Well, the goddamned garnishment's gone through.
I can't live on this. It's ridiculous. I either go insane or just fucking die.
I'm not depressed. I'm not self-pitying.
I'm pissed off.
I owe the debt. So fucking what?! In civilized countries they actually have governments that pay for higher education. Pity we live in a capitalist cesspit like this. The damn financiers took the bad risk, it was their stupidity. It was their duplicity, too, as I was assured "Oh, don't worry! We wouldn't risk it if we knew you wouldn't be making plenty to pay it back!" 17 goddamned years old and never had a loan. Yeah . . . I bet they weren't worried. No counselling to seek a more affordable state school, or at least a less expensive private school, because then they can make a profit selling the debt over and over til it gets unprofitable then send the government thugs in.
Fuck debt collectors, too. One step above bottom-feeding protection-money thugs.
Maybe they thought Mom would watch out in the process. Hah! She was useless from the moment Dad died, and trying to farm me out to anyone who'd have me. All I ever heard was what a drain I was on her, how she and Dad had thought they'd be done with child-raising, them, BAM - their "mixed blessing." Blew the insurance money on every slick-talker that came along, then expected a 13 year old to be fucking man of the house. I was raised by TV and fear, is it any wonder I CAN'T FUCKING FUNCTION IN THIS SHITHOLE OF A SOCIETY!?
I have no one to talk to because the few I have in real life have too many problems of their own, and the rest stopped caring because they've heard me whine too much!
What good would it be, anyway?
"We're there for you!"? I wonder how many poor homeless crazy bastards heard people telling them "We're there for you!" as they sank into the gutter while "they" were over "there for you" not doing a damned thing.
Praying for you is another good one. Want to know how much that's worth, look how well monasteries are doing and how respected they are. Monasteries! Forget that, Mark, as you're gonna die in debt and they don't take those too old . . . or too poor. Gotta have plenty of hard cash to renounce the world - and do it at an early age!
The president-elect, like every politician before, talks about helping the American family! Fuck the American family. They've got each other to depend on. What about us poor bastards who have no one else, and expect little while paying taxes and obeying the law? What about us who don't go around overpopulating the world with children we have no time for and expect the government to pay teachers to raise? What you gonna do for us, Obama? What about us who dropped in the cracks because the same government in cahoots with finance companies failed to keep the economy steady enough to support a decent education-finance or job market? What about us?
And then I'm supposed to feel bad about thinking about myself because there are all these poor people all over the world and that's where our money should be going to. Yeah. 'Cause of course, people like me don't get cold, or hungry, or afraid, or alone - we have to worry about them! them! them! Ignore your neighbor, give money so that half of every cent can almost feed some child with no future in a blighted country, while the rest lines "charitable" pockets!
I hear about fires, storms, bad economy. I hear, "Oh, we lost everything, but we'll rebuild!" Great. Something happens to me and my home, that's it. I'm done. No fallback. Can't even afford to rent a goddamned apartment!
God won't help. Oh, He'll see to it that you're okay after you die - all the more reason to do so - but this world, well, He just doesn't do this world.
And this damn blog. Nobody cares. Everybody's got their own thing, and I don't even feel I have a right to be angry because everyone does have their own problems. Why bother? No one reads the fucker and it's a little too accessible for a diary. Time to go.
But, damn it, when does somebody start helping and caring about me?
Next time I get a letter asking for a donation, I'm going to say, "Nope! I alread gave to the 'Help the Mark' foundation!" When the Treasurer at church asks about my pledge, I'll say, "I pledge to take care of myself, just like all the rest of you do."
I'm sick of feeling like I'm not worth it. I'm sick of feeling like everyone else - even God and Jesus - feel like I'm not worth it. If I've got to be so alone, why worry about anyone else? It hasn't done a bit of good, so far.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The Past Week
Has been exhausting.
I can't say, in the wake of Prop 8, that I've been particularly impressed with either side, as a group.
On our side, there is this vengeful streak, saying to shame, target, boycott - make 'em pay!
