Sarah Palin and Conventional Wisdom

Sarah Plain’s decision to leave office in Alaska has aptly highlighted the irony of "conventional wisdom."

I've got news for all the media pundits, Washingtonian elites and beltway political junkies, who walk in lock-step with each other, their mediocrity ricocheting like images on a mirror, with about as much reality as an amusement park fun house.

I pity this self-absorbed, arrogant class of bland uninteresting pundits for they have lost the ability to think and thereby intuit creatively.

Sarah Palin is not one of them, there is a profound difference in her; the public sees it plain as day but it totally eludes the elites. They are blind as bats here. In some respect, its laughable, however, with the state of our country, the critical stakes for the future in mind, on another level, it is extremely disconcerting.

To put it simply, one need only go back to another unconventional soul, Henry David Thoreau. Sarah Palin's personhood "beats to the beat of a different drummer," and this is exactly what makes her hated by the left and misunderstood and underestimated by elites on the Right.

However, to be a "real" leader, not a badly orchestrated facade, like Obama, the ability to "think outside the box," to incorporate a certain, spiritually guided risk into one's existence and bravely act on it, is more than an eccentricity, it is a necessity.

Risk, by definition requires a potential cost. As we celebrate July 4th this weekend, I am reminded of what many of the soldier's under George Washington's seemingly hopeless cause answered, when their peers, who thought it safer to stay within the folds of King George, asked them why they chose to stay and fight, with little food, no uniforms, few weapons and rampant diseaase? Their answers, revealed in extant letters, was simple; this man has risked everything, including his fortune, his honor and his life for the cause of freedom; "I cannot abandon a man who has so courageously put everything on the line." George Washington risked, his heart heard a distant drummer; this is the sign of a real leader!

From a theological perspective, one need only look at the story of the Jesus at the well with the Samaritan woman. The conventional wisdom of the day was that Jews should have no contact whatsoever with Samaritans. The history went back centuries, but basically, Samaritan’s were considered apostates and “untouchables.” It went so far that Jews would not even take a road through Samaritan territory, instead traveling for miles out of their way for the sake of avoidance.

It was the hottest part of the day when this woman went to draw water. One did not endanger himself this way ordinarily. The cooler hours of morning or evening were far more typical, unless, of course, one was an outcast, even in Samaritan society.

She did not want to be seen by respectable people. What an irony! She comes upon God incarnate. Not only does Our Lord speak with her, in spite of her own sarcasm toward Him, but He lays bare His own divinity by telling her every detail about her life. Furthermore, he shares with this complete societal outcast the secret of true wisdom. True wisdom is not like this water which quenches thirst for the moment. On the contrary, true wisdom is like a fountain forever brimming over to eternal life. He explains to her that God seeks those who will worship “in spirit and in truth, for God is spirit.” In other words, worship has nothing to do with conventional wisdom, it has only to do with truth.

Conventional wisdom and truth have nothing to do with each other, one speaks to reality, the other to a mirage. It is deadly to a creative life, to leadership and to vision. And, it is not the stuff that motivated men like our founding fathers nor laid the cornerstone of freedom for this great nation.

I don't know what will become of Sarah Palin, but I have confidence that whatever, path her life takes she will be just fine. Why? Because she has already demonstrated in her life's choices that she is a free and independent thinker, she is not afraid of risk but feels more comfortable fighting against conventional wisdom than rushing headlong with it. She is creative, courageous and unafraid. In a word, she is a leader.

God's speed Sarah, whether you are one day President or not!

Courage/"Do you also want to leave Me?"

This has been a rough week for truth.  The signs of the times are looking dismal; just this week Katherine Sebelius was whizzed through the confirmation process, a nightmare for the lives of the innocent in their mother's wombs.

Janet Napolitano, another radical, who seemed not the least bit cognizant of her irrational responses to the possibility of closing down the border with Mexico until we could get a handle on this brand new virus creeping into our country, went on TV spouting the administration's line.

Justice Seuter announced his coming resignation...Spector changed parties...illustrating a completely transparent motive of ultimate self-interest, in maintaining the good life that power in Washington undeniably engenders.

Eric Holder went to Germany to announce that he has plans for releasing Gitmo terrorists into our country.  Never mind his own country's citizens concerns over such idiotsy!

