Now that finals week is over, I got my life back. Here is the latest spot from the Truth ad campaign about cigarettes. I remember disliking this series of commercials at one time, but now they are of intriguing to me. Either I have changed, or they have gotten better recently.
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A few weeks ago, I heard this song on the radio. It stuck out to me because it talked about the ills of growing up in today’s world instead of glorifying the sex and violence like a lot of music played on urban radio stations. Needless to say, I felt it my responsibility to use my nonexistent platform on the internet to promote this artist, even though she likely doesn’t need it. After all, here music is playing on radio stations across the country. Still, it gives me a chance to feel like I am doing something to make a difference in the world. Here is Karina Pasian with “16 At War.”
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Check out my new blog on the ministerial life. Hopefully, its existence will prevent me from ranting so much about being a minister in my general entries.
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Philadelphia newspapers are reporting that a dead baby was found in a suitcase. It is believed that the baby may be 18-month-old Javon Thompson, and it has been suggested that he died of malnutrition because he would not say “Amen.” His mother is reportedly a member of a cult that prevented her from contacting relatives. Therefore, the circumstances of the death are still a mere speculation. Still, it is another sad story of the way religion can be misused with terrible results.
Click here for the article.
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Since this website has existed in some form for over two years, some would wonder whether or not I view it as successful. After all, the site has no real audience except for a few good friends of mine who check it out periodically. However, I have finally settled in on the fact that I am not in need of a national audience at this time in my life. Having the spotlight doesn’t necessarily seem like a fun thing. Between the recent news about Rev. Jeremiah Wright, or the fallout from Miley Cyrus’ pictures, I have gained a greater appreciation for anonymity. It’s great that there is nothing about my life at this point that is of interest to tabloid magazines or journalists in general. Sure I may not have as much money as I would like to have, but at least I am free to relax and life my life without so much scrutiny.
Alright, I’ll take that last line back. The unfortunate reality is that as soon as I acknowledged the call to ministry that God placed on my life, I gave up the right to privacy–at least in the community I serve. Still, it’s not the same as the national spotlight that tears apart lives. Whether or not Obama wins this election, his life will never be the same and he will always have people analyzing his words to the point where they no longer maintain their original meaning. Whether or not Miley Cyrus was genuinely embarrassed about her pictures, she still has to deal with people thinking that her actions were a calculated publicity stunt.
Therefore, I’ll let the people who want the national spotlight have it, and enjoy the ability to walk down the street as just another guy. I plan on being spotlight free for as long as God will allow it. Too bad my network of friends is just getting to a place where the national spotlight is almost inevitable. Still, there is a difference between knowing people receiving national attention and receiving it myself. My own academic, business, and artistic endeavors will likely not be the kinds of things that have mass appeal. If this blog is any indication, I still have more time to cherish my anonymity and I’m fine with that, for once anonymity is gone, it can never be regained.
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Since most of the major news outlets are reporting that Barack Obama has finally denounced his former pastor, I figured that I might as well give my take on the recent turn of events. As an African American minister, I understand the frustrations that led Rev. Wright to say the things that he said. Traditionally, the African American pulpit has been the home to some of the most controversial remarks in the community. In some ways, this trend can be traced back to slavery, where black preachers used the Bible to speak out against the way that they were being treated. Alternatively, there were also black preachers who used the Bible to justify slavery. The point is that in the African American community, Scripture is often applied in ways that people would generally not expect.
Rev. Wright went wrong with his continued efforts to connect himself to Barack Obama. Knowing how delicate the presidential race has been, Wright should not have found it necessary to use Obama as an example in his speeches. It may have been done out of love. For instance, Wright’s point about anti-Obama groups trying to inspire fear in the American people through pointing out Barack’s Arabic middle name was likely an effort to defend his parishioner. Nonetheless, sometimes good intentions lead to bad results. Instead of acknowledging the potential for people to take his comments out of context, Wright considered his new media attention to be the result of an “attack on the Black church.”
As for Obama, one can only hope that this latest episode will not be enough to damage his campaign. Wright placed him in a bit of a quandary. By denouncing Wright, Obama may lose the respect of voters who admired his stance on disagreeing with the message but still showing love to the man. Before denouncing Wright, Obama was losing respect of voters who were outraged that he could remain a member of a church with a pastor like that for over 20 years and then act surprised by the nation’s reaction. This kind of situation only strengthens Clinton’s argument by further suggesting how far out of touch Obama actually is, and McCain isn’t going to complain about Clinton ruining the reputation of the candidate most likely to face him in November.
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Once again, I am writing on a topic that I wasn’t planning on touching. The controversial trial against three NYC police officers who were accused of opening fire at Sean Bell and two of his friends on the night before Bell’s wedding came to an end today with a surprising acquittal. Not exactly the end that anyone was expecting, given claims from Bell’s companions that the officers never identified themselves and the fact that Bell’s death left Nicole Bell, who changed her last name in honor of what should have been, and her two children without the husband and father that they deserved.
No matter what, this situation is a tragedy–maybe even an “abortion of justice,” as Al Sharpton suggests. Bell shouldn’t have died, and there was no excuse for over 50 shots to be fired at an unarmed man and his friends who decided to go to celebrate his coming wedding at a strip club. At the same time, this case does speak to the amount of healing that needs to take place within the African American community. As a people, we are very distrustful of police–even when they are of our ethnicity as were two of the police officers in question. Unfortunately, this case has further exemplified why so many African Americans dislike police officers, and the damage that it has caused will likely make the battle on crime even more difficult in African American neighborhoods that are already dealing with a “no snitching”-ethic.
My prayers are with the Bell family, as well as New York City as a whole. The presence of the Lord is all that can fix this situation now.
click here for the article from ABCNEWS.com
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About a week ago, I came across an article on ABCNEWS.com stating that “Sarah,” the 16 year-old woman who made the phone call to Texas authorities about being abused by her polygamist husband may actually be a 33 year-old African American woman from Colorado named Rosita Swinton. Since she was just a person of interest in the case, I had hoped it would come back untrue. “Sarah’s” phone number has now been connected to Swinton. Somehow, I don’t have a good feeling about the largest child abuse / child custody case in history being started because of a hoax from an African American woman who was not a resident at the Texas ranch. This certainly weakens the case for the State of Texas. Even though everybody knew about the polygamy and arranged marriages between grown men and underaged women, it is definitly an embarrassment that it took a hoax to bring about any action.
Click here for the whole article.
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Today, I found this article on Exodus, a yearly event held by Atlanta Christian DJ Corey “Coco Brother” Condrey. The event has featured several secular rappers giving their testimonies and talking about their relationships with Jesus Christ. Specifically, this most recent event featured Yung Joc. Some feel this is a good way of spreading the gospel, while others think that such events send a conflicted message, for most of the rappers being featured are living “in sin.” All I know is that a few years back, I had what I thought was a ridiculous dream about 50 Cent in an arena full of young people singing praises to God, and then I find out today that he was featured at an Exodus even. I guess God is still working outside of the four walls of the church after all.
Any thoughts?
Click here for the article.
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Here is the link to another article on the case of Aliza Shvarts, the young lady whose senior art project was made of materials from nine self-induced miscarriages. The link is to an editorial that she wrote last week in defense of her actions. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse. All I can say is that sometimes intellectualism takes things a bit too far.
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