The Road Not Chosen

In Word & Deed

Last week the nation witnessed the horror of the events in Arizona. Politicians on the Left were quick to point out Sarah Palin’s website happened to have a graphic featuring certain politicians with the symbol of crosshairs over their faces. Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Gifford was one of them.  So began a national tussle over the effect of violent words in politics. Both sides are equally to blame. The right reminded everyone that the President had once said about fighting his opponent's “If they bring a bat, we bring a gun” etc.

With all this talk rumbling about, an interesting thing happened on CNN last night.

CNN anchor John King issued an on-air apology to his viewers Tuesday for the terminology guest Andy Shaw of the Better Government Association used during a broadcast of "John King, USA".

Shaw used the term, "in the crosshairs" while the pair discussed the mayoral race in Chicago.

King apologized saying:

"Before we go to break, I want to make a quick point. We were just having a discussion about the Chicago mayoral race just a moment ago. My friend Andy Shaw, who now works for a good government group out there, used the term 'in the crosshair's in talking about the candidates out there. We're trying, we're trying to get away from that language. Andy is a good friend. He's covered politics for a long time. But we're trying to get away from using that kind of language. We won't always be perfect, so hold us accountable when we don't meet your standards."

Alrighty then. If we all learn not to say anything violent we will have peace & harmony. The lion & the lamb will lay down together & the streets will flow with dark chocolate.

Oddly, after hearing that bit from John King (who I usually like) I turned to ABC to watch V, a show Harold & I have really enjoyed. Last night I had to turn it off. The theme of the night was torturing humans & aliens. Aliens were hung from chains so that their skin could be cut off of them as they screamed in pain. A human had several spikey things attached to his body so current could go into him to test the Queen V’s daughter’s willingness to torture someone. That is when I clicked away.

We can get all picky and uppity about not saying “in the crosshairs” but then we go home and watch popular TV & movie dramas that emphasize brutality all for our enjoyment. What is accomplished by our censoring words? If we are really committed to having a less violent country it has to encompass not just vocabulary & political dialogue, but movies, games,  etc.

As a writer I am acutely aware of the power of words. I become concerned however, when we assign them too much power, resulting in an emphasis on being politically correct but not changing the violence behind the word which imbues it with power in the first place.

Which do you think is more powerful; the word or the graphic image? Let me know.

It Is February

as my friend Molly pointed out a couple of weeks ago. I have had a good blog-vacation. I actually meant to start up again last week but have been very undecided as to what kind of post to come back with. Chatty? Insightful? Dramatic? Informative? I give up trying to pick an angle & I'll just be random.

I survived my job last month. All my accounting duties came off without a hitch, for once. At the end of January we had a weekend long church celebration & set in 2 elders. (For those of you unsure about the definition of "elder" it basically means a pastor. We are a church that believes in team leadership so we have a senior pastor, some elders & other leaders who all meet & pray & discuss & wrangle together to help lead our local body.) It was a blast of a weekend with friends from Denmark, Sweden, England, and several US states all coming together to eat, hang out, tell bad jokes, and, oh yeah, set the guys in.

February has seen our house mightily afflicted with that nasty, nasty influenza that you are reading about or experiencing in a real & personal manner. It totally ticks me off that I got a flu shot & drug Harold to get a flu shot & we still got sick! Grrrr! Evan has stayed above it all though. We had been worried about his immune system going into this winter but apparently he's stronger than we are.

I am obsessed with the Presidential Campaign. In fact, I'm listening to Barrack & Hilary as I write. Obama reminds me (and everyone else my age) of the Kennedy brothers. I'm convinced that he is going to be president. That doesn't mean I'm going to vote for him, just that he exudes change, different-ness, newness. And that will probably be enough to carry him to the White House. I keep trying to figure out who he would surround himself with as advisors but haven't been able to track any info on that down.

I was trying to think of alternate ways of us getting to know the candidates besides all the debates. Here is a list I think might be useful to someone who plans these types of things:

1. Skeet shooting: hand/eye coordination could be a good indicator of their physical health & mental acumen;
2. An appearance on The Singing Bee, which could show how in touch they are with popular culture. Any candidate who knows all the words to "American Pie" by Don McLean could surely remember which leader is in charge of which country.
3. A quick stint on "Celebrity Apprentice" would show us tons about how they work under pressure with people they don't like and how they handle stinkin' rich billionaires.
4. Iron Chef America would show us if they can stand the heat or if they need to get out of the kitchen. 
5. Real World Washington D.C.: throw them all in the same house together and let the cameras roll 24/7. (Wait, that's too much like the campaign trail isn't it?) I, for one, would really like to see Hillary's hair first thing in the morning. Or not.

On my popular culture radar is the new M. Night Shyamalan movie "The Happening". Click on the link to check out the trailer. It looks like a fun ride! Also, anyone who know me well, knows I'm a huge Michael McDonald fan. His new CD "Soul Speak" comes out March 4th & I can't wait to get my copy. (I pre-ordered on Amazon already, of course!) Also, Harold & I have been watching "Celebrity Rehab" which features Dr. Drew Pinsky, an addiction medicine specialist, trying to get a bunch of celebrities sober.

I watched the first episode out of boredom & curiosity, prepared to really not like it. To my surprise, it is one of the most educational and moving things I have ever watched. It is definitely"R" rated in spots, so be forewarned. Overall, it is a raw look into the process of getting sober. The not-so-surprising link between all these people is suffering abuse at a young age. Dr. Drew & his staff are alternately kind, compassionate, patient & very blunt with this group. No coddling going on here! (Which is what I thought it was going to be all about.) I have even learned some things from Dr. Drew that put my own battles with addiction into a new light. There have been some definite "Ah-ha" moments for me. As I watch this, though, I know that without God in your life, you can't stay sober or be truly healed from the abuse of the past.

That's it for now. Thanks for letting me stretch my legs. Blog-wise I mean. A more focused entry to come...