Getting the News

Reality checks, truth statements, assertions of falsehoods, bending, spinning, twisting, exaggerating, outright lying, and everything else in between, this is what the Free Press must discern, weed through, and then clarify in order to do its job with integrity.

Trump, I believe, will make the press work harder for its buck, but maybe that’s a good thing.

Whatever Trump says cannot and must not be taken at face value and must certainly not be taken for granted.  And whatever Trump actually does must be carefully examined from a larger perspective and from all angles: forward, backward, up and down, and inside and out, so as to adequately grasp the full implications and consequences of his actions.

In other words, enough of pundit’s opinions and opinings and second guessing!   The press must do its homework well.  It needs to move away from mere speculative commentary about what might be, might have been, or could be and move toward eagle-eyed description of what is; properly highlighting and outlining the intricate web of connections between cause and effect, between word, deed, action and reaction.  The press needs to show the direct links between words and actions and their consequences, connecting the actual results and effects of Trumps words and deeds and avoid merely speculating about them.

There is way too much speculation going on in the news these days.  We are being presented with way too much virtual reality as compared to actual reality—and it's not just Trump’s doing.

Furthermore, the press must go back to headlining real scope and depth to a story rather than merely repeating the shallow soundbite of a story.  For example: the press learns that Trump saves almost 1,000 jobs in Indiana at the Carrier company.  That’s the headline.  Yes, it’s catchy and impressive, but it’s shallow.  Yet it is what is repeated over and over.  Where’s the depth?  At what cost?  Is it a really good deal for the state; how do we know this?  In short, what about the details and the hard questions that shed greater light on a deal like this?  So, the Carrier Company is being given $7,000,000 in state tax breaks as part of the deal.  Well then, tell us, how is the state going to make up for this lost revenue?  What are the negative consequences, if any, to a deal like this—especially to the tax-payer?  That is, who is going to make up and pay-up for this $7,000,000 tax break?  In other words, I feel like I’m not hearing the full story!

I am tired of turning to these news channels that pits one side against the other: “I think this.”  “Well, I think that!”  “Well, I think that what you think is wrong.”  “Well I think that what you think is ignorant and wrong.”  Ugh!  Enough!!

I don’t care about the opinions of either side.  I want truth.  I want reality!  I want to see the big picture for myself, and from various angles, so that I can interpret the picture for myself.  Bring a reality check; show me what is there.  I want to hear about what IS.  I don’t want to hear about what might be, may be, could have been, or very well may have been, but for this and that.  I want to see the direct links between cause and effect.  Bring me the facts, state the truth; show me what’s real and actual!

If the President (elect) says it, it must be True, Right?!

The following is a November 27th tweet from Donald Trump, our president elect:  “Serious voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California - so why isn't the media reporting on this? Serious bias - big problem!”

With absolutely no substantiating evidence to back his claim, Trump declares that serious voter fraud has taken place in three significant states.  Why should this worry us?

It’s worrisome because this kind of tweeting, which he does often, continues to reassert Trump’s dismissive attitude toward actual truth and lack of respect for real facts, revealing his complete disregard for reality in favor of political spin, exaggerated hyperbole and outright deception.

Trump will often deliberately cast a cloud of confusion and darkness over individuals, institutions, and processes if and when he receives unflattering or unwelcome news by them.  In short, he throws mud at them knowing that the mud will stick in the minds of his devotees and/or anyone who already has doubts or misgivings and distrusts the person, institution, or process in question.

That is to say that Trump is a master in the use of demagoguery = “A leader who makes us of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power.”  Trump now has more power and influence then ever before, yet he continues to use demagoguery as a means to attack anyone or any institution with whom he disagrees with or dislikes or has been offended by.

When he makes such assertions he is not interested in TRUTH.  His only interest is to smear and undermine public trust in said person or institution.  He tweets so as to make an immediate impact in the hearts and minds of all that are eager to give HIM the benefit of the doubt and are willing to accept HIS assertions without question.  He’s the Pied-Piper for those who believe in HIM.  He plays his tune and they lovingly follow him—tweeting and retweeting.

Why is it that his followers do not see the danger in Trump’s tendency to constantly redefine reality to suit his own purposes?  Someday this easy-going willingness to accept Trump’s exaggerated and over-the-top assertions is going to turn around and bite his followers and bite them hard.

