Super Ad Sunday

Good morning, everyone. As you prob know, unless you live on another planet, today is Super Ad Sunday; that day when we all pay homage to our corporate owners by watching a game played by grown men in short pants for a mythical championship that will be nothing but a historical footnote in short order. It is every American's civic duty to devour all the ads during said game and then go out and buy mountains of their products. After all, we wouldn't won't any of our corporate bosses starving to death, now would we?

And while you're at it, please say a little prayer for the health and well-being of all their workers in China as well, amen.

Tebow Time

Comes now the new football player, Tim Tebow; and a splendid warrior is he. Much has been said about his physical attributes, and about whether he is suited to play his current position, quarterback, or would he be a better fit somewhere else on the team (tight end has been mentioned)? However, regardless of where he plays, he is a fierce presence in the game he has chosen. Or, perhaps Mr. Tebow would say the game was chosen for him…

Whatever.

Lately, much more has been made about his sideline attitude, in which he kneels and places himself in a position of supplication to the Lord. Many have made this a focal point of discussions about him, and it has become a national fad, primarily among young people, to imitate him through a phenomenon now known as “Tebowing”, wherein one kneels and presumable prays wherever they might be at the time; public or private.

This phenomenon leads one, myself included, to have several thoughts about the matter. In the Bible, in Matthew 6.6; it says that you should pray “in private”, or “in secret”, depending on which version of the Bible you are reading. Bear in mind, of course, that biblical verses are subject to many translations; verses written in one place are often contradicted in another place. Suffice to say, you can use the Bible to back up most any assertations you might make; in the same way that statistics are used. I prefer a literal translation; but hey, that’s just me, you do what you want.

That Mr. Tebow uses the sidelines of a playing field in a very public setting doesn’t bother me so much anyway. What does bother me is wondering about the context of his prayers. Is he praying for peace, or for help for the needy, or for an end to the jealousies of mankind? Or, is he praying for excellence on the football field, or for victory, or for the admiration of his peers? If, in fact, he is praying for the latter three, my friends, then he is a hypocrite and not worthy of emulation.

Football, after all, is just a game; a carry-over from our childhood days; we just wear bigger pants now. Not only is it just a game, it is a game based on the precepts of war, if you will. In short, it is hardly a reflection of true Christian values. If you are looking to find God on the football field, you are looking in the wrong place.

It would be wrong of me to assume what his prayers are about; however, given the setting of his poses and prayers, I have to wonder. But, that is a question only Mr. Tebow can answer, and we can only hope for the best. Ultimately, he alone will have to pay the price for the content of his heart…

Yep, Were Lazy All Right...

Yep, Were Lazy All Right...

Much has been made lately about President Obama's taken-out-of-context statement about us, as Americans, becoming “lazy”. Although it would appear to me, after reading the statements made, that he was referring more to the business sector than he was to our citizens, I say that he should have been referring to us!

It would not be a distortion of the truth for him to say such.

For it seems to me, that that is exactly what has happened in this country today; we are just flat-ass lazy, and it's getting worse. It matters not what the latest bickering in congress is about, because we have the power to change all that, if we just would.

Please don't tell me about how hard you work at your job, or how innovative you have been. That's not what the problem is, and it's not what we are talking about here.

Here's an innovation for you: how about showing up to vote? According to the US Census Bureau, in the presidential election of 2008, only 64% of eligible voters cast their ballot. Some of you may look at that number and say, “Hmmm, well...that's not so bad”. You are right. That is not “so bad”, it is absolutely TERRIBLE!

It is not that far removed from being a government by minority, instead of majority, vote. In my opinion, there is no reason why that statistic should not say 90% instead of 64%.

Hang your excuses, you have avenues available to you to cast your ballot, even if you are going to be out of the country on election day. The only valid excuse I can even think of is to be so ill that you can't go out, but it is my belief that on any given day at least 90% of us are healthy enough to exercise our rights.

It is my fervent hope that someday voting will be so easy and the public so well informed of the options available, that voting will soar close to 100% participation. I have high hopes for the internet in that regard, the day is coming when nearly everyone, rich or poor, will have online access. May that day arrive quickly.

Until then, take my word for it, you are just plain lazy; and everyone else that neglects their right to vote, is just like you.

Thoughts About Penn State

Thoughts About Penn State...

We dream, and we dream about myriad things, both good and bad.

We dream in colors, we dream in shadows, we dream of persons and places we both know and don't know, simultaneously.

Sometimes, we dream of places we've been in other dreams, multiple times. Usually, this makes us happy; sometimes, not.

Occasionally, when we dream, we have power and are in control; submissive people walk around us, aware and afraid, but yet – not fleeing.

We dream we take advantage of these situations, and force our wills upon them. We feel no remorse; they are ours, and we can do with them what we will.

Some of us remember our dreams, some of us don't; it doesn't matter. They are stuck with us forever, either subconsciously or consciously, or both. They never leave, they are always there; in many ways like the person that loses a foot, but still feels it there constantly.

Often, we are haunted by our dreams; they carry over into our waking hours, a constant little itch under our skin. They are things we wish to carry out in our real lives, like breaking par at the golf course or getting a date with that “really hot” new person at work. Perhaps we will hit the lottery and retire to the Islands. Not often, but sometimes, these dreams come true, most likely aided by the fact that we desire them so much.

But...sometimes we dream of evil things, gross things, things that people in a normal society just don't do. Unfortunately...sometimes those dreams come true too!

When they do, we most likely didn't want them to come true, but still, we reap the “rewards” from them unashamedly. We do that, even though we know that someday there will be hell to pay.

Just ask Jerry Sandusky and his enablers at Penn State, they know...now.

