Wasted Laughter

Sometimes I reprove my own self for the disturbing thoughts that I come up with. I know I'm going to either get yelled at, laughed at, or looked at strange.

(I'm smiling)

Those reprovals don't happen very often.

This time my thoughts are of limiting laughter. Most people aren't a fan of this practice. But oh the woes of wasted laughter.

I'm not talking at laughing at goofy things or finding humor in things that few people do. Those are great things. I love to laugh! Laughter, in truth, is the best medicine, and a friend in sadness. I'm not even talking about laughing at tragic times. In fact sometimes that is the best thing to do. There are a few times where you should not laugh though.

First and foremost you have "Lewd Laughter." This is when the things people laugh at are just plain inappropriate. I've yet to wonder at why some of the sickening jokes that are told tickle our humerus bone (pun intended).

Next there is "Lofty Laughter" when your laughter causes a cocky "comedian" to continue their inane joke telling. I guess when you have problems in yourself you dislike them in other people and I do tell jokes and think they're funny when they are just plain not. Please don't laugh at my jokes.

Then there is "Lying Laughter." Which is where you laugh to be polite. You can see where this may lead to complications. I understand trying to find humor in a joke they tell perhaps, but often it happens that we just plain lie with our laughter. It's not going to feel good when they get around people who aren't polite. They won't laugh and that's bound to hurt.

We'll call the next "Loathsome Laughter." This one is just plain mean. David von Drehle sums it up well in his Time magazine article with, "There's something especially loathsome aout torturing helpless creatures for fun and profit." And for my money laughter. This is the laughter that comes from other people's misfortune or pain. No cheap chuckle is worth the absolute misery of someone else.

If you laugh in any of the following instances then you are one of those who are wasting their laughter. Please don't stop laughing. Laughing is one of the greatest pleasures on earth. But refrain in these four cases. Feel free to disagree, and let me know if you do. Feedback's the word. As for me, regardless of your feedback I'll continue to ponder over shocking ideas.

...

It's anyone's guess as to what in the immensity of human language could have been in the place of the illusory ellipsis that take the place of this title. A word, sentence, or even an entire paragraph or two can be omitted and overshadowed by these three little punctuates. A friend to any debater, politician, or salesman. Always there to deliver when even the deceptive fine print has been found and all the cyphers have been decoded. They are infamous for censorship and metamorphic meanings. What's worse is, lest you know the origin of the text you cannot possibly read between the lines and find the truth behind the matter.


I'd not tell you that at one point or another I haven't been guilty of assuming these three points to get my own point across, but somewhere along the line conviction came into play...and reason. (The ellipsis aforeused were for accentuation, which is the secondary use and not to be confused with omitted content, which I assure you there was not). I say reason because if what your ellipsis concealed was brought into the light (and it changed the meaning of your assertions), it would render your standpoint prostrate. Little to nothing else you said on the matter could be validated. Whether or not your argument was in the right matters not if scandal was unveiled. In fighting for what is just, it is always worthwhile to play by the rules. It bothers me especially in any sort of Christian writings where scripture is referenced and plagued with ellipsis. It's vanity to think that it cannot stand alone without propagated distortion. Never should anything be omitted from scripture to change the meaning or for any other reason. As in 2 Corinthians 4:1-2:

"Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart, But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God."

So it is a friend...to the reader. (Original sentence reads, "So it is friend to those attempting to market their beliefs or trying to indoctrinate those for selfish benefits, but a sworn enemy to the reader"). It is a dreadful sight in important information. The apprentice of deception. A little harsh for punctuation, albeit, but think of the damage it can do. It's a temptation for all who have a point to get across and a bane to each who search for the facts.

As long as we follow this censorship subject. There are more commonly used tactics. Taking words out of context is one. Or the use of brackets to incorporate a word that has only been vaguely implied. What will begin to happen is the new distorted version of the truth will become widespread and eventually the brackets and ellipse and whatever else will disappear and we shall have a full scale pandemic of false arguments and deceptive texts.

There are times, however, when the use of the ellipsis is harmless as in the previously mentioned case of accentuation or in some cases of necessary brevity. But be wary of its overcasting shadow. Steer clear of its enticing availability. And above all remember to never use these to alter your theses in the hopes of an argument won. As William Shakespeare said, "In a false quarrel there is...true valor."* Or is that what he said?



*Actual quote was "In a false quarrel there is no true valor."

