Ugly

Well, I have had a good week. Nothing ugly about it. No complaints. But there have been two things that have happened that are forcing this entry. 1) McGuire's just informed me that the stout is only $1 tonight (and I'm nowhere near Pensacola) leaving me rather grumpy and 2) I just finished another book, and as Stephen King taught me "read a lot, write a lot". So, I'm turning up Queen and writing.

Keeping my tradition of not wasting my time on books that have not offended anyone, I chose to read a book that was stamped with that statement "If this were not a free country, this book would be banned". Yeah, had to read it when I saw that.

So I read "The Ugly American" by William Lederer ad Eugene Burdick. It was a challenge to dive into a work that had a reputation that promised to challenge me. But I have come to love such stretching and just dove in. As usual, there was a lot to reap.

I've come to learn in the last several years that the arts, especially books, offer a multi-tier message that cover intended and unintended topics. The authors intended to address the problems within the united States Foreign Service during the Eisenhower Administration and Americans abroad in general and I was forced to deal with that. But the topic also covered the state of the modern Church in America.

Regardless of which way you look at it, the whole idea boils down to the choice of mutually beneficial actions or self-serving actions, symbiosis or parasitism, altruism or arrogance. It comes down to on question, in policy and in practice, "do we really care about people or are we just here to use them?"

I understand the frustrations of Gilbert MacWhite, "The Ragtime Kid" and "Tex" Wolcheck as they attempted to try to make a difference in southeast Asia by actually understanding the people, the culture, the way of life of the native people. These men, and others, understood that capitalism was the best opportunity for the people of Asia but that it was not going to look like American capitalism. They understood that the people didn't need the flash, glitz and the price tags that the u.S. government put on its foreign policy. They needed a better chance to earn a living and they weren't looking for handouts. They were looking for opportunity to do it themselves. I understand these frustrations because I have confronted evangelical leaders and begged them to care about people and have been labeled as a heretic for my efforts.

MacWhite sent off one final letter to Washington to seek the resources, the manpower, the permission to do the things that needed to be done to really empower the fictional nation of Sarkhan - only to be disappointed by politicians that were unaware that the box had an outside and who could never hope to think there and who were too self-serving to care about the people of rural Sarkhan.

"The Ragtime Kid" had his ultimate opportunity squashed by a staff member that couldn't see past his own Americanism to understand the culture of Sarkhan and the fact that one man was about to eliminate the influence of Red China over an entire nation.

Wolcheck found himself drunk and and unimpressed at the rebuke of a powerful senator, threatening him with bodily harm if he did not "have a drink with us and keep your mouth shut" or leave.

The consensus among the powers that be were that the new, innovative and, more importantly, benevolent ideas wouldn't work, weren't feasible and "wouldn't do enough". But the problem is that when it comes to helping people, bigger is not always better, handouts are not always better and people aren't looking to be just like us.

So, if an American can help a Cambodian farmer get his chickens to lay more eggs or help his fellow man find answers to the spiritual questions he is seeking, it doesn't matter if the farmer remains Cambodian or the seeker is never "presentable" in most churches. The question is "was a need met?" This might require someone learning to speak Khmer or to learn to not speak "Churchese" but if the best outcome is truly desired, the effort will not be difficult.

But if we are stuck in a box, I think I'll go fishing...or better yet, just play with my kids.

This post might be a little ambiguous for those who have never read the book....maybe ambiguous enough to fix that problem. Give it a try.

A Summertime Surprise

I was glad to wake up this morning and see some college football news. Granted, it was a bunch of silliness and grandstanding by second tier programs but a football fanatic is well into the DTs this time of year and you take any port in a storm.

Colorado headed to the Pac-10? How pleasant. They may take the Texas delegation with them? Isn't that special? Looks like 16 programs? Maybe between all of them, they'll field at least one legitimate team. I'm really hoping they at least change their name to the Pac-16 instead of leaving us wondering which ones don't count even in their eyes like their Rose Bowl cohorts in the Midwest.

