It’s cool to see old movies where nobody had a cell phone, where people in a restaurant are talking to each other, or where people on a busy sidewalk are paying attention to what’s happening around them. The smart phone is the great isolator of this generation. People right next to each other are no more aware of each other than if they were 1000 miles away from each other.
Everyone is a hero?
I remember when we used to have an assortment of words for people who did good things. If someone found a wallet and returned it to its owner we would call that person honest. If a kind person aided a motorist having car trouble we call that person helpful. If a shopper paid for another shopper’s groceries we would say that person was generous. Today the word “hero” would be used in all cases. It is so overused as to have nearly lost its meaning.
“Hero” is no longer reserved for a relatively few soldiers, police officers, or firefighters who have engaged in extraordinary acts of selfless courage. Its use is now broader. All veterans are considered heroes regardless of when, where, or how they served. All members of law enforcement are heroes just for wearing the uniform. Even people who don’t wear uniforms can be heroes for just being nice.
Don’t get me wrong. I believe in heroes. They don’t even have to wear uniforms, but they do have to do something more than ordinary good deeds. Otherwise, what will the word be for someone who sacrifices everything to save someone else? Super hero?
Opposition doesn’t diminish truth
The number of people who oppose you has no bearing on the truth. If something is true, it is true. On the other hand, popularity of falsehood doesn’t make it true.
We all have it coming
I saw Clint Eastwood’s ‘Unforgiven’ many years ago. It isn’t a movie I would recommend, so it’s interesting how one part still stands out in my memory. Clint Eastwood’s character, Will Munny, has been looking for some men who brutalized a woman—to get a bounty I think. He’s been riding with a young man who goes by the name of The Schofield Kid. The Kid does a lot of bragging about how many people he had killed. Finally, they locate two of the men. One of them is in an out house and The Schofield Kid throws open the door and shoots him. I can’t remember if Munny shot the other one.
The Kid admits to Will Munny that this was his first time killing someone. He is feeling remorse instead of elation. This is the part that has stayed with me all these years—the last two lines specifically. I think there is a lesson in them:
The Schofield Kid: [after killing a man for the first time] It don’t seem real… how he ain’t gonna never breathe again, ever… how he’s dead. And the other one too. All on account of pulling a trigger.
Will Munny: It’s a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he’s got and all he’s ever gonna have.
The Schofield Kid: Yeah, well, I guess they had it coming.Will Munny: We all got it coming, kid.
Most of us are not guilty of crimes that these men are talking about, so it’s easy to say, “I haven’t done what those people have done. I hope they get what they deserve”. I certainly don’t condone murder or the brutalization of women, and I do believe in justice under the law. But what if we ALL got what we deserved? What if, instead of mercy, we all got what we had coming—the unfiltered, undiluted blast of justice? Who have we hurt intentionally, or unintentionally? Who have we made to suffer? Parents? Teachers? Class mates? Friends? People we have dated? Spouses? Children? Are there things we’ve said that we wish we could take back?
I think back on stupid things I did as a kid where I could have hurt myself, or possibly others, and luck (or the Lord) saved me from tragedy. Punishment never came for those lapses in judgement because no actual damage was done and life moved on. But the poor choices were already made, and consequences weren’t in my control. I nearly wrecked my dad’s truck once because I was going too fast on a dirt road and didn’t see the washed out road ahead. I hit the brakes hard, and the truck slid into the ruts in the road and started bouncing sideways. It finally caught and tipped up high on 2 wheels before it came down safely on all 4. Disaster averted. I wasn’t wearing a seat belt (nobody did back then), so I could easily have been injured. I think there was a passenger with me, and they could have been hurt as well. I would have had to pay for the damage to the truck. I would have lost the trust of my parents. We were shaken up, but no damage was done and we drove away thankful. Nobody else found out so my life wasn’t altered by it. I could have received justice but I got mercy instead.
I’ve said hurtful things to people in the past. I’m pretty sure I haven’t apologized for all of the things I’ve said. I’m not sure if they still remember them, but what if they do? I hope they have forgiven me. Again, I hope I receive mercy rather than justice.
I hope justice isn’t meted out in full measure for all the poor choices I’ve made. I hope there is mercy. I hope I can extend that wish of mercy to others; even people who have hurt me or endangered me in some way. We all have it coming. We all need the mercy and the forgiveness that comes through the atonement of Christ.
Follow the right model for spiritual success
Today we had fast and testimony meeting at church. One man expressed his concern that people, young and old, are having trouble staying faithful. He said every time he visits his hometown he hears of someone else who has fallen away from the church.
He talked about things he had learned from Tony Robbins, and said people change because they find a model, immerse themselves in the model, and revisit that model. People who fall away are looking at other models. I think this is true not just for church, but for things like fidelity in marriage.
He said we need to re-immerse ourselves in this model (the church) and avoid the others.
A bloodthirsty nation of online executioners
We don’t consider ourselves a primitive society. We are civilized. We don’t punish people who offend us by casting stones. We are not barbarians. Ironically, we prefer bloodless, virtual crucifixion through viral memes and online commentary. We prefer petitions to higher authority through the screams of a digital mob. Make the wrong mistake and there is a chance the whole world could know about it within hours. Without waiting for details, a rabid public will have a judgement ready within seconds.
When reality isn’t real
Reality TV isn’t real in any sense of the word. It is always manipulated. Similarly, Hollywood may use a true story as the inspiration for a movie, but it will always bend the reality of that true story into something that is not true.
Facebook groups are hostile, as are most Internet forums.
Leaving a Facebook group can have a calming effect, like shutting a thick, soundproof door on a room full of baying hounds. Most Internet forums are hostile, regardless of topic or professed ideals.
Rental property and a person’s character
I think one of the benchmarks of character is how someone treats something they are renting.
Rebels together
There is a sameness in those who try to look different. The styles have evolved a little in the past 30 years, but not as much as I would have expected. Shaved and dyed hair, tattoos, piercings, and makeup are like ageless uniform. Those who wear them are anxious to be different, but not so different from each other. As they rebel against the norms of one segment of society they embrace the norms of another. They want to be rebels, but not alone.