Principles and Carpetball

My interest in principles began in the most profound of ways. Of course my definition of profound is most likely not yours. Unless your definition can be exemplified with a few happy kids playing carpetball. I'll take for granted that you are already familiar with the billiards/bowling hybrid that is the summer camp game of carpet ball, because it would severely digress to much to long a parenthesis if I tried to explain.

A certain wisened young man was taking his shot at the sport one night at a residence that I love dearly. He began explaining to me that one would usually be much better off if he would only stick to his original principles and not let other people's suggestions or any situation change them. Using only the launching of the ball as punctuation he formed my idea in my mind that has categorized most every good trait. Whether he had any serious intent with his monologue or not I took it to heart and there it stays to this day. It's true that if you lay down principles for yourself that are absolute, holding fast to those statutes will give you the security you want. A good solid principle is almost never situational. It can be likened figuratively to not being jolly content with a friend of yours when you are alone or among a small group of friends, and being ashamed or embarrassed of that same friend in another social scenario. It makes me sick (coincidentally one of my principles is directly antagonist to that act). In the same way you should not betray your principles even if they are not necessarily the acceptable thing to do. Taking into account that principles are a sort of subgenre to wisdom Proverbs 4:6 does indeed apply in saying, "Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you."

Now, as my politics are coming to a close, I would encourage you directly a final time. Detail some principles of your own. Cuff them tightly to your wrist and be happily towed into a respectable imprisonment. Others will take notice and follow your example in due turn.

Welcome to America Part II...Part of the Problem

I don't wish to further add to my arrogance by continuing to say 'them' in reference to the people of America. I'm an American, one of many who are fed up with the evident and almost inevitable decadence.
Well, among those of us in which there is a shred of humanity remaining (which I really believe is a good many of you despite my negativity) you are probably asking, "What can I do" as is usually the question of those that are unwilling to do what it takes. (Again I don't wish to add to arrogance, I've asked the question many times with this mindset). With the risk of talking to the wall I can put forth my theories.
In the mid-1800s, at the rise of the Revivalist movement, a man named Lyman Beecher was teaching on the power of individuals to reform the world. He said that true reform could only take place through "the voluntary energies of the nation itself."
You would agree that our nation is made up of fifty states. You might also agree that in each of those states you have what are called counties, then cities and neighborhoods and so on however specific you want to get, all ending with the individual citizen. Now I appear to change directions in saying that the our physical self starts with our body and is broken down to organ systems, organs, tissue, and again however particular you want to get down to the cell. (Please refrain from petty arguments such as incorporating the atom into the mix, bear with me). Now if a cell is gone bad you would know that the tissue...organ...organ system, and evenutally the whole body would go bad. Like cancer. There is cancer in America, and it's terminal.
If a cell has gone bad is there any hope for it? Is a person ever to far gone to be cured. I don't think so, but does a cell heal itself? I wouldn't think so, though I'm no scientist or doctor. No, no, it needs medicine. Now the question is, what am I insinuating is the medicine for the U.S.A.? "You have already condemned America to ruin with your silly cancer metaphor," you might say.
Ironically the only thing that can cure terminal cancer in your body and figurative cancer in America are one in the same. A bridge between metaphor and reality. That connection and cure is the living, active, omnipotent God.
Go ahead, scoff at the nature of that comment. Write this composition off as another sermon. A cheap homily to herd in naive converts. You do and you immediately prove my decleration of we Americans as heathens. The facts are God CAN heal this nation. He absolutely without a doubt can. Why doesn't He? Why doesn't a loving God fix all this madness? Before answering these you answer me: How often do you include God in your daily life?
I'm a Christian you see, or a Christ-Follower, or a Jesus Freak, or whatever sobriquet you choose to endow me with. I don't care what you call me as long as you know where I stand. That is with complete faith in the power of almighty God. And the sovereignty of His son Jesus Christ. Furthermore I believe in the power of prayer. I believe that a righteous man's prayer can save our nation.
That cute little word 'righteous' is everyone's problem. That cute little word along with a prayer seems to be what's postponing complete destruction of the word. Do you see how one individual living a life of honor and obedience is saving the world? That is what an individual can do. But we have to fix ourselves first. Consider your prayer ignored. It's starts with us. The final question is, are we ready to do what it takes to see our nation healed?

Welcome to America Part I...Definitions.

