New Years Day Rant... Maybe I should have gotten more sleep?

I bet that I am up and going earlier than most of you on this first day of 2009. Of course, I probably went to bed earlier than most of you as well. Last night we took Mary and Andrew down to the Senior Citizen’s Center for a gathering of one of the families from Cana Church. It was really a great evening and we had a wonderful time, and it was nice to spend New Years Eve with this group of people that we appreciate so very much.

However, by around 9:00, Mary and Andrew seemed to be ready to go, plus we had promised them that they could watch Horton Hears a Who before they went to bed. So, after they got their PJ’s on, we put in Horton and sat back to enjoy the movie. Within about 15 minutes, I was sound asleep and the next thing I knew, the movie was over and we were all headed off to bed.

So, no ringing in the New Year for me, no watching the ball drop, and thank goodness no Ryan Seacrest. You know, I watched TV for a few minutes before I fell asleep, and wouldn’t you think that Ryan would have bothered to shave before going on in front of millions of people around the world. Ok, I know, I am getting old, but one thing is for sure, Dick Clark would never have gone on the air with a five o’clock, or maybe 10 o’clock shadow.

Ok, and while I am at it, I have 2 other things that bother me about the brief, no more than 5 minutes of television that I watched last night, (I should have stuck with Horton Hears a Who), The first was 2 different programs doing year-end montages in an attempt to paint Sarah Palin into the most negative light possible. I must admit that I simply don’t understand how, even if you disagree with her on some of her positions, such as abortion, that you can’t celebrate what she has accomplished. It seems that many of these people don’t even consider that she was bright enough to become the mayor of a city, and then to run against people in her own party who were totally corrupt and defeat them. No one seems to care that this woman is the Governor of one of the largest and richest sates in the US, and she has an unprecedented approval rating. Of course, I realize that she isn’t perfect, who is, and of course, any politician who has actually accomplished something, can find people who would say that they have abused their power, and speaking of which, isn’t it interesting how all of that simply went away after the spotlight of the national media did “their job” and totally trashed this woman. Could it be that there wasn’t anything to these charges to begin with?

And to my feminist friends, who I actually have (or maybe had after this) quite a few, even though you may disagree with her on many issues, doesn’t she actually live out what feminism is all about? Isn’t she someone who is doing it all? Isn’t she someone who is successful and independent in her own right, someone who has accomplished great things, someone who has managed to balance family, work and career, and is tremendously respected in all of those areas of her life? And, in addition, isn’t she someone who is doing all of this while raising a handicapped child? Yet, instead of, at the very least, rising to say, even though we disagree with her on a number of issues, we celebrate her accomplishments, the feminists, and others, attacked her, and continue to attack her viciously. To be honest, (and I am sure that this won’t endear me to my feminist friends), you remind me of the cartoon character Pogo, who said, “We have met the enemy, and [She] is us!”

My advice to those who live in my home state of Illinois, (which just about the time you think it can’t get any worse in their political roller coaster, it gets worse), Is to pick up the phone and call Sarah Palin. It sounds to me like she is exactly what your state needs to get rid of the massive, endemic, and epidemic corruption that has been a part of the state for my whole life.

Ok, and if you are still reading, one more thing. I am getting so very weary of listening to the complaints in the media about Rick Warren. First the complaint is that he supported (or didn’t support, I get confused) proposition 8 on Gay Marriage in California. Now the compliant is that he could possibly have the nerve and audacity (hints of sarcasm) to pray in the name of Jesus. Oh my goodness, I didn’t know that praying in the name of Jesus was such a horrific thing to do.

First of all, I am a great supporter of diversity; I am also a supporter of rights for all people and for justice. But with that being said, I have begun to understand that those who are on the very far left of issues tend to use these words such as diversity and fairness, and inclusiveness, but only when it means hearing the voices of those who agree with them. Those who are on the far left seek to scream at the tops of their lungs that their voices aren’t being heard, while at the same time seeking to silence (or ridicule) any voice that may be in opposition to them, or even simply have a different opinion.

I remember last year at school, when a student had requested that Sam’s Club be asked to come on campus and sign-up anyone interested in a Sam’s Club membership. (I believe that Cosco had been on campus earlier in the year)You can’t believe the amount of anger and hysteria that was created by this one simple request. (It’s hard for me to believe that some people hate Walmart so much) I spoke to an administration official about this, who was actually quite hurt by the way that she was treated by many students as well as faculty over something that was so trivial. The ultimate outcome was that Sam’s Club was essentially asked not to come, thank goodness. Can you imagine some poor, minimum waged Sam’s Club employee, simply doing their job, walking into the firestorm which would have surely ensued had they come onto campus? So much for inclusiveness, and diversity.

Ok, so what’s my point? There are those who would say that I don’t understand. That’s ok, I have heard that before, and perhaps I don’t. But, I believe that I do understand more than I am sometimes given credit for. And what I understand is that we need to truly be open to hearing all sides, even if we don’t agree. I believe that we should be debating (civilly) the issues and not what someone is wearing, or how they talk, and whether or not they went to Yale or Harvard.

I believe that anyone should be allowed to pray to God, whoever they believe that to be, at any time and at any place that they see fit, and when a Christian is asked to pray that they should feel free to pray to Jesus, and if a Muslim were asked to pray that they feel free to pray to Allah. I also believe that any recognized religion that would like to celebrate their particular holiday should be allowed to do so in our public areas, but they should not be allowed to ridicule or diminish other faiths as was done out in Washington State this year with the display at the State Capital.

My prayer for 2009 is that we put aside this ridiculous partisan arguing and truly seek to hear all voices. Maybe more of us should be willing to do as President Obama has done with his Cabinet and surround ourselves with many different voices, those who agree and those who do not. If we truly hear all voices, then perhaps we can become that diverse nation that we would all like to be.
Blessings