Ghosts of Childhood's Past

I was putting my daughter to bed one night,

when she was around two.

She said, “Mommy, who’s that?”

“Who’s what?” I asked.

“Those people talking to me, in my closet. Who is that?”

I just about shit myself.

-- Unknown

It was a dark and stormy night... I was seven years old and was being allowed to stay up and watch Peter Lorre, Robert Alda, and Andrea King in the 1946 horror film, The Beast with Five Fingers.  I would soon be following it with such classics as The House on Haunted Hill, The Haunting of Hell House, and Thirteen Ghosts.  Thirteen years later I would find myself working for military intelligence.

I entertained no thoughts of mystery concerning my occasional conversations with fellow intelligence personnel about creative ways to make an enemy talk; I knew what made my skin crawl and it wasn't "waterboarding."  Waterboarding is interrogation amateur night; a hazing technique performed by college fraternities and now outlawed by universities.  In the movies you see interrogators make a grand display of laying out their numerous shiny and sharp, tools of the trade, the trade which nullifies all your human rights, usually because you've dared to nullify someone else's. These interrogators go through way more trouble than one would think necessary in order to extract information, and talk way too much about it beforehand.

I say let's simplify the procedure, especially in combat situations:  Give me a simple scalpel, a large mirror, and a gag.  I really don't care if the blade is sterile, and I'm feeling peckish so... bring me pastrami on rye with lots of mustard since this may take a while.  There won't be much conversation as they'll be wearing the gag and watching everything in the mirror, hence the sound of muffled screams.  Oh, and no witnesses, please, as this is the stuff of Congressional committees more interested in protecting our enemies than our saving  own personnel, so... don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out. 

A PhD in child psychology and a million dollar grant isn't necessary, I suspect what a child is subjected to, or experiences on their own, has great bearing on the ghosts they bring with them into adulthood.  I also suspect this is why I shy away from horror movies today.  One can only stare into the abyss so long.  But this is what it takes to keep a country safe and secure,  These are horrors the common citizen has a right to know, but doesn't really want to hear until it hits the front page of the Times and they scream in mock offense.

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” 

-- Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), philosopher

Where men are concerned, parent's used to raise them.  It was a matter of pride for a father to bring his son into adulthood and show off the man his son had become.  I think that this idea of manhood has morphed into education, stock portfolios, and job positioning.  Gone are the real men of yesteryear that went to war and came back to live full productive lives.  We no longer seem to raise men to be soldiers.  Is this a good thing?

Men and women are now fighting kinder, gentler, wars.  They now go into battle with one hand tied behind their back with "rules of engagement."  Do we still build capable soldiers, or are we molding ambassadors to throw at the enemy like so much fodder?  If we are, this is not the brave soldiers fault.  This is the fault of their parents, our government, courts, and trial lawyers.  God forbid parents bring their children up able to survive in today's world.  God forbid we touch, or verbally abuse a soldier as training to keep them alive.  We wouldn't want to hurt their precious sensitivities after all.  Do we really prefer seeing them come home in body bags rather than hurt their feelings for a pitiful few weeks of basic training?  Better we give them participation awards they can wear proudly into battle against an enemy that relishes cutting their heads off as sport.  

As for me, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" and God bless "Old Blood and Guts," General George S. Patton, Jr.  If you go into battle ill prepared to do anything less than kill the enemy, you should stay home and learn their language so you can assimilate all the easier after they kick your ass.  Is our new strategy is to come up with better weapons, unmanned weapons, as a much more expensive yet efficient way to fight war, or would it seem an admission that we no longer have a military of people mentally fit to fight the monsters of this world on their own turf?  Is it better to lose our children trying to win hearts and minds of our enemy, or should we simply kill them all and let God sort them out?

