Unkosher Jesus- Red Meat Commentary With a Side of Cheese: May 2008

Thursday, May 22, 2008

The Yooper Zen Art of Serenity

Unkosher Jesus readers might recall a book review that I posted last May for a book by my good friend, Rob Balmes. It is entitled, Ten Spiritual Lessons for a Balanced Life, and contains some simple yet profound insights on life and how to live it that Rob has experienced over time. Rob recently penned another piece on certain bits of wisdom that have been passed on to him by important women in his life. I am posting it here because I feel these insights are applicable to all people of any faith tradition. So, without further ado, please enjoy The Wisdom of Yooper Women.

A Yooper is a native of the Upper Peninsula, or U.P., of Michigan, which is located in the remote part of the state. I’m from the beautiful city of Marquette, located along the pristine, yet icy shoreline of Lake Superior. I recommend everyone go visit the U.P. and Lake Superior at some point in your life. But make sure and wear plenty of clothing. Dress in warm layers- and that advice is for summer visits! If you decide to go visit in the fall or winter, well, you’re on your own. Good luck.

The great thing about growing up in the U.P. is not only being surrounded by a beautiful, natural environment, it’s the people. Yoopers are a rare breed and pass on from generation to generation a set of great core values based on hard work, honesty, integrity, loyalty and most importantly a friendly down-to-earth nature. So I am proud to have been raised in that environment and it helped make me the person I am today.

In honor of Mother’s Day, I’d like to talk about three Yooper women in my life and how they have had a profound impact on raising me and making me the person I am today. They each taught me one invaluable lesson on life which reflects the values I cherish and how I live my life every day. These three Yooper women are my mother and two grandmothers.

My mother, Mary, was born and raised in Sault Sainte Marie Michigan on the St. Mary’s River, just across from Canada. She has spent her entire life living for the moment, the now, trying to experience all she can with her time. This is reflected in her life, having multiple degrees and several different careers. She has instilled in me the lesson that life is about experience. The most profound statement she ever made to me was that at this moment in time, we’re here because of the multitude of life experiences we have each had and the decisions we have made. At this very moment, we are here because of everything that has happened to us in this life. It’s all led us to this moment in time, so enjoy it and realize that you’re all here for a reason. I have continued with this message in my life so far by always trying new things, new jobs and experience as much as possible and that’s the type of person I wish to be throughout my entire life.

My maternal grandmother, Fran, was born a Canadian. She became an adopted Yooper, a Yooper-Canuck you might say. She passed away just last October a couple weeks shy of her 83rd birthday. My grandmother was a very kind and loving woman. But for much of her adult life, she had a very difficult time getting in a word edge-wise with her five boisterous and extroverted children and very strong, extroverted Irish husband. So with a quiet grand kid like me, she’d take the opportunity to share her wisdom and pass on words of advice. And I remember when I was deciding whether I was capable of leaving the U.P. to move to East Lansing and attend Michigan State University, she sat me down one evening after one of her delicious pot roast dinners. Every Sunday, she’d cook delicious meals for her children and grand kids. She said now Rob, when you make big decisions in life, always remember to follow your heart—follow the burning excitement of your soul. Burning excitement of your soul? At that time, I didn't exactly know what that meant, but I could tell she was very serious. At that moment, I was also experiencing massive heart burn. My heart and soul was ablaze in fire. Raging in pain. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that this was the case since she worked so hard at cooking the great meal. But it was a profound statement and connection that I’d never forget both literally and figuratively. To this day, I base all my major decisions on following that burning excitement inside, heartburn free of course, but with the full intention to move forward, to chase that impulse and desire to achieve my dreams.

The third Yooper woman who I want to talk about is my paternal grandma, Ruth. Ruth is almost 91 years old, lives on her own, drives her own car, and tends to her garden all summer long. She is an amazing and healthy woman. I hope that I have an ounce of her genes somewhere in me, because if I do then I am in great shape. But I think a big part of why she has lived so long is based on the fact that she doesn’t let the nitty gritty, mundane aspects of life get to her. She doesn’t get consumed by internal stress or worry. Whenever it happens, she always turns everything over to God. She has always told me to let God handle the details or the bigger picture. God is in control, not you. So focus every day of your life on doing your best and going for it, but let God handle how things work out. It’s a simple, yet profound statement on how to live life. I get caught up so much in my the details of my own life, worrying and stewing over what’s going to happen next, but when I am overwhelmed by anxiety and anticipation, her timeless wisdom always sets me straight. Just let God or the higher power, whatever your spiritual faith is, handle the outcome. Great words to live by.

In summary, remember that Yoopers are natives of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, live life to the fullest and experience all you can, follow your heart—the burning excitement of your soul, and then let God handle the details. These are great lessons for us all.

FOR FURTHER REFERENCE:

Ten Spiritual Lessons for a Balanced Life (Amazon.com)

Gaia.com: Community That Changes the World

The Gaia Trust (Gaia.org)

DailyZen.com

I Wanna be a Yooper t-shirt (Gladsone BP Gifts and Car Wash)

ExploringTheNorth.com: The Upper Peninsula of Michigan Traveler

Upper Peninsula of Michigan's Superior Sights (SuperiorSights.com)

UPTravel.com

Da Yoopers-dot-com

Monday, May 12, 2008

Hofenung Jews Can Believe In

The State of Israel turns 60 this year. Gliklech geboirn-tog, Israel! To mark the occasion, let's engage in some Barack Talk. What does one thing have to do with the other? Oh, nothing more than the urban legend that Senator Obama is a Muslim who is hostile to Jews and to Israel, and that is enthusiastically perpetuated by neoconservative Zionists here in America. Meet two members of the American Jewish community on a paranoid mission to uncover Barack Obama's "deception" about his Muslim identity and anti-Semitic tendencies.

