Rain, rain go away. Please come back some other day. There are a lot of us here in the South who have been singing this little ditty over the past couple of days. Powerful storms and torrential rain has caused severe flooding in several southern states including my own, Georgia. My prayers are with each and every person who may have lost their home, car, possessions, and worst yet, possibly loved ones. I was fortunate and blessed not to be adversely affected by the storms and flooding, but I do live only a few miles from some of the worst hit areas in Atlanta.
As I was watching the news coverage of the flooding here in Georgia, I couldn't help thinking about how we were in a severe drought this time last year and actually the year before as well. A drought so severe that their were some predictions that the city of Atlanta could possibly be without drinking water given the low level of area lakes, rivers, etc. Due to these water shortages, our esteemed governor (and I use this term loosely), Sonny Perdue, decided to pray for rain on the steps of the capital. Now, I am a Christian, and I most certainly believe in the power of prayer. I also don't necessarily believe that government and religion are mutually exclusive in this country (the question of whether they should be is a topic for another blog). However, as a Christian, I also believe that God allows things to happen for a reason. Moreover, not everyone in this state is Christian (although it could be argued that a strong majority of the population here is walking with the Lord). Given these issues, I believe that the governor's prayer could have been done publicly in a more appropriate venue, and it should have consisted more of how he could fall within God's will so that the Lord would show favor on his state not just a prayer request for rain. I always say that if we ask the Lord for something long enough, He will give it to us if only to show us that it wasn't worth our time in the first place. You see, He generally has something so much better in store if we can just exercise a little patience and faith. And so here we are with floods all over the place in Georgia. Well, Gov. Perdue, as you are declaring a state of emergency in 17 counties, cheer up, because your prayers have most certainly been answered.
Moving on, I started thinking about all of the natural disasters that we have experienced in this country over the past few years. It seems like there have been quite a few hurricanes and storms that have completely destroyed entire communities ( I don't think anyone has to be reminded of the devastation left in the wake of Katrina). Even more interesting is that a majority of these catastrophic events have occurred in the so called "red" states of America. It all started with the hijacking of the 2000 election by Dubya and company (ironic that this would be the same group to initiate the war on terrorism). Not a good year after the election, we are presented with 9/11 ( in all fairness, this was an attack orchestrated by man) which was the impetus for us going to war. Ultimately, The problem wasn't so much the 2000 election, but more the 2004 election. It was in this election that Republicans cleverly decided to utilize Christian conservatives to get re-elected to the white house. They branded themselves as the party of God and the Christian movement. It almost seemed like you were voting against God and Christianity if you chose to vote for the democratic candidate, John Kerry. Well, we all know how that election ended with John Kerry basically only carrying the states out West and in the Northeast. It was also in this year that at least 4 hurricanes made landfall in Florida costing the state billions of dollars and unfortunately human lives. Florida coincidentally voted for George W. Bush in 2004. The following year, Katrina makes landfall causing widespread damage and loss of life in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. These states also voted for George W. Bush in 2004 (of course, there is that school of thought that New Orleans was going to feel the wrath of God at some point, but that too is another blog). Following closely behind Katrina in 2005, was hurricane Rita which affected Galveston and Houston, TX. I think we all know how Texas voted in 2004. There have been countless floods that have affected people in the plain states and middle America over the past few years, and all of these states went "red" in 2004.
