I call them “true believers” (a phrase coined by Eric Hoffer). You see it in their teary eyes, their wide smiles, their intense frowns, their enthusiastic poster-waving.
They’ve heard every canned phrase a thousand times before, yet applaud as though it was a new revelation each time it’s repeated. “America is the last, best hope of the world!” “Country first!” “We’re going to change the way things are done in Washington!” “We’re going to keep America safe.” “Our opponents say… but we know…” “We have the answers and our opponents just don’t get it.” “God bless America!”
The true believers passionately embrace all this. The hope of the nation and even the world hangs in the balance — if only they can win. It’s almost as if these sincere folks have forgotten that these exact same sentiments, hopes and dreams — almost always in the name of “God and country” — have been around since the dawn of human history. It’s almost as if these committed devotees have forgotten that these same sentiments, hopes and dreams have fueled most of the bloodshed throughout history.
The first two were your typical, run-of-the-mill high-octane economists from some big investment banks, which is the type of person that you expect to hear pontificate at these events. But the third guy was different... his name is Wellington Reiter. I felt sort of bad for him because when it came to his turn, droves of round men in business suits were already filing out of the ballroom, indirectly writing-off anything he was about to say as irrelevant to their future. But as soon as he launched into his presentation, I was locked-in (for the first time all morning). Reiter's talk simply offered a vision for what the future of urban planning & design COULD look like (specifically in Phoenix) both in commercial and residential applications. Concept sketches of high-density yet comfortable housing... urban landscapes that leverage design and solar power to energize the city and create natural oasis-like parks... mass transit networks that would actually integrate the sprawling suburbs. An entirely different [read: sustainable] direction, and I loved it. But nobody else seemed to get into it. The whole experience really got me thinking... but unfortunately it didn't get me thinking in a self-reflective way. That came later.
A shot from the patio looking out shortly after we moved-in (2004).
The yard with grass annihilated and the patio extension excavated and formed.
This dog is 100% weird.
Ya' darn right I framed-out the doghouse and installed carpet!
Before
After
Before
After
I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen him actually lay down in that blasted doghouse. When we first shut him in the dogrun, he learned that he could use his mad-hops to jump the six-foot gate to the front yard and go cruisin' the neighborhood. Puh... ungrateful mutt.
So, instead of watering & mowing Charlie's stupid patch of grass which he snuffs at with disdain (which makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE), I dug it up today. I'll be relocating his house to the main yard (maybe he'll like it out there, HA!), and building a raised-bed vegetable garden in the side yard.
Hastert Center Prudent Decision?I did my best to be concise and to the point (which is definitely not a strength of mine:-), and hopefully my point comes across.
As a recent alumnus I count my time at Wheaton an incredibly valuable season in my life. Yet, upon the arrival of the winter 2008 issue, I was struck by the disappointing contrast displayed on page 5. The College’s recent unveiling of the J. Dennis Hastert Center for Economics, Government, and Public Policy subtly promotes to the public a controversial political tone, which does not represent the richness of Wheaton’s heritage or the range of worldviews that currently comprise the college community.
Far from being an attack on Hastert as an individual or on partisan politics in general, my disappointment rises from the ideals that are indirectly advocated by this center’s title: political stature and empire power. Much of my pride in Wheaton as an institution lies in numerous individuals whose progressive actions have humbly shaped the college and the world over the past century and a half: Blanchard & Burr for their abolitionist activism, Elliot & Saint for their radical love, Graham for his tireless voice of a new creation, etc. I fear that the creation of this new center under Hastert’s name undermines the focus of our counter-cultural history in favor of celebrity and endowment.
The issues surrounding government and economics have an ever-important place in a Wheaton education. Yet, in a world where empires are marked by compromise, I hope that wrestling with the interaction between politics and Christ’s teachings is elevated above the status of public office.
Christo et Regno Ejus.
I guess I'm just not convinced that this level of analysis is displayed in the establishment of this new center."The Christian's intellectual task is, they believe, incomplete until we look along our subject matter, asking in what ways what we're seeing relates to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This is essentially what it means to think Christianly about a subject, and it extends into every course, across every discipline, throughout the entire curriculum."
"I dissent from the political pollution of sincere, personal faith. I dissent most strongly from the attempt to argue that one party represents God and that the other doesn't. I dissent from having my faith co-opted and wielded by people whose politics I do not share and whose intolerance I abhor. The word Christian belongs to no political party. It's time the quiet majority of believers took it back."
