Tuesday, Kentland, Indiana

I’ve spent the majority of my life on the East Coast. Between New York and Long Island where I grew up and New England well went to school and lived for a time, I had little or no exposure to the Midwest. For good part of the past decade, however, I have lived in Indiana. My wife Sally grew up here and so now I have relatives who are Hoosiers. I’ve come to love them all.

Among my new family, one of my favorites is our niece and nephew, Brad & Jodi who are farmers. They grow crops and raise livestock and it’s been a great experience learning about what they do. For starters, I’ve been amazed at how technologically sophisticated farming has become. The crops are planted using incredible machines equipped with computers and global positioning systems. The care of their livestock utilizes the latest science about animal health and growth. I love going to the farm to simply watch how they do what they do.

Over the years we have celebrated the years of their bounty crop And we have prayed for them during the years when weather - too much rain or no rain at all - ruined their crops and meant that they essentially earned no money. What a life! But aside from the unpredictability of whether and other unexpected eventualities, what is most impressive to me is the steadfast commitment to life informing requires. The lifestyle allows very little flexibility for days off or time away. The livestock doesn’t take vacation and attending of the crops has its own in flexible schedule. Brad & Jodi, alone with their four children don’t miss a day of work because they cannot miss a day of work.

The demands and responsibilities that are inculcated with the children and farm families are unique. I don’t know of any other family lifestyle that teaches children life lessons in such broad strokes as that of a farm family. Farm kids learn about life, death and birth control or ability in ways that are profound, unlike anything I have never experienced. At a time and in a society where so many children grow up with a sense of entitlement, assuming that their needs will be taken care of by others, the lessons gained by growing up on a farm are probably what more of our kids need.

- Your farm does not have a barn

- The only tools you have in your barn are a hammer and a phillips head screwdriver

- You often plant crops while drunk

- You wear a jacket and tie every day

- You often feed your cattle table scraps

- Because of your neglect, your goats and sheep have mingled and bred

- Despite the consequences you insist on taking your vacation time during the harvest

- You keep forgetting to neuter the male calves and now you have two dozen mature bulls roaming your land

- Although your farm is in Minnesota, you planted 200 acres of bananas

Monday, Lafayette, Indiana

It was 150 years ago this week that Charles Darwin submitted a paper outlining his famous theory of evolution. His theory directly confronted the tenets of his Christian church. Challenging the belief of “intelligent design,” Darwin argued that the evidence around him suggested that living species change through a process having to do with adapting to their environment,“evolving” in order to survive.

As is the case with so many radical scientific theories, it challenges people of religious faith to themselves adapt, reconciling the scientific “evidence” with the accepted interpretations of the Bible and church dogma. Over the centuries this has happened on several occasions. Among the most famous, of course, was when astronomers verified that the Earth was not in fact the center of the universe, but was a planet that was itself orbiting around our sun. And of course as time went on this scale of the known universe was staggering beyond imagination. And of course, the church and its theologians were compelled to re-articulate their understanding of reality and the rule of the Creator God in this new context.

To this day, of course there are those who flatly reject the idea of evolution, and instead accept a literal reading of the book of Genesis that asserts the creation by God in a matter of days. It has become a hot button issue in education and politics as states and local school districts determine the science curriculum to be taught to their children. To those who stand firmly on either side of this debate, there is little flexibility in their ideology. And in such cases, we are reminded that rigid positions are rarely sustainable.

As a person of convicted faith, I just find such matters a useless distraction. While it is interesting intellectual discourse to ponder the scale of reality, it is ultimately, of course, well beyond my capacity. Living by faith means living without the assurance of evidence. What seems certain and real in times past frequently evaporates demanding a new understanding of the world. Inflexible religion is an obstacle to faith. And I find unthinking dogma as ludicrous as committed atheism. Both positions are absurd.

Wherever you find yourself on these matters, good luck with that. As for me, I’ll stick with the counsel of Jesus, to love God as fully as possible, and to love and serve my neighbor more than myself. I don’t always do it well, but it’s a significant enough challenge to occupy all of my human energy.

As for Darwin, we can never really know the full truth of what he proposed. But I know he was human.

Oh, and, by the way, he married his cousin.