My guess is that there will be a day of reckoning.  Sometime in the near or distant future, I have no doubt that many, many people will deeply regret that they had ever believed in Trump in the first place.

The Anatomy of a Truly Thankful Heart

The Thanksgiving Holiday has become a national family event.  That is, it is all about family together.  It is essentially the highest (holiest) of family days we have in this country.  Note that it is the busiest travel season of the year.  By bus, by plane, by car or train, everyone heads back “home” to enjoy a great family feast with their loved ones; families of all faiths, or no faith at all, participate in this great celebration we call Thanksgiving.

And because it is about family, it is eagerly anticipated with great expectation as well as anxiously dreaded with much worry.  After all, it is about family.

This excited anticipation of the Thanksgiving Holiday is stimulated by its imagined ideal.  Yes, if we’re honest, most of us have an image of the ideal Thanksgiving family gathering that brings a smile to our face and warms our heart: a Thanksgiving meal where there is more than enough food perfectly cooked, where the guests are perfectly happy and wonderfully satisfied and the children are well behaved, while the dinner conversation is perfectly delightful.  Everyone is joyful, happy, and well pleased—the perfect Thanksgiving!

In short, the ideal Thanksgiving celebration is a veritable celebration of a family’s success and prosperity, a celebration of a thriving family with good friends.  It is a celebration of what we have accomplished and achieved (with the help of God of course): Talk around the table is about how our children are doing so well in school, and how our youth are being accepted into the best universities, and our young adults are embarking on great new careers, and how the adults are enjoying great business successes; and there is talk of engagements and wedding dates and the anticipated arrival of new little ones into the fold.  Now that is the best Thanksgiving celebration that any family could have.

Would that it were so!

Question: what is at the root of real gratitude?  What is the heart and soul of gratefulness?  What is the anatomy of a truly thankful heart?  A Biblical story might give us some insight at this point.

In the Gospel according to Luke (17:11-19), Dr. Luke gives us an account of 10 lepers who were healed by Jesus.  Jesus was heading south to Jerusalem from Galilee in the north.  Somewhere in the region between Galilee and Samaria he entered a village where ten (10) lepers called out to Jesus from a distance.  (Because they were lepers they dared not actually approach him or come near him.)  “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” they cried.  Jesus responds by telling them to go and show themselves to the priests.  As they went, they were healed, completely cleansed from their leprosy—all ten of them.  Yet (the story’s point), only one of the ten came back to give praise to God and thank Jesus for the miraculous healing that he received.

We are told that this one leper (now healed) prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him, praising God.  We are also told that he was a Samaritan, a non-Jew, in short, a foreigner to boot.  Jesus asked out loud: “Were not ten made clean?  But the other nine, where are they?  Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”

And so, here we have the anatomy of a truly thankful heart.

First, he was fundamentally needy.  That is to say, he needed something that he could not provide for himself.  He was in no position to take care of his own need.  Unlike the saying that says, “God helps those who help themselves,” he could not help himself in this need of his.  He was totally helpless.  When he thanked Jesus, he did so knowing full well that he was totally dependent in his needful helpless state.  Unable to help himself, he was thus completely dependent on Jesus’ willingness and power to heal him.

Secondly, in thanking Jesus for this wonderful healing, he also was keenly aware that he could never repay Jesus for what Jesus did for him.  In that sense, this man became indebted to Jesus, for his very life as it were.  How could he ever repay Jesus for what Jesus did for him?  He could not and he knew this.

Thirdly, when thanking Jesus for this healing, this man knew that Jesus was under no obligation to heal him.  It was, in fact, an unearned, undeserved, gratuitous gift.  Indeed, it was noted that he was not only a leper but a foreigner at that.  This leper (now cleansed) was in fact an outsider, an outcast, and believed to be guilty of great sin (hence his leprosy) and therefore condemnable, not to mention the fact that, as a foreigner, he was not even a member of the Chosen people of God.  This man therefore knew that his healing was a freely given gift from Jesus, unearned and undeserved—the very definition of grace.

Desperately needy, unable to help himself, incapable of paying back, and completely undeserving of the gift he received, fully realizing this truth, living in this reality, this man accepted this generous act of grace from Jesus with full gratitude—utter and complete gratefulness for receiving an undeserved gift that he could never earn, did not deserve, could not pay for, and was unable to do for himself.

