Showing posts with label stupid/rude people. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stupid/rude people. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
So I guess that makes me a unicorn?
I've worked very hard to take good care of my baby during the first few months of her life, so while I was searching for how much I should be feeding her sometime back I found a respected website that it is a myth that many women can't supply their baby's needs in breastfeeding. As I read in baby books, online, and even searched for a lactation consultant I found this sentiment repeated over and over with authors either glossing over supply issues with a trite "true breast milk supply issues are very rare" or in one case going so far as to say "well you've already messed up because you supplemented your baby with formula." This makes me incandescently angry.
As I have struggled to feed my baby I've found that there are several things that can significantly hurt breast milk supply including:
Long Labor - I think my 38 hours in labor would qualify.
Under-active thyroid - If your body doesn't make enough thyroid hormone to support a healthy metabolism then it's probably not going to support breast milk production very well either.
PCOS (Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome) - I've read that PCOS is THE most under-diagnosed condition in women in the US and that it can affect anywhere from 1 in 10 to 1 in 4 (depending on the source) women. That doesn't sound very rare to me at all! In fact I read that many of the same conditions that can cause a woman to have trouble getting pregnant can also make it hard for her to breast feed, so if you had to have fertility treatments you might as well plan to work at this.
And these are just the issues I've personally had to deal with. Some other causes of low supply are:
Anemia - My sister ran into this one, and though I never was technically anemic my iron levels have been very low.
Delivery through C-section - will ALWAYS delay your milk coming in, and can also lead to it coming in slower, so you're constantly playing catch-up
Exhaustion - and who isn't exhausted taking care of a new baby?
And supply issues are a myth? I'm not saying that EVERY woman who suffers from PCOS or thyroid disease will have supply issues, but these are not uncommon conditions! I have to think that supply issues deserve more than a one line dismissal in any treatise on breast feeding, especially since there are things you can do to help, and the earlier you start the better. Come-on LaLeche League, instead of declaring me a non-issue, how about putting some information out there to help and some validation that my issues are REAL!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Chick-fil-A, don't'cha just love it?
I've been paying attention to all this Chick-fil-A controversy. I have a long history with Chick-fil-A, so naturally I sit up and listen whenever I hear them mentioned in the news, or in conversation. I've found that they are neither the paragon of virtue nor the bastion of evil that everyone seems to make them out to be, but like every company out there they have their good points and their bad points. Which outweigh the others I don't know.
I started working at Chick-fil-A at the front counter when I was 16, and continued working there off and on as school allowed for a little over five years. When I first started working there the operator of the store I worked at had two stores, but within a year of my starting he left the store I worked at and went on as operator to other stores. His assistant manager became our new operator. It's worth mentioning that the corporate office at Chick-fil-A likes to keep tabs on what's going on at their stores. All stores are owned by Chick-fil-A, not somebody at the store, and Chick-fil-A has pretty stringent rules about who can become an operator (the equivalent of owner/manager at most franchises) of any store. There may be a very small handful of independently owned stores still out there, but Chick-fil-A stopped granting such franchises years ago, and the few that remain were grandfathered in.
Our new operator held the store together through some really rough years. Shortly after I started, the main anchor store in the shopping center closed. And over the next few years anchor stores came and went, but were gone more than they were there. We also had the unique benefit of being near where several corporate executives lived, so they would often stop by the store to "check up on us" quite frequently. It was at this point that I came to recognize the misogynistic attitude of the corporate office at Chick-fil-A. It's worth noting that a new operator was a divorced woman. When I started working at this Chick-fil-A store it was the closest one to my house, but by the time I left I actually passed three Chick-fil-A's to get to this one. As more stores opened up in the area they naturally cut into the business of the pre-existing store.
One store was within 3 miles of ours. It is debatable whether so many stores in the immediate area would have been approved had the operator at our store held any regard or received any respect from the corporate office. During this time the store was both remodeled and major construction was undertaken to install a new playground. Instead of corporate recognizing that difficult situation, we were expected to grow revenues as if we were still located in a busy shopping center with little competition in the area. Despite hard times remain profitable, even though we didn't achieve the revenue growth dictated by corporate.
Instead of recognizing the achievement of holding the store together in adverse circumstances, win a new super Wal-Mart opened in our shopping center the store was taken away from our operator and given to a new operator. This demonstrates the utter lack of respect that the Chick-fil-A corporate office had for our operator.