There's nothing wrong with boycotts, if they are aimed at a worthy object. But, to organize and call for boycotts of companies because they didn't do enough, in your opinion, or because they employ people who contributed to Prop 8, that is the same tactics and same motivation of the Prop 8 blackmailers who threatened companies for not contributing to their campaign. Remember that? To try to drive people - individuals - from their jobs because they contributed, simply crying "Public record! Public record!" is a type of censorship. Sorry, but it is. Saying "Zero tolerance to bigotry!" is the exact same thing in a democratic republic as saying "Zero tolerance to tolerance!"
In a practical sense, it's a disaster to the movement to end Prop 8, and, perhaps to the struggle for gay acceptance. It divides resources and focus from those companies that - as companies - supported Prop 8, deflects attention away from the unconscionable manipulation of politics by the Latter Day Saints and the Roman Catholic bishops. You don't divide overstretched forces. It's unwise.
Also, practically, it's playing into the Pro-Prop-8 stereotype: you are trying to police thought and squash dissent. You are punishing people for having different views. You're giving parents every chance to carry and spread the bigotry to a new generation - "See, Son, you're Dad got fired because of the fags, just like . . . " "See, the fags will make everyone get on board with their agenda!" "See, the fags are evil! Without their mark you can't buy or sell!" and on and on.
Now, the Pro-Prop-8 gang:
First, their position is reprehensible. It has been arrived at by such contortions of thought, basic human goodwill, and, indeed, basic humanity that it is purely nauseating. The degree to which so many simply surrendered to groupthink in the guise of religious conviction or "My church told me to!" is worthy only of disgust.
Aren't you humans, anymore? Can't you arrive at your own conclusions? Did God simply waste His time making you to be a receptacle for every whim of vox populi, whether it goes by the name vote or the name religious hierarchy? Or, worse, waste His time by creating something just intelligent enough to create fantastic structures of self-deception to justify hate without the slightest introspection?
Shame. On. You.
The best I've gotten is from people who, while claiming "I know x number of gays, and I don't disrespect them!" also present claims about gay relationships, thought processes, motivations, beliefs, that, apart from being more than they could possibly know, are so far into fantasy that it makes it clear that they don't know any gays anymore than they know the person who stands behind them in the checkout line!
It's all based on fantasy, an "exoticising" of gays so that we have different motivations, desires, brain functions than you because we are attracted to a sex you aren't! It is bizarre, irresponsible, and sad.
Gays want to marry someone of the same sex for the exact same reasons you want to marry someone of the opposite sex. If you marry someone of the opposite sex simply for procreation, then you are using that person and unworthy of marriage!!!! END OF DISCUSSION!!!
Gays are sexually attracted to people of the same sex for the exact same reasons you are attracted to people of the opposite sex. If you force yourself to be attracted to someone because you are "supposed" to be, you are NOT attracted to that person!!!!END OF DISCUSSION!!!!
Gays mean the same thing in "committment" to a person of the same sex as you do to a person of the opposite sex. If your "committment" is based on mere external pressure, it is NOT a committment!!!! END. OF. DISCUSSION.
I have seen an otherwise intelligent person on Tobias' In A Godward Direction argue the "need" for an institution separate from marriage because gays expect different things, and "proving" this with some linguistic sleight-of-hand accompanied by an image of homosexuals and homosexuality with absolutely no basis in reality.
It's absolutely ridiculous, this manipulating yourself and others, being manipulated by self and others, all because you are too damned lazy to be responsible human beings!! It's not your leaders' fault . . . you put 'em there and that's what leaders do, they try to control . . . it's your fault for being so willing to be controlled.
I can't say, in the wake of Prop 8, that I've been particularly impressed with either side, as a group.
On our side, there is this vengeful streak, saying to shame, target, boycott - make 'em pay!
There's nothing wrong with boycotts, if they are aimed at a worthy object. But, to organize and call for boycotts of companies because they didn't do enough, in your opinion, or because they employ people who contributed to Prop 8, that is the same tactics and same motivation of the Prop 8 blackmailers who threatened companies for not contributing to their campaign. Remember that? To try to drive people - individuals - from their jobs because they contributed, simply crying "Public record! Public record!" is a type of censorship. Sorry, but it is. Saying "Zero tolerance to bigotry!" is the exact same thing in a democratic republic as saying "Zero tolerance to tolerance!"
