Why I Give

I was asked to give a quick speech in church yesterday, discussing why I give/serve.  It was a little weird for me, because I'm not bit into tooting my own horn, specifically when it comes to my charity work.  I've long believed that the best charity work is done anonymously.  While I have occasionally discussed certain facets of my volunteer work, I don't believe I've ever shared everything I do, all at once, with a large group of people.  In this case though, I understood what my pastor was trying to accomplish, so I took one for the team, and discussed why, where and how I give.

I serve on the church's worship team, primarily as a bass player, though I've occasionally been known to sing harmonies or play six string.  This one is primarily for selfish reasons.  I serve on the worship team because it forces me to practice and play music.  If it wasn't for the worship team, my guitars and bass would just sit around and collect dust.  Furthermore, music is one of the two times I feel closest to God.  (The other time is when I'm communing with nature.)  When it comes to music though, I have to be playing it.  Singing along with the congregation from the pews isn't the same.  When I'm playing, I feel like a conduit.

I volunteer with the Humane Society.  Each month, I take a dog to a nearby nursing home to interact with the residents.  I do this because I love dogs, and because it provides an opportunity for me to serve an overlooked segment of society.  I genuinely believe that humans don't deserve the unconditional love that dogs give us, and I can't describe the satisfaction I receive when I see a resident light up when I bring a dog for them to pet.

I'm active in the veteran community.  This is partially because I'm a vet.  It's more because I see that veterans, as a group, have given more to our society than virtually another demographic, and they pay a far higher price for that service.  They have earned our respect and deserve our service.

I donate money to an area faith-based nonprofit that focuses on housing and food insecurity.  This charity holds an annual event where they fix up houses for homeowners who could otherwise not afford it.  This work ranges from painting the exterior to replacing appliances, to structural repairs, and everything in between.  The work is done by volunteers and area trades experts, and paid for by community fundraising.  Additionally, they have a few houses and apartments that they've renovated and rent out at below-market prices.  They have a nonprofit grocery store in an area that used to be a food desert.  They have a pay-it-forward nonprofit cafe, and they supplement these food locations with an urban farm.  I donate money to this group because I remember what it's like to struggle to pay rent.  I remember going weeks without eating meat so I could put nutritious food into my kids' bellies.  I remember what it was like as a kid, not having the nice clothes.

I don't do this because I'm obedient to God, per se. In fact, most people who know me would probably not use the word obedient to describe me.  I don't do it to follow a rule.  I do it out of love for my fellow human being.  I do it because I can.

As I finished my talk, I shared that it doesn't matter why, where, or how often you give.  It only matters that you give.  I hope that by sharing where, why and how I give that my reason for each of my charitable involvements had a unique reason, and that service can take many different forms.  I hope I touched a couple of hearts that might now consider a couple of new ideas for their own community involvement.

Bye Bye, Boy

Grandson is on his way back home today.  The house feels unusually quiet, despite his being here for only three weeks.  I guess I got used to his presence.

I won't miss the mess he left in his wake.

I won't miss telling him to do things that is common sense for an adult to do, such as flushing the toilet.

I won't miss watching him fall into the abyss of his cell phone.

I won't miss him arguing with his little cousin.

I will miss the trash talk.

I will miss the mundane conversation about nothing in particular.

I will miss him at the gym and Marine PT.

I will miss cooking with and for him.

I will miss playing video games with him.

I will miss him arguing with his little cousin, despite what I said earlier. 

I will miss him. 

Speaking of the Middle East...

Today's post is a coincidental follow-up to yesterday's topic of the mess in the middle east.  I read an article reporting that Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan just signed a defense treaty.  From my perspective, this is an interesting development, which resulted from a worldwide understanding that the U.S. is no longer a reliable partner.  To clarify, all of these countries are considered American allies.  For example, Saudi Arabia was our staging area for Desert Storm, and Pakistan allowed us to cross their borders into Afghanistan.  In other words, it's not automatically a problem, but it is a potential complication.

