Truth and Meaning: New Year’s Predictions

On Christmas Eve, I cited Isaiah from the Jewish Bible. A prophet of ancient Israel, Isaiah foretold many things, including the birth of a baby that would lead the people to a world of perfect peace. As a seer of future events, many people consider Isaiah’s predictions remarkably accurate.

Of course, there have been many prophets over the centuries. Far more predictions have been dismal failures than have hit anywhere close to their intended mark. For every Isaiah, history has forgotten countless others who dared to foretell future events.

So, at the risk of joining the thousands on the trash heap of history, I offer my predictions for 2014. And, perhaps like Isaiah, I offer these predictions not so much in the spirit of clinical accuracy, but in the desire to instill hope in a people whose faith could use a boost.

• In 2014, the trend of electing mental midgets, corporate tools and special interest pawns will decline.
• In 2014, the federal government will heed the overwhelming will of the people and pass comprehensive legislation creating mandatory background checks for all gun purchases.
• In 2014, the kinks in the Affordable Care Act will slowly disappear, silencing its critics into well-deserved irrelevancy.
• In 2014, the voices of women will grow until even the most hard-of-hearing legislators are forced to listen.
• In 2014, long overdue immigration reform will provide a reasonable path to citizenship for millions of future Americans.
• In 2014, progressive leaders and thinking will sprout from the dunghill of reactionary, no-nothingism that has strangled our nation for too long.
• In 2014, Michigan will join the growing list of states removing restrictions barring same-sex marriage.
• In 2014, we will look less for the differences that separate us, and more for the common bonds that unite us. 

I profess no special gift for prophecy — only the spirit of hope for this nation that we will lift ourselves from the doldrums of complacency and fear. I believe in America and I believe in the American people. And I believe that we are destined to be better than we have been in recent years as a nation, as a people and as individuals.

Truth and Meaning: Peace

As we prepare to celebrate a holiday proclaiming peace on earth and good will to all, let us take a moment to ask ourselves a question. When Jesus taught us that peacemakers are blessed, what exactly did he mean by making peace?

For nations, peace means the absence of war. Peace silences military conflicts, disarms combatants and finds long-term resolutions to differences. So, making peace requires first a willingness to avoid combat, the rejection of physical violence as a solution to disagreements. Second, a peacemaker must actively seek ways to eliminate the causes of war. Therefore, making peace requires us to seek a fair distribution of the world’s resources, so that no nation feels compelled to invade another out of need or deprivation. Making peace calls on us to understand and respect other cultures, and to find common ground that spans our gaps in perspective. Making peace means honoring the sovereign rights of all nations and defending those rights, when necessary, as nations united by common core principles.

In our communities, peace means the absence of crime. Making peace means supporting the laws of the community that define peaceful behavior. But, beyond mere policing, making peace requires us to build a healthy network of cities and towns, and maintain the balance between the interests of the people and those of the private sector. Only by maintaining this balance can industry be assured of an educated, healthy and motivated workforce and consumer base. Only by maintaining this balance can the people sustain the social infrastructure and capitalize on economies of scale for the provision of services and products. Only by maintaining this balance can industry thrive and the people earn the due rewards of their labor. The job of government is to ensure that the people and the private sector honor their social contract of mutual assistance, and fill the gaps when the system falters and leaves either individuals or businesses without a safety net.

How do I do that, you ask? How do I learn to love myself? Here are some suggestions — my Christmas gift to you:

• Make peace with your present self — You may be a creation of God, but you are not a god. You are a wonderful and amazing … and flawed human being. To love yourself, stop trying to be Superman and just be the most super man or woman you can be. Forgive your feet of clay so long as they are walking in the right direction.
• Make peace with your past self — Whatever lies in history is done. To love yourself, take responsibility where it is yours and ask for forgiveness. And if the blame lies with someone else, then leave it to them. You cannot control the feelings of others, you only have control over your own feelings.
• Make peace with your future self — Goals are great and we should all have them. But life is chaos. Life is unpredictable. We never really know where the next day will lead. To love yourself, make plans, but live your life. Live boldly, fearlessly, sometimes even recklessly. Only by living can you love.
• Make peace with your eternal self — Death is inevitable. However you view what happens after death, your spirit will live on through your actions here and now. And since none of us can know what happens after death, stop worrying about it and focus on the here and now. To love yourself, embrace your spirit and treasure the gift you are to the world. Love yourself by being the most ‘you’ that you can be. Love yourself by letting the flower of your life blossom.

