Relief, Resolutions and Hope
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 01/01/2015 - 11:21Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit. Happy New Year! Another year over, a new one just begun. 2014 certainly didn’t turn like I expected. If you asked me a year ago if I was going to run again for office, I probably would have said no. If you asked me if various coworkers would have left, I probably would have said no. If you asked me if certain friends or relatives would have died, I probably would have said no. So, it is with a certain amount of relief that 2014 comes to an end.
Yet New Years is a social construct. January first for the western calendar, Rosh Hashanah for the Jewish calendar, the Lunar New Year in Asian countries, and I’m sure plenty others that I’m missing. In fact, every day can be a start of a new year.
Each new year starts with resolutions and hope. I was recently asked what I would do in the New Year by a friend and coworker who seemed to be expecting some large project. I had to admit, I don’t know. I have no idea what the New Year will bring.
I was tempted to say that this year, I will end racism, and if I have time left over, end the conflict in the Middle East and write the next Great American Novel. I probably have as much a chance of completing this as most people have of completing their New Years’ resolutions.
Yet these are good goal posts to aim for. No, I won’t end racism, but perhaps my words online can help people think a little more about systemic racism and how it gives certain people privileges over others. Perhaps my words can help people think about their biases and how it affects people around them.
Quick: You see a young black man cross the street in front of you one evening. What do you see? A future president? A future felon? A future victim of police brutality? Your neighbor?
Can my comments online lead towards greater inter-faith dialog? Greater understanding between different people? Sure, it won’t end the conflicts in the Middle East, but if my words affect your words and your words affect someone else’s words, maybe we can make a difference.
I guess, for me, I’m currently thinking about this year in terms of words. Perhaps I won’t write the Great American Novel, though I might take another crack at it. Perhaps writing more regularly in my blog, and reading from more diverse sources will help me in that direction.
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
What I’m Thinking, 12/30/2014
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Tue, 12/30/2014 - 21:53It is the penultimate day of 2014 and I’m working on getting my writing, and reading, groove back. I am tired after a long day at work. In different parts of the house, other family members are watching various television shows. I’ve fled to my bedroom in hope of getting enough peace and quiet to concentrate, read and then write.
Yesterday, I attended a funeral. Today, as I read the daily office, I am again confronted by the words of Isaiah, “the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces”. Today, one friend posted about his sister’s stage IV cancer. Another friend posted that her husband will be extending his trip to Sierra Leone where he is caring for Ebola patients. A third friend rejoices in her meal after having cataract surgery. The newsfeeds post about flight QZ8501 which crashed over Indonesian waters. There are many tears to be wiped away.
Meanwhile, I continue to read from OpenCulture. They have had a couple interesting pieces on the nature of creativity which I’ve read and plan to read again. I’ve also watched some videos about Cities in Cinema. Slowly, I’ll watch more of these as I try to set a course for 2015 mingling compassion, creativity, and the daily tasks of life.
Meta Theology of the Singularity – The Meta Introduction
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 12/29/2014 - 21:52The other day, I shared a link on Facebook to an article Jesus: the Muslim prophet. The article was published five years ago and recently reshared on Facebook. It reflects thoughts that have been around for a long time.
I was hoping to get some of my Christian and Muslim friends to join in a discussion about this. Recently, I had been in a discussion where a Christian friend spoke about her difficulty reading the Quran. Remembering an old saying from evangelical Christian circles that “believers are the only Bible non-believers read”, I mentioned that I was learning the most about the Quran from posts that my Muslim friends shared talking about their lives and relating it back to the Quran.
Yet the first response to this post was from an atheist Jew saying, “It's all pretty amusing as only a story that has seen the deaths of millions can be”. It wasn’t a great start to an interfaith dialog.
Yet we did get to a point of discussing Unitarianism and Trinitarianism, and hints of Universalism which was something, given the number of atheists in the discussion. One at point, one of the atheists asked, “how could anyone working within your doctrine control anyone else's behavior if it wasn't the one, real, chosen doctrine?”
This raises an interesting question: What is the purpose of theology? Is it to control others? Something else? How do we approach inter-faith discussions about theology? Where is there common ground? How can theology be used to help make the world a better place?
The Daily Office
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 12/29/2014 - 10:18For many years, part of my daily ritual included writing a blog post. I believe there was one three year stretch of time where I wrote a blog post every day, with a few rare exceptions. With other things that have come up, I don’t write as often as I did.
Another ritual is wishing friends happy birthday on Facebook. I currently have around 3000 friends on Facebook, which means on an average day, I have about eight Facebook friends celebrating birthdays. For more distant friends, I take this as an opportunity to catch up on what they’ve been posting, because I don’t always see everyone’s Facebook post.
Recently, I’ve been spending more time reading posts from others on Facebook, especially when it leads to deeper thinking or opportunities for dialog about the issues of the day. Sometimes, I check Google News for the latest news, but often I see that via Facebook or Twitter.
There have been times that I’ve prayed The Daily Office. It provides a helpful counterbalance to the news of the day, a timeless contrast to the ephemeral.
This takes up much of my screen time and reading time each day, yet I also look for things to read and view that broaden my mind, or provide some relaxation. For a broader views of what is going on, I’ve returned to sites like NewsTrust and Global Voices.
In the past, I’ve also written about MOOCs and various online courses as a means to broaden perspective. One of my favorite sites these days is Open Culture
We will see what the New Year brings. Perhaps, it will be posts combining thoughts from many of these sources.
The Long Run - Changing the Discourse
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Fri, 12/26/2014 - 12:16This year, I ran for State Representative again. People often ask if I won. I always reply, “I won. I didn’t get elected, but I won”. In response to their quizzical looks, I explain that I won by getting people more involved with local politics and what is going on in their communities. I won by talking about the issues.
There were people that encouraged me to go negative on my opponent. I might have had a better chance of getting elected, but I also would have more likely lost on the grander scale. People now ask if I plan to run again. It is too early to say at this point.
What I do plan to do is to continue working on getting more people involved with local politics and what is going on in their communities. This goal, and various issues, like health disparities, remain very important to me, so I’m staying involved for the long run. I’ve kicked around writing a book about running for office, and I’m still thinking about that, if I can find the time and energy.
Yet there is something that I try to do every day. On social media, I try to bend the conversation towards greater civility. Many of my friends, on both ends of the spectrum regularly post nasty stuff about our political leaders and then they wonder why we don’t get better candidates.
I was fortunate that I didn’t get much for nasty comments when I ran, at least that I know of. Perhaps the closest I got was being blocked by a woman who claimed to be a Christian, but repeatedly posted vile attacks on certain political leaders.
So, for 2015, I want to expand this. Please, stop and think before you post negative comments about politicians. Is your post going to improve political involvement in our country? Is it honoring everyone who has been created in God’s image? If not, maybe you should spend a little time in prayer, and find a different way to share your ideas.
