The Indications

The Indications [excerpt]

Walt Whitman, 1819 - 1892

The words of the true poems give you more than poems,   

They give you to form for yourself, poems, religions, politics,

   war, peace, behavior, histories, essays, romances, and everything else,   

They balance ranks, colors, races, creeds, and the sexes,

They do not seek beauty—they are sought,   

Forever touching them, or close upon them, follows beauty, longing,

   fain, love-sick.   

   

They prepare for death—yet are they not the finish, but rather the outset,   

They bring none to his or her terminus, or to be content and full;   

Whom they take, they take into space, to behold the birth of stars,

   to learn one of the meanings,

To launch off with absolute faith—to sweep through the ceaseless rings,

   and never be quiet again.

To be honest there is not a whole lot I want to add for explanation or comment to this poem.  This poem is what poetry means to me.  I hope it speaks to you in the same way.   I dearly love poetry and the above "indications" are why I love it so.

Ironing Out the Details

There is one house chore I really hate to do, and that is ironing.  I hate it, but I also hate wearing wrinkled clothes.  I try to always take my shirts and pants out of the dryer as soon as they are done to prevent wrinkles but sometimes things happen that prevent that, or I forget.

I also prefer to mainly wear cotton and natural fibers (I'd wear linen more often but it wrinkles way too easily and must always be ironed).  However, my preferred solution would be to have this guy come and iron all my clothes for me and to do my laundry as I watch.  The more I think of it, I think the guy above is the best solution to my problem.  Now where do I find him?

"Let He Who Is Without Sin..."

They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

John 7:53 - 8:11

This "let he who is without sin, cast the first stone" incident is one of the most well-known lessons of the Bible. A woman, who had been caught in the act of adultery was brought to Jesus Christ by the scribes and Pharisees as a test to see if the Messiah was a liberal in matters of the Law of God. In response to their deceitful query, He didn't condemn the woman, not because He was a liberal, not because He condoned her sin, but because the men who brought the woman to Him were hypocrites. He was the only person there that day who was free of sin, the only one who had the right to "cast the first stone." He didn't stone her (or her accusers), but instead forgave her and told her to "sin no more." Otherwise, the day is coming when she, if she didn't thereafter repent, wouldn't be stoned, but be burned - along with the hypocrites who brought her to Him that day, if they didn't thereafter repent of their sin:

Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (Revelation 22:14-15)

It seems, perhaps, that Jesus Christ wasn't the only one who was "set up" that day. While they used the woman caught in adultery as the means to try to entrap Him through His answer, the woman herself may have been partly entrapped - the man that she was "taken in adultery, in the very act" with (by definition, if she was "caught in the act," the man had to have been caught too) was not brought to Him with her. Whoever he was, he was just as guilty and just as subject to "If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death." (Leviticus 20:10) that the scribes and Pharisees quoted in condemning the woman. Letting him go was more hypocrisy on the part of the themselves-adulterous scribes and Pharisees.

The Pericope Adulterae is a traditional name for the famous passage (pericope) quoted above about Jesus and the woman taken in adultery from verses 7:53-8:11 of the Gospel of John. The parable, and its messages of suspension of judgment when one is not blameless and tempering justice with mercy, have endured in Christian thought. Both "let him who is without sin, cast the first stone" and "go, and sin no more" have found their way into common usage. The English idiomatic phrase to "cast the first stone" is derived from this passage.

Today, we have our own scribes and Pharisees who want to condemn the LGBT community, yet they do not head the words of Jesus.  Some of the loudest of those who condemn us are those who have sinned the most.  Hypocrites are the reason why so many turn away from religion.  They say one thing and do another, and religion is full of hypocrites.  Does that mean we should discredit the teachings of Jesus?  Absolutely not.  It merely means that we should be vigilant with the Truth of God's Word.  God is the only one who can judge us, but we all judge others.  I'm not without sin either, and I have certainly judged people before and is one of my great flaws (of which I have many).

Instead of casting stones, we should climb above our own stones in order to be better people.  God loves us no matter what we do, that love is eternal.  The hate and judgmental behavior are the work of the devil.  As long as we are divided and are not following God's word, then Satan is winning the battle.  None of us are perfect, yet we must strive to be better each day. 

