Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
People think of Christmas spirit as: Hey look over there that’s a homeless guy. Shivering in the cold. Let us bring him warmth.
I’ve been given occasion to think about this. Fifty-eight Christmases. And I can’t help but think something needs re-working here. I mean…what are you doing, ending the year on a high note? Assuming the homeless guy you see is representative of the people who really need your help, which is stretching it a lot now. He’s supposed to make it January 1 to December 15th or so just slowly wearing away? Kind of like your underwear?
It makes no sense. Starving to death is slow, but it’s not so slow it takes eleven and a half months.
I think the whole point to the season is…needs to be…that we’re all beloved children in the eyes of God. This is why we feed the hungry. It’s not for the “homeless community,” it’s for the people who cannot repay us. There’s a difference. “Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” Matthew 25:40.
Consider our “normal” behavior throughout the year. We do kind things for each other all the time. That’s easy. If you look a little closer, you’ll see people are doing nice things for other people who can do nice things in response. They may not say so. They may not explicitly expect, let alone demand, a reward. But you’ll see the people who can’t ever hope to pay it back, are neglected.
The people who are sufficiently disciplined to wait for gratification, and go without so others can have more — they end up doing a lot more than just waiting. If you pay attention to the situation, they end up neglected entirely. It’s in our wiring. Masters and slaves.
The older I get, the more i see that is the very definition of human history. Uppers and lowers. These people up here are supposed to get everything they want, and in the moment they want it. Those other people down there are supposed to wait…we’ll get around to “rewarding” them later…and later still. And then, not at all.
It used to be slavery. We got rid of that. And we replaced it with tax-and-spend — these people are supposed to toil away, so that those other people can enjoy the fruits of their labor. Reparations. Carbon offset vouchers.
Serves ’em right. They exist solely to gratify the uppers, right?
That’s the real point of Christianity, right there, the way I see it: No. That’s not right.
Doesn’t mean Christ was a socialist. No, in socialism that’s actually where you have the uppers and lowers. That’s not a correction of our natural inclination; socialism is our natural inclination, our flawed wiring. It is the sermon of Satan. “It’s this guy’s place to say where the effort goes, your place to provide that effort,” uppers and lowers. Christianity is what gave birth to western civilization, and it says: The little people count. To go without, entirely, womb to tomb, is not anybody’s place. And if you see that happening, you are to act. Not wait for some angel to come along and fix it.
These are not entirely jolly thoughts I am having on this Christmas. But to a practicing Christian, this shouldn’t be news: We were built for a glorious purpose, and then we bit out of an apple and ruined it. Now, our place is to repent, and repentance calls for action. That doesn’t mean waiting for Governor Gavin to pump a few billion dollars more of stolen taxpayer loot to enable the bums and druggies living in tents under the freeway. It means to act, and think, yourself, correct real injustice, and treat your brothers and sisters with the dignity they deserve, as fellow children of God. Peers, whose place it is to live alongside you, not to toil away endlessly and without recompense or acknowledgement for you. Next to you. Not beneath or above you.
Don’t be poor, to help the poor. Adding to their numbers doesn’t do anything for them.
Live better, and find a way for others to live better as you do. Teach, when you have something to teach and the student has appeared. Learn, when you’re ready to learn and the master has appeared. Earn, then share…then, engage the people with whom you’re sharing, so they can earn and share. Even more than you ever could. That’s okay. Not a competition.
Merry Christmas.
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To extend it further, when you see a bell-ringer, stuff a $20 bill in their bucket. THEY are taking the time to try to help, and Salvation Army is one of the few charities who actually try to help the needy HELP THEMSELVES!
- MarkMatis | 12/25/2023 @ 03:50Doesn’t hurt to send SA money throughout the year as well.