Gunfighter: A Modern Warrior's Life

Dear President Obama

Dear President Obama,

 

This isn’t the first time I have written to a sitting President via my blog, and I suspect that it won’t be the last, but since it is my first time writing to you, I think that I should tell you a few things.

 

First, I would like to tell you that not quite a year into your tenure, I think that you are doing a good job leading the country at a very precarious time, considering the financial crisis, which seems to be in the early stages of recovery.  I also think that you deserve the Nobel Peace Prize that you have been awarded if for no other reason than the fact that you have toned down the bellicose rhetoric that has come from the White House since you became President.  Frankly, I think that the world can’t afford a rogue elephant in the White House, and your elevation to the Presidency has certainly eliminated a rogue from the world stage.

 

The main reason that I am writing to you today, Mr. President is to urge you to not send an additional 40,000 American soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan.  My reasoning is as follows:  Islamic radicals in Pakistan are the author of our troubles in Afghanistan.  The Pakistani government is either unable or unwilling to control them, despite the billions of dollars that we annually spend to assist them militarily.  The sad truth is that the Pakistani police, armed forces, and intelligence services are rife with fundamentalist radicals, or their sympathizers.  This situation makes any efforts in Afghanistan, beyond humanitarian help, a complete waste of resources.

 

We cannot democratize Afghanistan, sir.  We cannot even assist in the democratization of  ANY nation without a thriving, educated, middle class or one with such societal divisions as Afghanistan has.  Since we cannot democratize Afghanistan, the best we can hope to do is to pacify that nation… pacification is the BEST we can hope for, and frankly, sir, pacification is something that A) won’t happen even with an addition 40,000 troops, and B) won’t happen without conducting a war in Pakistan, which I am certain that we won’t/shouldn’t do.

 

Where does this leave us?  Well, from where I sit (currently about 10 miles from the White House), it leaves us in an exceptionally bad place on nearly every level.

 

 Militarily, we will continue to waste the lives of our Soldiers and Marines.  Further, continued combat usage of our equipment will have far reaching consequences, considering that nearly every rifle, machine gun, tank, helicopter, and truck that we use in that country (as well as Iraq) will have to either be completely replaced or have depot-level maintenance to remain in service.  

 

Economically, we can’t keep this up forever.  Wars must be paid for sir… you don’t need ME to tell you that.  Additionally, the current strains on our Veterans care apparatus are staggering, and have generational ramifications. 

 

Lastly, Mr. President, there are other, more important threats that the threats posed by the Taliban/Al Qaeda.  Damage that can be done to our nation by terrorists is minimal as long as we are vigilant, but trying to use conventional military force to fight small terror cells is like trying to swat a butterfly with an ax… we’ll cause lot’s of damage, and at the end of the day, the butterfly will continue on it’s way.

 

I know that you were handed a mess when you came into power Mr. President, but it’s your show, now.  You have to be the adult and say when enough is enough, just like I do with my children.  Fortunately, I can sit here and advise you without the myriad other things that you have going on, hanging over my head, and I am sure that there are a great many things going on that demand your time and attention, but I have confidence in you, Mr. President… you are a good man, and I am counting on you to do what’s right.  We need to make an exit from Afghanistan.  We need to do it right now.

 

Respectfully,

 

Gunfighter

The Best. Song. Ever. (EVER!)

This is the best song ever recorded.  If you don't know it, go find it.  You can find it easily on Itunes or on the Bob Marley: Legend CD.

Old pirates, yes, they rob I;
Sold I to the merchant ships,
Minutes after they took I
From the bottomless pit.
But my hand was made strong
By the 'and of the Almighty.
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly.

Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom? -
'Cause all I ever have:
Redemption songs;
Redemption songs.

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds.
Have no fear for atomic energy,
'Cause none of them can stop the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look? Ooh!
Some say it's just a part of it:
We've got to fulfil de book.

Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom? -
'Cause all I ever have:
Redemption songs;
Redemption songs;
Redemption songs.

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our mind.
Wo! Have no fear for atomic energy,
'Cause none of them-a can-a stop-a the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look?
Yes, some say it's just a part of it:
We've got to fulfil the book.

Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom? -
'Cause all I ever had:
Redemption songs -
All I ever had:
Redemption songs:
These songs of freedom,
Songs of freedom.

United States Armed Forces Sex Blog

There, that title ought to tickle the search engines.

Today, I'm writing about SEX.  That's right.  SEX.  Close your eyes if you aren't over 18.

Specifically, I want to talk about sex in the United States Armed forces. 

While nearly everyone in America is nearly killing themselves to be the loudest in extolling the virtues of the men and women of United States Armed forces, we haven't been paying attention to a serious issue that has been true of armies since time immemorial, and remains true today, even in the nearly-perfectly-virtuous US armed forces.  That issue is the quasi-sponsorship of prostitution and human trafficking that is funded and fueled by American servicemen stationed in various parts of the world.

Ask any man that has spent time in the armed forces... especially any man that has spent time stationed in Okinawa, Japan; South Korea; Thailand; or Vietnam.  Let's not forget Germany; Britain; Holland; Italy; Greece; Portugal, and many other countries.  Go ahead and ask.  If you do, you'll find out that our service men (with their naturally high libidos) have been boinking with the best of them, creating a flourishing sex trade, wherever they put down stakes.

For many years this behavior was not only tolerated but winked at by high-ranking officers as well as senior Non-commissioned officers.  During my time in the service (1981-1989), it was common to hear things like "what happens in Okinawa stays in Okinawa".

It is common for people to respond to this situation by saying: "Oh, its just young, fit, horny men acting the way young men do... what's the problem?"  Well, for starters, the problem is the fact that prostitution, in most of the places that I mentioned, is illegal.  Another problem is  that incredible increase in human trafficking (for the sex trade) from eastern europe.  Another problem is the exploitation of desperately poor women.  Another problem is the spread of disease.  Another problem is the toll taken on marriages & families.  I could go on, but you get my drift, right?

Well, guess what?  Your Generals and Admirals don't care.  Your national leaders don't care.  The American people, in large part, don't care.

What do they care about?  Gay people serving in the military.

Yes... prostitution is ok.  The moral turpitude of our soldiers in ok.  Male and female service members swapping partners more than they change their skivvies is ok.  The rampant swinging or "wife swapping" that happens in married quarters on base is ok (not making that up, I know, first hand)... but for the love of God, if a soldier is gay, that is going to wreck the morale of the armed forces and damage good order and discipline to the point of making our Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, unable to wage war.

As comrade Shakespeare would have said:  "That would be scanned"

There are reports that say that the number of women that contract venereal diseases in the United States Marine Corps is something near 40 percent higher than the national average... Using the logic of the homophobes, I guess that Marines infecting one another is alright, as long as these ladies aren't infecting each other.

All of this leads me, rather erratically, I know, to a discussion of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that has been failing since it's inception. I won't parse the policy here, because you probably already know what it is... if you don't, follow the link and find out. 

I think that this is a stupid and discriminatory policy that not only prevents patriotic people of different sexual orientation from serving openly in the armed forces, but hurts the readiness of the American armed forces in general by removing a significant segment of the young, available pool of warfighters.

Unfortunately, as wrong as this policy is, it is still policy, which brings me to the case of Lt. Colonel Victor Fehrenbach, late of the United States Air Force, and Lt. Dan Choi, late of the United States Army.  These two officers recently came out (and in Fehrenbach's case, was outed) and have become the poster people for the gay community's efforts against "Don't Ask", Don't Tell".

The gay community is in an uproar, as they should be, about this policy, but have taken to attacking President Obama for not getting this policy overturned quickly enough.  I'm sure that if I were gay, I would want this done immediately.  Having said that, I understand that things like DADT are best handled later in an administration rather that the very beginning.

Sure, you can say that my attitude towards all of this is poor, or that I am unsympathetic because I'm not gay, and I suppose, depending on your own personal perspective, you might be right, but hear me out on this.  Politics isn't about ruling by decree.  It's about trying your best to do what you CANdo, as best you can.  Most Americans want President Obama to succeed.  Most want him to do the best that he can do to lead this country, and I think that with a fairly thin majority in the Senate, the President has to be careful that he doesn't spend all of his political capital repealing DADT.

