I sort of agree with Glenn Beck. We need to restore some honor in this country.
He and I just seem to think we need it in different places.
I think we need to restore honor first of all in journalism, whether print or the big 24/7 television news channels. We need editors and journalists and producers who are committed to the ideals of unbiased investigation, who will resist the temptation to resort to the use of sensationalism and entertainment simply to drive ratings.
We need to restore honor to top level business executives and boards of directors of major companies of all types. For too long, they have honored exclusively their shareholders and forgotten to honor their customers and employees.
We need to restore honor to our political "employees" (I hesitate to call them leaders because they no longer lead). They need to begin to honor the commitment they speak with their mouths, but do not follow with their actions. Politicians need to stop honoring the soundbite, the gotcha, the mudslinging and their largest contributors and start honoring the people they serve.
We need to restore honor to those church going Americans who use their faith as a weapon against others rather than the path of their spiritual journey. We need to restore honor to those who claim to heed the words of Jesus, but speak ill against others.
We need to restore honor to poverty. The poor were Jesus' favorite people. We need to stop disparaging and so cruelly taunting them (bum, welfare queen, etc) and actually get out and help someone. (Quick - name your two favorite organizations that are battling poverty and the devastating effects of being poor - mine are the Nurse-Family Partnership and WINGS).
We need to restore honor to being intellectually gifted. We need to make being smart and insightful and curious about the world and the people in it a wonderful, honorable thing. Those who are so gifted need to stop using their knowledge as a means of boosting ego and begin using it to build understanding.
We need to restore honor to education. Take a teacher to Japan. Have him or her tell a Japanese citizen that he/she is a teacher. Watch the awe and immense respect that the teacher receives. Take a teacher to any American mall and do the same. Most responses will be along the lines of "I couldn't deal with those children all day".
And two more things. One, I looked into the charity that this event is supposed to benefit and it seems to be pretty legit. Other than the top man getting a salary of $200,000 a year, they do seem to have given full scholarships to the children of special forces soldiers who were killed in combat. That's a great thing and this Air Force Brat thanks them.
Two, I'm sorry, but Sarah Palin needs to kiss my grits. I know the rally was supposed to be honoring the military. But her linking her political ideology with her religious views to her raising of a son who is in the military rankled me.
I am a liberal non-theist. I raised a son who is in the military also. Loving and appreciating your country and wanting to serve your fellow citizens is not a conservative Christian value, it is an American value and perhaps Ms. Palin should start honoring that, as well.
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8 comments:
Love this post. Thank you so much!
I am confused by your last statement about Plin. Earlier, you said we should help the poor because Jesus said so. In other words, it's OK to tie your actions and beliefs to your religious beliefs. But when Palin does the same, it's a wrong thing to do.
For the record, I don't like Beck much, because he doesn't seem to know how to present his points without demonizing those who see it differently. But the truth is that many of Beck's critics do exactly the same.
James 1. Palin isn't Jesus. 2. It seemed to me as if she were implying that her son serves because she is a conservative christian and raised him that way. I was just pointing out that all faiths/political beliefs have sent sons and daughters to war.
Janet, that last point is a valid one, but it's besides the one I was making. If I read you right, it's OK to let our faith feed our politics and actions if they involve helping the poor (a point on which I agree, BTW), but not if they lead us into politics which lean toward the Right.
James, with all due respect, I am not going to be drawn into a debate on my views. I have written how I feel in my blog. You can look through and see that I have a little known blog, visited by just a few visitors per day. While I am flattered by Karen's appreciation and linking my post into her much wider world, I am not seeking a tit for tat debate with anyone. Thanks, JanetLee
I am not, either. If anyone were to debate views, left vs. right, I would withdraw. But what I am seeing with this post, and with many I have read in recent months, from both left and Right, is a certain inconsistency. A tendency to point out one of the well-known commentators on the Right (Beck, Coulter, Rush), or the Left (Maher, Olbermann) for their divisive, critical ways, but then engage in that same sort of division with the rest of the post. I'm seeing it a lot these days. I'm asking you, I guess, to help me understand why your comments about Palin's religious views informing her political views are a problem, yet your comment about Jesus and the poor seem to be OK. I don't see how those two things don't clash with each other. I promise you I'm not interested in a fight or tit for tat, but my question is a genuine one
You've made your point, James.
Everyone has heard you.
The lady has informed you of her disinclination to engage.
Let it go.
Did someone just compare Palin with Christ?
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