Over the Pond (5), day 10 -- Hey, BBC, if you can cover the election returns, why can't you cover this??

Why, why did I have to choose this week to be out of the country? Not only did I miss our historic national election, but I missed my alma mater turning out two decisive victories in their quest for a national football title! First University of Texas, now Oklahoma State!

The New York Times did a surprisingly fun article about the game and Tech's pursuit of the title, bits of which I've quoted between the pictures.

"It is not easy to get to this dusty West Texas outpost," says the New York Times. "Only three commercial airlines fly directly here, which may not be surprising considering there is not a building taller than 14 stories. But for the next two weeks, Lubbock will continue its improbable role as a college football hub. No. 2 Texas Tech blasted No. 8 Oklahoma State, 56-20, on Saturday, solidifying its status as one of the most dominant teams in college football. "

" So get used to tortillas flying in the air, a bandit Texas Tech tradition that was revived after Crabtree’s third score. And get used to Guns Up, the traditional Texas Tech symbol, and Leach’s entertaining sound bites. "


"And for now,' concludes the New York Times, "the Big 12’s road to the national title goes through Lubbock. No matter how difficult it may be to get here."

Amen, and get your guns up!

The votes heard 'round the world

I found this slide show via a friend's blog, highlighting the incredible attention this election has garnered around the world, and underscoring its impact.

Unbelievable

I can't help it, I'm sitting here crying. I realize that I have no idea, no idea at all what this means to millions of Americans. I can't believe I was able to be a part of this.

Amazing.

Shane Claiborne in Wilmore on Election Day

Here is an article in the Lexington Herald-Leader about an upcoming visit from Shane Claiborne, member of the simple way and friend of the family. He'll be speaking in Estes Chapel at Asbury Seminary on Tuesday, Nov. 4th at 11am. You should go.

Billy and Miranda get to have dinner and spend the evening with Shane and our dear friend Chris Lahr on Monday. I'm jealous.

You're a mean one, Ms. Grinch

Here is an absolutely deplorable story about a woman who, when greeting trick-or-treaters, actually asked kids who they wanted for president. If they said Obama, they were turned away emptyhanded. She also had a sign posted stating, "No handouts for Obama supporters, liars, tricksters, or kids of Obama supporters."

When asked how she felt about making some kids cry, she apparently said, "Oh well, everybody has a choice."

Look, vote for whomever you prefer. Campaign, donate, whatever. But don't pull a stunt like this. Because it's just rude, and classless.

Watch the video here. Then, go eat lots and lots of candy to get the awful taste out of your mouth.

The Ordinary Radicals tonight!

Tonight at the Kentucky Theatre, our community's foundation is sponsoring a screening of The Ordinary Radicals: A Conspiracy of Faith on the Margins of Empire. Read below for a synopsis of the film:

In the margins of the United States, there lives a revolutionary Christianity. One with a quiet disposition that seeks to do 'small things with great love,' and in so doing is breaking 21st Century stereotypes surrounding this 2000 year old faith. 'The Ordinary Radicals' is set against the modern American political and social backdrop of the next Great Awakening. Traveling across the United States on a tour to promote the book 'Jesus for President', Shane Claiborne and a rag-tag group of 'ordinary radicals' interpret Biblical history and its correlation with the current state of American politics. Sharing a relevant outlook for people with all faith perspectives, director Jamie Moffett examines this growing movement.

Click here to view the film's trailer. The film's director, Jamie Moffet, will be present for live interview and Q & A after the showing.

Where? The Kentucky Theatre, 214 East Main Street, Lexington, Ky.

When: Thursday, October 16th, 7-10pm

Tickets are $7.50 and may be purchased at the door. You may also purchase tickets in advance by calling 859.231.7924 or 859.231.6997

The evening is also a fundraiser for Kentucky Refugee Ministries, with 100% of the door proceeds going directly to them.