Moment of Zen: Nieces and Nephews

I've always heard that nothing compares to being a parent, but it is unlikely that I will ever have children.  Why should I marry or have children? Straight people marry to have children, but I already have children! My niece and nephew are my children.  I love them dearly.  I had the joy of my life for a second time yesterday, as I held my nephew in my arms.  The first true joy was six years ago when I held my newborn niece.  To hold him in my arms and see his tiny hands and tiny feet, as he looks up at me....Well, the only thing that could possibly be better is holding a son or daughter of my own in my hands, but like I said, that is unlikely.  My niece and nephew are the next best thing and I love them with all my heart.

Happy Independence Day!

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

The Declaration of Independence is arguably one of the most influential documents in American History. Other countries and organizations have adopted its tone and manner in their own documents and declarations. For example, France wrote its 'Declaration of the Rights of Man' and the Women's Rights movement wrote its 'Declaration of Sentiments'. However, the Declaration of Independence was actually not technically necessary in proclaiming independence from Great Britain.

A resolution of independence passed the Philadelphia Convention on July 2. This was all that was needed to break away from Britain. The colonists had been fighting Great Britain for 14 months while proclaiming their allegiance to the crown. Now they were breaking away. Obviously, they wanted to make clear exactly why they decided to take this action. Hence, they presented the world with the 'Declaration of Independence' drafted by thirty-three year old Thomas Jefferson.

The text of the Declaration has been compared to a 'Lawyer's Brief'. It presents a long list of grievances against King George III including such items as taxation without representation, maintaining a standing army in peacetime, dissolving houses of representatives, and hiring "large armies of foreign mercenaries." The analogy is that Jefferson is an attorney presenting his case before the world court. Not everything that Jefferson wrote was exactly correct. However, it is important to remember that he was writing a persuasive essay, not a historical text. The formal break from Great Britain was complete with the adoption of this document on July 4, 1776.

Jefferson wrote the Declaration in a way that was meant to be read aloud.  The first two paragraphs are some of the most powerful words ever written.  Each year when I teach about the Declaration in my Civics, Government, and history classes, I make sure that it is read aloud so that the students get the full effect.  The most popular way to do this is to play the following video:  http://youtu.be/jYyttEu_NLU.  My students tend to pay more attention to the famous actors who read the Declaration of Independence.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, MY FELLOW AMERICANS!

My nephew was born yesterday, and he and his mother are doing great.  I'm a very proud uncle times two, and I'm so happy that my niece is so excited about her baby brother.

Uncle Joe

I'm going to be an uncle again today.  Sometime this afternoon, I'm going to have a brand new nephew.  My sister's c-section is scheduled for today. My niece is six years old and the joy of my life, and I'm so excited for the new joy to arrive.

Why should I marry? Straight people marry to have children, but I already have children! My niece and soon-to-be nephew are my children.  I love them dearly.

The picture above is L'enfant, better known as Man and Baby. It is a 1987 photographic poster depicting a shirtless male model (Adam Perry) holding a young baby. The image, photographed by Spencer Rowell, was published and distributed in the 1980s by British company Athena Posters. The image reportedly sold over 5 million copies, making it among the best-selling posters ever. The photograph was said to herald the "sensitive but sexy New Man" aesthetic.

Closer to Fine

Closer To Fine

The Indigo Girls

I'm trying to tell you something about my life

Maybe give me insight between black and white

The best thing you've ever done for me

Is to help me take my life less seriously, it's only life after all

Well darkness has a hunger that's insatiable

And lightness has a call that's hard to hear

I wrap my fear around me like a blanket

I sailed my ship of safety till I sank it, I'm crawling on your shore.

I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains

I looked to the children, I drank from the fountain

There's more than one answer to these questions

pointing me in crooked line

The less I seek my source for some definitive

The closer I am to fine.

I went to see the doctor of philosophy

With a poster of Rasputin and a beard down to his knee

He never did marry or see a B-grade movie

He graded my performance, he said he could see through me

I spent four years prostrate to the higher mind, got my paper

And I was free.