Since the repeal of DADT would give the GOP a hefty stick to beat him with in the 2012 election, you can expect that there won't be a huge amount of movement on the issue until he wins re-election.

Which brings us back to Lt. Colonel Fehrenbach and Lieutenant Choi.

These worthy gentlemen, whom I believe to be Patriots, and good officers who are both committed to service, should have known what they were getting into.  In Choi's case, he had to have known, smart guy that he is, that coming out would be his military undoing.  There is no way that he didn't know that he wasn't going to get the boot, and that going public with his dismissal wasn't going to save his army  career.  Bad policy or not, the policy is current and firmly in place for the time being. 

It isn't the place of a junior officer to try to change policy by grandstanding.  Good luck in the civilian Mr. Choi, I wish you all the best in your future, which, no doubt, will be bright.

In the case of Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, things change a bit.  From what I understand, he was outed by someone.  That's a shame.  A shame because Fehrenbach was compliant with the policy, and his career, which has been stellar, from what I understand, has been destroyed two years short of his eligibility to retire.

For all of the trauma to gays in the armed forces that the examples of these men typify we cannot... or at least certainly should not be shocked that the DADT policy was not the first thing on the President's agenda.

This doesn't make Barack Obama a back-stabber.  It doesn't mean that he has no intention to deal with this issue, but timing, as is frequently said, is everything.

So there you have it friends... our soldiers are cavorting with prostitutes, giving each other the clap, screwing each other's spouses, and even prostituting themselves on our ships and in the barracks... but as long as these liasons are hetero (and still technically illegal), nobody cares... as long as they aren't gay.

 

 

All The Lonely People...

...Where do they all come from?

In 1966, The Beatles recorded the famous song that asked this question.  The song, as you all know, was about a fictitious person named Eleanor Rigby.  The poor soul... but it could be about any number of people... some of whom you might even know.

Last night, my family attended the Good Friday Tenebrae service at our church, and after the service, as the congregation silently exited the darkened church, I noticed that one of the parishioners, who is also in the small group that I lead, was still seated, and staring forward.  When I put my hand on her shoulder and smiled at her in a silent greeting, she smiled at me with the biggest smile I had ever seen from her, and she reached up and squeezed my hand as hard as I can ever remember anyone squeezing it.  I kept the smile on my face while we had our brief moment, even though I wanted to scream blue murder, because I have some sort of really ugly tendinitis going on.

As D let go of my hand, looking relieved for some reason, I started thinking.  I took stock of what I know of her, and it came to me (and of course, I could be totally wrong here) the she probably hasn't felt the welcome touch of a human being since she visited her children and grand children a month or so ago.  D lives alone, and like so many of us in this area, commutes to and from Washington, DC every day to  work long hours on behalf of of the American people.  She attends services alone and socializes little.  I had/have the feeling that she is lonely.

The thing is, that there are lots of lonely people, some of them are folks you probably wouldn't suspect.  Some of the loneliest people in our society are the elderly.  Many of whom are in nursing homes, or are living alone with limited mobility, and no family nearby to help or visit them.  Is it any wonder that pet therapy is so popular and useful in America's nursing homes?

You may know lonely people who aren't elderly.  A single friend, who is hard-working, fun to be around, successful, and behind her/his own four walls, in a terrible state because they have no one of their own to share themselves with... who have no one to give them a hug or give them a reassuring touch.  The lonely person might be married... because, well... you know... Ozzie and Harriet were fictional characters.

Let's not pretend, my friends, that we don't need those things.  We do.  All of us.

I want you all to do me a favor.  Think of someone that you know that might be in this situation, and the next time you see them, give them a handshake.... put your hand on their shoulder... give them a hug.  Look them in the eye and let then know that you care about them.  Let them know they aren't alone.

I'm sure that we will see D at church tomorrow... I think that we'll invite her to dinner. 

"You're a Good Ol' Boy!"

Chad:  “You know somethin’ Bill?,  I like you.  The next time you’re in town, you need to come out to the house and set on the porch and have somethin’ cold to drink.  Hell, we can get out the shotguns and shoot some of the wild pigs on my property.  Yessir, we’ll have us a good time!”

