Christmas Spirit

A friend of mine posted this video on Facebook. I really appreciated the message. It seems like during the holidays it's easy to forget what we're really celebrating.

Misconceptions about the separation of church and state

I’m a little concerned about the common term that is too conveniently thrown around by those who disagree with churches entering political debate: “separation of church and state.” I think there is a lot of misunderstanding as to what that term actually means and how it comes to play in US politics. I think that this misuse can lead to the total disregard or elimination of legitimate religious action and views in America.

The separation of church and state is in place to ensure that one particular church or religion is not forced on an individual or the country by the government. It is not there to make sure that religion is totally removed from government. To do that puts us in danger of losing all of the rights we gained through the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.

Consider this for a moment: let’s change the phrase “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” and change it to something more palatable to those who argue that religion has no place in public debate or government, something like “all people are born equal, and they have important rights.” In doing that, we concede our Rights, previously declared by Deity, and turn them over to whoever happens to be in power at the time. Our Rights are subject to the fancy of a popularly elected politician, who can then justify the existence and possibly extension of that power over our individual rights. Is that a place we want this country to go? I don’t, and I don’t think the majority of Americans do but there is a loud minority who would take us in that direction.

An example of that minority is those who claim that churches should not participate in political debate over topics such as California’s proposition eight. Let’s consider the alternative to such participation. What if government, by law, could ban churches from participating in political debate? Where does it stop? Which groups could continue to participate – only those who profess agnosticism? Or just those who profess religious belief that doesn’t offend those of the opposing side of the debate? Then are churches, mandated by the state, required to modify their core beliefs to be in-line with popular secular trends? Where does that stop?

I would argue that it would not even stop with organized religion, but it would violate each individual’s right for personal religious or political views. If my church cannot teach, voice, or encourage something contrary to popular views, then I wouldn’t be able to either. So, when my friend comes to me and asks what I think about same-sex marriage or abortion, by law I would not be able to say anything but what the government has dictated as legal to say or think.

So who then would say anything contrary to the state? News outlets like CNN, MSNBC, or Fox News? Those outlets have proven many times over that instead of offering news grounded in fact without biased opinion, they jump to conclusions, commentary, and alarmist extremism.

It also worries me that more and more it is not kosher to allow religious views and feelings shape personal political opinions. For some reason, that seems to offend part of the population. But how can anyone, whether they’re Mormon, Catholic, Evangelical, Muslim, Jewish, agnostic or atheist avoid allowing their views on God, justice, judgment, law, or individual interaction affect how they view political topics? For example, let’s say I’m Catholic and truly believe the commandment that says “thou shalt not kill.” I tend to vote for politicians who make me feel like they might somehow reduce murder in the US. How could that thought process be avoided, unless religion is totally marginalized to the point where it has no affect on a person’s core set of values and beliefs?

I’m going to continue allowing my religious views color my political views. I’m also going to continue to appreciate the times when my church speaks out on political topics and hope that other individuals and churches have the courage to do the same. If they are different than what I think – awesome – that only adds to the candor of the discussion and possibility of a resolution amicable for country. I’m going to vote for officials who will not marginalize the role of religion in the United States, nor misinterpret the separation of church and state.

Top Ten things I'm Thankful for Right Now

10. Turkey liver. It tastes good and reminds me of a safe and secure time, sitting near my grandpa, listening to his stories from when he was younger, when my grandma was younger, and when my dad was younger.

9. My generous boy who will disappear for a minute and then reappear with money in his hand, offering it to his sister or asking me how he can send it to his grandpa Michael for his birthday or when we see a pan-handler on the side of the street and he says "dad, shouldn't we give that poor guy some money?" I always feel rich when he's around.

8. My sister who calls me at random times and asks me random gospel questions and scripture to backup and confirm what I'm telling her. It reminds me of how much joy and peace I find in the scriptures.

7. Humidity in the air, even when it's cold because it smells good and reminds me of how much I love cool, crisp (read "dry") air in the Uinta mountains.

6. Emeline because she has such a pure sense of humour and mischievousness that gives me almost daily chances for a real, deep belly laugh.

5. My health. I'm 35 and a little lazy so I'm not in the best shape, but I can still run four miles faster than most other 35-year-olds and play catch with Caleb.

4. The opportunity (not yet taken) to go hiking through some real grasslands and mountains that top out at 3,000 feet in elevation -- it's almost like swimming through oxygen instead of gulping it down.

3. Monopoly. Actually, I hate Monopoly, but it gives me the chance to see how alike Kali and Jamie are -- they're both fairly shrewd on the surface and are ruthless when acquiring airports, but in the end still feel bad when they drive another player into bankruptcy (at least when it's Emeline).

2. Jamie's dinners, Disney movies, and books. At dinner we more often than not discuss Harry Potter, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Star Wars (Caleb's books), The Hobbit or any of the 20 Disney films we've all watched a thousand times because Jamie works so hard to make sure we all sit down together for at least one meal and we all seem to enjoy the same books and movies which makes dinner conversation easy.

