Growing Old Ain't For Sissies

NUMBER 196
NO CUSSING

It occurred to me today that the reason I pay for a subscription to the Herald-Leader is that it is like a daily press release from the world headquarters of the Prince of the Power of the Air. It keeps me up to date and aware of what the Old Dragon, Satan, the Devil, the Accuser of the Brethren and his minions are up to. It reminds me that those who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior live in a culture that is no friend of grace and hostile to any serious thought of God as one to whom we are accountable. This is a culture that is in love with the death that inevitably follows in the tracks of autonomous man, who sees himself as the measure of all things, the captain of his fate, the shining paragon of reason and science.

Today on the radio I heard a 15-year-old student in California who had been home schooled and whose parents had written a book, “Raising G-Rated Children In An X-Rated World. When he entered public high school, this young man was offended by the vile language that surrounded him. He told his friends he would appreciate it if they would not “cuss so much.” Instead of being ridiculed, he found most of his friends appreciated his point of view and began to clean up their language.

He started a “No Cussing Club” that grew rapidly. He also went on-line in various ways and his club now has 30,000 members worldwide.

In addition to the majority of positive reactions, he is now getting cursed regularly on the phone and on the Internet. Recently someone ordered $2,000 worth of Pizza delivered to his house and his parents were stuck with the bill. He is getting enough death threats to bring the police and the FBI. He makes a point that he is not trying to take away anyone’s freedom of speech, just raise the level of public discourse out of the gutter—from potty-talk to adult conversation.

The daily arrival at my door of the Lexington Herald-Leader has three benefits. My wife reads the sports pages, I read the comics, the Opinions page and scan the rest. The third benefit is that this reading often moves me to write letters to the Editor. The Readers Views section is the one place in the paper where the Editors make a small pretense of balance and objectivity (don’t look for it in what they laughingly call “the news.”) They actually print letters from people like me now and then.

Here are two letters to the editor as examples of what the H-L stimulates. I would encourage you not to miss the opportunity to write to your local paper. Worst case, at least one person will have to read them--best case, something of the truth will be spoken into the public square.

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ON CLOSING GITMO

2 9/11 suspects proudly admit their guilt at Guantanamo Bay

It looks like the last session of the Guantanamo war crimes court may actually convict and sentence two mass murderers of innocent people to the death they so richly deserve.

The bad news is that the rest of their fellows will be remanded to the tender mercies of the United States legal system--a system that denies God, exalts man and will very likely acquit most of the guilty on one technicality or another.

Those whose guilt is obvious after long trials that enrich the lawyers at the taxpayer's expense, will most likely be convicted and sentenced to time served. With little effort they will find endowed chairs teaching Middle Eastern Studies at our great universities, and become eagerly sought spokesmen on CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and NBC for the news broadcasts.

Only in America!

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ON ABORTION

Let’s start new dialogue on abortion rights

Bush has slouched off to the wilds of Texas and the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project is on the job. “Even if we disagree,” they say, “on the issue of abortion, we can agree that these are private personal decisions we all must be able to make based upon our own circumstances and values.”

Wrong! The value system of most who oppose abortion includes a belief in objective truth and a God who holds people accountable. The Supreme Court may say abortion is legal (Roe v. Wade) and that “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and the mystery of human life” (Planned Parenthood v. Casey). But man’s laws cannot invalidate God’s decrees.

On one side are the people for whom feelings are knowledge, opinions are truth and all sincerely held opinions are equal. Across a great divide are those who believe God is there, He has spoken, and He calls the intentional destruction of an innocent human life “murder.” There is little room here for fruitful compromise, only concessions that will spread the plague of abortion wider and deeper--and do it with taxpayer money.

Neither can we agree that, “both the decision to have a child and the decision to have an abortion come from a place of profound respect for the value of life.” Sixteen-year-olds faced with a choice between marriage, abortion, or adoption mostly choose abortion because, “What kind of person would that make me if I had my baby and gave it to strangers.” This is not a decision based on a profound respect for life.

Older women have different reasons, but about 95% or more of those reasons are related to convenience, not to a profound respect for life.

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Give it a try. Read your local liberal rag for a week or two and see if you don’t hear the Spirit of God whispering in your ear. Here are several short tips.
1. Papers have stylebooks and unwritten style limitations. They will never allow you to finish the mantra, “The woman’s right to choose…with…to contract the murder of her baby in her womb.” My use of murder in the letter above is an attempt to slip the truth past the editors.
2. “Terrorist” is not a no-no if used sensitively, but “homicidal Sons of Allah” definitely will not pass.
3. Keep your letter short and direct, and try for focus on one subject or point. Strictly observe the maximum number of words the paper allows. The Herald-Leader will print 250 words and reject 251 words.
4. Speak the truth in love as much as is in you. Anger, bitterness, personal attacks, etc., only get printed if the content is in full agreement with the editorial policy of the paper. “Impeach Bush” is just fine with the H-L, they have printed about one a week for the last two years at least. “Impeach Obama” would be considered racist hate speech and rejected out of hand.

May the Lord bless you, and happy hunting!