More modern church music no match for old

I've never been more convinced that the music of more modern churches is tiddlywinks when compared to the music of my grandparents' era and before. Find me a hymn written since 1950 to match this one:

Farther Along by Anonymous

Tempted and tried, we’re oft made to wonder
Why it should be thus all the day long;
While there are others living about us,
Never molested, though in the wrong.

Refrain:

Farther along we’ll know more about it,
Farther along we’ll understand why;
Cheer up, my brother, live in the sunshine,
We’ll understand it all by and by.

Sometimes I wonder why I must suffer,
Go in the rain, the cold, and the snow,
When there are many living in comfort,
Giving no heed to all I can do.

Tempted and tried, how often we question
Why we must suffer year after year,
Being accused by those of our loved ones,
E’en though we’ve walked in God’s holy fear.

Often when death has taken our loved ones,
Leaving our home so lone and so drear,
Then do we wonder why others prosper,
Living so wicked year after year.

“Faithful till death,” saith our loving Master;
Short is our time to labor and wait;
Then will our toiling seem to be nothing,
When we shall pass the heavenly gate.

Soon we will see our dear, loving Savior,
Hear the last trumpet sound through the sky;
Then we will meet those gone on before us,
Then we shall know and understand why.

Context matters: MLK a hero, Wright a fanatic?

Barack Obama's former minister, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, appeared with Bill Moyers recently on PBS. It was a long overdue interview that struck at the heart of the biggest issue surrounding Reverend Wright: context matters.

Moyers and his staff, in what was an obvious rebuttal to Fox News and their coverage of the controversy, played longer versions of the excerpts we have all seen from a few of Wright's sermons--statements he made over the course of more than 20 years.

It was a direct challenge to what has become pervasive in our increasingly media-driven culture: ever-quicker perception making.

To be fair, more context does not justify some of Wright's more controversial statements (the one about the HIV virus in particular); but, context does allow for a greater understanding of his sentiments.

The problem, as I see it, is that many white Americans want to be disgusted by Wright in order to stave off even a passing consideration that there may be elements of truth in his vitrolic rants. Merely his presentation, it seems, is enough for many to turn a deaf ear to his polemic.

And why not? Who wants to be labeled an anti-American fanatic as Wright has been? Who wants to take the time to hear someone out once that person's essence, their very being, is ostensibly known? The effect is this: Reverend Wright, based on what I know of him (essentially nothing) is a bigoted fanatic who hates his country and, by connection, Barack Obama is not fit to be the president. Now that's what I call due diligence...

MLK a hero, Wright a fanatic?

We are now 40 years removed from the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and I cannot help but to wonder what would have been made of King's message today--you know, the message that sometimes gets lost in some of the more grandiose events of the civil rights era in this country.

Like, for instance, what is the difference between Reverend Wright talking about America's "...chickens coming home to roost" and this:



When Wright made his now infamous "not God bless America...God damn America" statement, he was talking about justice--just as King was more than 40 years ago. He wasn't lashing out in hatred against his country. He was decrying the injustice of innocent death in Iraq (and elsewhere) just as King did with respect to Vietnam.

Wright is a Christian man, just as King was a Christian man. As a Christian man myself, I know how important it is to be reminded of the message of Christ and how no ideology, no matter how self-serving, can replace it.

America is not, and has never been, this "Messianic force" that King spoke about.

Don't believe the lies.

"Justice is indivisible..."

Five albums you'll meet in Heaven

I was out with a few friends Thursday night and I posed this question: If you could only listen to five albums the rest of your life, what would they be?

Here are mine:

1.) Give Up by The Postal Service: This list isn't in any particular order, but I will say that this is probably the best album ever made.

Best songs: Such Great Heights; Sleeping In; District Sleeps Alone Tonight; Nothing better.

2.) Cold Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay: This is the best album by my favorite band.

Best songs: Politik; Amsterdam; Green Eyes

3.) Unplugged by Nirvana: I had to buy this CD at least three times in my life. I guess I listened to it too much. "About a Girl" is my #1 song of all-time.

Best songs: About a Girl; Man who sold the world; Where did you sleep last night?

4.) Live at the Apollo by B.B. King: This one is better than Live at San Quentin. Why you ask? It has the best B.B. song ever with this line: You gotta be crazy baby. You've gotta be out of your mind. As long as I'm payin' the bills I'm payin' the cost to the boss.