1. Ovaltine. How can you be unhappy when drinking Ovaltine? It's chocolate milk packed with essential vitamins and minerals! It's a no-brainer.

My Top Ten Favorite Moments with Ryan (so far)

10. That time you were going to jump a stream, yelled "I'm an Olympian" and then promptly slipped off the bank, and splashed at least twice through the stream before making it to the other side.

9. That time you pants'd K.C at Bear Lake in front of his girl-friend.

8. That time K.C was complaining when you were trying to help him get a fish hook out of his finger and you whispered "don't be such a sissy."

7. Remember that time you accidentally dropped a BB in Leslie's ear? I think you can still hear it rattle when she shakes her head.

6. That time we came back from backpacking and talked K.C into renting Tomb Raider for us but we fell asleep 15 minutes into the movie.

5. That time we were cooking pancakes and you combined pancake mix, cheese, bacon grease, syrup and declared it the best "McGriddle" you'd ever had.

4. Every time you eat chili.

3. "My wife's a big boned woman."

2. When you helped me paint the basement in Saratoga Springs and every five minutes you said "oops."

1. That time you about jumped out of your skin when I showed you my dog-jaw.

PS: happy birthday, Ryan.

Top Ten Reasons My Father-in-law Still Intimidates Me

10. Dude -- he's my father-in-law. What else is he going to do?

9. During a wild game of Taboo, I discovered that he ate a lot of paste as a child. That's got to have long-term negative effects, right?

8. He has no qualms about killing, skinning, and eating innocent bunny rabbits.

7. If I mess up I can't hide because he's already scoped out all the great hide-outs in Utah's ghost towns.

6. Somehow he keeps Chieko in line and she's one wild lady.

5. He must be some kind of super dad because his kids are too good to be true: number one is the world's best mom, number is two is a genius MD/PHD, and number three has the patience to put up with Jared and that's nothing to sneeze at!

4. Not long after Jamie and I were married, I mentioned that I can't taste the difference between margarine and real butter. He licked his finger and while making a check mark in the air said "there's one more mark against you."

3. He always seems to be sharpening his carving knives when I'm around.

2. He's got guns and is not afraid to shoot anyone -- even himself.

1. Anyone who could have dealt with a teenage-Jamie must be one crazy son of a gun.

PS: happy birthday Michael

Top 10 Advantages to Having a Brother (turning like 50 now) who is a Bigger Geek than I am.

10. At family gatherings, I can start a sentence with "I saw the coolest thing on the Discovery channel the other day" and there is at least one person in the room who doesn't roll his eyes.

9. I'm getting old and out of shape, but I'll always be able to beat him in a foot race.

8. If I'm ever abducted by Klingons without my Babel fish and have cell service, I can call and use him as an interpreter.

7. The steam that comes out of his ears when I talk about that episode of Battlestar Galactica when Dumbledore steals the ring from Kirk's sidekick Sam so that Harry can propose to Hermione is awesome.

6. I'm not the only one who suspects that Nancy Pelosi is actually a Sith lord.

5. I'm not the only one who suspects that Leslie is actually a Sith princess.

4. If he starts teasing me in front of my in-laws, I can always bring up the model starship Enterprise he still plays with when his wife isn't home.

3. He's always willing to give me pointers on my Wronski feint.

2. For thrills I peek at the picture of Seven of Nine he keeps hidden in his wallet.

1. He taught me early on that Jedi mind tricks totally work on KC.

Shoes in Oklahoma

I've found that sometimes the line of reasoning Jamie and I follow diverges, even though both of us call our version "logic." Yesterday while unpacking more boxes, I had a conversation like this with Jamie:

Me: "Jam . . . you've got too many clothes. I don't know where to put these boxes."

Jamie: "First, there's no such thing as 'too many clothes.' Second, figure it out."

So I made what seemed like the hundredth trip to our storage unit, carrying a huge box labeled "Jamie's winter clothes."

I opened another box, full of shoes. The front closet in our home now is about the same size (I thought) as the one in our last house, so I dumped the shoes into the closet. That seems like the logical thing to do, right? But this morning, as Jamie was rushing out the door to church (I stayed home with a sick kid), I was in the bedroom but could still hear her mumbling "this is the craziest thing I ever seen" as she unloaded the closet looking for a particular pair of shoes. I'm fairly certain she wasn't complaining about the amount of shoes but more about how they were organized in the closet.

Investigating further (once the girls were gone), I found that the shoes I'd so neatly dumped into the closet were now strewn up and down the hallway in front of the door. Being the helpful husband I am, I decided we could throw most of the shoes out, so I started sorting and organizing the shoes into piles by owner. It turns out that Jamie has A LOT of shoes. In fact, even if I combined the other four piles, it would still be dwarfed by Jamie's. Lucky for me, I remembered that my logic doesn't always match Jamie's, so I didn't throw any into a DI sack. I'll leave that decision up to her and hope that I can find my shoes tomorrow.