50 Million Blogs

January 22, 2010

The democratization of the internet has happened. Every second of every day two more blogs are created. There are 1.6 million postings each day; that is 18 per second daily. How on earth amidst the cacophony of voices offering millions of words does one discern truth from fiction, wisdom from opinion, and sound reason from shoot from the hip verbiage? If there are 50 million plus blogs and growing the still small voice will be increasingly hard to hear; much less being able to listen to meaningful reflection by thoughtful people on the world around us. Discerning truth has become a full time job.

The time has come for writers to become activists, professors of thought doers of deeds, and those who pen these mountains of material conscientious patriots for the common good. Recapturing the ‘lost mind’ will require the concerted efforts of thousands of like minded people willing to risk much for the sake of the whole.

It has been said that a patriot is one who loves his or her country both in word and in deed. I like patriotism. Not knee jerk jingoism based on empty slogans like ‘love it or leave it,’ but loving the virtues of this nation so much that we rise above the petty discourse and speak truth to power; wherever and whenever needed. Criticism, direct, confrontational or couched in politically correct terminology may also be a valid expression, or a patriotic gesture when confronting misdeeds of individuals, institutions or parties. And today, the Lord knows, there is enough malfeasance in many sectors requiring millions to become heroic, blow the whistle, sound the alarm, and become frankly, unreasonable; but with peace, and non-violence in our hearts at all times while holding the pen used to benefit the whole.

As a 40 year priest of the Episcopal church, and one who is proud of our heritage of honoring scripture, tradition and reason, I feel perhaps what is really needed is a re-writing of all religions scriptures to reflect the times; yes, putting effort into defining God’s will, or the creator’s intentions, in line with the reality of today. The Old Ten Commandments should not be thrown aside with disdain, but rather re-worked to help us cope with the changing times. What about #6 that says Thou shall not kill: We have so many caveats with that one that perhaps it no longer belongs. Heck we justify war, self defense killing, blowing up our enemies who have done us harm – while forgetting that all of that goes against the whole idea of turning one’s cheek or forgiving. Violence always begets violence and leads to escalation and annihilation eventually; that is especially relevant today as technology has produced un-intended consequences; i.e. it looks like we are destined to have everyone obtain weapons of mass destruction. And then how about thou shall not commit adultery – heck, 50 per cent of the population, and many self proclaimed ‘lovers of Jesus’ or ‘devotees of the Almighty’ have broken that one; and many on many occasions. Let’s start be saying ok – there are 8 commandments that I can buy into. Is it time to dump the Torah, or at least put it aside and start again? If we believe that God is a God of history then God did not stop acting in the lives of people thousands of years ago. Historical criticism demands that we put the story of the people of Israel in the context of the times.

In similar fashion, let’s select just the passages from the New Testament that are relevant for today. Narrowing down the text from 66 books to let’s say 7 might be the best place to start. Genesis, Psalms, Job, and Amos for starters; then a little Mark, one of Paul’s letters and something from the Apocrypha. That should be sufficient to get the idea of our Judeo-Christian heritage.

Truth or tongue in cheek; or simply a way to get noticed amidst the 50,000,000 voices world wide who are venting, sharing opinions, presenting good science and important facts, challenging entrenched ideologies, or sounding off annoying somebody? I can remember the pundits telling me repeatedly that I needed a little controversy on Earth Talk Today – you know counterpoint to the environmental information; I resisted because the argument is not 50-50, but rather 3% vs. 97%

Who has time to read 50 million blogs, much less 50,000 or 500 or even 5 a day when we are so busy writing our own? Thus, I will try and reflect on the wisdom of others gleaned from 67 years of observing the human story from within. Experience does not count unless we reflect on our experiences, so my 156 week offering is basically built upon reflections.

The next few paragraphs may get me in trouble, but the good books of the past need to be approached with respect and reason. Professors from Brown and Virginia Theological Seminary encouraged historical and literary criticism making sure we understood the context of the ancient writings. Warned repeatedly that there are many who take the Bible literally, I could understand, but not accept, those who justified slavery based on the book of Philemon and Onesimus, the slave who was told to be loyal to his master? In addition, the story of Adam and Eve was a myth that pointed to truth but was not true. Thus, scripture required being ‘handled’ thoughtfully. In so doing the commandment from Genesis to Avodah and shomer creation became instrumental in defining my writings, readings and thought processes from the very beginnings of my life. Keep and serve the gift was the clear directive to all Adams and all Eves forever.

How can anyone refute that directive? Pundits, highly paid media personalities, scientists hired by industries and others would lead us to believe it is not necessary to participate in the preservation of creation because either nature will do what she must do or God will intervene to fix the mess. If that were the case I would be on one of those island nations in the Maldives snorkeling with the coral reef fish families. No, we are complicit in the collapse, and right from Genesis is our clear marching orders - take care of our fragile island home; probably the only one we will ever find that can sustain our kind of life.

I believe the precautionary principle is linked to Genesis. My writings for three years will reflect that link. Changing my behavior one day at a time while not being afraid to condemn, criticize, cajole, and correct the behavior of others is a tall order not without its pitfalls and detractors. Yet, if we all sit back and decide not to decide our children and their offspring will say: What happened to Creation?