Yes Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays, but it is far from the Christian work environment that you might think. For one being closed on Sundays does nothing for orthodox Jews or Seventh Day Adventists. Sure, I worked with plenty of youth pastors who enjoyed the freedom to work two jobs and the assurance that came from knowing that their schedules would never conflict. But I also worked with those who were mentally unstable, had superiors who cursed like sailors, and others who displayed misogynistic behavior including leaving white flour hand prints in inappropriate places on the navy pants of female employees. I had my butt pinched once (he got slapped) and was hit on repeatedly. But with very few exceptions the customers were worse than my co-workers.
However, Chick-fil-A's not a den of iniquity from top to bottom. It has it's redeeming qualities. For starters I worked my way from front counter through pretty much every position in the store, and ended up marketing manager. Chick-fil-A taught me about work ethic and team work, oh, and how to filet chicken. We weren't located in the highest end neighborhood, so this particular Chick-fil-A gave opportunity to some pretty underprivileged folks, and a pretty diverse demographic. I particularly admired one family that had escaped from some South American dictatorship, and all the women in the family worked at Chick-fil-A. It certainly opened my eyes to a variety of circumstances and what can me accomplished with hard work. Lots of folks have heard of Chick-fil-A's Winshape scholarships, but Chick-fil-A has a college scholarship program available to all employees who work a certain number of hours (I don't remember how many). No, it didn't pay for an entire semester, but every little bit helps.
And let's not forget the best thing about Chick-fil-A. I met my husband when we both worked there in high school, and we had our wedding catered by Chick-fil-A years later (by the same operator we both worked for).
Chick-fil-A's probably the only fast food place I could work at and still eat there. In fact, up until a few years ago I still ate at Chick-fil-A at least once a week. I eat there less now not because of any aversion, but simply because I eat out less than I used to.
So no matter what Dan Cathy says, his principles are not pervasive throughout Chick-fil-A, and what he does with his money is his own business. That being said, Chick-fil-A is a privately held company, and I don't know what percentage Dan owns I don't know, but I'm sure its significant. Some part of every dollar spent there is going to trickle up to him eventually.
Not to long ago I realized that in living in a capitalistic society one of the ways we vote is by what we buy. It's a big part of why I drive the car I drive, and buy the frozen pizza that I buy, and Dan Cathy has the right to vote the way he wants as well. It's up to you to decide whether a vote for scholarships and Sundays off outweighs a vote for Dan and misogyny. Or if you just care about the chicken.
I started working at Chick-fil-A at the front counter when I was 16, and continued working there off and on as school allowed for a little over five years. When I first started working there the operator of the store I worked at had two stores, but within a year of my starting he left the store I worked at and went on as operator to other stores. His assistant manager became our new operator. It's worth mentioning that the corporate office at Chick-fil-A likes to keep tabs on what's going on at their stores. All stores are owned by Chick-fil-A, not somebody at the store, and Chick-fil-A has pretty stringent rules about who can become an operator (the equivalent of owner/manager at most franchises) of any store. There may be a very small handful of independently owned stores still out there, but Chick-fil-A stopped granting such franchises years ago, and the few that remain were grandfathered in.
Our new operator held the store together through some really rough years. Shortly after I started, the main anchor store in the shopping center closed. And over the next few years anchor stores came and went, but were gone more than they were there. We also had the unique benefit of being near where several corporate executives lived, so they would often stop by the store to "check up on us" quite frequently. It was at this point that I came to recognize the misogynistic attitude of the corporate office at Chick-fil-A. It's worth noting that a new operator was a divorced woman. When I started working at this Chick-fil-A store it was the closest one to my house, but by the time I left I actually passed three Chick-fil-A's to get to this one. As more stores opened up in the area they naturally cut into the business of the pre-existing store.
One store was within 3 miles of ours. It is debatable whether so many stores in the immediate area would have been approved had the operator at our store held any regard or received any respect from the corporate office. During this time the store was both remodeled and major construction was undertaken to install a new playground. Instead of corporate recognizing that difficult situation, we were expected to grow revenues as if we were still located in a busy shopping center with little competition in the area. Despite hard times remain profitable, even though we didn't achieve the revenue growth dictated by corporate.
Instead of recognizing the achievement of holding the store together in adverse circumstances, win a new super Wal-Mart opened in our shopping center the store was taken away from our operator and given to a new operator. This demonstrates the utter lack of respect that the Chick-fil-A corporate office had for our operator.
Yes Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays, but it is far from the Christian work environment that you might think. For one being closed on Sundays does nothing for orthodox Jews or Seventh Day Adventists. Sure, I worked with plenty of youth pastors who enjoyed the freedom to work two jobs and the assurance that came from knowing that their schedules would never conflict. But I also worked with those who were mentally unstable, had superiors who cursed like sailors, and others who displayed misogynistic behavior including leaving white flour hand prints in inappropriate places on the navy pants of female employees. I had my butt pinched once (he got slapped) and was hit on repeatedly. But with very few exceptions the customers were worse than my co-workers.