Speaking of the conference that doesn't count so well....

So the Cornhuskers are bound for the Big 10...11...10...whatever. Bo Pelini coached in the SEC. Yeah, he's probably going to own that conference. What with powerhouses like Northwestern and Illinois running around up there? What a joke.

So now there is talk of championship games for these realigned conferences. Welcome to the 1990's, y'all. People are even wringing their hands asking if the Pac-however-many should have an additional BCS automatic bid. They already had one which was at least three too many. I mean really, you played nobody all year, why break that trend in January?

Then there is the news that The Diploma Mill of Southern California has been slapped with a 2-year post season ban and 4 years of probation for something that happened when their current players were in middle school. I don't care for the over-rated Trojan program and usually don't feel sorry for them but punishing these kids for the transgressions of a multi-millionaire NFL player is really kind of sad. But Lane Kiffin has to take it too, so maybe it's a wash. Lane, can we borrow your dad in Tampa for a few years while you aren't allowed to play big boy ball?

Anyway, all this shuffling around and the SEC will still be by far the superior conference in college football. A mid-tier SEC team will still be a championship favorite in any other conference in the nation. The ACC will still be a distant second that is still miles ahead of number three.

And regardless of all this rambling above and who pulls what moves it is apparent that troy is still way too chicken to show their faces in Jacksonville. The Pit may look a little different, but it is still the place Bama trojans go to get whupped.

Forever After

I don't typically go to the movies. It isn't some political boycott or anything. I just know that if I wait a few months, I'll be able to see anything for a dollar from a Redbox - a price that is more suitable for the produce of most film makers these days. I still pass on the Will Farrell movies. Why waste a dollar?

That being said, my wealth of otherwise worthless knowledge was able to score me two free passes. I knew that the red poppy is the Memorial Day flower and the local radio station thought that the contents of my neurons made me worthy of a night at the moving picture show. They paid for my wife as well. She had a few passes for the kids. After we paid the 3-D fee for all five of us, we got in the doors for $12.50 - a bit steep for most movies, but I wouldn't be writing unless I was pleased or VERY disappointed.

Shrek did not disappoint. And the sounds of Lacuna Coil educating Depeche Mode on the art of performing "Enjoy the Silence" is helping my fingers tap away tonight.

There is a lesson in this...for me and maybe for you. If you hate spoilers, come back to this article after you see the movie. I'll try to keep them to a minimum.

Right out of the gate, I perked up to see Shrek's disillusion with the mundane life he found himself in and the pull to live up to the expectations of all these other people. There are times in all of our lives where we just wish there was more excitement or more "me time" or whatever. You know about that grass on the other side. It was very easy to see that "yeah, I know what he is saying". And like so many of us often do, Shrek did something stupid. "Hey, y'all watch this..."

My ability to relate to the characters continued on through a scene where a short man with incredible head covers is in a grand ballroom surrounded by intriguingly dressed women. I can't say that I have found myself in that situation but it was fun for a short man to dream...

I was feeling rather cozy with myself relating to the depressed dad and the ladies' leprechaun when Josh Klausner and Darren Lemke made me feel like I could crawl up under a door. I felt that way because our big green hero did. And I'm short but not that short.

As the story progressed, Shrek realized that while he was a hero that saved a beautiful princess as well as a kingdom of fans, he had to learn the lesson that living out in that swamp all alone was...well...lonely. The boy came to grips with the fact that he was rescued as much as he was a rescuer.

Eureka!

How could a short man be the least bit distracted by that ballroom, his selfish stupidity or even the throne itself when his "ezer kenegdo" (life-saver) is still standing beside him ready to take on all comers in a battle to the death? Yeah, he can't.

So I'd like to raise a glass of ice-cold sweetened Luzianne to my own Princess, children's movies that teach lessons - even to adults, and the timely revelations that can only come from above, regardless of the delivery method.

Seems like she said something about some more free passes and a date night....