davis|cognizance | Bradley Davis' Blog

Happy 2008!

What is Christmas?

I am jaded. I'm just about done with Christmas. Maybe I just don't get it. Maybe for some people there really is something that they call "Christmas Spirit" -- but not me. I have come to see Christmas as a purely economic and social period. In my mind it basically breaks down to gifts and parties -- nothing more.

Growing up I was taught that Christmas was supposed to be the celebration of the Savior of the World coming in the body of a man to show us the way to the Father. This is the same Savior that I have an intimate, daily relationship with and who means more to me than anything in the universe. But "Christmas," or at least the form that it takes in modern America, seems to have little to do with the Jesus that I know and love.

Sure we have the token carols and Christmas sermons in church. We might even be so bold as to attend a Christmas eve service and light candles. We love to put nativity scenes in our homes and front yards. Plus, if you're a really good Christian, you become indignant whenever you hear X-Mas or Happy Holidays -- "they're taking 'Christ' out of Christmas," you'll say.

The problem I have is not that we take time to celebrate in a symbolic way the birth of Jesus, that is a wonderful goal. My bad attitude toward this time of year stems from what I think is a blindness to what Christmas has become.

In my family the focus is really on two areas. To a lesser extent the focus is on gifts. We spend a pretty good amount of time focusing effort on "what to buy" someone. It's really tough. We actually don't need anything, yet we go into debt buying things for people who have everything.

To a greater extent we focus on a series of family meeting where we get together and eat, talk about nothing of substance, and sometimes leave feeling worse than when we arrived. The fact that we spend time with those we love is undeniably a very good thing, but do we really have to try to see everyone within the two weeks before Christmas?

The truth is I love my family. I enjoy it when I have a chance to get them something that they will enjoy. I truly enjoy spending time with them when there is a chance to have more than just surface conversations.

When I break it down to its simplest form here is my frustration -- as a Christian my life is about learning to live like Jesus Christ and Christmas doesn't help me do that.

What can I do -- what can Christians do -- to change and make Christmas what it should be? What can I change in my life? Can Christmas be fixed?

WWJB?

I'm not completely sure what to make of this film, but it plays into a post that I am working on about Christmas... more to come.

Anyone seen it? What did you think?

Memorial Day

I was poking around today looking for something appropriate to post on memorial day... I found this...

Remembering Memorial Day

Monday is Memorial Day. Most of us will spend the day with friends and family. There will be bar-b-ques, volleyball, picnics. The kids will enjoy having a day off from school and parents will be happy for a day off from work. But the meaning of Memorial Day involves more than coolers, hibachis and beach chairs. It is a day meant to honor the memories of the men and women who have given their lives for this country.

More from Sgt Stryker...

I want to say thank you today to all the families of the amazing men and women who serve the United States of America in our armed forces. We can never thank you enough for serving and supporting those who serve.

(HT: jeffreymark)

Day of Silence

Thoughts on the VT massacre

First I want to say that my heart goes out to all those that have been impacted by the massacre at Virginia Tech this past week. Its impossible for me to understand how God would allow something like this to happen. I question just like everyone else -- but I choose to believe that God will use even this to glorify himself.

How I Heard

I first got wind that something was going on Monday by e-mail from CNN just as I walked into the NAB conference in Las Vegas. That morning Leslie had stayed behind at the hotel and she watched CNN as the numbers of victims mounted. I received a second e-mail from CNN later in the morning saying that 22 people were dead at Virginia Tech and when I talked to Leslie at lunch she filled me in on some of the details.

It was a little strange to follow the story through breaking news alerts and the rare glimpse of a TV at the conference. Leslie and I would then immediately turn on the TV to CNN (the only cable news station that the Flamingo carried) whenever we were in the room. We then ended up following the news of the tapes mailed to NBC by listening to XM radio on the flight back to Atlanta.

Thoughts about how the University / Police Actions

There have been criticisms from the start of the University and the police involved in the case that they did not act quickly enough to warn the students that "a killer was on the loose." But what should they have done? Do we warn an entire county when there is a shooting in a domestic situation? No.

We need to remember that someone killing two people -- taking a two hour break -- and then killing 30 more is unprecedented in our history. Since this has never happened before there was absolutely no reason to believe that there would be any more violence from this man until the second round of killings was underway.

I can't stand the fact that some people are ready to blame the authorities because they cannot provide absolute security at all times. On the other hand I applaud the reaction that I have heard from some students saying that they DON'T want metal detectors in the dorms or classrooms. These are people that understand that there is always some risk with freedom!