However, Chick-fil-A's not a den of iniquity from top to bottom. It has it's redeeming qualities. For starters I worked my way from front counter through pretty much every position in the store, and ended up marketing manager. Chick-fil-A taught me about work ethic and team work, oh, and how to filet chicken. We weren't located in the highest end neighborhood, so this particular Chick-fil-A gave opportunity to some pretty underprivileged folks, and a pretty diverse demographic. I particularly admired one family that had escaped from some South American dictatorship, and all the women in the family worked at Chick-fil-A. It certainly opened my eyes to a variety of circumstances and what can me accomplished with hard work. Lots of folks have heard of Chick-fil-A's Winshape scholarships, but Chick-fil-A has a college scholarship program available to all employees who work a certain number of hours (I don't remember how many). No, it didn't pay for an entire semester, but every little bit helps.
And let's not forget the best thing about Chick-fil-A. I met my husband when we both worked there in high school, and we had our wedding catered by Chick-fil-A years later (by the same operator we both worked for).
Chick-fil-A's probably the only fast food place I could work at and still eat there. In fact, up until a few years ago I still ate at Chick-fil-A at least once a week. I eat there less now not because of any aversion, but simply because I eat out less than I used to.
So no matter what Dan Cathy says, his principles are not pervasive throughout Chick-fil-A, and what he does with his money is his own business. That being said, Chick-fil-A is a privately held company, and I don't know what percentage Dan owns I don't know, but I'm sure its significant. Some part of every dollar spent there is going to trickle up to him eventually.
Not to long ago I realized that in living in a capitalistic society one of the ways we vote is by what we buy. It's a big part of why I drive the car I drive, and buy the frozen pizza that I buy, and Dan Cathy has the right to vote the way he wants as well. It's up to you to decide whether a vote for scholarships and Sundays off outweighs a vote for Dan and misogyny. Or if you just care about the chicken.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Complaints: Now with Real Ingredients!!!
Ok, so I'm noticing a trend in advertising. This all started a few days ago when my mother-in-law asked me what kind of cake I wanted for my birthday. Well I knew right off that I wanted the most chocolaty thing you can find in a cake mix, and since I've had good luck with Duncan Hines I thought I'd look through the flavors on their website to see what seemed to have chocolate on top of chocolate with a side of chocolate. I ended up here:
http://www.duncanhines.com/products/cakes
At first glance this looks like a simple list of a variety of cake flavors. But then I noticed something. Under the heading "Decadent Mixes" there is the phrase "contains an additional pouch of real ingredients." This got me wondering. What exactly is a cake mix made up of if it's not ingredients? I mean, when I was a kid and I made mud pies, these mud pies had ingredients (mostly mud). When I look on the side of a box of regular cake mix, what exactly would you call the list of things that supposedly go into the box?
But it didn't stop there. Today, I spent most of the day watching football with my husband. Ok, so I don't so much watch football as exist in a room where football is on TV while I pay attention to other things, but occasionally something on the TV catches my attention. This time it was a Tostitos commercial. Now I love Tostitos. They are the corn chip that I am most likely to buy, more because they're often on sale and in the shapes I like than because I think they're particularly nutritious, but I've eaten and enjoyed a variety of Tostitos products. So when I heard them advertising that they're made with "real ingredients" it got me thinking. Why in the world would anyone with a lick of sense advertise that a food is made with real ingredients? Are these real ingredients as opposed to the fake ones? If Tostitos are made with real ingredients does that mean that Fritos are made with paste and paint? (I love Fritos, and would never mean to malign their excellent reputation, and they go really well with chili.) What kind of idiot do the advertising executives think I am? Who would spend millions of dollars to tell me that their food-like substances are made with real ingredients?
This really makes me wonder what other advertising and marketing campaigns are utterly meaningless. Does my toothpaste really keep working for hours, or does it just remove the grubby stuff and it takes time (and eating) for it to come back? Is lite mayonnaise really light, or is it just lighter than say, injecting lard directly into my veins? Are these desiccated grapes or plumper juicier raisins? Will the shoes make me run faster even though I don't like to run. I mean really, I spend more time driving a car or sitting at a desk than anything else in life. Will this added layer of clothing make me look thinner, or will it just add another layer to my already extensive padding? When you say something tastes better, better than what?
Silly, silly advertising executives. You're even stupider than you think I am.
