Here's a brief overview of what's going on in my life right now:
Work is stressful. We've been dealing with an aggressive client with some emerging borderline personality disorder characteristics who's presenting some enormously complicated dilemmas to us regarding our ability to adequately manage her or refer her to a different placement. In many ways, we've exhausted our options as far as providing normal treatment is concerned, yet we still have obligations toward this person which are hard to honor due to a lot of aggravation and crisis that she has stirred up. I am on the verge of becoming very bitter about the whole thing, but I want to keep fighting off that temptation.
My teenage children are not very interested in helping out with their share of family chores, which injects a note of strain into my domestic environment.
Music I'm listening to lately:
Derek and the Dominoes - Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights
Bob Dylan - Rolling Thunder Live 1975 Bootleg Series Vol. 5
Willie Nelson - Stardust
Chemical Brothers - Dig Your Own Hole
Wine of the Day - Napa Ridge 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon. Smooth and sweet after my recent exploration of Zinfandels since winter set in.
Last Movie I Saw - Gangs of New York. I liked it, though it's hard for me to believe that people really charged into each other swinging meat cleavers and machetes like they show in the movie. That just seems incredibly brutal and stupid. But perhaps... overall, I think it was an interesting story, and I hope that the DVD has a directors cut version because it seems to me like they skipped some parts in the last half of the movie just to move things along. Amsterdam went from being an outcast to a huge gang leader too quickly and easily. But the riot scene and the final montage were excellent.
Next Movie I Plan to See - Probably Antwone Fisher, though Adaptation is right up there too, and probably Catch Me If You Can as well.
Bible book I'm reading: Galatians, on my own, and we just started reading Isaiah after dinner. That's some pretty strong rebuking Yahweh lays out in chapter one!
Tomorrow I take my youngest son to the orthodontist and my daughter to Grand Valley State University to talk about financial aid.
That's the latest from me!
Thursday, January 16, 2003
Sunday, January 12, 2003
Hey, we are already into the middle of the first month of the year. The pace of time seems to be constantly accelerating.
We are about a week away from celebrating "Martin Luther King Jr. Day." I wonder just how that will turn out. Last year, it dawned on me that this holiday should be more significant for me, at least, seeing how I admire him, work to promote pacifist causes, etc. I think a lot of people remain totally indifferent to the whole thing, if not actively resentful or hostile. But to me, his message speaks directly to the topic of war in Iraq. Some people say that we need a spokesman of his caliber to fully articulate the anti-war message, and that if we had either him or someone of his stature, then maybe we wouldn't be so close to initiating combat. I don't know about that. I doubt that the Bush White House would pay any more heed to him than they do the current advocates of non-violence. And I have my doubts that King would be the celebrated American icon that he's become if he hadn't been assassinated in 1968.
In any case, I think there is a good opportunity here to point out the wider range of King's thought, that it went well beyond civil rights and ending segregation. It's also a good platform to underscore the recent Trent Lott situation, where he got himself in trouble for his comments supporting Strom Thurmond's racist presidential bid back in 1948.
Here's a letter I wrote to the Grand Rapids Press on the MLK topic:
The teachings that Martin Luther King offered our society are always relevant and worth keeping in mind, but the holiday observance of his birthday comes at a timely moment as the USA deals with a possible military offensive against Iraq and potentially violent crises in other parts of the world. Dr. King is popularly regarded as a heroic figure in the efforts to overturn racial segregation, but his legacy extends into other vital aspects of our national concerns as well.
Though voices calling for non-violent solutions to international problems are frequently ridiculed or dismissed in our popular media, I encourage open-minded people to seriously consider King's prophetic challenge to both the powerful and the oppressed. To those blessed with privilege, wealth, and a unique ability to influence the destinies of millions of lives, he issues a call to exercise compassion and to refrain from exploiting others to increase selfish advantage. To those who are hard pressed by circumstances of poverty, prejudice, or other forms of injustice, he warns against succumbing to the temptations of violence, revenge and hatred toward their oppressors. To that majority of citizens "in the middle," between the powerful rich and the poor whose needs are so frequently overlooked, he urges us to stand solidly on the side of justice, mercy and peace, seeking constructive, non-violent and transforming solutions that bring healing to a broken world.
Far from constituting mere lofty rhetoric, King's writings offer substantial, effective guidance toward building a culture that embodies the best of what our country's greatest leaders envisioned. As we now face enormous decisions that put many lives at risk, it's fitting that all Americans pause to reflect on the wisdom and brave example of Martin Luther King and the spiritually-grounded, pacifist ideals that inspired millions and changed the course of history.
We are about a week away from celebrating "Martin Luther King Jr. Day." I wonder just how that will turn out. Last year, it dawned on me that this holiday should be more significant for me, at least, seeing how I admire him, work to promote pacifist causes, etc. I think a lot of people remain totally indifferent to the whole thing, if not actively resentful or hostile. But to me, his message speaks directly to the topic of war in Iraq. Some people say that we need a spokesman of his caliber to fully articulate the anti-war message, and that if we had either him or someone of his stature, then maybe we wouldn't be so close to initiating combat. I don't know about that. I doubt that the Bush White House would pay any more heed to him than they do the current advocates of non-violence. And I have my doubts that King would be the celebrated American icon that he's become if he hadn't been assassinated in 1968.
In any case, I think there is a good opportunity here to point out the wider range of King's thought, that it went well beyond civil rights and ending segregation. It's also a good platform to underscore the recent Trent Lott situation, where he got himself in trouble for his comments supporting Strom Thurmond's racist presidential bid back in 1948.
Here's a letter I wrote to the Grand Rapids Press on the MLK topic:
The teachings that Martin Luther King offered our society are always relevant and worth keeping in mind, but the holiday observance of his birthday comes at a timely moment as the USA deals with a possible military offensive against Iraq and potentially violent crises in other parts of the world. Dr. King is popularly regarded as a heroic figure in the efforts to overturn racial segregation, but his legacy extends into other vital aspects of our national concerns as well.
Though voices calling for non-violent solutions to international problems are frequently ridiculed or dismissed in our popular media, I encourage open-minded people to seriously consider King's prophetic challenge to both the powerful and the oppressed. To those blessed with privilege, wealth, and a unique ability to influence the destinies of millions of lives, he issues a call to exercise compassion and to refrain from exploiting others to increase selfish advantage. To those who are hard pressed by circumstances of poverty, prejudice, or other forms of injustice, he warns against succumbing to the temptations of violence, revenge and hatred toward their oppressors. To that majority of citizens "in the middle," between the powerful rich and the poor whose needs are so frequently overlooked, he urges us to stand solidly on the side of justice, mercy and peace, seeking constructive, non-violent and transforming solutions that bring healing to a broken world.
Far from constituting mere lofty rhetoric, King's writings offer substantial, effective guidance toward building a culture that embodies the best of what our country's greatest leaders envisioned. As we now face enormous decisions that put many lives at risk, it's fitting that all Americans pause to reflect on the wisdom and brave example of Martin Luther King and the spiritually-grounded, pacifist ideals that inspired millions and changed the course of history.
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