Christianity and Immigrants

(with thanks to Stephen Mattson for his article)

Many of the tenets and stories of the Christian tradition are difficult to believe. Hell, they’d be rejected out of hand as scripts for movies if they weren’t so embedded in our culture. Samson killing a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass – yeah, ok. Changing water into wine—yeah, ok, maybe. But a person who is fully God and fully man – how’s that work? Serpents and an apple resulting in eternal suffering –please. An afterlife where you’re reunited with all your loved ones—preposterous. Don’t even start trying to understand the Trinity. Your head will implode. Yet we accept these stories as explaining God’s work in our lives, the reason for the human condition, and we want to believe that everything will be alright. We want to believe these stories because they’re comforting.

I suppose it’s no surprise then that we struggle so much with other things that the Bible tells us (Matthew 22:35-40) Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. I guess Jesus foresaw our short attention span spirituality and decided to shorten the Ten Commandments to two.

In Luke a lawyer asked Jesus to define who a neighbor was. He responded with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. This was radical. The Samaritan was the neighbor, the hero, of the story and Samaritans were loathed as unclean by the Jews of Jesus’ time but there the Samaritan was—the example that Jesus held up as being the good neighbor in his story. He then told everyone to go and do like the Samaritan. Outrageous!

Jesus also said radical things like “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you (Luke 6:27) and “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets (Matt. 7:12).

We struggle with these concepts even more than with the stories of jawbones and apples because these stories aren’t comfortable or comforting. It’s not natural to love those who hate you. Putting God first means accepting for our lives what He wants and not necessarily what we think we want. It’s constant work to even come close to what’s expected.

The problem is that it’s a package deal. Do you want the comfort provided by the idea of miracles? You have to put God first. You want to think that you’ll enjoy eternal life in the presence of God? You’d better stop trying to get Jesus to be on your side and start getting yourself on his.

I bring this up because of the immigration issues in our society. We need to start working at the hard things as well as accepting the easy ones that make us feel good on Sunday morning.

There is absolutely no spiritual basis for being anything but kind and accepting of these immigrants.

And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matt. 25:38-40).

Whatever political, economic, or barbaric reasons there are for criminalizing people fleeing persecution it is a Christian’s duty to fight for these people. I would never advocate violence but remember that even Jesus flipped over a few tables when he was confronted by evil. There’s no sin taking action against a den of thieves like the currently elected and appointed officials who have acted in a way that goes against common decency and the very core of Christianity.

This issue isn’t resolved and it won’t be fixed by an act of Congress that establishes immigration policy. Root causes won’t be affected by how immigrants and their children are detained at the border. Until we resolve these broader issues we will always have immigration problems. Let’s pray that we find solutions that don’t involve the jawbone of an ass.

