Mr. Garner Goes To Washington

Since today is Christmas Eve, my thoughts randomly reflect on many topics: Georgia's excitement, family visiting in a few hours, dinner that's cooking, Kim resting from a head cold, how Christmas seemed to have come out of nowhere this year, how we might not be so stressed out for most of December if our priorities were different, and Paul Harvey. Yup, Paul Harvey.

Slowly fading from our social media memories are the blog posts and tweets about Ann Rice's decision to leave Christianity. But in case you've slept since then and forgotten, here's what she posted to her Facebook wall July 28: Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else. Then, a few minutes later, she added: ...In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen. She clarified further:

Since Christmas decorations have been in stores alongside Halloween decor for months now, seems even more relevant to have a Christmas movie coming out, right? Last season had the aroma of disgruntled grinches wanting nativity scenes or other Christmas symbols removed, hubbub sprinkled of stores saying "Seasons Greetings" instead of "Merry Christmas" and various boycotts roasting on open fires. Thus, a movie being produced about this subject isn't surprising.

In doing some thinking recently, it's become very clear to me how spoiled we as a society have become. We are so spoiled and comfortable that we no longer show proper respect towards things and people that deserve respect and we feel our respect must be earned. But worse we feel we're entitled to anything at anytime. That we deserve the very best and we deserve it right now. Here's just a few examples:

Are you weary of the daily news onslaught relating to the Gulf's oil spill? Looking at any media lately, it's nearly impossible to escape some sort of update or opinion about the Gulf's oil spill and its damage to the environment or BP's latest idea to stop the leaks. You can even look at a live video feed of the oil-spewing leaks a mile under water. Searching for "oil spill" produces hundreds of results. Here are just a few of today's headlines:

"Wait, what? Miley Cyrus? Gave who a lap dance? And what do you mean? I've never given anyone a lap dance!" Oh, the questions you must have. Let's start from the beginning. Last year, Miley Cyrus - the cute, precocious teen, celebrity daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, a.k.a. Hannah Montana, and Disney child star - began slipping into teenage rebellion when she quit Twitter. Yet, Miley didn't just quit tweeting or cancel her account. She also wrote a rap song about it.

Rousing from an unplanned nap near 1am Saturday, my cellphone blinks in receipt of a message. I assume it's spam to the work email account. Instead, it's a text message from 12:22am. It reads: Baby Pierce got his angel wings today at 3 o clock. News began to circulate around 4pm and trickled to Caringbridge at 11:40pm Friday night. An outpouring of love to the family was already in progress on Facebook and continued through the weekend.

You may have heard the age old axiom from your parents. "Never talk about politics or religion." My guess, this was a mantra to avoid uncomfortable dinner parties 30 years ago. Hard to believe but people actually met IN PERSON to talk and catch up, instead of sitting at their computers or using their phones to text and tweet. Not bringing up the topics of politics or religion, especially when in mixed company, helped keep everything pleasant and calm. Few chances for awkward moments when talking about the weather, food, kids, and the lawn. But why are people so passionate about these topics? Why do they cause such conflict in discussions?

With Christmas slowly fading from your memory, did you find yourself this year taking a stand for Christmas? I'm not talking about stealing the stand beneath the Christmas tree. Perhaps you missed it but 2009 was the year of sticking it to retailers who refused to display or say "Merry Christmas!" Boycotting secular businesses because they aren't promoting Christmas: righteous or ridiculous? I'll vote for both.