This morning on Fox Opinion Channel (d.b.a. Fox News Channel) Megyn Kelly was interviewing Scott Rasmussen of Rasmussen Reports concerning the latest poll suggesting 66% of our country is angry at government policies.
Because Fox has no journalistic integrity, this of course means that the majority of Americans agree with the Fox opinion, that we all are against government bailouts of the banks, against health care reform, and against the economic recovery act. Of course this is clearly ridiculous because the majority of the people I interact with on a daily basis (which is mostly those at work) have very different opinions than Fox, and yet they would fall within the 66% number.
You see, because these polls don't track the specific opinions of people, just broad categories.
This same poll shows 44% of Democrats are angry, and 90% of Republicans. Who's willing to bet the majority of Democrats actually favor health care reform, and favor enacting stricter regulation over the financial sector?
You see, I would predict the majority of Democrats are angry at their party for not having the backbone to stand up to the Republican minority and pass a strong progressive agenda without watering it down for a party who isn't going to vote for it regardless. (Example: The recovery act was mostly tax cuts, thanks to Republican pressure, yet the vast majority of Republicans didn't vote for the bill.)
I'm willing to predict the majority of Republicans are angry at their party for failing to provide leadership. They want a strong leader like they had in 1994 when the Republican minority controlled the agenda and became the majority two years later. They're angry because they are opposing the Democrats without offering an alternative. (Example: The so-called Budget To Nowhere put forth by the Republicans which contained no numbers.)
And then they point to the numbers on health care reform with "only" 43% favoring the current reform plan. I may be crazy, but I'm guessing the 43% are the more moderates, and the larger 56% number is probably split down the middle by those against any health reform, and those who want a more comprehensive package. Based on previous polls it would actually suggest the majority of those opposing the current plan actually support more government intervention in medical care, not less. The latest poll shows 78% of respondents say all Americans should have access to the same plan Congress has (a public option?).
You see, data is just data and holds no meaning or purpose behind it. It is manipulated by everyone to prove their own points, and it just leads to further argument and division. I'm not against data, I'm against the ridiculousness of so many otherwise rational people who hold so fast to their political persuasions the same way they support their favorite sports teams no matter how bad they are.
Don't go on TV and tell people what their opinion should be. Dialog and understanding needs to happen. I bet most of the polled respondents don't actually know what the legislation is, so their anger is coming from some ethereal field of battle. Can't we just talk to each other in rational, civilized ways?
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tongues gone wild
What exactly are you trying to prove? I find it difficult to believe that is actually how you talk with people. Do you talk to your friends like that?
Tell me, if I came into your home and very aggressively told you about the mistakes you've made and how the problems in your life are God teaching you a lesson and you need to learn this lesson to move forward in life, how would you feel?
I'm venting. I didn't mean to vent but it happened. I started thinking and it's coming out now. I just don't think we understand the words we use when we're trying to reach out to some people.
There's a lot of pressure in these situations to act holy, or godly, or like we have a fix for their lives. When we're ministering to the houseless, the drug addicts, and the impoverished. We're always trying to think of some sentence that might connect with their lives somehow and make them realize their utter depravity and total dependence on the Lord.
But you can't just go into someone's home - or lack thereof - and tell them their story. You have to join in their story, become a part of it. You have to listen and empathize.
You can't just go in there and spout of answers to all their problems, and guilt trip them into finding a job. You can't tell them it's easy to get a job if only you try hard enough. And please don't tell them they're lunatics because they try the same thing every day hoping for different results.
Would you talk to your friend like this? No! Then why would you tell a stranger these things? They don't know you, and more importantly you don't know them. It means nothing to them, but it might be offensive. And it's not the offensive Gospel, it's just being rude.
Turn the page...
And why are you judging people who come out to help? Do you really think people have to be perfect before they can sit with houseless friends for dinner? Maybe they'll be changed in the process. Maybe they'll learn something. Where is your patience?
I can't believe how hypocritical you are. You're judging them for being there and doing things wrong, but you haven't been there in over a month and a half. You're so high and mighty. Hypocrite!
Maybe it's not just about the poor. Maybe it's also about the wealthy you're ministering with. Maybe we're all in this together, and it's messy. There is no right way. Everyone is different. Their needs are different. Their personalities are different. There isn't a formula for relationships.
Love isn't color by number.
Tell me, if I came into your home and very aggressively told you about the mistakes you've made and how the problems in your life are God teaching you a lesson and you need to learn this lesson to move forward in life, how would you feel?
I'm venting. I didn't mean to vent but it happened. I started thinking and it's coming out now. I just don't think we understand the words we use when we're trying to reach out to some people.
There's a lot of pressure in these situations to act holy, or godly, or like we have a fix for their lives. When we're ministering to the houseless, the drug addicts, and the impoverished. We're always trying to think of some sentence that might connect with their lives somehow and make them realize their utter depravity and total dependence on the Lord.
But you can't just go into someone's home - or lack thereof - and tell them their story. You have to join in their story, become a part of it. You have to listen and empathize.
You can't just go in there and spout of answers to all their problems, and guilt trip them into finding a job. You can't tell them it's easy to get a job if only you try hard enough. And please don't tell them they're lunatics because they try the same thing every day hoping for different results.
Would you talk to your friend like this? No! Then why would you tell a stranger these things? They don't know you, and more importantly you don't know them. It means nothing to them, but it might be offensive. And it's not the offensive Gospel, it's just being rude.
Turn the page...
And why are you judging people who come out to help? Do you really think people have to be perfect before they can sit with houseless friends for dinner? Maybe they'll be changed in the process. Maybe they'll learn something. Where is your patience?
