Thursday, July 25, 2013

The British Comedy ..The Infidel...

Last night i watched a British comedy called "infidel".
It was about a Muslim man and his family.
One day while cleaning out his mother house,he comes across a paper saying he was adopted.
He goes to the foundling and orphanage only to find that his birth parents where Jewish.
He decides that since the parents who raised him are now both dead,he would try to find and meet his biological parent,his father,who is dying in a Jewish nursing home.
At the same time he is also trying  to be supportive to his son,who is about to marry a Muslim girl,whose step father, is an Imam,and feels Muslim laws should be followed.
His mother neighbor,who is Jewish,and difficult to talk to,agrees to call a truce,and help him to understand his father Jewish heritage and religion.
The issues that seem to keep stepping in his way are a rabbi,who will not allow him to enter his father room,until he can understand the Jewish traditions and the Imam who feels that things like strict adherence to religion is all important.
Balancing between these two worlds puts him in the position of understanding that tradition and strick adherence to the rules are making him and his family unhappy.
First because he can not meet and connect to his birth father and second he can not make his future daughter in law family happy,because he occasionally drinks alcohol and listens to an old rock band.
In the meantime his nine year old daughter is running around with a plastic sword,saying things like "death to the infidels".
When finally he comes across evidence of the Imam past,that he was a rock singer 20 years earlier,he is able to prove to his fellow Muslim members that we,none of us,no matter how much we confess to be great religious followers,are all perfect all the time.
Basically being a part of religion is not just about the rules,its about how it affects the lives of those around us.
We have to not just live the laws but understand every thing we do as a cause and effect, and in the end if we are hurting the well fare of those around us,then we have to examine how far the rules are to be taken.
When the story finishes,he becomes friends with his mother Jewish neighbor,his son gets to marry the woman he loves and the daughter learns that she needs to be tolerant of others,even though she did not fully understand the things she was saying,since she was only nine,she began to start acting more like a little girl and less like a warrior.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Racism Or Lack Of Community Concern

Back in the 1960's race relations were terrible,especially in the deep south.
Being born and raised in Connecticut there was no segregation or hate speech here,because there was no minorities in our town.
The six p.m.nightly news brought to our attention how bad things were in other parts of the country,places we where immuned to.
Because of those times,there arose men  and women of great courage,Martin Luther King,comes to mind.
Today we have a president and leaders like Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson,who seem to feel the time as come to relive these days,even though we are living in a different time.
The word racism,seems to keep raising its ugly head.
Yes we still have issues,but if after 60 years we have not,at least in these leaders minds,come to a better state then who as failed who?People say all this is due to lack of jobs,bad neighborhoods,drug problems,guns,violence,people of color being arrested more and given harder sentences then white men and greater amounts of poverty.
From 1960 to 2013 times have changed,greatly.
The new younger generation,those under 40, do not understand how far we have come.This shows how little they know about the past.
Being a female I can honestly say that times for women are so much better then they where even back in the 1970's.
When I was in High  School back in the early 70's,it was unheard of,in my town, for a female to join the track team,there was no equality in sports and girls did not argue about it.Now there would be no such idea.
The problems that seem to be arising isn't about race, its about lack of guidance in communities that do not want to take charge and call people out about real problems in their communities.
Hand outs are easy,drugs are easy,violence is a way of life,for people who do not want to attend school.
All this robs people of the view that hard work and  the potential for achievement and pride in self, go hand in hand.
Its not about race issue,its about community issue.
Several years ago Hillary Clinton,name was put onto a book,called "It takes a village",I'm not much of a Clinton lover but she did have a point.
It's not about social services its about community caring.
I've heard it said,by forty plusers"back when I was growing up,if my neighbor saw me do something wrong,not only would they correct me,but they'd go tell my parents." We have lost this principal of we are one community and we help each other and teach all our children.
Today we allow high paid government agencies and their employees,to do the jobs we,as a neighborhood, should do for our selves.
Most things in life come down to right,wrong,and morals, but many people today,refuse to instill such ideas into our next generations.
In the end this generation of adults becomes our future and at this point that future looks very sad.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Intent And Acts