Best songs: All over again; Paying the cost to be the boss.

5.) Hot Fuss by The Killers: Every song on this album kills.

Best songs: Jenny was a friend of mind; Mr. Brightside; Everything will be alright.

These are pretty good, too: Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt; Self-Titled by Jars of Clay; Whatever and Ever Amen by Ben Folds; X & Y by Coldplay; 34th & 8th by OAR; Live at McCabe's by Ralph Stanley; Hello Nasty by the Beastie Boys; Battle of Los Angeles by RATM; The Hits by Garth Brooks; Satellite by P.O.D.; Bone Palace Ballet by Chiodos; Live in Central Park by DMB; White Ladder by David Gray; In Search of...by N.E.R.D; The Action Album by Oh My God; Music for the Morning After by Pete Yorn; Live at the Wetlands by RRFB; Greatest Hits by Jimi Hendrix; Neon Ballroom by Silverchair; Piece of You by Jewel; Precious Memories by Alan Jackson; Phrenology by the Roots; Be not nobody by Vanessa Carlton; Greatest Hits by the Doors; Spirit by Jewel; Morningview by Incubus; All killer no filler by Sum 41; The Joshua Tree by U2; Phenomenon by Thousand Foot Krutch; Ten by Pearl Jam; Core by Stone Temple Pilots; Dizzy up the girl by Goo Goo Dolls; Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield.

Jared Diamond warns: Don't insulate yourself

Thursday night, my favorite non-fiction author, Jared Diamond, visited Flint for the second time in the last four years.

Both times the Pulitizer Prize winning author drew large crowds of adults and students (most of whom were getting some kind of extra college credit) for about a 45-minute lecture on environmental history.

Diamond is the author of what I consider to be the most influential book on history in the last 50 years. His work, Guns, Germs and Steel created a cottage industry of sorts for environmental history epics.

At its core, the book explains why history took one course over another. Why, for instance, peoples of Eurasian descent settled the New World by force of might rather than the reverse.

Diamond cites numerous factors, mostly involving very mundane environmental factors involved in food production and continental axes.

What he gives is a scientific explanation for inequality, in essence, debunking age-old theories turned stereotypes about human beings and their classifications.

Diamond, however, didn't spend much time talking about Guns, Germs and Steel on Thursday. He spoke extensively on his latest book entitled Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed

This book is not as earth-shattering as the former, but it's close. In it, are numerous case studies on failed societes (as well as successful ones) like Easter Island, the Western Roman Empire, the Empire of the Mayas, etc.

He gave several reasons for failures and successes, but the one that stands tallest, at least in my mind, is this: societies tend toward failure when leaders (be they kings, presidents, emperors, senators, shoguns, chiefs, etc.) insulate themselves from the problems that plague societies.

Environmental issues like deforestation, pollution, global warming, etc. came as no surprise to me nor did issues of geopolitical concern. But this concept of top-end insulation is brilliant.

The moral of the story is this: Societies collapse from within. The Barbarian hordes weren't responsible for the fall of Rome--Rome was. American society (read Western society) is not on the verge of collapse, but we are facing what amount to world-historic problems which require correct answers. Only time will tell if our leaders are close enough to the problems.

TV Week's weak rankings

Check these recently released rankings of the most powerful people in television news.

A quick glance is all you need to figure out why these rankings are laughable.

Like him or hate him, there is no way Keith Olbermann is more powerful than Bill O'Reilly. Fox News could run a test pattern in O'Reilly's time slot and still bury Olbermann in the ratings.

O'Reilly has an enormous audience of people, both left and right, who watch him because they love him AND because they hate him.

Oh, and Olbermann is every bit as smug as O'Reilly--just for the record.

I like both of their shows, though.

(Either way, everyone knows that Hardball with Chris Matthews is the best show for hardcore POL junkies like myself.)

Forget the powerful, here are my top ten favorite TV news personalities:

1.) Patrick Buchanan
2.) Tim Russert
3.) Chris Matthews
4.) Bill O'Reilly
5.) Alan Colmes
6.) Dick Morris
7.) John McLaughlin
8.) Keith Olbermann
9.) Anderson Cooper
10.) Glenn Beck

Pope's prayer at Ground Zero

Here is a transcript of Pope Benedict's prayer from Ground Zero in New York City, the site of the 2001 terror attacks.

