IN OUR SENSE OF LIBERTY DO WE TAKE TOO MANY LIBERTIES?

Something is lost in this day and age; the concept of solemnity, in life and in Religion.  In the quest to be all to all we can be, we have dummied down and become frivolous with things that once were held in high esteem.  This thought came to me as I was reading about the events in France this past week around the Charlie Hebda incident.  There was something missing in the response to that horrible and tragic event that has been working in my mind.

I don’t consider myself a prude.  I enjoy fun and lightheartedness as much as most people.  I believe in free speech.  I don’t condone killing people as an answer to anything. So what has been nagging me about the overwhelming response to this event is that my conscience may be troubled abit about stepping over a line of decency in my actions in the past.  Have I considered something as fun that indeed was frivolous that has tied to it a lack of respect?

The response I observed was a support of publicly printing anything under the guise of free speech.  I also observed a failure to understand how serious some people take their Religion.  I also saw how disrespectful people can be, to Religion and to people in high office.  It is like being rude and being disrespectful in what we print and in what we say are ok, no matter what.  I don’t believe that and have to look at my behavior and change it if I fall into that trap.

The lesson I want to learn from this; being disrespectful of anyone’s  Religion is not ok, ever.  Let’s take Religion off the table of entertainment, especially satire magazines, sit coms, and talk shows known for their no holds barred attitudes.  With free speech comes responsibility; with responsibility comes respect of things considered solemn to people.  I am often offended at the treatment of God and Jesus in these arenas but I don’t want to appear to be a prude.  Well, maybe I am and maybe it’s time to admit to that.  I want to bring the solemnity back to Religion because it has gone way over board into frivolity and I don’t think that is helpful to anyone.

It is important to study and be aware of the Religion of others and be respectful of them.  Religion is dealing with the inner being of a person and with the God of the universe.  That should bring sobriety to our thoughts and actions, not frivolity.  My Religion involves joy, happiness, lightheartedness, and a childlike attitude; but not at the expense of the holiness of God and Jesus.  I believe the same is true of most Religions and especially the Religions of the Middle East.  So I need to pay attention to that.

I think we Americans in our sense of Liberty take too many liberties.  We are not free to disrespect others.  We are not free to write or say hateful or hurtful things to or about others.  We need to use discernment in our words about our government officials, whether we agree with them or not.  I took issue about the responses of many to the fact that President Obama did not go to the demonstration march.  There was so much disdain and meanness in what I heard and read about this.  Personally I am glad he did not go into a situation where there was a clear and present danger.  Call me over cautious but that situation could have turned on a dime in a second.

All in all this world has become a dangerous place to live and I think it would behoove us to not add to the danger by being disrespectful and frivolous with our words and actions.  We are at a point where everyone loses as the violence in the world increases.  If it means not printing or saying something that could be hurtful or disrespectful of others, it seems like a small step that could help be a solution to the problem.

DON'T DUMB DOWN...AIM HIGH

I have personally experienced a behavioral trait that seems to be prevalent these days.  In order to make people feel good about themselves people lend themselves to lies and deception.  It is no longer acceptable to say something is wrong or bad.  So we speak in relativistic terms to one another saying if it works for you then it’s good, or if it came from within you then it’s ok.  The person feels good and that seems to be more important than hearing constructive criticism on how to improve something that really isn’t good and really isn’t ok.

I was working on a term paper for a class I was taking in Grad school.  When I chose the topic I thought it would be interesting. As I did my research I discovered that the founder and leader of a religious group I was writing about was really a very disturbed person.  I had difficulty in figuring out how to deal with that and then how to write the paper.  I wrote a paper that was truly awful and I knew it.  I hemmed and hawed, not wanting to tell the truth that I was discovering.  It was one of those papers I was not happy about turning in but did not want to fail the class either.  The teacher was way to general and way to kind in her grading, not wanting to make me feel bad.  Then I felt even worse because she didn’t call me out.   I wrote her a steaming letter venting my frustration at not being told that what I knew was a really bad paper was a bad paper.  Thankfully I did not send that letter, out of respect for her and I knew she was doing what was expected of her by the school.  Some time later I ran into this teacher off school property and we ended up having a discussion about that paper.  I told her my dilemma and she told me how disappointed she was that I didn’t write the truth, and settle for a substandard paper.  That was what I wanted to hear when I got my paper back.  It made me respect her even more, but also become very dubious of a school system where that would happen.  The second experience was the same but I knew I was up against a way of responding in the world today so I was quiet.

This behavior was not new to me.  The general acceptance of it was and still is.  I saw some of this happening while I was working at Camp.  Our Camp had various activities that were competitive sports. During the season we would have competitions between the Girl’s Camp and the Boy’s Camp that included Air Rifle/Archery, swimming, and various Lake activities.  The kids found it fun and learned how to be good winners and good losers, which I believe are useful life lessons. We would end the season with ways to show parents what their kids had been working on all summer.  The Girl’s Camp had a Horse Show, complete with ribbons being awarded to first, second, and third place.  The Boy’s Camp had a Red Shirt completion that was made up of Lake and Rock Climbing Activities.  A Red Shirt was awarded to the campers who mastered these activities by the end of camp.  The kids had no problems with these achievement oriented competitions.  The whole camp would clap as these awards were given out at assembly and the kids who didn’t win anything left camp with a resolve that next year they would be standing up on that stage receiving these awards. The parents were a different story.

