B179. Never Forget

Billions chose to ignore the evidence and believe his televised denials that it was happening. Others agreed with his propaganda that everyone who didn't follow his ideologies should be exterminated. Many who saw the evil were afraid if they spoke out they would also be killed.

 
First Communists were targeted, and Social Democrats and Trade Unionists. Jehovah's Witnesses because they refused to take an oath of obedience to him. Gay males. Freemasons. Disabled. Gypsies, Blacks, Polish, Slovenes, Serbs, Russians, Ukrainians, Spanish Republicans, and especially Jews because he considered all of these groups threats or racially inferior to his own.

Their property/land was taken. They were forced into slave labor, sex slavery, medical experimentation, concentration camps, the gas chamber . . . 6 million Jews alone, and an estimated additional 11 million from these other groups, tortured and exterminated between 1941-1945 under the commands of one evil and power-hungry man.

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, that we never ever forget what one man is capable of doing when a culture loses its soul to politics.


Love one another, for love is of God. Those who love know God, and those who do not love do not know God. (1John 4:7-8)


Reread, my friend, aloud this time. You and I are writing tomorrow's history with our voices and choices.

(Yellow star image from Wiikipedia)

B178. Separating Prejudice, Discrimination, and Racism

 Distinguishing between similar words is one of the best, fastest, and easiest ways to stretch our minds. Think with me about Prejudice, Discrimination, and Racism.

Prejudice is a negative judgment against a particular group of people before getting to know them: maybe because of their race or religion or political leaning, maybe because of what they wear, or their last name . . . Prejudice is individual, learned, and born out of fear and lack of understanding. All humans have some kind of prejudice. We are taught our prejudices, and we can work at unlearning them.

Discrimination is action taken toward our prejudice. Discrimination can be individual, like choosing not to sit with a Muslim on the bus or the girl in the wheelchair in the lunchroom; or it can be action taken by a group, on a small or large scale. Not all discrimination is about race, and not all racial discrimination is racism.

Racism is discrimination that is embodied in a power structure, like laws about housing, or the court system, voting, or education; or misuse of power, like refusing to hire the most qualified applicant for top administration because she's black, or bad cops, or white supremacy organizations - a power structure that is designed to hold back or to intimidate a particular segment of the population. The term racism only applies when discrimination is combined with power. A member of an oppressed minority might harbor prejudice toward the group that's oppressing them, but, because they don't have the power to make or enforce rules over their oppressors, their prejudice does not qualify as racism. Racism is power based, intentional, and often woven into our societal structures and systems.

B177. Epiphany

 For those of us who follow the Gregorian calendar, today is Epiphany, the commemoration of the magi visiting baby Jesus. In English tradition, Epiphany is the day after the twelve days of Christmas, and the day after the Twelfth Night, immortalized by the Shakespeare play.

Epiphany is traditionally the gift giving day in several cultures, because it was the magi who brought gifts. Children traditionally set out shoes with hay for the magi’s camels on Twelfth Night, and on Epiphany morning, the shoes are filled with small gifts.

The word epiphany means a sudden revelation or understanding. As a teacher, I love to witness those special lightbulb moments when a student all of a sudden understands something life-changing. Epiphanies are life-changing, because they can change the way we have always thought about something. This can be painful sometimes, but also wonderful.

I wish us all a year of epiphanies!

B176. Personal Inventory 2023

The headline story of my 2023 is a continuation of last year's highlight: the publication of my Childress Cousins book. 2023 was a year of several book-related events including: book signings at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History and Pages Books & Coffee in Mount Airy, NC, and the Mayberry Trading Post in Mayberry, VA; book talks at a Bob Childress history event in Ararat, VA, and a Surry County Genealogical event at the Mount Airy Public Library; and a family reunion where I got to meet one branch of Childress cousins. (You can watch parts of the Bob Childress even here: Remembering Rev. Bob Childress.)

Church

2023 marked my 11th year at First Presbyterian. My church activity this year focused on three main areas: Outlook Sunday School of which I serve as one of five rotating leaders, Stephen Ministry, and the Race Task Force.

As a Stephen Leader, I helped train a new class of Stephen Ministers, my second group. Stephen training is intense, meeting weekly for 2 1/2 hours at a time for about six months, then being commissioned by the church and joining the other Stephen Ministers for twice-a-month meetings. In addition to serving as a Stephen Leader, I also served as a caregiver for much of the year.

