I meant to point out yesterday that the 818 junk mail items does not include the things that go to my deleted file because of rules I have set up. So I'd say add 100 to that number and that's probably more realistic. Also, still no word on the house.
Now that that business is out of the way....
A quick warning: This went way longer and much deeper than I ever intended, but I guess I needed to say it. I want to hear your thoughts.
Americans are lazy. I'm not talking about physical laziness. We are, for the most part, mentally lazy. We don't like to think for ourselves. We don't like to make decisions. We would much rather sit back and let someone think for us. Then we can listen to what they have to say and adopt their thoughts as our own. Examples you ask? Why, yes. Thank you. I have a few, and they are topics we love to talk about. Religion and politics.
Take religion. Way too often, our theology is the exact, word for word theology of our pastor. Is it because we think alike? Is it because we're the same denomination, so we must believe the same things? I tend to think, no. It’s because he's the preacher and if he says it, it must be true. He's giving it to me, why should I look it up myself? Why should I think about these things when I have a preacher to tell me what I believe?
Since we're already in really uncomfortable territory, let's take homosexuality for example. How many of us have actually studied what the Bible says about homosexuality? I don't mean look it up in your concordance and read the verses. Do that first. Then look at what those verses are saying. Who is saying it (i.e. Who wrote it?)? What is the context of the verse? What is the historical, cultural, and political context of the book? I won't go into my opinion; we've been down that road before. Maybe that was the COYM board and not here. My point is: this is an issue about which I have an opinion. Not because my preacher told me all gays were evil and want to steal our babies and take over the world. But because I took the time to do a little research and a lot of thinking.
What about politics? I'd say it's as bad, and probably worse than religion. We tend to make one decision in life politically. Am I liberal or conservative? Once that decision is made all of the others fall in line. I think the logic goes something like this: I'm conservative. Rush Limbaugh is conservative. Rush Limbaugh doesn't believe in global warming. Therefore, I don't believe in global warming. And the reverse is true as well. I'm liberal. Al Gore is liberal. Al Gore thinks the planet is going to melt in 2012. Therefore I think the planet will melt in 2012. It's the old mathematical rule A=B, B=C, therefore A=C. It's easy. It requires no thought. We let political pundits, talk show hosts, and elected officials form our opinions. Therein lies the problem. These people should influence our opinions; they shouldn't be our opinion. If they are our opinion, then maybe that should be our answer to all hot button political issues. "What do you think about the war in Iraq?" "Bill O'Reilly." "What's your opinion on Health Care?" "Howard Dean."
I really enjoy reading Matt Miller's () blog. There are lots of issues where we don't agree. There are many on which we do agree. Matt is unapologetically conservative. There was a time when I didn't like reading it that much. I saw regurgitated Republican talking points. But as I read deeper, I realized most of it was actually original thought. Matt is not afraid to look at what the "other side" is really saying and really believes. Instead of getting Obama's platform in sound bites from (insert Conservative Talk Show here), he actually listens to what Obama has to say then forms opinions about it. I respect that.
That brings me to the ultimate amalgamation of the two. Religion meets politics. Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Wright. This guy has really taken it on the chin lately. He's also been on every 24-hour news channel cable TV has to offer. He is probably the most vilified public figure since Elliot Spitzer was caught with his pants down (very nearly literally). But why? Because of his sermons and speeches? Or because of 5-6 words from his sermons and speeches?
How many of us have actually read or heard the sermon that caused so much commotion? How many listened to his speech to the NAACP or the National Press Club last week? How many heard 2-3 sentences from those speeches and immediately formed an opinion about the man?
I'll admit that I am guilty of doing just that. When his name first popped into the public eye, I formed an opinion about him. I heard a few words he said in one sermon and thought, as many others did, "This guy is dangerous." Then last week, I was driving home from picking up Subway and flipping through Sirius radio channels. I paused on CNN (it's simulcast on Sirius) to listen for a minute to the distinguished voice I heard. He was talking about the way we view anyone with a differing opinion from our own. He said over and over again the to us different equals deficient. As I listened I realized the voice coming across the airwaves was that of the crazy, dangerous man everyone was talking about. It was Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright. And he was making sense.
"Wait a second, this guy is crazy. Senile probably. He hangs out with Louis Farrakhan. He thinks we brought 9/11 upon ourselves." But here he was making sense. Talking about things I believed. Giving opinions I agreed with. Now some would say that even a blind monkey firing 10,000 shots will eventually hit the barn. But it helped me realize I was doing the exact thing I hate. I heard, and I leapt. I let someone else form my opinion. It won't be the last time; I just hope that incident will help it to happen less often.
My point? Don't be afraid to question things. Don't be afraid to doubt what you thought was infallible. If you live on other peoples’ opinions, those doubts and questions may cause your world to crumble around you. Questions and doubts should lead to learning and growth. I say should because, well too often they don't. Too often we deny our doubts. We suppress our questions. You may find that the questions actually strengthen your ideas; or you may realize you were wrong.
