Scorn as Strategy

Bitter clingers.
Fat pigs.
Underwater walrus.
Extremists. Unpatriotic. Dangerous.  Crazy.  Menacing.  Scary. 

We label such epithets scorn:  i.e., contempt or disdain felt toward a person or object considered despicable or unworthy.  To express such an attitude in behavior or speech.  Derision.  To speak or treat someone with contempt.   William Congreve’s pithy statement (dare we call it immortal?) certainly surpassed its author in notoriety: “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” 

The question, then, is this:  What is the surest way to manipulate public opinion and amass a tidal wave of support for a cause or against an opponent?  Dialogue?  Reasoned argument?  Coldly and deliberately laying out all the facts on the table until the opposition withers under the preponderance of evidence? 

Are you kidding me? 

Decrepit old techniques like these involve way too much risk.  Dialogue?  Why, the other side might have better talkers than you!  They—God forbid—might advance superior argumentation that could sink your case.  And laying out the evidence?  No way!  First, it takes way too much time.  ADD people off their Ritalin would get lost before you get to number two in the pile.  Second, what if all the evidence stacks up against you?  I mean you can’t trust in any of these weak methods. 

Scorn is the weapon of choice.  Scorn means skipping the dialogue, shortshrifting legitimate debate and skimming the evidence.  Bypass the hard work.  Get right to the heart of the matter.  That’s where people want you to go anyway.  Don’t bother with the boring details.  They already know the answers.  Just get on with the execution. 

Philosophers know about this strategy.  “Let me submit that to mock is essentially to devalue something, and this may consist of little more than conveying to one’s interlocutor a low estimate of its value.  “Indefatigable” literally means something like not easily tired and thus ought to be something good, but a mocker uses the phrase as a means of devaluing it.  “Inevitable,” a value-neutral word in itself, is if anything value-positive to an arguer, to say that B follows inevitably from A is (provided that we believe A) as much as to say that B is true.  Yet Nietzsche manages to suggest that the very inevitability of English utilitarians somehow devalues them.  Nietzsche gives “respectable” a negative connotation by coupling it with ponderous, and he uses “dangerous” with a positive connotation.  The mocker devalues the holy and the good, and thus spares the ungodly and the sinners from any pangs of conscience they might have.  No arguments are needed.”  (The Free Thinker). 

Scorn is the preferred strategy of politicos today.  How did we sink to this level?  It could be an inevitable outgrowth of a public educational system that advocates rather than teaches.  Maybe it signals the triumph of sociology in its long battle with psychology.  It does seem to represent a backsliding from civil discourse to raw streetfighting; a departure from the clash of ideas to the clash of fists.  Scorn, admittedly, has always existed.  Now, however, it is not just tolerated.  It is the first resort of political combatants. 

Targets of scorn know that they are seen as pond scum without any redeeming quality. Any hope they have of sitting down with their adversaries and calmly explaining their positions evaporates with the first wave of insults.  

The Free Thinker continues in its criticism of Nietzsche:  “Mockery can be an effective form of persuasion because it makes people want to be on the side of the mocker rather than the mocked.  In sixth grade, I found myself in an environment in which mockery was the dominant mode of social competition.  Kids were always “making fun of” each other, often in new, sexual ways which they were just becoming old enough to know about.  Those who were best at it rose to the top of the cool hierarchy, because others were intimidated.  Losers and pariahs had a role to play because they were the objects on which others practiced, and demonstrated, their skills of insulting others.  One could, of course, present evidence that one is not, say, a “———-,” but in that climate of discourse, one would only be laughed at all the more.  

“Nietzsche relies heavily on these schoolyard-bully tactics.  Those tempted to agree with the English utilitarians are threatened with being called “unenraptured, never jesting,” “mediocre,” “ponderous” and “inevitable,” guilty of “cant” and “tartuffism,” ethnocentric and narrow-minded “herding animals.”  Those who agree with Nietzsche are enticed with the promise of being classified as “higher men,” “distinguished by rank” from the “mediocre;” they are addressed elsewhere as “ye free spirits” and “philosophers of the future.”  To snobs, this incentive is hard to resist.  (Might this explain why Nietzsche is overrated by academic philosophers?) 

We need to recognize scorn whenever and wherever it is used.  Scorn represents the antithesis of human decency.  No scorner can claim the high road whenever scorn gets incorporated so easily into his or her conversation.  Scorn does not say “I disagree.”  Scorn says “I disrespect you.  You are an imbecile.  You don’t even have a right to exist.”  Listen for the trigger words.  

