How Far Must We Go For Revisions?

I've resisted talking about the shutdown for as long as I possibly can.  I've tried to look at it from every angle...any angle really, and all I've been able to do is come up with my own perspective.  And I've come to the conclusion that we all need to focus on the concept of revision.

My passion is writing.  I've written on most every topic, in every genre I've ever thought of.  Essays, plays, novels, comic books, TV scripts, blog posts...you name it, I've tried it.  Some have worked wonderfully, others are less appealing to the eye than a New Jersey beach at low tide.  But sooner or later, the first draft is done.  And it's mine, and I accomplished something.  The first step.  And now comes the dreaded step two: revision.

Revision is the hardest part for me.  Looking at my creation and saying to myself "what can be better?"  Once I start looking at my work (generally two weeks later), one of two reactions come to me right off the bat.  Number one is to keep everything generally the way it is.  Why should I change anything?  I worked hard at this, poured everything into it, it's my beautiful baby of joy, despair and wonderment, dammit!  And two, I start looking for the garbage disposal or a match.  Something that will at least sound or feel good as I tear this thing to pieces because, dear god, what was I thinking?  Needless to say, both of these reactions are wrong on many levels.

We all go through first drafts in life, and only a small portion of them have to do with writing.  Practicing a sport or an instrument is a form of revision.  Doing your daily job is revision.  And government, of course it is a revision.  If you've been paying attention at all the past couple of weeks, you'll have seen we just went through a government shutdown, costing the government over 24 billion dollars, i.e. more than me, my friends, and most of the country are ever going to see in our combined lifetimes.  Yay America...

What does the government shutdown have to do with me writing something that most likely won't be seen by anyone other than me and my mother's cats?  It is this idea that revising ourselves, and our government, usually falls into the same mistakes that I make in revising my own writings.  America usually falls into the two categories of keeping what is comfortable, or wiping everything away like a whiteboard.  And neither response seems to be working.

Option one is bad for numerous reasons.  We have senators and congressmen (and congresswomen) who have stayed in office since the dawn of time.  They know the role of politics, they have all their fund-raising in place, they know how everything goes.  And for some reason they seem to be doing nothing.  Why should they?  Doing something could get you noticed, and possibly replaced.  Keeping people around because they're familiar dooms us all to keeping things stagnant, unchanging, stale.

Option two, which has been happening with far more frequency, is doubly alarming.  Wipe away everything, replace everyone, get some new blood in there!  Yes, get a fresh look, and suddenly we have junior congressman with no idea how to get things done other than scream at a camera about the injustice of the world.  New blood, and oftentimes well-meaning new blood, that is completely ignorant to the world of politics, will blindly lead us down the path of destruction.

Honestly, which is the better of these two paths of revision?  Total destruction, or blind acceptance of stagnation?  Of course the answer is neither.  We need men and women of intelligence, just as I need an intelligent process of addition and removal of these words on the page.  Careful examination of each and every individual in congress helps us realize whether these men and women are deserving of these roles that we value so highly.  Look at your congressman's record, all you have to do is google it and his or her votes will become open to you.  Have they voted where you stand on abortion, on gun rights, on immigration, on education?  Did they keep the promises they made during the campaign?  Are they more than just a voice in the darkness, demanding followers?  If you come to the conclusion they are, by all means vote for them.  Please vote for them, and ensure that such a presence remains in government.  But if not, then you must look elsewhere, to other options.  It is all too easy to say nothing changes in government.  Change it, revise it, with intelligence.

Stay Strange, Folks

Gratitude in Faith

It's been a while since I've written anything concerning faith.  I'm at a confusing crossroads in my life right now, and like most times of difficulty, religion is finding itself shuffled to the back of my mind.  But, as is true with almost all problems, an hour or two in a quiet diner with coffee and a good book can bring some true illumination.
I've struggled most often with the paradox of my particular branch of Christianity.  For those who don't know, I consider myself a Protestant, and in a Calvinist branch of thinking known as Presbyterian.  When it comes to actual knowledge of my faith, I've taken enough classes on theology to know that I know almost nothing about theology, but I can understand a few terms and what they mean.  Chief among them is a basic tenant of the Prostestant life: Sola Gratia, "By Grace Alone".  The idea that God is so perfect, that Christ is so wondrous, that everything we say, or do, or even think, is the refuse of a kegger left in the bathroom stall for three weeks.  Not pretty.
For this way of life, there is no getting into Heaven.  We're not buying a stairway, or climbing a ladder.  We're the line of Chinese toys, hoping that our supervisor Jesus is saying Heaven instead of the garbage bin that is Hell.  Either way, there's nothing we can do to help.
Weird as it may seem, I do believe in this.  I would like to think I have some input in the resting place of my eternal soul, truly.  But I feel like I have the same power in determining my salvation, as I do when I place my hands in the ocean and will the tide to turn.  Simply impossible.  My soul is in Christ's hands.
Great.  Crisis averted, salvation is God's alone.  Now what do I do with the rest of my life?  I can't help myself get into Heaven, and yet I still feel it's wrong to live my life like a live-action version of Grand Theft Auto.  I don't know what God wants of me, or even what I want of me.
This is the closest I've come to an answer: there is a certain duality in our natures.  I hope, I pray, that one day - many, many years from now - I'll be standing at the pearly gates.  AC/DC will be blasting, while Angus Young is laughing his head off at how wrong they were about where they were heading, and the dress code is not just white robes.  I hope it will be even more awesome than that.  Regardless, until (or if) that day comes, I am a creature of God.  I am living in this place, this wondrous place, by His will and compassion.  And I want to be good, do good, in thanks.  Not for salvation, or even damnation.  I want to be thankful for life.
I believe life is a gift in itself, something that no being can truly express.  Ladies and gentlemen, we've all had this same dream as children.  Our parents drove us down south to Disneyland.  There are plenty of people so it doesn't feel like a ghost town, but there are no lines.  Perfect weather, cool breeze, Goofy looks like he actually might be in a good mood, and Space Mountain is ours for the taking.  Our parents turn to us, hand us a thousand dollars and say those magical words: "Have fun".
Here's the kicker: God has done this for us, with the entire planet.  We are free to do as we please, build as we please, in something of His creation.  We've conquered and shaped this world as we have seen fit.  And never a word has been said against us.  How sweet life is.
Live in this life, love this life.  We have a world that continues to grow, amaze, change before our lives, and we have decades with which to enjoy it.  This can be seen as the greatest treasure we shall ever receive.  I hope to live it to the fullest.
Before you all walk away from the blog of the Happy-go-lucky-Christian Boy, I'm not entirely naive.  I'll live, and I'll laugh.  I'll also scream, cry, hate, moan, and wish with all my heart for an anvil to just drop on somebody's head (or Washington's collectively, but that's for a later post).  I am human, after all.  I'm going to screw this up.
But what I'm beginning to understand is that life on this world is a gift with no strings attached, and we should treat it as such.  Use it constantly, abuse it a little.  Love it, hate it, do everything to it.  Make sure it ends up on Facebook more often than not.  But at then end of our collective days, when you have to put away the gift of this world for good, try and leave it in a better shape than you received.  That's gratitude.

Stay Strange, Folks.