Thanks, as always, for reading "The Right Track" -- God's graces and blessings to all of you, and I look forward to "seeing" you in 2018!
Remember the Reason for the Season....
Friday, December 22, 2017
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
It's hard to believe another year is coming to a close in just over a week. I am looking forward to a little downtime over the next several days, but before I sign off, I just want to wish a very Merry Christmas to all of you. It's been quite a year with lots of challenges, but also, at least for me, a lot of blessings as well. I hope that has been true for all of you and I wish you continued blessings and peace in the new year.
Thanks, as always, for reading "The Right Track" -- God's graces and blessings to all of you, and I look forward to "seeing" you in 2018!
Thanks, as always, for reading "The Right Track" -- God's graces and blessings to all of you, and I look forward to "seeing" you in 2018!
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Decency: Reaping what we sow?
I was out with a group of friends for a girls' night out this past Saturday night, complete with dinner and a musical. The show was actually about a "girls' night out" just before Christmas. I figured it could be cute, in a warm and fuzzy Christmas kind of way. Boy, was I wrong. On the contrary, I left feeling ashamed and wondering, in reference to the Mel Gibson movie, what, exactly, do women want?
As a quick aside, right before the show was about to start, I had run out to the lobby to buy a bottle of water. There was a bit of a line and not much time, but a very elegant, distinguished looking gentleman in front of me kindly gestured to let me go ahead of him. Once he returned from the lobby, I noticed he was there with his wife and they were sitting near the front of the stage. Just before the show started, one of the cast members came out on stage, asked for the house lights to come on, and proceeded to scan the audience for the men (there were about five of them). She zeroed in on the man from the lobby, whose name turned out to be Barry, and warned him he'd regret being there.
The show's cast consisted of five women and took place in a bar as they chatted, sang and danced during their "girls' night out". What could be the harm, right? Except for the fact that it was filthy. I don't mean foul language. There was actually shockingly little of that. I am talking about the dialog itself. There was not a sexual reference, a private body part, or a bodily function left unmentioned. In short, it was vile.
It didn't stop with just puerile references to everything sexual and anatomical. Men in general were not spared a thing. If anyone were to base their image of men on the conversation by these women, they would believe all men are cheaters, idiots, cads, and mentally challenged.
Poor, sweet Barry from the audience became an unwitting, invisible character in the show as one of the cast member's fiance was magically named Barry. Barry was an idiot. Barry was a cheater ("of course he cheats. He's a man!"). Barry's choice of underwear was described for all to hear. After intermission, the real Barry and his wife were gone. I was jealous.
It saddened me how these five cast members so willingly squandered their own dignity by taking part in such a gross, base depiction of women. While the songs they sang and danced to were actually good displays of talent and entertainment, after each song's completion, the conversation quickly resumed and returned to its pathetic level.
What was even more sad was wondering if the women in the cast - and several hooting and hollering women in the audience - even knew their dignity was something worth preserving. Are women even being taught about dignity in a world that puts so much importance on a woman's ability to attract the opposite sex, as if that is a female's only value?
But as these women depicted in the show, women are miserable victims of awful men, yet must try harder and harder to get their attention by dressing and acting in provocative ways. So then I wonder, if women try so hard to attract the attention of men based on over-the-top physical allure, do they have room to then complain for being treated like sexual objects? And when the outward appearance is accompanied by the type of appalling talk that would make a sailor blush, or a decent guy like Barry flee, do women really expect to attract decent men?
I wished I could have caught up with Barry to apologize to him on behalf of the women who are horrified by the type of talk we heard that night, and to let him know that many, if not most, of us absolutely recognize and value the decency of the vast majority of men. Yes, there are some men who are cads, of course, and they need to be held accountable for any lines they cross. But as for those women who reject the premise that most guys are decent, I can only ask, if these women really want men to "behave" well, shouldn't it begin with women behaving themselves?
As a quick aside, right before the show was about to start, I had run out to the lobby to buy a bottle of water. There was a bit of a line and not much time, but a very elegant, distinguished looking gentleman in front of me kindly gestured to let me go ahead of him. Once he returned from the lobby, I noticed he was there with his wife and they were sitting near the front of the stage. Just before the show started, one of the cast members came out on stage, asked for the house lights to come on, and proceeded to scan the audience for the men (there were about five of them). She zeroed in on the man from the lobby, whose name turned out to be Barry, and warned him he'd regret being there.
The show's cast consisted of five women and took place in a bar as they chatted, sang and danced during their "girls' night out". What could be the harm, right? Except for the fact that it was filthy. I don't mean foul language. There was actually shockingly little of that. I am talking about the dialog itself. There was not a sexual reference, a private body part, or a bodily function left unmentioned. In short, it was vile.
It didn't stop with just puerile references to everything sexual and anatomical. Men in general were not spared a thing. If anyone were to base their image of men on the conversation by these women, they would believe all men are cheaters, idiots, cads, and mentally challenged.
Poor, sweet Barry from the audience became an unwitting, invisible character in the show as one of the cast member's fiance was magically named Barry. Barry was an idiot. Barry was a cheater ("of course he cheats. He's a man!"). Barry's choice of underwear was described for all to hear. After intermission, the real Barry and his wife were gone. I was jealous.