Gunfighter:  “Geez Chad, I’d like that, next time I get down here, I’ll give you a buzz”

Chad:  “Hell yeah!  Man, you’re a good ol’ boy, Bill!”

 

This isn’t a brief snippet of conversation from a bad television script.  This is a brief part of a long conversation that I had with a classmate while I was doing an advanced course at the F*eder*al Law E*nfor*cement Tr*aini*ng Center (in Glynn County, Georgia), in 2006.

So, why I am I writing about it now?  Because even then, I knew that this little exchange had a profound meaning as to what this country is on it’s way to becoming.  See, unless you are reading this via Google Reader or some other reader, without ever having seen my blog, you already know that my skin is a deep chestnut brown.  This is relevant because the person that was talking to me was a white guy… a former Georgia State Trooper, who now works for a Federal agency.

The reason this little exchange was important is that this guy looked me in the face and called me a good ol’ boy.  There were centuries of history and race relations locked up in that little conversation.  Not because neither of us had friends who weren’t the same skin color or ethnicity.  Far from it.  Not because our world’s were so terribly different, because Chuck and I have similar backgrounds… we’re veterans, didn’t go to college, senior instructors in our particular field, etc…, but this guy, this self-described redneck, called me a good ol’ boy!

I’ll tell you right now, that I laughed loud and long when he said it.  I did… I laughed right in his face.  But, not for long.  Chuck asked me why that was funny, and I told him that being called a good ol’ boy was something that most black men never expect to hear from anyone… especially a white Georgia Trooper.  We talked for a long time, and Chuck’s position became quite clear from the outset:  He believed that a good ol’ boy was someone who could be counted on; a kindred spirit, a friend.  In his world, being counted as a good ol’ boy, meant something.  Most importantly, in his world, being a good ol’ boy had absolutely nothing to do with the color of a person’s skin.

This conversation took place three years ago, before Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the Presidency.  My friend Chuck wasn’t trying to make some sort of political statement.  He wasn’t trying to befriend me to show how progressive he is.  Chuck made an observation about what he saw in me as a friend; a colleague; a person… and classified me in the “Good” column.

 

So.  What’s this mean?  What is the big deal?  Why is this profound?  Well, to you, depending on who you are this might mean nothing.  To some, it might mean that America has turned some sort of corner.  To some, it might mean that we are becoming our better selves.  To me, it means that great social problems are generational in nature.  Social concerns, whether they are matters of race/ethnicity, matters of sexuality, or matters of gender.

Nope.  We aren’t done with race issues.  We aren’t done with gender or sexuality issues, either.  Having said that, I still believe in the people that make up this weird, mad, moral/immoral, imperfect place we call America.

 

One thing that you can say for us is that, dude, we’re never a dull place.

Barack Obama & The End of "Acting White"

"Who do you think you are?"

"You talk like a white boy!"

"Bookworm!"

"Professor!"

"Honky-lover!"

"You think you're better than us!"

"OREO!"

I am 45 years old.  It's been at least 28 years since the things that I wrote above were last said to me... to my face, anyway.  It still smarts when I bother to think about it, which I seldom do... but it's been there, all these years, a very personal source of pain.  A lifetime of barbs and insults, all because of the way I talk.

For generations, it has always been desirable in the black community, as it has all over America, to get all the education that you can.  Education has always been seen as the way to improve not only your economic condition, but your social position as well.  Since emancipation, this had been seen as a great thing in the black community.  The thought had always been, that if your children got an education and learned to speak English correctly, perhaps they could enter a trade or one of the professions.  It was certainly so for my mother's parent's (a professor and a Nurse)... it was so for my parents.

Then something changed.

In the 1960's, it became popular for black people to remind each other to "stay black"... to not "sell out" to the white man.  Apparently, not talking like you are from the ghetto counts as selling out.  In my opinion, this thinking has done massive, lasting damage to the black community. 

It has now become fashionable in the black middle class to ape urban behaviors as a means of "staying black".  Children of families that live in 800,000 dollar homes, who go to schools that aren't struggling, walking around in super-baggy prison clothes, and despite their middle-American accents, trying as hard as they can to sound like they are refugees from a Snoop Dogg cd.