War changes people, it always has and, God willing, it always will.  It is a way of reminding ourselves we don't want to wage war.  If war is good for anything, however, it is a test of soldiers to go into battle and prove their mettle, their ability to preserve their freedom and way of life, to protect all they hold dear.  We send our young people to war and we're supposed to get back adults prepared to carry our country forward.  Instead we, for the most part, get back emotionally broken, psychologically and physically broken, young people.  But, then, that yearned for success all depends on a quality of training where we can separate the wheat from the chaff before we send them off to die.  Today we seem content to litter the battlefields and hospitals with too much of our brave kids that we probably should have never been sent to fight.

If you battle monsters, you don't always become a monster. But you aren't entirely human anymore, either.

-- Jonathan Maberry, author

The monsters of childhood's past we bring with us into adulthood.  For some, we use our personal monsters, we need these personal monsters; to fight the real monsters of our adult reality, those Nazis, ISIS, insane criminals and sociopaths which lay in wait at the gates to our adult nightmares.  Writer Alice Sebold said these "murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.”  Do our monsters need to be more frightening and capable than theirs?  I wonder.  We are, all of us, monsters to some degree even if it's just in the knowledge of what we let others do to secure our safety and freedom.

There is no denying that Hitler and Stalin are alive today... they are waiting for us to forget, because this is what makes possible the resurrection of these two monsters.

-- Simon Wiesenthal, Holocaust survivor

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.

My Sunday Thought for 07312016: At The Edge of Forever

The Edge of Forever

To stand at the edge of forever

The end of the path

To view the many wonders

Of what lay beyond  

To glance back, one last time

At that which has gone before,

Brought us to this point

Our history; our life

One more step to take

Into the great unknown

Mysteries of lay beyond beyond

And the truth of God

Lean forward, over the edge

With sudden realization

We already know all

And God was never a mystery

To take a knee at the precipice

And not be able to cry

The sound of silent laughter

Deafening in its empathy

Just one step to take, but... no

Many wonders lay beyond

Countless wonders lay behind

One more step...

Just one...

"I've followed you on many adventures... but into the great unknown mystery, I go first, Indy!"  These were the last few words of Wu Tan before he died in the arms of his longtime friend, Indiana Jones.  "The great unknown mystery" is something that has occupied man's imagination since before he had one.  How would you feel standing at the edge of forever?  Is your soul prepared for what comes next?  What if you don't wake up tomorrow?  Still feel prepared?

I have faith in God and in a hereafter.  My desire to believe in an afterlife is driven by pure selfishness.  You see, I don't want to die and find out the atheists are right, because I won't be able to be pissed off about it.  Better they should die and find out they are, well... nothing.  And I think if you don't pad your bet with a healthy dose of belief in God, salvation, and an afterlife, you either get what you ask for, or you come back as a fly nibbling dung off some elephant's... well, you get the idea.

I look forward to standing at the edge of forever.  I hope to do so after I live much more of this already so eventful life.  I want one last chance to rage at the dying of the light, and then I'd like to drop trou and moon the world before taking that step forward "into the great unknown mystery."  I think that would make a fitting top piece to my headstone, an old guy shooting the moon with trousers down around his ankles.  Kind of tells everyone what you were about?  If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything, show them.  But the truth is, I have lots of nice things to say.  I say them constantly.  It is the reason my mouth had been the bane of my existence up until I learned the concept of "proper comment at the proper time and in the proper place."

As for the next step, I hope to make my way slowly to the edge, gnarled cane in hand and fedora set rakishly on my bald, liver spotted, head.  My cousin made a comment the other day, that her day was great as she was "still on this side of the dirt." I identify with that sentiment each and every morning.  I'm already prepared to take the step, I just don't know if I'll ever really want to.  I suppose it would help if I knew what God's plan was for me.  I'd hate to think it's all about relaxing.  I'll go freaking bat shit crazy if I just sit around for eternity; talk about your own personal hell.

What will you do when you approach the edge?  Will you be prepared?  Are any of us ever prepared?  But this is just food for thought, and My Sunday Thought for this last day of July, 2016.

