Beautiful Soul

It was kind of a sad weekend for my family.  We had to lay my aunt Jackie to rest.  She was a pretty remarkable woman.  She was an unassuming person with a wonderful smile and a good word for everyone.  She had a tough childhood that made her feel that she was less than worthy of anything.  This continued into her adult life with an abusive marriage that lasted a long time.  It wasn't until she was older that she broke free from that relationship and struck out on her own for the first time.  She met a very nice man who showed her that not only was she worthy of being loved, but that life was an adventure that she was just beginning.

Jackie suddenly found a whole new world in which people cared about what she thought, and what she thought was usually very sagely and delivered with perfect timing.  She began going on cruises and exploring the world.  She decided not to waste another moment of her life, which was personified once after tasting a rather odious glass of wine when she commented "life is too short for bad wine." She poured it out and opened another bottle.

When she was in her late 50's she decided to go to college.  The new love of her life was a college professor with several PhD's and spoke seven languages.  It's difficult to be around someone like that and not catch the learning bug, so she enrolled in the Texas Woman's University.  She found a whole new world in academia.  For most of her life she was told that she was dumb, but she discovered that not only was she not dumb, she was smarter than most of us.  She took classes and got certifications and the people at the college noticed her immediately.  She received so many certifications that the college had to create advanced level certifications just to keep up with her.

Jackie finished her undergraduate degree at age 61 with a 4.0 GPA.  But that wasn't enough for her, she went on to receive a Masters degree a few years later, again with a perfect 4.0 average.  She finally became a teacher, bringing her education full circle to do what she did best, enlighten others.

Jackie's funeral was, for the lack of a better word, astounding.  The pastor began with a eulogy and some scripture, then she said they were going to play some songs that Jackie really liked, and while the music played if anyone would like to say something about Jackie they could come up and do so.

I kid you not when I say that literally for over an hour people streamed up to the podium to talk about Jackie.  Women who worked for her when she was a manager at an insurance agency many years ago talked about how Jackie had mentored them and helped them through marital problems and other difficult times in their lives.  Professors from the college came up and talked about how Jackie was the most incredible learner they had ever met, and that the college even began a scholarship program in her name.  Friends from years past, family, and acquaintances all spoke of what a wonderful, giving person she was.  It was amazing to see how many lives she had touched.

It's been said that a person's life can be measured by their funeral.  If that is true, then there is no scale big enough to measure the life of Hettie Jacqueline Nye.  She will be missed, and all of our lives are just a little less joyful without her presence.

Rest in peace, beautiful soul.

The Bill of Subterfuge

I just have to weigh in on the news I've been reading about the bill defeated today in Congress by a Republican filibuster.  The bill would make free medical care available to 9/11 first responders, which I think is s good thing, but the press is saying the Republicans defeated it because they didn't like the price tag.

That isn't exactly accurate.  The Democrats knew this was an important piece of legislation that the American people would like, so they secretly added some things that weren't publicized, such as abortions being funded with tax payer dollars.

This kind of subterfuge happens all of the time in Washington.  It's a game to them, with the ultimate losers being the American people.  They don't really care about us, they just want their agenda to pass.  Both sides of the aisle do it.  But unfortunately for the Republicans the Democrats really played dirty pool with this one and the press is playing along and reporting the story without all of the details.  So now the GOP is being painted as uncaring villains.

The tragedy is that the 9/11 veterans won't get the care they deserve, not because the Republicans don't care about them like the press is saying, but because the Democrats loaded up the bill with things they knew the Republicans wouldn't vote for.

It's appalling how politicians treat us citizens, and I continue to say that the single greatest danger to this country isn't terrorists, it's Republicans and Democrats.

"God, please wrap your healing arms around those brave people who put their lives in danger on 9/11.  Heal their wounds, and comfort their hearts.  Amen."

When Freedom of Speech Attacks

There's been a lot of press about WikiLeaks lately.  Somehow they got their hands on some confidential documents from the U.S. government and decided everyone on the planet had a the right to know what they said.  Some of the dispatches were embarrassing, with diplomats painting other heads of state in a bad light, but some of the correspondence details important U.S. asset locations such as dams, communication pipelines, industrial plants, and other things that the U.S. see's as critical assets that could hurt the country if they were destroyed.  Thanks WikiLeaks for giving the enemy a target list, with directions.