A young lady sent me a term paper once on the horrors of abortion. Here words are what first ignited the question in my mind about just what a civilization really is. In all the 'correctness' I can muster I'll draw my first source of aid in explanation of the word from our ever-faithful American Language companion, Webter's Dictionary.
Main Entry:
civ·i·li·za·tion
Pronunciation:
\ˌsi-və-lə-ˈzā-shən\
Function:
noun
Date:
1772
1 a: a relatively high level of cultural and technological development ; specifically : the stage of cultural development at which writing and the keeping of written records is attained b: the culture characteristic of a particular time or place 2: the process of becoming civilized 3 a: refinement of thought, manners, or taste b: a situation of urban comfort.
Pay special attention to definition 2 and 3a, for they are more relative to civilizations original definition. (What I believe to be the actual definitions of civilization are listed 2nd and 3rd due to lack thereof I excuse). Let's even more especially look at number 2. To take this deeper let's define the word 'civilized.'
Main Entry:
civilized
Function:
adjective
Date:
1611
: characteristic of a state of civilization ; especially : characterized by taste, refinement, or restraint.
We see here characteristics of a civilization. Listed are: taste, refinement, and restraint, my favorite in this argument being restraint. Now, to go even more into depth on the word, let's take the prefix, 'civil.'
Main Entry:
civ·il
Pronunciation:
\ˈsi-vəl\
Function:
adjective
Etymology:
Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin civilis, from civis
Date:
14th century
1 a: of or relating to citizens b: of or relating to the state or its citizenry 2 a: civilized b: adequate in courtesy and politeness : mannerly 3 a: of, relating to, or based on civil law b: relating to private rights and to remedies sought by action or suit distinct from criminal proceedings c: established by law4: of, relating to, or involving the general public, their activities, needs, or ways, or civic affairs as distinguished from special (as military or religious) affairs5of time : based on the mean sun and legally recognized for use in ordinary affairs
synonyms civil, polite, courteous, gallant, chivalrous mean observant of the forms required by good breeding. civil often suggests little more than the avoidance of overt rudeness . polite commonly implies polish of speech and manners and sometimes suggests an absence of cordiality . courteous implies more actively considerate or dignified politeness . gallant and chivalrous imply courteous attentiveness especially to women. gallant suggests spirited and dashing behavior and ornate expressions of courtesy . chivalrous suggests high-minded and self-sacrificing behavior .
I put the whole lot on here this time, for this is the most important part of 'civilization' I'll be dealing with. Raise your hand if after reading this, you want to put on a disgusted face, look straight into the eyes of America and say, "And you call yourself a civilization!"
When does abortion, the murder of unborn babies, fall into play with any of these synonyms? When did the defilement of marriage by joining the same sex legally relate to any of these definitions? These are the biggies, but the list goes on. America is slowly but surely revealing their true self. Heathens. Cavemen wearing nice clothing and combing there hair. Animals. Heathens is a word that would make some Americans indignant. Very well then, I offer the definition of heathens.
Main Entry:
2heathen
Function:
noun
Inflected Form(s):
plural heathens or heathen
Date:
before 12th century
1 : an unconverted member of a people or nation that does not acknowledge the God of the Bible 2 : an uncivilized or irreligious person
There now you see. Welcome to America. And that isn't all I would call the citizens of America. Barbaric, is an adjective I would attribute to them. Think I'm being too severe once more? Again I give the meaning.
Main Entry:
bar·bar·ic
Pronunciation:
\bär-ˈber-ik, -ˈba-rik\
Function:
adjective
Date:
15th century
1 a: of, relating to, or characteristic of barbarians b: possessing or characteristic of a cultural level more complex than primitive savagery but less sophisticated than advanced civilization2 a: marked by a lack of restraint : wild b: having a bizarre, primitive, or unsophisticated quality3: barbarous 3
Note particulary, once again, definitions 2 and 3. In 2a we have that word restraint again or lack thereof. And in 3 we have another word, closely related enough that I can give it in conjunction to barbaric without dedicating another introductory paragraph.
Main Entry:
bar·ba·rous
Pronunciation:
\ˈbär-b(ə-)rəs\
Function:
adjective
Etymology:
Latin barbarus, from Greek barbaros foreign, ignorant
Date:
15th century
1 a: uncivilized b: lacking culture or refinement : philistine2: characterized by the occurrence of barbarisms 3: mercilessly harsh or cruel
Oh, but no! Barbarians are those who eat with there hands (just a 'leading up to' example, but hey America has finger foods galore!) or kill their children (uh oh) or fornicate (uh oh) or murder senselessly (uh oh) or walk around the streets half-naked (uh oh).
Do you see what we've become? Things that run our blood cold, the things of nightmares, that is reality. And we have made it that way, all by the due process of law. Come one come all, to the United States of America. Do I sound too serious? Good, remember the words of William Lloyd Garrison, "I will be as harsh as truth and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. No! No! Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; but urge me not to moderation." And I'm not anti-America. I'm a sucker for it believe me. I love it, I'm scared for it. Help.