In a practical sense, it's a disaster to the movement to end Prop 8, and, perhaps to the struggle for gay acceptance. It divides resources and focus from those companies that - as companies - supported Prop 8, deflects attention away from the unconscionable manipulation of politics by the Latter Day Saints and the Roman Catholic bishops. You don't divide overstretched forces. It's unwise.
Also, practically, it's playing into the Pro-Prop-8 stereotype: you are trying to police thought and squash dissent. You are punishing people for having different views. You're giving parents every chance to carry and spread the bigotry to a new generation - "See, Son, you're Dad got fired because of the fags, just like . . . " "See, the fags will make everyone get on board with their agenda!" "See, the fags are evil! Without their mark you can't buy or sell!" and on and on.
Now, the Pro-Prop-8 gang:
First, their position is reprehensible. It has been arrived at by such contortions of thought, basic human goodwill, and, indeed, basic humanity that it is purely nauseating. The degree to which so many simply surrendered to groupthink in the guise of religious conviction or "My church told me to!" is worthy only of disgust.
Aren't you humans, anymore? Can't you arrive at your own conclusions? Did God simply waste His time making you to be a receptacle for every whim of vox populi, whether it goes by the name vote or the name religious hierarchy? Or, worse, waste His time by creating something just intelligent enough to create fantastic structures of self-deception to justify hate without the slightest introspection?
Shame. On. You.
The best I've gotten is from people who, while claiming "I know x number of gays, and I don't disrespect them!" also present claims about gay relationships, thought processes, motivations, beliefs, that, apart from being more than they could possibly know, are so far into fantasy that it makes it clear that they don't know any gays anymore than they know the person who stands behind them in the checkout line!
It's all based on fantasy, an "exoticising" of gays so that we have different motivations, desires, brain functions than you because we are attracted to a sex you aren't! It is bizarre, irresponsible, and sad.
Gays want to marry someone of the same sex for the exact same reasons you want to marry someone of the opposite sex. If you marry someone of the opposite sex simply for procreation, then you are using that person and unworthy of marriage!!!! END OF DISCUSSION!!!
Gays are sexually attracted to people of the same sex for the exact same reasons you are attracted to people of the opposite sex. If you force yourself to be attracted to someone because you are "supposed" to be, you are NOT attracted to that person!!!!END OF DISCUSSION!!!!
Gays mean the same thing in "committment" to a person of the same sex as you do to a person of the opposite sex. If your "committment" is based on mere external pressure, it is NOT a committment!!!! END. OF. DISCUSSION.
I have seen an otherwise intelligent person on Tobias' In A Godward Direction argue the "need" for an institution separate from marriage because gays expect different things, and "proving" this with some linguistic sleight-of-hand accompanied by an image of homosexuals and homosexuality with absolutely no basis in reality.
It's absolutely ridiculous, this manipulating yourself and others, being manipulated by self and others, all because you are too damned lazy to be responsible human beings!! It's not your leaders' fault . . . you put 'em there and that's what leaders do, they try to control . . . it's your fault for being so willing to be controlled.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Speaking of Music - THE BAD OLD DAYS!!!! (and they were better)
People born after, say, 1985, really don't know what it's like to have a really impressive national enemy.
1984.
I was 2 months shy of 17, getting closer and closer to draft age.
This was the October Revolution's anniversary, but was by no means an unusual display on our own televisions back in the US of A at any time of the year.
This is why my generation didn't really see a tomorrow, our parents were scared shitless, and Putin (ex-KGB) still scares some of us.
Enjoy!
PS - I must confess, I really do love the tune to that anthem!
1984.
I was 2 months shy of 17, getting closer and closer to draft age.
This was the October Revolution's anniversary, but was by no means an unusual display on our own televisions back in the US of A at any time of the year.
