Southern Pride – Northern Manners?
Kristin had never been to New York before two weeks ago. She’d seen the pictures, seen the movies portraying the city, even read books set there, but never actually been involved in the culture that is New York City. I’d been a few times for work. Nothing more than a day or two there to walk around and catch as much as I could in the short time I was there. Certainly not long enough to capture the entire ‘vibe’ of the city.
Now, as far as the ’stereotype’ for New York goes, we all know it right? Rough, hurried, self-centered, rude… the list goes on right? I mean, I could be wrong, but from an outside perspective I think we’d all agree that New Yorkers are considered to be a certain way, right? Funny thing is, not many of those characteristics are similar to what we’d call ‘Southern Hospitality’ right?
Kristin and I took the subway several times in the couple times we were in the city and there were a couple things that jumped out at me on those short rides. Now, I’ve been on public transportation in tons of major cities in America and typically (especially in San Francisco) the insides of the cars are usually decorated with all sorts of ads. Since sex sells here in America most of these ads are pretty provocative or at the very least pretty suggestive. So naturally it took me back to see that in the middle of New York City the ‘ads’ that are covering the subway car walls were pretty different.
One stated “Bring Manners Back To The City: Give an elderly person or pregnant woman your seat”. This one had a picture of a guy in a suit standing up and offering a pregnant woman his chair on the subway.
The second was a picture of a man with a dirty face and jacket. Under his picture it said this: “Help the homeless.” Then beneath that in the small print it said something like, “help the homeless or if you see someone in need dial 311 and we’ll send someone out to help”. Not the exact wording but you get the idea. Pretty striking difference than what we’d expect from such a “rough” city. Sure, there are rough areas, and I’m certainly no expert on the city of New York, but that certainly jumped out.
Fast forward about 15 hours as we’re pulling into the “Bible Belt” south of East Tennessee and we are greeted with none other than the Confederate Flag waving proudly in the sky. Now, we’ve had some pretty great conversation about the flag, the meaning of it, as well as the perception of it, but I have to be honest. Going from what is stereotypically a rude, self-centered, rough place publicly promoting manners and caring for others, to the Bible Belt and what is stereotypically generous and “hospitable” waving such a “controversial” icon struck me as a little weird.
And here’s the thing. I’m not claiming to be some culture expert and certainly have no idea what each person in the world thinks about homeless or manners or racism or hate, but I do, however, have eyes. And I have perception. And like every one else in the world I have questions about it all. So, I know there’s not really a point to this rambling, but I’m curious what you think about all this.
Generational Sins
My parents divorced when I was three… or four… something like that. I don’t know, I was little. Now that I’m older I know about some of the events that lead up to that divorce. I don’t know all the stories of pain, violence, infidelity, or whatever, but I know that it was a mess. Enough of a mess for it to need to end. And let’s face it, who doesn’t have a mess to some degree in their life? Anyone my age or younger knows the ripple affect of a broken home, abuse, neglect or things like that. Who doesn’t have drama from their upbringing, right?
But here’s where I start getting real passionate. I had a pretty amazing guy step in and take the roll of my dad. To this day he’s one of the closest people to me in my life. Does that mean I don’t have life-long drama from the handful of years that I was alive without him? Nope. Does that mean that I didn’t grow up with the ‘awkwardness’ of having two dads? Nope. Or having to be the decision maker of where I was going to live? Or what last names my wife and kids were going to have? But I’m going to be honest. I had a pretty great upbringing. It was safe, it was healthy, and it was exactly what I needed as a kid and now adult with my own kids.
And here’s the thing. We live in a generation of people looking for any excuse possible to blame their selfish actions on what we’ve conveniently named ‘Generational Sin’. I could blame any of my actions on the broken home that I came from. The dad that wasn’t around, the frustrations of Summer Vacations away from my friends, weirdness of having to explain who that guy is at my graduation. All that. I could sit back and not take ownership of any of it. And that’s exactly what we do right?
“This is what my parents did, so it’s natural.” ”I’m an alcoholic because my dad was.” ”I treat women badly because that’s what I saw growing up. It’s in my blood.” ”I’m a manipulator because my mom cheated.” ”I’ve got a temper that I inherited from my dad.” The list goes on. It’s the easiest out right? We want to blame our selfish, screwed up lives on something biological. It’s something we can’t change. It’s the way we are wired. Really? Let’s take a look. *I’ve added the “bold”*.
