Reflections on the Political Development of a Loyal Oppositionist

Yesterday I completed a short essay entitled "Second Thoughts on the IB Exception," which is a reflection on my first political document, called the IB Exception. The essay looks at the circumstances that surrounded my first (but not the last) foray into pampleteering and political discourse, a protest against school authorities seeking to increase discipline when they were unable to fulfill their basic responsibilities to educate, provide textbooks, and so forth. Those who cannot handle the power they have do not deserve more power and control over others. The IB Exception, oddly enough, did not get me into trouble (perhaps it encouraged my later/current efforts), and my complaints were answered in time. Why does it seem like those in power are so quick to increase the coercive powers of central government when they are so pitiful at their tasks as servants of the people?
Perhaps we are a bit too human sometimes, but I was always predisposed to be a loyal oppositionist towards those in power. While some would consider such a stand to be oxymoronic, at best, both are essential aspects of my political worldview in the broadest possible ways. The loyal part of the worldview is an active participation in the efforts of whatever group I happen to be a part of (whether that is a school, a professional group like the American Society of Civil Engineers, or the United Church of God, or even such groups as my family) as well as a commitment to obedience to God as well as an avoidance of violent and disruptive means of discontent. That part cannot be emphasized enough. However, it cannot be forgotten that in my political development I have defined myself in opposition to entrenched power, wherever or however it may be found. At the basic level, I don't trust other people--especially people with power involving me in any sort of fashion. On a more intellectual level, though, I feel the need to point out what is lacking (as, inevitably, something is always lacking in any human organization and effort) so that reform from within may lead to greater improvements and amelioration of existing conditions. By nature I tend to shy away from violent and public conflicts, but that does not make my opposition any less strong on occasion. Just because we're realistic and have to deal with the imperfections of humanity doesn't mean we shouldn't always strive for perfection and seek constant improvement of ourselves and our institutions. Such is the life, I suppose. At least it provides a lot of material to write about.

Commentary on Ladies' Night

Okay, I'm going to my speaker's club ladies night with my dear cousin Amber. If I had a digital camera, I'd take pics, but you'll probably have to be satisfied with my writing about it. Oh, I didn't mention earlier, when I was talking about how busy I'd be this month, but June 18th is the day of my next sermonette as well, which will be on "The Faith of Barak." For those of you who don't know who Barak is, check Judges 4 and 5 for a refresher. I don't know if anyone else takes their relatives to ladies' night for Speaker's Club, but it was an idea of my mom's, and a good one. Let's just say I don't want to be hearing about this for the next few months/years. People in Tampa have long memories, sometimes almost as long as mine. As for my cousin, she'll probably be angling for a few names/phone numbers/etc. And I can think of a few young members of the Speaker's Club who will be looking for hers. Just none of those scary middled aged people, alright. I'll have to break your knees if you try. So, it looks like the cheesecake is set, and everything is else is going well as well, and it's not even June yet. I like planning. Tomorrow my father turns 59 years of age. I'll give him a call in the early evening/late afternoon, when he's still awake and hopefully not out at the barn. (For those who don't know, my father's family is a farming family in Western Pennsylvania.) So, that's my update for today. From the looks of it, most of the people who look at my blogger comments are only interested in my more political rants. Too bad. :-p...

A slice of the activity in my life...

Okay, there is currently some sort of functional division between my livejournal blog (www.livejournal.com/users/nathanalbright) and this blog. My livejournal blog is to update the more prosaic details of my life, and take quizzes, and this blog is for the more serious/political discussions I have. I just got a xanga blog for the purpose of commenting on my friends who have xanga blogs. It's so difficult to keep in touch with people when you have way too many means of communication, unless you don't mind having three or four (or more) chat clients, accounts on four or five (or more) friend networks, and have at least three or more blogs. It's all madness to me. But, to get to the point, I'm a busy man. Since my personal sort of activity is detailed elsewhere in greater detail, and I don't have the time to desire to be redundant, here goes my weekend activity for the next month or so:

May 28th: I get to show the Lifenets Charity Auction DVD to some friends from church visiting Tampa from Seattle, as we have a mutual friends who helped me co-write an entertaining skit.

