Compared to What?

I recently read this exert from the Associated Press December 11^th, article entitled, “Obama: 'I'm Being Judged Against the Ideal':

He [Obama] rejected questioner Steve Kroft’s suggestion that the public was judging him on his performance as president. "I'm being judged against the ideal," he said. "Joe Biden has a good expression. He says, `Don't judge me against the Almighty, judge me against the alternative.'"

My initial reaction to this statement was disbelief. How could anyone be willing to follow a man who is aspires to be only better than his opponent? If Obama were running against Adolf Hitler or Joseph Stalin would he ask us to vote for him simply because he is better than those two? In my opinion he is setting the bar rather low for himself.  

Being raised in a conservative Christian household I was taught that simply being better than the alternative was not accepted. I was taught to strive for the Image of God, the image of perfection. Even if complete perfection is not possible, that does not make it any less worthy of a goal.  When completing a math exam I would not do just enough work to get a C simply because I knew it was higher than any of my classmates.

A teacher is not expected to grade their students based on the grades of those around them and neither should the American people use this method to judge their president. To settle for just good enough is not the message the American people need to hear.

In another interview Obama explained his campaign as pursuing, "the vision that is truest to our history and most representative of the core decency of the American people." America was not founded by men who strove to be just good enough, however. They were great men who strove to be the best that they could be and when they came up short they learned to rely on those around them and ultimately the strength of God.  

George Washington, this Country’s first president and arguably one of the greatest men in American history, said, “It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.” Washington saw how important it was to rely on the strength of God and to adhere to the words of the Bible which say, “I am God almighty, walk before me and be blameless” (Gen. 17:1).  But we can also take comfort from passages such as this one, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18)

We are called to seek after perfection, not to outdo our opponents. We are called to rely on God, not the opponent’s weaknesses. The sooner the leaders of our country learn this, the sooner America will become what men like George Washington wanted it to be.

Finding the Balance

This past spring I took a class at Geneva College detailing the problems with the American family; neglect of children, single parent homes, inadequate schooling, lack of respect for authority and on and on and on. In my naive head I simply assumed that families were this way all over the world, but this semester I took a class in Italy and learned that the family there is a strong unit and conversely it is the community that is at risk. While in America the community is the focus and the family is struggling, here in Italy the family is thriving but the community is falling apart. Anyone looking at this picture would assume that a balance must be found between these two extremes. But how is that possible? What is the remedy?

I have yet to find a place in this world where the family and community can work together as two cohesive units. In the modern world we have "advanced" beyond small communities such as tribes or towns where most residence were part of a family anyways. In earlier times the family and community were truly one; a unit interdependent on each member, stronger as a whole and obviously lacking when a member was missing. Today, by no fault of one person or nation, but simply due to modernization, the community has grown much bigger than something the family itself can handle.

I spoke with an Italian woman on this matter and she said how much she wished that it was possible for there to be a pleasant medium between the strength or weakness of the community and family. Each one has their own set of pros, whether it is in regards to the building of a better community or the strengthening of a cohesive family. However, each pro comes with a cost and it may not be possible to say which cost is more worth paying.

God commands both outcomes of us; a cohesive family and a strong community. Honor your father and mother; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself” Matthew 19:19. Finding the balance is important to God and should be important to us as well. I do not pretend to know the solution, but I can dream that it is possible for us to keep searching for it together. It is all too easy for those involved to slip into apathy over an issue that affects us all; but no matter how trivial or impossible a goal may be does not give us the right to cease to fight for it.

This Year I Met....

Last week I met a woman named Francesca on the airplane as we flew to Barcelona. She was born in France but moved to Dublin, Ireland simply because she wanted to learn English. Three years later she moved to Barcelona, Spain because she was tired of the weather in Dublin; I can’t say that I blame her.

Just after Barcelona we went to Greece and met some helpful men on the street as they offered to help us look for a screw that had fallen out of my friend’s glasses. It was the first and perhaps only place we have ever been where the locals were willing to get down on their hands and knees in the middle of the side walk simply to help out some funny looking Americans.

Back in September I met a man named Mario who was born in Italy but lived much of his life in the Bronx of New York City. He had just recently moved back to Italy and was helping teach English to Italians. Mario is very smart and probably knows more about American politics than I do, and in September he decided to go to church for the first time.

I also met Valentina while I was teaching English at our local church. She wanted to learn to speak English better because of her job which requires her to travel to many English speaking countries.  Latitsia is our cleaning lady at the convent and she hardly knows any English but never fails to offer a friendly “Buongiorno” in the morning as I walk groggily to the shower.  While we were gone for fall break she cleaned each of our rooms without even being asked to or needing to for that matter.

Anna is the receptionist for the convent. We see her most often when she gives us mail, we pick up bread orders in the mornings or she makes surprise visits to our floor, we are never really sure what it is she is doing in these instances. But the thing Anna helps us with the most in the convent is letting us in and out of the gate. Friendly waves are exchanged when we pass her window and shortly thereafter she buzzes the gate open, allowing us to exit or enter the convent.

Lucy, a wonderful middle aged Italian woman, is trying desperately to teach us Italian. Our class with her meets twice a week and for many it is a very enjoyable time; for some others not so much.  She puts up with our many blunders and questions and patiently repeats and repeats and repeats until we get it right. Laughter is never too far away when Italian class is in session.