And all the while, Obama continues his appalling fast track to the radical left, leaving the unborn and all other American values for which our bravest have fought and died, littered, like trash, all over the ground on which, he,  the "Messiah" walks.

Yes, we, as Christians are becoming marginalized, we are heading for a period in the wilderness, of relatively no political power...this will be a time for testing our love of, Truth Himself, Our Blessed all loving Lord, Jesus.  

We must not fail Him!

In the midst of all this chaos, which turning away from God engenders, there have been those who hold up the model of courage, a mantle we must take upon ourselves.

Today's Gospel in the Catholic Lectionary is John 6, starting about verse 22.  It is one of the few times when Jesus places a very concrete demand on his diciples.  It appears to most of them to be scandalous, and it tests their faith to the very core.  In order to stay with Jesus, they will need to abandon all conventional wisdom and give truth all the trust they can muster, however weak their souls. 

There is courage to be had in this incident but Jesus apears willing to lose every single one of His followers to uphold His Word.

Jesus, who usually teaches in parables, mades a very literal statement, with no excuses, no chance to rationalize, either accept it or reject it, no middle ground here.  He doesn't chase after those who walk away saying," wait, I didn't mean that literally, only figuratively.  Come back." 

No, He was willing to embrace the agony of their desertions.

He says, "I am the Bread of Life...in truth, in very truth I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of God, and drink His blood, you have no life in you....my flesh is real food, my blood is real drink,...whoever eats this bread will not die but live forever."  My quote is very truncated, Jesus devotes alot of time and words to this very concrete admonition.

As one might expect, this was "the straw to break the camels back" for most of His diciples.  Murmering and arguing erupted among them all, "how can this be?"  There must be some other meaning, it must be figurative.

Yet, Our Lord did not back down one bit.  As many of his followers began to separate themselves and walk away, Our Lord, looked to His twelve closest followers.  The pathos in his question to them breaks my heart.

To me, His transparent glory, His pure agape love, His will to be ultimately vulnerable toward His children shines through like a beacon.  He directs His attention to his most intimate friends and these words come from His mouth...

"Do you also want to leave Me?"

He is willing to be forsaken by every last one of those He loves opening Himself up to utter rejection, so important is this to Him.

Simon Peter is filled with courage, it hangs from every passionate word he utters in response.  He responds in kind to his Beloved, to his God.  "Lord, to whom should we go?  Your words hold eternal life.  Peter doesn't care a wit about anything in the world, he has surrendered his soul to Jesus.  

Courage.  There will come a defining moment for every Christian when he becomes aware of that fork in the road and he must take "the road less travelled."

So, who gave us examples of this kind of courage this week, in our own time? 

 Mary Ann Glendon, former Ambassador to the Vatican wrote a letter to Notre Dame University, articulating with courage and wisdom, why she will not accept the award for which she had been invited; the University, she states, has left Our Lord by its actions in rewarding Obama when he fights for infanticide around the world.  The University has walked away from Our Lord just as those many diciples separated themselves from Him 2000 years ago.  She will stand with Peter.  Her mantle will be courage born of love for Jesus.  (http://www.firstthings.com/blog/2009/04/27/declining-notre-dame-a-letter-from-mary-ann-glendon/)

And, please read Andrew McCarthy's letter to Eric Holder, rejecting the invitation he received to be a token member of a panel, which will be used to release Gitmo detainees. (http://www.lgstarr.blogspot.com/2009/05/mccarthy-beautiful-mind-just-says-no.html)  

He articulates the truth, defending the values for which every one of our soldiers has fought and sacrificed their lives for; honestly characterizing Holder's actions for the antithetical "sacrilege" that they are.  He will not be a part of that....instead he will bear the mantle of truth, however unpopular the repercussions.

Holiness can come out of the wilderness...just when the Roman Empire thought it had extinguished Christianity forever, a young Constantine, about to see a vision of the cross, upended the entire western world by making Christianity the crown of western civilization.

Again, the pagan, secular world is feeling their power, they can taste victory:  we must cling to our Beloved in humility and He will adorn us as "the lillies of the field," we will not lack for the courage needed.  

May St. Michael and all the Choirs of angels assist us in the wilderness as they assisted God Himself!

Demographics/No children, no wealth for America

http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=6564

Please go to this link and read this article; everybody in America needs to read it.  

