"So teach us to number our days, God, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom." (Psalm 90:12)
A blessed Lenten Season to all our friends!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
The R word
I wonder why it is that in a world where there is increasing sensitivity to certain words (words that put down people because of race, religion, nationality, or sexual orientation) that the "R" word continues to be acceptable to use? "Retard;" one hears it on T.V., on the radio, and in casual conversation to describe questionable judgements or just plain stupid behavior.
So why not use "stupid" to describe stupid behavior? Why not use "dumb" to describe dumb choices? Why use a clinical term that is not even commonly used in professional circles anymore because it is too broad, and doesn't properly reflect the giftedness of human beings who are intelligent in ways that don't necessarily show up on a standard I.Q. test?
Am I sensitive to the word "retarded" because I have a son with Down syndrome? Yes. I readily admit that I am more conscious, more aware, and more sensitive to this put-down word. I'd also add that I'm more sensitive to all put-down words thanks to my specially gifted son. Thank God there is a growing awareness that words matter!
But back to the issue of the "R"word? Why does its usage continue to be so widely acceptable? Is it because special needs persons don't form a huge voting block? Don't have a powerful lobby in Washington? Don't produce movies or television shows in Hollywood? Yes.
More fundamentally, though, it has to do with the way our culture continues to overvalue certain achievements and undervalue others.
What school you graduate from, how many degrees you collect, how high you climb on the company ladder, how much money you make, how many toys you can collect, and how good you look doing all this "succeeding" matters more than being a kind person, a loving person, and generous person, a joyful person.
Balance, people, balance...who we are matters at least as much as what we do. And in the end the two can't be separated.
"Retard" is more than just a put-down word. It carries a dangerous bias with it, a bias that feeds ignorance, and callousness, and divisiveness; a bias that limits ALL of us.
Find another word.
So why not use "stupid" to describe stupid behavior? Why not use "dumb" to describe dumb choices? Why use a clinical term that is not even commonly used in professional circles anymore because it is too broad, and doesn't properly reflect the giftedness of human beings who are intelligent in ways that don't necessarily show up on a standard I.Q. test?
Am I sensitive to the word "retarded" because I have a son with Down syndrome? Yes. I readily admit that I am more conscious, more aware, and more sensitive to this put-down word. I'd also add that I'm more sensitive to all put-down words thanks to my specially gifted son. Thank God there is a growing awareness that words matter!
But back to the issue of the "R"word? Why does its usage continue to be so widely acceptable? Is it because special needs persons don't form a huge voting block? Don't have a powerful lobby in Washington? Don't produce movies or television shows in Hollywood? Yes.
More fundamentally, though, it has to do with the way our culture continues to overvalue certain achievements and undervalue others.
What school you graduate from, how many degrees you collect, how high you climb on the company ladder, how much money you make, how many toys you can collect, and how good you look doing all this "succeeding" matters more than being a kind person, a loving person, and generous person, a joyful person.
Balance, people, balance...who we are matters at least as much as what we do. And in the end the two can't be separated.
"Retard" is more than just a put-down word. It carries a dangerous bias with it, a bias that feeds ignorance, and callousness, and divisiveness; a bias that limits ALL of us.
Find another word.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Afflicting and comforting...
"Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."
-Finley Peter Dunne
Oh, its so easy to get outside ourselves, and point to all those who are "comfortable", and who need serious "afflicting." Your list is probably pretty long, if you're anything like me. Hypocrites, narcissists, materialists, nihilists, self-centered....wow, the labels are flowing wonderfully!
Here's the point...while we're getting after these folks who need a nudge toward goodness and consciousness (and this is not a bad thing...do it!), let's not forget ourselves in this process. "How am I too comfortable?" "How do I cut corners?" "How do I turn a blind eye, and let things slide in my own life."
And as we hunt down those who need afflicting, are we spending at least as much time finding folks who need comforting?
Lent is coming. But regardless, this is the best way to live....never separating truth and love, practicing humility and moral courage, and actually caring for those who hurt all around us.
This will change the world....one comfortable person at a time!
-Finley Peter Dunne
Oh, its so easy to get outside ourselves, and point to all those who are "comfortable", and who need serious "afflicting." Your list is probably pretty long, if you're anything like me. Hypocrites, narcissists, materialists, nihilists, self-centered....wow, the labels are flowing wonderfully!
Here's the point...while we're getting after these folks who need a nudge toward goodness and consciousness (and this is not a bad thing...do it!), let's not forget ourselves in this process. "How am I too comfortable?" "How do I cut corners?" "How do I turn a blind eye, and let things slide in my own life."
And as we hunt down those who need afflicting, are we spending at least as much time finding folks who need comforting?
Lent is coming. But regardless, this is the best way to live....never separating truth and love, practicing humility and moral courage, and actually caring for those who hurt all around us.
This will change the world....one comfortable person at a time!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Lessons from Libya
Freedom cannot be separated from responsibility. This is an eternal truth that transcends culture, race, geo-politics, and religion.
I understood this once again as I watched the crisis unfolding in Libya; from the protesters risking their lives in the streets of Tripoli, to the Libyan pilots refusing to follow orders to bomb their own people, to the Libyan Ambassador to the United Nations denouncing the madman who has held Libya captive for far too long.