• Bigot.
• Extremist.
• Homophobe.
• Racist.
• Uncle Tom.
• Oreo, etc.  

It’s too easy.  It doesn’t take a lot of work or time.  You can commandeer the emotions of stadiums full of people by spitting out a few scornful bombshells.  You can incite crowds to screaming, raising their fists in the air and jumping up and down by a few, well-chosen words of scorn for avowed enemies of the audience.  Spare them the cerebral monologues.  It’s the crass, the crude and brutal that resonates. 

What is most shocking to me is that scorn has been elevated to an art form by the very people who sit atop the intellectually elite class in this society.  While they purportedly teach logic, inductive reasoning and cognitive processes in the confines of their classrooms, they resort to clubs, sledgehammers and daggers in their conduct of political warfare.   For many of them, it does not come down to mental acumen or superior argument.  The bottom line is still brute force. 

Scorn is verbal thuggery.  Scorners bluff and bully because their position is weak and maybe even sinister.  Strong arguments do not need scorn to prove a point.  If I disagree with the argument of my enemy, I must dismantle it piece by piece until the error is obvious. 

Scorn must not be tolerated.  That’s the pronouncement of the wise writer of Proverbs.  “Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.”  Proverbs 22:10. 

We Can’t Talk About This

Interested in hot-button topics? 

Sorry.  You’ll have to go someplace else. 

First Amendment rights don’t fly in the USA anymore. 

So…we can’t talk about Islamic extremists.

We can’t talk about Islamic terrorism or jihad.

We can’t talk about winning wars.

We can’t talk about anything that smacks of racism.  (That’s almost everything.)

We can’t talk about anything that hints of homophobia.  (That’s about everything else.)

We can’t talk about the Second Amendment.  (Right to bear arms.)

We can’t talk about abortion.

We can’t talk about socialism, Marxism or communism.

We can’t talk about anything pro-Israeli.

We can’t talk about building up our nuclear arsenal.

We can’t talk about American exceptionalism.

We can’t talk about winning the cold war.

We can’t talk about Ronald Reagan.

We can’t talk about unions.

We can’t talk about entitlements.

We can’t talk about the burden of taxation.

We can’t talk about being a strict Constitutionalist.

We can’t talk about the Tenth Amendment.  (States rights.)

We can’t talk about…whatever else the MSM deems inappropriate or hate speech.

We can talk about the weather…No, WAIT!  Not if it’s about Climate change.

We can talk about religion…No, WAIT!  Not if Jesus Christ is brought up.

We can talk about holidays…No, WAIT!  Not if Christmas, Good Friday or Easter is mentioned.

We can talk about our jobs…No, WAIT!  Not if we talk about white-collar jobs.

We have nothing to talk about anymore.

I guess I’ll just shut up and go sit in the corner.

Can I do that?

And, by the way, please forgive me.

It’s the way I was raised.

They told me to speak my mind.

They taught me to think for myself.

Old habits are hard to break.

Funny…free speech, I mean. 

I always had the feeling that it wouldn’t work.

What were those founding fathers thinking?

HINTS FOR LIVING IN THE USA

(Interesting take on American values.  This is advice given to foreign students who are coming to the USA to study.  Read it and see if you agree.)

Provided by Marian Beane, Director, International Student/Scholar Office, UNC Charlotte.

These suggestions may help make your first days in the U.S. a little easier. They may also help to speed up the “cultural adjustment” process.

1. Speak English as much as possible. Find an American roommate or study-mate, and participate in the university’s host family program.

2. Ask people to speak more slowly and write down what they say.

3. Discuss any problems in your studies with your professors.

4. If you feel lonely or homesick, talk to someone (a counselor, teacher, or friend) and then do something nice for yourself that day.

5. Take advantage of opportunities to tell others about your country and family. U.S. Americans are sometimes shy and won’t ask.

6. Keep a smile handy to help you feel better, and others too.

Studying in the United States of America can be a wonderful learning experience. Both in and out of the classroom you will learn and practice the English language. You will also learn much about American life and its sometimes confusing culture.

As you prepare to come to the U.S., it may help to know something about the values that shape U.S. Americans’ attitudes and behaviors. As you consider these values it is important to remember that: 1) U.S. society is made up of a diversity of ethnic groups and cultures that have helped shape American values; 2) Some individuals and groups have a set of respected values that are quite different from those of mainstream America; 3) People’s attitudes and behavior are based on their values.