THAT is the anatomy of a truly grateful heart.

Is Our Political System Breaking?

There’s a lot of talk about our divided America.  We are polarized.  I suppose this should be nothing new to us considering that our national history includes a civil war.  Can’t get more divided than that, now can we.

Differences will always exist.  It’s how we manage or negotiate our way through our differences that counts.

We have always been a nation of immigrants—different people joining us from various regions of the world bringing along with them their unique heritage and cultural traditions.  Yet somehow we all become “Americanized” and identify ourselves as Americans.

So what is it about America that unites us as Americans?  And, whatever it is, are we in danger of losing it?

Is it our freedom, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?  Or is it our covenant together?  As a people we have agreed to live by, and work with a social, political, and legal system that our constitution has created.  Yes, it is this constitutional system that unifies us, a diverse people located in various regions according to States, yet federally unified by constitutional law and order.

Sadly, there are signs that we may be in the process of breaking this covenant and losing our unifying power.  Example: the most dramatic and expressive sign that we are beginning to lose our core unifying factor—our constitutional covenant—is the refusal by Senate Republican representatives to hold confirmation hearings for president Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, just because it was an election year.

It didn’t matter who Obama nominated, what kind of character, person, or judge he was or would be or might have been; it was a political power move, pure and simple.  The Republicans wanted to nominate their own Republican version of a Supreme Court Justice to fill the empty seat and thus chose to lock out any and all nominee possibilities from President Obama, simply because Obama is a Democrat.

This is a naked abuse of power—pure political maneuvering, a manipulation of the process for pure political advantage.  The constitutional mandate setting the rules of the game, no longer applied.  This is the evidence that we are losing something very precious in America, the thing that unites us as a people—our constitutional covenant together.  Our politicians are no longer playing by the traditional and historical rules of the game—and they are breaking these traditional rules with bold and bald face arrogance about it.  This move alone sets a very, very bad precedent for future political “fights” down the road.

There is a dwindling sense of honor and respect for the guy on the other side of the aisle.  He or she is no longer “the enemy” in figurative terms, but is now becoming an actual enemy.  Gone is the attitude, “Okay, my honorable and respectable political opponent who is also my friend, you won this round, perhaps our side will do better next time around; congratulations on your victory.”

No, now the attitude is more something like this: “You, my political opponent, are my enemy and will never be my friend; as such I will do anything and everything I can to ensure your defeat, even if you win!!  Me and my party will not cooperate, we will not compromise, and we will not support or work with you in any fashion whatsoever; we will negate, neutralize, and obstruct anything you may attempt.  We denounce your party’s political cause(s)—even if it overlaps with our own cause or actually may help the American people as a whole.”

The damage is being done right before our very eyes.  The breaking of our covenant together, the refusal to respect constitutional mandates in favor of political expediency and gain (the extreme application of gerrymandering would be another example of this).

Thus, it is not just that Donald Trump won the election that gives his political opponents concern; it is what was said and done during the whole election season—one bad precedent after another.

It is what is happening to our political mechanism as a whole that is setting people’s teeth on edge.  There is a sense that something has broken or is in the process of breaking, within our political machinery.  The constitutional machinery is not running smoothly, the people feel a disconcerting vibration within it, as if something has cracked or as if a piece of it has snapped and is grinding down toward irreparable damage.  This, I believe, is at the heart of peoples’ dismay about the election.  They are jittery, nervous and upset, worried and concerned, fearful and angry because instinctively they feel something has cracked, and the American constitutional system itself is in danger of breaking apart.

After the Election Comes Thanksgiving

Will there be anything to be thankful for, after the election?

Many will say that that will depend on who wins the election.  Is that so?

Whatever happened to “We the people”?  One particular man or woman in the presidential office will not make or break us.  Or will it?  Are we that fragile now?  WE, we will make or break ourselves.  Collectively speaking, WE are stronger (or weaker) than any one individual in office.

Thus, it comes down to US, and that means it comes down to who we are on the inside.