P.S. My actual birthday cake was a Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix with the Creamy Home-Style Dark Chocolate Fudge Frosting, and it was VERY good even though my husband complained that it was ugly. I picked a cake because it would TASTE good, not because it would look good (if I'd wanted a pretty cake I'd have let him spread frosting on a hunk of styrofoam), and not because it had REAL INGREDIENTS!
http://www.duncanhines.com/products/cakes
At first glance this looks like a simple list of a variety of cake flavors. But then I noticed something. Under the heading "Decadent Mixes" there is the phrase "contains an additional pouch of real ingredients." This got me wondering. What exactly is a cake mix made up of if it's not ingredients? I mean, when I was a kid and I made mud pies, these mud pies had ingredients (mostly mud). When I look on the side of a box of regular cake mix, what exactly would you call the list of things that supposedly go into the box?
But it didn't stop there. Today, I spent most of the day watching football with my husband. Ok, so I don't so much watch football as exist in a room where football is on TV while I pay attention to other things, but occasionally something on the TV catches my attention. This time it was a Tostitos commercial. Now I love Tostitos. They are the corn chip that I am most likely to buy, more because they're often on sale and in the shapes I like than because I think they're particularly nutritious, but I've eaten and enjoyed a variety of Tostitos products. So when I heard them advertising that they're made with "real ingredients" it got me thinking. Why in the world would anyone with a lick of sense advertise that a food is made with real ingredients? Are these real ingredients as opposed to the fake ones? If Tostitos are made with real ingredients does that mean that Fritos are made with paste and paint? (I love Fritos, and would never mean to malign their excellent reputation, and they go really well with chili.) What kind of idiot do the advertising executives think I am? Who would spend millions of dollars to tell me that their food-like substances are made with real ingredients?
This really makes me wonder what other advertising and marketing campaigns are utterly meaningless. Does my toothpaste really keep working for hours, or does it just remove the grubby stuff and it takes time (and eating) for it to come back? Is lite mayonnaise really light, or is it just lighter than say, injecting lard directly into my veins? Are these desiccated grapes or plumper juicier raisins? Will the shoes make me run faster even though I don't like to run. I mean really, I spend more time driving a car or sitting at a desk than anything else in life. Will this added layer of clothing make me look thinner, or will it just add another layer to my already extensive padding? When you say something tastes better, better than what?
Silly, silly advertising executives. You're even stupider than you think I am.
P.S. My actual birthday cake was a Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix with the Creamy Home-Style Dark Chocolate Fudge Frosting, and it was VERY good even though my husband complained that it was ugly. I picked a cake because it would TASTE good, not because it would look good (if I'd wanted a pretty cake I'd have let him spread frosting on a hunk of styrofoam), and not because it had REAL INGREDIENTS!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
A guide to helping your friend/family member/co-worker/complete stranger through personal tragedy
1. Say you're sorry to hear about fill in blank here with the applicable trial, tribulation or loss.
Some common options include: the death of a family member, the loss of a pregnancy, a bad haircut, your infected hangnail... the options are endless.
2. Have you said you're sorry for whatever? Good. Stop!
Have you personally gone through what the person you're consoling has gone through?
Are you ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN you know all of their situation, what led up to this and if there are any extenuating circumstances?
If the answer to either of these questions is no, DON'T SAY ANYTHING!
If you haven't had a miscarriage I don't want to hear your suggestions of what I did wrong this time. If you haven't had fertility issues you have no idea what I've been through. If you haven't suffered a great loss then you can't identify with mine. So say you're sorry for me, that you wish things were different, that it was a bloomin' shame and then move on to a completely different topic.
Things folks have said to me in the couple weeks since my miscarriage that made me want to rip their beating heart from their chest and stomp on it:
"I had no problem getting pregnant once I quit my job. You should stay home and you'll have no problem having children."
The response I would have given if I thought well on my feet, "I've been trying to have children for four years. During that time I've worked three different jobs, and I've been unemployed for a while as well. At this point I need the job to pay for the fertility doctors."
"Don't worry. You'll be pregnant again in a month and it'll go better next time."
The response I would have given if I didn't work for you, "This is the first time I've shown any signs of being pregnant in four years of trying. While I certainly hope it won't take another four years, it could easily take months or years for me to get this far again."
"It was just the wrong egg at the wrong time. There's nothing you can do but try again."
The response I gave, "Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result is the definition of insanity."
"It's normal to have a miscarriage when you first get pregnant after having taken birth control pills."
Ok, I'll give you that this is my first pregnancy after going off birth control pills FOUR YEARS AGO! Sometimes people have a specific medical condition for which birth control pills are the prescribed treatment. There are lots of reasons to take birth control pills, and taking them does not equate to saying "I never want children." Also, studies have shown that taking birth control pills does NOT increase your chance of having a miscarriage, even if you get pregnant while still taking them.
