of the past behind too quickly.
But then, what do I know. I still pop my popcorn in a pan on the stove top when the world has long moved on to microwave packets. I am a true Curmudgeon, I suppose, finding pan-popped more satisfying because it tastes better. More satisfying like football with respectable players. Like prayer on a weekday when I just need it.
Really, is it any wonder at all that microwave politicians leave most of us feeling empty?
14 Comments:
CG,
I have never said or implied that human nature has itself changed. After all, Adam Smith disciples built this land on the bedrock of human avarice. I'm very realistic about that.
But I do think there has been a historical counterbalance in America wherein individuals would put their group's interest ahead of their own. Generally, this was exhibit on a small and close scale. Helping the neighbor cope with a challenge was not just common, but a social norm.
Their are many examples of the change I describe, but I would point to two. First, I would point to the Black Sox scandal. Were that to occur today, Shoeless Joe would suffer hardly a dent in reputation or income. A century ago however, the shame was complete and overpowered everything else. Contrast this with our treatment of Pete Rose or Barry Bonds. It really is a stark shift in attitudes.
The second thing I would point to is the volunteer spirit that existed in this formerly great nation at the time of the Second World War. It is almost shocking to remember that even prior to the Day that Would Live in Infamy, many thousand Americans where already serving overseas in foreign militaries because of a sense of duty to their fellow man. When we were attacked directly, the rush of volunteers was immediate and enormous.
I'm not saying that In the Good Old Days everything was perfect and honorable. What I am saying is that the social norms were different. We valued integrity and community spirit even if we did not always align as well as we should with those ideals.
And that is what is changed. The ideals are dead. The only ideal remaining is the market. We have substituted the market as mystical Platonic ideal that solves all problems.
Nice post. There are so many different church philosophies of dealing with the world. Some have become “Sunday places” like you said. Some are a busy grand central station of activity of numerous ministries and ministers. Some separate from the world so much that they aren’t available as an example or to minister. Other church congregations co-mingle so well with the world, its hard to see the difference, its hard to see the light shine because it looks, sounds, and acts like the world.
I don’t think you need to be jealous of those who can make it on a single “fill up.” Either they are being fed by scripture reading, media evangelist, small groups, or they really aren’t being nourished in the faith. Once a week doesn’t do it for me and too often my personal lapses of being nourished during the week (none of my excuses are valid) leave me undernourished. But if we distract ourselves enough, we don’t notice our spiritual tummy grumbles and it eventually shows.
Its almost like being on an excellent diet and exercise program. You feel great, you look great, birds tweet, the sun shines, and everything is wonderful. You feel good enough that you think you can skip a workout and have a Little Debbie Swill Roll. You rock along nourished in the faith, you're at peace, then work or other time wasters creep in and in no time your spiritual Dunlap begins to show.
Friends of mine recently told me of a relative that had committed adultery. A fine upstanding Christian. Until this happened at least. How did it happen? Without knowing the particulars, I bet they skipped that mid-week fill-up, and the consequences are as painful as they are real.
Prof. Ricardo
Unfortunately, much like every other form of political action in our society, this boycott is ill-conceived and unlikely to accomplish anything significant. I’d love to support the immigrants in some fashion, but I do not support illegal immigration. On the other hand, those who want to make currently illegal immigrants into felons are somewhere between cruel and insane.
One interesting thing I heard of was a restaurant chain here in Dallas that was contributing all of its profits for the day to charities that support the needs of immigrants. Their statement was really nice saying that they knew a lot of their employees wanted to support the cause, but that they could not take off because they need the money to eat. Most unsurprisingly, the CEO of that company was a naturalized US citizen.
I hope the movement gets organized and focused because there is a lot of work to be done on the immigration issue. And if they don’t get focused soon, all the noise thus far will amount to nothing at all.
And for the record, I don’t think the anti-immigrant sentiment is all about greed. I think there is equal measures of bigotry and fear mixed in. I think many politicians cultivate support by very artfully feeding the fears with rhetoric that sounds neutral.
Well, I'm working on a blog post on immigration. Hopefully in the next day or two.