This is why my generation didn't really see a tomorrow, our parents were scared shitless, and Putin (ex-KGB) still scares some of us.
Enjoy!
PS - I must confess, I really do love the tune to that anthem!
Music Time!
I need cheering up, and this is some of what does it for me.
The first polka is Rosamunde, but better known in America by another name. The second polka - if there are any p. c. complaints, they will be mercilessly mocked, then zapped.
P. S. - Can ya tell I spent my early childhood in Miami?
The first polka is Rosamunde, but better known in America by another name. The second polka - if there are any p. c. complaints, they will be mercilessly mocked, then zapped.
P. S. - Can ya tell I spent my early childhood in Miami?
Monday, November 10, 2008
The Shoe Comes in Different Sizes
From Susan Russell's blog comments:
What you and other proponents of same-sex marriage propose to do is to remove the objective foundation from the meaning of marriage. You may not have even considered that objective aspect of marriage important. You may have thought that male and female was merely custom, not a part of the essence of marriage. But marriage is a relationship based on both objective (male and female) and subjective (love) elements.
If you remove the objective aspect of marriage, what you have left is the subjective. Affectional preference is the determinant factor. When all you have left is the subjective, you have an extremely unstable foundation. Two women are sexually attracted to each other and have a deep love for one another. Why not marriage for them? But if you have made the subjective aspect – affectional preference – the basis for marriage, then what do you do about all the other affectional preferences that exist? Why is “two” the magic number? Why not three, four, or more? Why not father and daughter? Why not an adult male and an eight-year-old boy? Why not siblings? Why not the living and the dead? Why not affection for animals? If all you have to base marriage on is affectional preference, you have no reason to exclude any affectional preference?
By making the subjective element the sole element for marriage, you have destroyed the very idea of marriage. There are no longer any boundaries. A man or woman may say, “I cannot help it. The only place I find any sense of joy or fulfillment is in brief encounters. Why cannot I have a wife/husband for a week and then move on to someone new?”
You will not destroy my marriage of course. I know what marriage really is, and my wife and I are committed to that God-given ideal. But if, according to law, any and all relationships can be called marriage in the world my grandchildren grow up in, they will be surrounded by instability, and they will not know what it means to be committed to a person for life. They will be given the ideal by law (and quite likely by the educational system, if things continue as they have been going) that only affectional preference matters. And mere emotion, which is so variable, is no foundation for a life. We will have societal chaos that will make our current instability look like “the good old days.”
IGNORANCE
Spot the logical fallacy? Of course you do! Why it's the same gasping, wheezing, elaborately self-justifying fallacy of all slippery slope arguments.
So why can't the poster?
Because he doesn't want to.
What you and other proponents of same-sex marriage propose to do is to remove the objective foundation from the meaning of marriage. You may not have even considered that objective aspect of marriage important. You may have thought that male and female was merely custom, not a part of the essence of marriage. But marriage is a relationship based on both objective (male and female) and subjective (love) elements.
If you remove the objective aspect of marriage, what you have left is the subjective. Affectional preference is the determinant factor. When all you have left is the subjective, you have an extremely unstable foundation. Two women are sexually attracted to each other and have a deep love for one another. Why not marriage for them? But if you have made the subjective aspect – affectional preference – the basis for marriage, then what do you do about all the other affectional preferences that exist? Why is “two” the magic number? Why not three, four, or more? Why not father and daughter? Why not an adult male and an eight-year-old boy? Why not siblings? Why not the living and the dead? Why not affection for animals? If all you have to base marriage on is affectional preference, you have no reason to exclude any affectional preference?
By making the subjective element the sole element for marriage, you have destroyed the very idea of marriage. There are no longer any boundaries. A man or woman may say, “I cannot help it. The only place I find any sense of joy or fulfillment is in brief encounters. Why cannot I have a wife/husband for a week and then move on to someone new?”