"You just need to get into the best shape of your life, and then you won't have any problems at all."
Fuck off! See this weight? I'd challenge you got not gain weight when you have poly-cystic ovarian syndrome, and under active thyroid, and are taking all the hormones I have to take just to get pregnant. I eat plenty of vegetables, without an excessive amount of sugar or fat. I walk often, ride my bike and am generally active. Would I like to loose 50 lbs? Yes! But I'm happy enough with the 20 lbs I've lost since I was properly dosed and medicated, and don't need you judging me!
Some common options include: the death of a family member, the loss of a pregnancy, a bad haircut, your infected hangnail... the options are endless.
2. Have you said you're sorry for whatever? Good. Stop!
Have you personally gone through what the person you're consoling has gone through?
Are you ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN you know all of their situation, what led up to this and if there are any extenuating circumstances?
If the answer to either of these questions is no, DON'T SAY ANYTHING!
If you haven't had a miscarriage I don't want to hear your suggestions of what I did wrong this time. If you haven't had fertility issues you have no idea what I've been through. If you haven't suffered a great loss then you can't identify with mine. So say you're sorry for me, that you wish things were different, that it was a bloomin' shame and then move on to a completely different topic.
Things folks have said to me in the couple weeks since my miscarriage that made me want to rip their beating heart from their chest and stomp on it:
"I had no problem getting pregnant once I quit my job. You should stay home and you'll have no problem having children."
The response I would have given if I thought well on my feet, "I've been trying to have children for four years. During that time I've worked three different jobs, and I've been unemployed for a while as well. At this point I need the job to pay for the fertility doctors."
"Don't worry. You'll be pregnant again in a month and it'll go better next time."
The response I would have given if I didn't work for you, "This is the first time I've shown any signs of being pregnant in four years of trying. While I certainly hope it won't take another four years, it could easily take months or years for me to get this far again."
"It was just the wrong egg at the wrong time. There's nothing you can do but try again."
The response I gave, "Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result is the definition of insanity."
"It's normal to have a miscarriage when you first get pregnant after having taken birth control pills."
Ok, I'll give you that this is my first pregnancy after going off birth control pills FOUR YEARS AGO! Sometimes people have a specific medical condition for which birth control pills are the prescribed treatment. There are lots of reasons to take birth control pills, and taking them does not equate to saying "I never want children." Also, studies have shown that taking birth control pills does NOT increase your chance of having a miscarriage, even if you get pregnant while still taking them.
"You just need to get into the best shape of your life, and then you won't have any problems at all."
Fuck off! See this weight? I'd challenge you got not gain weight when you have poly-cystic ovarian syndrome, and under active thyroid, and are taking all the hormones I have to take just to get pregnant. I eat plenty of vegetables, without an excessive amount of sugar or fat. I walk often, ride my bike and am generally active. Would I like to loose 50 lbs? Yes! But I'm happy enough with the 20 lbs I've lost since I was properly dosed and medicated, and don't need you judging me!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Following the First Profession (no, it's not what you think)
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Genesis 1:26 (NIV)
I recently watched a video in which many people in places of leadership in many Christian organizations spoke out against what they called a great evil. In this short three minute and eight second video "Radical Environmentalism" is credited as being the greatest spiritual battle we face today. I sat in shock surprise and revulsion as I watched presidents and pastors and directors from organizations I normally respect. These leaders, one from a denomination of which I am a member, spewed derogatory and judgemental names for people who's greatest crime is trying to take care of this earth that God has given us. These associations, whose publications I read regularly and whose radio shows I listen to, used names like:
"tree hugger"
cult
"radical environmental agenda"
"own morbid, pessimistic fears"
"exaggeration, myths and outright lies"
"so-called global warming science"
They accused environmentalists of promoting humanism, and then went on to contradict their own statement by saying that environmentalists are "consigning the poorest people around the world to grinding poverty, to disease, to premature death." Yet it is the humanist movement that works to raise the level of human condition. Not only are these so-called Christians sitting in condemnation of some stereotypical environmental group, but they're contradicting themselves while they do it.
But my visceral reaction to this video didn't start when I read the article this morning. This is something that I have spent the last several years studying and trying to understand. How can so many Christians seem to have a complete and utter lack of compassion, and more personally what does God want me to do with my life.
I have spent much time in my life wandering, looking for direction. While my sister seemed to know exactly what she wanted to do from early high school, straight through he PhD, I took the eight year plan flitting through four majors before finally eking out a BS. And even then I hadn't found my direction in life. It was more a matter of wanting something to show for all the years I'd spent in college. I often say I have the best liberal arts education you can receive from a technical school because that's just how convoluted my journey in life has been. So I continue searching, and what better way to find the will of God than by reading the word he has given us.
