I just read the latest marathon-bombing news this morning.  At least some of it.  Was surprised at the level of some of the response.

Two kids shut down Boston?  And got the attention of the entire nation?  And were killed/apprehended almost live on nationwide TV? 

After the latest suspect was arrested, residents of Watertown, “took to the street en-masse… cheering on emergency workers and chanting ‘USA! USA! USA!’” (source)

It’s like the end to a movie, except real people were killed.  With this much attention, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are copy-cat crimes, though I sincerely hope not.

The LA Times wrote an article, Boston bombings: Social media spirals out of control, with the subtitle, “Web sleuths cast suspicion on innocent people and spread bad tips and paranoia.”

From my limited perspective, there was a fair share more paranoia than necessary, considering the threat.  Shutting down the entire city of Boston, population 4+ million, was perhaps out of proportion to having one man running around with a gun (or, as the facts would show, a wounded 19 year old hiding under a boat).

In the greater Boston metropolitan area, all businesses were closed and everyone told to stay inside.  This article described the city as a ghost town, adding, “John Fox, the official historian of the FBI, said that the shutdown of such a major city was virtually unprecedented in recent U.S. history.”

From photos of empty Boston streets, “Cant believe Mass Ave is so dead today On a Friday This is unreal” with the Instagram picture below:

I was glad to read one jogger had the nerve to leave his home and face the danger dire to go running along the Charles river on Memorial Drive, in outright rebellion of the standing orders.  Perhaps he was a descendant of an original Boston minuteman.

My friend here, Beth McHoul, reposted the following quote on Facebook: “If you’re trying to defeat the human spirit, marathoners are the wrong group to target” -unknown

Beth is a native of Boston, and has run in that marathon more than once herself. She is an amazing woman. Last Monday, her sister was running and only a mile from the finish when the bombs went off. I’m not trying to downplay the awfulness of the attack.

But in light of how things went down the last couple days, I just have to wonder, “Are Americans at large prone to overreaction?” 

For contrast, here’s a local anecdote:

One day last week our Haitian worker Pierre arrived late to work.  He said he ran into a police/gang shootout on the street.  He turned his motorcycle around and waited it out at a nearby gas station.  When the shots died down he drove through the mayhem, continuing on his way to work, dodging several bodies laying on the road.  Pierre noted that business was as usual at the next intersection (Jerald Batay), as if nothing had happened right down the street. 

In light of a story like that, when I read about the drastic measures taken in Boston, I have this distinct impression us American’s are becoming soft. 

Logistically, it’s even surprising to me Boston could be shut down with so little notice.  Apparently, residents were awoken to reverse-911 telephone calls instructing them to stay indoors.  I didn’t even know they could do that.  Reminds me of Orwell’s 1984.

Something else that reminds me of Orwell’s 1984 (and while I’m on my soapbox) is how smartphones are changing the world. Whether in regards to how an investigation is done of a terrorist attack like the Boston Marathon, or whether it’s the Pope’s inauguration:

I’m thinking there is no going back.  The times we live in just ain’t like the olde days. 

Everyone makes mistakes.  But beginners make a certain type of mistake:  They make beginner mistakes.

Here in Haiti, one beginner mistake is to start handing out free stuff.  That’s a quick recipe for generating a flash mob.  I remember clearly the day I learned this lesson.  Was visiting an orphanage and started handing out free Frisbees. I was nearly bowled over and attacked.  Being in the center of a desperate mob was no fun.  Never again.  What’s worse is that the one kid I meant to give a Frisbee to didn’t get one, and I think he started crying.

In life, there are many beginner mistakes.  Not asking questions is one of them.  Not listening is another.  Show me someone good at asking questions and listening… and I’ll show you a relational expert (with the caveat that discretion dictates the line between caring and prying).