Now that that business is out of the way....
A quick warning: This went way longer and much deeper than I ever intended, but I guess I needed to say it. I want to hear your thoughts.
Americans are lazy. I'm not talking about physical laziness. We are, for the most part, mentally lazy. We don't like to think for ourselves. We don't like to make decisions. We would much rather sit back and let someone think for us. Then we can listen to what they have to say and adopt their thoughts as our own. Examples you ask? Why, yes. Thank you. I have a few, and they are topics we love to talk about. Religion and politics.
Take religion. Way too often, our theology is the exact, word for word theology of our pastor. Is it because we think alike? Is it because we're the same denomination, so we must believe the same things? I tend to think, no. It’s because he's the preacher and if he says it, it must be true. He's giving it to me, why should I look it up myself? Why should I think about these things when I have a preacher to tell me what I believe?
Since we're already in really uncomfortable territory, let's take homosexuality for example. How many of us have actually studied what the Bible says about homosexuality? I don't mean look it up in your concordance and read the verses. Do that first. Then look at what those verses are saying. Who is saying it (i.e. Who wrote it?)? What is the context of the verse? What is the historical, cultural, and political context of the book? I won't go into my opinion; we've been down that road before. Maybe that was the COYM board and not here. My point is: this is an issue about which I have an opinion. Not because my preacher told me all gays were evil and want to steal our babies and take over the world. But because I took the time to do a little research and a lot of thinking.
What about politics? I'd say it's as bad, and probably worse than religion. We tend to make one decision in life politically. Am I liberal or conservative? Once that decision is made all of the others fall in line. I think the logic goes something like this: I'm conservative. Rush Limbaugh is conservative. Rush Limbaugh doesn't believe in global warming. Therefore, I don't believe in global warming. And the reverse is true as well. I'm liberal. Al Gore is liberal. Al Gore thinks the planet is going to melt in 2012. Therefore I think the planet will melt in 2012. It's the old mathematical rule A=B, B=C, therefore A=C. It's easy. It requires no thought. We let political pundits, talk show hosts, and elected officials form our opinions. Therein lies the problem. These people should influence our opinions; they shouldn't be our opinion. If they are our opinion, then maybe that should be our answer to all hot button political issues. "What do you think about the war in Iraq?" "Bill O'Reilly." "What's your opinion on Health Care?" "Howard Dean."
I really enjoy reading Matt Miller's () blog. There are lots of issues where we don't agree. There are many on which we do agree. Matt is unapologetically conservative. There was a time when I didn't like reading it that much. I saw regurgitated Republican talking points. But as I read deeper, I realized most of it was actually original thought. Matt is not afraid to look at what the "other side" is really saying and really believes. Instead of getting Obama's platform in sound bites from (insert Conservative Talk Show here), he actually listens to what Obama has to say then forms opinions about it. I respect that.
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
That brings me to the ultimate amalgamation of the two. Religion meets politics. Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Wright. This guy has really taken it on the chin lately. He's also been on every 24-hour news channel cable TV has to offer. He is probably the most vilified public figure since Elliot Spitzer was caught with his pants down (very nearly literally). But why? Because of his sermons and speeches? Or because of 5-6 words from his sermons and speeches?
How many of us have actually read or heard the sermon that caused so much commotion? How many listened to his speech to the NAACP or the National Press Club last week? How many heard 2-3 sentences from those speeches and immediately formed an opinion about the man?
I'll admit that I am guilty of doing just that. When his name first popped into the public eye, I formed an opinion about him. I heard a few words he said in one sermon and thought, as many others did, "This guy is dangerous." Then last week, I was driving home from picking up Subway and flipping through Sirius radio channels. I paused on CNN (it's simulcast on Sirius) to listen for a minute to the distinguished voice I heard. He was talking about the way we view anyone with a differing opinion from our own. He said over and over again the to us different equals deficient. As I listened I realized the voice coming across the airwaves was that of the crazy, dangerous man everyone was talking about. It was Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright. And he was making sense.
"Wait a second, this guy is crazy. Senile probably. He hangs out with Louis Farrakhan. He thinks we brought 9/11 upon ourselves." But here he was making sense. Talking about things I believed. Giving opinions I agreed with. Now some would say that even a blind monkey firing 10,000 shots will eventually hit the barn. But it helped me realize I was doing the exact thing I hate. I heard, and I leapt. I let someone else form my opinion. It won't be the last time; I just hope that incident will help it to happen less often.
My point? Don't be afraid to question things. Don't be afraid to doubt what you thought was infallible. If you live on other peoples’ opinions, those doubts and questions may cause your world to crumble around you. Questions and doubts should lead to learning and growth. I say should because, well too often they don't. Too often we deny our doubts. We suppress our questions. You may find that the questions actually strengthen your ideas; or you may realize you were wrong.
Let's not be a spoon-fed nation. Let's learn to fish for our own knowledge.
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