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.

Women - Be the Pedestal (Part 2 - Commentary)

On the darkest days, when I feel inadequate, unloved and unworthy,
I remember whose daughter I am and straighten my crown.

Sometimes I write posts which resonate with my audience.  Usually these posts concern women, the issues I see them having to deal with, my opinions of those issues, and my undying respect and love of the gender in general.  I was brought up to respect women, to open doors for them, treat them gently, and place them on a pedestal where they might be protected and admired.  Every woman, whether she knows it or not, is a trophy.  If being thought of in this way offends some, well, get over it.

I wrote the post, Women - Be the Pedestal, because I was again finding myself fielding comments from women who feel inadequate, unloved, and unworthy.  And, the obvious reasons for this?  Well, they were inadequate, unloved, and unworthy.  They had listened to the bullshit around them so long they had become what others thought they should be, and that was manifest into what others saw.  How sad is that for the one of God's creatures tasked with being the mother of us all?

“A consequence of female self-love is that the woman grows convinced of social worth. Her love for her body will be unqualified, which is the basis of female identification. If a woman loves her own body, she doesn't grudge what other women do with theirs; if she loves femaleness, she champions its rights.

-- Naomi Wolf

I received a comment on the post which sparked this "Part 2" installment.  I have shared it, below, with minimal changes to correct formatting issues.  It might benefit you to read Women - Be the Pedestal, first, so you can approach this comment in context. 

I did not read the whole article but I intend to, and I do appreciate it. It opens the door to a whole new dialogue especially coming from a man to women. The truth is that most females don't identify or understand who they really are. I could elaborate but what for. For one thing, we don't get the whole picture about self-esteem. Look around you. Whether you are a male or female you must learn to love yourself first before loving anyone else not to mention LEARNING to love GOD. God accepts us exactly the way we are on the outside; he is only interested in the unseen on the inside.

It is of no consequence how attractive or beautiful you are, that will not get you an audience with the ONE it matters with most. We did not come here to stay. We all must leave; talk to God about it. You are beautiful and whatever is imperfect to others should not matter. The one you need to please is God. If you are not satisfied with yourself then do something about it if that is possible. Otherwise leave off with the earthly physical of who you are supposed to be or look like. 

There is a whole lot more too each FEMALE than her outward makeup/gender if she would just identify with the gifts that GOD has endowed her with and I don't mean her physical body. Each one of us is unique in our own way. God is our FATHER and I say lovingly - Talk to HIM about it and see what happens.  Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened to you. All you need do is ASK. I hope I have not offended anyone for I had the best intentions.

--Anonymous, Women - Be the Pedestal, July 5, 2016 at 9:12 AM

It is another unfortunate reality of our times that parenting and faith are no longer priorities for so many of us.  Parenting to teach our young girls how they should act, look, and expect to be treated by society.  Faith which would instill in them the knowledge that they have a path laid out before them to become more than they are, regardless of what anyone else might tell them.

When we love we should love God, self, family, and society, in that order.  One might ask why I always say you need to love yourself before you can truly love others, yet God comes first on my list.  My answer would be that God loves you whether or not you understand that you already love God.  It would be like the rebellious child that hates their father without understanding that the father's love is unconditional.  You can't truly love unless you love yourself, but sometimes folks need God's help to understand why they are; why they exist.  Once we understand why we are, it is easier to understand who and what we are, or will become.  With this understanding comes a greater understanding and love of God.  

If you imagine your love as a pyramid of priorities with God and self-represented as a gold coin spinning at the top, God and self  on either side, one and the same as contradictory evidence, the paradox, that we must love ourselves before we can love God and we must love God before we can love ourselves.

“A person learns how to love himself through the simple acts of loving and being loved by someone else.”

