My Second "Politically Un-Correct" Entry in the Span of One Week

So, I started a new job this week. There’s all the excitement of setting up email, and meeting new colleagues, reorganizing your desk, and bringing a few things from home to make the desk your own. Of course, among my pictures and candles, I have to bring a few books to make the desk truly “Ginger.”
Included in these books, a bargain buy I had picked up from B & N a while back, called The Girl’s Guide to Power & Success by Susan Wilson Solovic. The cover was cute, and it seemed an appropriate title to sit on a working girl’s desk. I started to read it one day when I had left my lunch book in the car and the rain was coming down too hard for me to run out and retrieve it.
For the first time in a while, I broke my “stop reading after 50 pages, if you don’t like the book” rule. I made it just three chapters in (page 24), and couldn’t take anymore. Maybe Ms. Solovic’s talent lies somewhere else, other than writing, because she is obviously a successful woman. But when it comes to inspiring a “girl to power and success,” we’ve heard all that she has to say already. I guess that’s what I get for buying off the overstock table. She whines for the first chapter about how the playing field still isn’t equal. She tells fairly limited stories, based almost exclusively off of her own experiences, about people who done her wrong. Then, she proceeds to encourage us girls with tired advice like, “Go for it!” “Be prepared for anything.” “Stay upbeat!” “Be a superstar, not a superwoman.” And, my favorite, “Use your feminine charm, but your masculine smarts.” Advice you could get at any high school career day pep rally. One of her favorite refrains really burns me, as one who considers herself a successful woman. She is constantly encouraging women to free themselves from the “good girl” mentality. Her argument is that traditional breeding has given most females the image of being “nice” and this robs us of the ability to free the aggressive nature that it takes to succeed in business. Well, what ever went wrong with being good and nice? Most women I know have a fierce side. We can go to war when we need to, but we reserve these times only for the things that are really important. No need to pick a fight, when being “good” will get you just as far, if not further, if you ask me.
It seems this book is about 10 or 15 years behind its time. Women are beginning to recognize that you can’t have it all. We evaluate our priorities, and go for the important things in life to us. And we don’t need someone telling us anymore that “anything you can do, I can do better.” We know; we just don’t need to prove it to anyone.

Discrimination is NOT a Bad Thing

There is a difference between definition and connotation.
Webster's Dictionary defines "discriminate" this way:
1: to mark or perceive the distinguishing or peculiar features of
2: to distinguish by discerning or exposing differences
3: to make a distinction; to use good judgment
"Discriminate" has gotten a bad reputation. It seems to me that to be discriminatory would be a good thing. It would involve exercising judgment, noticing things and people, seeing differences and features. From kindergarten up, we are taught to "use good judgment." I mean, when I go to the grocery store, I "discriminate" between the firm, ripe apples, against the ones that have sat in the bin past their prime. And when I pick out a new car, I use my good sense and judgment to notice that this one runs smoothly, while the other appears to need some engine work. I picked a college based on qualities of one or another that were better or worse. So, before you all go haywire all me, I will plainly state that I am absolutely NOT a racist. I lived for 10 years in Memphis, the seat of the civil rights movement. And furthermore, I am married to a "minority." (My handsome husband is Spanish.) As a matter of fact, I've been thinking and reading a lot lately about the leader of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King, Jr.
Allow me to continue. When I say that "discrimination," in and of itself, is not a bad thing, I am saying that to discriminate is not wrong. It depends on what qualities you are using to discriminate with. Color is not a proper reason to discriminate. This entry is inspired by a book I've been reading (of course) called "Soul Survivor." If you've never read anything by Phillip Yancey, you must, immediately. He is responsible for practically shaping my views on grace full living.
The book is his tribute to thirteen individuals who have shaped his life, and encouraged him, sometimes in unusual ways, to "survive the church." I'd like to focus, however, primarily on Chapter 2: Martin Luther King, Jr. (Other interesting lives include Dr. Paul Brand, Leo Tolstoy, Dr. Robert Coles, Feodor Dostoevsky, Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. C. Everett Koop, and Shusaku Endo.)
Mr. Yancey grew up in an incredibly racist environment in Atlanta, Georgia. And he admits to looking down upon blacks as a child mostly just because they "gave [them] someone to look down on." While he stresses repentance and healing from those feelings now, it's rare to read a defense of MLK, Jr. from this perspective, and it started me thinking.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was by no means perfect. In fact, there is a good deal of proof that he participated in sexual dalliances, even up to the night before his death. And however powerful a writer and speaker he was, Dr. King is also accused of plagiarism on certain occasions. But this does not excuse us from looking at the good he did seek to accomplish. Yancey talks about Dr. King's upbringing, conversion, and the message he brought in a socially changing day, ripe for his movement. He even compares Martin Luther King, Jr. with the prophets of the Old Testament. Dr. King went directly against laws and social assumptions of his time, and all doing this nonviolently, forgiving his enemies in love, despite threats to his own body and defamations to his character. He heralded the message that "moral change is not accomplished through immoral means." God has always stood on the side of the oppressed throughout history, and Dr. King was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his efforts.
But it's ironic that having come from such a legalistic, oppressive, and ungrace-filled place, Phillip Yancey has become such a champion for grace. It's because of this I've vowed to read more on Dr. King, starting with a couple of autobiographies by David Garrow and Taylor Branch and "A Testament of Hope" (excerpts of famous speeches and writings from MLK, Jr. himself). While few in this day would ingore Dr. King's message to cease discrimination based on race, I think part of his message has been lost.
I stood in line today behind a man wearing a shirt, sporting the message in bold red letters: "Stop SNITCHING." So I must evaluate not only what Dr. King accomplished, but what his actual desires against "discrimination" were.
I had heard of this "Stop Snitchin'" concept before, but I was not exactly sure as to the meaning of the message this, ahem, gentleman(?) was trying to get across. The color of his skin did not rouse me. His education level, IQ, job history, place of employment, or address were complete mysteries to me. All I know of this young man is what he chose to tell me, and everyone else he came in contact with today, through the wearing of that shirt.
A simple Google search lead me to 62,500 references to the "Stop Snitchin'" campaign. Basically, it started as a tactic from criminals to frighten people with information from going to the police. The campaign gained attention in Baltimore, Maryland and spread across the country through rap, videos, and even professional athletes. Some of the shirts even sport "bullet holes" tearing through the material. While I believe in free speech, and certainly the man that stood in front of me today has the RIGHT to wear whatever shirt he pleases, this is where my right to discriminate comes in. No, I am not judging him based on the pigments in his skin, but given the choice to be friends with/do business with/live near this man with such an evidently pro-criminal attitude, I use my better "judgment" and say, "no, thank you." This is what it means to discriminate properly, and I'll disagree that it's best just to be blind to these types of displays that are so obviously against what the entire message of Dr. King stood for.
This is put best by Martin Luther King, Jr. himself. He give me permission, and encouragement to judge, based on one thing: the content of their character.
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
So I will take that admonishment. I will never judge someone by the color of their skin, but I will most certainly use my right to judge you based upon the content of your character.