I'm holding it open right now, to the very beginning, day 6, the one where we're first mentioned. Man, and the charge God first gave to us. God said of man to "...let him rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” I've gone back to the very begging. I can't find anything that takes precedence over this charge, to take care of the earth that got has made and it's animals. Does God charge us to take care of the poor and diseased people on the earth? NO! Possibly because they did not exist yet. After all, this predates the fall of man. We didn't know that we were poor and naked yet, and I assume no one had caught the common cold.
God goes on to reinforce the idea that we should care for his creation only two verses later. "'Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'
Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.'" Genesis 1:28-29 (NIV) Here we're told to take care of not just the animals and the fish, but we're supposed to value the plants as well. While I wouldn't go so far as to say that this is a direct order to go around hugging trees, I also thinks this is a strong indication that we are charged to take care of ALL of God's creation.
I want you do notice here that we're still on the sixth day. This wasn't on the seventh day where God was resting. No, this is the job that God has laid on mankind. The first 9-5 task that God has ever given to people. I take this to heart. I accept the charge that God has laid on me and I still think that this is the most important job that we can do. To care for God's creation is to show our reverence for God.
This is reinforced in the second chapter of Genesis, "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." Genesis 2:15. Here we have the first name given to the first profession. We are to be gardeners, not yet farmers, there's a difference. Farmers toil in the soil and eat what they grow. Gardeners tend the living plants. This makes it clear to me that it is my job not to re-shape the earth to fit whatever idea I have of it, but to tend it the way God has given it to me. I am to preserve it, not to strip-log it and build condominiums.
The Bible continues to honor those people who take car of Gods creation rather than resorting to violence. The people of the bible understood farming. Cain and Able learned it from their parents, and Jesus knew that it still applied to the people he was talking to when he told the parables of the Sower (Matthew 13:3-8) and the Tares Matthew (13:24-30).
The all important job of caring for God's creation, of being God's constant gardener if you will, resonated with the people of the Bible. They understood that we are so closely tied with nature, and that if we hurt it we are ultimately hurting ourselves. Why does this seem to be so lost on people today? Is it because we are so insulated from nature? Most of us in a post-industrial society spend all of our time indoors, or on pavement moving from one roof to another. We go days without actually touching a plant other than our house plants. We're more likely to kill an animal as we run over it with our vehicle than to take into account the source of all that nicely pre-packaged meat in the grocery store. Most new neighborhoods that are built start with clear cutting the trees and leveling the earth to the point where it becomes unrecognizable.
We are very disconnected from our environment, but I don't think this is the actual cause of our misunderstanding of God's greatest calling. I think our disassociation stems from something much more insidious, something more evil than the love of money (though one may cause the other and vice verse).
Lack of compassion.
I believe that lack of compassion in many of the most influential and out spoken Christians is the biggest stumbling blocks to people today. Compassion is what makes us realize that when we over exploit the earth we're destroying it for those who come after us. Compassion is what makes us aware of needless destruction. And those of us that have compassion notice these things and hurt. I hurt when I see a squirrel dead in the middle of the road. I hurt when I drive by a sign for new development, and stretching behind it a bare scar of red Georgia clay. I hurt when I hear one more self entitled prig's needlessly inflammatory remarks. They lump together a diverse group of people and play the blame game. What makes it worse? They accuse the others, whoever the others are at the moment, of fear mongering, yet that's exactly what I hear when I listen to them.
Is this one of the cases where it takes one to know one? I'm a Christian, a devout one, but one with diverse beliefs. I don't fit the stereotypical conservative, and I'm not really liberal. I find that what I abhor most of all is extremism in either direction. Extremism doesn't lead to understanding. It leads to opposing sides screaming at the top of their lungs loud enough to make anyone undecided deaf. It doesn't lead people to see wisdom, it blinds them to the true need. I won't say I'm all that in touch with nature, and I definitely don't want spiders in my house. But I also want children, I want them to see the gifts that God has given us, to value them; and to see that the first profession, the most worthy profession, is the one that God gave us on the sixth day.
I am not the best at this profession, but like any career path I get better at it as I gain practice and knowledge. Sometimes I think the extreme right is afraid of knowledge, they see it as humanism. But I would remind you that God gave you that brain, and he expects you to use it. Use it to think of ways to internalize compassion, and use it to find ways to care for the plants, animals, and world that God has given us.