I think that it is a shame when immigrants do not learn English. I do not think I would compell them to learn, but I have some sympathy for the thought that it keeps them a lower productivity levels than if they learn. Anyway, I have a lot of thoughts here that I will be sharing shortly.
Yohsi: “What? Why should they have to learn English any more than we have to learn Spanish? ”
How about out of politeness and consideration? How about because it is historically our chosen language and the most internationally known language for commerce? How about because it would speed commerce and bring them into a level playing field not being pandered to by Democrats and Republicans seeking votes and out of that victim-hood mode that earns them so much attention and free stuff.......er.......OK. I get it.
“Legality is all a matter of "if you got ....money, then it's legal. Even legal to kill your damn wife. But if you don't got money, it's "against the law" to try and secure a better life for your family.”
I’m disappointed in you Yoshi. I figured you would have seen the logical error in your statement above.
The rule of law is what prevents the king (or wealthy) from skirting the law. With a just judge, and a just jury, and just laws, then all are treated equal. Murder is murder regardless of the criminals characteristics and regardless of the victim’s characteristics. It is not the wealthy that bypasses the rule of law. It is our bias or prejudice in his favor.
However, your supposed offense at the wealthy bypassing the rule of law falls flat on its face when you excuse such flouting of the rule of law by certain people, because their motives are supposedly more honorable, to “secure a better life for your family.”
These individuals that you praise for their higher intellect because they know more than one language, apparently are not smart enough to become citizens under the laws that the rest of us have. But, that of course depends on if that is their true objective. When they marched the first time they flew Mexico flags. After they found out that wasn’t good PR in America (DUH? Intellectual superiority?) They nixed the Mexico flags and wrapped themselves in the US flag. Notice where their allegiance was when they weren’t concerned with how it looked. Where your treasure is, there will be your heart also. And so the dollars flow with vigor to Mexico and become their second largest cash crop (pun intended).
“I say we do this the market way. Everyone wins....Let's privatize it. For two grand, which is roughly what it costs coyotes to bring immigrants over, let's process them in, expidite the procedure. Then the government make 2 thousand dollars a head!!!! ”
Which would then be used up at the first visit of said illegal immigrants on their first visit at the county hospital for FREE medical care. If you want to privatize it, have all immigrants pay their own medical, own schooling, own interpreter expense for the luxury of making other nations conduct business in YOUR language rather than the historic native language of the land.
My wife has made several trips to Europe. Each time she made extraordinary efforts to learn the language and customs and geography of the area she was visiting. Since she was the visitor she felt compelled to accommodate them rather than to be accommodated. Yet, what attitude is expressed towards this country that attracts the world, but one of stick it to the whites, the rich, the Americans, the Gringos, as if it was the U.S. of America’s policy to wet-nurse every whiney, tantrum throwing, person who seeks wealth and the good life as though it were an entitlement, and particularly, if it causes displeasure to those native to this country.
Ask me if the criminal immigrant march impressed me. On second thought, don’t bother.
Prof. Ricardo
Hey, don't call me a racist. I agree though that there is a lot of racism in all of this crap.
What I mean is clearly this: when in Rome, it is most profitable to do as the Romans do. It is just simple common sense.
I certainly am a strong supporter of more foreign language education. Sadly, our pathetic public school system, and even more pathetic dumbed down society that feeds those schools, can't even teach English effectively.
A very sad state of affairs indeed.
C.G.: “If all you are seeing in this event is criminals, then I have to suggest corrective lenses for my friend.”
I’m well aware of their composition. Talk to a client yesterday. A construction crew of 7 didn’t show. Five had green cards. Three white guys showed up. My client in his late 60's was helping them do a bit of hard labor. Some or all of no shows may be fired. One of his concrete layers said the whole crew didn’t show. The concrete foundation to be laid was important and needed to be timely done. It was more important for these “wanting to make a better life” to tell the country that promises them a better life, gives them medical care, and teaches their children for free, “Up Yours!”
No they weren’t all criminals. But they were in solidarity with breaking current immigration law. None of them know what laws should be in place, they just want blanket amnesty, the Gringo to shut up, and keep those American dollars flowing.