You will not destroy my marriage of course. I know what marriage really is, and my wife and I are committed to that God-given ideal. But if, according to law, any and all relationships can be called marriage in the world my grandchildren grow up in, they will be surrounded by instability, and they will not know what it means to be committed to a person for life. They will be given the ideal by law (and quite likely by the educational system, if things continue as they have been going) that only affectional preference matters. And mere emotion, which is so variable, is no foundation for a life. We will have societal chaos that will make our current instability look like “the good old days.”
IGNORANCE
Spot the logical fallacy? Of course you do! Why it's the same gasping, wheezing, elaborately self-justifying fallacy of all slippery slope arguments.
So why can't the poster?
Because he doesn't want to.
We Need More Monastic Support
I originally published this at Tobias Haller's blog, but it generated little discussion as part of a thread:
I wonder if we really don't encourage monasticism as much as we should - in fact, I know we don't.
The abuses of the monastic vocation in the Church's past have left many with a feeling of distaste for people "living off of" others. The truth is, as Thich Nhat Hanh has said, being a monastic is something of a luxury, but, I believe, it's a luxury the larger church needs. With all due respect to MDG's and outreach and all the other very necessary parish/diocesan/national-church activities and projects, it is also good to have places in which there are those given to the spiritual, or mystical, or theological dimension of our churches, and which provide a haven for others to approach the transcendent in a total environment of prayer and detachment. I think that it's healthy to have those who detach, even from worthy activities, as Mary sitting at Jesus' feet.
This certainly isn't the sole answer to the malaise in our - and indeed most - churches, but I think it is a major part of a solution.
I wonder if we really don't encourage monasticism as much as we should - in fact, I know we don't.
The abuses of the monastic vocation in the Church's past have left many with a feeling of distaste for people "living off of" others. The truth is, as Thich Nhat Hanh has said, being a monastic is something of a luxury, but, I believe, it's a luxury the larger church needs. With all due respect to MDG's and outreach and all the other very necessary parish/diocesan/national-church activities and projects, it is also good to have places in which there are those given to the spiritual, or mystical, or theological dimension of our churches, and which provide a haven for others to approach the transcendent in a total environment of prayer and detachment. I think that it's healthy to have those who detach, even from worthy activities, as Mary sitting at Jesus' feet.
This certainly isn't the sole answer to the malaise in our - and indeed most - churches, but I think it is a major part of a solution.
Friday, November 7, 2008
That Shoe Fits Pretty Well!
From a piece in the Washington Post:
But Kesha Young, 32, called religious arguments a cover for persistent prejudices rooted elsewhere. Taboos against homosexuality are exceptionally strong in Africa, McCoy acknowledged.
"I'm going to tell you something about the black race: We love to pass judgment. I think that's just a smoke screen about the church thing," said Young, a licensed vocational nurse.
Anthony Maurice-White, 31, who is gay, said he learned early in life to keep his sexual orientation to himself around fellow blacks as a matter of routine. "Closed minds," he said in the mall parking lot. "And they're afraid of change."
IGNORANCE
His friend Ike Young, 21, nodded agreement. "I'm straight, but I think a lot of people are bi-curious but they're afraid of what family members will think of them," he said.
The Latino vote for the ban also appears rooted in culture.
"It's our tradition," said Flor Guardado, 38, who voted yes. "In Latino Central American culture, the gays aren't accepted."
Guardado said that in her native Honduras, she would not tell her mother if she had a lesbian friend. "If I had a lesbian friend, they'd think I was a lesbian, too," she said.
IGNORANCE
But in Los Angeles, where she owns a hair salon, a different kind of diplomacy obtains. All eight of her employees are gay. When they asked how she voted, she tells them it's a secret.
"I'm sorry for the gay people. They have feelings," said the mother of two. "Legally, I don't want that for the children. They will be confused and think it's okay. They might think they're gay, too."
IGNORANCE
Pablo Correa said his mind was made up by a TV spot in which a young girl comes home from school and tells her mother she learned how a prince could marry a prince.
IGNORANCE
"Before, I didn't know about Proposition 8. When I saw the commercial, it opened my mind," said Correa, 42, standing in his beauty supply story in Boyle Heights, in heavily Latino East Los Angeles.