I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains

I looked to the children, I drank from the fountain

There's more than one answer to these questions

pointing me in crooked line

The less I seek my source for some definitive

The closer I am to fine.

I stopped by the bar at 3 a.m.

To seek solace in a bottle or possibly a friend

I woke up with a headache like my head against a board

Twice as cloudy as I'd been the night before

I went in seeking clarity.

I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains

I looked to the children, I drank from the fountain

There's more than one answer to these questions

pointing me in crooked line

The less I seek my source for some definitive

The closer I am to fine.

I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains

I looked to the children, I drank from the fountain

There's more than one answer to these questions

pointing me in crooked line

The less I seek my source for some definitive

The closer I am to fine.

We go to the bible, we go through the workout

We read up on revival and we stand up for the lookout

There's more than one answer to these questions

pointing me in a crooked line

The less I seek my source for some definitive

The closer I am to fine

The closer I am to fine

The closer I am to fine

Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls write separately, and this song was written by Saliers, who told us it is based on real experiences. Said Saliers: "All of my songs, they're a combination of real experiences and what I observe through other people's behavior and experience. I was with my family in Vermont, and we were sitting in this rustic cabin, and I was sitting on a front porch and looking out into the trees, which, you know, whenever you're in such a bucolic setting, it can make you feel very philosophical. So that's how I was feeling. And that song is about not beating yourself up too hard to get your answer from one place. There's no panacea, that in order to be balanced or feel closer to fine it's okay to draw from this or to draw from that, to draw from a bunch of different sources. So it's about being confused but looking for the answers, and in the end knowing that you're going to be fine. No seeking just one definitive answer."

It's about trying to find THE right path, but all questions have many answers, which should you choose. Saliers tries everything and talks to everyone only to realize that there are many ways along the crooked path of life and the less she seeks definitive answers for life, she gets closer to being fine. Sometimes it's not the answers that are important but the journey to seek those answers and the journey of life.  Sometimes, a question has more than one answer and can lead to a greater understanding, if we open our minds.

The song had some truly great lyrics, such as "Darkness has a hunger that's insatiable and lightness has a call that's hard to hear."  Sin knows no limits and you'll never be satisfied because it may satisfy a desire but will never make you feel whole.  Sin will merely take you down a darker path.  Whereas the light of Christ or his influence is soft and gentle and hard to hear unless you are listening for it.  We can see it all around us, if we jut look and listen.

Saliers pokes a little fun at academia too.  Regarding the "doctor of philosophy" in the lyrics, Saliers explains that it wasn't a real person: "It's sort of a stereotype. I remember in high school one of my teachers had a poster of Rasputin on his door, and his pictures just looked so bizarre to me, and always struck me. I sort of put those images together, and it was sort of a poke at academia and the way it can sometimes be removed from reality. So I was saying I don't think this professor has the right to judge me in terms of real life, when we're caught up in this insular, sort of strange academic world."  Academia can be a closed society.  Though they are often searching for new ideas, they often just rehash old ones.  It takes a very special person to see beyond and truly get past old stereotypes and push forward to finding the correct answer. With history, there's often many interpretations of an event, but can they all be correct?  Truthfully, I believe if you have an objective mind they can be.  Most all things hold a grain of truth and Jair as there are many questions and many answers, you must synthesize the information and realize that no single answer is correct.  When you try to dogmatically answer a question and refuse to see the many facets of it, you inevitably answer the question incorrectly.

The most important statement I think this song makes is that we are all unique and my finding our true self, the closer we will be to being fine.

Garnishes by Micah Mora

Garnishes
By Micah Mora

Most peculiar -
The air is warm today
Shadowing my outsides
And blanketing my soul
Bare to the eye
My insecurity finds me
Binds me
Steals my breaths
As I count to ten
And see there's more to me hiding
Blow me fresh
And wisp away the delicacies
Running fingertips on mountain hills
And garnish each single strand
Most prolific in memory
Till at last
Like air
Thus wind
So befitting
Set me free

Micah Mora is a model, dancer, and above all an artists.  The picture above and below are of him, such a beautiful young man and a tremendous gay artist.  I happened across this poem on his Twitter (@MicahMora) and wanted to share it because I found it quite beautiful.