“There is a difference between visiting your country and visiting your home. Even when visiting your home, we would be talking about a difference in politeness... not a difference in custom. In fact, I always thought it was the host who tried to make the guest feel comfortable, not the other way around.”
Social grace demands that you accommodate others period. When you are a guest, its nice to know that leaving one hand in your lap in Japan is considered rude. Here in the south it is considered polite. In Japan certain numbers, like our number “13” are considered bad. When you are a host you overlook your guest attempts at grace that may have missed the mark. Their current attitude - not all Hispanics, not all immigrants, just those marching - is no attempt at assimilation. Did you go to the link I gave in the last blog? Here it is again: www.mexica-movement.org/granmarcha.htm
Check it out and tell me the sad story of their trying to make it a better life by becoming Americans.
Prof. Ricardo
Common Good: “However, I think 99% of that danger is caused by the host and bigotry rather than the actions of the guest.”
Oh really.
“Never allow people in other than.... Don't let them in if ....”
My, my. It seems like you want an organized, controlled method of allowing them in. That would involve laws.....and having them obeyed. The question before us is not LEGAL immigration but ILLEGAL. The problem is they aren’t obeying the law WHATEVER that law is. You can change the law. Big deal. The problem is they are not OBEYING the law. And what the flaming rip kind of nation are we if it is the immigrants who determine our immigration policy? Sounds more than a little limp-wristed wussyness to me.
P.R.
Common Good: “However, I think 99% of that danger is caused by the host and bigotry rather than the actions of the guest.”
I remember when I had my car broken into many years ago. It was 99% my fault. I locked the doors. Had I left the doors open, he wouldn’t have had to break the window. Had I left the radio on the seat rather than attached to the dash, he wouldn’t have had to use a crow bar on my dash doing $500 worth of damage on the dash. And I know he did it for his family because he stole the baby stroller with attached toys as well. I am sorry I was such a poor host. We must be more considerate of what we expect the actions of our guests. And, of course, we must check such bigotry against law breakers. I feel ashamed. . . NOT!
P.R.
Yoshi: “Nuts are peppered into everything (check Christianity for example, where the wackiest really are.”
Insulting Christians is a common thread for you. Its why I questioned your Christianity last year. David Koresh raped young girls and claimed to be Jesus come in the flesh. You have lumped him in with “Christians.” It either says something about your feelings of Christians or your understanding of Christianity. But I digress....
“S.California is Mexican. So is S.Texas. I mean, the political lines on the map is American, but the cultures are Mexican. San Antonio is Mexican....Culturally Mexican, administered politically by America. They were speaking Spanish there before they were speaking English.....but I'm saying that Mexicans have a cultural claim on those places, and a right to live there....”
Let me understand the principles involved here. Infiltrate a country legally and illegally. If they don’t treat you badly and kick your hiney out, linger and infiltrate with your culture. Once your cultures imprint is geographically recognized for that area, you have homesteaded “and a right to live there.” Which brings me to Iraq. As we occupy, we need to have American culture infiltrate and attach to the people and geography. Once it becomes a recognized component of our people and the places they are, we will have “a right to live there.” You're starting to sway me here, Yoshi.
“Rights are given by God, and our laws should reflect that. So change the laws, give them amnesty. Why do you care?”
Because rewarding law breakers with giving them what they are trying to steal (citizenship and the its proper rights) and succumbing to the demands of criminals when their allegiance is not to the country they want their “rights” in is so self-evident, I can’t imagine you are missing this.
“I can't believe all that mumbo-jumbo about Christianity from you and here it is that you just turn out to be a racially insecure bigot.
Here is some more “mumbo-jumbo” for you:
Romans 13:1 Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.
Uh, Yohsi, that would include immigration laws. The current ones, not the ones you wished were here. Yep, I’m a judicial bigot.
“Let's get these illegals in some kind of computer database where we can regulate them and keep tabs on them.”
I suppose that would make them documented, but if they decline, what the hey, give them amnesty, after all, What’s it to ya?