On the news coverage

The latest controversy is about airing the tapes that the killer made in the days leading up to the killings. I guess I feel a little conflicted about the tapes -- I, like most of the world, was fascinated with them in the early hours of their release. However I really think that at this point I feel that there is more harm than good in giving a very public voice to a psychopath.

The Future

I'm anxious about the reaction of the government and the public to this tragedy. There have already been calls for stricter gun control laws -- this wouldn't have solved anything in the case of Virginia Tech. Guns were already illegal on the VT campus. In reality there might have been fewer people killed if faculty and students were allowed to have guns -- someone could have intervened.

We should mourn the victims and condemn the crime. We should celebrate the young lives that were lost and mourn the experiences that they will never have. We should never forget the lessons that are being learned but we should not overreact and give away our freedoms.

Day of Silence - April 30

On April 30th blogs across the world will be silent in honor of the victims of Virginia Tech. If you would like to participate there is code available for you to post on that day at OneDayBlogSilence.com.

Gerald Ford | 1913-2006

When I woke up this morning I heard the news -- President Ford had died.

Most of what I now know about President Gerald Ford I have learned today through the media. Right of wrong Ford, to me, was simply the guy that sat in the chair between Nixon and Carter. I was even ignorant of the astonishing fact that he was never elected to the office of President or Vice-President.

Today it seems that President Ford is being remembered as "a good guy." I've heard several times that the fact that he never sought the office of the President kept the lust for power from changing him. For the first few days of his term he actually still lived on the street he had as a congressman in Alexandria, Virgina. Literally he was the guy next door (lifted from a report on CNN).

I've also enjoyed hearing how he really had a sense of humor about himself and the early career that Chevy Chase had making fun of him on Saturday Night Live even to the point of having Chevy Chase perform his routine making fun of Ford at the White House Correspondents dinner with President Ford in attendance!

In that light I'd like to pay tribute to Gerald Ford with a series of great quotes that I found on Monday Morning Insight...

"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”

“I am a Ford, not a Lincoln.”

“I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your President by your ballots, so I ask you to confirm me with your prayers.”

“I had a lot of experience with people smarter than I am.”

“I have had a lot of adversaries in my political life, but no enemies that I can remember.”

“Richard Nixon was just offered $2 million by Schick to do a television commercial - for Gillette.”

“Things are more like today than they have ever been before.”

“When a man is asked to make a speech, the first thing he has to decide is what to say.”

 

Democrats should read the Constitution

One of the lines that I keep hearing constantly from talking heads promoting the democratic agenda for tomorrow's election is that Democrats will give the country a "new direction in Iraq." My understanding from this line has basically been that they will start "bringing troops home" sometime next year. (Anyone disagree with my take on what they are saying?)

This is a great campaign strategy since the number one issue in voters minds, according to most polls that I have seen, is Iraq; and most everyone that I know would rather our troops be home instead of in harm's way in another country. That seems natural.

The problem is that congress does not have the authority to bring troops home!

This is a midterm election. George W. Bush will still be the Commander-in-Chief on Wednesday. My understanding of the Constitution is that it is the President that heads the military, not the party in the majority in congress. And before anyone says "but the congress controls the purse," I understand that they can cut funds -- but that's political suicide.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but in my opinion its really just a campaign slogan to say that Democrats will change the "direction in Iraq." The President has been very resolute in his willingness to win the war and I don't think Harry Reid is going to make him suddenly decide to change his entire philosophy.

Se before you go pull the now proverbial lever tomorrow think about this: The only real power that the congress with Democrats in control has to can bring to bear on the President is the power to stonewall and investigate; and I, for one, don't relish two years of more Ken Starr.

Advanced Voting

I've voted. This afternoon I ventured out to the Cobb County advanced polling station in the northern part of the county. I had to wait for only a couple of minutes and the process was painless.

For anyone out there that is looking for reports of election problems -- I had none. To be honest (other than the lack of a paper trail) I think the voting system that we have in Georgia is great! I'm really not sure how they can make the process any more simple than literally touching the name of the person that you want in office. From my perspective the system is fool-proof.

The only glitch that I noticed while waiting in line was overhearing an election worker looking for a voter who did not sign an oath that is required for advanced voting. I believe that they discovered this problem after the person had already cast their ballot and left the facility. While this, in reality, probably won't affect the vote count in any way, it was an oversight on the part of the poll workers. Other than that one issue everyone there was very helpful and efficient in their work.

For more information about advanced voting in Cobb County, Georgia visit cobbelections.org.