Sidenote: My buddy Chris (hey man, thanks for reading... if you're still reading... if not, then I just wasted 97 characters of Blogger server space for nothing...;-) recently told me that I need to mix in more light-hearted thoughts on here to keep my readers interested and not depressed. So, I'm gonna try! [But don't forget that over 18,000 children die everyday from preventable hunger and malnutrition. ::heavy pause:: I'm trying not to forget.] OK!So, I haven't forgotten about my blogging prospectus that I posted back in December... life just keeps moving on and I've only knocked off a couple of the posts that I intended. But I'm still planning to get through those... so bear with me. (I'll try to tackle those population ideas in my next post).
"Hmm. That's an awfully small box. Either Apple's reeeeally good and figured out a way to dehydrate the keyboard so that I just have to add water to get it back to fullsize, or there's no keyboard in there."There was no keyboard in there. I got the Kensington... and I got a Wireless Mighty Mouse. Not A mouse... MICE... meeses, if you will. I don't want TWO (even though that Mighty Mouse looks kinda cool)... I wanna mouse and a keyboard. So I call Apple to see if I can just take it by the Apple Store nearby to swap it out. No, it was ordered online so it has to be resolved with the online store. ::humph::
Happy Birthday, Grandma! from Arizona Bam on Vimeo.
Per my buddy, Jacob's, initiation, we've been tossing around the idea of launching a Phoenix Emergent Village cohort for a few months. Well, it's now official, and we want any of you that happen to be in the Phoenix area to feel welcome to check it out and join the conversation (and those of you not in AZ, join us online):
"It is impossible to truly know someone via the internet. ... The internet is a place where everyone puts the things out there that they want to be known, for obvious reasons."I'm sure I'm guilty of that in all sorts of ways, so I going to try to throw out a few random facts that I'm not particularly proud of... just to keep things real around here:) [this could be brutal...]
that my best friend, Clint, and I would do day after day as we aspired to be cartoonists for either Disney Studios or Warner Bros. (this was back in the Animaniacs & Tiny Toons days). So, given my acute perception for the fine arts, what else would I spend days upon days working on than a tedious drawing of Hammer himself? Envision it, friends: bulky gold chain on the wrist, masterfully trimmed mustache, and, of course, the signature shaved lines on the side of his head. My mom helped me frame it, and it hung on my wall for years.
" [we are] bound by allegiances and loyalties which are broader and deeper than nationalism.... This call for a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one's tribe, race, class, and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all.
...I have told them that Molotov cocktails and rifles would not solve their problems. But they asked, and rightly so, what about Vietnam? They asked if our own nation wasn't using massive doses of violence to solve its problems. Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today -- my own government."
- "A Time to Break the Silence" (speech, meeting of clergy and laity concerned about Vietnam, Riverside Church, New York, April 4, 1967)
"There is nothing wrong with a traffic law which says you have to stop for a red light. But when a fire is raging, the fire truck goes through that red light, and normal traffic had better get out of its way. Or when a man is bleeding to death, the ambulance goes through those red lights at top speed. There is a fire raging... for the poor of this society. Disinherited people all over the world are bleeding to death from deep social and economic wounds. They need brigades of ambulance drivers who will have to ignore the red lights of the present system until the emergency is solved."
- The Trumpet of Conscience
Oh man, ahahaha, I'm still chuckling about THIS VOICEMAIL that I learned about on Jonny Baker's site. Oh please go listen to it... all the way through (the "remix" at the end is priceless).
As I drove home from my office today, I faced a searing contrast in my heart. I drove down the tree-lined suburban street to the west where the purple sky was masterfully smeared with pink and orange. And in my peripheral, I took in the mother walking with her child and the retiree jogging along the sidewalk. And there was an insular peace...Kenyan Crisis: Join Us in a Response
Life in Abundance International (LIA) invites you to join us in meeting the urgent physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of our brothers and sisters who are suffering from post-election violence and instability in Kenya. Utilizing the experience and church partnerships of our LIA-Kenya team, LIA is immediately seeking funding to begin its relief effort in the Mathare region of Kenya, which is home to 500,000 of the country’s poorest people. Our relief effort will include, but is not limited to, the following provisions: medicines, clothes, blankets, food, and shelter rehabilitation.
As always, LIA will work with local churches to provide these provisions. It is beautiful for the Church to serve a desperate and hurting community in this capacity. Please join us in this effort by praying for peace, stability, reconciliation and restoration in Kenya. But don’t stop your involvement there: take action! Contributions to LIA’s relief effort can be made on-line (after logging into PayPal – identify your donation as ‘Relief for Kenyan Crisis’ or by mail (please send donations to the LIA USA Office).
Additionally, as they become available, updates will be periodically posted on our website. In the meantime, please review the links below:
Video: Violence Continues in Kenya
NY Times: Kenya Crisis Worsens As Opposition Cools to Talks
The Standard: Photo Gallery
Nation Media: local headlines
Thank you,
Justin Narducci
Life in Abundance International
Phone: 626.213.2203
Email: Justin [dot] Narducci [at] LIAInt [dot] org