Jeremiah 31:29-32 (NIV)
In those days people will no longer say, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ Instead, everyone will die for his own sin; whoever eats sour grapes–his own teeth will be set on edge. “The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers…”Ezekiel 18:14-16,18-20 (NIV)
“But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things: He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel… He does not oppress anyone… He does not commit robbery, but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked… He will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live. But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people. Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.“
Well crap. There goes that theory I guess. Looks like I’m going to have to answer for myself when I treat my kids badly. Looks like it actually is my fault when I selfishly go against what I know is right. Seems like there really is no excuse for living like a jerk.
Okay, that last paragraph was a bit tongue-in-cheek, but you get the idea. So, I want to hear what you guys think. I’ve never really had an open discussion about “Generational Sin” and my opinions on it, with anyone but Kristin. She knows it’s something that has always bothered me, but I don’t know if it’s just me. The thing is, I don’t buy it. I refuse to accept the excuse from anyone that there’s some magical blood running though our bodies that causes us to not be able to control our own selfish actions. It’s not our great-great-great grandfather’s fault that we act the way we do. It’s not the chemical make-up of my DNA that causes me to treat people badly. It’s selfishness and sin. Bottom line. Unless I’m missing something in these verses.
So what do we think? I know it’s a little heavy of a topic, but I’m curious your thoughts.
Ready? Go.
‘I’m Just Being Honest’
I saw on Twitter the other day a guy laying into MercyMe because he thought that the “theme” of their new song had been over done. Apparently ‘Worship and Love’ is so 2009. He went on to berate the guys publicly for a while and then I saw it. The Tweet that I had been waiting for. It went something like this: “Am I the only one on Twitter who tells it like it is?” then he went on to say how everyone else was weak and he was awesome or something like that. Funny thing is, the guys in MercyMe dealt with it graciously and he ended up apologizing a couple days later. But I thought he was just ‘telling it like it is’?
Now, that’s not even remotely the only instance where I’ve heard someone proclaim on Twitter, Facebook or blogs that they are “just being honest”. It seems that we are all allowed to ‘just be honest’ whenever we want even if that means that we come back a day later and apologize because we realized our ‘honesty’ may have been inappropriate at that time or place. You’ve seen it too haven’t you? Someone spouting off from their soapbox that is Twitter or Blog and tag it with “I’m just being honest here”. Then there’s a whole bunch of comments about how “authentic” they are, or how “real” they are being. Meanwhile the destruction in their wake leaves people feeling beat up and hurt.
I think if we’re really being ‘honest’ the posts would look a little more like this:
I’m an insecure person. Technology has allowed me to have a platform to a handful of people who agree with my views and opinions on certain things. Because I have this circle of people digitally surrounding me I feel safe to lash out at people I’ve never met because I know that a good percentage of ‘my people’ will agree with me.
Because of this digital expression I have also found a small niche of things that I have thought about maybe a little more than others, and can now claim to be an expert on it, thus giving me the right to berate people who feel differently or haven’t thought about it as much as me. After all ‘my people’ will agree with me right? And if they don’t “I’m just being honest and, they apparently just can’t handle my honesty. That’s not my fault. It’s theirs.
Never mind that we are called to love each other, this is an expression of ‘me’ and if you don’t like it, that’s just too bad. Jesus never had a blog or Twitter, so there’s no rules on what can or can’t be done there. It’s fair game blanketed by ‘honesty’, and the way I am ‘honest’ makes me feel better about myself as a person. In fact, when I attack people digitally I walk a little straighter that day because I ’stuck it to someone else’ and proved to my readers how much I know about my niche topic. It makes me feel good about myself and that’s really what I’m after. That’s what we are all after when it comes down to it.
I know that I’m supposed to put others before me, but I try not to let that affect the way I Tweet or blog because sitting in my room it’s really about me and what makes me feel good. And that’s just me being honest.
Sport Parents
Last night Blue played his last basketball game of the season. They lost by about ten points. The other team’s coach screamed the entire time. Running up and down the court, waving his arms, pointing, kicking and stomping. Sort of a joke really, if you ask me. But his team won. Kristin and I sat in the bleachers with a couple other parents from our team surrounded by parents from the other team as they screamed and yelled at how bad the ref was doing, how bad their team was doing (though they were up by ten points) and all sorts of other things. I’m pretty sure my jaw was dropped in dis-belief the entire game.
