Truths Or Agendas

Prayer intention book at a Catholic shine in Massachusetts.

    Happy Father’s Day God! I noticed the message in a prayer intention book.
    God is a spirit. He can not be male or female in a physical sense. Yet in biblical references, God is presented with a masculine persona. Theologians debate this paradox.
    I perceive God as a male persona. Simplicity is my guide. Since Jesus described God as Father, than I will too.
    But not everyone is into simplicity. Some people are blessed with an exceptional capacity for insights. They’re called philosophers. They dig deeper.
  God must enjoy it when philosophers—or anyone for that matter—seek the truths and principals of human existence. Their opinions vary. They often—perhaps quite often—don’t get it right. God probably doesn’t mind. He can read into their hearts. He knows their intentions are sincere.
    But some people are not sincere. They push hidden agendas in the guise of seeking truths. God reads into their hearts too. I wonder how he reacts to them.

Message in prayer intention book.

One Man's Rebuke

    “Get a job!” shouted the man. The object of his reproach was a crowd of demonstrators. They lined the opposite side of a street in Toledo, Ohio.
   His anger was understandable. The demonstrators were more than loud. They were obnoxious. Led by someone with a bullhorn, they lambasted people lining up for a political rally. Profanities were uttered by the demonstrators. It happened during the last presidential campaign.
    At first glance, the man was outmatched. He was one person against a crowd. And he didn’t have a bullhorn. He used one weapon in this verbal battle.
    It was his slogan.
    'Get a job!’ is an powerful castigation. Another variation is ‘Get a Life!’
    The life version accuses people of being useless to themselves. The job variation has more bite. It accuses people of being useless to society.
    I am not advocating insults. Civility is the way to go. But I must confess that I was pleased when this man—this counter demonstrator—unleashed his repartee.
    Get a job! is an effective rebuke.

Squeezing Out an Apology

    “What was that!” my mother said.
    She occupied the back seat. I was the driver. My father sat beside me.
    We had been rear ended. The accident happened at a stop sign. No injuries.
    I stepped outside. The other driver, a middle aged woman, stayed put. Her vehicle was a school van. Aside from herself, the van was unoccupied.
    She rolled down her window. She expressed an opinion that the accident was meaningless. Oh really? A crack had formed on the bumper of my father’s car. The van did not sustain damage.
    The woman was at fault. But was the crack worth reporting to the insurance company? I wasn’t sure. The car is a 1998 sedan. Even before this accident, it appeared old. Dents and previous cracks were visible on both ends.
    We exchanged paperwork and went our separate ways. 
    Later she telephoned me. She had some insurance questions to clarify.
    I said to her, “There’s an easy way to make this go away.”
    “Oh yeah?”
    “If you apologize to my father, I’ll advise him to not file a claim.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me that after the accident?”
    “Because if I had, the apology wouldn’t have been sincere.”
    She laughed. The tone of her laugh sounded haughty.
    I said to her, “Would you like to speak to my father?”
    “All right.”
    I put him on the line. He listened to her apology. It was brief, maybe eight seconds long. He said with graciousness, “These things happen.”
    Dad handed me the phone. I told the woman that no claim would be filed. She offered a terse acknowledgement. She never said thank you.
   The matter had reached a conclusion. I said goodbye.
   That woman’s apology was lukewarm. But hey, an insincere apology is still an apology.

Celebritas

    Recognize the man with the beard? You probably do, even though the photograph is dated. He is the actor Tom Cruise. I photographed him receiving an award at Harvard University.
    The shoot was a zoo scene. Paparazzi showed up from New York City. Those folks were aggressive. They jostled their way in front me. Some of them blocked the views of people in the audience. I was lucky to get a clear shot.
    Paparazzi weren’t the only reason for the nastiness. The root of the problem could be summed up in one word: celebrity.
    The Latin root of that word is celebritas. It has several meanings, including crowded, multitude, fame, and renown.
      Celebrity is an unhealthy aspect of our culture, and for that matter, the world’s culture. It glorifies money, beauty, and fame. Lots of people buy into that shallowness.
     I am not acquainted with any celebrities. Nor will I cast aspirations on Tom Cruise. But celebrity sometimes turns celebrities into jerks.
    Here’s one example: A photographer friend of mine received a portrait assignment from People Magazine. His subject was a famous author. The photographer set up his lighting. A car pulled up. Out stepped the author’s publicist. But not the author. Minutes passed. My friend asked why the author wasn’t leaving the car. He was told the author was waiting for someone—the photographer—to open the door for her.
    I asked my photographer friend how he handled the situation.
    “I opened the door,” he said.
   Celebrity worship had gone to that author’s head. She had become snobbish.
   My photographer friend acted with humility (even if he was fuming under his breath).
   The Bible says, ‘Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.’
    Celebrity jeopardizes humility.

Catchphrase From The Past

     “Yowsah! Yowsah! Yowsah!”
    One protestor—the man in the photo—often shouted that phrase. His fellow demonstrators smiled at him. At the time, the meaning of his phrase eluded me. This event was a demonstration against the closure of credit unions in Rhode Island.
    Later I did some research. The phrase was coined in the 1930’s by Ben Bernie. He was a radio personality. He signed off his broadcasts by chanting “Yowsah! Yowsah! Yowsah!”
    The expression had no specific meaning. Bernie created it because the wordplay sounded catchy. He died in 1943. His mantra receded from the national consciousness.
    Lots of elderly folks attended the demonstration in Rhode Island. Some of them, I suspect, grew up during the 1930’s. Hearing that ‘Yowsah’ chant must have evoked feelings of nostalgia.
    Some catchphrases wane in popularity, but they’re never forgotten. Future generations breath new life into them.

Peeking at Personality

    Twenty strangers e-mailed me. Their messages arrived during the course of an hour. These people were responding to my advertisement on Craigslist. I was giving away an ailing lawn mower.
    I wondered which respondent I should contact.
    Most of their messages were taciturn, a sentence of two, expressing interest in the mower. Some people didn’t reveal even their first names.
    A few individuals revealed personality. For example, a woman who provided her name wrote: ‘My grass is high as an elephant’s eye.’
    I gave her the first shot at the mower.
    Exercising caution is sensible when communicating with strangers. But those concise replies turned me off.
    Revealing one’s personality, even just a hint, is advantageous in a competitive situation.

Awe Shucks!

    Does viewing this scene make you a better person?
    I took the photo on the Appalachian Trail in Maine. My friend posed on a ledge. The scenery was awe inspiring.
     A study concluded that awe reduces self centeredness. Being awestruck inclines us to care more about the needs of other people. (The study is ‘Awe, the Small Self and Prosocial Behavior’).
    But there’s a caveat.
    Another study revealed that observing nature on a screen doesn’t have the impact of viewing it in reality. 
    Viewing that landscape can indeed make you a better person. But you must first climb the mountain.
    Awe shucks!