June 4th: UCG wide church fast, Tampa Bay Family Weekend, lots of eating (after 5PM that is), dancing, and talking (sometimes the last two simultaneously).

June 5th: Well, I'm going to try to find reasonable housing in Wildwood, NJ, and I might (repeat, might) go to the beach event at Ft. Desoto Park, and pay $5 for lunch to hang out with some friends of mine who like the sunlight a little more (okay, a lot more) than I do.

June 12: Pentecost. Well, we're having a lovely lunch to celebrate the 10th anniversary of UCG, with lots of photos (it almost pains me to think of what photos they have uncovered to show us...I'm not a big fan of having pictures or videos taken of me). I'm also singing in the choir, as usual, for special music. Ironically enough, my family officially joined United (we had been a part of the independent congregation that later became United from the beginning) the Sabbath after Pentecost of 1995.

June 18th: Ladies' Night at Speaker's club. So far I'm responsible for the cheesecake (though that might change, since I reminded our acting president that we had forgotten a bread course, it's a guy's cookout sort of event, so I might end up being responsible for that as well). And I don't know who my "guest" will be for the event. It's not like there is an overabundance of young ladies in Tampa/St. Pete, but the ones there are nice and friendly enough, and certainly worthy guests. The problem is that there just aren't enough of them, given the fact that there will be over a half dozen single guys all looking for, at most, 5 young women in both congregations. Actually, this should be entertaining to watch, more entertaining if I wasn't involved.

That's it for now, but before I leave I'd like to make some comments on yesterday's sermon we had from our Pastor (Mr. David Treybig). I have to admit, I wasn't so psyched at the title (a closer look at the Second Commandment). But I warmed to the sermon rather quickly. It didn't take too long to appreciate that one of the best ways to fight against idolatry was to be a literate person (I read for enjoyment at least once a day, whereas it appears most people have trouble reading for fun once a week). Obviously, such a message found very fertile ground. Of course, a large part depends on what we choose to spend our time doing. Even among reading, not all books are created equal, or even close. Reading the Bible for fun is obviously an important part of maintaining a close connection with God. Reading nonfiction material of a morally uplifting nature is also an aid to mental (and occasionally spiritual) development as well. Other reading is not so valuable for intellectual/spiritual purposes. However, the mental activity involved in reading stimulating nonfiction material is a good thing. Watching tv (to the exclusion of other forms of entertainment) and receiving only mentally passive entertainment is not mentally productive, and can make us more susceptible to images, and thence the emotional reaction characteristic of idolatry. It was an excellent message, and one much appreciated by yours truly.

We're Very Concerned

The title for this entry comes from "Leminy Snickett's: A Series of Unfortunate Events." Today's blog will be about the sermon messages from Mr. Holladay and Mr. Kilough, since the day has held little else of interest besides those messages and endless permutations of interpretation of those messages (particularly Mr. Kilough's, which will take up the majority of this rant) afterwards. So, without any further ado, here goes.

Mr. Holladay's message was good. I had only minor quibbles about the message, but overall I was pleased by his focus on the programs that United has offered for its membership, especially the youth. Also, showing appreciation to the membership (for their service) and the elders (for theirs) was much appreciated. The only quibble I had about the message was his comment that members were the greatest asset of the United Church of God. I take umbrage to that, because I am not owned by the corporation that is UCGia, and hence I am not an "asset." Perhaps it was meant as a compliment, but I take it as an insult. That was, however, a minor annoyance, relating as it did to a different language spoken by managers and employees.

