Sheila's Dribs 'n Drabs

I went to a meeting with friends from church. They were so pleased to have heard someone say "thank God" on television, so thrilled that "they can't censor that." I refrained from asking what made them think anyone was out to censor it. And I refrained from looking too deeply into why their words made me feel so uncomfortable. After all, wouldn't I also thank God if I were spared from the ravages of a tornado? I went to another meeting with friends who aren't from church. They were so upset to have heard someone say "thank God" on television. What should others say, they asked, who had lost loved ones? Should they blame God? Or maybe "thank God" means "I'm good enough to get my prayer answered, and the rest of you aren't good enough." How cruel, how evil, to pile that accusation on top of pain. They said, "No offense intended, Sheila," and I took no offense. Their comments opened my eyes to why I'd felt...

Poor poor kiddy was so scared. Poor child never should have been there. The crowd made him frightened, made him cry, so he pulled a gun and made them die. Poor poor kiddy, not his fault, see, in the land of the brave, in the land of the free.

 They want to set up some rules in our neighborhood. Nothing too draconian. Instead of "no signs" they want to allow "some signs" in our yards because, after all, people are locked in all day. Signs are a way to communicate. But no "sign wars," they say, and no signs that "cause offense." "That won't work," one neighbor announces. "Offense is in the eye of the beholder," and who will decide what's allowed and what's forbidden? Of course, "offense" might also be the choice of the offended... and whose choice is right? Someone put up a sign saying "Unborn lives matter," and I wondered, should that offend, or should it just invite the passerby to think? By contrast, a sign saying "Abortion is murder" felt much different, and felt wrong. After all, we can (most of us) agree that murder is against the law. So this statement accuses (unknown, unspoken) neighbors of breaking the law. I may no...

I'm a Christian. In these strange times, I thank God for an elderly man, willing to give up his retirement years to serve others, rather than to being served by them. I thank God for a man who puts: people before profit love before law integrity before indemnity mercy before majesty I pray that man may win. But whether he does or he doesn't, I pray God will remind me that my only true hope is in Him, because: I'm a Christian.

  I believe black lives matter. No, that doesn't make me a baby-killer or anti-family (really?) as somebody claimed on Facebook. I believe LGBTQ lives matter. And I'm not an atheist as someone else insisted. I believe the Bible matters . That means I read it and pray it; I don't use it to beat up my neighbors or prop up my photograph. I believe immigrants matter . That doesn’t make me un-American. The judge who welcomed me to citizenship told me immigrants matter. I believe refugees matter. And I'm not a lawbreaker. I believe the homeless matter, and the hungry, and those evicted because they’re sick or they’ve lost their jobs and can’t pay the rent. I believe the physical health of the community and all its members matters, regardless of wealth and good fortune. I believe wearing masks can save lives.  I'm not drinking the kool-aid; I'm respecting the scientists who've spent their lives learning about epidemics. I believe the earth matter...

 I believe black lives matter. No, that doesn't make me a babykiller (???) as somebody claimed on FB. I believer LGBTQ lives matter. No, I'm not an atheist as somebody claimed. I believe the earth matters, and it's warming. This doesn't mean I'm not capable of reading or understanding the literature (as an FB commenter said)--it means I take care, when I read, to look at the writers' qualifications. I believe the Bible matters. That means I read it and pray it; I don't use it to beat up my neighbors or prop up my photograph. I believe immigrants matter. No, I'm not un-American. The judge who welcomed me to citizenship told me immigrants matter. I believe refugees matter. No, I'm not a lawbreaker. I believe wearing masks can save lives. No, I'm not drinking the koolaid; I'm respecting the scientists who've studied epidemiology so much longer and more deeply than I have. I believe the Portland demonstrations would have been less riotous if ...

We should blame the people taking down the statues, make them pay to put things right--so said a "friend." But perhaps we should blame those who left the statues standing for so long; blame ourselves, who let our silence tell others what they ought to feel when they knew they were hurting. (Ah yes, and who told me "You like that; it's good" when I was too helpless, too young, too insecure to say no? Should I put a statue  up of  him?) We should let the statues tell our history, warts and all, because those who don't remember are condemned to repeat it--so says the friend. But I'd rather museums and text books tell all, while public monuments celebrate the good instead of glorifying evil. We should silence those whose oral histories have accentuated the bad. Alas, my friend can't hear how sad... Perhaps we should open the ears of those who have aurally ignored the bad. And perhaps we shouldn't blame, but should listen and CHANGE.