Old fashioned hope song

To the tune of Three Dogs Night's Old Fashioned Love Song

Just an old fashioned hope song

Playing on my guitar

And wrapped around the world's vast noise

I promise we can reach the stars

You'll swear you've heard it before

As I slowly ramble on and on

So calm your fears get back up

'Cause hopes never really gone

Just an old fashioned hope song

One I sure wrote for you and me

Just an old fashioned hope song

Coming down in one part harmony

To weave our dreams upon and listen

To each morning when the sun is low

To underscore our love affair with all mankind

And feelings that we've come to know

You'll swear you've heard it before

As I slowly ramble on and on

So calm your fears get back up

'Cause hopes never really gone

Just an old fashioned hope song

One I sure wrote for you and me

Just an old fashioned hope song

Coming down in one part harmony

To weave our dreams upon and listen to a song

Just an old song coming down

Just an old song

One I sure wrote for you and me

Just an old fashioned hope song

Coming down in one part harmony

Just an old fashioned hope song

One I sure wrote for you and me

Just an old fashioned hope song

Coming down in one part harmony

Just an old fashioned hope song

One I sure wrote for you and me

Just an old fashioned hope song

Coming down in one part harmony

Just an old fashioned hope song

One I sure wrote for you and me

Just an old fashioned hope song

Coming down in one part harmony

Just an old fashioned hope song

One I sure wrote for you and me

A Solution for the Illegal Immigrant Problem

I have a cure for the immigrant problem that doesn't involve separating kids from their parents, is cost effective,
and a win-win for almost everyone. Identify all of the over-eager beaver law enforcement officers and  military
personnel.  We can ship them to our favorite Central American countries to fight crime. I'm especially concerned
about Guatemala but we can work out the details later. Here's how everyone wins.
1. The draft dodging, self-serving, war hawk, stuffed shirts in the Trump administration and Congress will get to play
their favorite game - "Lets mess with another country's internal affairs". It's been a while since we've had a good
juicy Shah of Iran story from Capital Hill. This will let them have some fun.
2. The military personnel and LEO's who like to prematurely ejaculate their weapons can go down there and kick in doors,
taser people, use their clubs, and even exchange heavy weapons fire while fighting the gangs that are making people
flee to the US. Kill! Kill! Kill! Full Metal Jacket won't have nothing on those guys. We could even send some CIA
people so that kidnap and torture can be part of the fun.
3. The African American community will have fewer law officers to shoot them when they point at something with
a cell phone in their hands - a clear win.
4. Homeland Security wins because they'll have fewer and fewer immigrants pouring towards the border as Central
America becomes stabilized. We'll need lawn chairs not a wall - much more affordable so the taxpayers win too.
5. Even the liberals win. We can have the fake media tell them that the military personnel and LEO's are taking
paper towels and other relief supplies to the poor in those countries.
The only real down side is that as illegal drug traffic decreases there may be some upward pressure on the price
of recreational drugs that will cause the addicts some difficulties. But who cares? They're just drug addicts and
should fix themselves.
Besides, with our excellent, national healthcare system they can just go to the doctor and get some opiate-based
medication to see them through.

Ice Caps

To the tune of Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice

Yo, RNC, let's kick it!

Ice caps baby

Ice caps baby

All right stop

Collaborate and listen

Ice melting from that grand old invention

Green house gas chokes all of us mightily

But Paris Accords rocks daily and nightly

Can we make it stop?

Yo, I don't know

But with ozone gone we'll all glow

To the extreme, they gut our laws like a vandal

Light up our world, dump their waste - earth can't handle

Now that the R-party is leading

The laws get kicked and the earth starts bleeding

Asbestos is safe, "we were faking"

Cooking ourselves like a pound of bacon

Burning us if we're quick or nimble

Our clean water now fits in a thimble

Water is life, y'all know that

I'm on a roll and it's time to get fat

Waste on top sat

Soon it'll burn, it's worth fighting this spat

Scott Pruitt on standby, waving just to say, "Hi!"

Did he stop? No, I don't know why

Kept on pursuing to the next reg

Busted him some more and he's headed to the next one

The earth's 'bout dead Yo

So I continue to WRITE DAMN SONGS keep on protesting it.

We're all hot - jack up our big ACs

Keeping cool 'till we're pushing up daisies

Tides keep risin', Calli's first

Check with a gauge, dam's about to burst

Ready for the prez, who caused this

Cronies acting ill because they're so full of shit

Protests ring like freedom's bell

I grabbed my pen, my words were I could tell 

Falling in the sounds of silence

Jumped in my chair, continued to write

Bumper to bumper, so many cheeks to jowls

We have to fight back and not just throw in the towels

So go cast your vote, you know what I mean

Don't pass this up let's get rid of the damn fiends

If there's a solution hey, we'll find it

Check out the truth while Huckabee revolves it

Ice caps melting Too Warm too warm

Ice caps melting Too Warm too warm

Take heed, 'cause I'm a lyrical poet

The world's on the brink just in case you didn't know it

Our earth, that created life abounding

Circling the drain going round and rounding

'Cause they're causing harms like a chemical spill

I write rhymes that you can vision and feel

I spread the truth, this is a hell of a concept

I make it quirky, you want to step with this

Verse play on the mind, slice like a ninja

Cut like a razor blade so fast, other people say, "Damn."

If my rhyme was a drug, I'd sell it by the gram

Keep my composure when it's time to cut loose

It's hard to do as they tighten the noose

If there's a solution hey, we'll find it

Check out the truth while Huckabee revolves it

Ice caps melting Too Warm Ice caps melting, too warm

Ice caps melting Too Warm Ice caps melting, too warm

Hey, y'all, can't get out of here! Sorry to our children!

Ice caps melting Too Warm Ice caps melting, too warm too warm

Ice caps melting Too Warm Ice caps melting, too warm too warm

Kids in a Cage

To the tune of Dust in the Wind, with apologies to the composer and Kansas

You voted for Trump, just a moments weakness and America's gone

He sends parents back and then what becomes of the little ones?

Kids in a cage

All they are are kids in a cage.

One folk song, just a drop of water in an endless sea

Our rights erode, we build a wall, and refuse to feel

Kids in a cage

All they are are kids in a cage.

Oh, ho, ho

Now don't give up, Congress lasts forever so we have to vote

Send them away

All our money will another Senator buy

Kids in a cage

All they are are kids in a cage.