India is understandably wary of this news, because of their tense relations with Pakistan.  Iran is probably concerned, because they have a tense relationship with Saudi Arabia, though Iran is downplaying the news.  Turkey has been trying to get into the EU for a long time, so this may be their way of thumbing their noses at EU officials who won't let Turkey join.  All in all, I believe that each country stands to benefit economically and militarily.

I find it a amusing that some in the U.S. are concerned about this, and it feels like those most concerned are the biggest supporters of America First.  Like I said above, we have shown the world that we're no longer a reliable partner.  If the biggest kid in the schoolyard stops protecting you and starts bullying you, it's only reasonable to link up with other kids and promise to help each other out.  What did you think would happen?

The Middle East Mess

I was prompted to discuss my thoughts on the mess in the Middle East, specifically the Israel-Palestine conflict.  In order to explain my perspective though, we need a not-so-little history lesson.

Let's start with the basics.  Ancient Israel goes back thousands of years.  The Bible shows the Israelites warring with many nations, and archaeologists seem to agree that frequent conflict was pretty much how society looked in that area at that time.  Heck, the Israelites couldn't even agree amongst themselves, resulting in the area splitting into two separate countries -- Israel and Judah.  Both kingdoms fell well before 500 BCE.  In other words, Israel ceased to exist as a nation well before Christ was born.  The temple in Jerusalem was under Roman rule during Christ's life, as is verified in many biblical passages.  When the kingdom(s) of Israel fell, the Jewish people were scattered across the world, though they did hold their faith, traditions, and bloodlines over time.  This is generally known as the diaspora.

Over the following centuries, the Jewish people suffered persecution, though the oppression was not universal.  In fact, many Jewish settlements were quite integrated into local societies.  In my opinion, this experience is not radically different from any minority ethnic group throughout history.  So let's fast forward to World War II, where we all know what happened.

As a direct result of the Holocaust, the United Nations got together and decided to create a new nation of Israel.  There's a lot of geopolitical stuff I don't fully understand, so I'm not going to try to explain it, because I may get it wrong.  The result, however, is pretty straight forward.  A lot of Arabs lost their land.  If I were in their position, I'd be a little cranky about having my land taken from me and given to someone else, so I can understand the tension.

Since then, the Arabs have tried a couple of times to take the land back by force.  In one instance, (the Six Day War,) a bunch of Arab countries tried to gang up on Israel all at once, and got their collective asses kicked.  In fact, Israel ended up taking a bunch or land from them in the process.  Israeli ownership of the West Bank and Gaza strip are contested territory to this day.  In my personal opinion on this event, the Arabs tried to bully Israel, got their asses kicked, and lost the land fair and square.

Let's deviate just for a quick second and talk about Palestine. For the record, there has never been a country called Palestine.  Not in the way we think of countries today, with universally recognized borders.  Palestinians are a group of people from that geographical area.  It's more accurate to think of Ancient Palestine how you would think of Ancient Israel.  I'm not saying that the Palestinians are unworthy of a country.  From where I sit, they are probably as worthy as the Jewish people who now live in Israel.  The big difference is that the Palestinians didn't face global extinction like the Jews did, so they haven't received the same level of global sympathy.  Anyway, back to the history lesson...

Since Israel became a state, they have had to fight tooth and nail for their existence as a country.  Many Arab countries have said quite plainly that they want to wipe Israel from the map.  I'm not sure that Arabs hate Jews like we are led to believe, but it's reasonably clear that Arab countries disagree with the idea of Zionism, which is the desire for the Jewish people to have a nation that's recognized and secured by law.  Heck, it's theoretically possible that the Arabs would be okay with Israel existing, as long it's not on "their land."  Typical NIMBYism, I guess.  I'd like to clarify this all conjecture on my part.