I was born into a military family, at Hamilton Air Force Base, California, where we lived until my parents were divorced, and we moved to New Jersey to be near my maternal Grandmother.  The neighborhood that we moved into was mostly black (this was 1969, the height of "white flight"), even the first generation Portuguese immigrants were moving as fast as they could.   The place I grew up in was solidly working class.  Most of the people were second or third generation children of the post emancipation diaspora.  Most spoke with a common accent: southern share-cropper... what has morphed into, and has become accepted as "Black English", "Ebonics", "Ghetto English" and what have you. 

The problem is that I didn't speak the local language.  Oh, sure, I could mimic it, if I wanted to, but, why should I?  I don't do things just to fit in, I never have, and don't plan on starting now.

This is all old news to many of you who know me.  I've covered this ground before, but there is something different about it today.  You see, tomorrow, Barack Hussein Obamais going to be inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States... and he talks like me.

I had planned to give a long discussion about who the black community will or won't embrace for different reasons.. I had planned to talk about how, when Obama's campaign first started, many black "leaders" were concerned that Obama wasn't black enough.  I had planned to vent about all sorts of things associated with the accusation of "acting white".  But, as I sit here, taking a break from getting ready for tomorrow's event, I find that I no longer have the energy to put into it.

I simply want to say that Barack Obama's accomplishment in winning the Presidency  has highlighted the fact that  no matter what community you were raised in, or live in, achievement speaks for itself.  Reading, learning, being well-spoken, scholarship, and integrity, are the paths to success... no matter what color your skin is.

I'll close by giving a special shout-out to those family members, fellow students, colleagues, black pundits and civil rights leaders, journalists, and others who have tormented or criticized any black person about speaking standard English.  You need to hear this, from me, to you.

Go **** yourselves. 

We aren't "acting white", we are acting like Americans who have as much a stake in this country as anyone else does.  We are acting like Americans who have an inherent right to the blessings that accrue from our citizenship.  We are acting like this is our country... because it is. 

This is OUR time.

Happy Kwanzaa!

An African-American scholar and social activist, Ron Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966 as the first African-American holiday.  Karenga said his goal was to "...give Blacks an alternative to the existing holiday and give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and history, rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society,"  The name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza", meaning "first fruits". The choice of Swahili, an East African language, reflects its status as a symbol of Pan-Africanism. (wikipedia)

Happy Kwanzaa to all those who celebrate it!

Gay Marriage and a Birthday Gift for a Queen

My friend Erin, who blogs under the moniker Queen of Spain, has a birthday today.  She has asked her blogging friends, as a gift to her, to blog about marriage inequality for gay and lesbian couples.  Well, Erin... here's to you.

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you already know where I come down on this issue.  I am a supporter of the right for gay and lesbian couples to marry and reap all of the benefits (and penalties) thereunto pertaining.   It is a sad thing in a country where so many seemingly pious people constantly scream about the decline in the commitment to marriage, for those same people to be so steadfastly opposed to two people who desire, almost more than anything else, to make a legal commitment to the person that they love.

I understand that people come at the issue of same-sex marriage from different perspectives.  I get that there are those who have religious arguments against it (even though many of them are hollow).  I understand there is the "what about the children" faction, and I understand the "slippery slope" group, who wonder what gay marriage might lead to.  I'm a fairly rational man... I understand that not everyone shares my perspectives, but here is my drift: 

I think that marriage is a good thing.

I think that married couples make stronger, more committed parents.  I think that the children of strong two-parent families have better social, academic, and economic opportunities than those from single-parent households.  Furthermore, I don't think that the gender of those stable, loving, committed parents means a thing.

What bothers me in so much of this argument, is that so  many people spend so much time shouting that gay marriage will somehow weaken, violate, cheapen, diminish, or destroy heterosexual marriage.  Please!  If the gay couple down the street from us are married, it has absolutely no effect on my marriage.  None.  Zero.  Zilch.

What bothers me even more than that is the religious argument.  As I have said in other places, Jesus of Nazareth, whom we call Christ, never, in his three years of earthly ministry, NEVERsaid anything about homosexuality.  Never mentioned it.  Go on, read the Gospels.  I'll wait.  Oh, and while you are reading, please note that Jesus does mention divorce, but I reckon you'll notice that very few of the so-called "faithful" ever spend any time talking about that.  Interesting.  Could it be that some of my fellow Christians are just seeking religious codification of their own bigotry?

