Bashing Christmas is really old...

and not funny anymore.
I just read a post on reddit.com about "Atheist Billboards I'd Like to See". So, I clicked on it. I'm always up for good religious humor. After all, if you can't poke fun at your religion, what good is it?! Not only were these pictures not funny, it was a lame attempt at satire and completely unoriginal. Newsflash - you're not the first person to figure out that many of the world's major religions share common traits so don't hold your breath waiting for the Nobel people to call. Additionally, the author would like to point out that Christianity "highjacked Judaism and shamelessly tacked on the New Testament". I'm not even sure where to begin this one. Let's keep it simple so that James H. Pyle will be able to understand. We didn't highjack, steal, pilfer, or abscond with the Hebrew Scriptures. We acknowledge not only their validity and sanctity in and of themselves but accept them as an integral part of our faith history (seeing as Jesus was a Jew and all). James H. Pyle is clearly 10 times more ignorant than he assumes the average Christian is. Finally, the picture of Santa nailed to the cross - does anyone else remember the uproar over the completely insensitive cartoon of the prophet Mohammad? While I would be the first person to back free speech and press, I am also a proponent of common decency and taste. But Let's move beyond that issue. Was that mocked up billboard really an attempt at likening Jesus to a beloved character out of childhood holiday stories? We get it. You think that God functions like Santa - ask one of them for something and if you're good, you get it. Well, God does work like that...if you're five years old!!! Only those with absolutely no working knowledge of any kind of faith tradition believe that adult Christians see God in this way. Faith is a complex ever evolving notion that develops over one's entire life. So, on behalf of those "simpleton" Christians you're poking fun at, I'm pretty sure we have the last laugh. "Look what this fool wrote and what he thinks of us. What an idiot. Joke's on him".
In closing, I believe in God, the Father/Mother almighty and yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

Migratory Patterns

Sometimes I wake up in the dark, get ready in the dark, and drive to work with the first rays of the sun glaring into my rear view mirror. On those days the freeway is mercifully empty save me, the city kids who get bussed to schools in the 'burbs, and the gardeners. As I watch the kids whose heads bounce against the bus windows as they try to catch just one more hour of sleep and the gardeners with Toyota pick up trucks filled with lawn mowers, weed wackers, rakes, hoses, and shovels one question keeps going through my head. "Why do we get to drive at 70 or so mph going west and everyone else is going 20 heading east?"

We are migrating in reverse.

I guess part of the American dream is to buy a big house in the suburbs and have a well paying job in the city. We, on the other hand, live in the city but spend business hours in the suburbs. The big difference between me and the school kids and the gardeners, though, is that I do it by choice. I think about these kids who just want to go to school but because of over crowding and some past socialist dream of inter-racial, inter-ethnic, inter-class education spend their days miles from home. And the gardeners, who are doing what they can to support families, send kids to school, and maybe save up for a child's wedding, or quinceanera, or a trip to see family at Christmas. They make the drive because that's where the schools are; that's where the jobs are.

Why do I voluntarily get up in the dark and drive 23 miles every morning when I could either move closer to school or get a job closer to home? The easy answer I usually give is "well, my husband works downtown so we choose somewhere in the middle." Here's the real answer, I work in the 'burbs cause the pay is good. I live in the city 'cause those men in the pick up trucks and the kids in the buses with moms waiting for them when they get home in the evening - that's my L.A. That's the L.A. I want to be a part of.

I want to know the best hole in the wall diner in Echo Park or where to get the cheapest fabric in the Garment District. I want to buy bootleg videos in Boyle Heights and ice cream from the Super A in Cypress Park. I like going to mass at Dolores Mission and La Placita and eating raspados at Evergreen. Rick's and Astro have the best burgers, Yang Chows has the best dim sum, and Phelipe's and Eastside have the best sandwiches.

The suburbs certainly have their charm -manicured lawns and 2.5 perfect children - but I'll take the city any day and twice on Sundays (as long as I get to stop at Daily Doughnuts). So, I'll keep getting up in the dark, getting ready in the dark, and I'll drive to school as the sun rises - just me, the bussed kids and the gardeners, all migrating in reverse.

John McCain is NOT Pro-Life

Why must we reduce "Pro-Life" to meaning "Anti-Abortion"? I come from a Catholic background. The Church's commitment to protect life, at least as I understand it, is to ALL life; American life, Iraqi life, Afghani life, unborn baby life, inmate life, POW life, migrant worker life, ALL life. Before I continue, I must acknowledge that there are many people who demonstrate their pro-life stance both outside the abortion clinic and the prison gates. It is not them about whom I am wrting. I am writing about those who will say a novena for all those babies who are aborted but are ready to send thousands more of our young men and women into the battle field or support "any means necessary" needed to interogate prisoners at Guantanamo; I'm talking about the people who claim that labor unions only corrupt workers who are greedy for more money and don't see that labor unions demand living (not minimum) wages, safe working conditions, and fair labor practices; I'm talking about the people who say that there isn't a need for universal health care. All of these things are life issues. Why do we only label a candidate who is anti-abortion as pro-life? Are we saying that only certain life counts?
I don't know what I'll do the next time I hear John McCain called "pro-life". I suppose you could call him that if you mean "pro-white american upper middle class unborn life".

God Bless NPR

Since this is my first post, let me explain a few things. First, most of the things I will write about are inspired by stories from NPR. I spend two hours of everyday in the car driving from Burbank to West Hills and back. I hate radio comercials so listening to NPR seems my only option. (It also makes me sound really smart at cocktail parties). The other major contributor to my rantings and ravings is my job. I am a campus minister and focus on service and justice. That alone could fill volumes. So, enjoy. Comment if you feel called.
Peace.