Slut

It's used to be a dirty word; used for the lowest of the low. It was descriptive of a certain woman but mostly a slur.

One of our Colorado legislators used the word on Wednesday. He was talking about unmarried pregnant teens. Now he is going to be in trouble for it. It was the wrong word to use.

"In my parents' day and age, they were sent away, they were shunned, they were called what they are, there was at least a sense of shame. There's no sense of shame today. Society condones it ... I think it's wrong. They're sluts. And I just don't mean the women. I mean the men too."
Rep. Larry Liston

As I read the story in the paper, I was reminded of a book I recently read called Prude. In one chapter, it talked about the current use of the word slut. Among many young and college age kids, the word is commonly used and almost a badge of honor. If you were to look at MySpace you would see the commonness of the word. Guys use it toward girls, girls use it towards girls and girls use it toward themselves. With all that, it's hard to understand the outrage when the word is used close to it's intended meaning.

I wonder if the reason for much of the outrage is that the legislator inferred there is something wrong with being unmarried and pregnant.

He also raised the issue that Colorado essentially subsidizes teen pregnancy. On that point, I would agree with him. Many young girls know that a baby is a ticket to a free house, grocery and spending money. For many it is a generational thing; mom and grandma did the same thing. Boyfriend can move in and they get to play house.

Anyway, he will end up eating his words. It's too bad he messed up. We do need a discussion of the issues he raised. We shouldn't make unmarried teen pregnancy a smooth ride. On the other hand we don't want to create such a stigma that abortion becomes the only way out.

Philip

Super Tuesday

My wife and I went to our caucus last night. We were the first there for Precinct 107 so the packet of precinct information was given to us. Our first job was to check the names of people who came against the list of registered Republicans in our precinct. We were told to do this until the precinct committee people arrived.

From our past experience, we knew that there probably wasn’t precinct committee people. I went through the packet, becoming familiar with what we would need to do if someone else wasn’t in charge.

This was our first caucus in Denver. We lived in Jefferson County for eighteen years and went to most of the caucuses while there. We didn’t know what to expect in Denver especially since this was Super Tuesday. A record turnout was expected.

In our precinct there are about a hundred registered republicans. Six showed up. Soon my wife and I were elected as delegates to the upcoming county and state conventions. It’s at these meetings where decisions will be made of who will run in the upcoming elections. It’s grassroots politics at it’s basic level.

All of the District 1 precincts met at the same location. Looking around it was easy to see that most did not have a high turnout. At the beginning of the meeting, a woman who had run for State Representative last election got up and encouraged everyone to vote. She said that after her loss they analyzed the voter turnout. A little over two thousand registered republicans didn’t show up to vote. She lost by about eighteen hundred votes. The message was clear.

Now I’m not advocating that as a republican I will vote for someone just because they are republican. The point is that each of us needs to be involved and vote. It’s really a small commitment. Even if you go to the caucus, get elected as a delegate and go to the conventions, it’s only a few days time every couple years. Involvement in this system is essential if you want to influence our government.

I have little respect for people who whine about our elected officials and what our government is doing, yet won’t even vote. You and your single vote matters. It really does. If you are not registered to vote, start there. Next, find out what candidates best represent your views and help get them elected.

If you live in Colorado, here is the link for a voter registration form.

We should be thankful we live in a country where we can be involved in government and that the people have the power to determine what government does. Use it or lose it applies here. If we are not involved, someone will come along and impose their will on us. To me it’s an easy choice.

Philip

Heroes - Part 2

See this post for my initial thoughts on heroes in our life. That will give the background on what I say here.

So in the Bible study we talked about who we admire. I mentioned my dad and pastor.

Here is something I was thinking about later. Why didn't any Bible characters come to my mind? I guess it seems too easy to list Jesus as my hero. But what about all the other people?

I absolutely believe that the Bible is true. It's true in doctrine and history. But maybe I look at it as more of a story.

I don't like a lot of fiction because even though it's a nice story it's not completely true. What good is it to read about someone doing something great or making a good moral choice if it's just a story. It may make me feel warm but I can't really grab hold of it. I do like to hear accounts of exploits and choices made by real people. If they did it then maybe I can too.

So as I thought about Bible characters, I realized I view them as stories; as someone pictured in the colored pages of a kid's story book. But they weren't. I know they existed in flesh and blood. They succeeded and failed just as I do. Many did great things for God and some did very dumb things. I can learn from them, be inspired by them, imitate the good things they did and try to avoid the mistakes they made.

There are guys like David who was a man after God's heart yet committed adultery and murder. Joseph extended forgiveness to his conniving brothers. Paul wasn't afraid to admit he was going the wrong way and ended up doing great things for God while suffering greatly. Noah showed great faith in building the ark. Daniel endured the lion's den. Elijah exposed idolatry and the false prophets of Baal. Timothy demonstrated that young people can do great things for God. Mary showed that sitting with Jesus is the most important thing. Mary Magdalene, delivered from demons, followed Jesus to the cross, went to His grave and was the first to see Him after He rose from the dead. John the Baptist was beheaded for his righteous stand.

These aren't just stories. Real men and women followed God and lived more difficult lives than I probably ever will.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3

I will try to remember these thoughts in the future. I have a new set of heroes.

Philip

Heroes

The topic of the Bible study was who do you admire the most and why. I thought of my dad and my pastor. As we talked that night, several of the guys mentioned their dad and one mentioned a friend.

The leader of the Bible study said that according to A.W. Tozer, the value we place on others is a window to our own soul.

Do we admire celebrities, sports figures or maybe someone who has been successful in business or has money? I can see the connection between who we focus on and what we are or become.

A question was asked of one of the guys who said he admired his dad, “Was he your hero when you were growing up?” He answered that he was.

I admired my dad because he was such an example of self-sacrifice, giving and thoughtfulness. Was he my hero when I was growing up, probably not. I’m sure that as a very young child he was but in my mid teens I would have thought of my dad as too strict and very stupid. I probably thought better of him during my twenties and as I grew older came to appreciate him much more. Did he change? No, it was my perspective of him that did.

Am I my kid’s hero? Probably not, at least to the ones older than six. Should that bother me? I don’t think so. I think it’s a rare teenager who admires a parent. We know that most teenagers know all there is to know and it is very hard for them to condescend to mere mortals let alone their parents.

As kids enter their twenties they are aware of all their parents imperfections and are usually oblivious to their own. When my wife and I were in our young twenties we were on a short-term mission trip and lived with a missionary couple and their three children. Boy, we sure could have told them a thing or two about child rearing and other areas where they needed improvement. I think the same happens with our parents. We figure we are going to do a much better job than they did. I hope that we all will.

After years of marriage, children and life, I saw my dad in a completely different way. I appreciated what he did for me, and the difficult job it was trying to raise a child like me. He did a good job in raising my brother, sister and me but was far from perfect. His life was far from perfect but I absolutely admire him for the person he was. I realized how hard marriage, parenting, working and living are and I thought a little less of my own abilities.

I think parents worry too much these days about being their child’s friend or the status of their relationship. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t do all we can to communicate with them and be a good parent. What I’m saying is that history will be the judge. Their view in their thirties, forties and fifties will be much different than when they were younger.

Live in the present, do the best job you can as a parent and don’t expect your child to be your friend. Don’t let fear of alienation direct how you raise and discipline them. Give them something to appreciate when they are finally able to do so. If you do this they will probably speak well of you at your funeral and maybe even before.

Philip