With the Race Task Force, I participated in four book discussion groups, a social event, a couple of meetings (when the time didn't conflict with Stephen Ministry), a one-month group about race and spirituality, and an overnight trip to Monticello in Charlottesville, VA.

Travels

Other than regular trips to VA, my travels were few and brief in 2023: the Carolina coast, Monticello, a spiritual retreat at Well of Mercy in Hamptonville, NC, and a book-related getaway to Cana, Ararat, and Meadows of Dan, VA.

 

Writing

I journaled regularly, but otherwise did little writing this year. I wrote an article, which was published in the Salisbury Post and on a local political website, about the Barbie movie, and I wrote several blog posts, which mostly originated as Facebook posts. (You can read the Barbie article here: Barbie, the Movie)

Leisure

For enjoyment: I attended the Salisbury Symphony's Serenading Pianos, the Phoenix Readers' "Hear Me Roar: A Celebration of Women," and a conversation with one of my she-roes, Sister Simone Campbell of the "nuns on the bus," at the South Main Book Company. I met a friend for weekly walks in Hurley Park. I played Words With Friends and Puzzle Page, worked a couple of jigsaw puzzles and my first Lego project, Hedwig the owl. And oh, how I looked forward to monthly Trivia Night with my team "The Brainy Bunch"!

 

Other Highlights

I trained as a poll worker and worked during the October early voting, trained and joined Public School Strong, and joined Women for Community Justice. I attended Board of Elections and Board of Education meetings. I volunteered as a Lee Street Theatre greeter and was a "book" at RCCC's two Living Library events.

 

Health

I continue to deal with torticollis (involuntary neck turn) but do find relief through OMT and yoga. I also still use a left leg brace when walking distances.

The most challenging has been a continuation of the digestive issues that began mid-2022, causing me to throw up periodically. I apparently have a severe allergy to anything dairy, and also need to avoid anything fried, processed, or containing peanuts, and I eat very little sugar. I am learning to eat at home, but eating away from home can be difficult.

I averaged 34 minutes per day (210 hours total) of intentional exercise, consisting mainly of walking, exercise machines, and twice-a-week stretch & balance class (yoga) to which I always looked forward.

Books

I read or listened to 67 books this year, listed here in the order of their publication. Those listed in bold print are especially recommended, and those in red, even more so. Libby, through which I listen to audiobooks, is still my favorite app. Harry Potter was a recurring theme this year in books, a puzzle, and a Legos project, as were black literature and biographies.

The Souls of Black Folk (W.E.B. Dubois, 1903, audio) essays: history, poetry, storytelling at its best

The Good Earth (Pearl Buck, 1931, audio) historical fiction; life of landowner in Chinese village

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret (Judy Blume, 1970, repeat, audio) fiction, 12-yr-old girl

Stephen Minister Training Manual Volume 1 (1978, repeat) nonfiction

Kindred (Octavia Butler, 1979, audio) historical fiction, time travel, slavery

Christian Caregiving: A Way of Life (Kenneth C. Haugk, 1984, repeat) nonfiction

Maus I (Art Spiegelman, 1986) graphic novel: bio of a Jewish Holocaust survivor

Beloved (Toni Morrison, 1987, audio) novel about a black family after Civil War

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Gregory McGuire, 1995, audio) fiction

Are You Out There, God? (Sister Mary Rose McGeady, 1996) abandoned children and Covenant House

The Islander (Cynthia Rylant, 1998) youth fiction: loneliness, love, death, dog, mermaid

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky, 1999, audio) youth coming of age novel

Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix (JK Rowling, 2003, audio) 5th in series; Dolores Umbridge

Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince (JK Rowling, 2005, audio) 6th in series; horcruxes, Dumbledore, Snape

Black America Series: Around Surry County (Evelyn Scales Thompson, 2005) nonfiction

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows (JK Rowling 2007, audio) 7th/final in series, horcruxes & deathly hallows

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Rebecca Skloot, 2010, audio) cells science with a human face

The Kitchen House (Kathleen Grissom, 2010, audio) white servant girl living with slaves, fiction

The New Jim Crow (Michelle Alexander, 2010, audio) mass incarceration, drug war, nonfiction

Between Shades of Gray (Ruta Sepetys, 2011, audio) novel, teen girl, WWII genocide of Baltic people

