12/31/2014
USEFUL EUPHEMISM
GOAFS II: #126
USEFUL EUPHEMISM
12.31.14
One of the
big challenges of the next two years will be that of establishing some
meaningful communication the ideological right, the ideological left, and the
Imperial Lame Duck in the Whitehouse. James Lileks used a helpful euphemism in
a recent column:
Don’t say,
“there was a riot.”
Do say, “We
experienced a spontaneous civilian-assisted property redistribution episode.”
There are
many places to go from here, I will just suggest a couple:
Instead of
“Molotov Cocktails,” say “green (lead free) incendiary devices that shed light
on the pain of the downtrodden.”
Instead of
“looting,” say “there was instant and equal credit for all.”
These next
two years will be a golden time for political cartoonists. It would be a good
time also to heed the Apostle Paul’s exhortation to the Church at Thessalonica,
Pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is
God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. II
Thess. 5.17-18
Jerry Sweers
GROWING OLD AIN’T FOR SISSIES
Sailing directions for
Pilgrims of the Heart.
Remembrances, reflections and
rants
of an endangered species;
Curmudgensis Americanus Bibliophilius
site: crmudgeon.blogspot.com
12/26/2014
CHRISTMAS VISIT TO THE HOUSE OF MAMMON
GOAFS II: #125
CHRISTMAS VISIT TO THE
HOUSE OF MAMMON
12.26.14
Last week’s
poem was a reminder of the Good News behind the holiday we celebrate. This
week’s poem is a reflection on the downside, written in 1982.
CHRISTMAS VISIT
TO THE HOUSE OF MAMMON
Muzak
croons Noel
To
the shuffling, sneakered feet-
Plastic
psalms rising
In harsh
gleam of twinkling lights.
A
horror of great darkness.
1/82
JS
In 1982 the
Prince of Darkness still lurked, for the most part, outside the Mall, still
restrained by the remnants of the cultural Christian consensus that began
really loosing ground in the 60’s. He patrolled the edges of the parking lot,
looking for a careless shopper to mug or a car full of presents the shopper
forgot to lock in the trunk.
Today, the
Prince of Darkness has come into the Mall. You can spot him in the soft glow of
a thousand cell phones, and the restless fluttering of a thousand agile thumbs
doing their endless dance across those screens in a desperate quest to stay connected,
to not miss out.
In the 1980s
the crowd at the mall was, if even superficially, a festive joyful assembly
much like a gang of children let out of school for a long winter recess.
Today the
crowd has changed. It resembles a huge flock of lost sheep, moving zombie-like
with heads bowed to the small screen in their hands, cut off from all unmediated
human reality, blissfully unaware of anything outside the world of “the electronic
friend that sticks closer than a brother.” (With the exception of Black Friday
when the law of the jungle, red in tooth and nail, makes its brief, frenetic
appearance, and everything is up for grabs.)
The world has
gone a long way down the hill to hell-in-a-handbasket since 1982. Any remnant
of the Christian cultural consensus that remained in the early 80’s is long ago
fallen before the assault of secular humanism, political correctness, and the
forces of the Prince of Darkness. God has been mostly banished from the public
square, the public school, academia, main-line media, and from many of the
mainline churches.
But…and there
is always a Divine But, be reminded by this Christmas Song from the 1860’s,
Longfellow’s words are still up to date:
I
Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their
old familiar carols play,
And
wild and sweet the words repeat
Of
peace on earth, good will to men.
I
thought how, as the day had come,
The
belfries of all Christendom
Had
rolled along the unbroken song
Of
peace on earth, good will to men.
And
in despair I bowed my head:
"There
is no peace on earth," I said,
"For
hate is strong and mocks the song
Of
peace on earth, good will to men."
Then
pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With
peace on earth, good will to men."
Till,
ringing singing, on its way,
The
world revolved from night to day,
A
voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of
peace on earth, good will to men!
Jerry Sweers
GROWING OLD AIN’T FOR SISSIES
Sailing directions for
Pilgrims of the Heart.
Remembrances, reflections and
rants
of an endangered species;
Curmudgensis Americanus Bibliophilius
site: crmudgeon.blogspot.com
12/17/2014
LOVE SONGS FROM THE END OF TIME
GOAFS II: #124
LOVE SONGS FROM THE END
OF TIME
12.17.14
Some years ago a good friend of mine
was planning to write a book. His provisional title was “Love Songs From The
End of Time.” Below is one of the things I wrote for him by way of suggestion
for the design of this project. He has had busy years since then and as far as
I know, the Book has not yet been written. I send this along to you as a gift
on the King’s Birthday.
LOVE SONGS FROM THE END OF
TIME:
A FRAGMENT
Narrator:
Again it is time
To pause and recall
When the King of Kings was born
And found in a cattle stall.
The
shepherds:
Around the fire
We weave our tales
Beneath bright stars
And comet tails.
The Father:
I am the Lord
All down the years
Of rising hopes
and sinking fears.
The Son
Promised first
In Eden’s Gloom
I’ve quit at last
The Virgin’s womb.
The Angels:
The final act
Has now begun;
Go forth and worship
God’s true Son.
Glory! Alleluia!
Shalom has come to earth;
We sing Him highest praises
To mark His lowly birth.
The Parents:
Long we whispered and wondered
And wept in the dark of the night,
It was worth it all in the end
For this Child in whom we delight.
The
Shepherds
Now we have seen Him and know,
We’ll tell it to all far and wide,
Tonight we have worshipped the Groom
Who looks for his heavenly Bride.
The Mother:
Deep within my heart
The One who counts my tears
Has placed His gentle Word
And conquered all my fears.
JS
7/92
Jerry Sweers
GROWING OLD AIN’T FOR SISSIES
Sailing directions for
Pilgrims of the Heart.
Remembrances, reflections and
rants
of an endangered species;
Curmudgensis Americanus Bibliophilius
site: crmudgeon.blogspot.com
