RevCyn

The fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy is tomorrow. And with this anniversary I'm reminded of what a major moment this was in the history of our country and in the lives of most Americans who were alive and old enough to understand it fifty years ago.  It's one of those moments where people remember where they were and what they were doing when it happened or when they heard.  People remember it as a " Turning Point " where there was a " Loss of Innocence ."  I don't remember it.  I was born after the fall of Camelot.  I was born into a world where the Loss of Innocence had already happened, the Turning Point was past, and we were in the age of cynicism.  I have some sympathy for Steve Friess who wrote an article in Time titled " Five Reasons People Under 50 Are Already Tired of JFK Nostalgia " and Nick Gillespie who wrote in The Daily Beast , " JFK Still Dead, Boomers Still Self-Absorbed ."  Those of us yo...

There's been a lot of talk about the individuals and groups that have been praying for Obama's death.  The groups and individuals are varied and take different forms.  For example: The Facebook page titled " DEAR LORD, THIS YEAR YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTOR, PATRICK SWAYZIE. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTRESS, FARAH FAWCETT. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE SINGER, MICHAEL JACKSON. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW, MY FAVORITE PRESIDENT IS BARACK OBAMA. AMEN " has over a million fans.   Wiley Drake, a former Southern Baptist Convention official, has made public statements that he prays for Obama to die, saying that he's been praying an "imprecatory prayer" against Obama.    Imprecatory Prayer is a prayer, such as some of the Psalms, which asks God to damn, curse, or otherwise harm an individual.  T-shirts, bumper stickers, and more are available which say "Pray for Obama" and cite Psalm 109:8, which reads, "May his days be few; may another seize his positio...

So Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize, and arguments broke out immediately across America. The comments that made me the saddest today were from Rush Limbaugh : "And with this 'award' the elites of the world are urging Obama, THE MAN OF PEACE, to not do the surge in Afghanistan, not take action against Iran and its nuclear program and to basically continue his intentions to emasculate the United States." As I've thought about this over the day, listening to different takes on the issue, what it comes down to for me is something a colleague said, which reminded me that Obama is creating a paradigm shift in America and in the world, and that this is putting us on a path towards peace. No, peace isn't achieved yet; that's not the point. Part of what this paradigm shift is about is getting the American people to wake up to our role in creating a world of peace--individually. Here's some of Obama's words from his acceptance speech: I do not view i...

Jackson County Commissioner Phil Duckham carried a sign with a swastika (with a circle and slash "no symbol around it) on it to the recent healthcare rally in Jackson, and the Jackson Citizen Patriot says in an article about the rally : "This is how Hitler started out," Duckham said. "First, Obama took over the auto industry, then the banking industry. We don't need him to take over the health-care industry." What follows is my letter to the "Voice of the People" (letters to the editor) of the Jackson Citizen Patriot: As a person of faith and as a citizen, I am appalled at County Commissioner Phil Duckham’s public actions and statements comparing Obama to Hitler. They were callous and insensitive comparisons. Comparing Obama to Hitler shows ignorance of Hitler’s motivations and actions, and insensitivity to the Holocaust survivors in our own community. I invite any making such comparisons to do more to inform themselves. Actions I have taken to in...

Today we had a rally for Healthcare reform in Jackson, MI. Somehow, people had gotten word that there was a rally scheduled at 4:30 to protest against healthcare reform, so various local groups got together to state a counter-demonstration in favor of healthcare reform starting at 3:30. I got notified of the event from several different agencies-- Organizing for America , the Jackson Democrats, the Michigan UU Social Justice Network , MichUHCAN , and Planned Parenthood , as well as some church members. After four e-mails in a row popping into my inbox about it, it was clear this was a big deal in Jackson. My husband and I got there a little after three, and things were already well underway. There was a table registering people, handing out signs for those without (we came prepared), and handing out buttons to locals only and stickers to all. It was being run by Organizing for America personnel. This event was happening at Rep. Mark Schauer 's Jackson office, and congressional s...

The groups of people and individual people who persist in perpetuating the absolute myth that President Barack Obama is not a U.S.-born citizen is troubling. What is even more troubling than the people who fervently believe this, to me, is the group of people whom I believe to NOT believe it, yet are doing everything they can to keep the rumor mill going, or to avoid stating outright that Barack Obama is, indeed, a U.S.-born citizen, in order to pander to these people for votes or other support. NPR did an excellent article on the subject, which you can listen to here . One of those people who I believe knows better but is peddling in hate is Lou Dobbs of CNN. CNN is one of the many reputable news sources that has proven satisfactorily that Barack Obama is, indeed, a citizen of the U.S. born in the U.S. in Hawaii. The Southern Poverty Law Center has called for Dobbs' dismissal. Rush Limbaugh is another one peddling this story who I think really does know better: Other hate peddle...

Following the protests against Rev. Rick Warren delivering the invocation at Obama's inauguration, Bishop Gene Robinson, the openly gay Episcopal bishop, was asked to give an invocation at a pre-inauguration event. Well, unfortunately, it had much less coverage. First of all, the event was on HBO, which not everyone has access to. But worse than that, the invocation was cut from HBO's coverage, so no one got to see it then. HBO, by way of apology, played it the next day during the pre-inauguration time, and I think it was played on the screens on the mall in DC. But for the rest of us, we pretty much had to go hunting to actually see it. So, in case you haven't, here is his very worthy invocation.