In regards to being a Christian, perhaps the most common beginner mistake is legalism.  In particular, thinking one is better or holier than another because of an activity or behavior one is doing or, more commonly, not doing. God’s grace for others is much bigger than we originally think.  The real shock after walking with the Lord awhile is how His grace could ever be large enough to cover our own sin.  My sin.

An acquaintance of mine recently told another acquaintance (who happened to be Catholic) she was going to hell because she prayed to Mary.  Praying to Mary isn’t Biblical, but telling someone they’re going to hell because they do so is, in my opinion, a beginner mistake.  Because God is bigger than that, less limited by misinformation than we suspect.  I’m thinking the light of God easily reaches into the lives of people we may otherwise write off.  This very evening I spoke with a Catholic girl who gave valid testimony of God working in her life.  Is her theology correct?  I doubt it.  Is my theology correct on every point either?  I doubt that too.  Is God working in both our lives? I think so.

The more I know, the less I know. My favorite saying is that, “Life is messy.”  Beginners see life in black and white. Beginners go around trying to rationalize (or wishing) the messes away.  But after awhile, it’s better to just embrace them.  It happens slowly, but one day we wake up to catch ourselves thinking, “I wonder if that Christian guy with all the tattoos knows more about God than I do?”

Speaking of knowledge, sometimes I catch myself feeling smug upon realizing I know my Bible better than another Believer.  This too is a beginner mistake. 

It’s not how much we know God’s Word that’s the question, but how much we know God Himself:

"Let not the wise boast of their wisdom… but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth…" (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

Taken a step further, perhaps it’s not even about how much we know God that’s important, but about how much God knows us.  Think of Job.  God knew who Job was:

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”  (Job 1:8)

As Satan comes before the throne of God with accusations in April of 2013, I wonder if God will respond with, “Have you considered my servant [your name here]?  That servant who is blameless and upright?  Who fears me and shuns evil?”

A sobering question.  I wonder, “Am I even serving God in the first place?  Are my activities for me, or God? Am I where God wants me?  Am I submitting to Him daily?  Is my life committed to Him fully?  Do I fear his displeasure?  Do I shun evil?  Am I committed to not forsaking Him, even if it means going through what Job did?”

This verse encourages me:

"The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him…" (2 Chronicles 16:9)

Guess we all have to make beginner mistakes. But, I for one am ready to move on to intermediate-level mistakes.

Rarely before have I been in a situation where the line between My Life and My Work has been so blurry.

Used to be I sat bored stiff in an office for a determined amount of hours, after which I cheerily left all behind to commence real life, i.e. visiting family and friends, church functions, Bible studies, eating $5/Footlongs from Subway, etc. 

Far cry from life now.

This week we’re hosting a team of 30.  If I counted the number of hours I’m putting into my job it would be pretty much the same number of hours I’m awake.  On the other hand, it could be said I’m not working at all, just living.

I do enjoy working diverse jobs instead of being pigeon-holed.  Which means I should be in 7th heaven right now, because in the last few days alone I’ve had my fingers in like fifty different pies.  From troubleshooting water problems, electrical problems, and auto-mechanic problems, to managing others working, to driving groups of people around Port-au Prince, to woodworking, to acting as resident tour guide, to assisting in the design of a solar-panel setup, to fixing the back of the canter after it backed into a tree (softly), to discussing the finer points of aid-work with guests, to answering the phone, to answering the door, to comforting a lady who was crying, to chasing a rat around my bedroom with a stick, to you name it, I’m probably doing it.  That’s all within the last 72 hours.

Sometimes I feel frustrated for not having a more relational focus though.  I want to be learning more of the language and interacting more with Haitians.  Discipleship, teaching the Word, working with street kids, aren’t these why I’m here?  But… everything in good time.  Right now I’m getting a crash course in the "logistical” side of living in the 3rd world

I was telling my co-worker Josh there is no doubt value in us knowing how to drive in Port-au Prince.  That way, when the End of the World hits and America is under marshal law and the masses are rioting, we’ll be prepared to drive up on sidewalks and zip around road blocks.  He just laughed and said pretty much everything we’re learning here in Haiti will be useful when the End of the World hits. 

