hope

I’ve been playing around with taking short video clips at Vintage the last couple weeks and this is the latest iteration.  I was talking with one of the graphics guys here at Mount Hermon this week and he mentioned the term “long portrait” when talking about short video clips like this. That is a good way to think about these. Matt and I have both taken quite a few pictures of the “HOPE” sign but this one has sound and flickering candles. It’s just one more way we can help document what a service is like. Maybe we can start having a virtual service in Second Life for people who want a virtual experience?

Anyway, much as I’d like to keep playing around with this video editing sucks and my little point and shoot is not really a long term solution. Since I don’t have much use for a video camera at this point beyond 30 second clips here on flickr, it doesn’t make much sense for me to pick up yet another expensive hobby. Seriously, why can’t I get into paper mache?.  So we shall see where this will go.

Why I’m Not Worried

When I was going into Quiznos today for lunch the lady who went in right before me held the door open after she stepped inside.  This seemingly inconsequential nicety represents a much more profound truth that is the reason I’m not worried about the future of the country.  There is a lot of fear right now about a coming recession that is going to hit all of us very hard.  Personally, I don’t think it is going to be as bad as people say, but I’m not exactly a paragon of financial knowledge so don’t take my word for it.  That said, the sky isn’t falling.  If a recession really does hit and the economy slows, there will be a few hard years, maybe some tight budgets, but we will pull through and be alright because we are a country of people who inherently want to be nice to each other.  Sure there are greedy and less altruistic people who are only interested in others based on what they have to gain, but by and large, people want to help each other out.  We know that at the end of the day, come recession or economic boom, we are our best assets.  I think as Christians this is one of those great times where we can lead the way as the example of how to treat each other with love and respect, to show the light of Christ to those around us who might take a big hit.  This is also the reason that I’m increasingly drawn to support Obama for President.  As was referenced by Ted Kennedy today (who thought I would see the day where I agreed with that guy!), Obama is offering people a platform of change and hope.  He is hearkening back to Presidents like Reagan and JFK who lead the country through dark times with messages of hope.  Men who reminded us of why we, America, are the greatest country in the world.  I don’t mean that in an arrogant ethnocentric way, but rather in the sense we can be that City on a Hill, that Camelot, serving as a beacon to a world full of war and famine.  He is the only candidate that I see as someone who gives us a legitimate chance at a New Politics, a political landscape where we no longer are bickering over party lines but having substantial discussions of foreign and economic policy.  Maybe we can finally do something about Stage 2 subsidies, maybe we can finally find a real, lasting solution to illegal immigration.  Maybe we get policies that are more than just vote grabs.  We have had nearly 10 years of fighting over which party is the most corrupt and sleazy and with Obama we get someone who has no reason not to throw open the gates and run a transparent government that values truth and openness over deceit and bureaucracy.  This is the future I want to live in, this is the country I think we can be.  Will you join me?

Hope in Politics

I just finished listening to a lecture by one of my old profs at SPU. Itunes has this thing called Itunes University that lets you listen to content uploaded by participating schools. Fortunately SPU was somehow one of the launch institutions so I’ve been able to listen to quite a bit of interesting content. Anyway, Dr. Davis, one of my Political Science profs gave a talk on “Hope in Politics.” After moving beyond the obligatory cynical comments at the beginning about how there is no hope for any of us and we are all screwed if not by Social Security then by the slew of health care issues that follow on its heels, Davis settles on the point we only have hope in so far as we think we can make a difference. While it is easy to conclude nothing we do will ever make a difference in the world, and while this seems to be largely supported by the world view of most people who know what they are talking about, the only way we know is to jump in head first and fight for our future. Davis is right on this point. If you look at history, especially current world events, there are only a few people who have truly reshaped the world, Charles Martel, William the Conquerer, Ghangis Khan, George Washington (as the embodiment of the Founding Fathers), Napoleon, Abraham Lincoln, Hitler, Stalin, Ronald Regan, to name a few. However, one of the essential aspects and something that I believe is fundamental to what drives our economy and civilization is the belief that any of us can be one of these world changers. If you want proof, look no further than the lottery. Millions of people spend billions of dollars a year on lotto tickets with the absolute conviction they will win. Millions of people start new business every year because they are convinced their idea is the next big world changing idea. Every once in a while one of them turns out to be a Bill Gates or Richard Branson. I’ll admit I have certainly fallen under this spell, though not in the sense that I’m blowing spare change on lotto tickets, but in the sense that I’ve always felt like God has something more than minimum wage repetitive 8-5 jobs. I don’t think I’m necessarily destined to be rich, but I believe God is going to use me to make an impact on the world around me. So while it is easy to get cynical and feel like we will never make a difference, we can never give up hope or stop trying, because at that point, we are proving worst fears true.