-- Haruki Murakami, novelist

French lawyer, politician and author, Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), once wrote, "Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are."  I think his comment is not so much to do with gastronomy as with his witty observation of the human condition.  We are what we eat.  We are our faith, our beliefs, and our actions.  We are, for better or worse, what we want to be.

“It’s all about falling in love with yourself and sharing that love with someone who appreciates you, rather than looking for love to compensate for a self love deficit.”

-- Eartha Kitt (1927-2008), singer, actress

Whether one is plus-sized or slender to the point of anorexia, the only concern should be how it affects your health and your continued life among those that truly care about you.  What you are on the outside should reflect what you are on the inside.  If you're fat because you're the "life of the party" ton of fun, so be it.  Be happy and revel in it.  Show people you are happy with why you are by your positive outward appearance.  If you dress nicely, do your hair, and put on some appropriate makeup, everyone will learn to understand that you are all about happiness, life, and love.  You should strive, for your own benefit, to make a statement that you do not wallow in self-pity, and you are so much more than meets the eye.  Be the woman of mystery; be the mother of the future; be strength, the foundation, and the pedestal on which you stand for all to see!  

“I am so beautiful, sometimes people weep when they see me. And it has nothing to do with what I look like really, it is just that I gave myself the power to say that I am beautiful, and if I could do that, maybe there is hope for them too. And the great divide between the beautiful and the ugly will cease to be. Because we are all what we choose.”

-- Margaret Cho, comedian, actress, author

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.

Operation Valkyrie - At What Cost Salvation?

“Ich betreibe mit allen mir zur Verfügung stehenden Mitteln den Hochverrat…”

("I run with all my available funds to high treason ...")

-- Claus von Stauffenberg (1907-1944), on his plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler

There are only three quotes, I can find, attributable to Claus Philipp Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, a German army officer, Catholic aristocrat, and self-appointed assassin and savior of Germany.  He "was one of the leading members of the failed 20 July plot of 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler and remove the Nazi Party from power" during the operation known as Valkyrie.

The "Count of Stauffenberg," as he was titled, was a practicing Catholic who shunned membership in the Nazi Party. His Catholic guilt was triggered by what was happening to the Jews and religion under the rule of the Nazi Party.  He "basically approved of the racial principle of National Socialism, but considered it to be exaggerated and excessive."  Stauffenberg's sense of morality and justice would soon lead him to take action to defend the millions he saw suffering under the inhumanity of Nazi rule, action he would excuse as his right under Naturrecht (natural law).

We took this challenge before our Lord and our conscience, and it must be done, because this man, Hitler, he is the ultimate evil.

-- Claus von Stauffenberg

I always tout the benefit of remembering history because I have faith in the well-known statement by Edmund Burke (1729-1797), "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it."  Maybe this is why I find Stauffenberg's story the stuff of faith; his faith in Germany, his military, his comrades in arms, himself, and his Christianity.  I see him as an unwitting savior of his country and, like Jesus, he finds himself embroiled in his plot and left holding the bag by his own cowardly, traitorous Judas,  his co-conspirator, Generaloberst Friedrich Fromm, who would have his fellows arrested and condemned to death.

We Americans are also revisiting the past with the recent attacks on the American right to keep and bear arms.  "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."  Again, one might ask what this has to do with my discussion.  To wit:  

"This year will go down in history.  For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration.  Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future."

-- Adolf Hitler, 1935

History will record the actions taken by Claus von Stauffenberg as a heroic.  It would seem our own political parties are at odds with history, however.  One party would let the 2nd Amendment of our Constitution stand and, through much work, strive to accomplish the same laudable goals, stated by Hitler, of safer streets, efficient policing, and the respect of the world.  The other party would seem content to cancel the 2nd Amendment, have full gun registration or ban guns ownership altogether, and take us down the Hitler's Nazi path of National Socialism.  Both parties have to walk a tightrope of public opinion in our country lest they ignite another Civil War of brother against brother while also sidestepping another Holy Crusade against the radical terrorists infecting Islam.  I equate this last quote of Stauffenberg, below, to the current state of the American government:

If our most highly qualified General Staff officers had been told to work out the most nonsensical high level organization for war which they could think of, they could not have produced anything more stupid that that which we have at present.