Now, let's talk about America's support of Israel.  As far as I can tell, there is a very high correlation between Fundamental Christianity and support for Israel as a nation.  In other words, it seems to me that the most ardent support for Israel is based on Christian faith, rather than humanistic or political reasons.  Based on many, many conversations I've had on this subject, I've come to the personal conclusion that this is based on Biblical prophesy indicating that Israel will be restored when Jesus returns.  This would seem to indicate that if Israel were to cease being a country, we would by extension no longer be in the end of days.  Assuming I'm correct, this means that faith is the root of America's unfailing support for Israel's existence.

The thing is, Israel is very heavy-handed in its efforts to maintain its existence.  This means that the human rights of ethnic Arabs are not always observed, especially in the occupied areas I mentioned before.  This, understandably, could make some Arabs in the region a little cranky.  I can absolutely recognize why some of these oppressed individuals might choose violence to voice their opposition to their situation.

This all leads to my conclusion.  The Jews and Arabs have been fighting for as long as Israel has been a country.  Heck, their ancestors have been warring for thousands of years.  This anger and hostility is nothing new.  Furthermore, many, many countries have worked for longer than I've been alive to bring about peace in this region, to no avail.  This is because both Arabs and Jews are unwilling to compromise.  Both sides have committed atrocities in the name of independence or protecting their homeland, and both sides have legitimate grievances against their foes. While it's reasonable to strive for a permanent end to hostilities in the region, it is folly to believe that it's imminent, and hubris for any one individual to believe they can single-handedly make it happen.

I'd also like to point out that problems in the Middle East are not restricted to conflict between Jews and Arabs.  There is also a high level of conflict between Shiite Muslims and Sunni Muslims, but that's a complete story in itself, so it's a topic for another day.

Must Be in the Blood

Though he's only 13, I've taken my grandson to weekly PT with the Marine Corps recruiters and poolees on delayed entry.  The kid's been crushing it!

Last week we did an Indian run, with the added twist of a medicine ball.  The boy kept up and actually outperformed a good number of the poolees and other guests.  Yesterday, we did our monthly Initial Strength Test, which consists of each person doing a max set of pull-ups, a timed plank, and a 1.5 mile run.  The boy did 7 pull-ups, planked for the max time of 3:45, and ran the 1.5 miles in just over 10 minutes.  He outperformed poolees and other guests in every single event.

After we all finished our pull-ups, I asked the poolees to raise their hands if they did 10 or fewer pull-ups.  About half raised their hands, and I said "Congratulations, you just got beat by an old man."  I then asked the poolees to raise their hands if they did fewer than 7 pull-ups.  About a third kept their hands up.  To them, I continued with "Congratulations, you just got beat by an old man AND a thirteen year old boy."  When we finished the planks, the kids who hadn't maxed their time at 3:45 were standing in a group off to the side.  I looked over at them and said, "Congrats on getting out-planked by a 13 year old boy and an old man.  You suck!  Do better!"

I didn't do that for the run, though I should have.  The boy was one of the fastest ones there, finishing fourth, and I pulled out a personal best run time of 12:18, finishing faster than about 1/3 of the kids.  The recruiters seem to be enjoying the boy's presence.  I'm sure it is disheartening for these kids to get their asses kicked so mercilessly by the boy and me, and it should motivate them to do better.  Lord knows I'm proud of the boy.  It must be in the blood.

Not the Way

As this Cyclosporiasis thing is still going strong because of bad lettuce, I'm now reading there's a problem with jalapenos.  It's almost as if the universe it trying to tell us that a global mega food chain, full of an exploited work force, while simultaneously woefully lacking in product diversity, is not the way.

 #EatLocal

Some Things Stick With You...

I saw the movie Parenthood almost 40 years ago.  There's a scene from that movie that really hit home, even as a young man who hadn't yet had children. I still paraphrase the scene, and try diligently to live by it when I'm feeling overwhelmed.  I'd love to share the clip with you.