Respect is the Heart of Democracy

Just a quick note on current politics. I enjoyed Obama's Address to Congress today and while there are certainly a lot of details to work out I believe that Obama has the nation's best interests at heart. It seems like he is willing to find and work toward a middle way, and if people are willing to see that and to be constructive about the problem we can find a solution.

Whoever yelled "liar" at the president during his speech needs to figure out his priorities. I have never, not even under President GW Bush, seen such a large amount of disrespect directed to a president. I don't know what it all adds up to, but the amount of hatred and fear directed toward Obama is outrageous. He is the justly elected president of the United States and our Commander in Chief. Even if we don't always agree with his politics he deserves our respect. Calling him a "liar" in front of the nation is crazy. If he's wrong than write about it or talk about on your own time but don't yell about it in the middle of the president's speech in congress.

On the same note, the media craze over President Obama's speech to the children that was televised to numerous schools across the nation was insane. Granted there were a few odd sentences in some of the early drafts of the suggested lesson plans that came with the speech but other than that there was nothing that could under any interpretation suggest brainwashing, indoctrination or anything of the sort. When I was in K-12 I remember feeling respect for Reagan, GHW Bush, and Clinton despite their differences. Now all of a sudden starting under Bush and continuing, although with different people, to some degree under Obama people seem to be afraid or hateful of the office of the president.

I don't know what the cause of this is, but whatever it is I hope that our country can begin to come together and find respect for our Commander in Chief and for each other. Only through working together as one country and listening to each for the good of all can we even begin to tackle the complex issues of health care, education and the economy. We're in this together whether we like it or not.

Education

Now that I'm back in school I feel fully alive again. Getting a Masters of Education seems to be suiting me very well. I love the work, and I'm hoping that I will love being in the classroom in the Fall. That's the one hurdle I still need to jump.

But for now I feel like I am doing something with each day and like I am going somewhere. For the last three years I worked a job that had plateaued, but now I'm back in the mix and within a year I should be in a much better place assuming I can find a job again in this economy.

Via Media

This Wednesday, 6/24/09, I will be one of the leaders of a class called Via Media at my church, the Epsicopal Church of the Resurrection. Via Media means the middle way, and the class explores the Episcopalian and largely Anglican way of following the middle path. Being not just Roman Catholic or Protestant but both at the same time. Recognizing the dual and often paradoxical nature of humanity and incorporating that into religion.

I am a relatively new member of the episcopalian church, but I do have religious studies bachelor degree and I'm currently pursuing a graduate degree in education so I should be well suited to facilitating a lively discussion. In any case I'm looking forward to leading this class, which is largely discussion based. I hope to post at least once a week about the class. Our first topic is on the Episcopalian Church: An Anglican Way of Being Christian. It will explore the nature of the Episcopalian Church and its history.