Transition (Chaz Bono, 2011, audio) autobiography

Quiet (Susan Cain, 2012, audio) nonfiction, introverts

A Nun on the Bus (Sister Simone Campbell, 2014) autobiography

The Hired Girl (Laura Amy Schlitz, 2015, audio) fiction set about 1911; class, Judaism, religion, teen girl

Accidental Saints (Nadia Bolz-Weber, 2015, audio) an inspirational & possibly offensive memoir 

The Other Einstein (Marie Benedict, 2016, audio) historical fiction, Einstein’s wife

Frontier Grit (Marianne Monson, 2016, audio) biographies of 12 frontier women

Glory Over Everything (Kathleen Grissom, 2016, audio) sequel to The Kitchen House

Harry Potter & the Cursed Child (Jack Thorne, 2016) play script set 19 yrs after Rowling series

Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter (Kate Clifford Larson, 2016, audio) biography

The Liberal Redneck Manifesto (Crowder, Forrester, Morgan, 2017, audio)

The Reporter Who Knew Too Much (Mark Shaw, 2016, audio) Dorothy Kilgallen biography, JFK

The Five Invitations (Frank Ostaseski, 2017) nonfiction, reframing death for better living

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (Gail Honeyman, 2017, audio) fiction; childhood trauma, love

Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies . . . (Kate Bowler, 2018, audio) nonfiction, cancer, theology

Front Desk (Kelly Yang, 2018, audio) youth fiction, Chinese-American girl

Cherokee America (Margaret Verble, 2019, audio) fiction set post-Civil War

Rainbow Warrior: My Life in Color (Gilbert Baker, 2019, audio) autobio, history of rainbow flag

64 VW: A Memoir of Growing Up in Ararat, VA (Thomas D. Perry, 2019) entertaining  memoir with a VW Beetle

The Only Woman in the Photo (2020, Kathleen Krull, audio) youth biography of Frances Perkins

Overground Railroad (Candacy Taylor, 2020, audio) traveling while black, green book, nonfiction

When & How to Use Mental Health Resources (Kenneth C. Haugk, 2020, repeat) nonfiction

The Black Church (Henry Louis Gates, Jr., 2021, audio) nonfiction

Under the Influence: A Life-Saving Guide to . . . Alcoholism (Milam & Ketcham, 2021)

Surviving the White Gaze (Rebecca Carroll, 2021, audio) memoir of child of color raised by white family

The Lincoln Highway (Amor Towles, 2021, audio) Huck Finn style fiction set in 1954

Eleanor (David Michaelis, 2021, audio) comprehensive Eleanor Roosevelt biography / history

I Have Something To Tell You (Chasten Buttegieg, 2021, audio) autobiography

While Justice Sleeps (Stacey Abrams, 2021, audio) fiction thriller, Supreme Court Justice

No Cure for Being Human (Kate Bowler, 2021, audio) nonfiction, cancer

Wilmington’s Lie (David Zucchino, 2021, repeat) history, white supremacy, coup d’etat & massacre

How the Word Is Passed (Clint Smith, 2021, repeat) understanding our slave narratives

All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days (Rebecca Donner, 2021, audio) bio of Amer woman in nazi resistance

Come Fly the World (Julia Cooke, 2021, audio) PanAm stewardesses: 1960s, Vietnam, sexism; nonfiction

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois (Honoree Fanonne Jeffers. 2021, audio) historical fiction

The Light We Carry (Michelle Obama, 2022, audio) nonfiction, motivational, autobiographical

If God Is Love, Don’t Be a Jerk (John Pavlovitz, 2022, audio) nonfiction

The Myth of Normal (Gabor Mate, 2022, audio) nonfiction

Finding Me (Viola Davis, 2022, audio) autobiography

Crying in the Bathroom (Erika L. Sanchez. 2022, audio) memoir

Beyond the Wand (Tom Felton, 2022, audio) memoir of Draco Malfoy actor

Old Babes in the Woods (Margaret Atwood, 2023, audio) 15 short stories

Hello Beautiful (Ann Napolitano, 2023, audio) fiction: family, love, complexities, Little Women

Master Slave Husband Wife (Ilyon Woo, 2023, audio) true story of slave escape; detailed slave-era history

Spare (Prince Harry, 2023, audio) memoir; insight into lives of British royal family

The Covenant of Water (Abraham Verghese, 2023, audio) well-woven tale of 3 generations in India; fiction

Poverty By America (Matthew Desmond, 2023) poverty is intentional and can be eradicated; nonfiction