Maybe this is kids sports. Maybe it’s kids sports in the South. Maybe it’s just that team. Either way, I know that if any of our kids ever end up on a team with that type of coach and those types of parents, we’ll take the season off and go camping.
Anyone run into these parents? I wonder, it’s almost cliche’ to make fun of these parents. How is it that they still exist?
Massive Earthquake Reveals Entire Island Civilization Called ‘Haiti’
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI—Less than two weeks after converging upon the site of a devastating magnitude 7.0 earthquake, American anthropologists have confirmed the discovery of a small, poverty-stricken island nation, known to its inhabitants as “Haiti.”
Located just 700 miles off the southeastern coast of Florida, the previously unaccounted-for country is believed to be home to an estimated 10 million people.
Even more astounding, reports now indicate that these people have likely inhabited the impoverished, destitute region—unnoticed by the rest of the world—for more than 300 years.
Researchers believe this was once the capital, though it’s unclear if the Haitian people ever had a truly functional government.
“That an entire civilization has been somehow existing right under our noses for all this time comes as a complete shock,” said University of Florida anthropology professor Dr. Ben Oliver, adding that it appeared as if Haiti’s citizens had been living under dangerous conditions even before the devastating earthquake struck. “Of course, there have been rumors in the past about a long-forgotten Caribbean nation whose people struggle every day to survive, live in constant fear of a corrupt government, and endure such squalor and hunger that they have resorted to eating dirt. But never did we give them much thought.”
Added Oliver, “Had it not been for this earthquake, I doubt we would have ever noticed Haiti at all.”
Though anthropologists said they still did not know much about Haiti’s history, they claimed that, by observing the Haitians’ reactions to this particular disaster, and studying the way the people had come together and taken solace in one another’s sorrows, it appeared as if most of them were accustomed to tragic, even horrific, events.
Researchers also came to the “startling” conclusion that Haiti’s inhabitants must have at some point in their history been exposed to the English language, as many seemed capable of uttering such phrases as “Help us,” and “Please don’t abandon us again.”
“They are normal people just like you and me,” said Harvard University’s Aimee Coughlin, who before last week had never come across any mention of the struggling island republic, whether in conversation, on television, or while scanning the front pages of newspapers. “They communicate with one another, they have families and loved ones, and they value religion. However, judging by the way they are fending for themselves—a position they seem almost resigned to—it’s clear these mysterious Haitian people don’t have much else.”
According to Coughlin, the Haitian civilization was discovered on the night of Jan. 12, when relief workers were rushed to several resorts in the Dominican Republic to see if any American tourists had been injured in the quake. During an aerial tour of the island of Hispaniola, members of the Red Cross noticed signs of human life coming from Haiti.
“When we first landed there, I thought, ‘No person could possibly live here,’” Oliver said. “Not only did the arid landscape look incapable of sustaining any sort of agriculture, but there was absolutely no infrastructure either. Had we known about this desperate, desperate place sooner, perhaps we could have shared some of our technological advancements with them.”
“I’ve vacationed just miles away in beautiful St. Kitts many times,” Oliver added. “Never did anyone say anything about this Haiti place.”
Members of the world community were equally shocked at the discovery of such an impoverished civilization. U.N. representatives noted that Haiti’s location puts it in the direct path of recent natural disasters such as Hurricanes Jeanne, Hanna, and Ike, disasters that probably caused massive flooding, disease, and death.
Likewise, leaders from a number of Western nations announced Tuesday that they were dumbfounded to learn people were still living without decent shelter, hospitals, or regular access to food and water.
“They must have had no way of communicating with the outside world, because had we known about these Haitians, we would have done everything in our power to help them,” U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said. “Of that I have no doubt.”
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Now, obviously I don’t believe that anything going on in Haiti is a joking matter, but this article does speak a little truth in satire don’t you think? Send all hate mail to Chris @ Side3.me
It’s That Easy
In my opinion there aren’t many more offensive “Christian” t-shirts than this one. I’ve seen it before and literally thought about it for hours after I saw it for the first time. As if all of the world’s problems just vanish before our eyes the second we accept Christ.
There’s no more hunger, no more death, no more pain, no more sin, no more struggle and I’ve got the Staples rip-off t-shirt to prove it.
This post is a response to a Tweet with this shirt on it that, at least on my end, originated today from Charlie Lowell then I re-Tweeted it, and so forth. Here’s what it said along with the picture of the shirt. “Wow, what a grave insult to anyone who desires to truly follow Christ.” -@cdlowell Now that it’s become sort of a “conversation” I thought I’d bring that conversation here to see what you guy think.
