Article in today’s Eagle about Curtis MS.
Stop the Oil Flow
My emotions are fluttering between rage and resigned laughter as I watch the onslaught of news reports from the eminent failure of BP’s oil work in the Gulf Coast. I don’t really know how to respond to this catastrophe. Here’s the best I can come up with. What if, for as long as it takes BP to find a solution to stop the flow of oil, or until the cleanup is complete…what if we find subtle ways to reduce our personal oil leak. Maybe ask questions like “Could I bike or walk to where I am going rather than drive?” or “Can I run the fans rather than the air conditioner?” The only way to reduce the flow of oil and its consequences for the environment is to reduce our demand for the stuff.
Now, if someone can tell me how to get clear across Wichita (approx. 20 miles) with two kids this hour, without burning a gallon of gas, let me know.
Dogma is the enemy of human freedom. Dogma must be watched for and apprehended at every turn and twists of the revolutionary movement. The human spirit glows from that small inner light of doubt whether we are right, while those who believe with complete certainty that thye possess the right are dark inside and darken the world outside with cruelty, pain, and injustice.
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| — | Rules for Radicals, Saul Alinsky |
Where did we get the idea that good coaches must be bullies? Is this some distorted idea of manhood or just a misconception of leadership?
Post Christmas Rant
There is nothing quite like watching the joy and anticipation on a child’s face on Christmas morning. The wrapped presents are a fathomless mystery which they cannot wait to rip open and enjoy. During the last three days, my children opened up dozens upon dozens of these presents from our wonderful family. Yet, while these gifts were incredibly thoughtful and birthed in love, I saw my children quickly move from the allure of the mysterious gift to the exhausting deluge of excess and the drive to possess more.
If we live in a culture which idolizes excess, than perhaps Christmas is the crowning holiday for this ideology. The doctrine of exponential growth drives this maddening rush to make the next year bigger, better, and more expensive than the last. It seems to me that this day of celebration does a rather fine job of pulling young minds up to the trough of greed and dissatisfaction with simplicity.
And then there are the constant reminders to “Remember the true meaning of Christmas,” the story of Jesus’ birth. Does this exhortation mean that we should go to worship or read a passage or say a prayer? Rather, at its best, this reminder should drive us to the simplicity and poverty of the subject of this tale, rejecting the marriage of Jesus’ teachings to ultra-capitalism, and showing us that gifts, though great, can be too much.
What do you think?