To be fully human, to choose life, we must recognize that we are free. And that in our freedom we must be able to respond well....to respond in ways that support the dignity and worth of self and others.
The protesters, the pilots, and the ambassador are heroic examples, no doubt. I am inspired by them, I celebrate them, and I pray for them. But the greatest revolutions, the most profound battles, are not captured on television.
The virtuous life, the life grounded in freedom and responsibility, is won or lost in a thousand little "wars" every day. In the home and at work, in the classroom and on the playground, in emails and in texts; we are free to choose truth or lies, kindness or callousness, generosity or selfishness...peace or violence. And our consciences tell us that we must answer, sooner or later, for the choices we make.
God help those who struggle tonight in the Middle East, and God help the rest of us as well.
.
I understood this once again as I watched the crisis unfolding in Libya; from the protesters risking their lives in the streets of Tripoli, to the Libyan pilots refusing to follow orders to bomb their own people, to the Libyan Ambassador to the United Nations denouncing the madman who has held Libya captive for far too long.
To be fully human, to choose life, we must recognize that we are free. And that in our freedom we must be able to respond well....to respond in ways that support the dignity and worth of self and others.
The protesters, the pilots, and the ambassador are heroic examples, no doubt. I am inspired by them, I celebrate them, and I pray for them. But the greatest revolutions, the most profound battles, are not captured on television.
The virtuous life, the life grounded in freedom and responsibility, is won or lost in a thousand little "wars" every day. In the home and at work, in the classroom and on the playground, in emails and in texts; we are free to choose truth or lies, kindness or callousness, generosity or selfishness...peace or violence. And our consciences tell us that we must answer, sooner or later, for the choices we make.
God help those who struggle tonight in the Middle East, and God help the rest of us as well.
.
Monday, February 21, 2011
In Memoriam: Dr. Bernard Nathanson
Dr. Bernard Nathanson passed away today at the age of 84 after a long battle with cancer. His life was an amazing story of mercy and redemption.
Nathanson headed the largest abortion clinic in New York City, and admitted that he was personally responsible for over 70,000 abortions (including one on his wife). However,enough encounters of photo-images of abortions eventually led to a dramatic conversion to the pro-life movement, while still an atheist.
The rest of his life Dr. Nathanson worked tirelessly to inform people of what they were actually choosing with abortion, writing and speaking extensively, as well as producing The Silent Scream and later The Eclipse of Reason. In 1995, he became a Catholic-Christian.
Requiescat in pace, Dr. Nathanson.
Nathanson headed the largest abortion clinic in New York City, and admitted that he was personally responsible for over 70,000 abortions (including one on his wife). However,enough encounters of photo-images of abortions eventually led to a dramatic conversion to the pro-life movement, while still an atheist.
The rest of his life Dr. Nathanson worked tirelessly to inform people of what they were actually choosing with abortion, writing and speaking extensively, as well as producing The Silent Scream and later The Eclipse of Reason. In 1995, he became a Catholic-Christian.
Requiescat in pace, Dr. Nathanson.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Men being men
"The crisis of the Modern age is the crisis of fatherhood."
-Benedict XVI
All men are called to be fathers. For some, this will include a biological process, but the virtue of fatherhood is so much more than that. All men are called to be fathers. Oh, would this world be a better place if that truth was understood.
Being a father is not simply a state one finds one's self in...at least it shouldn't be for long. Fatherhood is a way of being in the world; a personal and existential commitment to the future. It is about being generous with one's time and experience, and teaching with words, but also by example. Fatherhood asks one to sacrifice for the good, to protect innocence, to respond proactively to the emotional and spiritual needs of others, and to care deeply about life.
Fatherhood is essential to becoming a real man.
Today I had the opportunity to speak on the topic of Fatherhood at a men's conference. The participants were there not because it was court-ordered, or work-ordered. There was no immediate gratification or external benefit, and on a cold, rainy Saturday it wasn't even convenient.
These men were there because they wanted to be better men, plain and simple. They wanted to be better equipped to love, and guide, and encourage others...and they understood deeply that the young are our hope, and that every child matters.
I think these men are heroes.
-Benedict XVI
All men are called to be fathers. For some, this will include a biological process, but the virtue of fatherhood is so much more than that. All men are called to be fathers. Oh, would this world be a better place if that truth was understood.
Being a father is not simply a state one finds one's self in...at least it shouldn't be for long. Fatherhood is a way of being in the world; a personal and existential commitment to the future. It is about being generous with one's time and experience, and teaching with words, but also by example. Fatherhood asks one to sacrifice for the good, to protect innocence, to respond proactively to the emotional and spiritual needs of others, and to care deeply about life.
Fatherhood is essential to becoming a real man.
Today I had the opportunity to speak on the topic of Fatherhood at a men's conference. The participants were there not because it was court-ordered, or work-ordered. There was no immediate gratification or external benefit, and on a cold, rainy Saturday it wasn't even convenient.
These men were there because they wanted to be better men, plain and simple. They wanted to be better equipped to love, and guide, and encourage others...and they understood deeply that the young are our hope, and that every child matters.
I think these men are heroes.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
What is love?
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails..."
-St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Happy Valentine's Day to you all!
-St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Happy Valentine's Day to you all!
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