I want to fast forward to today. In the 2008 election, TN, SC, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, ND, SD, NE, KS, OK, MO, AR, WY, MT, ID, UT, and AZ all voted for McCain. If you will notice, Florida is not on this list. Florida voted for Barack Obama in the last election ( this is going to be important in a moment). Furthermore, the governors of Georgia and South Carolina both declared that they didn't want no stinkin' stimulus money for their states when the president got the stimulus package passed through Congress. Now, let's see, South Carolina's governor is just barely holding on to his position, and I think Georgia's situation is pretty self explanatory. Now some people say that due to where these states lie geographically, they are more prone to natural disasters than others. I do tend to agree with this statement. However, I find it interesting that Florida has had no real issues this year (not even one false evacuation). Every time a storm is predicted to hit the state, it some how drifts out to sea. Let me just say that I am not trying to label the Republican party or "red" states as being aligned with the devil. I am merely pointing out some interesting observations about our "weather patterns". There has to be something said about viewing God and Christian values as a tool to gain political advantage. As Christians, we should utilize our faith to guide us in voting for candidates who are concerned with feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, providing jobs for the jobless, etc. My prayer is that those who are of other faiths or none at all would consider these issues when in the voting booth as well. At the end of the day, there has to be an understanding that no one party has a patent on Christianity or values. As president Obama stated in his 2004 DNC speech (I'm paraphrasing here): we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states, and we serve an awesome God in the blue states.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
R.E.S.P.E.C.T: Find out what it means to me.........
Yes mam, No mam, Yes sir, No sir, please, thank you, your welcome, and even Mr. and Mrs. What do all of these phrases, terms, words have in common? They are all terms that signify some level of respect and kindness. Unfortunately, they are also terms that seem to be becoming obsolete. When I was a child, my grandparents would have skinned me alive if I didn't use these phrases. For example, my calling their next door neighbor Doris versus Mrs. Slaughter (no, really this was her name and believe me this was one woman you did not want to tangle with under any circumstance) pretty much ensured that not only was I going to get a lecture from the neighbor but a severe tanning on my backside from my grandmother. As a side note, let me just say that according to today's standards, I suffered darn near child abuse when I was smaller. Do you think I ever once seriously considered calling child protective services? That's right, say it with me people, Nooooooooo! If I did, I wouldn't be here typing this post today. Ok back to the blog, the past rash of rude behavior that has occurred in the last week has been painful to watch. Even sadder is that the actions of Serena Williams, Joe Wilson, and Kanye West are just a snapshot of the lack of respect that occurs every minute of every single day in this country.
Now, I believe in free speech just like the next person. I also believe that people are ultimately responsible for their own actions and will have to answer for them one day (more on that in another blog), but when your speech and actions infringe on someone else's civil liberties, then Houston, we have a problem! More importantly, the individuals named in the above paragraph are in the public eye which means our children are watching them. Therefore, what does it say to little "George" when Serena Williams is cursing out a judge in the middle of a game? Does "George" think it's ok to talk back to his teacher when something doesn't go his way at school? or is it ok to call the principle a jerk to his face because Joe Wilson called the president a liar? Ultimately, it is up to each individual parent to explain why such actions are wrong and to explain why they won't be tolerated. However, we aren't doing an overall good job of teaching and displaying respect to our children, and let me just say that this isn't a problem that lies along racial lines. I am just as disgusted by a young black teen who has his pants hanging down around his knees as I am by the young white teen who curses at his mother in the middle of the store.
I look at the different generations around me including my own, and I often ask myself the question: who got it right? I can't help but think that the people in my parent's generation (Baby Boomers) lost their way when it comes to this whole idea of teaching respect (I am not saying each and every last Baby Boomer got it wrong, only the generation as a whole). In my earlier example, I said my grandparent's would have meted out punishment for my apparent lack of disrespect. You see, in my grandparent's generation calling an elder by his/her first name was offensive. My parents also didn't tolerate a lack of respect. However, for the Baby Boomers, I often feel like it was more about not being embarrassed by the fact that their children lacked manners. It was more about how other people saw them as parents. Our grandparents didn't care as much about how other people saw them (although, ultimately no one wanted to be the topic of gossip at the church bake sale or fish fry); they cared more about how we saw other people. Ultimately the question for them was: did we understand that we were not then nor would we ever be on our elders level? Baby Boomers were wonderful parents in that they were able to give their children so much more than they themselves ever had, yet in some ways so many of us in generation X and Y received so much less.