The message by Mr. Kilough was more problematic. His incessant focus on the need in the church for more zeal was not reassuring, and I had no clear understanding of the end to which he sought our greater zeal. I was also very nonplussed by his call for a fast (a fast about what, exactly), and I was not sure as to the point of his message, or whether he was aiming more to being the next Nehemiah or being the next Rehoboam. I guess time will tell. I sent an e-mail to him, though, expressing my concerns. I hope he takes it for the best...

New UCG President

Mr. Kilough was chosen to be the fourth president of UCGia during its 10-year history, according to reports from www.ucg.com, following Mr. Hulme, Mr. McCullough, and Mr. Holliday. The last two in particular have been devoted and able servants of UCGia, and Mr. Kilough will be stepping into some big shoes. I would like to congratulate Mr. Kilough on his new position. He and his family will apparently be moving soon from Sacramento, California to the Home Office in Cincinnati. Since he previously served as the chairman of the Council of Elders, he will have to resign that position, and someone else will be chosen to fill the spot. Hopefully his sermon to the GCE on Sabbath will provide some hint as to his plans for the three years that he will more than likely have to head UCGia.

Grad School Planning

How strange it is, that as soon as I finish with one academic endeavor that I immediately begin work on the next. I suppose some of us are well suited, if belatedly, for permanent academic study. Not that this sort of thing bothers me--if anyone knew what books I tend to read as a regular basis they would rightly assume that my interests are very scholarly, perhaps too much so. I am reminded of the comment in Acts said to Paul, "Much studying has made you mad." I'm trying to work out my grad school plans right now, though. Right now it looks like the contenders are down to the M.B.A., M.E.M. (or M.C.M.) and M.Geog. The reasons for the first two are that they relate very strongly to my field of Engineering, with a lot of potential for employer compensation for the work. The third is because I happen to know, and been one of the best students, of the chair of the department of Geography at USF. Never underestimate good connections. We'll see how that progresses.

Job found

Alright, so far today has been a good day...I'm about to finish my last project for USC (it should be done within the next half hour or so), and I just got a job that will start either May 16th or June 1st, depending on when the boss gets back from surgery (I didn't ask). To all of those who have been asking about my job situation and all, thanks for your prayers!

The Wisdom of Silence

There are unfortunate consequences of being intelligent and being extraverted, namely thinking out loud rather than doing one's thinking silently. To add to what appears to be a semi-regular feature on this blog, humorous definitions of serious terms, this entry's definition is about wisdom. Wisdom: n. measure of the distance between the brain and the mouth. Ant. folly. Syn. discretion, savvy. Perhaps a worthwhile future study of mine (so much to study, so little time) would be to look at the manifestations of wisdom. Certainly Solomon was not a fan of thinking out loud, or at least he did not wish his son (presumably Rehoboam) to do so. There are constant comments about even the wise appearing to be fools when they speak too much, a serious concern. I've always disliked the cliches about speech being silver and silence golden. There's something wrong with holding in one's speech and having to be concerned about what other people are going to think. I can certainly appreciate the results of the wisdom of silence, but it's not something I have any native skill or inclination in. That said, advice from others in this regard is always appreciated. If you've got something to say, feel free to tell me. I don't appreciate such commentary as much when it comes from third parties, however. There may be some who have the power to tame the tongue, but I am not one of those people yet. However, since I know that, I'm not too inclined to be hostile on those who point it out--gently--on occasion...

See, I told you so (Part One)...

Okay, this is for all of you blog-haters out there who said I didn't know what I was talking about when I handicapped the UCG race. Out of the five listed contenders, I picked the following as the three favories: Mr. Franks, Mr. Kilough, and Mr. McCullough, and those are the same three the council picked for the second round of interviews before making a choice. We'll see who is chosen on that side. As for other matters, the job interviews are going well, but it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to make Kansas City (no $$$ = no trips).

Writing and job hunting...

