A good story

 Does, Hears, Reads, Sees, Thinks  No Responses »
Feb 132011
 

Everyone likes a good story, especially children but also adults. A good story gets a person involved in dramatic activity. It stirs one’s emotions. A good story attracts one’s attention, but it also holds that attention over the course of time. And a good story is repeatable. Its benefits don’t wear out,  and its drama never really becomes old.

I’m sure that most of you can remember such stories that you have enjoyed. I’m fairly old, but I still remember some stories that I read as a child, “Wolf” by Jack London, “Lassie Come Home” before it was made into a movie, “My Friend Flicka”, “The Secret Garden”, “The Last of the Mohicans”,  and others. I can remember my wife and I reading “bed time” stories to our children each night before they went to sleep. And it was obvious that these young children were learning from these stories. If we tried to skip a few lines to finish quickly, they would stop us and insist that we repeat the story line for line and word by word. They knew the stories, and they didn’t want to miss any part of them.

I believe that children learn language and how to read from stories, probably before they begin to read English grammars in school classrooms. And I believe that youth learn some valuable lessons about growing up from stories like “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, and adults learn about history from stories about George Washington, Lewis and Clark, Daniel Boone, and other famous figures from our past. So stories have many important benefits for all of us beside those of just being interesting entertainment.

I think that the particular format for a story has some important effect on its benefits. I think that it makes a difference whether the story was one that we heard read to us, or one that we read from a book ourselves, or one that we saw depicted in a movie or video like the movie “The Passion of  The Christ” or “Saving Private Ryan”. Some TV dramas, like “Star Trek”,  have taken on the aura of great stories with an almost timeless appeal.

And I think that often times embellishments that are added to stories from other stories and cultural traditions hamper or destroy the value of the initial stories. I think that this is what has happened with the initial stories of God’s incarnation in human flesh through the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and the resurrection of Jesus from his tomb in Jerusalem thirty-three years later. These stories have been initially recorded by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the Bible.

There is a very interesting and dramatic story about an earlier revolution in Egypt that had some significant consequences on the world. It is the story of God’s deliverance of about two million foreigners after 430 years of service under the dictatorial rule of various Egyptian kings.  The actual exodus of these people occurred with the leadership of Moses who delivered them with God’s help from their positions as slaves under the control of Pharaoh, and the story even includes an account of the destruction of some of the Egyptian army without any of these Israelites even throwing one stone or a spear at their oppressors. It is an amazing story that is found in the Bible in the book of Exodus, chapters 1 through 14, and it really happened although the exact date is uncertain.

And CNN recently reported that the comic book version of ” Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story”, which was published in Arabic and distributed in Cairo in 2008 may have had some influence on the young adults who led a non-violent revolution in January and February of 2011 in the streets of Egypt and in Tahrir Square in Cairo.

So what good stories do you remember? What stories have made a real impression on you and why? What recently popular stories do you feel may have some really good lasting qualities about them? What are those qualities? Let’s talk about this.

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 Posted by Bob1 at 6:53 pm  Tagged with: a matter of opinion, oppression, political matter, political strategies

A good revolution

 About Christianity, Believes, General, Thinks, Wants  8 Responses »
Jan 302011
 

The people of Egypt are engaged in a revolution to make some major changes in their government, that is in how the business of their civic lives is managed. It is a noble cause to seek to be free from oppressive forms of government. We here in the United States understand that perfectly well. We engaged in a violent war to secure our independence from the colonial empire of Great Britain, so we understand the value of such freedom.

But we also understand that the benefits of such freedom are not easy to achieve or to maintain. Rules of law and order, even those written into a Constitution and established in a republican or representative form of government, are not always perfect or effective in meeting the changing needs of citizens. We know about this challenge, because our people got engaged in another war to remove the oppression of slavery from our society, but even then there were later riots in our streets with people being killed and property being destroyed to remove some of the causes and effects of prejudice from our society. And these problems are still not completely solved. So we are currently engaged in a “war” of words and political strategies to determine how to make our freely established form of government more responsive to the needs of our citizens and their role in the world.

Personal freedom is nice, but its real value is determined by how well free individuals get along with other free individuals, how they manage their corporate processes when they all have to work together, and how well they are able to get along with their neighbors.  And many individuals in the “free” world are concerned about the end  results of this revolution in Egypt, and others like it, because it is not always clear what form of government is going to be in “power” after the change is made and how effective it will be in enabling the citizens of Egypt to meet their personal needs and to live in peace with their neighbors in the other nations of the world. These concerns are always important, because our world is composed of a lot of “different” people who have a lot of different needs and wants and levels of personal and corporate resources to meet those needs and wants .