P.S.-On a side, personal note, I have been offered a job today, so if my full time current job of reading/bloging subsides a TAD, forgive me, please.

One Size Does NOT Fit All

From time to time in a book store, they'll have that table of books sitting by the register for like 170% off. And usually the cover isn't that well designed, and there are at least 10 copies of each of them, so you figure these are just the ones that didn't sell too good, but you're compelled to stop by and look, just in case. Well, some of my greatest treasures have been found on said table, and today's selection is one of them. I'm only sorry this book has been sitting on my shelf for years now--intriging enough for me to spend my hard-earned money on, but not intriging enough, apparently, for me to read. Until this weekend. Shame on me.
Well, my dearest husband is gone (boo!), so I was purusing my collection, and remembered that this book's concept looked interesting, so I started reading. The book is called "Sacred Pathways" and it's written by Gary Thomas. The premise is, that like personalities and temperments, our path to God is also an individual one. While Mr. Thomas does not discount the value of corporate gatherings, such as church (in fact, he maintains that we all, with our different pathways, are strengthened even more when coming together), he does propose that most of us were taught that in spiritual matters, one size fits all. And that's just not so.
Now, this book does not let that all religions are equal paths to God. Mr. Thomas takes the doctrinal position of Christianity (Jesus being God, etc.) is the only way, but our worship styles can be quite different. A spiritual life can come in many different forms. Much like Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences theory, "Sacred Pathways" outlines nine roads, one or two of which, we will find that we have a tendancy to enjoy most.
They are:
Naturalists... loving God outdoors
Sensates... loving God with senses
Traditionalists... loving God with rituals
Ascetics... loving God in solitude
Activists... loving God through causes
Caregivers... loving God by loving others
Enthusiasts... loving God with celebration
Contemplatives... loving God through adoration
Intellectuals... loving God with your mind
While we all can gain from all of these, a practical example is this. I am, at times, envious of my sister who can go camping for a whole weekend, and come back refreshed and filled. An afternoon picnic in the park usually leaves me indifferent, at best, annoyed (ants, melty chicken salad, melty hair, dirt!), at worst. She can enjoy and rejuvenate through seeing God's creation in nature. But then again, people like my Dad can't possibly imagine what I get out of a liturgy we've recited over and over, year after year. We each express ourselves to God, and He expresses Himself to us in individual ways. If we were to get ahold of this, our souls might cease being mal-nourished, as we would be properly fed, spiritually.
Look to some of your favorite authors, friends, heros of history. See if you don't notice a pattern in your choices. Perhaps, if you look to C.S. Lewis and John Calvin, they found strength in long hours pouring over theological studies. Or maybe you admire Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King Jr., who rallied for causes.
Pick this book up if you come across it on the sale table (just proof that you should never judge a book by its cover). Or better yet, search it out. I know that it will bring refreshment, no matter what your Sacred Pathway--especially if you diagnose as an "Intellectual."

A Specific Miscellany

Trivial Pursuit. Jepoardy. Common books found in bathroom reading. All these things prove our enjoyment of useless facts and figures.
A few years ago, I came across a most fascinating book: Schott's Original Miscellany. A fun "coffee-table book," it is chock full of such vital information as shoelace lenghts, a list of the seven dwarves, Miss Americas by hair color, and the motto of the US Postal Service. My husband can be entertained for hours.
But even better than this, when I came across a series of books just yesterday, by T. J. McTavish including "A Theological Miscellany" and "A Biblical Miscellany." It's no secret that I love all things pertaining to religion, and these two books have kept me reading for hours since, including which U.S. President was ordained as a minister, the five points of Arminianism, or the twelve myths of Christmas. While considerably weightier subjects than Schott's version, these books take a light and quirky look at "miscellany."
For interested Jepoardy contestants, also check out:
-Schott's Food and Drink Miscellany
-Schott's Sporting, Gaming, and Idling Miscellany
-The Shakespeare Miscellany
-Bedside Book of Birds: An Avian Miscellany
-Miscellany of Parent's Wisdom
-Cat's Miscellany.