Category: My Country

Four Score and Seven Years Ago

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One Hundred Fifty-nine years ago, on this date, November 19, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln stood on the bloodied ground of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and delivered a brief, but memorable address of national unity. Many, reading this essay, have vivid memories of having to memorize the speech, maybe when you were in the eighth grade. For me, memorization was never fun!

While the address was given 159 years ago, there are elements of Lincoln’s words that are relevant today. Throughout the Bible there are multiple references to the clash between the forces of  good and evil; Adam and Eve in The Garden, David and Goliath, Jesus in the wilderness, etc. I venture to say that where good exists, evil will be lurking around the corner to cast truth in the shade of darkness. Continue reading

Mun-Hee

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His name, we learned, was Mun-Hee, but we called him “Money”. He was 13 or 14, and his mother did laundry, by hand, along the Pukan River, for the guys in my unit, on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Korea. He was a happy goffer, ran errands, did small jobs and was generally helpful, and, in turn, we were generous.

What we didn’t know, was that he was a “slicky-slicky-boy”, part of a group of thieves, the scourge of companies throughout our Division, who would enter our tents, in the middle of the night, silent as a mouse, looking for anything of value; clothing, weapons, military exchange coupons, etc. The story was that many soldiers had their foot-lockers picked clean by these thieves, while the guys slept on. Continue reading

And I Was There

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I had just turned 19, when my division, the 25th infantry division, left Korea and settled in the luxurious confines of Scofield Barracks on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii. It was quite a change from life on the DMZ in Korea, to a comfortable cot in Paradise!  But somebody had to do it, and so there we were. What an adjustment!

We had been in our new digs probably only about two months or so when my buddy, Bruce and I, another GI pooled our resources and bought 1947 four-door Chevy. It was perfect, except it had no reverse gear nor first gear, it did have a windshield but, as I recall, no other windows. It was perfect, for Hawaii when you’re 19. Continue reading

Small Minds

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I wonder if we have a problem between our opinion, free will and simple, clear facts?  This is true whether we are thinking secular or religious. Conflicts have brought stress and divisions, have taken away from the building up of our nation and our own spiritual growth.

It seems we just can’t learn. God tells us that religion is man-made, but he says we need to learn from each one, for each is unique and has value. But, what do we do?  Continue reading

Mayfield, Kentucky, and the New Year

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The tornado struck Mayfield Kentucky late afternoon, December 10, 2021. At the time of this writing, we did not know what the final death toll would be, but the devastation was stunning. They called it an EF 4, and there have only been five that severe since they started keeping records. I’m not sure what EF stands for but it’s easy to see what it means.

Since then, Christian and non-Christian organizations, neighboring towns, governments, individuals, responded, digging deeply into their hearts and into their purses to help with the devastation.  We can find multiple scripture passages that reflect what we should be doing. We hear Jesus telling us in no uncertain terms that we need to respond. That we need to go and do likewise.  Since our youth we have been hearing “do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” and now we are called upon to do just that. Continue reading

The Foot-Locker

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It was the middle of December, 1952, when my remarkable year of discovery came crashing to an end. So many things had happened since my high school graduation and my years in college. High school had been unhappy time for me and as I thought about going to college, my Youth Pastor, took me aside and shared some sage advice: “College is a new start, Stanley. What you may have thought of yourself up to this point, is behind you. What is through that new door is anything you want to make it. You can be who you want to be. Don’t take with you anything dark that you imagine you used to be. Be the one you want to be.” Continue reading

Abortion, Gay Marriage, and Guns… Oh, My!

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Yikes.  Why would I even think about tackling those topics?  At my age and stage, I ain’t afraid of nuttin’!  But I have no answers, just partially formed ideas, not big and not especially small. Ideas that are natural extensions of my faith, and maybe my dated thinking.

God set before us certain standards of living, you know the “Love your neighbor as yourself” or as Jesus instructed us:  “Love your neighbor as I have loved you” — a much higher standard.  Directly or indirectly, He set before us free choice.  We can decide. Which destination do we want to move toward?  So how do the “Big Three”, you know abortion, gay marriage and guns, fit into that thinking?  Let’s see. Continue reading

“Freedom Is Not Free”

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“Freedom Is Not Free”—Korean War Memorial                                                        (Nor is service in the interest of freedom lost on others.)

Sometime events in our lives are so intense and overwhelming that, at the time, in the actual living, they seem almost normal, something to move through, experience and process at another time.  Then later, maybe the very next day, or maybe longer, you consider what has happened.  Perhaps, you think about how that event happened, and all those who freely gave to make that event the overwhelmingly positive experience that it was in your life, and is now a special and important memory for you. Continue reading

We The People!

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Cautionary Fact #1:  The French Revolution was a period of far-reaching social and political upheaval in France that lasted from 1789 until 1799. During which time history recorded the overthrow of a monarchy and the institution of a dictatorship under Napoleon.

Cautionary Fact #2:  Joseph de Maistre, the most visionary of France’s early counterrevolutionary philosophers, in a letter written in August 1811, commented about Russia’s new constitution and in light of the French Revolution, stated “Every country has the government it deserves.” Continue reading

Thanksgiving 2016

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Tuesday, November 8, 2016 the world came to an end! Christ returned and God’s wrath is being visited upon all of us! The Russians are coming!  We elected satan!  No, no, no, no!

None of those things are true, not even close! But, why am I afraid? Why do I have trouble breathing at times and why do those feelings crowd my life first thing each morning? Why do I feel like I lost a loved one? Is this what grief feels like?  Is that what I am feeling? Yes, it is a form of grief! Continue reading

Deception

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I can hardly wait for the polls to come out!  Are we gaining on “them”?  Are they gaining on “us”?  Last time we gained a whole point, now we are only 17 points behind.  Is that a trend?  I can hardly wait for the polls to be announced!  Silly?

Have you read Ann Herbert’s short essay about “The Snake”?  She spins a tale about God creating not one man and one woman, but God creating a whole bunch of humans and putting them in the Garden of Eden.  He instructed them to play and have fun.  And they did.  They ran and frolicked.  Climbed trees and rolled down hills.  They waded in the streams and played hide and seek in the forests.  They had fun until they were exhausted and went to sleep.  In the morning the fun started all over again and the humans were happy and carefree. This was Paradise. Continue reading

Apolitical Fantasy

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For those of us who have binged on the speeches and talking heads of the Republican Convention, my sympathies go out to all of us.  Maybe it was fatigue, maybe it was a little outrage, maybe it was a carryover from my study of Revelation, but last night, at some point in the final session, waiting for DJT to accept the nomination, I had this fantasy.  My apologies in advance should I offend anyone. Continue reading