There is a very interesting conversation reported in the gospel of John (chapter 3:1-21) in the Bible that touches on this matter of “kingdoms” and civic “saviors”. The conversation took place between Nicodemus, a legal expert from the ruling body of the Jews in ancient Jerusalem, and Jesus whom he recognized as “a teacher” who had “come from God”. So Jesus was someone whom Nicodemus would respect as being wiser than some other consultant or expert in such matters. Jesus makes it clear to Nicodemus in this conversation that Nicodemus is really not able to recognize who it is who comes from “heaven”;  and he really can’t mentally grasp the difference between what is “true” and what is “evil”, that is between what is “light” or illuminating and what is a matter of “darkness” or worldly, in accord with the “heavenly” system of operating a “kingdom”. Jesus tells Nicodemus that in order to understand these matters he would have to be “born again”, which means that he would have to start all over with a basic change in the way he thinks. Jesus was telling Nicodemus that in order to understand the nature of a good “kingdom” or who might establish such a one on earth he would have to have his life and the disposition of his mind changed by “the Spirit” that is from “heaven”, that is from God.

I really think that these revolutions and political discussions,  like those in which the people of Egypt are engaged and even those in which we citizens of the United States are currently having,  are going to be basically futile and ineffective until people are basically changed into individuals who can recognize wise leaders who can lead them away from what is “evil” and help them to establish civic forms of government that are basically loving.

One of the basic difficulties in achieving such basic changes is that they can’t be accomplished through laws, that is through legislative political processes. There is no law that has ever been written or even conceived that can make free individuals love others or love those who “rule” over their civic businesses. In religious terminology we don’t need more revolutions, we need a good revival of human transformation in order to become “children” of our “Father” who is in “heaven” who know how to live in peace with their “brothers” and “sisters” in this world.

What do you think of these revolutions that are taking place around the world and the current discussions that are taking place among the citizens and politicans in the United States? What do you really expect them to accomplish? Let’s talk about this.

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 Posted by Bob1 at 2:59 pm  Tagged with: angry citizens, controversy, government program, legislative action, oppression, personal freedoms, political matter, political strategies, wise leadership

Hope

 Believes, Does, Says, Wants  No Responses »
Jan 092011
 

In light of the tragic assault upon several government officials and citizens yesterday (1/8/11) in Tucson, AZ, I’m wondering if we can look to the future with much hope. There is a lot of talk going on regarding the causes of this violence. Fingers of blame are being pointed at various individuals of public influence, and the language and tone of our political debates and discussions are being cited as possible contributing factors for this violent act by one “unstable” young man. But I think that the cause of this kind of violence is deeper than the language that we use to discuss our joint courses of action in this country. And it is this cause that dims my expectations for hope in our future.

When our legislative bodies of Congress and state and local legislatures  can approve bills for various public projects with a simple majority of 51% there is built into the decisions a strong impression of victory for the “powerful” majority and defeat for the “weak” minority. In the current political situation in which we live, where very major changes in some of our public policies and programs are being debated and trillions of dollars of taxes are being quickly spent, there are many causes of “anger” among many voters. But this is not to be unexpected when so much conflict, political fighting, persuasive lobbying, campaigns to gain “numbers” for each side of the “battles” are built into the system for how we conduct our legislative business. And the stage is being set for the ongoing “battles” as we approach the next general election in 2012. The sides are already gathering their ammunition and citing their targets and working to increase their numbers.

I think that is time for Congress and the people to make some basic changes in how we conduct our legislative business in this country. The standard for approval is way too low! A judge in any court of law where the actions of citizens and those of public officials are being debated, except for the Supreme Court, would rule that the jury was “hung” if its approval rate was even as high as  11-1 (which is about 92%).

I think that our present standard for legislative action in this country is only a setup for “power” politics that leaves little chance for much hope in our future. “Might makes right” is the law of the jungle. If we want to live somewhere else than in a “jungle”, we need to move to a higher standard for what is a “right” course of action in how we conduct our legislative business. What do you think? Let’s talk about this.

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 Posted by Bob1 at 5:29 pm  Tagged with: government program, judicial courts, legislative action, legislative bodies, legislative business, legislative processes, political debates, political matter, political situation, related news topic, violence

A good king

 Believes, Consumes, Does, Wants  3 Responses »
Dec 232010
 

Let’s pretend that you have become king of a vast domain with millions of people under your rule and lots of natural resources available to you and your subjects. You have absolute authority to make the laws and a judicial system to enforce them. Your term of rule is for as long as you are able to function or are forced out of your position by a more powerful individual or you choose to retire from the “throne”.