As for the "slippery slope", "what about the children?" people... all I can say is that these people make the very same arguments that they made a generation ago (and when Mrs Gunfighter and I got married... shout out to my mother in law!)about interracial marriage.  Turns out that despite their screaming, interracial marriage did not force the earth off it's axis, and it didn't trigger the apocalypse.  Who knew, eh?

I say let churches block marriages all they want to.  They already do it in some cases, because of the way one part of a couple worships; they do it because one member of the couple was previously married; churches do it for all sorts of reasons.  They have that prerogative... but our government shouldn't. 

Our government shouldn't be in the business of defining relationships.  Our government shouldn't be in the business of defining marriage, our government shouldn't be dabbling in the affairs of our taking the side of churches... including mine.  Our government shouldn't be in the business of codifying bigotry, or of inhibiting citizens from exercising their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness so long as no one else's rights, life, liberty, or happiness is directly hurt by their actions.

Happy Birthday, Erin!

Diversity

Diversity.

It’s a word we hear a lot isn’t it?  We hear it in schools, we hear it in the workplace.  We hear it in the entertainment industry, we hear about it discussions about demographics, we hear about it in our politics.  It seems that there aren’t many places we don’t hear about diversity.

There are times that I hear the word diversity and hear different things.  Often, when I hear the word, I hear efforts to include a broad cross-section of Americans in public discourse and cultural life.

Sometimes I hear the word “Diversity” and I hear code-speak for affirmative action in hiring practices.  In those circumstances, you can practically hear the quotation marks surrounding the word.

Sometimes I hear the word diversity and I hear a bunch of self-righteous do-gooders with calculators trying to decide how many people of the local ethnic groups that MUST be included in every company, government agency, University, and public school classroom.

Everyone, it seems, wants to be “diverse”.  I suppose that it is a fine ideal.  In my mind, it is a worthy goal to try to involve the manifold peoples who make up our national patchwork of races and ethnicities into one strong nation with our safety and prosperity as our national focus.

As I said, it’s a worthy goal, as long as a common sense approach is taken.  Where I see a problem with diversity, isn’t from an affirmative action perspective.  It isn’t a problem with keeping school classrooms balanced, or anything like that.  My “diversity” issue starts at the front door of the church.

Yup… The Church (note the caps).

My family worships in the Lutheran tradition, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, to be specific.  Within our church body, there is a definite push to be as ethnically diverse as possible.  Lutherans tend to be (please pardon my broad brush, here) greatly concerned about not giving offense, which, I believe is a good thing, but only as far as it goes.  You see, Lutherans (there are some 5 million of us in the United States) are a pretty white group of people.  Which is not to say that there aren’t Lutheran congregations that look like America, because ours certainly does.  Generally speaking, however, that overwhelming number of Lutherans are white.

In the past few years, our Presiding Bishop has been pushing diversity, and how the Bishop goes, so goes the national church body.  So, the body wants to be diverse.  What a great idea… but how to go about it is the question.  What should be done?  Oh, here’s an idea:  Since a large number of African Americans are southern Baptists or Pentecostals, let’s hold an old fashioned tent revival!

What?

A tent revival?  Really?

Allow me, please, to ask for a cease and desist order.

Here is the thing about diversity that I think that the church doesn’t get.  I don’t think that the church ought to be in the business of changing it's essential nature in order to get more people to attend.  I don't think that singing the occasional Old Negro Spiritual is the way to diversify.

I believe that people of faith will find ways of worship that speak to them on a personal level, and therefore will gravitate towards that particular faith tradition, no matter what.  So instead of trying to recruit (for lack of a better word) people of color, the church only needs to make sure that the "Welcome" mat is out for any and all seekers.

Yesterday, I served as Assisting Minister (I read some of the prayers, help with Communion, etc...) and as I looked out at the congregation, I saw a group of people that reflect the demographics of our community.  This happened because all of us felt that this faith tradition and this congregation is where we belong... not because of a program.

Diversity is a good and great thing.  Diversity programs can be a very useful and beneficial tool for all sorts of communities.  What it shouldn't be is a bludgeon.