"I don't discriminate against people," he said, with a wave at the rows of lipstick and makeup. "I have a lot of customers who are homosexuals, transsexuals and bisexuals. I'm not against these people."
He added: "But I'm a traditionalist. I come from a traditional family. People can do whatever they want in their own life, but I have to protect my family."
IGNORANCE
But Kesha Young, 32, called religious arguments a cover for persistent prejudices rooted elsewhere. Taboos against homosexuality are exceptionally strong in Africa, McCoy acknowledged.
"I'm going to tell you something about the black race: We love to pass judgment. I think that's just a smoke screen about the church thing," said Young, a licensed vocational nurse.
Anthony Maurice-White, 31, who is gay, said he learned early in life to keep his sexual orientation to himself around fellow blacks as a matter of routine. "Closed minds," he said in the mall parking lot. "And they're afraid of change."
IGNORANCE
His friend Ike Young, 21, nodded agreement. "I'm straight, but I think a lot of people are bi-curious but they're afraid of what family members will think of them," he said.
The Latino vote for the ban also appears rooted in culture.
"It's our tradition," said Flor Guardado, 38, who voted yes. "In Latino Central American culture, the gays aren't accepted."
Guardado said that in her native Honduras, she would not tell her mother if she had a lesbian friend. "If I had a lesbian friend, they'd think I was a lesbian, too," she said.
IGNORANCE
But in Los Angeles, where she owns a hair salon, a different kind of diplomacy obtains. All eight of her employees are gay. When they asked how she voted, she tells them it's a secret.
"I'm sorry for the gay people. They have feelings," said the mother of two. "Legally, I don't want that for the children. They will be confused and think it's okay. They might think they're gay, too."
IGNORANCE
Pablo Correa said his mind was made up by a TV spot in which a young girl comes home from school and tells her mother she learned how a prince could marry a prince.
IGNORANCE
"Before, I didn't know about Proposition 8. When I saw the commercial, it opened my mind," said Correa, 42, standing in his beauty supply story in Boyle Heights, in heavily Latino East Los Angeles.
"I don't discriminate against people," he said, with a wave at the rows of lipstick and makeup. "I have a lot of customers who are homosexuals, transsexuals and bisexuals. I'm not against these people."
He added: "But I'm a traditionalist. I come from a traditional family. People can do whatever they want in their own life, but I have to protect my family."
IGNORANCE
SEX, LIES, AND ECCLESIASTICS
NOTE: The Catholic bishops in California committed a few sins of ommission!
Tobias has the story here.
No hay mas de esto, indeed.
Tobias has the story here.
No hay mas de esto, indeed.
REVOKE TAX EXEMPTION FOR MORMONS
They did it in England, and we should do it here, if they are going to be such movers and shakers in politics, let them pay like the individuals and corporations do.
SIGN THE PETITION!
SIGN THE PETITION!
My Prophetic Witness
I am the voice of one in the wilderness, crying, "You kids get off of my wilderness!"
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Monstrous, Just Monstrous
I was prepared, today, to counsel that perhaps the passage of Proposition 8 with the election of Barack Obama was a sign that there were greater problems to fix in the USA, and we were being called to focus on those. I was going to say this, with profoundest sorrow, knowing the pain faced by thousands of couples in California, as well as those who are my friends here in the blogosphere . . . particularly IT, who was just beginning to think we may not be completely "out there" for believing in God.
Then I saw people coming to kick those people when they were down, most notably a Reasserter deacon whom I had once respected (now I wonder what Hell-church would ordain such a deacon).
Anger is not always a bad thing, especially when it is toward those who do evil and revel in it.
This is what immediately came to my mind, to pray heart and soul for those who voted for Prop 8, and this "deacon" and the others coming to bathe in their enemies' blood:
109 Deus, laudem
1
Hold not your tongue, O God of my praise; *
for the mouth of the wicked,
the mouth of the deceitful, is opened against me.
2
They speak to me with a lying tongue; *
they encompass me with hateful words
and fight against me without a cause.