Movies (32, listed in order of release year)

Made for Each Other (1939) Jimmy Stewart

Gaslight (1944) drama of psychological manipulation

Some Like It Hot (1959) Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Marilyn Monroe

Charade (1963) whodunit starring Cary Grant & Audrey Hepburn

The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) musical starring Debbie Reynolds

Jefferson in Paris (1995) Nick Nolte as Thomas Jefferson

Good Will Hunting (1998, repeat) Robin Williams as psychologist

Bewitched (2005) comedy

Kinky Boots (2006) shoe factory finds new niche

Anna Karenina (2012) based on Tolstoy’s novel

Delivery Man (2013) feel-good comedy

The Book Thief (2013) based  on novel, Nazi Germany

Into the Woods  (2014) retold fairy tales, musical

Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise (2016 PBS) documentary, biography

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016) comedy

Coco (2017, repeat) Day of the Dead, animated

Crazy Rich Asians (2018) romance

Ashes in the Snow  (2018) based on novel “Between Shades of Gray”

Two of Us (2019, Hulu) gay couple living as neighbors

Mack & Rita (2022) comedy; 30-yr-old becomes 70-yr-old

Bros (2022) campy romantic comedy

Elvis (2022) biography from perspective of manager

Spoiler Alert (2022) starring Jim Parsons, cancer, based on true story

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022) cleaning lady wants Dior dress

Women Talking (2023) abused women consider leaving their cultic colony

80 for Brady (2023) comedy, four 80-yr-old women go to Superbowl

Jesus Revolution (2023) story of hippy Jesus movement told by Greg Laurie

Barbie (2023) Barbie encounters patriarchy when she has to go to the real world

The Miracle Club (2023) pilgrimage to Lourdes; starring Maggie Smith & Kathy Bates

Wish (2023) Disney animated

Nyad (2023) based on true story of swimmer Diana Nyad

Frybread Face and Me (2023, Netflix) Native American boy visits Navajo grandmother

TV

I watch little TV but did have Hulu and Netflix access a couple of months each and binge-watched the following:

Abbot Elementary Seasons 1 & 2 (2021-22 Hulu)

Wednesday Season 1 (2022, Netflix)

Call Me Kat Season 3 (2022-23, Hulu)

The Wonder Years Season 2 (2022-23, Hulu)

The Bear Seasons 1 & 2 (2022-23 Hulu)

The 1619 Project (6-part docuseries, 2023, Hulu)

The American Buffalo (Ken Burns 4-hr docuseries, 2023, PBS)

Photos:

1. book signing at Mayberry Trading Post in Mayberry, VA

2. Monticello, Charlottesville, VA

3. along the Prayer Trail at Well of Mercy, Hamptonville, NC

4. Hogwarts jigsaw puzzle

5. Sister Simone Campbell (right) and me

6. great blue heron in Hurley Park, Salisbury, NC

7. books

B175. Franklin Graham's Poligion

What you need to know about Franklin Graham's Decision America Tours: They are Politics dressed in Christianity's clothing. (Matt. 7:15)

In 1981 Rev. Billy Graham, Franklin's father, told Parade magazine, “I don’t want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it.”

In the 1970s when Jerry Falwell changed the face of American Christianity by marrying it with conservative politics, Rev. Graham refused to be a part of it. Although a Southern Baptist and a registered Democrat, he never let either of those distinctions rule his life. Graham willingly pastored all presidents from Truman to Obama regardless of political party.

In 1979 Rev. Graham refused to join Falwell's Moral Majority, saying, "I'm for morality, but morality goes beyond sex to human freedom and social justice. We as clergy know so very little to speak with authority on the Panama Canal or superiority of armaments. Evangelists cannot be closely identified with any particular party or person. We have to stand in the middle in order to preach to all people, right and left."

Now the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (including its publications) is completely in the hands of Graham's son Franklin, who has whole-heartedly embraced the right-wing poligion his father warned against. Follow Franklin's religion, or follow his father's, but let's not confuse one with the other.

-------------------------------------------------------------

The above was originally posted a few years ago when Franklin Graham was crossing the U.S. with his Decision America Tour to influence the coming election.