As I have spent the last two months in Rome it has become quite evident to me that of all the wonderful experiences I have had and will have, the places I have seen and the monuments I have visited, the thing I will remember the most is the people. Each one of the aforementioned people have added richly to an already overwhelming experience.  My hope is that I will be able to make at least half of the impact on their lives as they have made on mine. Whether it is any of those shown above or it is simply the barista’s at the local Bar/Café who smile knowingly every time we enter, the server at the Gelatoria down the street we chuckles when I try to ask for a small cone in Italian or the little Chinese lady who owns the store a 10 minute walk down our street and insists on dressing and redressing us until we find something that we want.

It was not until I felt welcomed by these people and many others that I felt a sense of belonging in Rome.  I will never forget the places I have seen, but each place has been made so much more memorable by the welcome I received from the people in it.

"No Big Deal"

For a little over a month now I have been living in Rome experiencing the wonderful life it has to offer. Aside from the weekly meal of pizza on the Spanish Steps, weekly expeditions to places like the Roman Forum, Coliseum, Vatican City and 8 mile long catacombs, food that is, as of yet, incomparable, 99% sunny weather and unlimited access to the rest of Europe; it’s not really that big of a deal.

I don't want this to seem as if I am rubbing my amazing experience in anyone's face, but it would be an insult to the slender of this beautiful city and country to not share with excitement the marvels I have seen. I am overwhelmed with gratitude to my family and friends who have supported and encouraged me while planning and embarking on this adventure; but most of all I am speechless by the great acts of God that I have seen portrayed both in Him giving me the ability to come to Rome and also in the great artwork I have seen.

Just yesterday we returned from a weekend in Florence which brought with it a plethora of art, amazing views, late nights of wondering through the streets and listening to street performers playing Christmas music. I never cease to be astounded by the things I see and hear. The history we read about in our text books has in a sense come to life as we have seen it, touched it and felt its history under our fingers.

As I feel its texture and imagine the artists fingers touching that same place, I can almost feel the fingers of the past reaching through time and touch mine and breaking into my heart. No big deal right? I think not.  

One More Round

"One more round of shots!" Announced a local college student to his friends at the bar, "and after that another one on me." Before they know it "up" is "down" and everything in between is a jumble of slurs, hiccups and giggle parties. “Just say no” is not in their vocabulary and “quit while your ahead” sounds just like a cliché phrase. It’s the proving ground for adulthood and they aren’t going to quit halfway through. They will show that they can keep up with the best of them or puke their guts out trying.

For clarity, this does not refer to all college students, but does depict many of them.

Case study: A group of student from a Christian College in America embarked on a semester abroad to Italy, home to wine and alleviated drinking laws. Some of these students, most of whom are under the age of 21, basked in the opportunity to drink alcohol in public without the supervision of parental authorities, while some choose to refrain based on personal conviction pertaining to alcohol.

It is not that hard to obtain alcohol in Italy due to the fact that it is a ready commodity and is present in any bar, restaurant, and side store. But despite its availability these college students did not see too many Italians walking the streets drunk or even becoming a little tipsy in a restaurant. It is very common, however, to find many American students in an inebriated condition while abroad.

These youths have been forbidden to consume alcoholic beverages their entire lives and then the society they are placed in hands them time, place, motive and means. Where Italian youths have been given these things their entire lives and have to a certain degree lessened the obsessive lust for it.

It is strangely ironic that a country that tried so desperately to stop the abuse of alcohol through the prohibition in the 1920's would be so well known for its abuse today. Conversely, that a country, Italy, that does not lay as much anticipation on obtaining alcohol would have such a limited issue with it. 

In America a Bar is a place primarily to get drinks, meet cuties of the opposite sex, and possibly get smashed. In Italy a Bar is similar to a cafe, a place to get sandwiches, pasta, drinks (including alcohol), and sit and talk with all kinds of people around you. The same name, two completely different focuses.

Which focus is better? There is no perfect solution to the problem or answer to the question, however, perhaps those of us in America should question if our alcoholic focus is pointed in the right direction, or perhaps should we shift it slightly in the direction of Italy. As one Italian man said, “We drink to compliment the meal we eat, you drink simply to drink.”

The Truth Is Out There

The truth is out there, but where can we find it? In the news? In books, magazines, television? Many Christians would pipe up rather quickly and say that the truth is in the Bible, and they would be right. But should we stop there? We have accepted this ultimate truth; now let’s use it to find truth in our everyday encounters.

I have met many people throughout my life, some who think they have mastered truth, and some who have stopped looking for it. But truth is something to be sought for, it cannot be mastered and it must always be sought after. The truth is too big to understand completely, but it’s also too big to ignore altogether.

Who says that what we seek is truth though. Perhaps this is why many loose hope that there is truth in what they find, what else are they to think when disappointment meets them at the end of each journey. Just the other day I read four different newspaper articles from two different papers, the Washington Post and USA today, about the tension between the Obama administration and the Republican party due to feuding over the coveted airing date of both Obama's speech and the Republican debate. Both were scheduled for the same date and time and neither party was will to budge for the other.

However, it took me reading four different articles about the same topic to finally found out what was going on. One article said nothing about the Republican debate and focused entirely on Obama's jilted pride and frustrations, another article spoke about how ridiculous and underhanded the republicans were being toward their President and still another conveyed both sides of the plight but leaned further toward agreeing with the republicans than with Obama. By the time I was done reading I was more frustrated with the lack of truth in the articles than the article topic itself.

We receive enough lies and propaganda from the government and political parties; we certainly do not need to hear it from the news as well. Emily Dickenson hit the nail on the head when she said, "Truth is such a rare thing, it is a delighted to tell it." But let’s change this a little and delight in the truth because it is the truth, not simply because it is rare. Let’s be frivolous with truth and make deceit something that is rare.