-- Claus von Stauffenberg

What do we, as individuals, have to be willing to sacrifice for our social, political, religious, spiritual, and personal salvation?  I suppose this depends on how much of your freedom you value, and how much you also value your own sense of morality and justice.  Claus von Stauffenberg saw his duty to Germany, himself, and his Catholic faith.  He knew, all too well, what sacrifices probably would be required and what the consequences of his actions might be.   As far as political correctness is concerned, faith is one freedom which exists in the mind and, like free will, it cannot be taken away.  Our choices will always be the precursor of our consequences.

I'm just saying.

Stauffenberg memorial at the ruins of the Wolf's Lair, near Kętrzyn, Poland

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.

My Sunday Thought for 07242016: Religious Freedom or Hypocrisy?

"When evaluated as a whole, it's clear that opinions are shifting on the notion of religious freedom. For generations, religious beliefs enjoyed certain protections under the First Amendment. No longer, it seems. Increasingly, courts are declaring that if these beliefs are perceived as discriminatory in any way, they are unconstitutional. As a result, many Christians feel as if their fundamental belief system is under legal attack."

-- ULC Monastery, Christian Religious Freedom Under Attack

"Fundamental belief system," as mention in the article found above, indicates the obvious fact that Christians have fundamental faith in scripture, to wit:

You therefore have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

-- Romans 2:1

Who are you to judge a Servant who is not yours? For if he stands, he stands to his Master, and if he falls, he falls to his Master, for it is appointed to his Master to be able to establish him.

-- Romans 14:4

So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.

-- Romans 14:12-13

Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’  For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

-- Matthew 9:12-13

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?  Up to seven times?”  Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.  “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him.  Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.  “At this the servant fell on his knees before him.  ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’  The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.  “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.  He grabbed him and began to choke him.  ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.  “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’  “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.  When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.  “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?"

-- Matthew 18:21-33

One can find many passages in scripture which some of us, as Christians, seem to conveniently forget  or reinterpret as it suits our denominational agenda, but these few examples give a flavor for the point I'm trying to make about judging and a fundamental lack of tolerance, forgiveness, and mercy as we Christians tend to forget about placing our faith's best foot forward.  Some of us seem to prefer to show the ugly side of Christianity, for reasons which escape me.

Christians also forget how scripture clarifies the laws of God and Man.  In Mark 12:13-17 we learn to follow the laws of the land as laid down by the  government as Jesus addresses the necessity of paying the imperial tax, "Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's."  In this simple statement all is clarified.  If you wish to live in a country you must abide by the laws of that country.  If those laws run contrary to those of God, you have a choice to leave the country, leave "Egypt," if you will, for more agreeable pastures.  Fortunately, it seems scripture only runs afoul of our tolerant, democratic, government when we conveniently reinterpret, misinterpret, or just plain forget meaningful passages to suit our bigoted, selfish, desires.  We tend to forget history, and why our country was founded.

I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.

-- Matthew 25: 35

More simply stated, if you want to open a store in the United States be prepared to serve everyone or don't open the store.  Government is not asking you to show Christian tolerance, forgiveness, mercy, or any of the other traits which Jesus might require, they simply ask that you follow society's rule of law.  If this is too much to ask, then don't open a business to serve people.  It matters little to most of society what you do as your tolerance or hypocrisy will be weighed by your own master, after it is weighed by Caesar.

As for those that are offended by a business's lack of tolerance, the offended have recourse to file complaints.  Having filed the complaints, find somewhere else to patronize that is more accommodating to your beliefs and lifestyle.  If enough people stop patronizing the business they will either change or close.  Wanting to patronize a business that doesn't appreciate or tolerate your beliefs or culture is a bit masochistic.   Wanting to belabor the issue to the point of making it a public spectacle only reveals you to be at least as bad and perhaps even worse, than the business owners, since you are acting out of vengeance where they are simply ignorant, thoughtless, and bad business people.