Prof. Ricardo
Tony,
Sorry, but we jumped the immigration line without you. However, I am sure it is 99% America's fault.
P.R.
Above I said: “Which brings me to Iraq. As we occupy, we need to have American culture infiltrate and attach to the people and geography.”
I was a day late and a dollar short....
Latino Gangs claim their turf in Iraq.
Common,
“I will not accept the nonsense rantings of politicians or citizens claiming this a illegal immigration problem.”
That’s all it is to me.
“This is a failure of our government... not a failure of any kind of a human being seeking to improve their lives.”
100% of all human beings want to improve their lives. There are a plethora of nations to choose from. Each has a different level of political/economic freedom along the spectrum. Those nations with greater political/economic freedom have less poverty and a higher standard of living. To differentiate nations and entities, we define their range, scope, borders, etc. We have chosen a form of representative government that has produced one of the highest standard of livings for the average person, the world has ever seen. So much so that people want to flock to the promise land. The boat people left oppression. My CVS photoprocessor was from Syria. He said they would go into your house in the middle of the night, drag you naked into the street and beat you in front of your family. Mexico is a corrupt socialist hell hole that a starving populace is trying to flee (at least economically). The answer is not to bring 106 million Mexicans into our benevolent arms, as well as another 6 billion the world over. You think your lawn care is cheap now, try a team from S. Yemen. If your immigration policy is to limit those coming in to those who want to come in, then you have no immigration policy. You’re letting the patients run the asylum. You’re letting the inmates set their departure date. You’re letting the law breakers determine what the law is.
When you say that you will not accept that this is an illegal immigration problem, you define yourself out of any way to understand what is going on. I haven’t heard anyone say send the Latinos home, or stop immigration, or anything similar. Only ENFORCE THE LAWS!
You want to change the laws, FINE! But whatever they are, enforce them.
HOWEVER, in response to being called a bigot, a racist, it is interesting to note the anti-white, anti-European, anti-American flood of words coming from protestors, LULAC, NAACP, etc. and the totally lack of such quotes from those opposed to an open border or immigration lawlessness.
How about take something the Mexican government wants (open borders) and use it to our advantage. How about DEMAND economic/political freedoms in their country for slight increases in allowed immigration and other immigration concessions.
One problem. Dem-O-Libs don’t understand economics. They would demand that Mexico tax itself to death, nationalize the energy industry, and create nationalized heathless insurance. What once was understood and worked and has brought the envy of the world is misunderstood by an increasingly clueless population devoid of even a modicum of economics laws. Listen to the rants about obscene profits of petroleum companies for examples.
You say the one argument opponents to illegal immigration have, that is that they are opposed to illegal immigration, is bogus, LEAVES YOU in the position of making stuff up if in fact there is a great body of people that want an enforced border policy.
Do not make the mistake of defining yourself out of a position to understand what is going on. It will destroy any good you could contribute to the discussion.
Prof. Ricardo
Common Good: “Wow... a nationwide semi-orgainized protest, with almost zero violence.”
Hmmm. A day of showing America the clout of Illegal’s by withholding their economic effect resulted in zero violence. I don’t think that was the intended economic effect they wanted you to notice. I thought you were on their side. :-)
“... but why is killing Indians to get rights and land noble and risking your life {only your's} to cross a desert to work in a land where half the population views you as lessor humans NOT NOBLE.”
You see, this, this is evidence that the current hug-a-tree, trans-gendered, save-the-owl-darters, hole-in-the-ozone, Washington-had-twelve-wives, Gaia-is-our-true-god, Abraham-was-a-homosexual, your-being-judgemental, you-evolved-from-primordial-slime, Heather-has-two-Mommies, ban-the-Bible educational system has failed us miserably. THANK GOD I got to go back to original source documents and journals and teach my children about an America so different, so very different, than Hollywood, radical deviant political groups, and our educational institutions now teach. Unbelievable.
“I say these guys should do this as many times as it takes to make the knuckle-draggers "get it"”
I’m ready for the year long boycott. No cheaters. Every last one of the Illegal’s must participate. We want this to be a success! Who’s with me?
Prof. Ricardo
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