If we are angry, fearful, bitter, resentful, hateful, stingy, greedy, selfishly me-oriented, and preoccupied with thoughts of blame and vengeance, yes, we are fragile.  For, if our fears, hatreds, insecurities, and prejudices become that which defines who we are, we have most certainly become fragile.

Anger breeds anger, hate breeds hate, and fear breeds fear; put together, these core emotions breed divisive distrust and acts of injustice and cruelty in our treatment of others who think/act differently than we do.  The end result is destruction—the prevailing attitude being defensive and protective: “This is WAR!”

Hence, we, WE, are our worst enemy.

If there is no faith in the other, no trust, no acceptance of and allowance for difference, by default we become enemies.  And enemies seek to destroy The Enemy.  If there is no desire or faith in the possibility of peace and unity, no trust in the give-and-take process, no interest in distributing and sharing power, no belief that we can and should work together toward common goals with common interest toward a common vision, knowing that we can’t always have it all our own way, we fail ourselves, we fail the system, and we fail as a democratic nation.

On a different note, this is why it is sad that some of the most divisive and bitter sounding voices that we hear in the political arena are Christian voices or Evangelical voices, voices that supposedly believe in a Sovereign and Holy Providential God.

It’s as if Evangelicals know who God has anointed for office of the presidency.  But it doesn’t work that way.  Because if Evangelical Christians are true to their own confession of faith, there is only one truly Anointed One of God (Messiah/Christ), and that is Jesus.  Jesus is Lord!  What saddens me is that Evangelical Christians seem to have put American Patriotism over and above allegiance and loyalty to Kingdom of God principles such as Christ’s command to His followers that we are to “love your enemy” and be salt and light to the world rather than self-righteous and abusive Pharisaical condemners of the world.

In Christ we have a greater power, a greater Lord, and a greater promise—which should minimize or even neutralize our distresses and anxieties about the things of the world.  Therefore, as long as our faith is in Christ and our citizenship is in the Kingdom of God, as loyal citizens of the Kingdom of heaven, we need NOT be nasty, mean-spirited, bigots who hate and despise those who are different from us or who don’t live and believe as we do.  In short, of all people, Christians should have much more to be hopeful and thankful for.

First there is the promise of salvation, release from guilt and condemnation and a cleansing from our sin, the promise of heaven—eternal life with God in His glory.  Secondly there is the promise of a new heavens and a new earth where there will be no more tears or sorrow or pain or grief.  Thirdly, there is the promise of Christ’s Second Coming, which will initiate the completion and final fulfillment of the above two promises.  And fourthly there is the promise of the Holy Spirit, the comforter and helper, given to Believers as Christ’s guarantee that these promises will be fulfilled in Him.

With such promises and guarantees in Christ, why worry, why fret, why fear and disdain and condemn those who live differently, walk differently, or believe differently than us?  With such a divisive and fear laced election before us, Christians are giving up their greatest opportunity to bear witness to a greater good, a mightier God, and a most promising future by becoming enmeshed in the political polarities of our time.

For we seem to no longer be spreading a message of Good News and hope in Christ.  The Evangelical message now seems to be a sour message of distrust and exclusion, a message of superiority and self-righteousness, a message of judgment and condemnation fueled by hate.  In short, Evangelical Christians now seem to be preaching the false gospel of American power dominance and supremacy, where we condemn the poor for being poor, praise the rich for being rich, hate the sinner for being sinful, and take the name of God in vain by attaching it to a very human political party, candidate, or cause.

There is a third way, and it’s the Way of Christ.  If only we Christians were to truly adhere to and subscribe to the confession that Jesus is truly our Lord, master of our hearts and souls, our witness to Him would not fall on deaf ears at it now does.

If Hillary Wins, What?

So, let’s pretend the worst has happened in the eyes of the Republicans—Hillary Clinton is elected president.  What then?

Will they say, “Okay, Hillary Clinton won fair and square, and so we will respect the peoples’ choice and work with her”?  NOT!!

The reality is that the Republican party will probably find as many ways as possible to delegitimize her election—be it legal, social, political, or what not.

They will declare war and become confrontational at every turn, questioning her every word, trying her every act, block, deny, and obstruct her every move, and refuse her every step of the way.  They will charge and attack at every possible opportunity.  In other words, the Republican Party will do everything it possibly can to ensure that Hillary’s presidency fails, if she manages to win the election.