Some Major U.S. American Values
Individuality: U.S. Americans are encouraged at an early age to be independent and to develop their own goals in life. They are encouraged to not depend (too much) on others including their friends, teachers and parents. They are rewarded when they try harder to reach their goals.

Privacy: U.S. Americans like their privacy and enjoy spending time alone. Foreign visitors will find U.S. American homes and offices open, but what is inside the American mind is considered to be private. To ask the question “What is on your mind?” may be considered by some to be intrusive.

Equality: U.S. Americans uphold the ideal that everyone “is created equal” and has the same rights. This includes women as well as men of all ethnic and cultural groups living in the U.S. There are even laws that protect this “right to equality” in its various forms.

The general lack of deference to people in authority is one example of equality. Titles, such as “sir” and “madam” are seldom used. Managers, directors, presidents and even university instructors are often addressed by their first or given name.

Time: U.S. Americans take pride in making the best use of their time. In the business world, “time is money”. Being “on time” for class, an appointment, or for dinner with your host family is important. U.S. Americans apologize if they are late. Some instructors give demerits to students who are late to class, and students at most universities have institutional permission to leave the classroom if their instructor is 10 or 15 minutes late.

Informality: The U.S. American lifestyle is generally casual. You will see students going to class in shorts and t-shirts. Male instructors seldom wear a tie and some may even wear blue jeans. Female instructors often wear slacks along with comfortable walking shoes.

Greetings and farewells are usually short, informal and friendly. Students may greet each other with “hi”, “how are you”? and “what’s up”? The farewell can be as brief as: “See you”, “take it easy”, or, “come by some time” (although they generally don’t really mean it). Friendships are also casual, as Americans seem to easily develop and end friendships.

Achievement & hard work/play: The foreign visitor is often impressed at how achievement oriented Americans are and how hard they both work and play. A competitive spirit is often the motivating factor to work harder. Americans often compete with themselves as well as others. They feel good when they “beat their own record” in an athletic event or other types of competition. Americans seem to always be “on the go”, because sitting quietly doing nothing seems like a waste of time.

Direct & assertive: U.S. Americans try to work out their differences face-to-face and without a mediator. They are encouraged to speak up and give their opinions. Students are often invited to challenge or disagree with certain points in the lecture. This manner of direct speaking is often interpreted by foreign visitors as rude.

Looking to the future and to change: Children are often asked what they want to be “when they grow up”; college students are asked what they will do when they graduate; and professors plan what they will do when they retire.

Change is often equated with progress and holding on to traditions seems to imply old and outdated ways. Even though Americans are recycling more than before many purchased products are designed to have a short life and then be thrown away.

Adjustment & Culture “Shock”
You may notice that these American values are, in some instances, quite different from your own. When you come to the U.S. the reality of these differences will be more evident. You will likely experience culture “shock” as you learn to adjust to the new culture and way of living. This is very normal and requires both time and patience.

Good Wishes for a New Cultural Experience
Your decision to study in the United States will provide you with endless opportunities to learn about a new culture and about yourself as well.

You will also have a chance to “educate” U.S. Americans about your own country and cultural values. I welcome you to the United States and wish you well as you enter into a new adventure in your personal and professional life.



Why Do Kids Smoke?

Duh-h-h-h?

You don’t know?

Doesn’t everyone know why kids smoke?

Hmmm.  Let’s see.  Is it because they don’t care?

Are they stupid?

Do they like the taste, of cigarettes?

Are they hooked on nicotine?

Is it because it’s fun, cool, nom nom?

Nope.

The answer is easy.

They do it…because WE TELL THEM NOT TO!

Yep.  Old-fashioned rebellion.

They do it just to show you they can.

They don’t have to listen to you.

Nobody is going to tell them what to do.  Not even if it is good for them.

Why did the children put beans in their ears when the one thing we told the children they must not do was put beans in their ears?

Why did the children pour molasses on the cat when the one thing we told the children they must not do was pour molasses on the cat? –Carl Sanburg 

Kids take warnings against smoking the same way they do older people telling them not to do anything else.  Rational thought evaporates.  All that’s left is a gut-level, visceral reaction to the prohibition.  Go ahead.  Say no.  You just egg them on.

This epiphanic moment happened while driving down the street close to a suburban high school.  Two boys, I would guess about sixteen years old, strolled along in their tee-shirts and jeans with cigarettes bouncing on their lips.  They looked a little baby-faced to me, clean-cut, no signs of gang status and seemed fairly conservative as kids go these days.  Bubble gum and Gatorade would have been more likely. 