The Now

Explaining the unearthly paradox of time would be an appropriate introduction for this blog. I tell you truth I can't do it. I can't narrow Now down to a fractional portion of any sort of numerical measurement. I can't properly analogize the existence of the present or make you or I understand the way it simultaneously becomes the past and the future. Oh, but I can warn you of this extant moment's deceptive ways. I can illustrate how it clouds our hope and greater good. With a little help I can do it in two points.

1. We are all familiar with some kind of unpleasantry. Anything ranging from discomfort to pain (physical, emotional, or spiritual) will drive our minds to long for a better Now. But what will you trade for it? It's staggering what the world would trade for a better Now. What we are forgetting to take into account, or simply ignoring, is our greatest justice, the Ends. Here I borrow wisdom from well-know, Christian pop group, Relient K, who reminds us in their song Let it All Out, that "If the burden seems too much to bear remember the end will justify the pain it took to get us there." The reward for a proper, though sometimes "unbearable," Now is a uncompareably "worth-it" Later . I reckon often with the bother of those who can't seem to look further down the street to where the hard work and pain may have paid off where it came. I'm not excluding myself. It's tempting just to put off the suffering for now. Tomorrow always more attractive than today in our future-darkened views. So we procrastinate the trials as long as we can, but eventually they will catch up with us and dig in with a long-starved appetite. The truth is there isn't a better time than now to face what comes with this moment in time. As Robert Louis Stevenson said, "You cannot run away from a weakness; you must sometimes fight it out or perish. And if that be so, why not now, and where you stand?"

For my second point I have asked the ever-inspirational, thought-provoking, and startling visionary Sarah Jane Murray whose blogs you can find at (http://mitiocbygrace.blogspot.com/) to share her heart. Her "square of thoughts" on the subject of not "settling for less" are as follows:

2. "Why Lord, do we not struggle, sweat, weep, and wait for that which is to come? We are human that is true. Oh but the riches you have for us are worth far more than our strain. I have done it and I've heard people do the same. We give spiels, set goals, and dig our heels into the ground where we stand. We say "I will never..." with great intention to keep those statements. More often though we take little pleasures wrapped in our arms in a moment. We forget the standards we promised to keep. They were wealthy in thought and came bubbling from our soul. But when our words come to the table where they are called to act, we lose it all. Take a runner for thought. The contestant trains amply for the race ahead. With his heart ready to pump blood through his veins and to his lungs oxygen. The gun fires and he is off. Now he is beating the pavement with every haunting step of the runners behind. Some run to take the gold metal home. That runner perseveres through the pain and sweat to win. But it's much easier to be a sideline racer with a cheer. But you were meant to be in the race. Comfort stops the most audacious fulfillment seekers. They build up their future at night within their mind. But then morning brings the bright sun to their sleepy eyes. They instantly pocket themselves comfortably back into the pillow. Your future starts with a good dose of love. Love for Jesus Christ! Forsaking all other lovers to run to win the heavenly prize. The pleasures that lure you away with luscious colors will fall dim before your eyes. And the comforts we are given are deceptive. Your comfort will rely on the stats of this world. In turn you will have traded your future written by your Abba God for an average script never intended for you, His very Beloved."

Undoubtedly these words, so poetically put, have triggered a conviction in your heart. How often can you recall taking what is right in front of you in trade for what you know you deserve? The tangibility of it all is a seducing prospect. It's in the End that you will truly see what you have forsaken.

All this is not to say that the Now is not an important time. If you constantly look to the future you may just miss where you are now. It's a trying paradox. You cannot waste the Now away, nor can you let it fool you into a state of stagnant. You cannot abandon what is the best and always be looking for more, but you can't settle for what isn't quite over par. Truly you'll know if you have saved a pain or trial for later, or if you are settling for what is not a full wage. Be honest with yourself at all times and make the right choices and the Now will not coax in your demise.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this presenttime are not worthy to be compared with theglory which shall be revealed in us.”

Romans 8:18