I recently watched a video in which many people in places of leadership in many Christian organizations spoke out against what they called a great evil. In this short three minute and eight second video "Radical Environmentalism" is credited as being the greatest spiritual battle we face today. I sat in shock surprise and revulsion as I watched presidents and pastors and directors from organizations I normally respect. These leaders, one from a denomination of which I am a member, spewed derogatory and judgemental names for people who's greatest crime is trying to take care of this earth that God has given us. These associations, whose publications I read regularly and whose radio shows I listen to, used names like:
"tree hugger"
cult
"radical environmental agenda"
"own morbid, pessimistic fears"
"exaggeration, myths and outright lies"
"so-called global warming science"
They accused environmentalists of promoting humanism, and then went on to contradict their own statement by saying that environmentalists are "consigning the poorest people around the world to grinding poverty, to disease, to premature death." Yet it is the humanist movement that works to raise the level of human condition. Not only are these so-called Christians sitting in condemnation of some stereotypical environmental group, but they're contradicting themselves while they do it.
But my visceral reaction to this video didn't start when I read the article this morning. This is something that I have spent the last several years studying and trying to understand. How can so many Christians seem to have a complete and utter lack of compassion, and more personally what does God want me to do with my life.
I have spent much time in my life wandering, looking for direction. While my sister seemed to know exactly what she wanted to do from early high school, straight through he PhD, I took the eight year plan flitting through four majors before finally eking out a BS. And even then I hadn't found my direction in life. It was more a matter of wanting something to show for all the years I'd spent in college. I often say I have the best liberal arts education you can receive from a technical school because that's just how convoluted my journey in life has been. So I continue searching, and what better way to find the will of God than by reading the word he has given us.
I'm holding it open right now, to the very beginning, day 6, the one where we're first mentioned. Man, and the charge God first gave to us. God said of man to "...let him rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” I've gone back to the very begging. I can't find anything that takes precedence over this charge, to take care of the earth that got has made and it's animals. Does God charge us to take care of the poor and diseased people on the earth? NO! Possibly because they did not exist yet. After all, this predates the fall of man. We didn't know that we were poor and naked yet, and I assume no one had caught the common cold.
God goes on to reinforce the idea that we should care for his creation only two verses later. "'Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'
Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.'" Genesis 1:28-29 (NIV) Here we're told to take care of not just the animals and the fish, but we're supposed to value the plants as well. While I wouldn't go so far as to say that this is a direct order to go around hugging trees, I also thinks this is a strong indication that we are charged to take care of ALL of God's creation.
I want you do notice here that we're still on the sixth day. This wasn't on the seventh day where God was resting. No, this is the job that God has laid on mankind. The first 9-5 task that God has ever given to people. I take this to heart. I accept the charge that God has laid on me and I still think that this is the most important job that we can do. To care for God's creation is to show our reverence for God.
This is reinforced in the second chapter of Genesis, "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." Genesis 2:15. Here we have the first name given to the first profession. We are to be gardeners, not yet farmers, there's a difference. Farmers toil in the soil and eat what they grow. Gardeners tend the living plants. This makes it clear to me that it is my job not to re-shape the earth to fit whatever idea I have of it, but to tend it the way God has given it to me. I am to preserve it, not to strip-log it and build condominiums.
The Bible continues to honor those people who take car of Gods creation rather than resorting to violence. The people of the bible understood farming. Cain and Able learned it from their parents, and Jesus knew that it still applied to the people he was talking to when he told the parables of the Sower (Matthew 13:3-8) and the Tares Matthew (13:24-30).
The all important job of caring for God's creation, of being God's constant gardener if you will, resonated with the people of the Bible. They understood that we are so closely tied with nature, and that if we hurt it we are ultimately hurting ourselves. Why does this seem to be so lost on people today? Is it because we are so insulated from nature? Most of us in a post-industrial society spend all of our time indoors, or on pavement moving from one roof to another. We go days without actually touching a plant other than our house plants. We're more likely to kill an animal as we run over it with our vehicle than to take into account the source of all that nicely pre-packaged meat in the grocery store. Most new neighborhoods that are built start with clear cutting the trees and leveling the earth to the point where it becomes unrecognizable.
We are very disconnected from our environment, but I don't think this is the actual cause of our misunderstanding of God's greatest calling. I think our disassociation stems from something much more insidious, something more evil than the love of money (though one may cause the other and vice verse).
Lack of compassion.
I believe that lack of compassion in many of the most influential and out spoken Christians is the biggest stumbling blocks to people today. Compassion is what makes us realize that when we over exploit the earth we're destroying it for those who come after us. Compassion is what makes us aware of needless destruction. And those of us that have compassion notice these things and hurt. I hurt when I see a squirrel dead in the middle of the road. I hurt when I drive by a sign for new development, and stretching behind it a bare scar of red Georgia clay. I hurt when I hear one more self entitled prig's needlessly inflammatory remarks. They lump together a diverse group of people and play the blame game. What makes it worse? They accuse the others, whoever the others are at the moment, of fear mongering, yet that's exactly what I hear when I listen to them.