No, I don’t mean that someone specifically forbade boys to smoke.  I speak in general terms.  It’s a generational thing; a disconnect between old fogies and cool youth; a resentment against authority that started with the archangel Lucifer.  The bottom line is rebellion, and you can’t reason with rebellion because it is a spirit.  “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” (1 Samuel 15:23).

The spirit of rebellion saturates our culture.  Many changes and new development in politics which now take place defy any and all logic.  Things don’t have to make long term sense anymore.  The change agents are clueless on how to connect the dots between proposed policy and real outcome. 

And so the establishment issues the orders:

• Don’t use profanity.
• Don’t engage in illicit sex. 
• Don’t get abortions.
• Don’t divorce your spouse for no reason.
• Don’t live together without marriage.
• Don’t do drugs.
• Don’t drink.
• Don’t drink and drive.
• Don’t get involved in homosexuality.
• Don’t get into pornography.
• Don’t quit school.
• Don’t quit your job.
• Don’t tattoo your body.
• Don’t get piercings all over your body.

Obviously, none of these prohibitions are working, even though sound, reasonable arguments exist that substantiate every one of them.  If logic was a factor, few of the above would happen. 

This is much scarier than it may sound.  Why?  Because rebellion in small things becomes rebellion in big things—for the same reason that it was rebellion against small things!  In other words, rebellion is always the operative word, without regard for the nature of the thing rebelled against.

• Don’t shoplift.
• Don’t lie, cheat or steal.
• Don’t vandalize or destroy property.
• Don’t rob a convenience store.
• Don’t commit grand larceny.
• Don’t kidnap.
• Don’t extort, defraud or commit blackmail.
• Don’t assault, beat or murder.
• Don’t rape, molest or abuse.

Well, now, you say, surely there is a limit to rebellion, isn’t there?  If someone goes this far, they must have reasons other than rebellion.  Do they?

NEW YORK (CNN) February 20, 2009 — She said she had nothing left to lose when she handed the bank teller the hastily scrawled note. The “Barbie Bandits” are among the more famous of recent female bank robbers. Both were convicted.

“We’re armed,” the note said. “Don’t say anything. Just give us all the money.”

Moments later, the woman and her male accomplice raced from the bank, jumped in their car and sped off with $10,000 in cash.

“It felt powerful, exciting, quick,” said the woman, who spoke with CNN under the pseudonym Jane Smith. “At that time of my life, everything was upside down and I didn’t have any control.”

Smith told CNN she was going through a bad divorce and that robbing a bank “made me feel like I was in control again.” She is one of a growing number of female bank robbers, a crime normally committed by men.

Jane Smith, who is trying to rebuild her life after serving five years in a maximum security prison, agrees that while the holdup was exciting, it wasn’t worth it.   Still, she couldn’t help smiling as she recalled how the tire blew on the getaway car while she and her accomplice made their getaway.

“I kept going on the rims, sparks flying on the highway,” she said.

When she could drive no farther, Smith recalled, “I started flagging people down. All the money is on the floorboard of the car. One lady did pull over to pick us up and so I got the money and I stuffed it in my purse and could barely zip it. She took us to a convenience store close by and I called a taxi.”

She went on wild spending spree, going through most of the money before her arrest several days later.  She said she would never again rob a bank, because her arrest and incarceration nearly destroyed her parents and two kids.

But Smith admitted that the thrill was addictive. “I loved the danger in it. I wanted to get more money. I wanted to keep doing it. That’s how it really felt — an adrenaline rush. Perfect.”

They do it just because they can…and just because they are told they can’t.

What else are they told not to do?

• Don’t destroy this country.
• Don’t strip us of our individual liberties.
• Don’t sell out the economic engine of capitalism.
• Don’t rip the constitution to shreds.
• Don’t nullify the Bill of Rights.
• Don’t corrupt our voting process.
• Don’t continually give privileges to people that they have not personally earned.
• Don’t expand entitlements to the point that they are unsustainable.
• Don’t run the nation into so much debt that we cannot pay it back.
• Don’t disarm America to make us weak and vulnerable to our enemies.
• Don’t make our military a joke.
• Don’t turn your back on our allies.
• Don’t make a mockery of our way of life.

But all they hear is “don’t.”

And all they reply is “watch me!”

And so we watch.

It doesn’t make sense.