3
Despite my love, they accuse me; *
but as for me, I pray for them.
4
They repay evil for good, *
and hatred for my love.
5
Set a wicked man against him, *
and let an accuser stand at his right hand.
6
When he is judged, let him be found guilty, *
and let his appeal be in vain.
7
Let his days be few, *
and let another take his office.
8
Let his children be fatherless, *
and his wife become a widow.
9
Let his children be waifs and beggars; *
let them be driven from the ruins of their homes.
10
Let the creditor seize everything he has; *
let strangers plunder his gains.
11
Let there be no one to show him kindness, *
and none to pity his fatherless children.
12
Let his descendants be destroyed, *
and his name be blotted out in the next generation.
13
Let the wickedness of his fathers be remembered before the
LORD, *
and his mother's sin not be blotted out;
14
Let their sin be always before the LORD; *
but let him root out their names from the earth;
15
Because he did not remember to show mercy, *
but persecuted the poor and needy
and sought to kill the brokenhearted.
16
He loved cursing,
let it come upon him; *
he took no delight in blessing,
let it depart from him.
17
He put on cursing like a garment, *
let it soak into his body like water
and into his bones like oil;
18
Let it be to him like the cloak which he wraps around himself, *
and like the belt that he wears continually.
19
Let this be the recompense from the LORD to my accusers, *
and to those who speak evil against me.
20
But you, O Lord my God,
oh, deal with me according to your Name; *
for your tender mercy's sake, deliver me.
21
For I am poor and needy, *
and my heart is wounded within me.
22
I have faded away like a shadow when it lengthens; *
I am shaken off like a locust.
23
My knees are weak through fasting, *
and my flesh is wasted and gaunt.
24
I have become a reproach to them; *
they see and shake their heads.
25
Help me, O LORD my God; *
save me for your mercy's sake.
26
Let them know that this is your hand, *
that you, O LORD, have done it.
27
They may curse, but you will bless; *
let those who rise up against me be put to shame,
and your servant will rejoice.
28
Let my accusers be clothed with disgrace *
and wrap themselves in their shame as in a cloak.
29
I will give great thanks to the LORD with my mouth; *
in the midst of the multitude will I praise him;
30
Because he stands at the right hand of the needy, *
to save his life from those who would condemn him
But I can't pray that for them.
Unlike them, I know that what wrong I wish on others affects everyone. I believe in responsibility, and do not worship "the belly" as my God, as they do.
So, here is what I have, will, and do pray with all my heart and soul for all those who voted against gay marriage, who approve that vote, in California, Arizona, and Florida:
May you know, every moment of every day, the same emotions, the same experiences as you have caused those whose marriages you voted against, and may you know it until God changes hearts and minds. AMEN.
Then I saw people coming to kick those people when they were down, most notably a Reasserter deacon whom I had once respected (now I wonder what Hell-church would ordain such a deacon).
Anger is not always a bad thing, especially when it is toward those who do evil and revel in it.
This is what immediately came to my mind, to pray heart and soul for those who voted for Prop 8, and this "deacon" and the others coming to bathe in their enemies' blood:
109 Deus, laudem
1
Hold not your tongue, O God of my praise; *
for the mouth of the wicked,
the mouth of the deceitful, is opened against me.
2
They speak to me with a lying tongue; *
they encompass me with hateful words
and fight against me without a cause.
3
Despite my love, they accuse me; *
but as for me, I pray for them.
4
They repay evil for good, *
and hatred for my love.
5
Set a wicked man against him, *
and let an accuser stand at his right hand.
6
When he is judged, let him be found guilty, *
and let his appeal be in vain.
7
Let his days be few, *
and let another take his office.
8
Let his children be fatherless, *
and his wife become a widow.
9
Let his children be waifs and beggars; *
let them be driven from the ruins of their homes.
10
Let the creditor seize everything he has; *
let strangers plunder his gains.
11
Let there be no one to show him kindness, *
and none to pity his fatherless children.
12
Let his descendants be destroyed, *
and his name be blotted out in the next generation.