Debbie Schlussel: Debbie's a classy broad. See the URL for her "I-heart-Barack" page? She calls him Barack Hussein. Get it? Emphasis on the Hussein. Good one, Debster. Classy touch.
Daniel Pipes: Debbie baby, you gave paranoid hatred a run for its money, but like any good conservative woman, you should know better than to try and out-do a man. Meet Daniel Pipes. If you enter "Barack Obama" into the search engine of his blog, your resulting hits will reveal the unhinged writings of a man obsessed with Senator Obama's supposed Islamic identity.

Thankfully, there are other American Jews who take a more reasoned and objective view of Senator Obama, and who are not willing to engage in the gutter art of character assassination in order to malign him with false accusations and allegations. For example:

My Neighbor, Barack, by Rabbi Arnold Jacob Wolf (The Jewish Week, March 19, 2008). Consider Rabbi Wolf's insightful comments with regard to Rev. Wright: "Of course, race is only one issue on which Wright has stepped beyond the bounds of civil discourse. He's frequently made statements regarding Israel and the Jewish community that I find troubling. But to limit our understanding of Obama to the ill-conceived comments of the man who once led his church is dishonest and self-defeating." Indeed.
Obama on Zionism and Hamas, by Jeffrey Goldberg (AtlanticMonthly.com, May 12, 2008): "The point is, if you look at my writings and my history, my commitment to Israel and the Jewish people is more than skin-deep and it’s more than political expediency."

Why all the blood, sweat and tears to promote the lie that Obama is Muslim, even that he is hostile to Jews and to Israel? Does it have anything to do with his willingness to exercise any amount of objectivity in evaluating any of Israel's policies and actions? I think it does. Is that sufficient reason to attempt to defame and malign the man with lies and inneuendo? I don't think so at all. These actions are indefensible, and add nothing constructive to any dialogue having to do with the security of Israel and peace and stability in the Middle East.

"Heil y'all doin'?"

All this ink spilt to promote the demonstrably false story that Senator Obama is a Muslim, along with all of the Rev. Wright guilt-by-association tactics. All this energy perpetuating lies and distortions. Meanwhile, Senator John McCain is endorsed by one of the most dangerous, war-mongering, meglomaniacal "religious" figures in the country, Rev. John Hagee. Yet as it happens, Rev. Hagee, who has described "how Jews are cursed collectively because the ancient Hebrews once worshiped idols," is embraced by the same neocons who castigate Senator Obama. Why? Because Hagee is the leader of a movement called Christian Zionism, and specifically an organized movement called Christians United for Israel. Obviously, this terminology gives the appearance that Rev. Hagee and his followers are ardent Judophiles. However, take a listen to some of his rants, and suddenly Rev. Jeremiah Wright seems like one of the more lucid, rationale minds of our time.

Talking Points Memo TV:
John McCain Continues to Embrace John Hagee

Hagee and his followers may try and pass themselves off as supporters of Israel and friends of the Jewish people. But anyone who wants to take the time to look will find loads of evidence pointing to their ulterior motive, i.e., the restoration of the Jewish State of Israel, which will lead to Armageddon, which leads to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which leads to all non-Christians converting to Christianity, and and all non-believers will be torn to shreds and eaten alive a la Left Behind, et cetera, etc., The End.

Rapture Ready: The Unauthorized
Christians United for Israel Tour

How can anyone honestly think that poisonous gasbags like Hagee and his ilk are concerned with Israel's well-being for its own sake? That is a seriously dangerous delusion. Given that, Joe Lieberman apparently has one of the softest, most malleable minds on all of Capitol Hill, or one of the most duplicitous. He has either swallowed all of this Christian Zionist tripe, hook, line and sinker, or he is willing to join the ranks of someone as odious as Hagee to promote his own personal political agenda. This one-time Democratic nominee for the Vice Presidency has endorsed John McCain for president- just like Rev. John Hagee! Senator Joe Lieberman wants to bomb Iran back to the stone age- just like John Hagee! And Senator Joe Lieberman fervently awaits the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the conversion of all Jews to Christianity- just like John Hagee! Oh, um, maybe not so much on that last one. But, hey, two out of three ain't bad. And what's a small difference of opinion among friends?

Whatever else can be said about Barack Obama, either good or ill, he is not a Muslim- not that there's anything wrong with that. And even if he was a practicing Muslim, so what? Would this automatically make him a radical terrorist, or an anti-Semitic foe of Israel? No, and those who conflate the two do nothing but poison the atmosphere and choke off the possibility for rational, constructive discussion of the important issues facing our country. Barack Obama is a friend to Jews and a supporter of the State of Israel. Those who disagree with his positions as a presidential candidate do a disservice to him and to political discourse in this country when they smear him with unsubstantiated charges of Islamic radicalism and anti-Semitism.

From my point of view, the candidacy of Barack Obama represents hope - hofenung - for all Americans, Jew and Gentile alike. The ranting, fear-mongering and saber-rattling of Pipes, Schlussel, Hagee and others is garbage- opfal- we should all beware of. Israel is a beautiful country that is entitled to exist in peace and to defend itself against aggression and terror. It is also entitled to better friends than Rev. Hagee, Debbie Schlussel or Pipes, friends who are willing to be honest in both their praise and their criticism of Israel's actions. Friends like Senator Barack Obama. Shalom.

- Doug L.

FOR FURTHER REFERENCE (Updated May 22, 2008):

Barack Obama Video:
Hope Changes Everything (YouTube.com)