On the flip side, Haiti is also good at teaching us how much we’re not really in control of life at all.  There’s a lot of religion in Haiti and I can see why, this place has a raw quality that can drive a person to their knees, looking to God.

In fact, just that has been happening to me.  The last several days an old hymn has been running through my head and in the mornings before getting out of bed I’ve been singing it:

I need thee every hour, in joy or pain;
come quickly and abide, or life is vain.

I need thee, O I need thee;
every hour I need thee;
O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.

While many were downcast by the election results, others were thrilled.  Among the latter… Popular Science Magazine. 

Here is a quote from their Wednesday article:

What a relief, many of us thought this morning. We re-elected a president who supports public funding for research (truthfully, public funding for anything). We re-elected a president who acknowledges the reality of climate change….

…[bla bla bla]…

Sincerely,
The writers and editors of Popular Science

I like Popular Science, but isn’t it telling how the reason they appreciate Obama so much is because he hands out public money so liberally?

Limbaugh says, “It’s very difficult to win against Santa Claus… In a country of children where the option is Santa Claus or work, what wins?”

I guess Santa Claus wins.

At least among Independents (who Romney regrettably tried so hard to court), single women (70%), Catholics (50%), and – what’s this??

Exit polls say 21% (over 6 million) of born again, white, evangelical Christians voters also cast a ballot for Obama. 

This is surprising to me as Obama’s liberal stance on moral issues are so far against Biblical values.  Not sure what to make of it. 

Well, it’s best not to take ourselves, or this world, too seriously.  Sometimes we need to take time off for silliness.  The sky may be falling, but it hasn’t hit me yet.

In the picture below I am being silly, demonstrating one of my more nascent moves to brothers Joe and Luke, to their bemusement.

Ok, back to election coverage.  Take a gander at this map:

It appears the “sea to shining sea” voted Obama, while the “amber waves of grain” voted Romney.  Nevertheless, I predict as the Republic party drifts further from stances on morality, godliness, and conservatism, someday New York and California may begin voting Republican too. 

To Vote, or Not to Vote?

What should we do when neither party wholly represents our values?  Vote for the best of the two options?  That’s fine, but has anyone else noticed that each election there seems to be more the honest Christian has to swallow?  For me, both the last election (McCain) and this one were struggles, and this time I just wrote in an alternative candidate. 

There is a lot of talk about how abstaining from voting in the Presidential election, or writing someone in who has no chance of winning, is a waste of ones vote.  But my reasoning is that if I voted in the primary for who I wanted, and my candidate didn’t win, then I have already lost, and am let off the hook for later supporting a candidate I don’t fully support.

Nevertheless, my one-off voice of dissension didn’t appear to change the Kansas outcome, as a glance at the map above for Kansas reveals.

The Silver Lining

In important matters, such as Wichita adding fluoride to our city’s water supply, my proud “No” against that initiative appeared to carry more weight, seeing as that insidious pork bill to poison us all was solidly trounced.  “Let freedom reign,” I say.

I See our Future, and the Word “Debt” Looms Large

What does it mean to have another 4 years of Obama?  Most likely we will get new supreme court judges which lean toward the left.  And most likely we will get more debt (though I can’t say either of these results would have been significantly different with Romney).

One estimate I saw forecasted the 2016 debt to rise to 22 trillion, up from 16 trillion now.  Taking into consideration we are spending over a trillion more annually than making from taxes, that’s going to take a long time to pay off!

Not to mention, according to this site, our total unfunded liabilities from social security (16 trillion), prescription drugs (21 trillion), and Medicare (84 trillion) sum to another 121 trillion dollars of bills coming down the pike we don’t have the money for.  What does it all mean?  I shouldn’t wonder it means the feared Teotwawki (the end of the world as we know it).

