ThinkDeep

Being born and raised in Trinidad means that I have great fondness for that nation.  I grew up in paradise.  Before we go any further, I will tell you that I no longer live there.  I left a long time ago.  When and why don’t really matter.  I’m telling you only to set the stage right.

I was pleased to find out a few days ago that there is a TV station from Trinidad that broadcasts over the Internet. IBN TV8 has a barely viewable video stream.  But it is there nonetheless.  Two days ago, I was watching it because my brother sent word that he and his wife would be on it.  I watched as they talked about the sheer absurdity that the island nation has become.  Children are being killed and disappearing.  Many times no one knows where they disappear to.  This might be news to some.  However, if you live in Trinidad, this isn’t news to you.   I’m not here to talk directly about any of those things.  I am here to try to touch a part of your mind.

A society that lets crime run roughshod over it without fighting back is not headed to a pleasant end.  As crime and violence are tolerated, it only encourages more crime and violence.  The country is headed to a precipice and seems prepared to jump right off. Being a small country, this has much larger systemic ramifications than bigger countries.

In larger countries, crime waves can usually be contained in certain geographical areas.  They usually do not pose a risk to the entire system of government.  In small countries, such break downs in the rule of law, if left unchecked, can result in a challenge to the government and the way of life itself.  Look back at Colombia and the government war with the drug lords.

What can I do?  I don’t live there?  If you live in Trinidad, what can you do?  Anything?  Do you feel powerless?  Do you think someone else will take care of the problem?  Do you even care?  Is your only concern when the next party is or how much rum you can drink?

I’m here to tell you that you can make a difference. Yes you.  You the little old lady who can barely walk.  Yes the able bodied man or the petite librarian.  Each of you can make a difference.  All you have to do is care and know that you can.  Is it too hard for you?  Is the country worth it?  Would you like me to tell you want to do?

I don’t have a detailed plan for you. I can tell you that paying attention to what your government is doing is very important because what those guys do will affect your life and the lives of your children.

I don’t live in Trinidad and my influence will be minimal.  But I will do what I can.  And the first thing will be to start to engage anyone who will listen and read.

If you are reading this, pass on the link to someone else.  Let’s engage in a dialogue.

Very funny.  I really like it.

This is dedicated to my friend Sonny who I have known for so many years.

You rock!

I got the picture above in an email from a friend.  I noticed in the email trail  someone commented that they were scared.  Were they really scared or just trying to evoke fear in others? There are numerous reasons not to be scared.  Our current president is:

• thoughtful
• intelligent
• wise beyond his years
• has excellent leadership skills
• is not afraid to engage in open discussions
• Wants to be very open
• Is not afraid to make mistakes
• Is willing to admit when he makes a mistake
• will never always be right and knows it
• wants to engage his political rivals but has not done a good job of that yet

As we move through time, there are paradigm shifts.  Some are small and others are big.  It is a time when some or many of the rules as we know them no longer apply.  We know about several of these throughout American and world history. The American revolution, the American Civil War, the industrial revolution, the Great Depression, WW1 & 2, the end of the Soviet Union, the printing press, computers, Internet to name a few.  That is what we are seeing here. The financial meltdown has caused many rules to change.

In each of these rule changing scenarios, embracing their new rules has been key.  Those who adapt are doomed to failure.  We cannot be luddites and expect to smash factories thinking that we can put things back the way they were.  When Germany invaded Poland, the Polish army were trying to fight the tanks on horseback.  Poland did not understand the new rules.  In any given population, a fraction are early adopters.  They see and understand the new rules.  One key element of success in this area are leaders that understand these new rules of engagement and can communicate this to others.  I believe we have such a leader now.  And he is asking us to embrace a new way of thinking.  We are being challenged to throw out the old R vs D thought process.  That is not an easy thing to do.  Most people can only understand things within their own frame of reference.  And so, it is easy for them to see elected officials as D or R, Conservative, Liberal or Libertarian.  When a person uses a label like this, in their minds they are attaching a set of attributes to such a person.  In reality, no person can really be so described.  These labels no longer work because all the attributes connected to them are blurring.  It was the Bush administration that came to ask for the original bailout money.  Now the Obama administration is continuing that approach it is being attacked as some form of socialism.  In terms of actions, the lines have blurred because both administrations have acted the same.