I'm just saying.

"Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brethren you did it to me."

-- Matthew 25:40

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.

Anger, or Stress? Take a Second, or Sleep on It?

“Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.”

-- Mark Twain

This is my look when someone threatens my family, my country, my country's Constitution, my civil rights, the civil rights of others, and the helpless.  This is my look I get when I hear of military veterans and retirees being disrespected by the country they have put boot to ass for.  This is a look made to elicit shock and awe from the enemy, the face one wears when they've had enough, grab up their AR-15, and charge out of the foxhole to wreak death and destruction on any who would dare trespass.  This is also the face you'll see when I accidentally dump the expensive artichoke dip, which I just finished working an hour preparing to bake, into the oven that just reached 350 degrees.  Yep, wasting my own time also pisses me off.  There are a lot of things that piss me off, but very few things that are really worth wasting precious life stressing over.  Stress?  I laugh in the face of it!  Anger?  Oh, hell yes!  But, then, I'm what my mother refers to as a spiker.  I spike to anger for a minute or two and then I let it roll off my back; I just have too much else on my mind to dwell on things that will keep me pissed off.

“Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.”

-- Maya Angelou

It is sage advice to stop worrying over that which you have no control.  If you worry you'll become stressed and, sooner or later, you'll probably become angry.  When my marriage finally went south, I worried, stressed, and became angry in the blink of an eye.  The anger lasted thirteen years before I realized she wasn't worth the negative emotion I was wasting on her.  I now tell my children to wish her well for me, when they talk to her.  I do wish her well, and I will always love her, but my life has become so much more than her, and so much better.  My point being, if I had let go of this anger sooner, how much better would my life be than what it is?

Life is much too precious to waste it stressing over that which we have no control.  I see way too much beauty and joy around me to waste my time being angry.  My mother says I shouldn't "spike" because it isn't good for blood pressure.  I would much rather spike for a few seconds, find the humor in it and be done with it, than to dwell on it.  I think dwelling on things is much worse for one's blood pressure.  When I dumped the dip in the oven, I cussed and stomped, and carried on for the minute it took Terry to come over and turn the oven off.  The humor I immediately saw was that I should have turn the oven off prior to cussing and stomping like a sixty-two year old spoiled child having a tantrum.  Maybe it's true that we start reverting to children after a certain age.  Like the face on baby, drooling, Pablum, and diapers, all things to look forward to... again.

“Anybody can become angry — that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way — that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.” 

-- Aristotle

One of my friends recently asked me to review a letter she was writing concerning an incident where she was dressed down and embarrassed by her boss, in front of her class, for something not technically her fault if she had been given proper training and guidance in the first place.  She told me that, after thinking on it, she rewrote the letter a couple of times, slept on it, and rewrote it again.  I asked if her intent was to have the letter be professional and yet still get her point across that this manager was soooo out of line, and speak to the deficiencies in the training and need for a checklist.  She said, yes.  I told her to sleep on it some more and rewrite it again. 

“Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.”

-- Ambrose Bierce

Anger and the written word are strange bedfellows.  The only thing worse than writing while angry, is calling someone while angry.  If I'm that pissed off, I want the person to see it in my face.  I want them to understand how important my emotions are by reading my face so they have no question as to what the inflections in my voice represent.  I want them to see their personal safety light go on right before they realize their career low light is also winking.  But this is the kind of planning that comes from sleeping on it, getting your ducks lined up, and controlling your voice so you maintain control of the conversation.  The written word, as we see with scripture, is always open to interpretation.  Speaking over the phone will allow the listener to question and clarify what they might not immediately understand.  A well thought out face-to-face conversation might not require any clarification on the part of the listener as your facial expressions will probably say it all.

