Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Monday, September 20, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Full Moon Photo Project
Thanks for playing. Click the live blog link below and you will catch a wave where I will attempt to accumulate any responses. If you have a Google account, great. If you don't it will probably prompt you to get one. No worry.. They're still free.
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Google wave Live blog of Full Moon Project
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Google wave Live blog of Full Moon Project
Monday, March 29, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
On Forgiveness
Who better to elaborate on the topic of forgiveness than one so in need of it. That pretty much qualifies everyone to take a crack at this topic, but since this is my blog, here goes.
As a spectator society we love it when we see a great story unfolds in the press. Real life dramas are the thing of legend and great allegory. The rise of the great and would-be great just to learn the wisdom of humility and the folly of self-indulgence, and in the end, then to become a success story rather than a cautionary tale. Even the Betty Ford clinic owes such a tale for its very existence; all of its successes would be nil but for the public example of great humility offered by its namesake.
Consider how willing we are to forgive the performer, athlete, or politician when they voluntarily submit to their greater demons of substance abuse or other addictions. We applaud their personal awakening and wish them well, sure in the assumption that this will be the last time and they will emerge better, cured, and blessed. It is in these greater expectations we show a level of forgiveness; willingness to move on and allow that poor individual a chance to do the same.
At the same time we also are selective about to whom we grant forgiveness. Robert Downey Jr.; yes. Charlie Sheen; no. Daryl Strawberry; yes. Pete Rose; no. Bill Clinton; yes. Trent Lott; no. Adam Baldwin; yes, yes, no, yes, no, no, yes, yes, maybe, no.
Perhaps its not real forgiveness at all. Perhaps its the pretty face, the handsome features, the sense of humor, the political stripe, and last but not least, who is telling the story.
True forgiveness is and should be for everyone and by everyone. Take it out of the faith context for just a moment and consider it logically. If you only grant forgiveness on those who seem worthy, just what was it they did that made you think they needed forgiveness, and was it all that bad in the first place. Was it all just window dressing for a fading set of greater expectations that we hold ourselves to less and less as time marches by.
Lately we have had the chance to consider numerous examples of public mea culpas from the great and wanna-be greats, from both politics, sports. Lets consider two of them and let me offer a reason for unbridled and unconditional forgiveness.
Mark McGwire, former baseball great and once holder of a now steroid tainted single season home-run record, came out publicly and completely yesterday, confessing his suspected use of steroids. From my assessment he seemed to be contrite and sincere. He even went to the trouble of calling and apologizing to the widow of the former record holder, Roger Maris, so she would have it first hand and not have to read it about it or hear about it in the press.
Senate Majority leader Harry Reid's now infamous comments about then presidential candidate Barak Obama made us all think about a long and gratefully lost era in American racial relations. Its unclear if he himself harbored the view that the right skin shade and the right dialect on the right black candidate was a potential winning combo, or if he was merely projecting these values on the voting public (i.e. you and me). He has publicly apologized.
The yammering classes will have their say. Much will be printed, much will be said and much will be blogged. Notwithstanding all that is offered to explain why one, both or neither deserve any further good consideration, one thing rings clear and true. Today they both have heard the judgement of their behavior and that we, generally, expect more of people than what we saw in them on that day or days when they chose badly.
Messrs McGwire and Reid, now is your teaching moment.
First things first, if you mess-up, fess-up and ask for forgiveness. You change your ways and sincerely promise to do better. In turn we accept the fault as past and forgive, but not forget. We should expect better in the future and hold the individual accountable.
To be sure, no one is more worthy of forgiveness than any other, despite what you might glean from media or editorial spin machines. In particular comparing this persons transgressions to those of another smacks of making excuses.
So, whats on the other side of the coin? Why should I forgive?
There is only one reason. Because I can.
As a spectator society we love it when we see a great story unfolds in the press. Real life dramas are the thing of legend and great allegory. The rise of the great and would-be great just to learn the wisdom of humility and the folly of self-indulgence, and in the end, then to become a success story rather than a cautionary tale. Even the Betty Ford clinic owes such a tale for its very existence; all of its successes would be nil but for the public example of great humility offered by its namesake.
Consider how willing we are to forgive the performer, athlete, or politician when they voluntarily submit to their greater demons of substance abuse or other addictions. We applaud their personal awakening and wish them well, sure in the assumption that this will be the last time and they will emerge better, cured, and blessed. It is in these greater expectations we show a level of forgiveness; willingness to move on and allow that poor individual a chance to do the same.
At the same time we also are selective about to whom we grant forgiveness. Robert Downey Jr.; yes. Charlie Sheen; no. Daryl Strawberry; yes. Pete Rose; no. Bill Clinton; yes. Trent Lott; no. Adam Baldwin; yes, yes, no, yes, no, no, yes, yes, maybe, no.
Perhaps its not real forgiveness at all. Perhaps its the pretty face, the handsome features, the sense of humor, the political stripe, and last but not least, who is telling the story.
True forgiveness is and should be for everyone and by everyone. Take it out of the faith context for just a moment and consider it logically. If you only grant forgiveness on those who seem worthy, just what was it they did that made you think they needed forgiveness, and was it all that bad in the first place. Was it all just window dressing for a fading set of greater expectations that we hold ourselves to less and less as time marches by.
Lately we have had the chance to consider numerous examples of public mea culpas from the great and wanna-be greats, from both politics, sports. Lets consider two of them and let me offer a reason for unbridled and unconditional forgiveness.
Mark McGwire, former baseball great and once holder of a now steroid tainted single season home-run record, came out publicly and completely yesterday, confessing his suspected use of steroids. From my assessment he seemed to be contrite and sincere. He even went to the trouble of calling and apologizing to the widow of the former record holder, Roger Maris, so she would have it first hand and not have to read it about it or hear about it in the press.
Senate Majority leader Harry Reid's now infamous comments about then presidential candidate Barak Obama made us all think about a long and gratefully lost era in American racial relations. Its unclear if he himself harbored the view that the right skin shade and the right dialect on the right black candidate was a potential winning combo, or if he was merely projecting these values on the voting public (i.e. you and me). He has publicly apologized.
The yammering classes will have their say. Much will be printed, much will be said and much will be blogged. Notwithstanding all that is offered to explain why one, both or neither deserve any further good consideration, one thing rings clear and true. Today they both have heard the judgement of their behavior and that we, generally, expect more of people than what we saw in them on that day or days when they chose badly.
Messrs McGwire and Reid, now is your teaching moment.
First things first, if you mess-up, fess-up and ask for forgiveness. You change your ways and sincerely promise to do better. In turn we accept the fault as past and forgive, but not forget. We should expect better in the future and hold the individual accountable.
To be sure, no one is more worthy of forgiveness than any other, despite what you might glean from media or editorial spin machines. In particular comparing this persons transgressions to those of another smacks of making excuses.
So, whats on the other side of the coin? Why should I forgive?
There is only one reason. Because I can.
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