Is this one of the cases where it takes one to know one? I'm a Christian, a devout one, but one with diverse beliefs. I don't fit the stereotypical conservative, and I'm not really liberal. I find that what I abhor most of all is extremism in either direction. Extremism doesn't lead to understanding. It leads to opposing sides screaming at the top of their lungs loud enough to make anyone undecided deaf. It doesn't lead people to see wisdom, it blinds them to the true need. I won't say I'm all that in touch with nature, and I definitely don't want spiders in my house. But I also want children, I want them to see the gifts that God has given us, to value them; and to see that the first profession, the most worthy profession, is the one that God gave us on the sixth day.
I am not the best at this profession, but like any career path I get better at it as I gain practice and knowledge. Sometimes I think the extreme right is afraid of knowledge, they see it as humanism. But I would remind you that God gave you that brain, and he expects you to use it. Use it to think of ways to internalize compassion, and use it to find ways to care for the plants, animals, and world that God has given us.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Hit and Run
Those of you who read the ORIGINAL Complaint of the Month know something about how I feel about foul language. To summarize, I think that people cuss because they are ignorant and don't know how to use the English language. That's not to say I NEVER use curse words, but it's very rare, and when I do use them it's a conscious choice. Suffice it to say that using curse words in excess is not the way to get on my good side.
This was really brought home to me Friday as I was headed back to work after lunch. I was stopped at a stop light in my nearly ten year old Honda Accord and this woman (I won't call her lady) in a white SUV barely tapped me in the rear bumper. That's a long light, and it had turned red just in front of me so I had plenty of time, and got out to take a quick look, just to see if there was any damage. I made it maybe a step and a half out of the care and she started yelling that she didn't hit my F'ing car, and to get back in my F'ing car and F this and F that. I tried to calm here, by saying I was just checking, and she continued screaming. I have never had anyone scream at me like that in my life.
She was so close to my car that I couldn't tell if there was damage and so I said I'd just let the police handle it and got back in my car. I pulled out my cell phone and tried to dial but my hands were shaking so badly that I mis-dialed 911. When the light changed I didn't move and and she decided to go around me backing up and tapped me 2-3 more times in the process because there wasn't room for her to back up. Instead she leaned on the horn until other cars (there were two lanes plus turn lanes) cleared out on either side and she had room to back up. So, as she drove around me, I had the cell phone in my hand dialing the police, and I snapped a couple of pictures with my cell in the hopes that something would come out clearly.
So I went on to work, and met the police in the parking lot at work. There was white paint on my bumper, it really didn't do any damage but to the paint, plastic bumpers and all. And the picture? It couldn't have been better; it had her license plate front and center clear as day.
What gets me is this. If she'd been nice and gotten out to look with me and said, "Hmm that doesn't look like much but here's my number in case you find something," I would have let it go. But if you have a foul mouth and curse me up one side and down the other I will prosecute yo' back side!
This was really brought home to me Friday as I was headed back to work after lunch. I was stopped at a stop light in my nearly ten year old Honda Accord and this woman (I won't call her lady) in a white SUV barely tapped me in the rear bumper. That's a long light, and it had turned red just in front of me so I had plenty of time, and got out to take a quick look, just to see if there was any damage. I made it maybe a step and a half out of the care and she started yelling that she didn't hit my F'ing car, and to get back in my F'ing car and F this and F that. I tried to calm here, by saying I was just checking, and she continued screaming. I have never had anyone scream at me like that in my life.
She was so close to my car that I couldn't tell if there was damage and so I said I'd just let the police handle it and got back in my car. I pulled out my cell phone and tried to dial but my hands were shaking so badly that I mis-dialed 911. When the light changed I didn't move and and she decided to go around me backing up and tapped me 2-3 more times in the process because there wasn't room for her to back up. Instead she leaned on the horn until other cars (there were two lanes plus turn lanes) cleared out on either side and she had room to back up. So, as she drove around me, I had the cell phone in my hand dialing the police, and I snapped a couple of pictures with my cell in the hopes that something would come out clearly.
So I went on to work, and met the police in the parking lot at work. There was white paint on my bumper, it really didn't do any damage but to the paint, plastic bumpers and all. And the picture? It couldn't have been better; it had her license plate front and center clear as day.
What gets me is this. If she'd been nice and gotten out to look with me and said, "Hmm that doesn't look like much but here's my number in case you find something," I would have let it go. But if you have a foul mouth and curse me up one side and down the other I will prosecute yo' back side!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)