Free verse poetry can sometimes be difficult to comprehend, but I think the beauty of this piece speaks for itself.  I think we all have insecurities, and in a way, this is what I've talked about the last two days.  We have to "count to ten" and let go of those insecurities and be proud of who we are and continue on so the wind can set us free.

"I have a belief that romanticism is what keeps our hearts young and our minds free to wonder." - Micah Mora

Don't Sneak

Yesterday in my Sunday post, I discussed the two types of pride:  the sinful selfish pride and the pride we should take in ourselves and be stronger people.  LGBT can find meaning in pride. We start to feel able to freely and openly celebrate who we are. We need to stop hating and fearing ourselves, because those who live secret lives of pain are not able to fully celebrate their identity. I also used the following quote:

Maybe our journey in life isn't so much about becoming anything. Maybe it's about unbecoming everything that isn't really you so you can become who you were meant to be in the first place.

It symbolizes that we should take pride in our true selves and not hide or "sneak."  StoryCorps, an NPR segment, marked the anniversary of a pivotal moment for gay rights, the 1969 Stonewall riots. Forty-five years ago, on June 27, gay protesters clashed with police in New York. Now, StoryCorps launched an initiative to preserve the stories of LGBT people called "OutLoud."  Below is one of those stories, and it's a perfect example of why we should celebrate ourselves.

In the 1950s in rural Washington, a teenage boy learned an important lesson about self-acceptance. Patrick Haggerty, now 70, didn't know he was gay at the time, but says his father knew what direction he was headed.

The conversation started because as a teenager Haggerty decided to perform in a school assembly. On their way there, he started covering his face with glitter — to his brother's horror. Haggerty says his brother dropped him off at school and then called their father.

"Dad, I think you better get up there," his brother said. "This is not going to look good."

Their father did come. Charles Edward Haggerty, a dairy farmer, showed up at the school in dirty farming jeans and boots. When Haggerty saw his dad in the halls, he hid.

"It wasn't because of what I was wearing," Haggerty says. "It was because of what he was wearing."

After the assembly, in the car ride home, Haggerty's father called him out on his attempt to hide.

"My father says to me, 'I was walking down the hall this morning, and I saw a kid that looked a lot like you ducking around the hall to avoid his dad. But I know it wasn't you, 'cause you would never do that to your dad,' " Haggerty recalls.

Haggerty squirmed in his seat and finally exclaimed, "Well, Dad, did you have to wear your cow-crap jeans to my assembly?"

"Look, everybody knows I'm a dairy farmer," his father replied. "This is who I am. Now, how 'bout you? When you're an adult, who are you gonna go out with at night?"

Then, he gave his son some advice:

"Now, I'm gonna tell you something today, and you might not know what to think of it now, but you're gonna remember when you're a full-grown man: Don't sneak. Because if you sneak, like you did today, it means you think you're doing the wrong thing. And if you run around spending your whole life thinking that you're doing the wrong thing, then you'll ruin your immortal soul."

"And out of all the things a father in 1959 could have told his gay son, my father tells me to be proud of myself and not sneak," Haggerty says.

"He knew where I was headed. And he knew that making me feel bad about it in any way was the wrong thing to do," he adds. "I had the patron saint of dads for sissies, and no, I didn't know at the time, but I know it now."

If more people could understand what Charles Edward Haggerty did over sixty years ago, then we'd have a lot less teenage suicide, we'd have a lot less depression in LGBT people, acceptance would be a given, and there would it longer be the need for the closet.

The Two Types of Pride

Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else.  Galatians 6:4

Selfish pride can be defined as "excessive confidence or glorification in one's self, possessions or nation." The concept is found in the Bible, along with pride itself, in words such as arrogance, haughtiness and conceit, among others, all of which are opposite of Godly humility. The wrongness of self-centered pride is essentially twofold. On a spiritual level, it inevitably leads to disregard, disrespect and disobedience to God i.e. self-centered pride is primarily what transformed the once-righteous Lucifer into the wicked Satan after he became too impressed with himself: "I will make myself like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:14). On a worldly level, selfish pride very often results in self-destructive behavior because, while a form of self-delusion, it isn't necessarily as much an overestimation of one's self as it is a dangerous underestimation of others, hence "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18).

