"I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth -- that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the Ground without his Notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his Aid?" --Benjamin Franklin, to Colleagues at the Constitutional Convention
Sure, that may be true...but no praying in schools!!!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Michael Moore
Michael Moore was on the new Jay Leno show that is now on at 10pm and he introduced his new film entitle "Capitalism: A Love Story". Now much to your surprise, I actually try not to close my mind when it comes to politics. So I listened to what Michael Moore had to say. And I agreed with him, IN PART, regarding what he had to say about capitalism. He says in his movie that capitalism is evil. I think a part of what he does and says is for controversy and show. Anyway, here is how I kind of agree with him.
For those of us who are Mormon, we all know that the highest law of community living is the law of consecration. In this type of community everyone willingly gives up everything to the Bishop who then divvies up the goods based on need (Cliff Notes version). An important point to understand: no force or coercion take place. No one goes to jail if they don't give up everything. They may be asked to leave Zion, but no force is involved.
So capitalism? Capitalism is an economic system that is driven by the want of money. And the love of money, according to 1 Timothy 6:10, is the root of all evil. Hmmmmm... Let's face it, if no one wants money or cares about money, capitalism is not so great. There has to be a drive for money for capitalism to work. So capitalism has the potential to foster this love for money. It is a system so focused on money that many become infatuated with it, so much that no amount of money is ever enough. They obsess over it, every living thought is focused on how to get more money. It is a system with no check on that love for money that lies within us all. This is how I agree with Mr. Moore, but here are a few of my disagreements...
Capitalism and the law of consecration may appear to be polar opposites, and in many regards they are. But one thing they do have in common is that no one ever forces you to give your money away to someone else. Freedom, or free agency, are both a key element in both systems. A system that forces you to give your money to someone else takes away your freedom. Even if they do with your money exactly what you would have done anyway (which rarely happens), it still steals your freedom. So in that regard capitalism is more like the law of consecration than, say, socialism. So while some may argue or think that socialism is more closely related to the law of consecration than capitalism, what socialism lacks is so vital to the plan of salvation that it's absence throws the whole system to the opposite end of the spectrum of economic systems...and what it lacks is freedom.
Capitalism is not perfect. But it may be as good as it gets as far as preparing us to live a higher law such as consecration. If we can avoid that love of money immersed in capitalism, the law of consecration may be a breeze.
NYC Subway
New York was awesome, everything I expected and more. My family and I had an experience on 9/11 in a New York subway that I don't think any of us will ever forget.
We had just gotten on the subway when a doo-wop group was singing and selling a CD in our portion of the subway. They finished singing and because it was 9/11 in NYC they expressed their condolences to anyone who may had lost someone 8 years ago. They then went on to say it was their personal belief that it was our ex-president's fault and they hold him directly responsible. The last part kind of ruined what could have been a beautiful moment for me. They made their expression political when that wasn't what I wanted to be feeling that day.
After they left I heard a man a few feet away telling another person that they were "idiots". A few moments later my sister expressed her feelings of how she thought his last comment ruined the moment (and rightfully so). A man sitting next to us overheard my sister's comment and interrupted our conversation stating that the man meant well. I was taken back at first but he went on saying "I reacted the same way you did, but he meant well". He then went on to tell us that he had lost someone that day eight years ago. He told us that he went to work today but couldn't finish and asked to be excused. It was his father that he lost; he said he was done crying, but the pain was still there and seemed to surface every time 9/11 comes around.
He wasn't a man that you would notice walking down the streets of New York. He wasn't even a man I would have noticed sitting right beside me on the subway had he not said something to us. He wasn't eloquent in his speech, he wasn't well dressed, he wasn't even clean shaven. But he taught me a lesson that no well groomed, rich politician ever could. 9/11 isn't about right or wrong, it isn't about conspiracy theories, it isn't about conservatives or liberals...it is about lives lost. It is about living in a world where evil things can happen, and do. And the consequences of this evil, is pain. It's also about people, real people. People who have died, and their surviving family and kin. This man, I don't even know his name, doesn't let the politics get to him, because for him, 9/11 is about his father...a father lost.
That man I met on a New York subway will forever have changed the way I feel about 9/11. He made it real for me in a way I never felt before. I shook his hand as I exited the subway, but what I really wanted was a hug. What I think he knows better than any of us, is that he has a country standing behind him who also, in a much smaller way, feels his pain.
We had just gotten on the subway when a doo-wop group was singing and selling a CD in our portion of the subway. They finished singing and because it was 9/11 in NYC they expressed their condolences to anyone who may had lost someone 8 years ago. They then went on to say it was their personal belief that it was our ex-president's fault and they hold him directly responsible. The last part kind of ruined what could have been a beautiful moment for me. They made their expression political when that wasn't what I wanted to be feeling that day.
After they left I heard a man a few feet away telling another person that they were "idiots". A few moments later my sister expressed her feelings of how she thought his last comment ruined the moment (and rightfully so). A man sitting next to us overheard my sister's comment and interrupted our conversation stating that the man meant well. I was taken back at first but he went on saying "I reacted the same way you did, but he meant well". He then went on to tell us that he had lost someone that day eight years ago. He told us that he went to work today but couldn't finish and asked to be excused. It was his father that he lost; he said he was done crying, but the pain was still there and seemed to surface every time 9/11 comes around.
He wasn't a man that you would notice walking down the streets of New York. He wasn't even a man I would have noticed sitting right beside me on the subway had he not said something to us. He wasn't eloquent in his speech, he wasn't well dressed, he wasn't even clean shaven. But he taught me a lesson that no well groomed, rich politician ever could. 9/11 isn't about right or wrong, it isn't about conspiracy theories, it isn't about conservatives or liberals...it is about lives lost. It is about living in a world where evil things can happen, and do. And the consequences of this evil, is pain. It's also about people, real people. People who have died, and their surviving family and kin. This man, I don't even know his name, doesn't let the politics get to him, because for him, 9/11 is about his father...a father lost.
That man I met on a New York subway will forever have changed the way I feel about 9/11. He made it real for me in a way I never felt before. I shook his hand as I exited the subway, but what I really wanted was a hug. What I think he knows better than any of us, is that he has a country standing behind him who also, in a much smaller way, feels his pain.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
English Democrats (Thanks Justin)
The "Democrat" party in England has greatly impressed me. Two aims of this party are to fight political correctness and increase country pride. Here is a link to an article where a mayor who belongs to this party cut public funding for a gay pride day in Doncaster, England.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/south_yorkshire/8086919.stm
This may not seem like a big deal, but it is. It's little things like this that give me hope in our world. Someone willing to stand up for what is right when it seems the whole universe is against you (especially in Europe). My hero of the week:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/south_yorkshire/8086919.stm
This may not seem like a big deal, but it is. It's little things like this that give me hope in our world. Someone willing to stand up for what is right when it seems the whole universe is against you (especially in Europe). My hero of the week:
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