Momus is in a quandary ...

Boy did my moral compass have a hissy-fit today , I was reading the news as I am usually loathe to do (ignorance is bliss after all) , and came across a lovely headline stating that Pat Robertson is calling for the assassination of the Venezuelan President !
Robertson , founder of the Christian Coalition, has decided that Hugo Chavez is a “terrific danger” to our country because he aims to make Venezuela a " launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism” . Just out of curiosity, is it possible to be a communist and a Muslim extremist at the same time ? My first reaction was that Pat Robertson has finally gone off his nut. Here is the leader of a major Christian organization calling publicly for the murder of another human being. Sounds a bit wrong, does it not ? Mr. Robertson’s justification is this … "We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability," Why you may ask … Pat says … “it’s cheaper than starting a war " BUT THEN my moral compass did it’s little turn south . In a way , I have to agree with Pat Robertson (something I NEVER would have thought possible) A couple of well place assassinations here and there could have helped avert some of the most horrific moments in our history … ie.. Adolf Hitler. With out his magnetic personality , the Third Reich would have come to it’s end much sooner. I’m not saying that every disagreeable dictator should suffer some fatal “accident” , HOWEVER , neither am I opposed to using the type of diplomacy that comes with a .762 shot to the noggin’ , if the situation calls for it . I guess the hard part is who gets to decide that sort of thing and how . What sort of a barometer does one use to gauge the value of one life over another. Would I loose any sleep if Sadam Hussein had an unfortunate run with the Grim Reaper ? NOPE !! But I don’t think making a martyr of him is a very good idea either. I have found that I could argue both sides of this coin all day long with out having to invite any one else into the argument. On one hand , I believe the taking of an innocent life to be a vile thing , however I have no problem with the death penalty at all. Provided it is applied justly . To me the blatant murder of another human being is wrong , but at the same time our small town has recently seen one of its residents charged with molesting at least fifteen children , and molested another child while out on bond in some other town … I would have no problem at all with seeing him swing freely in the breeze , perhaps I could even find it in my heart to provide the rope . I guess that is why we have “situational ethics” . Momus is in a quandary .

The Great Sunday School Rebellion

We had a planning meeting for the Christian Education Dept. Monday evening and as the Chris. Ed. Director, I was obliged to attend. What a disaster that turned into . Does anyone out there have the secret to getting dedicated volunteers ? What is so terrifying about elementary aged children that makes my congregation refuse to volunteer to teach Sunday School ? The two teachers that I have for that age group have been teaching for a number of years and have been very flexible and committed to the program, however they are getting ready for a change of the guard more or less . They informed me if I didn't come up with at least two more teachers , so that they would only have to teach every other Sunday, that they are gonna quit. I am willing to jump in and teach that age group (I have done it before) so really I only need one person who would commit to teach every other Sunday. Priest , to her credit, was trying to help come up with a solution which so far is begging from the pulpit . YouthGuy and PostulantWoman were carrying on their own little conversation in their own little world paying no heed to what we were trying to work out. I'm thinking perhaps next time I should let those two just have their own meeting. It would have been real nice if one of them could have volunteered to teach one of the younger classes , they could alternate. But in retrospect, I have never seen either one of them very eager to work with the younger guys . They both have a "passion for the youth" instead , fine and wonderful except that we only have two "youths" in our "youth Dept" who show up on a regular basis. I'm praying for some Divine intervention, until it comes, I think I'm gonna break out the church directory and start begging.

The new "root of all evil"

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a conference sponsored by the national Episcopal Church called "Will Our Children Be Stewards ?" . The title it's self poses a question worthy of much thought and discussion. If only the answer could be hashed out at a 4 day conference. While I applaud the church for asking the question and inviting me to join the discussion, I am a little worried that perhaps the church is spending a great deal of effort fighting the wrong fire. The main theme of the conference seemed to be that media advertising , especially that which comes from the television, is the root of all our children's issues and their parents problems. We were given stacks of statistics on how much the advertising industry spends targeting our children and how many American children are now overweight, diabetic and clinically depressed because of it . According to several of the speakers the scenario goes as follows ... Little Mickey and Sarah are your average American children . Each week these children are taking in a full 38 hours of commercial media, that doesn't include internet, billboards and the "omnipresent brand logos" that bombard them every day. At least four times per day Mickey sees an ad for McDonald's and as a result Little Mickey is now seriously overweight because he insists on eating at McDonald's at least three times per week. Because Little Mickey is overweight he suffers from low self esteem and has become a behavior problem in school and is put on anti-depressant medications to help combat this. In the mean time across the hall Sarah is watching MTV with its ever present ads for the GAP and Old Navy and their message that if you don't wear our brands you suck as a human being. Sarah then goes to school and terrorizes the children who can't afford to live up to the MTV cultural norm. In the eyes of the speakers there is an obvious cause and effect going on in these situations . I agree, however I do not feel that the answer is to get congress involved by passing a "Parent's Bill of Rights" that would ban television advertising aimed at children under twelve years old. It would forbid schools and such organizations such as PTA from having sponsors such as Coca-Cola because they in turn give out freebies with the Coke logo on them. Here is where the conference leaders and I part ways , I have no doubt that the average American kid (mine included) sees way to much commercial advertising , however I don't think it is the responsibility of congress or the church to fix it. The answer is not to ban all advertising and commercial sponsors for such functions as PTA , most schools and related childrens programs are so under funded that sponsors like Coca-Cola and McDonald's are desperately needed. After much though and deliberation I have come up with a plan to combat such advertising nightmares and "marketing-related diseases" in children that I would like the church to consider endorsing , if not in place of the "Parents Bill of Rights" at least along side it and given equal billing. My solution is called "The Act of Personal Responsibility" and is goes as follows....
If you don't like your children drinking excessive amounts of the Coca-Cola products that are being advertised on the pencils that the PTA is selling for a fundraiser , then don't buy them excessive amounts of Coca-Cola products. If Little Mickey is becoming overweight because he watches four ads for McDonald's everyday ... pull the plug on the TV , make him go outside and play and stop feeding him at McDonald's three times per week. Little Mickey will perhaps savor his treat of a McDonald's cheese burger having bought it with his own money that he has earned raking the lawn . Chances are he may even loose a little weight in the process. If Sarah can't stop tormenting her classmates because they are not as "privileged" as she is ... remove her privileges.... if she earns her own money, then she can do her own shopping at Old Navy if not, then she can deal with whatever you buy for her. Institute an "attitude tax" (my daughter HATES this with a passion) every time she gives attitude to you or someone undeserving of such attitude tax her for it. Unplugging the cable or internet makes for a great tax on a smart mouth. And nothing seems to bring out the seriousness of your statement like making them do all of those chores that are normally rewarded with a weekly allowance for free. And just on a personal note , that jar of quarters and dollar bills (depending on the infraction) adds up fast and makes for a great trip to the bookstore for Mom !! My basic point is that the media can advertise until it is blue in the virtual face , but if parents will enforce some basic rules it will fall largely on deaf ears. In my mind TV and media are not the roots of all evil , but lack of parental involvement comes awfully close . On a positive note a small part of the conference was aimed at helping parents make generous, well grounded and caring adults out of their children. I'll get behind that any day.