The lesser of two evils???

As we draw ever nearer to the elections in November, people of all faiths and no faiths have to make a decision as to who will be the best man to lead our country. Many are pinning this election as the most important election of the decade. I don't know that I would buy into all the hype and elevation of this election the way the media wants me to but I will say that I think it is ALWAYS important to vote. In talking with several Christian friends lately, I know many people are struggling with who to vote for and with what weight to give particular issues. Many do not want to be a single issue voter but find some issues tend to mean more to them than others. Some take a "bigger picture" look at the candidates to assess who will be better in an all around way where as some look at who will defend a certain cause or two that are important to them. I'm certainly not in a position to tell anyone how to vote or how to measure what the most important issues are because those are personal issues that must be worked out between the individual and their God, moral system or whatever guides them. But I take heart in knowing that we Protestants are not the only ones who struggle with this decision. Take a glance at this article if you have time and see if any of it sounds familiar to you. Catholics struggle with vote! I take peace in knowing that when I pray to God and ask for guidance in how to vote next month, I am not alone. The pleas to God for redemption seem to be coming from many directions. It is my prayer that we all as Christians will seek out the best candidate for the job and not judge each other for how we vote. I know that some friends and family disagree with Dave and I about our politics and our theology and we with them. But in the end, we who are Christians are part of one body, one Church and are ultimately working toward the same end. One last note, Sojourners has an excellent voter's guide for Christians. Click on the link on our blog to check it out.

Why do men look so stupid???

I was reading my friend Tony's blog a few weeks ago and he had a post about his frustration with how the media portrays women and women's seeming obsession with celebrity and superficiality. This got me thinking. While I agreed with most of his post, I think he did hit a big stereotype. Obviously not all women are catty and only interested in looking good. But that is not always what you would assume if you only watched tv or looked at other forms of media. But if we go that route, what can we then say about men? This is one frustration Dave and I have shared over the past few years as we watch TV or movies. Men are portrayed as creatures who are only driven by sex and food, who are so stupid they put whole avocados in the blender expecting to get guacamole and are obsessed with getting more hair and a six pack. One of my biggest frustrations is the way that all men are portrayed sexually. I can't even count how many television shows, movies, songs etc in which men talk opening about pornography and three ways. Ok, not EVERY guy in the world likes to watch porn or is turned on by the idea of a three way or two women together. Why then do these shows imply that these sorts of things are normal for men? Why do we make men look so stupid? I know plenty of good men who love and respect women and their place in home, work and church. I know plenty of men who choose not to objectify women. I know plenty of men who can cook for themselves, or at least get decent food. I know plenty of men who are fine with the hair they have and the body they have. If we are going to talk about why women act the way they do in our celebrity, beauty, image obsessed culture, we can not do it without looking at the men too for the two are inextricably connected. I could go on for pages about my frustrations with our celebrity and beauty obsessed culture, but I will refer you to my friend Tony's bog because he has so eloquently written on this in his blog. Look for "this stupid country" on Omnis sub ratione Dei.

Probably overreacting

I watched Law & Order: SVU, one of my favorite shows, the other night. Well, it completely freaked me out like no other show ever has before. It came with a parental advisory, should have been my first clue that I shouldn't watch it. It was all about pedophiles, not completely uncommon for a show like this. But what freaked me out was that the main "perp" was not quite a "perp" yet because he had only fantasized. But he went to this website where he could look at photos of kids. The photos were taken from online resources, people uploading them, people taking them themselves. But the pictures were simple, kids on the swings at a park, playing with other kids, close up shots, etc. But these perverted people twisted the innocent pictures by making them a object of fantasy for their deviant thoughts and behavior. It freaked me out because I thought what if sights like this really do exist. I have pictures of my kids all over my blog, which is easily accessible to anyone on the Internet. I thought about it all night and the next day. And so last night, I began removing all the photos of the kids off the blog. Now, maybe I am overreacting a bit and maybe I'll go back and add some pictures back later. But for now, I still have this sick feeling in my gut that keeps me from doing that. I will continue to keep sharing photo albums through a more secure network with family. If you would like to be added to this, just email me and I can send you the photos. However, for now, I don't think that I will be posting too many pics of the kids.