Hate: The Black Hole Of The Human Soul Pt. 2

There has been some spirited talk about the subject I posted a couple of days ago. I wanted to respond to the statements made on Facebook here because frankly, the texting on FB is much to be desired. Buckle up, here we go.

It was said in one of the posts:

"You know I'm not seeing it as or holding it against any race, although people on both sides of the issue define it as such. Worse, many of the displaced made it a race issue themselves."


Reply: I'm not saying that all of the bad stuff that happen to the people who were displaced was racially motivated, not in the least, BUT historically speaking, when a disaster hit neighborhoods that were occupied by minorities, it was those neighborhoods that either were not built back up or were very slow in receiving funding to rebuild. This was not the norm in wealthier neighborhoods whom were built back up in a timely fashion.

For the record, I don't see the "racial boogeyman" around every corner. I do not attempt to infer racism into every situation I read or hear about. I'm not saying anyone is implying that, but I just wanted it out there. In the article I referred to with Boortz, I put the quote he had in there because when you read it and know the situations and references he made, it does not take a Mr. Spock or Sherlock Holmes to see that we was specifically speaking about African-Americans. When he referred to the Superdome, if we remember the scenes from there, a majority of the people that were seen were people of color. Of course there were other ethnicities there, but if Boortz was looking at the same images I was, it was a sea of Black faces. So in THIS case, it's not a far stretch to know exactly who he was referring to.

Second statement I wanted to address:

"Now, careful with that theocratic thinking... Right and wrong are much more easily determined & upheld without religion needing any place in that. Most terrorists (domestic and abroad) are faithful and see what they do as for God.

Faith is often a good thing, but also absolutely abusable - that is why I am no longer religious at all. Spiritual, sure, good person, almost certainly, and no one can claim I am not well educated on the subject."

Reply:

I actually do not advocate a theocratic society, not one ruled by mortal men at least. We have tried to have a society ruled by a theocracy starting around 306A.D. under Emperor Constantine, it was the beginning of the "Holy" Roman Empire which after its collapse in the 5th century A.D., was the beginning of the Dark Ages. Indeed the Taliban are a more recent form of a theocracy and we see what that has gone. When I spoke about the Church speaking out against racism, what I was trying to convey was that Jesus was our model for how to treat our fellow man. When He walked the Earth, He had shown justice and mercy to the hurting and underprivileged. We as Christians should also model that behavior. Where there is injustice, we should speak loudest against it and act to correct it.

As I have stated in my opening post, I am a Christian by faith and practice, I do believe the Bible is the Word Of God. With that said, I do believe that Jesus will return one day and set up His kingdom on the Earth in Jerusalem. Check out the Books of Daniel, Revelations, and Isaiah, they refer to th Messiah and His kingdom. I said all of that to say this: I would never want to live a place where man has setup a theocracy because man is fallible and corruptible. Justice and mercy would only be applied to those who can afford it, look at Europe during the Dark Ages all the way up through the Renaissance. Corruption abounded under the political rule of the Papacy and it didn't get challenged until Martin Luther, but I digress. When Jesus rules, then you will see true love, justice and mercy. Just a note, I am not condemning Catholic people, not by any stretch of the imagination, I am only referring to the policies and doctrines that were condoned by the Papacy in centuries past. It is now 1:22AM and I must rest. If I haven't been clear enough, please let me know. I bid all a good ni..err.. morning.

Hate: The Black Hole Of The Human Soul

I was doing some online reading when I ran across an article here:

http://boortz.com/nealz_nuze/2009/02/beyond-belief.html

The article was concerning the displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina which happened four years ago this week. The article is "code worded", a term meaning that certain words and phrases are used to refer to people or persons whom the user has issue with. In the case of Mr. Boortz, the code phrase is "human parasites", the decrypted phrase is "African-Americans". I does not take an NSA cryptographer or some cipherpunk somewhere in the U.K, to decipher the thinly veiled references to Black people. Let me see, people who were displaced, disowned, disrespected, and shoved into the Houston Superdome like human sardines, are "human parasites"? Babies without milk or diapers, are "human parasites"? Elderly people who worked all of there lives to get a piece of the "American Dream" by being homeowners and land owners who found their lives in ruins, are "human parasites"? Wow...

Now, one could argue the case that Mr. Boortz was merely referring the "undesirables" of all ethnicities, well let's look at the paragraph posted in his own writing:


"What was it I said about New Orleans? Prolly something it about being a city infested with parasites ... human parasites. Odd, isn't it, that two million could get on the National Mall for Barack Obama's inauguration without any public transportation, but 80,000 couldn't get out of New Orleans with four days warning and busses and trains running.?"



