July 30: Self-Consciousness, Troll Doll, Back Seat

It is ironic that the one thing all religions recognize as separating us from our creator – our very self-consciousness—is also the one thing that divides us from our fellow creatures.

Dillard's right.  Human beings like to spend a great deal of their time being self-conscious, worrying about themselves and their needs.  I'm guilty of that all the time, in case you haven't noticed.  Dillard's saying that we're all so focused on our own worries that we ignore God's work in our lives.  And the needs of others.  Personal worries and wants tend to divide all of us from what's really important.

So, I'm going to get a little political for a moment.  (I know--that's not really shocking.)  But, after watching two weeks of political conventions and inflated rhetoric from Republicans and Democrats, I have to say that I'm a little tired of divisiveness.  I think there are issues almost everybody in the country can agree upon.  School shootings need to stop.  Violence against minorities needs to stop.  The majority of law enforcement officers are good, decent people trying to protect the citizens of the United States.  ISIS is a terrifying organization and a threat to world peace.  Health care isn't a privilege; it's a right.  Kids need to be able to get a good college education without ending up with debt that rivals the debt of a small Eastern European country.  Donald Trump looks like a troll doll.  These are all things we can agree upon.

These things unite us.  I want my kids to be safe.  I want police officers to be safe.  I want everyone to be safe--white, African American, gay, straight, transgender, Republican, Democrat, Christian, Muslim.  When I have a health problem, I want to be able to receive treatment that's not going to bankrupt me.  I'm a hard worker.  I have three jobs.  I want to be able to make enough money to pay my bills and provide for my family adequately.  And I want my kids to have a future that isn't saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in student loans.  Stop and ask anybody on Main Street in the United States, and I would bet that everyone would want these things, as well.

Here's the thing:  until we all stop pointing fingers and laying blame, the world is going to be full of hunger, war, terrorism, and poverty.  And God will continue to take a back seat.  When God takes a back seat, I'm not sure I want to be in the car.

That's just the way Saint Marty sees it.

A good laugh--that connects all of us