What is the number one issue young conservatives should push in the coming years?  We have got to have more children!  And, we have to provide BIG tax advantages for people who are willing to take on the responsibility of raising the next generation. 

David Goldman explains, in economic terms, why our economy is dithering toward depression, and the only hope to turn this sinking ship around.  

Tea Party Day a Great Success/A Gathering Storm

As soon as I got home from work I turned on the TV and my laptop, in reverse order.

Of course, Fox News Channel was the only media outlet covering the cultural event of the day.  

I lived through the 60's protests, and, of course, the more recent leftest groups filled with paid rebels funded by the likes of Acorn and George Soros.  Never have I seen Americans rise up across this nation like happened today.

These were traditional, hard working, ordinary Americans; the umbrella under which they stood was the banner of freedom, personal responsibility, faith in God and love of everything this country has stood for since our founding.

Then I turned the channel to EWTN and watched some of the Installation Mass of the new Archbishop of New York, Timothy M. Dolan.  

A few minutes earlier, I had come across a piece on the web about Governor Paterson of New York, initiating the process to legalize gay marriage in the state.  The same article made the additional point that the new Archbishop, Timothy Dolan, had just made a comment today that he would actively oppose any attempt to legitimize gay marriage in New York.  

Governor Patterson happens to be one of the honored guests at tonights ecclesiastical installation.   The visual scene provided an interesting dichotomy.

While watching the Mass in the majesty of St. Patrick's Cathedral, framed by the ancient liturgical beauty of the ceremony, the camera spanned the congregation and there was Governor David Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg...politely clapping, revealing rather somber expressions.

An uneasy spiritual feeling crept over me;   two simultaneous pictures before my eyes; the masses of Americans preparing to democratically fight to bring back the America they have known and loved all their lives, the Catholic Church about to appoint a conservative pro-active Archbishop of New York, prepared to fight for the Church's stance on social issues on one side, and the Governor of New York, hoards of far left  Obama "kool aid" drinkers at his back, along with undeniably radical Administration appointees, on the other side; it was almost like waiting for the curtain to rise on some great Shakespearean tragedy.   

It had a medeival feel about it...there is a grave seriousness on both sides and the cultural differences could not be more antithetical.

The sides are gathering, everyone will eventually have to choose, I am lining up with the Tea Party folks.  May God Bless this country and give us wisdom.

  

"The Hound of Heaven"// No wisdom in Newsweek

It is Good Friday.

At this moment, as I write this sentence, the Roman Church is celebrating the Stations of the Cross in Rome, Italy.  Where is this liturgy taking place?  In the ruins of the Roman Coliseum, where Christians by the thousands were torn apart by lions, wild beasts, victims of the most henious acts of violence. 

Yes, The Roman Coliseum is where Christianity died.

Fast forward through history and one finds Nietzsche declaring the death of God in his philosophy.  Ironically, his own sister was a nun.

Yes,  modern philosophy is where Christianity died.

Then, in 1966, Time magazine graced its cover with the headline:  "Is god dead?"  Then 3 years later the same magazine had to retract slightly with a different cover: "Is God coming back to life?"

And, now, again, this week during Holy Week, Newsweek's cover declares the decline of Christianity. It is too archaic for our times, we are too enlightened now, it is miserably, irrefutably politically incorrect.  It cannot compete with our new gods, the god of "tolerance," "relativism," and "secularism."  

Yes,  the 21st century is where God died.

On Good Friday, we enter into, the first time Christianity died, on a cross, outside the walls of Jerusalem.   Deicide.   The historical record since that dark day has nothing new to tell us.   

Three days later, the unquenchable fire that is Being Itself, reconstituted life...the resurrection, "trampling down death, by death."  Oh, no, creation, I live, and I will hound you to your last breath so that you may be lifted up with Me to life eternal.  

I remember watching the movie, Jesus of Nazareth, years ago.  I particularly liked one line a Roman soldier says at the end of the movie after entering the empty tomb..."now it begins..."

Jesus is the truth, the way and the life; He is life.  Truth will not die...because truth is not a trend, a philosophy, even a religion.  Truth is a Person.  There is no being, no creation, nothing, without the loving will of Being Itself.