When everything's said and done, however, the stress isn't as beneficial as the anger, and recognizing our anger makes us act out which helps to produce a much needed pressure release allowing us to blow off steam which we probably shouldn't have let build up in the first place.  And, if we shouldn't have let it build up in the first place, maybe we should learn to control it so we can act maturely and take the high road when faced with poorly trained managers who should, more appropriately, be dressed down by their own managers... in a private office.  A pressure release valve is about all our anger is good for.  Anger truly accomplishes little else and, when we come to the realization that everything that happens can be traced back to decisions we ourselves have made, we find our anger is more appropriately aim inward to the real perpetrator of our consequences.

Like my artichoke dip dumped in the oven, the anger we wallow in is of our own making.  My friend who got her ass chewed, perhaps should have asked more questions or asked for a checklist to ensure the task was done as expected instead of relying on incompetent managers to train her to do a job they, themselves are not even certain of the right way to accomplish.  Shit flows downhill and if you aren't intelligent enough to move out of the way, whose fault is that?

My friend would be better served in her letter to point out the shortfalls, ask management for checklists and standard operating procedures be developed so the issues do not repeat, state in a short the ass chewing was inappropriate and unprofessional, and also state that no apology is expected as she is above requiring one, thank them for their time and advise them that the entire incident has been documented, filed and, for now, forgotten.  Check and mate.  Ball has calmly been put in management's court and they have, in not too many words, been put on notice by a lowly staff member who they think knows something about employment law.  No anger, no stress, just get out the help wanted ads and prepare to go looking for a job that hires fewer incompetent assholes as managers... just in case.  When it comes to employment law - document, document, document; dates, times, what, when, who, where, and how, because you have to just know they're too incompetent to understand they have to do the same thing.

“When angry, count four. When very angry, swear.”

-- Mark Twain

So, next time you get angry or feel stressed, take a second, breathe, let off a minute of steam in private, sleep on it if need be, compose yourself and then consider your options,  Foremost we must always remember that life is a series of our choices and the consequences of those choices.  For better or worse, what happens is entirely up to us.

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.

My Sunday Thought for 07172016: Deep in My Heart...

Down deep in my heart, I know I'm a loner.  I think I have known this since grade school.  Oh, I wasn't an introvert, my goodness; I was so much the opposite.  I was picked on, bullied is the new term, for most of my pre-high school years because I was the small, geeky kid with "coke bottle bottom" glasses.  Back then suicide was not so much the option as was just sucking it up or fighting back.  After I finally got pissed off in high school and stood up for myself, I then began standing up for others too weak to defend themselves.  I quickly learned to outrun my mouth's effortless ability to belittle bullies in front of their girlfriends, but this taught me valuable information... girls don't like to be associated with bullies, especially when he's being dressed down by a kid two-thirds his size with a greater command of the English language than just emitting an occasional low-brow grunt (thank you, Mrs. Hummel).

Maybe it had something to do with being an only child but, when it came to friends, I always kept my dance book to a minimum.  Friends came and went, and I suppose I just got tired of the emotional rollercoaster involved with loss, especially after I had to deal with job related deaths of friends and coworkers; my military "desk job" with undesirable fringe benefits.  Post-traumatic stress, shell shock, was something that happened to the other guys, the ones in combat... yeah, right (refer to the paragraph on failed marriages, below).

Military intelligence was made for people like me, the relative loner. We're the perfect stick of dynamite to award with high clearances and tasks we couldn't discuss, even with immediate family.  Dinner conversation around the table is replaced with dinner entrees, eaten on trays, in front of the television.  Better to find a tedious hobby to occupy your mind, and simply fade out of conversations.  Intelligence wasn't made for marriage, so right off the bat I was two strikes into the inning.