Of course it doesn’t.

That’s not why they do it.

It is rebellion, full-grown and in control.

Got a match?

Do You Have A Man of God in Your Life?

One of the most disconcerting scriptures to the modern mind is Hebrews 13:17.  “Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves…”  Judging from reactions often caused just by quoting this scripture, one would think heresy has been sanctioned by the pastor.  It may come as a surprise to some that this scripture is a statement, not a question.  I stand on solid scriptural ground, however, when I contend that a man of God in each believer’s life is absolutely necessary.  God wants you to have a spiritual authority that can speak into your life.

Today’s strained relationship between leaders and followers in the world complicates the Bible’s call for obedience and submission to spiritual authority.  We already have a built-in cultural resistance to leadership, but the ugliness we have seen in prominent leaders in recent history—like the Vietnam War, Watergate and the impeachment proceedings against a sitting president—have seriously elevated this distrust issue.  Yet, it is vital for Bible believers to understand that there is a set of contrary circumstances to every spiritual principle that God establishes in His Word.  Every time God gives an order, Satan shows up with any number of reasons why we should disobey it.  Be careful with this one!  The call for spiritual authority must be embraced regardless of a culture that makes it difficult or even rejects it.

“And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death” Deuteronomy 33:1.  This first reference to the “man of God” begins a long list of scriptures that use the phrase.  Patriarchs, generals, prophets and priests in the Old Testament, along with apostles, pastors and evangelists in the New Testament bore this solemn title.  They issued commands, offered counsel, rebuked disobedience, gave directives, dispensed blessings, anointed vessels and represented the voice of and authority of God whenever they spoke.  Regardless of era or position, the man of God elicited respect and reverence.  Some indeed proved themselves unworthy of respect, and abused the privileges granted to them, but in time God always exposed them. 

Why do you need a man of God?  Because God knows that you are so busy tending to the responsibilities of life that you often do not hear God speaking to you and you are not focused on the spiritual program of the church as a whole.  His plan is that the man of God in your life would become the conduit through which the wisdom and word of God flows to you.  He seeks out the will of God for you and the congregation for your spiritual well-being.  He holds himself apart from carnal pursuits like money, possessions and fleshly pleasure so he can remain sensitive to the voice of God.  As Paul told Timothy, “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses” 1 Timothy 6:11-12. 

Dogs, snakes, wolves and scorpions—animals in Scripture that represent vicious enemies of the soul—trigger a protective response from the man of God for his flock.  Most saints never see them, but the man of God has trained his vision to see spiritual enemies creeping into their lives.  He cannot be still.  “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” 2 Timothy 4:2.  Whenever he issues a warning over the pulpit, or taps you on the shoulder and speaks directly to you, understand that he sees and senses something about which you may be oblivious.  Don’t think he is picking on you or that he has something against you.  Not true.  Two main purposes drive him:  your personal salvation and the preservation of the flock.  After all, the man of God feels a weight on his shoulders that no one else has: accountability.  “…for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you” Hebrews 13:17.

Here are a few things to do concerning the man of God in your life.  Pray for him.  He fights battles in arenas that you cannot know.  Support him.  Even as Aaron and Hur lifted up the arms of Moses over the battle against the Amalekites, so the congregation needs to support the work of the ministry.  Resistance, or even indifference, becomes a drag on his mission.  Cooperate with him.  Lend your eyes and ears, hands and feet to the vision that he casts for the church.  Someone has well said “Vision without action is a daydream; action without vision is a nightmare.”  Reaffirm him.  He needs to know when he strikes a chord in your life.  He needs to know the victories you gain through listening to his sermons and messages.  He is very human and he operates much better with encouragement and affirmation.  Heed his warnings.  Testy, critical or dismissive attitudes destroy the effectiveness that the man of God needs to have in your life.  Men of lesser rank don’t always understand the orders of the generals.  The man of God is in tune with the Overshepherd.

The mission of the man of God descends from God Himself and has, at its core, the spiritual welfare of the church.  “Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” Acts 20:26-28. God has entrusted his ministers with a precious commodity—the church, which is destined to be the Bride of Christ!  Never allow this lofty objective to be harmed by carnal attitudes or self-centered opinions.  Rightly received, the man of God will help you achieve your highest spiritual goals and will lead you into the presence of God.