A pastor with whom I attended seminary responded to that post:

I went to the Decision America tour . . . this Saturday in Charlotte. The closest thing to politics mentioned was we obeyed the Scripture to pray for those in authority. We prayed for wisdom for both the president and the leaders in Congress. We prayed for the governor and for local leaders. We did not pray for a revival through politics but that our leaders would put aside selfishness but do what is right for our nation. Franklin Graham preached an evangelistic message very much reminiscent of his father's. We all (are) sinners in need of a savior. He mentioned sins such as gossip lying and stealing. He reminded us that all are guilty and need (God's) love. The one thing he emphasized was He wanted everyone to know that God loves them.

To this I responded to him and to you, my readers:

(Name), I understand. You are a Southern Baptist pastor, and Southern Baptists form the base for the “poligionists” this post is about - Franklin Graham, Jerry Falwell, Jerry Falwell Jr., Paige Patterson, Adrian Rogers, James Dobson, Pat Robertson . . . As you know, Southern Baptist was my first language too, so I understand it well.

I agree with you that Franklin’s looks, his voice, and his speaking style are almost identical to his father’s, and I’m glad he is calling for prayer and preaching God’s love. I’m sure you are aware of Franklin’s political activism and how the powerhouse formed at the marriage of politics and fundamentalism has fed the greatest historical and corporate sins of this nation, oppressing women, people of color, and people of other nationalities, languages, orientations, and religions.

I know you as an educated man, and one with power that comes with position. Is it possible in Baptist life today to follow the life and teachings of the Christ of the Gospels without buying into the mess of poligion?

While I have no doubt Franklin Graham says some good things, you and I both know his agendas. I pray for wise and courageous pastors, and I’m seeing some hope.

A few videos that might be interesting, not about whether you as a Southern Baptist pastor agree with his words or not, but whether you would say he has no political agenda and is not manipulating the “God is Republican” mindset forged into fundamentalist Christianity in the Moral Majority era. I think you and I would agree that God is neither Republican nor Democrat, nor American. And I'm certain we would agree that Jesus alone is our Christ, worthy of our following. I wish all the best for you, your family, and your congregation.

Franklin Graham: This Is the Most Important Election of My Lifetime

Franklin Graham Praises Trump

Billy Graham's Son: God Put Trump in Office

Franklin Graham: Decision America Tour

Rev. Graham: Trump Is a Changed Person

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You might also be interested in this post: 

B50. Franklin Graham's Religion Is Not His Father's

B174. Matthew Shepard 25 Years

25 years ago today, the world lost 21-year-old Matthew Shepard, tortured and murdered because he was gay. In his face we can see the thousands of other horrible stories like his.

Are you at fault? Maybe. Do you believe and perpetuate your church's teachings that LGBT people are sinners destined for hell unless they repent and change? If so, yes, you are raising the murderers and raising the LGBT children who are drowning in the hopelessness they hear all around them, mostly perpetuated by misguided religious teachings. (My dear pastor friends, you must accept the lion's share of this responsibility.)

You didn't know better. We do the best we know at the time until we know better. You can repent and change. You can love as Jesus loved. You can read, listen, learn, and speak out for love, acceptance, and affirmation of all God's children.

People do not choose to be LGBT or left-handed or red-headed or blue-eyed . . . You did not choose to be attracted to the opposite sex. It happened naturally to you. Same, my friends, the same.

May we all allow God the Potter to mold our hearts to the heart of Jesus. Forgive us, oh God, and make us anew with the mindset and the love of Christ. Amen.

October 12, 2023

B173. Living Wage 2023

 When I graduated from college in 1984, I went to work making $16.000 a year and paying $190 per month for a nice 2 BR 2B townhouse apartment. Even those making the then $2.90 minimum wage (about $5,800 per year) could have afforded my apartment. (Has that really been almost 40 years!)

In NC the current minimum wage is $7.25. A full-time minimum wage worker makes about $15,000 per year. One month's rent in NC ranges from $800 to $2400, depending on location, size, and condition. If all their earnings go for rent, how will they pay for food, a car to get to work, gas, insurance, electricity, water, phone, Wi-Fi, work clothes, shoes, childcare . . . When they have to choose between the electric bill and an oil change, how long before their car will stop running . . .

Do you know how hard it can be now to get a full-time job with benefits? Businesses have been moving to part-time positions to avoid having to pay benefits and are often farming out some positions to be filled by contractors or temp agencies.

Do you know what corporate CEOs are making per year? Many of them millions. Some of them billions. One billion is one million times 1000. Every year.

"I did it myself. You should be able to do it yourself." no longer works. The system is broken from the top. 1984 is not here.