Let there be peace on earth this holiday season and all the year round. And let peace begin with each and every one of us.

Truth and Meaning: Christmas is for Children

In a few days, people around the earth will celebrate the birth of a child — a child who changed the world forever. Christmas celebrates the miracle of birth, the miracle of children in our lives. Christmas is a time of wonder and magic, of mystery and anticipation. In the deepest cold of winter and the longest nights of darkness, Christmas reminds us of joy and light, of laughter and love.

But this year, families across the country will remember this season for another reason. They will remember today, Dec. 14, as the day that a man with a gun stole a child away forever from their family. Twenty families will remember children killed in Newtown, Conn. one year ago today. As they remember the birth of a baby in a manger, they will also remember their own birth and raising a child. They will remember sending their child to school, to the safety of friends and committed teachers. And they will remember that they will never see that child alive again.

They will pray for guidance. They will cry and mourn and ask “Why?” Perhaps they will find answers. Perhaps the wisdom to cope with such devastating loss will be delivered to them. Perhaps the grace to forgive the executioner will be granted. Perhaps their faith will sustain them in the absence of any rational reason for the meaningless death of 20 children.

They will pray in silence. Many of us will join in silent remembrance as well, connecting perhaps through our own pains of grief and loss. We will weep silently and feel the dread cold of the eternal night surrounding us all, but which came far too early for these 20 lives.

But, the question, “Why?” must not be asked silently. The question “Why?” should be shouted from every home, at every legislative office, in every hall of government. Why do we allow people to access guns freely without background checks? Why are we incapable of passing one law controlling the sale of guns when the overwhelming majority of Americans desire it? Why do we do nothing as our children continue to die?

Jesus taught the ways of peace. The babe born on Christmas Day commanded his disciples to sheathe their swords, saying that those who take up the sword will die by the sword. America has taken up and embraced guns with the caress that should be reserved only for infants. And we are paying the price for nurturing a gun culture with the blood of our children.

So when you go to your church to honor the babe, pray silently for the 20 lost children, who will never know another Christmas with their families. But come home and scream, “Why?” Go forth and demand that America put down the sword and pass sensible gun legislation. Shout until your voice cracks and your throat grows hoarse so that no family must endure this pain again. Let there be no more silence — let us send out the call for remembrance and resolve.

Truth and Meaning: The War on Women Continues …

Michigan legislators are considering acting on a petition that will clearly reveal their level of callous disregard for women. The petition calls for a ban on abortion coverage as part of Michigan health insurance policies. Instead, to get this coverage, women would be required to buy a separate abortion insurance rider policy.This action would make access to comprehensive health care nearly impossible to obtain for many women around our state. This proposal singles out women and denies them health care coverage for life-saving health care services with no exception for rape, incest or the life and health of the mother.

Now, let’s be clear. The proposal does absolutely nothing to eliminate abortion in Michigan. The action only increases the cost of abortion to women. So the only undeniable impact of this proposal is that a legal medical procedure will now cost a specific, targeted population of citizens more money — money that many of these citizens do not have. This proposal singles out women, forcing them to pay more money for medical treatment to which they have a legal right.

But let’s concentrate on what this proposed action does for the rest of us. If enacted, the proposal will do nothing to make us better men. It will not make us more responsible sexual partners. It will not make us better husbands or fathers. But if we choose to rape, it will make it more likely that our victim will be forced to carry a resulting pregnancy to term and to live with the consequences of our rape for the rest of their lives.

So the real impact of this proposal is to facilitate economic and physical violence against poor women. A woman with enough money will still have access to abortion. But a woman lacking financial resources will now have to play Russian roulette with their health care. A woman suffering a life-threatening pregnancy will now bear an even greater financial burden in order to live. And victims of incest or rape will face one more hurdle to restoring their health and well being.

I urge legislators to reject this ill-conceived and offensive proposal. And if they feel that they must proceed, then stop playing political games and put the matter to a vote of ALL the people — not just the small handful required for submitting such a petition. If legislators truly consider themselves “pro-life,” then they should do the right things to reduce unwanted pregnancies: mandate comprehensive sex education for all children and youth; make birth control widely available and affordable; hold men accountable for violence and sexual assault against women; and provide universal, affordable health care, better child care services, equal wages for women, and quality public education for all of our children. If they are unwilling to support these causes, then they should stop calling themselves “pro-life” and call themselves what they really are — “anti-woman.”