I can't believe how hypocritical you are. You're judging them for being there and doing things wrong, but you haven't been there in over a month and a half. You're so high and mighty. Hypocrite!
Maybe it's not just about the poor. Maybe it's also about the wealthy you're ministering with. Maybe we're all in this together, and it's messy. There is no right way. Everyone is different. Their needs are different. Their personalities are different. There isn't a formula for relationships.
Love isn't color by number.
God is good
In our over-privileged American congregations, stuffed to the brim with wealthy white people, we use an interesting language some call "Christianese."
You see, I've been thinking about how we reach out to the under-privileged, marginalized communities. I was specifically thinking about what I'm planning on doing tonight. You see a friend of mine has been running a ministry to help empower the poverty stricken neighborhoods in our area, and enlists the support of local congregations to do some of the work. Often times they come in and do their day's work, pat themselves on the back, and congratulate themselves at Sunday mass about what a great work they've done.
A few months ago he started taking a few people to a local park where houseless people tend to congregate, barbecuing some food and holding service in the open. The small group has continued to grow, and for the most part these people are so very eager to serve those below their station.
The only problem is often times we don't know how to act. Some of this hubris is subconscious so that we think to ourselves what a great thing we are doing bestowing our very presence with people in need. How great it is to share Jesus with the hungry.
But it's useless to share Jesus with someone when you don't share yourself!
Friendships are difficult to develop when we have lopsided relationships like this. When we have a benefactor and beneficiary, the relationship isn't a mutual kinship very often. It takes more than a few words and a couple hours to care for someone deeply.
I'm sitting here thinking about how to form interactions that are meaningful to someone in need in 10 seconds or less. (Yes, I'm using the method of a salesman to sell empathy.) I'm playing scenarios over in my head about how these interactions would play out, and feeling how one might respond to any of them - personally, not outwardly. I ask the question, "What has God done in your life lately?"
Christianese.
How does one respond to this when you're living on the street? Under the steeple you might respond, "I got a raise at work; God is so good!" or "I heard a new Tomlin song that really touched me." But under the blistering sun, would this response be, "I found a place with shade that's pretty isolated when I need to be alone, but not too far from the discount grocer," or possibly, "I finally got to the free clinic where they put me on antibiotics for the infection in my foot."
But for some people you might not even get this. You might get, "After I got back from Iraq I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, my wife kicked me out, and I'm so depressed I became and alcoholic, lost my job, and I've been on the streets for four months. Proprietors and police officers are always pestering me. I get dirty looks from women in SUVs with 'support our troops' stickers on the back. And they sit me in the back of the church."
And what promises can you give them? In our big congregations we often hear promises like, "You life will be more complete with Jesus," and "Those worries of the past will melt away when you give your life to the Lord." But when we're talking to our houseless neighbors their situation will pretty much be the same on Thursday as it was on Monday.
There is a large disparity between the two experiences. If we truly seek justice we would work, as a whole, to mitigate the gulf between our two worlds, drawing those in need into our fellowship while moving into their lives as well.
You see, I've been thinking about how we reach out to the under-privileged, marginalized communities. I was specifically thinking about what I'm planning on doing tonight. You see a friend of mine has been running a ministry to help empower the poverty stricken neighborhoods in our area, and enlists the support of local congregations to do some of the work. Often times they come in and do their day's work, pat themselves on the back, and congratulate themselves at Sunday mass about what a great work they've done.
A few months ago he started taking a few people to a local park where houseless people tend to congregate, barbecuing some food and holding service in the open. The small group has continued to grow, and for the most part these people are so very eager to serve those below their station.
The only problem is often times we don't know how to act. Some of this hubris is subconscious so that we think to ourselves what a great thing we are doing bestowing our very presence with people in need. How great it is to share Jesus with the hungry.
But it's useless to share Jesus with someone when you don't share yourself!
Friendships are difficult to develop when we have lopsided relationships like this. When we have a benefactor and beneficiary, the relationship isn't a mutual kinship very often. It takes more than a few words and a couple hours to care for someone deeply.
I'm sitting here thinking about how to form interactions that are meaningful to someone in need in 10 seconds or less. (Yes, I'm using the method of a salesman to sell empathy.) I'm playing scenarios over in my head about how these interactions would play out, and feeling how one might respond to any of them - personally, not outwardly. I ask the question, "What has God done in your life lately?"
Christianese.
How does one respond to this when you're living on the street? Under the steeple you might respond, "I got a raise at work; God is so good!" or "I heard a new Tomlin song that really touched me." But under the blistering sun, would this response be, "I found a place with shade that's pretty isolated when I need to be alone, but not too far from the discount grocer," or possibly, "I finally got to the free clinic where they put me on antibiotics for the infection in my foot."
But for some people you might not even get this. You might get, "After I got back from Iraq I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, my wife kicked me out, and I'm so depressed I became and alcoholic, lost my job, and I've been on the streets for four months. Proprietors and police officers are always pestering me. I get dirty looks from women in SUVs with 'support our troops' stickers on the back. And they sit me in the back of the church."
And what promises can you give them? In our big congregations we often hear promises like, "You life will be more complete with Jesus," and "Those worries of the past will melt away when you give your life to the Lord." But when we're talking to our houseless neighbors their situation will pretty much be the same on Thursday as it was on Monday.
There is a large disparity between the two experiences. If we truly seek justice we would work, as a whole, to mitigate the gulf between our two worlds, drawing those in need into our fellowship while moving into their lives as well.
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