What laws would you make sure are on the books? Whom would they be designed to benefit and protect? Who would pay for the costs of their provisions?  What priorities would you have for their enforcement? What benefits would you hope to see from their enforcement during the next decade or so?

Perhaps you can recognize that this is not simply a “pretend” situation. Because of your power and authority as a voter, you do have the ability to influence the legislative processes of a “vast domain”. And the consequences of the rules that are set by those to whom you have given legislative power will be felt by the citizens of your realm for decades to come.  As a nation of diverse people we are going through some difficult times and changing circumstances for our lives as individuals and groups of working consumers. And we are expecting our “rulers” to rule wisely, but there may be some real differences between us in regard to what we understand to be good rules of behavior for our common lives and commerce.

Let’s talk about this. How would you answer the above questions? We are entering a time of crisis and change, and how you answer these questions may have some serious consequences for all of us during the next few years. OK “king” what is your will?

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 Posted by Bob1 at 3:39 pm  Tagged with: american economy, angry citizens, congress, consequences, difficult times, financial crisis, government program, legislative action, legislative processes, political matter, wise leadership

A good way to regard WikiLeaks

 Hears, Reads, Says, Thinks  No Responses »
Nov 292010
 

If diplomats didn’t lie to their own people and insult each other and their contrary associates in “private”, then the publishing of these “classified” documents wouldn’t get much attention or there wouldn’t be such “secrets” to publish. As long as diplomats from both sides of the “battle lines” feel that they have to communicate with each other in such ways in order to maintain and to strengthen their personal positions of power and pleasure, then such private remarks will be waiting to be published.

The struggles for power,  control, and personal and corporate riches and comforts are well recognized and generally acknowledged by most people around the world who see and experience their pressures everyday. Everyone wants to be on the “winning” side in these struggles, but the real “games” are extremely dangerous to the participants and they have severe consequences for even their fellow associates and citizens.

It might help if diplomats would only discuss the facts regarding what they and their political leaders and fellow citizens are doing in these “struggles”, keeping their personal opinions and verbal “bullets” to themselves. Total honesty and transparency between the diplomats and the “players” in these “games” for power is probably not possible or even wise on the “playing fields” of this world.  But there certainly must be a better way for grown up diplomats to communicate with each other regarding these serious struggles than what they are currently practicing.

The leaking of these documents appears to me be quite similar to the playing of some audio tapes that some kids have been able to make as they secretly recorded some frank conversations of their relatives regarding the family squabbles or conflicts that trouble some family relationships and hamper the peace of the family.

I wonder when our diplomats and leaders are going to grow up and begin to communicate with us and with each other in intelligent and mature ways of diplomacy to seek to resolve these powerful struggles that threaten us all. These WikiLeaks are clear evidence that many of our diplomats and world leaders don’t know how to do this and they haven’t reached a sufficient level of maturity to even recognize the dangers of their “gaming strategies”. And censorship and more secrecy are not the solutions to this problem.

What do you think of this matter? Should those who “leaked” these documents and published them be prosecuted as criminals or terrorists? How can we teach our diplomats a more mature way to conduct our diplomatic business? Let’s talk about this.

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 Posted by Bob1 at 9:41 pm  Tagged with: a matter of opinion, bad news, common sense, consequences, government program, legislative programs, peace on earth, political leaders, political matter, related news topic

A good deal

 Buys, Does, Thinks, Wants  No Responses »
Oct 172010
 

Brand named merchandise for sale at 50% off. Is that a good deal? Accepting a credit card when you don’t have a job; is that a good deal? Being able to sign a contract for a new home with a flexible rate mortgage; is that a good deal? Being able to buy necessary items for one’s family members at big supermarkets of “foreign made” goods; is that a good deal?

What makes for a good financial deal these days is not a simple matter. Our politicians  are urging us to buy, buy, buy. They are trying to boast our economy by giving us financial benefits and tax breaks so that we will spend more money, claiming that this will create jobs and really get the American economy back on track. But is that a good deal?

What makes for a good deal is a very personal matter, and it is a very political matter. Your answers to the question, “what is a good deal?”, will probably determine the financial status of many merchants this approaching holiday season and the election of some political candidates in the approaching elections.

What is a good deal in your opinion? What is the best “deal” that you ever got? What made it so good? What criteria are you willing to apply to a possible purchase to determine whether or not it is a good deal? I think that these are very important and timely questions. Let’s talk about this matter.

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 Posted by Bob1 at 12:21 pm  Tagged with: american economy, credit card debts, financial operations, personal attitudes, political matter, related news topic
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