help wanted, no benefits, no pay

The Middle East is making history - erupting over freedom and economic opportunities. Egypt, among other countries, is fighting for its jobs and rights. The U.S. - who since 1776 has declared freedom and democracy - is fighting for the same thing in Wisconsin today. In Wisconsin, and soon to be other parts of the U.S., teachers will be fighting for their rights like Egyptians have been for weeks (many for years).

For years teachers have been at the bottom of the pay scale. Also for years unions have been fighting for teachers’ rights. Now, in Wisconsin the Republican Governor is trying to take on the last great union – teachers. The economy is bad and we are attacking teachers? Forget the banks. Forget the Bernie Madoff’s. Forget the housing problem that is not even close to being fixed. Forget unemployment. Forget China taking over the #1 spot in the world. Forget country after country ranking better than the U.S. in education. When did teachers become the problem for our economic woes? Why do teachers get to sacrifice when banks get a bailout? Knocking down the teacher is not going to improve our educational system.

Somehow, by a miracle, the universal healthcare law passed through the government. Our society is proving though, through the TEA Party and budget crunching Republicans that indeed we don’t want universal healthcare. As a society we would rather have a few of us pay really well for excellent healthcare while the rest don’t have any. This fight in Wisconsin is the same fight. A fight to continue to have great public education throughout the United States so good teachers can continue to teach everywhere. We can’t continue to have teachers sacrifice while the Bernie Madoff’s of the world are ruling the world. Otherwise our education is going to be great for a few of us while the rest of us don’t have any.

where is the back door: a short story of faith

When it comes to Christianity these days, non-Christians don’t seem to be too enthused at the idea of Christianity. Faith and belief in a higher power - yes. The bureaucracy, hypocrisy, and all the guidelines, etiquette, guilt, etcetera that comes with it is just plain not worth it. As someone that does believe, I have seen all these things first hand and it’s not pretty. In fact, it is quite ugly and disturbing. When I see this or when these acts have been done to me I’ve stepped back from the institution or person(s) on numerous occasions. As a person who believes, I move on from the establishment, because I know the establishment is not what I believe in. But, for the non-believer is there a back door that they can enter because the front door has been closed to them?

At the end of my junior year I was criticized heavily by one of the Intervarsity leaders about not being any good at evangelizing and not bring enough people to Intervarsity’s Large Group on Thursday nights (Large Group was an evening of worship similar to a Sunday church service). I remember feeling that I had failed at being a good Christian and that I was not doing enough to be one.

Three years earlier I was at the beginning of the height of my involvement with Intervarsity. With no job my freshman year I had plenty of free time. I used my free time to attend prayer groups multiple times a week, was mentored by an upperclassman, attended two Bible studies, and ironically went out to do campus evangelism once a week. My second semester I was added to the Large Group planning team and was groomed to be a small group leader my sophomore year.  

My sophomore year I did more of the same (minus the planning team) and lead a Bible study for one of the freshman groups. The small group never really expanded beyond six people. A low number compared to some, but it was a solid loyal group who attended the whole year.

My junior year I started a job so that I could pay for gasoline to get around town and pay for books.  I also began some leadership roles in the residence hall I was living in. I still attended prayer groups and Large Group, but my time was now being mixed between Intervarsity, the residence hall, and work. It may look like my leadership role diminished with Intervarsity, and it probably did. That year I helped lead a book study through Intervarsity called More Than Equals.  It challenged me, the people who attended, and it challenged Intervarsity. Many people in Intervarsity found race and faith something that was not important or core to their faith. I found it right at the center of my faith as an American Christian. That dilemma would come up again and again my junior year.

At the end of my junior year Intervarsity decided to completely change the way they did things on campus. Book groups like the one I lead my junior year were left on the side for a different method of grooming Christians. Large campus-wide prayer groups through Intervarsity were left out for individual small groups in the residence halls to decide whether they did them or not. The idea was modeled after a successful small group that did Bible study, prayer group, evangelism all within their group. The group was very productive and grew exponentially. With little success of the new model my senior year I deemed the change as a failure.

With leadership roles changing and only small group leaders as the main leaders, as a senior I was left without a senior role and the support of Intervarsity leadership. This leads us back to the beginning when I was left at the end of my junior year felling like a bad Christian. I still remember the talk quite clearly.  I think the conversation was meant to get me moving and to make sure everyone I had ever had contact with made it to an Intervarsity Large Group.  In the end it made me feel like everything I had done and worked for in the three years on campus was for not.

My senior year I was less involved in Intervarsity than I had ever been. Prayer group was left to the small groups and ours didn’t have one. So, there was no corporate prayer that year. There was no book club, because there was no interest for one. I rarely attended Large Group because of a coinciding class at the same time. All we had was a Bible Study and a poor one at that. I was disappointed at the (lack of) depth and focus the group had.

I did a lot of things through Intervarsity and it all ended with a short conversation at the end of my junior year. The issue had nothing to do with character or lack of service, or even a difference in belief system. These harsh realities of guilt and hypocrisy are real within Christianity and they are closing the front door to non-believers. Many people don’t even want to deal with Christianity - not because of what the beliefs are, but because of who the people are.  

robot, must destroy

With the Republicans changing the term from job killing to job destroying in reference to their "refutal" to the health care law in light of the recent events in Arizona, does that mean the Democrats can change their term from the human killing to the human destroying health care repeal bill?

man vs machine

In the Terminator the cyborgs revolt against the humans.  Now in an increasing age of technology the ideas from the movie Terminator are coming closer.  Robots have been doing people’s jobs now for decades.  Just look at the car industry and the decline of workers being replaced by robots.  More recently, people have been making robots to give people messages, to teach in classrooms, and well just about everything – i.e. Google.  The databases on Google (and less reliable sources such as Wikipedia) are beginning to take regular jobs out of commission.  For now people love it.  They don’t have to buy a newspaper or watch the news at 5 o’clock.  They can go online and find what they need instantaneously.  A quick look at the newspaper industry shows where technology and jobs are going.

The real question is when the war between humans and cyborgs begins, will it be the cyborgs that start it, or will it be humans who revolt against cyborgs?  With job unemployment at nearly 10% and with more jobs being replaced by machines it’s only time before humans begin revolting against their replacements.  It’s only time before the war begins.