Now, I understand the “idea” behind this ridiculous product, but I’d love for the guy who came up with this to take a trip to any number of third world countries and sit down with a mother and her starving baby and give his ‘pitch’. Or maybe a part of the world where Christians are forced to sneak around because their faith will get them killed. Maybe the conversation would go something like this:
“See, there’s this store in America that sells office products and they came up with this commercial. People that are having a hard time ordering paper can just push this button and then paper shows up in their office and their boss loves them and all their problems go away. It’s sort of like that but with Jesus…. and you’re the slacker office worker… only you’re child is starving.. or you’ll be shot if someone catches you praying. But if you accept Jesus all that goes away… except for the part where your kids need food to survive or you’re killed for what you believe. Get it? We’ll sell hundreds!!”
Maybe I’m way off, but this shirt has always bothered me. And I’m sure I’m just scratching the surface of the issues with this shirt but I’d love to know what you think.
Ready? Go.
The H1N1 Debate
We are a skeptical culture. We’re paranoid that we are going to get sick from everything. We are concerned that our kids will die from every sickness. We are worried about viruses that are all around us. And at the same time we are paranoid that the Government is pumping us full of useless, dangerous chemicals. We’re vigilant to not let ‘Big Brother’ take over. We’re naturalists.
So here’s my question. Did you, or are you planning to get the H1N1 vaccination? And your reasoning. Ready? Go.
Automatic Angry
I have an auto-response on my Twitter. Most of you know that. Most of you also have auto-response messages on your Twitter. And while I think they are a hair cheesy, and I’m accentuating it’s cheesiness but pointing it out, I still have one… and so do you. Here’s what mine says.
This is a completely automated message, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. www.brodyharper.com
Simple enough right? I mean, I’m accepting the fact that it’s an automated message. I’m telling you it’s an automated message and I’m giving you the option to connect with me on a personal level over on my blog. Seems like a pretty decent situation right?
Well, this morning I woke up to an ‘@ reply’ message from someone apparently offended by my ‘auto-response’. I will leave off their Twitter name and all that to protect them from further ridicule, but here’s what their @ message said:
@brodyharper: Who the Hell do You think U are DM Me With BS.. Dude B Real Or B Fake… Don’t B sending Me auto DM.. I wanna Hear From You!!!
Goodness. That seems a little angry, don’t you think? Now, normally I would just blow something like this off, but I decided to do a little research and at least check out the link that this person has in their bio. You know, to check out their blog or ‘hear from them’ and the link goes to this place. The Christian Foundation for Children and Aging. Seems like a good organization. I wonder how this person is connected. Must be through Christ’s love. Yep, that must be the connection. I can tell. I will be honest though, I’m starting to feel a little like Noah, or at least his third verse.
So, there you are Mr. or Mrs. Twitter message person. Now you’ve ‘heard from me’. And no this was not an automated message… and it still doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.
Ft. Worth
I took this picture a little bit ago while I was watching sound check. Pretty exciting eh?
We’re in Ft. Worth tonight at a place called Billy Bob’s Texas, which claims to be the ‘World’s Largest Honky Tonk’. I’m not sure what that means, but I guess I’m about to find out. Next door to this place is a rodeo arena and there’s something going on in there right now. I’ve thought about heading in there to see what’s going on, but there’s something about being that out of place that I’m not too fond of.
It’s been a pretty mellow day today. And at the same time, a pretty mellow weekend all together. I had dinner with Thad Beaty yesterday and he’s got some really cool stuff going on. I’m excited that he lives in Nashville and even when we aren’t touring we can hang out and think junk up. That should be really fun.
I’m ready to be home and exited about some time off. This will be the last run for about 3 weeks so it will be nice to get off the road and get some things organized at home. We’ve got some more announcements with SkörInc coming up soon so be looking for that.
Sorry this is such a dull post, but while we’re here and while that picture is up there let’s throw this out. What are your thoughts on smoking? I mean we all know it’s bad for you, we all know the effects it may have, but there are plenty of people that still smoke. So what’s the deal? Let’s hear it. This should be fun.
Internet Faith
Matthew 6:
1“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.2“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
5“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
……..
16“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
I wonder if the ‘hypocrites’ mentioned in these verses had access to the internet, blogging and Twitter how would they be using it? And would these verses be appropriate for them still?
What are your thoughts?