Unless you have been orbiting one of the outer planets for the past six months, you may know that Boortz was referring to the gathering of nearly two million people, most of which were African American, at the Presidential inauguration in D.C. That quote for me, instantly dispels any notion that Boortz was referring to "everyone" in that quote. The object of his vitriol is as clear as "onyx" (hint hint).

So here is my question as a Christian, where is the Church when it comes to dealing with racism? Why is our voice quiet for the most part? We rail against abortion and other moral evils, yet do we not consider the idea of one ethnic group denigrating another, and enforcing the idea of racial superiority by denying the objects of that hatred the same rights and privileges the via our economic, social, and political institutions, a sin? Don't get me wrong, there are many good pastors out there (I know a couple) who speak on these things, but for the most part there has been silence...except for the "pastor" in Arizona who is praying for the President to die and go to Hell.

Lord have mercy on us...

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Until the next episode...

No Peace Like His Peace

I am saddened and shocked at the fact that Michael Jackson, an entertainer whom I enjoyed for over twenty-five years, had his life cut short because of a drug overdose. He was not doing cocaine, heroin, or any other illegal drug, he simply wanted to get some sleep. They sad fact is that it seemed that he had no real peace in his life. He had millions of dollars, adoring fans, and beautiful children, but no sense of peace.

I don't know if Michael had any relationship with Jesus, but I do know that those who have a relationship with Jesus Christ, in spite of circumstances, can have that "peace which surpasses all understanding" Philippians 4:7. I have been through hell and high water in my life, who hasn't? I have experienced Philippians 4:7 first hand in full effect. As some of my older friends will says "God will show up and show out!", meaning that God is very much aware of the circumstance, and He has not left you alone and will act in perfect time, even if it doesn't seem like that to us mere linear beings.

I was taught a very valuable lesson by the passing of one of the greatest entertainers in history. I learned that no matter how much money you have, how much fame you have, if you need a drug to get you to sleep because you have no peace, then no money or fame in the world, can bring you that peace. Jesus, the Prince of Peace who said "Peace I give you, peace I leave with you. Not as the world gives do I unto you, but as I give." John 14:27, is the ONLY one who can. I pray that the King of Pop was able to rest in the arms of the Prince of Peace. Until next time...

Ok, Last Word

This will be my final entry about the protests that has shaken our country. I want to be clear, in NO way, shape, or form, do I think that ALL of the protesters are racist, that would be the the height of absurdity. My comments are directed specifically at the individuals who created and hoisted the signs that did depict racist images. My point was to question the intent of the individual wielders. Those who did have those signs were detracting from legitimate protesters, who actually have real concerns and questions.

We as Americans have the Constitutional right to question our leaders and voice our concerns. This only becomes toxic when instead of the issue being attacked, the person is being attacked, or rather their personhood. The ethnicity of an individual has nothing to do with the issues we are facing, so there is no reason for such negative and derogatory images. When you have cardboard cutout of the President hanging with a noose around his neck, I question whether you really have a serious concern about the issue of health care, or are you using the situation as a opportunity to express perhaps, a deep seated resentment of an African-American Commander and Chief and those who look like him? That's it, 10-4, roger, over and out.

Even lower...

I saw the most despicable act of racism today on Youtube. A Jewish man was speaking about health care in Israel. As the man is speaking his mind (and he is a citizen of the U.S. by the way), a woman yells out to him "Heil Hitler!". WHAT?!? The man is speaking his mind as a citizen of this country, and she has the audacity to shout out a phrase that conjures up images of beaten, starved, broken, and brutally murdered human beings who were the focus of one of the most satanic plots in history outside of the Middle Passage, the extermination of God's chosen people, the Jews. Perhaps she missed the memo that Israel is a friend to America and it's citizens. I'm outraged for the simple fact that the issue the gentleman was talking about is an issue that is affecting our country, the health care initiative.

Before you cut me off, I just want to say that I have not made up my mind either way because I have not finished reading the Senate or House bill on it (yes, I have a copy, all 1018 pages of the Senate bill). Now back to my point.