To be scared of a government is bizarre.  People should never be scared of their government.  A government should be scared of their people.  Perhaps it is the uncertainty that they are scared about.  It is true that our future is uncertain.  I contend that no one knows what will happen a year or two years from now.  We do not yet fully understand the new rules.  We know that corporate jets are a no-no.  That’s a new rule.  Same for bonuses.  A very taboo subject in these times.  Don’t invest money with a guy named Bernie.  Everything is unfolding before our eyes and every day something new comes along.  It has never happened like this before.  The pace of change is staggering and we are able to see these changes almost minutes after they occur.

If there is one characteristic I would attribute to President Obama is “PRACTICAL”. He is not an ideologue.  It is the first time in my lifetime where I felt my government was attempting to be honest and realistic about what they can achieve.  Maybe this will not be ultimately successful.  I cannot say.  But I do appreciate the concept and that he is willing to try.

The presidential campaign released some nasty elements within certain segments of the population .  Some people really believed that Obama is “a good actor” or “just a person who can speak well”.  In other words, he has no character of his own.  And so some believe that he is hell bent to deliberately destroy the country.  Hence the “secret muslim” and such nonsense.  While I believe GWB is an idiot and highly incompetent, it was never personal with me.  I never wished him harm, even in my mind.  I never wished him failure although I felt certain that he could never succeed because of his own shortcomings.  And I disagreed with him on many things, but mostly in areas where he crapped on the constitution.

And so we have those who believe that under no circumstances can President Obama ever do anything right.  They talk about being scared that he will do X?  Whatever X is.  I don’t know where this is coming from.  Some are definitely racist.  I suspect that this is a fraction.  Others just fear the unknown because of the times we are in.  And yet still, he is not a Republican or self ascribed conservative.  He does not belong to the tribe and therefore cannot be good.  Where these things come from does not matter.  Each person must search their own conscience.

I ask a few things of those Obama skeptics.  Continue to be skeptical but do so with calm intelligence and facts.  Do not let rumors, heresay and conspiracy theories get the better of you.  Understand that in a democracy, no one gets everything they want.  Have conversations with people of opposite view points(this goes for everyone).  Try to find out what that person sees that you don’t see. And lastly, give him some benefit of the doubt.

If you have been paying attention to the news recently, you may have noticed some reports about Rick Warren being asked to give the invocation for the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama.  If you are not sure who Rick Warren is, here is a little reminder.  He has a huge evangelical church called Saddleback.  He wrote a bestseller book called “The Purpose Driven Life”.  I recommend it.

Up until recently,  the Saddleback church had a written doctrine of not accepting gays to join.  The way it was stated was that any gay person could not join the church unless the were repentent of the sin of their gayness.  This has been recently removed from the church web site.  So it isn’t too surprising that when Warren was chosen to give this invocation, the LBGT community was not happy.

First let me address the political side of this.  In asking Warren to give the inaugural invocation, Obama is symbolically reaching out across a chasm he has to breach.  Remember that little thing about him being a secret muslim?  Also, Obama did promise to bring people together.  And the way you do that is by including others who do not necessarily agree with you on all things.  By including Warren in the inauguration, Obama is sending a message to evangelicals that they are part of the broader community also.  The other thing to realize is the Warren got some heat from his followers for accepting the invitation.  So, it isn’t all in one direction.  By Warren accepting, he is extending an olive branch in the other direction.

Now let’s get on to the good parts.  I think Saddleback church is dead wrong on this issue.  If it is still their policy or not, I have no idea.  But I see this as a flaw in their ideology.  They don’t get it.  Jesus never preached that we should be evaluating anyone before trying to minister to them.  In fact he preached the opposite.  How many times in the new testament does it say how Jesus was hanging around with tax collectors.  And the community thought it was scandalous.  I suspect that if Jesus were here today, he might very well be hanging out in the midst of homosexuals.  Sure.  why not?  Now my point here is not to equate tax collectors in Jesus’ day with homosexuals today.  No.  My point is that if one is to truly follow Christ, one must put aside all notion of who is socially acceptable.  Be humble.  Realize that we are not better than them.  Whoever “them” is to you.  Even if you have the insight that someone else isinful, realize that you are sinful as well.  And you cannot measure your sin against another’s and say that yours is less.

Luke 6:42

How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out that splinter in your eye,” when you cannot see the great log in your own? Hypocrite! Take the log out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter in yours.

And…

Matthew 9:13

Go and learn the meaning of the words: Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice. And indeed I came to call not the upright, but sinners.’

If Rick Warren and Saddleback church really believe that homosexuality is a sin, then they should be trying to get as many gays  into their church as possible.

Stop saying that I am righteous and you are not.  Stop saying that I am good and you are bad.  Stop saying that I pray and go to church and you don’t.  These are not things that lead to God.

And this is why I think that no one gets it.  They have all entirely missed the point.