Noticeably absent are these sentiments that I've heard from Christians in the intervening years since September 11th: "Kill, kill, kill"..."Let's bomb their country and turn it into a parking lot"..."Let God sort them out."

"We ask you in your goodness to give eternal light and peace to all who died here -- the heroic first-responders: our fire fighters, police officers, emergency service workers, and Port Authority personnel, along with all the innocent men and women who were victims of this tragedy simply because their work or service brought them here on September 11, 2001.

"We ask you, in your compassion to bring healing to those who, because of their presence here that day, suffer from injuries and illness.

"Heal, too, the pain of still-grieving families and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy. Give them strength to continue their lives with courage and hope. We are mindful as well of those who suffered death, injury, and loss on the same day at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

"Our hearts are one with theirs as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering. God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world: peace in the hearts of all men and women and peace among the nations of the earth.

"Turn to your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred. God of understanding, overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy, we seek your light and guidance as we confront such terrible events.

"Grant that those whose lives were spared may live so that the lives lost here may not have been lost in vain. Comfort and console us, strengthen us in hope, and give us the wisdom and courage to work tirelessly for a world where true peace and love reign among nations and in the hearts of all."

The Robin Hood rationale taxing to some NYC residents: cry me the Hudson river.

This is great stuff...

From CBS News:

ALBANY (CBS) ― Mayor Michael Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan may be dead, but Assembly Democrats do have a plan to raise money for mass transit: tax the rich.

It's what Albany calls a "millionaire's tax."

Yes, billionaires like Bloomberg will ante up, too.

Under the plan, people who earn over $1 million in New York state will pay an income tax surcharge of about 3/4 of 1 percent for five years. In all, it would raise over $5 billion for mass transit.

Michael Bloomberg and the NYC Dems are knocking this one out of the park.

How's that for problem solving? The traffic situation in the Big Apple is atrocious, and Bloomberg, a Republican, and the Dems are being proactive.

And for the crybabies who earn more than one million per year who work in NYC and live elswhere I say this: hand it over.

Nation 'America' meets 'State' America

I'm often confronted by an inner struggle that, I'm certain, many of us face from time to time. It's the futile attempt to reconcile principles that, at varying points, collide.

It is just one struggle, of many, for a globally-minded Christian who loves his country.

My nationalist fervor is dying--there, I said it. It's a slow death, to be sure, because I still do love my country. But this fervor, inasmuch as it still exists, scrapes against every intellectual fiber in my body.

Nationalism, for many, is a religion. It was, for me, for a large part of my life. The Bubble burst for me, however, after high school when I challenged myself to learn as much about the world as I could. The world, I found out, is a much bigger place than I had ever imagined.

The Nation/State binary

"So what?" has lately been my answer to this question: "What do you think about that video of Barack Obama with his hands to his sides during the national anthem?"

Or this: "Do you think Michelle Obama loves her country?"

Answer: "I don't know. Probably."

It's not my job nor it is my desire to gauge someone else's love of their country on the basis of minutiae about lapel pins or quotes without context--though I have set myself up for just such a characterization.

Since many (perhaps even most) Americans have been socialized to respond well to authority, increasing numbers of my fellow citizens do not make a point of departure between love of country and love of state.

There is, of course, a difference.

I love this country and its people. This is a resilient nation and one that has, historically, done a lot of good things for a lot of people in the world.

When I hear people say that America is the greatest country in the world, I'm not offended. It might be, but how am I to know? I've never lived anywhere else; but I don't want to, either.

The people who love America most, at least in my opinion, are those of us who are disgusted by the, for lack of a better term, state of the State.

People who do not support war, whether in Iraq or anywhere else, aren't anti-American across the board. Some might be, but not solely because of an anti-war stance.

Governments lie; states are corrupt.

The state is not America; it represents America, however poorly, in the world.

What Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Rice, et. al, have done to the security of our country with their disastrous foreign policy since 2000 is not an American tragedy. The American people have simply been along for the ride.

To have an opinion about it is not anti-American, though not having one certainly is.

Just as Christians are taught to love sinners and hate sins, I love this nation and hate the state.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

Smile, you're on Google...

Check out this story from The Smoking Gun regarding Google's new street mapping technology.

This is some scary stuff...

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0407081google1.html