Today has been a good day so far. Amusing nonfiction books and the successful running of errands always makes me feel better. Hopefully I can get an interview or two scheduled this week. That would be nice. Oh, and I've started writing the next installment of Sagecraft (it's a series of plays about a group of young people who are off to save the world). Anyway, I'm relatively happy today, which is nice. I'm hoping to be productive reading as well as writing...Cheers!

Ulterior Motives and Baby Boomer Codes

Today's entry will deal with the Last Day of Unleavened Bread services yesterday in Largo, Florida. I was pretty tired, and rather puzzled by both sermons (the morning sermon was from Mr. Veller, and the afternoon one from Mr. Treybig) . In both messages there was a heavy amount of taking someone to task. It's not really my business (unless I was among those being taken to task, but I don't think I am). What made it particularly mystifying was that both messages were heavy on ulterior motives (unless I'm just paranoid, which is possible) and had large amounts of baby boomer codes (which I really dislike...it's a generational thing). Mr. Veller's message ended well, with a rousing account of the First Day Unleavened Services from the same Largo Cultural Center back in 1995 (which I was a part of as a precocious 13-year old). However, the sermon contained lost of HWA quotes, which really bother me. I'm not a particular fan of HWA, who I consider to be rather tyrannical, anti-intellectual, and idolized in the Church of God community to an unhealthy extent. Besides, he's been dead for almost 20 years. As far as I'm concerned, if you bring up HWA in a sermon, you might as well bring up Polycarp or Polycrates. It's about as relevant to my life. That sermon was full of sarcastic references to those who post secret articles online (I didn't see that as involving me, because not much that I write is a *secret*) or who think they "know" a lot and who have been to 25 or more feasts (again, that's not me, because I haven't been alive that long). Still, it was annoying. I called Mr. Veller and left a message, because I want to talk to him and find out why there have been so many Sabbath harangues lately, rather than edifying sermons for the entire congregation. Mr. Treybig's sermon contained a lengthy digression on those who don't tithe because they're in debt. Personally, I don't tithe right now because I don't have an income. I don't know who he was talking to in this case, but I can't stand those who use the term "values." The term "values" reeks of baby-boomer moral relativism. One should use terms such as "morality" or, better yet, "virtue." I'm assuming that both people were trying to talk to Baby Boomers of various stripes, either in the St. Pete congregation, or, more likely, Tampa. Still, as a Generation Xer it bothers me when ministers use baby boomer linguistic codes in sermons, since I abhor them greatly, as they strike my ears as condescending and self-righteous. Of course, when I speak (or, more often, write) in Generation X lingustic codes, as I tend to do, it sounds rather rebellious to said Baby Boomers. Words such as "accountability" and "personal responsibility" and "democracy" and "local church government" tend to alarm people who are in power in centralized beaurocracies. That's not a slam, that's just the way it is. When it comes to politics, we see things as we are, not how they are. Only God has the sufficient perspective to rule properly, and he hasn't been giving that gift out in spades to those of us on earth right now, not since Abraham Lincoln anyway (that's another rant, for another time perhaps). Still, there is something rotten in the state of Denmark, and I'm not sure what it is. But I'd appreciate sermons that edified the congregation instead of bashing certain members. Perhaps that's a matter of personal taste, but admonitions for "unity" when repeated several times in the past two months in messages from the pulpit strike me as somewhat self-serving, and very troubling. If there are people in congregations who are serving to be divisive, one should talk to them privately, and not speak anonymously but insultingly from the pulpit. Like I said, though, I called Mr. Veller so I can speak with him about the matter personally. I'm pretty sure he doesn't intend to come off badly, and he may not even realize that what he takes for granted as a baby boomer who went to AC and knew HWA while he was alive does not translate very well to the next generation, who doesn't know (and, for the most part, isn't particularly interested) in HWA. Perhaps ministers should try to speak without using annoying Baby Boomer codes, especially if they intend to reach people who don't share their particular language, or outlook. Just a thought.