A Tribute to My Wife -- Lisa Taylor

I would like to go on record to say what a wonderful human being Lisa Teiliwr is. I gush often about how amazing she is as a wife and mother and a Gigi to our grandbabies, but just once, I want to brag on her for being one of the most admirable human beings I know. 

She is not only brilliant, with a sharp mind, speaking multiple languages and constantly pushing herself to study new topics deeply (from neurological issues to cultural and historical ones) yearly, but she is also one of the kindest and most service-focused people I know. 

She has willingly given up space in our home several times to those in need of a place to stay -- not family but often strangers to her. She has sacrificed her time for those needing language assistance and help becoming U.S. citizens. She often asks me how much can we donate money to a person we don't know personally online who needs to make a house payment or pay for an emergency room visit or medical care. 

Her first reaction is almost always that of "What can I do to help?" rather than "How bad will this inconvenience me?" Sure, her own issues may cause her to live in her own mind with her own demons 24/7, but she doesn't allow that to turn her into a self-focused or self-absorbed person. She always is concerned about the other more than herself.

In all of this, she is the most Christlike person I have ever known. Like me, she has struggled with how the church at large that she grew up in has changed from a place of "love your neighbor" to a place of "fight for political power," but that has never led her outside the family of God. She has kept her faith, she has run the race, and one day she will be told "Well done, my good and faithful servant." 

I love this woman, and I will defend her with every breath. You speak ill of her, and you answer to me. You come for her, and you find me in the way. You attack her, and you'll find me there to take the blows on her behalf as much as she'll allow me to. I say that because in spite of her worries and self-consciousness, she remains one of the strongest people I know. Period. 

Lisa, you are not weak. You have not been seduced by liberal evil. You are not brainwashed. If you avoid one side it is because you don't see Christlikeness there. If you favor one side, it is because you see Christlikeness there. You are the Christlike rock (Petra) on which our family is built, and you are the reason I can still believe as I do. 

Thank you for being here for me.

Warning: Religiously Political Content

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? -- Matthew 5:43-48

Let's bring that into today, shall we?

"You have heard people tell you, 'Love those who believe like you do, but hate those who don't or those who oppose you.' But I tell you to actively and wholeheartedly love and be kind to those who believe differently, behave differently, and even oppose you, so that you may be more like the God you claim you serve. Doesn't God send sun and rain down on everybody, both the person who believes like you and the one who does not? So, if you only treat fairly and lovingly those who love you back and act like or believe like you, what reward do you expect from that? Even the people you consider the lowest of the low do that. If you are kind and charitable only to your own group, what more are you doing than those you think are outside of God's plan? Don't even non-believers do that?

In other words, for today's American Evangelicals, it is precisely by your love, kindness, and acts of service to RINOs, Democrats, progressive non-fundamentalist Christians, liberals, migrants, Muslims, Roe V. Wade supporters, LGBTQIA+, BLMs, etc., that you will demonstrate how Christlike you are. 

And that means that every time you post mean-spirited memes calling the people you hate "evil" and "whore" and "slept her way to office" and "animals" and "polluting the lifeblood of America," you are moving further and further away from the very faith you still somehow believe you are defending. 

To be fair, the same goes for those progressive Christians who seemed to delight in belittling their opposition too. 

For those who don't claim a Christian-based belief system, your behavioral standards may vary. 😉

Foundations of My Politics

For those wondering, the foundations of my political opinions begin here: 

"What best benefits those in need and those abused or misused by our systems or society (or even other countries -- refugees, invaded countries, etc.)? And what rights might need to be seen in a new light to make the promises of the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness more equitable for all (not equal but equitable and accessible)?" 

 Not here: 

"What does my (me, me, me) wallet feel like right now?"  

As a person of Christian faith, that's just the way I see and understand Jesus, and if I'm to be a "little Christ" then I should want to strive to be like him. 

 My Bible says to die to self and to love and serve others -- even my enemies -- and even those who take advantage of that kindness (and go the extra mile and hand over my coat as well - Mt. 5:40-41). 

 Again, NOT A SLAM ON ANYONE ELSE, just explaining where my views are founded.

Sharing Information Online with Moral Responsibility and Integrity

Here's your periodic reminder not to be irresponsible or manipulative when sharing links. Knowing is half the battle before you start spouting bad sources:

News -- This is news. It is fact-checked, verified, and references credible, relevant sources or interviewees specific to the story or event. It strives to be as objective as possible, sticks to actual data parsed by multiple experts, and always provides a counterpoint(s) for credible discussion (questioning an interviewee who claims the earth is flat or continuing to cite debunked theories about massive scale election interference isn't a credible opposing point, for example). It focuses on the who, what, where, and when of a story or event.

Analysis -- This is not news. This is someone's breakdown of what he/she/they feel are the takeaways from actual news or some event. This one confuses many people because the person presenting the opinions is usually some kind of expert in a matter related to what he/she/they are analyzing, such as pundits discussing a presidential debate or a legal expert discussing how a court case plays out. However, even though the analysts are experts , they tend to have a vested interest in promoting one side of an issue over the other side, such as a conservative pundit for a conservative news station or a climate change attorney for climate change rulings. The best examples of this include a variety of experts who can discuss and even disagree with each other, providing the experts are peer-respected, tenured, and credible (again, there's no point in including flat earth "scientists" for a credible discussion of geology or a pillow salesman or pop star for a discussion of world politics). 

Opinion/Editorial -- This is not news. This is someone's opinion (quite often a complaining, partisan one) about some issue or event. I'm surprised how often I see people reference these as facts or news because they are quite often clearly identified as just Op/Ed in the papers or sites they appear in/on. (Although some sources do incorrectly and irresponsibly let these appear alongside news stories as a counterpoint to news.) Sadly, this can often masquerade as Analysis and confuse those who are looking for quick, easy "facts" (not actually facts though) to support their preconceived beliefs.

Review -- This is not news. This is an assessment by a professional critic regarding (typically) some published media. 

Political Memes -- Not only are these not news, they are often flat-out lies and falsehoods. Unless they cite a credible source in the meme, these are typically unverified and intentionally misleading or designed to elicit an emotional, knee-jerk response. If it has no source, just don't share it. You could do more harm than good. If it does have a source, check it out before sharing it. Chances are the source is made up to provide false credibility or designed to take an actual quote or fact out of context. And trust me, we've all been fooled at least once by these pesky critters. 

Most YouTube sources fall under Analysis, Op/Ed, or Review. There are some that actually do the work of journalism to present news.

Most podcasters tend to fall under the Analyst-Op/Ed-Review category as well, though there are a few credible investigative journalism podcasts that report relatively unbiased news.

It's okay to share Op/Ed and Analysis articles. But please don't source it as news. Always be sure to explain that it is merely an opinion, albeit in some cases a more informed opinion, but an opinion nonetheless. If you intentionally imply that such a source is news or is a factual account of a story or event, you are irresponsible at best and outright spreading lies and trying to manipulate others at worst. 

Most partisan sources that identify as such promote bias and don't actually cover news. They inject a lot of Analysis and Op/Ed into so-called news stories.

Compassion Needed

"One of the biggest deceptions we fall prey to as Christians is believing that control is more effective in saving the world than compassion. This is to completely misunderstand the cross of Jesus." 

"Compassion will always look like weakness when you worship power." 

"Please remember: it’s always easier to say the world hates you because of Jesus than it is to admit how you are hating others in the name of Jesus. It is always easier to say the world is pushing out God than to admit how you are pushing people away from God."

-- Rev. Benjamin Cremer

Pride... In the Name of Me

This is the pride that comes before a fall, folks.

Be Like Dolly