- You can swim underwater for several minutes at a time

- Pictures of your great grandfather show that your eyes are significantly closer together

- Your hat size has decreased by two inches in the last ten years

- You hairline is now in the middle of your forehead

- Your grown children are six inches shorter than you

- Others notice that you move your lips like a fish

- Your toes are growing together

- When your arms hang at your side you can touch your knees

- While sleeping your snoring sounds like the chirping of a toad

- You can out run your dog

Friday, Lafayette, Indiana

I am not a gun owner…um…yet.
I say that because I have seriously considered getting a gun for a couple of very specific purposes in my life. One is that I am starting to spend more time taking photographs in some areas where there is a possibility I could encounter a critter that intends to do me harm. Although I believe the odds are quite low, and I’m not eager to start blasting away, I am considering it for my own peace of mind.

The other reason is that in our city we do have an encroaching problem with crime. Our neighborhood is great and safe, so far, but we are not far from areas where I know some bad guys live. Perhaps my awareness has been heightened because of the time I am spending with the police as their chaplain. And I might feel better for those times when I am not at home and my wife is alone in the house. So I’m thinking about it.

It seems that the decision has been made easier with the ruling of the United States Supreme Court yesterday affirming that the Second Amendment means that individual citizens have a right to be armed. It is not necessary that we belong to a local “militia.”

I asked several of my friends at the police department for their point of view about this issue. And overwhelmingly the opinion is agreement with this interpretation. What the police tell me is that their main issue is concealment and excessive firepower. The possibility of somebody they approach concealing a weapon is what elevates the danger to their life. And when it does happen that there’s an exchange of gunfire, being out matched by the criminal is a legitimate worry. But freedom to have and use a weapon is a right they believe we should have. In fact, many of the police officers I know are avid outdoor enthusiasts who hunt and fish. On the job, however, uncontrolled availability of concealed weapons changes the chemistry of all their encounters.

I did find it reassuring that the majority opinion of the court emphasized that this decision does not eradicate the ability of the government to make sensible laws for the public good. Not being a lawyer I don’t know exactly what this decision changes for people like me, for hunters or for criminal gang bangers. But I know that I will be paying attention.

Thursday, Lafayette, Indiana

Perhaps I sound a little paranoid. But honestly, shouldn’t this make all of us stop and think? I’m not one for standing in the way of science. I am in favor of keeping an eye on it.

Wednesday, Lafayette, Indiana

Among the unique features of the production, included the odds sounds, devoid of background music and constantly interrupted by the strange ring tone of the department’s telephone. Much like the officers in Hill’s Street Blues, these Baltimore detectives of Homicide: Life on the Street struggled constantly with the demands of their relationships with colleagues and the complications of their private life. And with this we find a strange curiosity. Most of us would rather not think about the overly complex lives of the men and women upon whom we rely to keep us safe and pursue criminals. Although we know when reality that they are all fallible human beings, with challenging lives, it deepens our anxiety when we are forced to confront the weaknesses and flawed judgment of those consigned two and forced justice.

As an individual who has the privilege of spending time in close contact with the police, I can attest to the professionalism and the seriousness with which departments pursue functioning with integrity and sensitivity to their responsibilities. While in certain departments there may be exceptions, in my experience and my cities I sleep securely knowing the character and commitment of the professionals cruising the streets right now. I understand there is often cynicism about the police among those who have been treated harshly, but I just spent too much time witnessing the role they play in helping, serving and protecting the world that I occupy. I sincerely hope this has been your experience as well.

Tuesday, Lafayette, Indiana

According to the believers the aliens had large round bald heads, and huge almond shaped eyes. Where this depiction originated is anybody’s guess. It is a reminder that there are many people who are persuaded that the government is aware of startling information and, for whatever reason decides to keep it secret from the public. Is there life on other planets? I certainly think the possibility exists. Given what science has told us about the staggering scope of the universe, of which are immeasurable solar system is merely a small part, it would seem ludicrous to conclude that we are the only place that has sustained intelligent life.

Nonetheless, the idea that “flying saucers” bringing creatures from other places to crash land on Earth seems beyond bizarre to me. I can recall Joan Rivers making a crack, “is an interesting than the UFO has never been spotted at Harvard.”