I think our grandparents had it right, and I think that it is time that we take some things back old school. My room mate often teases me about being "old" in my dealings with younger people. Although I am only 31, I don't expect those under 18 (and depending upon mental maturity, 21) to address me by my first name. I don't expect for your pants to be hanging off your behind when you are talking to me. I expect to hear a thank you when I have done something for you. I don't require young people to address me as "mam" when speaking to me, but I won't give a long lecture about how I'm too young to be addressed as "mam" if they do say it to me (your personal insecurities about your age should not be a reason to chastise young people who are trying to do the right thing and show a little respect). Bottom line, they need to understand that they are not on our level. Most importantly, we have to work on being the examples for our children when it comes to this issue of respect. We are all a work in progress when it comes to setting the example, but I believe that there are signs that my generation may be waking up, smelling the coffee, and starting anew which gives me hope for the next generation. Ultimately in my opinion, the greatest gift that we can give our children besides faith and education is a value system and a sense of self worth. It is not good people, the latest phone, car or video system.
Now, I believe in free speech just like the next person. I also believe that people are ultimately responsible for their own actions and will have to answer for them one day (more on that in another blog), but when your speech and actions infringe on someone else's civil liberties, then Houston, we have a problem! More importantly, the individuals named in the above paragraph are in the public eye which means our children are watching them. Therefore, what does it say to little "George" when Serena Williams is cursing out a judge in the middle of a game? Does "George" think it's ok to talk back to his teacher when something doesn't go his way at school? or is it ok to call the principle a jerk to his face because Joe Wilson called the president a liar? Ultimately, it is up to each individual parent to explain why such actions are wrong and to explain why they won't be tolerated. However, we aren't doing an overall good job of teaching and displaying respect to our children, and let me just say that this isn't a problem that lies along racial lines. I am just as disgusted by a young black teen who has his pants hanging down around his knees as I am by the young white teen who curses at his mother in the middle of the store.
I look at the different generations around me including my own, and I often ask myself the question: who got it right? I can't help but think that the people in my parent's generation (Baby Boomers) lost their way when it comes to this whole idea of teaching respect (I am not saying each and every last Baby Boomer got it wrong, only the generation as a whole). In my earlier example, I said my grandparent's would have meted out punishment for my apparent lack of disrespect. You see, in my grandparent's generation calling an elder by his/her first name was offensive. My parents also didn't tolerate a lack of respect. However, for the Baby Boomers, I often feel like it was more about not being embarrassed by the fact that their children lacked manners. It was more about how other people saw them as parents. Our grandparents didn't care as much about how other people saw them (although, ultimately no one wanted to be the topic of gossip at the church bake sale or fish fry); they cared more about how we saw other people. Ultimately the question for them was: did we understand that we were not then nor would we ever be on our elders level? Baby Boomers were wonderful parents in that they were able to give their children so much more than they themselves ever had, yet in some ways so many of us in generation X and Y received so much less.
I think our grandparents had it right, and I think that it is time that we take some things back old school. My room mate often teases me about being "old" in my dealings with younger people. Although I am only 31, I don't expect those under 18 (and depending upon mental maturity, 21) to address me by my first name. I don't expect for your pants to be hanging off your behind when you are talking to me. I expect to hear a thank you when I have done something for you. I don't require young people to address me as "mam" when speaking to me, but I won't give a long lecture about how I'm too young to be addressed as "mam" if they do say it to me (your personal insecurities about your age should not be a reason to chastise young people who are trying to do the right thing and show a little respect). Bottom line, they need to understand that they are not on our level. Most importantly, we have to work on being the examples for our children when it comes to this issue of respect. We are all a work in progress when it comes to setting the example, but I believe that there are signs that my generation may be waking up, smelling the coffee, and starting anew which gives me hope for the next generation. Ultimately in my opinion, the greatest gift that we can give our children besides faith and education is a value system and a sense of self worth. It is not good people, the latest phone, car or video system.
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