The Book Burning

Comes now a self-ordained minister from out of the South; his name is Jerry/James/Pat/David/Jimmy/Al/, whatever; just pick one, it doesn’t make any difference. He proposes to burn a book; the name of the book doesn’t matter, it is just a book.
Of more import are his reasons for burning the book. He does so to claim his fifteen minutes of fame supposedly given to us all, perhaps thinking that his fame will last longer than that, and that he would become a leader to everyone.

He does so under the guise of catchwords such as patriotism, and christianism, and human rights. He does so without mention of hatred, and prejudice.

He would have us pull oars on the good ship Ignorance, piloted by him and at his whim. The oars have names; fear, loathing, arrogance, stupidity, greed, et al.

Does he have the right to burn a book if he wishes? Of course, he does, the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression is paramount of all the rights we enjoy. The question is not that he has the right, rather, it is, is he right to do so?

In my opinion, he is wrong, his methods are wrong, and he attempts to make fools of us all through his actions. The burning of books has been quite the rage at various times in the history of humankind; in no instance has it ever served the people well.

He acts out of fear, not out of righteousness; what he does not understand he would separate himself from it by burning the offending object, instead of trying to understand it.

He is arrogant; he would have us accept his words without reading the words of others.

He has forgotten that humankind should exist together, not apart.

He is stridently militaristic, for if he burns this book, might your book not be the next?

He is supposedly a man of God, but he rides on the Devil’s ship of false prophets; ambiguously leading us into self-destruction.

All of this he does for a few headlines on a news page. I feel sorrow for him, and even more so for the flock he attends; do not become one of them.

The burning of a book, any book, represents a step backward in our history. Hold your books, and the books of all others, dear to you. They represent a literary trail of the passage of time in our little universe; to destroy them is to destroy ourselves, whether we believe what is written on their pages, or not.

THE ARIZONA PROBLEM

Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010--IN THE NEWS: THE ARIZONA PROBLEM

The folks in Arizona, both good and bad, seem to by having a problem with their southern border. You know, the one they share with the country of Mexico. So much so, that their state legislature recently passed a law giving those entrusted with the duty of enforcing the law “more tools” in the perceived “war” against illegal immigration. While I am sure that those who support the new law’s intentions are good, well meaning people, we all know what the road to hell is paved with, don’t we? Once you have given a dog a bone, you’d best be careful how you retrieve it.

Before we delve any deeper into this problem, let me assure you that I am not without experience in this matter. I lived in both Tucson and Phoenix, spending about three years there between the two, and I lived in Flagstaff for about six months. Additionally, I’ve spent some time in New Mexico (much more that a vacation’s worth), and, of course, I was born in and continue to live in the Great State of Texas; as the politicos are fond of calling it. All three of these are border states; therefore, I have a life of experience of living with our Mexican brothers. After due consideration and drawing on my experiences here and there, I have come to the following conclusion: the Arizona law is plainly just wrong-headed, and serves no useful purpose.

For one thing, there are laws already on the books that cover the situation; new laws are not needed, the old one’s either need to be enforced, or changed to something easier to enforce. You can argue that enforcement by the feds has been lacking, but you can also argue that state’s laws can never supersede federal law. Didn’t we engage in a war one time, humorously known as the “civil war” (has there ever been any such thing as a civil war?), that was, in part at least, caused by the notion that a state could write laws contrary to the wishes of the federal government? Then, there’s that other thing; the matter of the rights of our citizens. District Judge Susan Bolton was correct when she wrote that it is likely that law-abiding citizens of this country will be detained against their will while their immigration status is being checked (this quote is not verbatim, but the meaning is the same). In other words, citizens will be deprived of their right to go about their business in the pursuit of their happiness, in a free manner. We must ask ourselves this question; do we really want a law that will obstruct our liberty? It is my hope this will become a moot question; for, once the arguments pro and con make it to the Supreme Court, the law will be ruled unconstitutional. This is as it should be, in my opinion.
I can only wonder, however, how this law ever came to be in the first place. Can the people of Arizona not see what they are doing to themselves? In their haste to keep illegal immigrants out of their state, are they really willing to give up one of their essential liberties? (insert any quote by Benjamin Franklin here) What will happen if their law is allowed to stand and be enforced? The answer is as old as slavery itself.

People with brown skin will be endangered in Arizona, whether they are here legally or not; whether they are citizens or not. I am no great shakes as an odds player, but I will take less-than-even odds that no white people will be stopped. Clear-cut cases of racial profiling will be abundant; ask any of your black friends about that. In Arizona, it will be even worse, because they will be able to deport any illegals they find, without due process of law. At least the black folks can’t be deported; they, for the most part, are citizens. And, if mistakes are made? Well, shoot, who’s to know? That’s another thing I’ll take less-than-even odds on; the police departments in Phoenix and Tucson won’t be running out into the streets to shout out any mistakes that they’ve made.

Let us remember that all of our families were immigrants to this country, not a single one of us can claim the USA as a birthright. The only indigenous people we have are the Native Americans, and we have treated them shamefully through the years. Not only do we continue to treat them shamefully, we are attempting to add blacks and Mexicans to the list as well. That’s some track record we have, folks, yessiree. I, for one, can’t find a whole lot there of which to be proud.

Ladies and gentlemen of Arizona, let’s come to our senses, shall we? Let’s quit acting as if the world is coming to an end (it’s not), and find a better way. Our neighbors to the south, the Mexicans, are here to stay, and they are not going to just disappear; no matter how many homophobic laws you enact. You can’t build and supervise enough fences to keep us apart, so you’d best learn to live with life the way it is. Don’t let your over-blown self-importance destroy you; you are most assuredly not the only people on the planet.

Else, the Natives may decide to build their own fence, and deport all of us from THEIR country! You know what? If that were to happen, I’d bet you’d find that you like Mexico a whole lot more than you thought…

Brazos Mason