13
Let the wickedness of his fathers be remembered before the
LORD, *
and his mother's sin not be blotted out;
14
Let their sin be always before the LORD; *
but let him root out their names from the earth;
15
Because he did not remember to show mercy, *
but persecuted the poor and needy
and sought to kill the brokenhearted.
16
He loved cursing,
let it come upon him; *
he took no delight in blessing,
let it depart from him.
17
He put on cursing like a garment, *
let it soak into his body like water
and into his bones like oil;
18
Let it be to him like the cloak which he wraps around himself, *
and like the belt that he wears continually.
19
Let this be the recompense from the LORD to my accusers, *
and to those who speak evil against me.
20
But you, O Lord my God,
oh, deal with me according to your Name; *
for your tender mercy's sake, deliver me.
21
For I am poor and needy, *
and my heart is wounded within me.
22
I have faded away like a shadow when it lengthens; *
I am shaken off like a locust.
23
My knees are weak through fasting, *
and my flesh is wasted and gaunt.
24
I have become a reproach to them; *
they see and shake their heads.
25
Help me, O LORD my God; *
save me for your mercy's sake.
26
Let them know that this is your hand, *
that you, O LORD, have done it.
27
They may curse, but you will bless; *
let those who rise up against me be put to shame,
and your servant will rejoice.
28
Let my accusers be clothed with disgrace *
and wrap themselves in their shame as in a cloak.
29
I will give great thanks to the LORD with my mouth; *
in the midst of the multitude will I praise him;
30
Because he stands at the right hand of the needy, *
to save his life from those who would condemn him
But I can't pray that for them.
Unlike them, I know that what wrong I wish on others affects everyone. I believe in responsibility, and do not worship "the belly" as my God, as they do.
So, here is what I have, will, and do pray with all my heart and soul for all those who voted against gay marriage, who approve that vote, in California, Arizona, and Florida:
May you know, every moment of every day, the same emotions, the same experiences as you have caused those whose marriages you voted against, and may you know it until God changes hearts and minds. AMEN.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
CURRENTLY
John McCain is giving his concession speech.
I leave it to others to find fault with it if they will, to me it seems gracious and positive.
All evidence (I'm sorry, but I'm not going to say definitely until our man's in the White House - too many W. memories) at this point says that Barack Obama is president-elect, the 44th President of the USA. I'm proud today to be part of a nation and part of a process that has risen above race, at least on the face of it (no witticism intended), but I hope Obama won't be the "black president." He's ours - all of ours - now, and, if he's the man we hoped for, he will truly bring us all together. I have said that I have no faith in voting for the one who will do good, but for the one I thought would do the least harm . . . I hope I'm proved wrong, and we'll see a man who accomplishes real good for us.
What did give me hope, was an interview with a group of young people in New York, and one young woman, beaming from ear-to-ear, said (paraphrasing) "My candidate didn't win, but I'm just so excited to be a part of this!" It was genuine, joyful and generous.
Be a light. Be a light.
I leave it to others to find fault with it if they will, to me it seems gracious and positive.
All evidence (I'm sorry, but I'm not going to say definitely until our man's in the White House - too many W. memories) at this point says that Barack Obama is president-elect, the 44th President of the USA. I'm proud today to be part of a nation and part of a process that has risen above race, at least on the face of it (no witticism intended), but I hope Obama won't be the "black president." He's ours - all of ours - now, and, if he's the man we hoped for, he will truly bring us all together. I have said that I have no faith in voting for the one who will do good, but for the one I thought would do the least harm . . . I hope I'm proved wrong, and we'll see a man who accomplishes real good for us.
What did give me hope, was an interview with a group of young people in New York, and one young woman, beaming from ear-to-ear, said (paraphrasing) "My candidate didn't win, but I'm just so excited to be a part of this!" It was genuine, joyful and generous.
Be a light. Be a light.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Prayer for the Day
Almighty God, to whom we must account for all our powers and privileges: Guide the people of the United States in the election of officials and representatives; that, by faithful administration and wise laws, the rights of all may be protected and our nation be enabled to fulfill your purposes; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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