So where does the line stop between freedom of speech and just plain irresponsibility?  I've read article after article on every major news web site about how WikiLeaks was putting soldiers overseas and citizens here in this country at risk, and I thought to myself "Are you kidding?  You people do this every day!"

It's true, every time the U.S. does something to capture or kill high ranking enemy combatants the press details exactly how they did it.  I remember several instances where coalition forces tracked down the enemy by triangulating cell phone signals, so the press tells everyone how they did it.  So now the enemy knows not to use cell phones. 

The enemy learns fast, and the press is their greatest asset for information on what we're doing to fight them.  They learn troop movements, tactics, and how our technology works simply by logging into any of the news outlets every day.

I think WikiLeaks is doing a disservice to this country, but the news media has no room to condemn them when they are just as guilty.  I'm all for freedom of speech, but I'm more concerned about the safety of our troops.  I think the press should be held accountable for being responsible with their mandate of reporting events.

The lives of our military members is more important than their ratings.

"God, it's unfortunate that we can't seem to get along here on this planet.  Please help us find love for one another.  And please keep our troops safe.  Thanks."

To Build, or Not to Build.

I’ve been reading about this religious place some people want to build that has some other people up in arms.  The residents are saying they don’t want it there and it’s not an appropriate place for it.

So where do we draw the line between our personal likes and dislikes, and what this country actually stands for?  The 1st Amendment of the Constitution reads “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The 1st Amendment seems pretty clear that we have the right to believe whatever we want to believe, and just because you don’t like what I believe doesn’t give you the right to interfere with my freedoms.  But people have started a petition to stop the owner of the property from building this house of faith.

On one hand, this happens a lot.  Residents in New York once stopped a Wal-Mart from being built simply because they didn’t want it in their neighborhood.  They went through legal channels, and they petitioned the right people, and they made the Wal-Mart move.  This isn’t an isolated incidence.  It happens all the time.

But the fact that this is a place of religion seems to be the biggest deal.  People don’t believe in the same faith that is going to be practiced in this building, so they don’t want it near them.  Does that mindset make it right?  I think I have to say no, it’s doesn’t.  We can’t prescribe to freedom of religion for some people, but not for others simply because we don’t like their flavor of faith.

Oh, and by the way, the building of faith that I'm talking about, the one people are trying to block, is a Christian Fellowship Church in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“God, help us to love one another the way your Son loves us and to realize that we can’t tell people about you if we continually push them away.  Amen.”

Rest in Peace

Earlier this week I had to put my dog to sleep.  Lucy was a great pet, she was mild tempered and obedient.  She loved to go for walks, and she took great care to sniff out the neighborhood.  My wife said it was like reading the newspaper to her.

Lucy had cancer.  We did what we could, including chemotherapy, but in the end she wasn’t going to get better.  It was a very difficult decision to put her down, but we knew it was the right thing to do.  So I loaded her in the car and took her to the vet and they euthanized her. 

Having a loved pet die is pretty difficult.  For me it brought out a range of emotions, one of which was how bad I felt that I had “killed” my pet.  Realizing that I had control of whether this living, loving animal lived or died, and actually naming the day and time she would die made me feel bad.

But then God reminded me of something, he gave us dominion over all living creatures.  Genesis 1:26 tells us “… and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”  I used to think that all this meant was that we were at the top of the food chain and we could do whatever we wanted to animals.

I see things a little differently now.  Now I believe that having “dominion” over animals means that God has placed them in our care.  Just like the rest of the earth God created, we are custodians of all living creatures, and how we treat them is important.  It also means that we have the right to decide whether they live or die.  My wife and I had to make a difficult decision with Lucy, and I was feeling bad about it, but now I realize that it’s part of my custodial rights and duties, and in making the decision to stop Lucy’s suffering I used that right in a humane way.

God has given us great power over the earth.  It doesn’t mean that we can abuse it, we need to manage its resources, both animal and mineral with the principles He gave us.

“God, thanks for letting us have Lucy for 12 years.  She was a great friend.  And thanks for teaching me a lesson in all this.  My life with you is a constant classroom.  Thanks.”