All they are are kids in a cage.

Kids in a cage

All they are are kids in a cage.

All they are are kids in a cage.

A cage

Little POTUS

To the tune of Little Boxes with sincere apologies to Malvina Reynolds and a nod to Tom Lehr.

[Verse 1]

Little POTUS in the White House

Little POTUS made of ticky-tacky

Little POTUS in the White House

Little POTUS tweeting blame

There's a Sarah and a Sessions

And a Pruitt and then there's DeVos

And they're all made out of ticky-tacky

And they all screw us just the same

[Verse 2]

People in his government

All went to Trump university

Where they learned just how to lie

And they all sound just the same

And there's doctors and lawyers

And business syncophants

And they're all made out of ticky-tacky

And they all screw us just the same

[Verse 3]

And they all play on the golf course

While raping the environment

And they all have market options

And such great health coverage

And who pays their expenses

And for all of their surgeries

Why it's you friend and its me friend

And we're just not all the same

[Verse 4]

The boys talk in the locker room

And have affairs with porn stars

While the children our precious chilren

Enjoy active shooter drills

There are Black ones and brown ones

And babies put in cages

And they're all made out of ticky-tacky

And they all die just the same

[Verse 5]

Little POTUS in the White House

Little POTUS made of ticky-tacky

Little POTUS in the White House

Little POTUS what a shame

There's a Sarah and a Sessions

And a Pruitt and then there's DeVos

And they're all made out of ticky-tacky

And they all screw us just the same

The Circle Game

I've been trying to add a verse to this song for more than 20 years. I think maybe I got it and can scratch this off my admittedly modest bucket list.

Yesterday a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

Then the child moved ten times round the seasons
Skated over ten clear frozen streams
Words like, when you're older, must appease him
And promises of someday make his dreams
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now
Cartwheels turn to car wheels through the town
And they tell him,
Take your time, it won't be long now
Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true
There'll be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty
Before the last revolving year is through
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return, we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

The ponies fade to gray and my! how life has chipped them

As the circles take their slow and grinding toll

Let's have some smiles, some tears, and raise our wine stems

Before we take that last big final roll

And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return, we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

And go round and round and round

In the circle game

Guidelines for Life

Guidelines for Life

If you don’t want to know the answer don’t ask the question.

Learn something new every day or don't live long.

If you can't help don't hinder.

Never be too sure of anything. It's a sign of weakness.

Face your demons then harness them.

Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today

Don’t make decisions when you’re angry. Don’t make promises when you’re happy.

You’ll always regret what you didn’t do rather than what you did.

If the grass is greener on the other side, there’s probably more manure there.

Judge a man by his questions, not his answers.

If you want to know a person’s character watch how they treat people who can’t help them.

Hard choices are precious opportunities to become the distinctive people that we are.

Certainty about the future is a sign of mental illness.

Powerful emotion is a form of temporary insanity.

Wearing headphones does not make your farts silent. 

An imperfect start can always be improved. Just start

Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought.

Collect moments, not things.

Karma’s only a bitch if you are.

Always make time to stop and smell a flower or pet a dog.

If you don’t feel as though you fit into this world it’s because you’re here to create a new one.

The man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

Never argue with a stupid person, they’ll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, but there will always be someone who hates peaches

Be persistent. When knowledge and ability aren’t enough, be persistent

Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside of us while we are still alive.

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced

Better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot. 

The secret of the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment of existence is: to live dangerously!

Small actions beat big intentions.

We live for moments to die for

If you blame it on someone else, don’t expect it to get better.

Make friends with people who want the best for you

Everyone has a story to tell that's worth hearing.

Never make someone a priority who only makes you an option.

Trouble is part of your life—if you don’t share it you don’t give the person who loves you a chance to love you enough.

If you treat a woman like a queen, and she treats you like a jester, your princess is in another castle.

A man is in love when something in his pants, in his head, and in his heart react the same way to a certain woman.

Don’t let your children do anything that makes you dislike them

The spirit isn’t worth spit without a little exercise.

Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It's courage that counts.

If you’re not living on the edge you’re taking up too much space.

Perfect boobs have nothing to do with size or shape. It's the woman to whom they're attached.

If you don't control your mind, someone else will.

I prefer the errors of enthusiasm to the inaction of indifference.

Don't interfere with something that isn't bothering you. 

Your rights end where mine begin.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

Always drink upstream from the herd. 

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...it's learning to dance in the rain.

Trying to convince Jesus to be on your side is always a bad idea.

Regrets

For action untaken
Regret will always linger
Pardon my mistakes