Yesterday while reading some face book post,I can across one written by my husband second cousin.
She lives in Indiana,has several small children and she and her husband work,very hard, at low paying jobs.
Several days ago her air conditioner stopped working and they were forced to turn to a small window unit,until they could get theirs fixed.
Since she has m.s. the heat makes her joints swell and body ache,but in spite of this they where trying to find someone who could fix this possible costly problem.
Later in the day,seeing their problem may be resolved,she and her husband decided,they needed to run an errand.
While proceeding to there destination,they spotted a jogger,leaning against a building,in the sweltering heat of the early evening.
Being good and caring  people they decided to stop at a local convince store and bring the runner a bottle of cool water.
Upon their return they found the lady jogger gone and no where to be found.
Feeling sad about this situation,turn of events,my husband cousin, posted on face book,that they where trying to do what God calls for and that is help those in need.
I posted back that it is not the fact that they did not find the woman and give her their thoughtful gift,it is always about purity of heart and intent.
Sometimes we do things thinking that we are going to help someone but in the end we may either help another more in need or even our selves.
We are tested and our acts of generosity do not go unnoticed.
Just because our intended target is who we perceive,it may not be who God sees in need.
You can not judge random acts and you can not second guess that which is preformed.
This morning I saw someone post,that he wishes he could help those in need but his schedule is to busy. He feels bad,since his community has lots of needy people.
He went on to write, "I do try to pray for them and that counts for something."
Truer words were never spoken.
We have to realize that one simple step is OK.
Prayer or even a donated hour here or there at a food pantry,community meal or simply buying a canned good,is just as important as becoming Mother Teresa and giving your life on a full time basis.
We are all called to preform different jobs in our lives.
You may push a broom for a living or bag groceries but giving all you can and being the best at your job affords others around you, comfort.
Pride in your work and helping strangers or fellow employees in your day to day life,is just as important as donating time to help the poor out on the streets,this is your gift to the world around you.
Never underestimate the power of one simple,selfless act.
Your intent of a pure heart, doing the right thing for someone,is all God really wants from you.
Asking nothing in return is the gift of giving,even if its just a simple bottle of cool water for an over heated jogger,who was not there to receive this well intentioned gift..

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Evil In The World

Living in Connecticut put me in the position of  the constant coverage of the New Town School shootings.
No one can explain why some one,could do such things to innocent children.
Some claim that gun control is to blame,like  high power rifles,that anyone can buy.
Some feel that uncontrolled mental illness is to blame,But I feel evil is to blame.
We live in a country that has blurred the lines between what is right and what is wrong,we never call anything right or wrong,because we feel that everyone has a right to anything and if we voice our opinions that what someone is doing is evil,then we are told that we are some how wrong.
Evil abounds in the world,just as good does.
Some have said that since we took God and prayers out of the school,then how can we expect God to be in the class.
But evil abounds everywhere and it is not uncommon for people who have lost their bearing of right and wrong to end up going toward the dark side and becoming more and more evil.
If a person chooses destruction then any weapon,be it gun,knife,bomb or anything else,is all on the table.
In Oklahoma City the person who blew up the federal building used fertilizer.
Its not about the choice of weapon,its about the intent.
People say this man in Connecticut had mental illness,well if you want to kill innocent children then I agree you are mentally ill in some way.
But there are lots and lots of people walking the streets everyday who are mentally ill and don't kill children.
So evil is what is in the equation.
We attend Churches that to this day will not talk about the devil and his legions,my own church will not use his name because they feel we are calling him down to us.
Fine so if no one talks about the Satan and his evil  then how does any church expect people to understand who he is.
Jesus himself talked about the devil and in the Our Father prayer we ask God to "deliver us from evil,now and at the hour of our death".
Why would we ask for strength in overcoming evil if it where out of the picture.

Low Bar For Entertainment

Tonight after having a nice supper out with friends,we all went to catch the movie The Lone Ranger.
It was a rather amusing film and after it was finished,we had much to discuss.
Most of our talk centered on all the good shows that where on t.v. back when where children
It could just be my age,but the fact remains that things always seemed better when we where children,as compared to living in our present day and age.
Today most of my t.v. watching consist of fox news and the history channel,mainly because television  just seems poor in taste and style, rather childish and boring.
Comedy now reminds me of high school toilet humor, learning childish words like boob,and using them a million times to see who will laugh.
Comedy back in the day,required talented story tellers,those who understood punch lines,while drama brought with it plot and substance.
Now don't get me wrong some of it was corny,but at least it had  story lines,morals and values.
The trouble is there is no longer any decent content to what we watch anymore.
Even reality shows,have no reality,most of it is written to make one think this is how a group or family of people live their lives,when its more about an idea and how far it can be stretched.
Maybe its a sign of the times and morals have no place in our world.
No longer fine lines of what to cross or not and no right or wrong,an anything goes kind of mentality.
I wouldn't mind the sexual innuendo if the shows had value or merit and what was being said or done was there to enhance a point.
But alas it is not meant to be.
Where are all the gifted people like Bill Cosby or Michael Landon?Those who could compile real humor or story telling,so it was an interesting art form.
Sadly it seems gone,by the  way of the low bar we set for our selves in the entertainment world .