Inspire Me

It’s like pretzels dipped in chocolate, jam made from jalapeno peppers, or a slice of sharp cheddar cheese on a piece of hot apple pie.  Maybe it’s like red sneakers with a pin-striped suit, lace over denim, or shirttails hanging out beneath an argyle sweater.  Maybe it resembles a stringed orchestra playing jazz, Luciano Pavarotti singing “I Can’t Help It If I’m Still In Love With You,” or Kenny G doing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” on his baritone sax. 

It happens when you put two thoughts together that you never before dreamed were related.  Or, when you view an object from a totally different perspective.  Or, when somebody uses a word in a strange context.  It could be with a WHAM! Or, a h-m-m-m, or a “no way…yes, way!”

I write.  I speak.  I create stuff.  I crave inspiration.  I can do all of this without inspiration.  Deadlines are brutal masters, impervious to something as subjective as inspiration.  I am grateful that computer geeks have programmed word processors to correct spelling errors, find mistakes in grammar and spit out lists of synonyms on demand.  Unfortunately, they have not yet developed a way to detect inspiration, or—more to the point—the lack thereof. 

Assembling a team of brainstormers to hammer out policy or invent slogans may work for organizations , but the vast majority of writing is not collaborative.  It’s the lone writer staring out windows, rubbing tired eyes, adjusting ear buds and sipping tepid coffee, who bears the burden.  You can only run your eyes over the stale books on the shelf in search of inspiration so many times.  Googling, surfing, and StumbleUpon turn up mumbo jumbo.  Procrastination as an option finally slips away; desperate moments inch inexorably closer.  Somebody, please help me before I write a boring, forgettable piece of filler.

Once the big idea surfaces, ninety percent of the problem evaporates.  It’s like catching the pass on the five yard line without a defender in sight.  Nobody has to tell you what to do with the football once you tuck it safely under your arm, but the quarterback does have to launch it, you do have to be in the right spot to receive it, and you do have to look it into your hands.  As a writer, you have to believe that the inspired thought is launched.  You just have to get to the right place to gather it in, secure it, and run into the end zone. 

Okay, here’s what I have found.  Yesterday’s ideas rarely inspire me.  They worked at the time, but I need something fresh, unexplored and meaningful to a significant number of people.  Therefore, I don’t pore over the bone yards of past accomplishments.  I venture into new territory, take plunges into previously unexplored ideas, and trust my instincts from that point on.  Many times I fail to make the connection, but I never fail to have a good time trying.  And I never fail to learn something in the process—something that may factor into tomorrow’s success.

Grasping inspiration takes me down several paths.  For example, I think about words and phrases.  I toy with them, turn them upside down, argue with them, put them into situations for which they were not originally meant to fit, and sometimes torture them until they confess a hidden meaning.  It’s amazing what you can do with phrases like “attention-deficit disorder,” “body language” or “hypothetical.”  The coining of every word or phrase in the language was a response to a need.  Something new required a description, a term or a definition to capture its essence.  That word or phrase most likely came from some other application that may have been totally unrelated to the present need.  Computer terminology is particularly guilty in this regard.  Almost every term—like hardware, software, hard drive, cut-and-paste, back-up, copy, etc.—came from other uses and other eras.  Endless possibilities present themselves when you go exploring words and phrases.

Another nearly failsafe method to catch inspiration comes from asking the simple question, why?  Why do people do that, say that, feel that, love that or react that way?  What could possibly motivate a person to adopt that position?  Why did he or she become so obsessed with a certain idea, cause or movement?  Admittedly childlike, asking why, why, and then why leads the seeker into deep machinations of the human heart.  At any given point, an array of choices and dilemmas emerge that the person in question had to negotiate.  Every moment that you begin to dissect these decisions is pregnant with inspiration. 

Finally, the inspiration of the Bible stems from a very different line of reasoning.  The etymology of the word inspiration reveals that it comes from “breath, inflame, or blow into.”  Thus, God breathed ideas into the writers of scripture and they were not capable of thinking, and they expressed them in words that they were capable of writing.  The Holy Bible was the product of man partnering with God.  Today, the canon is closed.  Nobody is writing the inspired Word of God in the same fashion as the Bible writers did.  Yet, God has never stopped breathing.  My greatest source of inspiration comes from thinking about spiritual things, meditating on the inspired Word, spending time in prayer and carrying on discourses with God.  Out of these interactions, concepts form in my mind.  I, then, attach words and phrases to them so they can become meaningful to the audiences I want to reach. 

What inspires me may bore you.  I may chase an idea that you think is a total waste of time.  Each of us, however, share this common need for inspiration.  While our end results may very different, chances are that our techniques will travel along the same trajectory.  If, by chance, my inspiration intersects with your search, it is a beautiful thing. 