Human beings have an insatiable appetite for knowledge, understanding and insight. We are for ever yearning for meaning. And given how elusive this quest is we search our reality, and beyond our reality for answers. The idea that there is life more involved, insightful and intelligent than our own is an intoxicating temptation. And perhaps at some point this will be the experience of humanity on earth. But until such time, it seems a more fruitful approach to search the history of human imagination and wisdom and find the clues to fulfillment within our own species.

Because the reality is, we really don’t know what life in other places would be like; and I wonder how many believers in UFOs have considered the possibility that, although they have learned to travel in space, they might in fact be dumber than us. I wonder if the aliens might be coming to earth yearning to know what we know. What a depressing thought.

Monday, Lafayette, Indiana

Among the names that are most recognized and remembered in modern standup comedy, George Carlin is on anyone’s short list. A performer for a half decade, Carlin began in the Ed Sullivan era as part of a comedy team and went on to become one of the great observational monologists in America. He was a brilliant writer and stage performer.

Over the years, especially through the iconoclastic 1960’s Carlin’s comedy material became edgier and increasingly profane. In fact, he is probably most responsible for unleashing a generation of standup comedians who have thrived in nightclubs and on cable television whose routines were peppered with foul language and graphic sexual references. This trend originated with Lenny Bruce, whose routines in the early 1960’s crossed accepted barriers of public language and was arrested for obscenity on more than one occasion. Carlin picked up the mantle testing the boundaries of free speech and was himself arrested for doing a routine entitled “The Seven Words You Cannot Say On Television.” And with that he became as infamous as he was famous.

While I understand the temptation to use rough language and imagery in standup comedy in the rough environment of nightclubs, I have never enjoyed hearing blue language in standup, especially when its use is gratuitous. New comedians, struggling to survive on stage in front of often drunk, hostile audiences frequently resort to rough language and sexual topics to cope. But once past the initial learning phases, I am turned off by stand ups who swear unnecessarily (dropping the “f bomb” as an adjective, for instance). George Carlin was a mixed bag on this criteria.

George Carlin’s was the voice of a man on a mission about public speech and the liberty that must be provided to anyone commenting, regardless of how it might offend some people. But as he got older he became less a comic and more the lecturer - and an angry one at that. As much as I enjoyed him earlier in his career George Carlin lost me near the end.

Friday, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

When I was a kid my brothers and I participated in both the Cub Scouts and the Boy Scouts. I don’t have many memories of the Cub Scouts, except a few fleeting visions of snacks and den mothers. But the Boy Scouts are a great memory for me. I actively participated for about four years. I didn’t achieve any great heights, but loved the experiences of camping and fun at our weekly meetings. I was fortunate to have terrific scout leaders, including my father. My brother Donald climbed the ladder higher than me, including participation in something the scouts call “Order of the Arrow.” I never knew what this was, except that it was elite and they talked about secret things that I was not allowed to know.

Even after all these years, and despite my less than passionate participation, I do remember the values that were central to being a Boy Scout. Part of what we had to memorize was the Scout Law, which consisted of a dozen essential principles that define the good Boy Scout.

We were called to be:

Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedience, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent

Looking at this list, it wasn’t a big leap for me because growing up in a religious family (Roman Catholic) these values were utterly consistent with what I was hearing on Sunday. In fact we were commanded to live every one of these characteristics. There was really no distinction between what I was taught in my church and what I was told in the Boy Scouts handbook.

What this indicates, even among the most cynical, is that there seems to be a well-established tradition of the characteristics that make up a functional society. People who are trustworthy, friendly, cheerful and reverent, for instance, or people who make society function well. In each one we have gorged on the celebration of the individual and our “rights” to be who we desire to be, it turns out to be a destructive indulgence. Living in close proximity to others demands that we abide by these laws that were stated so simply by the Boy Scouts of America.

And perhaps there is a simpler way to describe this approach to human loving: “do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”

Or perhaps it can be expressed, “love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

However it is expressed, from the profound theological language of the Bible, with a sweet simplicity from the Boy Scout handbook, society needs to follow such rules as these if we are going to survive together.