Sometime "google" the poem by Francis Thompson, "The Hound of Heaven."  I find it captures the essence of a love so enamored with his creation that He tracks us down in every silent crevice of our existence...He lives.

G. K. Chesterton said of his poem:

"That is the primary point of the work of Francis Thompson; even before its many colored pageant of images and words.  The awakening of the Domini Canes, the Dogs of God, meant that the hunt was up once more; the hunt for the souls of men; and that religion of that realistic sort was anything but dead...In any case it was an event of history as much as an event of literiture, when personal religion returned with something of the passion of Dante, the Dies Irae, after a century when such religion had seemed to grow more weak and provincial, and more and more impersonal religions appeared to possess the future.  And those who best understand the world know that the world has changed,and that the hunt will continue until the world turns to bay."

"I fled Him down the nights and down the days,

I fled Him down the arches of the years,

I fled Him down the labyrinth of ways,

of my own mind, and in the midst of tears.....

All that which I took from Thee, I did but take,

Not for thy harms,

But only that thou might seek it in my arms.

All which thy child's mistake,

Francis, as lost,

I have stored for thee at home.

"Rise, clasp my hand, and come.....

I am He whoc though seekest!

There is much more.  Find this poem and give yourself to it for a moment.  You will see God is not dead, He continues to hound our every moment with His love.

Alleluia, Christ is risen indeed.

The "inviolability" of the "person"/This is truth minus the dross!

Ken Connor has written a great piece on Townhall regarding the Notre Dame invitation to Obama...

The salient point here is the kernal of pure truth in the assertion made by John Paul II:

"The inviolability of the person which is a reflection of the absolute inviolability of God, finds its primary and fundamental expression in the inviolability of human life."  

Here is his piece:

http://townhall.com/columnists/KenConnor/2009/04/05/obamamania_infects_notre_dame

Thomas Sowell/A mind of easy discernment

Thomas Sowell is one of those people who does not become confused and even momentarily lured off the course of truth by conventional wisdom.  He has another article today about our "Rookie President," which is right on target.

Read it here...

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ODk5M2I3YWI2NTU2ZGZjZDBjMGVjNTVkZGQwNWI5ZTg=

I watched the Disney movie, Pinocchio, with my grandson this weekend.  Boy, was he glad to see that whale, finally sneeze!

It reminded me of how easy it is to become enticed with that which takes us off the course of truth, just as little Pinocchio was lured by the shiny bauble, following it to near disaster.  

There are others in the media who fall prey to the conventional thought "kool aid" of the day and then as often as not stumble back to the original truth, in time.  Many conservatives serve as examples of this, like Bill O'Reilly, who remains so impressed by Obama's style, on many subjects he just can't pick out the truth and highlight it; look also at people like Peggy Noonan, who wrote speeches for another man who could easily discern the truth with his gut, Ronald Reagan; she has been a disaster...whether it's Washington elitism or just confusion of thought, she has been ensnared by Obama's "style."

It's not difficult to see how people such as Hitler came to have such power and why "discernment" is so fundamental, especially in times like these.  Even within the walls of the church one is confronted with this secular relativism, like the catholic church, in its refusal to face the ethical repercussions of its own illegal alien policy. or, for example, many evangelicals who have rationalized the core "life" issue, justifying a vote for Obama on such flimsy grounds as environmentalism or social justice concerns, equating these with the Ontological truth of the Trinity.

I think Rush Limbaugh is pretty good at staying focused as well, evidenced by today's video of his show, where he discusses Obama's inner anger, a major psychological motivator of his behavior.  Don't think there's not a strong element of Rev. Wright in Obama and Michelle.

Sometimes I wish we could just look for growing mule ears or tails or noses on these media types!  Instead we have to exercise our God given rational faculty, and humbly seek the truth in love.  "Seek and ye shall find," the "Pure in Heart will see God," "Where your heart is, there will  you treasure be..."

God help us to stay on the path of truth, not to be lured away by smooth rhetoric or externals.  Where we find truth, let us cling to it, for its sake alone; always at the ready to depart from that which is not truth, no matter the comfort of the context in which it is presented.  Let "truth" and truth alone be my master; teach me, like Michaelangelo sculpted, to chaff away the dross in every circumstance, and reveal the living everlasting Truth.

Pinocchio has some important moral lessons...time with my grandchildren is never wasted time.

God Bless our children!