What idiot put carrots and cake together?  Did you know that ice cream and waffles got married and produced ice cream cones?  Somebody was thinking.

So, inspire me.  I will try to inspire you.  That, I must say, is an inspiring thought!

Kill the Messenger

Americans hate bad news.  Well, with the exception of earthquakes, hurricanes, massacres and stuff that happens to other people.  What we hate is bad personal news that undermines our sense of well-being.

So, the doctor does not come in and tell you straight up that you are going to die.  The politician will never tell you he’s going to steal more of your money.  The teacher will not let you know that your kid has a low IQ.  The boss wouldn’t think of telling you that you’re not getting that promotion because your personality (or your hygiene) stinks.  And God help the preacher at the funeral who dares to even hint that grandma might not have gone to heaven!

It’s a long-standing tradition among us; we simply cannot handle bad news.  This does not bode well for the messenger.  We will kill the bearer of bad news—figuratively, if not literally.  Truth, if we get a taste of it at all, must be doled out in miniscule doses.  In fact, we now claim a perceived right NOT to hear bad news.  Bad news offends us, and our own Supreme Court says we have a right not to be offended.

This society penalizes those too stupid to edit out or cover up negativity.  We attack, malign, insult and summarily dismiss bad news messengers.  We accuse them of having an agenda.  They are said to be brainwashed, bigoted, intolerant and insensitive.  They are called cruel, obstructionists, hate mongers, and liars. 

As a result, telling the truth has an exorbitantly high price attached to it.  It can cost you your reputation, your honor, your job, your relationships, or even your life.  You may have to hire an expensive lawyer to defend you in court—or bodyguards to defend you out of court.  Most people say “no thanks.”  The price is too steep.  They will probably just keep their mouths shut.   If they do have to talk, they will spin the bad news into something that sounds good.

Spinning is the dubious art of not telling the truth, but making it sound like you are telling the truth.  It is the attempt to make bad news look, sound and feel good.  We substitute political correctness, euphemisms, diplomacy and fancy rhetoric for truth.  We divert attention, hem and haw, wink and nod, play with smoke and mirrors, stick our head in the proverbial sand and whistle in the dark (and a bunch of other clichés), all to avoid the tension caused by unvarnished honesty. 

Let me illustrate.  We don’t kill babies; we engage in “planned parenthood.”  People are not deviates or perverts; they choose an “alternative lifestyle.”  We don’t say “Merry Christmas;” we say “Happy Holidays.”  We don’t have city dumps; we have sanitary landfills.  Pornography is referred to as adult movies or adult literature.  People are not crippled; they are disabled or differently-abled.  We don’t have people out of work; they are occupationally challenged.  Euphemisms like these provide a welcomed out to nervous messengers.  They can stay in their smiling, non-confrontational, supportive mode and not be burdened with truth-telling.  Truth just makes people so uncomfortable, you know. 

The “kill the messenger” strategy of dealing with truth-tellers has metastasized throughout our society like a malignant tumor.  In politics, it has polarized the nation into partisan factions.  In economics, it has escalated the fight between capitalism and socialism to a fever pitch.  In social issues—like abortion and sexual orientation—people have abandoned all pretense of dialogue. They simply scream at each other. 

Here’s the problem:  You can kill the messenger, but you can’t kill the message.  John Adams said, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”  Admittedly, we may be powerless to reverse the trend in society at large, but we can definitely change the way we respond to truth-tellers on a personal level.

1.  Listen.  I mean really listen.  Listen to the whole story.  Most of us listen just long enough to figure out the position or attitude of the speaker.  Then, we react.

2.  Don’t be prejudiced.  Don’t attach the speaker to an agenda or a cause until you hear him or her out.  You may be wrong.  Imagine that!

3.  Hear the facts.  Don’t let your own prejudices make you hear something that is actually not being said.  So what if the messenger has an opinion.  You can still cull out the facts from the story.

4.  Be humble.  Admit you own wrongs.  You can either admit wrong now and have time to correct your course, or you can be bull-headed and drive ninety miles an hour into a brick wall.

5.  Don’t cauterize your conscience.  You must remain sensitive to right and wrong and act accordingly if you want to sleep at night. 

Jesus said, “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”  Positive, negative or neutral, truth must be met and processed.  Do it yourself or someone else will do it for you.