Our Camp had been built on these strong traditions.  We didn’t change much over the twenty five years that I worked there.  My first 13 years were from 1965 – 1978.  Back them the parents would come out and cheer their kids on and fully supported our philosophy of working hard to achieve something and being rewarded for that achievement.  My second 12 years were 1995 – 2006.  Something had changed.  The parents called and lodged complaints that their child did not receive a ribbon, because everyone should be given a ribbon just for participating; everyone should be given a red shirt if they tried really hard but didn’t complete the requirements.  Competition had become a dirty word and unacceptable because it made kids feel bad.  My snarky response to the complaints I was getting was I think they were more hurt because their parents didn’t take time to come out and watch them as they performed, but those words stayed in my head.  I simply explained that the philosophy of the Camp is that being rewarded for accomplishments is a good thing for kids; it honors those who receive them and it gives those who don’t something to work towards next year.  I explained that we, as a staff, want every child to master the activities at Camp, and in life, and we work hard with the kids to allow that to happen.  Many of our staff gave up their lunch time and free time to work with kids that needed it.  At the end of the day the kids knew that when they got that ribbon or red shirt, they deserved it because they worked for it; it wasn’t just given to them.  I think that is a much needed life lesson, especially in the world today where we dumb down rather that aim high in life.

INTENTIONAL INTIGRATION

I believe that intentional living is important for a satisfied soul.  It is too easy to let life slip away like sand slips through the fingers.  I work with goals in mind and I write with outlines in mind.  The goals and outlines are the methods, not the meaning to my life or my work.  I spent many years being rigid and ruled by the method and that affected the meaning and the meat of what I was trying to accomplish.  I have learned to be flexible with my methods, leaving empty space for the Spirit to flow through my plans so they integrate and become consistent with God’s plans for me.  Life got a bit easier and much more fruitful.  Once the foundation is firm the growth can be free.

As I said earlier, during Orientation week at camp I used Goals to build a firm foundation for the successful summer I envisioned for the campers and staff.  I wanted these Goals integrated into every activity and every interaction the staff had with the campers.  The four Goals became a daily mantra so that they would become internalized in each staff member and not just written in their Staff Handbook somewhere on at home on a bookshelf.  Every day I would run the drill…Goal 1-Love Camp; Goal 2-Learn new skills, activity and life skills; Goal 3- Learn to be in a group; Goal 4- Learn to be a leader.  Throughout the day we would go from one activity site to another, not only being trained for that activity, but also spending some time talking about how the Goals could be manifested and worked out at each activity .

The Goals were intentionally integrated into everything we did at Camp, not only in the activities but in our interactions with one another, from me, the director, to the staff, to the campers.  It made for a successful Camp season, but more importantly, it made for successful people coming out of our Camp program and living successful lives as they grew into responsible people in their communities and in their world.  I keep in touch with generations of our Camp people and it makes me proud of the work we did as I hear about who and what these people have become.

I am not a camp director anymore but I still live my life the way I led Orientation week at Camp.  I set my vision, I create my goals, and then I intentionally integrate those goals into all I do and all I am as I walk through this life.  It makes a full life for me, one with true meaning.  Every morning I run the drill…Goal 1- Love God; Goal 2- Learn new skills and life practices; Goal 3- Learn how to live with and love others; Goal 4- Learn to be a good steward of all that God has given me.  I live to hear God say, “Well done faithful servant.”

High Ideals…High Praise…Keeps me on the High Road to Life

HIGH IDEALS & HIGH PRAISE

The week before Camp opened was Orientation week for the staff.  This was work week; preparing the facility and preparing the people who would be taking care of 400 kids throughout the summer.  I would begin the week with my vision of what I wanted the camp season to look like and what I expected from each member of the staff.  I believe that once people know their place in the world they have entered, once they are given the tools to work with, and once they see what their work is suppose to accomplish, they will become invested in the process of the program and will do their best to help make it a success.

I am not a “dummy down” advocate.  I put forth high ideals and then work hard to have them realized.  I believe people feel good when they have accomplished something worthwhile, especially when the work is difficult, especially when they may fail at first and then get up again and keep trying.  There is something in the human psyche that wants to hear “well done”, first from ourselves and then from others, especially those we are working for.  High ideals and high praise keep folks on the high road to success, both internally in their self esteem and externally in their every day dealings with the world around them.  It isn’t about empty pride and arrogance; it’s about working hard and knowing you have produced something good. 

That seems to be a pattern God puts forth.  After He created the world He stood back and declared it “very good”.  When Jesus was baptized and beginning his mission on earth, God spoke from heaven, saying He was “well pleased with His son”. Jesus completed his mission while hanging on a cross, and said “It is finished”.  The work was done; the goals were accomplished; life was ready to be lived in fullness and abundance by Jesus as he returned to his Father, and by those who believe in him and follow in his ways.  His ways are not easy; they are high ideals and will be met in the end with high praise, “Well done faithful servant.”

I started our first Orientation meeting by telling the staff what I wanted the last day of camp to look like.  I wanted every camper and staff member to love camp; I wanted every camper and staff member to have learned new skills, both activity skills and life skills; I wanted every camper and staff member to know how to live well with others, in a group, in a community; I wanted every camper and staff member to become good stewards of all they had learned and experienced over the summer and to grow into good leaders, in their schools, communities, and the world.  These were high ideals to be sure, but goals that could realistically be met.

I worked at this camp for twenty-five years.  I was around long enough to see the fulfillment of year upon year of these high ideals being implanted in generations of campers, as they grew into being staff, and parents, and responsible citizens in their communities, and in the world.  High ideals and high praise keep folks on the high road to success in life.