That’s not the way to run a country and it is not how our two-party system should work!

But THAT is what is exactly wrong with our government—hate, spite, all or nothing positioning, winner-take-all warlike posturing, vitriolic disrespect for one’s political opponent and refusing to cooperate simply because cooperation is itself viewed as a bad thing.

To say that there is no need for spite, hatred, and war-like attitudes in our two-party system, is to be ignored.  We are now parties of extremes.  The moderate middle-voice is being excluded.

One might argue, “Yes, but, “crooked” Hillary is a scoundrel, a dirty no good liar, a cheat, and a criminal!  We can’t possibly work with her.”  And Trump!  Is he really any better?

It’s political rhetoric.  No politician is pure, faultless, or angelic like.  At the same time, few politicians are of the devil, not even Hillary.  Such attitudes are far-fetched and overboard.

In truth, both candidates’ vision statements have value: “Make America Great Again” and “Stronger Together.”  And, in terms of policies and issues, both candidates have something worth saying and worth doing.

So if America is to be strong, Americans MUST work together (remember: “A divided kingdom will fall”).  And, if America is to be great again, Americans must do so by unifying.  And the first step towards unity is to stop villainizing our fellow Americans and their representatives.  We may differ in our opinions and strategies as to how to tackle complex issues, but we need not differ as to how we should view and treat each other.  We should see each other as neighbors in the same community and treat each other as such.  How is it that we have come to hate our neighbors and our political opponents?

Our extreme political divisiveness is going to become our worst enemy.  We will destroy ourselves from within, which is exactly what our real enemies want to see happen to us.

Trump Suing Accusers; I Doubt It!

He claims they lie, never happened!  He claims.

He claims that the Clinton campaign put these women up to it.  He claims.

He probably also assumes that the women are stupid and foolish.

Who would be foolish or stupid enough to go on public record with a bald face lie of the kind Trump accuses them of making?

And think of how hard it would be for Hillary’s campaign (or any presidential campaign for that matter) to actually orchestrate eleven women to agree to commit themselves to lie in its behalf, a lie of this magnitude. 

No, these women are not lying.  They’d be risking too much, have too much to lose if they were in fact lying.  No one could plan or orchestrate this kind of thing.  And I’m sure that these women knew they’d be accused of lying and be threatened with Trump law suits, before they dared to share their stories about Trump.  In short, their stories ring true—especially in light of Trumps own words during his so-called “locker room” talk.

So, why does Trump so boldly declare that he’s going to sue these women?  Because of his qualifier—“after the election”!  That’s why.

After the election, he is free to change his mind and make excuses for not following through on his law suits.  If he wins the election (which I doubt), he could say he has no time or need to follow through on the threat.  Or, if he loses, he could say that he is focusing on other things: such as challenging the electoral results perhaps. 

Point is, I believe that he knows that the women speak truth and therefore knows that he’d lose the case.  Thus, I don’t think he really wants to seek real justice by taking these women to court—seeking real justice would turn out badly for him.

However, he could be betting on his financial advantage.  Taking these women to court could drain their finances.  Trump has plenty of money and attorney-power to spend.  In short, he could litigate these women to financial ruin without ever actually winning his case or proving that these women have actually lied.  Rich bullies use this strategy all the time: “Attack by litigating your opponent to death.”  Remember, it takes money, and lots of it, to properly defend yourself in a court of law.  Then, when he has drained all their resources by various litigating strategies of postponement and extension, etc., and the women finally give up their defense for lack of funds, he could declare himself the winner!

Or, he could just choose not to sue AFTER the election.  Because his intent is to make a symbolic and impactful statement BEFORE the election, vis-à-vis, to say: “Look!  I am so innocent that I am willing to sue these women!”  The effect he wants on his listeners by making this declaration is for his listeners to conclude: “Well, of course he must be innocent, because if he were NOT innocent, he wouldn’t be willing to sue these women, would he?”  And if and when his audience draws that kind of conclusion, based on that kind of reasoning, he’s pretty much accomplished what he wanted to and needed to accomplish BEFORE the election.

Of course, you may draw your own conclusion.  As for me, I believe that the women speak truth and very much disbelieve Trump, despite his bold declaration of intending to bring a law suit against them (AFTER the election).  In this case, timing is significant.