Community Organizers, Sarah Palin, & America

Hi.

My name is Gunfighter, and I am a community organizer. 

"But... but.., GF, we thought you were a firearms instructor for the feds!"

Yes, I am... but, I'm an organizer too!  Well...maybe you couldn't really call me an organizer, but I do provide a specialized service to the community that government doesn't (and shouldn't) provide. 

I teach Sunday school. 

Yeah, that's my own little bit.  I also helped to co-ordinate our Church's Vacation Bible School this summer (which was REALLLY cool, by the way).

As minor as my teeny-tiny service to my community is, I have great admiration for those who are out there, really making a difference in the lives of those people that our country seems to have largely forgotten. 

At the recently concluded Republican National Convention, Vice Presidential candidate (and 1st-rate moose skinner)Sarah Palin used the occasion of the acceptance of her party's nomination to attack Democratic candidate Barack Obama.  In her shrill, smarmy, and downright nasty screed, Palin compared her work as a mayor to that of a community organizer, she said "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities,"

What a shame. 

How sad for you, Governor Palin, that you would denigrate people that are actually trying to get things done in the places that they live, rather than spend their time and efforts slurping at the trough of government largesse like you. 

Since you are in the mood to make comparisons Governor, I thought I might give you a little lesson about a few community organizers whose efforts changed not only communities and nations, but changed the whole world.

Samuel Adams (you may have heard of him) organized the patriots of Boston to form the Sons of Liberty to take active measures against the rule of the British Crown.  He also organized a political party (the Country Party) from a group of disaffected rural Massachusetts farmers. 

 

Susan B. Anthony was a steadfast advocate for abolition and was an early and important leader in the women's suffrage movement.  Anthony was also an early organizer in the fight for women's rights to individually own property.

 

Cesar Chavez organized agricultural workers, particularly in the southwest, and was the founder of the United Farm Workers Union, which advocated on behalf of abused, underpaid, and often mistreated farm laborers.  Chavez was also a civil rights activist who worked tirelessly in the struggle to educate Mexican-Americans and get them to register to vote.

 

Martin Luther became a community organizer after having spent most of his adult life as a Monk.  Luther not only rebelled against the practices of the Roman church, he also advocated on behalf of the people, so that they could read the bible and hear the mass in their own language.  His efforts led to the Reformation, it's following wars, and to the right of most people to be free to worship as they choose. 

Like the man he was named after, Martin Luther King, Jr.was also an organizer who rebelled against unjust practices.  He was a man of peace whose efforts to do things greater than himself allowed a people to be lifted out of oppression in a country where you wouldn't think you'd still be seeing it in 1964... let alone 2008.

His Holiness, The Dalai Lama, is another organizer.  He leads a Tibetan/Buddhist nation-in-exile, and is spiritual leader to millions scattered across the globe.  A teacher, monk, and man-of-peace, the Dalia Lama is a moral teacher that everyone reading this can learn from.

Well, do I really need to explain how this man took a message to a nation through preaching an advocating for the poor and the unwanted?  Do I have to tell you that this guy once said that what you do to the poor, you also do to me?  Do I have to tell you that this fellow named Yeshua, whom we call Jesus, changed the world in just three short years of community organizing?

If you all don't mind, I think I'll get in the pulpit for just a minute.

Governor Palin,  most of the American people live outside of the DC Beltway, and they have more contact with community organizers than they do with their mayors... or hadn't you noticed that?  Community organizers bring attention to things that Governor's (and small town mayors) need to address or fix.  Community Organizers advocate for schools, churches, the homeless, the poor, the unemployed, the underemployed, and just about any other group you can name.  Included in that group, by the way, is the middle class. 

Community Organizers can come from the local La Leche League, Home schooling groups, unionized workers, firefighters, cops, youth groups, and religious groups. 

Shame on youfor denigrating those who believe in doing something bigger than themselves.

Shame on you for even thinking that community organizers don't have responsibilities.

Shame on youfor your childish ridiculing.

Shame on you for your ignorance of history.

Our country deserves better than you, Governor Palin, and hopefully, we'll send you packing, back to your beloved hunting grounds in November.

Can I get an amen?