Christophobia

(Condensed)

By:  Jeffrey T. Kuhner

(Jeffrey T. Kuhner is a columnist at The Washington Times and president of the Edmund Burke Institute. and the daily host of the “Kuhner Show.”)

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Christianity is dying. It was once the bastion of Western civilization.

The sex-abuse scandal is ravaging the Catholic Church - tarring Pope Benedict XVI himself. The Anglican Church has been eviscerated, losing members as it succumbs to the liberal winds of female ordination and gay rights. Many Protestant denominations are abandoning their beliefs and fervent missionary zeal, embracing chic environmentalism and watered-down socialism as a cheap substitute for the traditional Gospel. Europe, the ancient stronghold of Christendom, has been transformed into a secular neo-pagan culture. For Europeans, God is dead.

The secular tidal wave has overwhelmed America. Since the 1960s, the United States has been the victim of the sexual revolution that glorifies hedonism and personal liberation.

Pornography, abortion, homosexuality, promiscuity, the AIDS epidemic, soaring out-of-wedlock births, sky-rocketing divorce rates and the breakdown of the family. MTV morality is in; Jesus is out.

The war waged by liberals on Christianity, however, has gone to a new, more dangerous level - one bordering on soft totalitarianism. Recently, the city of Davenport, Iowa, removed Good Friday from its municipal calendar. The Davenport Civil Rights Commission sought to change the name of the holiday to one that is less “divisive” and more ecumenical. Hence, a memo was sent to municipal employees stating Good Friday would be officially known as “Spring Holiday.”

“We merely made a recommendation that the name be changed to something other than Good Friday,” said Tim Hart, the commission’s chairman. “Our Constitution calls for separation of church and state..” (The US Constitution?)

After an uproar by outraged Christians, the city council decided to resurrect the name Good Friday. The multicultural secularists in Davenport have been defeated - for now.

The left is determined to extirpate Christian holidays and symbols from our society. Liberals are determined to smash traditional values and drive Christians underground. The American left is following in the shameful - and much more bloody - footsteps of Marxist regimes. Instead of eradicating religious faith through the barrel of a gun, leftists use bureaucratic dictates and mass propaganda.

Christianity is gradually being purged from the public square.

Christmas celebrations have become offensive. “Merry Christmas” is now considered to be politically incorrect; the proper greeting is “happy holidays.” The Ten Commandments cannot be displayed in courtrooms or classes. Prayer has been banished from public schools. Christians are regularly mocked in movies and TV. Taxpayer dollars are used to subsidize “art” that depicts Christ in unflattering ways. Hollywood makes films - such as “Angels and Demons” - portraying the Catholic Church as a repressive, sinister and primitive institution.

Anti-Christian bigotry is the last fashionable hatred. It is easy for Davenport’s Christophobes to pick on Good Friday. What’s the worst that could happen? Angry phone calls and e-mails?

Town-hall meetings? Maybe public protests?

The same standards do not apply to Islam. Davenport’s multiculturalists would never dare to remove say, Ramadan, from the calendar and rename it “Fasting Month” for fear of offending Muslims - and possibly triggering a fatwa.

Self-preservation - and cowardice - dissuades them from attacking certain religions.

Christians, however, are an easy target. They do not believe in jihad or suicide bombing. Unlike radical Islamists, they espouse the rule of law and human rights. They accept persecution - even state-sanctioned persecution - as part of their religious burden. Liberals realize that Christianity is a genuine “religion of peace.” This is why they do not fear systematically smearing it.

The Founding Fathers emphasized that the constitutional republic depended upon a vigorous religious society.

Our Judeo-Christian heritage provides the underpinnings to our constitutional government for one simple reason: It acknowledges the transcendental nature of man. Our fundamental liberties flow from God almighty - not the state.

This is why individual rights - to life, liberty and property - are the essential bulwarks against government power: What God has given, no man - or regime - can take away. Once America loses its Christian identity, it will inevitably lose its freedoms.

Christophobia forms the basis of modern liberalism. Leftist progressives are determined to destroy traditional America and its seminal institutions - the Constitution, capitalism, national sovereignty and the family so they have declared war on Christianity. If Christians do not rise from their apathy, they will be driven into the catacombs once again. And with their defeat comes the end of our great republic.

We must boldly stand against any who attempt to degrade our Christian heritage. We must identify them as practicing one of the last acceptable forms of bigotry and hatred: Christophobia.

Our right to embrace Christ is no less than their right to embrace a perverse lifestyle.