- You have never washed your uniform

- You of applied to receive the “autopsy" merit badge

- During your knot tying test you made a noose

- After learning to start a campfire at a scout meeting, you immediately burn down a neighbor’s garage

- For your cooking merit badge you barbecued roadkill squirrel

- An elderly woman asks you to help her across the street and you lead her into oncoming traffic and laugh

- When you are asked to clean up the campsite you give the Scout leader the finger

- You post videos on Youtube of other Scouts using the latrine

- When your Boy Scout troop is sent to help victims of a flood, you go off on your own and loot evacuated homes

- Instead of a standard issue Boy Scout knife, you carry a 5 inch switchblade

Thursday, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

An annual survey asks young children what they would like to be when they grow up. And, not surprisingly the recent trend reveals that what kids mostly want to be is “famous.” We are not surprised are we? Children in America most desire to become celebrities. Gone are the days when children emulated the jobs or careers of their parents, the idea of growing up to be a fire fighter, astronaut or physician.

Obviously the idea for becoming a famous person comes from exposure to television. But it raises the question about the parents and the influence they are having with children and their aspirations. While it is certainly appropriate for parents to encourage their kids to dream and follow their dreams, it seems that the influence is solidly weighted on the side of the visions depicted in pop culture. Being a famous actor, a musician or athlete has become the passion of American children. And cautions about the limited opportunities to actually make this happen seem to have little effect on their fantasies of glory.

It is not that parents believe this is a good trend. Less than ten percent believe the dream of fame is wise or realistic. Is anyone surprised really? Is it not a measure of where we have come as a society that children aspire to be celebrities? And further, we are well aware that many of America’s celebrities enjoy their notoriety detached from personal accomplishments.

What are the worthy achievements of Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Kim Kardashian, or Brandon "Greasy Bear" Davis? The study does not make clear that kids desire to be famous is tied to any sense of effort and sacrifice to get to their goal. The feeling is that the longing is to have already arrived at fame, the accomplishments of meriting the fame are in the rear view mirror.

At the risk of hysterical ranting it seems that this survey gives pause to parents about the need to speak out more boldly against the antics of the celebrities their children see in the media. It’s time to be more forthcoming with our opinions. If your child is more enamored with an actor than their teacher, with a professional athlete more than their physician, it’s time to step up and speak out.

I don’t have data to support it, but my anecdotal experience with the international students at Purdue gives me the feeling that their youngsters are more focused on their math and science skills than the style and behavior of Brittany Spears.

Wednesday, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

This week we remember two infamous stories from the world of crime and politics that became sensations in media and popular culture. It was on this week in 1972 that a team of screwball operatives broke into the Democratic Headquarters in the Watergate Hotel in Washington to gather intelligence (hah!) to use in the Presidential election. They were caught and set in motion the unraveling of Richard Nixon’s Presidency.

This week in 1994 also saw the start of the unraveling of another celebrity, football hero O.J. Simpson who failed to report to the police for questioning in the vicious murder of his wife and an acquaintance, opting instead to attempt an escape. Like the Watergate morons, Simpson reminded America that he was no brain surgeon by refusing to stop his vehicle and leading the police on a now famous “slow speed chase” watched by the country for several hours.

The event began a new lunacy in media, where millions of ordinary citizens stopped doing everything else in their life and hung on a sick soap opera that dragged on for years. America was focused on Simpson and the actors in his trial, ignoring the murdered victims. All day long television coverage fed the debased appetite of viewers reveling in the antics of a cartoon judge and showboating lawyers making fools of themselves at the expense of the victims.

It is very uncomfortable to accept the fact that, despite our most diligent efforts to be creatures of social competence and civility, human beings struggle with our periodic eruptions of impulses of cruelty and depravity. Even when we abide by the discipline of civilized behavior - resisting those impulses - they are there and can be felt, even if controlled. Mostly they emerge in our fascination and riveted curiosity watching illustrations and depictions of human depravity. Whether films, television or YouTube videos, we can’t seem to turn away.

It is important to understand these impulses and bear in mind that social behavior depends on acknowledging them and exercising vigilance for ourselves and,especially our children. Giving into this side of our psycho-biology is dangerous and the cause of most acts of heinous violence. In the end, and despite the cynicism of many, this is the critical social role that faith communities and religious practice have played in civilization. Repression of these impulses depends on NOT repression the recognition that they are there. Have a peaceful day!