And, you can check out the article in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

More Random Political Thoughts Which Require Your Feedback

As I consider how our country is becoming increasingly polarized in our public discourse, I've begun reading a book called Patriotic Grace: What It Is and Why We Need It Now. It's written by a former Reagan speechwriter, and it calls Americans -- liberal and conservative alike -- to "see each other anew" and "face our common challenges together." Anyone out there read it? Care to comment? I'll report back as I go. In that vein, I've been increasingly intrigued by the apparent and unlikely friendship between commentators Rachel Maddow and Pat Buchanan. This article seems a good example of how people with radically different political positions can actively and positively participate in political dialogue. (Plus, it's just fun to watch them dig at each other energetically yet good-naturedly.)

One columnist I've been reading lately is Kathleen Parker. Although we differ in many areas of political thought, I'm beginning to admire her work quite a bit. She's taken some heat for her criticism of Gov. Palin (which are here and here), and while I tend to agree with her critique, I'm more taken with the thoughtful, nuanced voice she brings to the discussion. Take a look and see what you think. Let me know. Don't be afraid to disagree.

Speaking of Kathleen Parker, here's an interesting article about the possibility of Obama making a significant connection with voters in an area very dear to my heart, Appalachia.

And on a final and admittedly trivial note... Ann Coulter is an intelligent, extreme, and beautiful woman (whose views are MARKEDLY different from my own and likely always will be). I just saw her on a Fox News panel, and will someone please tell her to tone down the eyeliner???

Politics and Radical Inclusion

I've been trying to gather my thoughts on all these issues into one coherent post with logical flow, but I've given up. Here are my thoughts; I just want to get them posted.

A friend of my sister's said, "Wow, Maria's blog is getting pretty political." If only she saw some of the other blogs out there...! But in all fairness, this post and this post I did on Palin weren't exactly moderate in nature. (Although this post about Obama and McCain had a much more conciliatory tone.) This is the first election cycle here I've been more than a casual observer and participant. (Ok, I'm still a casual participant, but I'm observing much more intentionally.) And I'm trying to figure out how to hold opinions thoughtfully and strongly while holding more tightly to the people whom I love and respect, and to the character of Christ which we try to cultivate in our community.

At our fellowship time last Sunday, our friend Will led us in a discussion of politics. What do we think of politics? How does the process make us feel? How does our participation in the body of Christ affect (and effect) our political involvement? One text we discussed was Matthew 18, and how Jesus' instruction to treat those who sin against us "as Gentiles and tax collectors" is actually a call for radical inclusion (since Jesus tended to hang out with Gentiles and tax collectors). I wondered how such radical inclusion would shape the manner and content of our increasingly polarized political discourse. Can we have close friends and family who vote differently? How do we relate to someone who believes passionately about something with which we disagree? What hope is there for us to journey together towards our common goals?

A good friend of mine, who's a lifelong and rabid (er, devoted) fan of the University of Georgia, said something which struck me as quite insightful. "So many people," he commented, "seem to be Democrats or Republicans the same way that I'm a Dawgs fan." It's a great analogy, startling in its clarity and evocation of an almost blind devotion to a certain allegiance. While this is entirely appropriate in the realm of sports (Go Cowboys [despite Terrell Owens]!!), it's hardly conducive to thoughtful political conversation. How do we, as participants in the kingdom of God, reduce the stridency of our discourse and genuinely seek that radical inclusion that we find in Scripture?

I'm not sure. I don't have a tidy theological answer. What I do have are 2 close, close friends and several family members who will certainly make a different choice on Nov. 4th than I will make. And I'm committed to them, just as committed as to the folks with whom I largely agree. I don't hate them, they don't hate me. We love and respect each other. How do we find the courage to sit down with someone and say, "Tell me why I should care about this issue. Tell me why you are voting for this person. I may not agree, but I want to know. And I'm really listening." And how do we have the grace to answer this question, not with arrogance and hubris, but with a passion tempered by humility?

What do we do? I want to hear what you think.

Love 'em or hate 'em, but these are just funny

Here are some gems from tonight's Late Show with David Letterman:

Tonight's Top Ten from Wasilla, Alaska -- "The Top Ten Things You Didn't Know About Sarah Palin":

• Once spent a week in the hospital after trying to put lipstick on a pit bull
• Recently expanded her foreign policy experience by eating at the International House of Pancakes
• Isn't afraid to go hunting with Dick Cheney

Hee hee hee.