Not that all our financial woes are Obama’s fault, but I’m dubious borrowing our way back into prosperity, as his method seems to be, is likely to work.

At the same time, while our 16 trillion dollar public debt sounds like a lot for the feds to have blown through on credit, it’s revealing our private debt is about the same.  Yep, between home mortgages, student loans, and credit cards, we the people are in the hole some 15.8 trillion!  It’s like I always say, government is but a reflection of the people.

You can quote me on this: “I predict someday America will have to tighten its belt.”

But for now, I’m moving to Haiti where they’ve already tightened their belt and the national debt is a measly 1 billion.  Not to mention that country is practically awash in money from the 11 billion pledged after the earthquake (just kidding, all that money mysteriously disappeared).

The Bottom Line

Ahh, the end of the matter is that America is still a great country, in my humble opinion, and I feel proud to have been part of the election process, and to have seen all the red, white, and blue flags gallantly waving, and to get my “I Voted” sticker, and to sit up late watching the results come in on TV, and to contradict the political analysts on said TV with my own pointedly insightful comments around mouthfuls of “triple-bypass-blast-O-butter” popcorn, only available in America!

Back in 1824, Joseph Niépc took the first photograph ever – a view looking out the window of his home in France.  Here it is:

That may have been the first photograph, but believe me, it wasn’t the last, though I’d venture to opine many taken since are hardly more interesting. 

188 years later, us humans take photos at prodigious rates.  According to a recent USA Today article (dated June, 2012) over 300 million photos are being uploaded to Facebook per day.

That’s over 100 billion photos per year being uploaded just to Facebook!

I’m as guilty as the next person, having snapped over 10,000 pics in the last year alone.

It’s easy to go crazy with digital cameras.  When I was a kid back in the stone age of film cameras I remember only getting 24 exposures per roll, and couldn’t see what they looked like until after they developed.  Couldn’t take so many back then.

But I wonder, what are all these photos doing for me?  I take time to shoot them, I take time to organize and store them, I purchase hard drives to hold them, I may or may not take time to view them later.

Yeah, they tell a story, but couldn’t I tell a story in writing? or better yet, in person?  Yeah, they may impress someone (there I am, standing in front of x, y, or z), but is that necessary?  Yeah, photos capture events, but isn’t that what God gave us memories for? 

Speaking of events, the cost of shooting weddings usually runs between $1,000 and $5,000 dollars.  Photography is big business.  In more ways than one.  If we didn’t have photos we might not have billboards.  Or risqué magazines at every convenience store checkout.  Or worse.

Most the world never had cameras, and they seemed to have got along fine without them.  We tend to think of the “old days” being in black and white, but before 1824 there wasn’t even black and white!  All they had was cave art scratched with burnt sticks.  And Michael de Angelo.

As I examine my own motives, I become suspiciously aware that vanity plays the larger part in my desire to have good photos of myself.  And pride and impressing others a good deal to do with many of the rest.

Of course, I’m not saying it’s all bad.  I’ve taken sunset pictures from nature, for example, which were nice to look at later, and fun to set as my desktop background.

Yet, I think taking pictures pulls me away from the present.  It focuses my attention on capturing “the moment” so as to live it again in the future.  Then in the future looking back at them, I’m again dwelling on the past. 

How often have we missed the real moment in our exuberance to get that elusively perfect shot?

This post isn’t meant to condemn cameras as “bad,” per se.  Surely they have their good points.  I enjoy taking pictures as a hobby.

But I’m beginning to wonder if it’s all a bit much?  Maybe photos are overrated?  Cameras weren’t given to us by God as standard equipment with birth (eyes were) so they must not be essential. We don’t have any pictures of Jesus with his 12 disciples…  I’m wondering if all this photographic wizardry of modern man is a clever ploy for my time to be distracted from things more important?

I don’t know, what do you think?

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