So here we go:
- Our church did a service on the importance of serving in the church this past weekend. I wanted to sign up but Joel was concerned. I think he's been doing stuff like that his whole life and wanted to take a break. He's still got a lot of raw feelings about religion that he needs to deal with and I respect that. I've even tried to help him. But for me, it's an old itch I want to scratch.
This may surprise some people but I like serving others. I've been doing it on and off since I was 16 years old. From volunteering on campaigns for good causes and political movements to spending time at homeless shelters. I stopped when I was about 18 or 19 but I missed it a lot. So when I was 20 and 21, I did it again. Only this time I didn't tell anyone. Not my family or most of my friends. I just did it and didn't talk about it. It wasn't for my own glory or for myself. I was just helping others. That's been something I've been reluctant to talk about till now.
I just don't like feeling like I'm patting myself on the shoulder for doing something we should all be doing. It really makes me angry to see the selfishness we face in our own lives today. I'm not immune from it either. Recently we were at Taco Bell and they asked us to donate to a good cause. It was only a dollar or two, so we didn't even hesitate. If I can afford four tacos and a drink, I can afford to help someone I'll never meet, but who needs the help more than I do.
And yet, I sat in my chair watching person after person turn down the cashier when she asked, "Would you like to donate a dollar to _______ today?" It made me angry. If you're poor, you're poor. That's no excuse. I had $30 in my bank account at that point and I didn't hesitate. Again, not trying to pat myself on the back. There have been times when I turned down charities at stores and restaurants.
What makes us hesitate when people need help? When they need served? What makes us so uneasy that we can't give an hour or two every week to help others? Heck, what makes us so uneasy we can't even donate four quarters in our pocket?
Remember this blog next time you're at a restaurant and they ask you to donate. Most of the world lives on less than two dollars a day, you can afford to hand over half that amount.
Oh, and don't forget to tip your waitress.
- Charlie Sheen has gone from mildly entertaining, to psychotically hilarious to down right embarrassing. It's amazing how much the media is loving this. It goes back to my "Don't Let Me Fall" blog I posted like a month ago. We're obsessed with famous people crumbling. And through it all, I don't see many people offering to help him. He's desperately on a comedy tour trying to make a quick buck and the reviews have been horrible. And yet, no one is helping him. Maybe no one can. But it amazes me how much the media focuses on the man and they bring on friends of Charlie to talk about his misfortunes. All the while, rarely focusing on ploys or plans to get him help.
Maybe I shouldn't feel sorry for him. He's an adult who made his own bed, I should let him sleep in it. He's made more money in the last year than I'll ever have my hands on. Sheen has been arrogant and vicious to everyone around him the last few months. This is his fault.
But when someone is addicted to drugs, we get them help. We don't pick at everything they've ever done wrong. We simply want them better. Charlie Sheen is no different.
- Lady Gaga recently came out with a song that got many talking. It was called "Born This Way" and it was probably the first song in history to have the word "transgendered" in it. She went on to rally all those who are insecure with themselves to be who they were born to be. It's a good message to some, to some it makes them uneasy. But she got people talking and I think that was her point all long. Now she's coming out with a song called "Judas", which is being hyped by those who have heard it as one of her top hits since "Bad Romance" and "Poker Face". While that gets many excited, including me, the subject matter of the song is a little....uh, troubling.
It's being reported that the music video will portray her as Mary Magdalene and a well known actor as Judas. The whole thing has a biblical nature to it and it's potentially offensive. So potentially offensive that Gaga's creative director Laurieann Gibson almost called it quits on the music video. Gibson, who is a Christian, said:
"I was like, 'Listen, I don't want lightning to strike me!'" Gibson told The Hollywood Reporter. "I believe in the gospel and I'm not going there."
Gibson goes on to say she helped reign the music video in. Even so, I think many Gaga fans (including myself) are looking at the song concept with concern. I have no doubt the song will be huge and will probably top the charts. But at what cost? Remains to be seen.
Gibson did give some hope from the set of the "Judas" music video for concerned Gaga fans:
"It was amazing because to have that conversation about salvation, peace and the search for the truth in a room of non-believers and believers, to me, that was saying God is active in a big way," Gibson said. "And the place that it came to is surreal."
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