Are you sure that's really a compliment, Governor?

Much ado (over nothing) has been made of Obama's alleged insult to Sarah Palin, and whether he was actually referring to Palin when he said "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig." Never mind that each candidate has used this same expression dozens of times, always referring to issues and agendas. We'll leave that topic for another day.

What's got me more interested, and more concerned, is Palin's description of herself as a "pit bull with lipstick". Sounds rough and tough; sounds like just the thing to strike confidence in the hearts of American citizens, and strike fear in the hearts of foreign terrorists. The problem with this kick-ass analogy is that it fails to probe the exact nature of Governor Palin's proud self-reference.

Billy and I used to live in a neighborhood with at least a dozen pit bulls. Whenever one came down the street, even though most were on a leash, I always made sure I was holding Miranda in my arms.  I didn't want her even remotely within reach should the dog break free.

Pit bulls are, arguably, the most vicious breed of dog. Certainly this is affected by training and environment, but it arises from generations of breeding for aggression. Pit bulls will often attack for no reason and with no provocation, savaging anything within their reach. Children are often victims, with horrifying results. An uncontrolled pit bull doesn't use discretion when it attacks; it doesn't respond to redirection, or commands, or cries of pain, or even punishment. It just savages.

Governor Palin and the rest of the GOP might take pride in this analogy. Certainly, it struck a chord during the convention. But as a pastor and a mother, I'm certain I don't want my daughter (or anyone for whom I care) around any unrestrained pit bulls, canine or otherwise. And our country absolutely cannot afford a potential commander-in-chief who so clearly values aggression over insight.  Because I don't care how much lipstick is on that pit bull -- it won't be enough to hide all the blood on its lips.

Atta Boy, Obama; Atta Boy, McCain

I haven't done a post yet about this year's presidential race; there's so much to process in this inevitably historic year. But in the midst of all the "politics as usual", there are some moments of true graciousness and statesmanship -- on both sides -- that bear highlighting and commendation. Here are two.

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Example #1: When Obama's acceptance of the Democratic nomination fell on the 45th anniversary of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech, McCain aired a TV ad congratulating Obama on this historic moment. Watch it here.

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Example #2: When Gov. Palin announced that her 17 yr old daughter is expecting, Obama adamantly denounced the media's involving families in the campaign tactics, and wasn't afraid to name the similarities between the Palins' situation and his own childhood.

"We don't go after people's families. We don't get them involved in the politics. It's not appropriate and it's not relevant. Our people were not involved in any way in this and they will not be. And if I ever thought there was somebody in my campaign that was involved in something like that, they'd be fired," Obama said.

Obama also said: "This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as a governor or potential performance as a vice president. So I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories."

"You know, my mother had me when she was 18. And how families deal with issues and teenage children - that shouldn't be the topic of our politics," Obama said.

Good on ya', both of you.

Conversations in New Monasticism

Our community is hosting a School for Conversion this weekend. As part of the New Monasticism conversation, one thing we've been considering is what the tradition of monasticism might have to say to religious and spiritual life today. One of our sessions had the following thoughts, which I found very compelling. I need to chew on them a bit more, but here they are.

"By putting on a habit, by making vows, the religious is making a pledge of allegiance. By making a commitment to poverty or simplicity, I am by definition standing against the god of materialism. By making a commitment to chastity or monogamy, I am by definition standing against the god of sexual gratification. By making a commitment to obedience or humility, I am by definition making a stand against the god of power. By making a commitment to an ongoing conversion of life or to stability, I am by definition making a stand against the unexamined, ephemeral self of contemporary culture. Religious life, by its very nature, is an expression of resistance to some of the most pernicious values, ideologies, and structures of culture."

Obviously, the kind of monasticism practiced throughout the centuries is not what most of us would choose today, especially folks with families. But the core principles behind the movement can, I think, be translated into virtually every setting and situation.

Through the next few weeks, I'm going to be doing a series of posts about these commitments. I'm really hoping for lots of conversation from all of you. Feel free to post anonymously if you'd prefer, but please share what you think and how you feel.