The Bible warns us about the dangers of pride, by which it means an arrogant, haughty, self-centered attitude that looks down on others and feels no need of God.  This kind of pride is wrong in God's eyes because it can make someone act as if he/she is the most important person in the world. That cuts us off from others; no one likes someone who's constantly acting as if they're better or more important than anyone else. A prideful attitude also cuts us off from God, because we think we can get along without Him. But the Bible warns, "The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled and human pride brought low" (Isaiah 2:11).

The Bible also speaks of a good pride, but it differs greatly from selfish pride, what we might call a healthy understanding of what God has given us, and a humble determination to do our best for His glory. This can be good, giving us the confidence we need to meet challenges and undertake new tasks. The Bible says, "Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else" (Galatians 6:4).

Be on guard against a self-centered pride that ultimately will destroy you. Instead, see yourself the way God sees you, and humbly accept the gifts He has given you. Most of all, humble yourself at the foot of the cross, and commit your life and your future to Jesus  Christ.

As LGBT Christians we should take pride in keeping the faith, even when others tell us we are not wanted.  A friend of mine sent me a quote the other day, that I found very inspirational and I believe it is a perfect example of why we should look at pride in a different way.

Maybe our journey in life isn't so much about becoming anything. Maybe it's about unbecoming everything that isn't really you so you can become who you were meant to be in the first place.

Our experienced help shape us, but they don't define us.  Sometime we have to unlearn things or peel away those things that hold us back.  We are taught by most ministers that pride is evil, but can we not have a humble pride? We should take pride in God and the life he has created in us.  For me this type of pride is about glorifying God.  We are made in the image of God, and we should take pride in that.  We are a witness to God’s radical love, and his love is everlasting and unconditional.  God promises us eternal life, but we must believe and have faith and follow his word (as a member of the churches of Christ, I feel compelled to say "and be baptized" but I know not everyone believes in the necessity of baptism). Our faith is miraculous: as LGBT Christians we are constantly told that we are the living embodiment of sin, but we have kept the faith, because our loving God encourages and guides us to the truth. We are called to transform the world:  it is our duty to show others that God's love is everlasting and unconditional. God journeys with us, and He is with a us at all times, in good or bad.  Our experiences teach us how to love authentically and not to listen to those who are naysayers or preach hate. As LGBT Christians, God has freed us from shame for we have nothing to be shameful of, because we have kept the faith. By embracing ourselves, we bring inner peace because we know who we are and we have "unbecome" what others told us to become because we have followed the path of God's truth.  We are unique creations of God.  Without that uniqueness we'd all be the same, and God made us all diverse and wonderful people who are filled with the capacity to love.

Some gay people find pride to be one time of the year when they do not feel alone, isolated, cut-off, rejected, hated and despised. Pride helps gay people feel they are not a tiny, powerless minority group. Through pride, many gay people find a sense of belonging, a sense of being worthwhile. Society has long taught gay people to hate themselves. By taking pride in who they are in Christ, gay people can start the long process of overcoming self-hate. Standing side-by-side with God, gay Christians are an accepted, loved, connected and powerful majority!

Gay Christians can find meaning in pride. They are start to feel able to freely and openly celebrate who they are in Christ. God wants that! God wants gay people to stop hating and fearing themselves, because those who live secret lives of pain are not able to fully celebrate their identity in Christ. Through gay pride, God calls gay Christians to live as though the world waits for them, waits for them to passionately praise God, to love as faithfully as God loves and to celebrate life, as they walk hand-in-hand with Christ into eternity.

So take pride in our struggles.  We need that good, unselfish pride to show others the true light of God.  So as we celebrate the forty-fifth anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, with Gay Pride Month coming to an end, and next Friday, we celebrate the pride we feel in the independence of the American spirit, we should rejoice with others that God allows us that feeling of warmth in our hearts that is our unselfish pride. 

The picture at the top of this post is the reaction to this group of Chicago Christians who showed up at a gay pride parade to apologize for homophobia in the Church.