Simply the decision to get married was the beginning of the end for most young guys in my career field.  It required a commitment from the spouse that went above that of marriage.  I can't count on my digits the marriages that failed around me, so it was only a matter of time before the inevitable befell yours truly.  I managed to survive the emotional and financial turmoil that comes with the end of a one-sided, unrequited, relationship.  I survived, in large part, to my kids and the good quality of the few friends I did keep close to the gates, albeit outside due to betrayals which I refused to give the opportunity of repetition.  Betrayal has a price, though, and it pays to have a friend in assignments that owes you one.  Back in the 1970s there was one particular place in Saudi Arabia... well; suffice to say hell does exist on earth.

Now, one might feel pity for my, roughly defined, self-imposed monastic existence.  Yet, other than not being able to save a marriage which I so much wanted to work, I have no regrets.  I have lived an exciting life with a bit of danger, excitement, patriotism, and a modicum of morality.  I have endeavored to keep those around me safe, which is saying a lot when I see what the world has become.  I found, early on and even as a manager, it was easier to say, "Stay here, I'll handle it," than it was to try watching out for my own ass while, at the same time, keeping another idiot out of harm's way.  

My few friends didn't often understand me but they stuck with me, which was the quality I learned to look for.  Those I have let inside the "gates" have ended up, unintentionally, confused and hurt.  This led to me discovering when you surround yourself with folks having no deep, meaningful expectations of you, things tend to flow smoother for all concerned.  People that try to get close to things they don't understand tend to get burned through no fault of their own.  I also found relationships seem to better stand the test of time when you keep finances and other responsibilities out of the equation, something inherently damaging in marriage unless that perfect significant other has been discovered.  I am a self-admitted hypocrite and sinner, so my expectations of some woman claiming me as a perfect significant other may forever go rewarded.

Are there things I am ashamed of?  Absolutely, to deny this simple truth would compromise any thought I might entertain of salvation.  Those who point fingers of shame at me do so for reason, hypocrites all.  Their arrogance, however, will not have me stand in judgment of my sins by such as them.  Only my Master can judge me, just as their own sins and arrogance will be weighed and found wanting by their own deity.  It is very true, I also point fingers of shame, admittedly not my finest moments, but I always figured it takes a sinner, a liar, and a hypocrite, to point another out to those lemmings incapable of seeing the forest for the trees.

This path God has seen fit to let me travel, for the past sixty-two years, has taken me to the top of the mountain.  As light begins to penetrate the fog of this life, I now look down upon the lush valley of new experiences which my path and future seem predestined to enter.  I have loved and lost, enjoyed children and lived to see grandchildren, and made friends I will love and remember for eternity.  Life has been, save for a few odd years, pretty good.

Knowing who you are, being at peace with God and who you see staring back at you in the mirror, and knowing you have fought the good fight, this all stands for something.  When you have reached the summit you will have attained an amount of enlightenment about who you are and, more importantly, why you are.  You will understand, with some certainty, what happiness there is left to seek.  As for me, someone once said, "I am homesick for a place I am not sure even exists. One where my heart is full, my body loved, and my soul understood."  I have also searched for such a place, as I am sure many of us have dreamed of discovering.  For the majority, however, we are happy to settle for as close to it as we think we will ever find and call it happiness.  For the few, we will continue along our path, ever searching for more.  Our need to understand life, love, spirituality and God, seems insatiable.  We fear never knowing as much as we fear knowing; as much as we fear being alone, though we are loners.

Deep in my heart I know I am a loner.  I am learning to blend in with the world and be sociable, but the more people I meet the more disappointed I am in their lack of faith, patriotism, respect, and tolerance.  I am trying to get better at accepting these folks and not just tolerating them.  I've learned to enjoy myself, my family, and to let a few more good friends inside the gates where I struggle not to screw with their heads.

What more can a person ask of life?  I'm not really sure, but then, life isn't even close to being over and I plan to "rage against the dying of the light."  What of you?

Do not go gentle into that good night

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

-- Dylan Thomas (1914 - 1953)

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.