I have heard people state that the protests have absolutely nothing to do with racism, it is all about not wanting our country to become Socialist. Really? Medicare is what then? And what that other one...ummm... let me think...social sec...something or another. It's the one that makes sure people who are too old to work don't end up living on the street and dying from hunger in front of Macy's and other places that young Americans like to spend money to pretend they are celebrities. So race isn't a factor in any of this? Then why hoist signs that show the Commander-and- Chief of the armed forces, as a monkey? Why have signs that show him as a thug cutting the throat of Uncle Sam? Both images are the stereotypes that we as African-Americans have had to fight for many a decade. So to bring this back around, given the many evidences I have seen, far too many to espouse on here, there is a definite underlying current of racism with some of these protesters. The idea of an African-American president is offensive to some. "Those (insert obvious ethnic reference here) people" are not supposed to occupy the most powerful office on the planet, it's only for "true (insert other obvious ethnic reference here) Americans." Yeeeeahhhh. :-/

As a Christian, I pray for those same people who look at me as a threat to them because of my ethnicity. I do not have a right to hate them, even though I am angered and saddened by the actions of those same people. "Love those who despise you, pray from them that spitefully use you." Luke 6:28.
It hurts my spirit to listen to people yell racial epithets under the guise of patriotism and policy protest . The last I checked, the USA was made up of many different cultures. Perhaps that woman should go to the Statue of Liberty and re-read the inscription:

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breath free
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore
Send these, the homeless
Tempest-tossed to me
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Hey, I have no problem with protests, it's is our right as citizens of the United States of America to voice our opinion without fear of government reprisal. But when our voice turns to one of hate and discord, I think we violate the spirit of the 1st Amendment.

My posts will not always be about negative things, but I just feel that these are things that Christians should think and talk about, because whether we like it or not, we are citizens of this world even though our true home is in Heaven. Issues about race and other things should not be a "Hush hush, let's tiptoe around this because we don't want to offend anyone" type deal. It affects all of us, no exceptions. Until next time...

To everything, turn turn, turn, and cough.

This is my first "official" post, so it may be a little dicey.

Ok, we all have watched the news and have seen our country at a low point. People have let the most base of human emotions, ooze out over the national landscape. I can only imagine that the social atmosphere that we find ourselves in, is not unlike America in the mid-late 1960's and early 1970's. There were protests over the Vietnam War, civil rights, and the changing social morays. People screamed, spit, and even assaulted each other. You would have thought that we have moved passed that. WRONG! We now have "deathers", "birthers", "ultra-liberals", "wingnuts". Wonderful little names we come up for each other. Welcome to "1960's 2.0".

Now we have stepped up our game a bit from what our ancient ancestors of 40+ years ago (no offense to my older friends) did. When protesting whatever is the hot topic of the time (I think you know where I'm going with this), we now feel like it's ok to bring AR-15's and 9mm sidearms to said protests. Oh wait, it gets better. We now think think we can do this at a rally where our President is speaking. Wow, that is absolutely brilliant, bringing guns around our leader and not thinking that perhaps, just perhaps, the Secret Service will just somehow ignore you? After all, you don't look like one of "those people" whom, we are at war with, and you certainly are not one of those, ahem, "people of African decent, who of which you happen to have one as your 'best friend' ", so you're good to go, right? Hmmmm? What type of mentality would think about bringing a gun or two, to a protest rally, especially where the President is speaking? It's been my observation that in history, especially over social issues, when someone of color is in a prominent position and speaking out on those issues, all of a sudden, guns start coming out. People have protested for different things over the years, but it only seems like when an African-American or another person of color is somehow involved, the threat of violence seems to increase. This is just my thought. What's yours?

Ok, to bring it back to a Christian perspective. Do you think Jesus is pleased with this mess? Personally, I can't see attaching myself to any of those groups. Nothing about what they are doing spells "love you neighbor as yourself" to me. I understand that they feel that somehow our country is going under. Here's the thing "Be in this world, but be ye not of this world." Why are people who consider themselves Christians, ready to fight and despise their neighbor just because they disagree on some artificial political point? Indeed "the love of many shall wax cold." Matt 24:12. Even if I am in disagreement with someone, I can still still respect them and show the love of Christ. Our country would do well to learn that lesson.

Journey of a Thousand Miles...

starts with the first cup of coffee. Welcome to my first blog posting. Off the bat, I will be speaking on a variety of topics, mostly spiritual, social, scientific, and political in nature. I will introduce myself. My name is Michael. I am a Christian, not in the cultural sense, i.e. "American=Christian (not)" but one who truly believes that Jesus the Christ is the Lord, the awaited Messiah, and the only hope of eternal life for a lost and fallen world. Ok, now if I haven't scared you off, I hope that I can have good and honest discourse on the above mentioned topics.

I do not claim superior authority on anything. I'm not a journalist, and I do not posses a degree from a "big 10" school. I do not have a paper with letters after my name (B.A., M.S., Ph.D, XYZ, PDQ, infinitum ad nauseum), but I have the ability to reason and argue constructively. I just want to talk about things that concern our society, culture, and our individual lives. Now that you hear the music of this blog, shall we dance?