I’ve been thinking for the past few days about prayer. I think about it periodically. Specifically, what goes on in the minds of people who engage in this activity? I wonder, for instance, if they really believe it works, how do they think it works? Do they contemplate the implications of the belief in the efficacy of prayer? Do they consider the ramifications if it does work? Read the rest of this entry »
Below is the email letter I sent through the Human Rights Campaign to my “Decision Maker” in the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, my “Decision Maker” is Trent Franks, so this will fall on deaf (and stupid) ears, but I do keep trying, if for no other reason than because he then cannot claim that all his mail is supportive of whatever. The first part is the form letter section that cannot be edited; the last part is the section where they ask you to “edit this letter,” I just deleted all that and used the space to make my own statement. Read the rest of this entry »
Strange, the ways by which we set a value on people; the things by which we judge them, find them worthy, or not. One of the most often used arguments I’ve encountered for denying same-sex couples the right to marry is that they “cannot procreate.” This seems to be a very important ability to many, if not most, of those good Christians who are on a rampage to “protect marriage” against any couple who cannot accomplish this supposedly vital task. Read the rest of this entry »
Just a couple of brief thoughts: a headline in the Arizona Republic on page A8 today reads, “First lady shows independence.” WOW! Imagine…Independence! Good GOD, I miss Hillary! The “independence” displayed by the Little Woman was that she said she thought Georgie should have been interrupted in his bike ride to tell him that the White House was being evacuated because a small plane had strayed into restricted airspace over Washington. She also said she was “not going to second-guess the Secret Service that were with him,” (’cause Mercy Me, us In-de-pen-dent women folk mustn’t get too uppity with the men folk)
The other thought is, Why would they bother to interrupt him anyway? After all, when someone interrupted him to tell him that two passenger jets had slammed into the towers of the World Trade Center, he didn’t find that interesting enough to drag himself away from “My Pet Goat” to be bothered thinking up something to do about it. I can’t imagine he’d be concerned about a petty thing like one small plane that hasn’t actually hit anything.
The Center for Arizona Policy (CAP) held a rally in downtown Phoenix today. They were there to announce the start of their campaign to gather 184,000-plus signatures to get an initiative on the ballot for the 2006 election. They want to amend the Constitution of the state of Arizona to “protect marriage” from “activist judges” who might just take that stuff about equality seriously and make them share the institution with gay couples. Read the rest of this entry »
The letter in the paper was from a woman unhappy about the actions of the voters of Arizona. She was complaining specifically that things like the Minutemen Project (the group of private citizens who banded together to go down and guard our southern border), the vote to keep any state benefits from those here illegally, the push to make English the “official” language have been characterized as “not about race.” “Of course it’s about race,” she says. And, of course, she’s right. But these issues of immigration and ESL classes and who belongs here have created a personal problem for me. Read the rest of this entry »
I suppose it’s inevitable that my first thoughts on my first blog should be of Elizabeth. She is actually the one who gave this blog its name.
We were talking one day, years ago, about random things; we did that a lot. She said something about an upcoming event and remarked that plans were not yet ‘concrete.’ This reminded me that I was thinking of creating a ramp for the backyard shed, which was set up on concrete footings and so hard to get the lawnmower in and out. I’d been contemplating whether to form such a ramp from wood or concrete. Somehow, ‘concrete’ morphed in my brain into ‘cement’. Hence, my reply, “Oh, speaking of cement…” Elizabeth just looked at me with that look young adults get when a parent has just said something odd. I caught the look and stopped talking. Several seconds went by and then she said, “You know, when I write my first book, I’m going to call it ‘Speaking of Cement’.”
It occurs to me that much of what I have come to believe about the world is attributable to those late-night talks Elizabeth and I shared ever since she could talk. Hour upon hour of whispers and giggles and pondering the important questions of a four-year-old. I had to be aware that she was asking, that she was listening to the answers and so I must give a lot of thought to this because I am her first filter through which she will view the world. I cannot lie to her, I cannot trivialize her quest for knowledge. I must be sure I’ve given full consideration to this lovely little girl who is asking me to tell her of the world. I have to think it through, I have to try for the best, truest, most accurate answer. I owe her that because she trusts me to tell her the truth.
Those talks set me on my own quest for understanding. Her journey ended; I hope she found the truth. My journey continues; I continue in her name. And that’s why this column will be called Speaking of Cement.