It saddened me how these five cast members so willingly squandered their own dignity by taking part in such a gross, base depiction of women. While the songs they sang and danced to were actually good displays of talent and entertainment, after each song's completion, the conversation quickly resumed and returned to its pathetic level.
What was even more sad was wondering if the women in the cast - and several hooting and hollering women in the audience - even knew their dignity was something worth preserving. Are women even being taught about dignity in a world that puts so much importance on a woman's ability to attract the opposite sex, as if that is a female's only value?
But as these women depicted in the show, women are miserable victims of awful men, yet must try harder and harder to get their attention by dressing and acting in provocative ways. So then I wonder, if women try so hard to attract the attention of men based on over-the-top physical allure, do they have room to then complain for being treated like sexual objects? And when the outward appearance is accompanied by the type of appalling talk that would make a sailor blush, or a decent guy like Barry flee, do women really expect to attract decent men?
I wished I could have caught up with Barry to apologize to him on behalf of the women who are horrified by the type of talk we heard that night, and to let him know that many, if not most, of us absolutely recognize and value the decency of the vast majority of men. Yes, there are some men who are cads, of course, and they need to be held accountable for any lines they cross. But as for those women who reject the premise that most guys are decent, I can only ask, if these women really want men to "behave" well, shouldn't it begin with women behaving themselves?
What do you think? Click on the comments link in the bar
below to share your thoughts. No registration necessary. Or, email me
at JMS.TheRightTrack@gmail.com
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Should 1st Amendment apply to certain people only?
If a homosexual baker were asked to bake a cake for an anti-homosexual event, should he be forced to do so even if it completely violates his own beliefs? If your answer is "no", then you support freedom of speech across the board, right? Or does it depend on whose freedom is in question?
Jack Phillips, the petitioner in the case currently being heard by the US Supreme Court, is a Christian business owner who welcomes all customers gladly, but occasionally he is asked to create something that violates his conscience, e.g. Halloween themes, divorce parties, Satan's birthday, and most recently, a same sex "marriage" reception.
Though he offered the homosexual couple in question his services for anything else (meaning he wasn't discriminating against the couple for their homosexuality - just the event that violate his beliefs) that wasn't good enough. After being flipped off by the loving homosexual couple, Phillips promptly learned of the complaint filed against him. The complaint has led to the case currently in front of the Supreme Court.
This is not only a religious rights case, but also a freedom of speech one. In the case of Phillips, the First Amendment protects his work - which is art (a form of expression). To be forced to create art that violates an artist's belief system is a violation of his speech. If that's not true, then a Jewish baker should be forced to bake a Swastika case for a Nazi event. A black sign maker should be forced to make posters supporting a KKK rally. A vegetarian cheese maker should be forced to use rennet, rather than microbial enzymes.
But in Colorado, where this case originates, the state has actually supported bakers' rights to not bake cakes with anti-gay messages if it offends them to do so, because the state of Colorado recognizes that type of freedom of speech. Shouldn't they apply that same standard to Jack Phillips and other Christian business owners?
For those who aren't involved in any type of bakery, photography, banquet or other businesses that may be asked to accommodate same-sex ceremonies on some level, why should this case matter? Because we're already seeing how expansive it's become.
Aside from Colorado's already demonstrated actions of picking and choosing whose freedoms should be respected, recall the CEO of Firefox, who was fired from his own company for making a financial contribution to California's Proposition 8 to uphold traditional marriage. HGTV cancelled an upcoming real estate show because it was discovered that the two scheduled hosts had previously vocalized their support of traditional marriage. Emergency Services' former top fire official in Atlanta was fired for supporting traditional marriage in Bible study on his own time. In Michigan, a farming couple was recently banned from selling their produce at the local farmers' market because they declined a request to host a same-sex "marriage" ceremony on their farm. It goes on and on.
The homosexual couple in question in this Supreme Court case ended up getting a rainbow cake from another vendor so they could express their support of LGBT activities. That is their right to do so. But don't private business owners have the right to not partake in it? If not, and if instead they are forced to provide work against their will, doesn't that make them slaves?
The First Amendment specifically allows for and protects our differences. The Supreme Court just needs to uphold that.
Jack Phillips, the petitioner in the case currently being heard by the US Supreme Court, is a Christian business owner who welcomes all customers gladly, but occasionally he is asked to create something that violates his conscience, e.g. Halloween themes, divorce parties, Satan's birthday, and most recently, a same sex "marriage" reception.
Though he offered the homosexual couple in question his services for anything else (meaning he wasn't discriminating against the couple for their homosexuality - just the event that violate his beliefs) that wasn't good enough. After being flipped off by the loving homosexual couple, Phillips promptly learned of the complaint filed against him. The complaint has led to the case currently in front of the Supreme Court.
This is not only a religious rights case, but also a freedom of speech one. In the case of Phillips, the First Amendment protects his work - which is art (a form of expression). To be forced to create art that violates an artist's belief system is a violation of his speech. If that's not true, then a Jewish baker should be forced to bake a Swastika case for a Nazi event. A black sign maker should be forced to make posters supporting a KKK rally. A vegetarian cheese maker should be forced to use rennet, rather than microbial enzymes.
But in Colorado, where this case originates, the state has actually supported bakers' rights to not bake cakes with anti-gay messages if it offends them to do so, because the state of Colorado recognizes that type of freedom of speech. Shouldn't they apply that same standard to Jack Phillips and other Christian business owners?
For those who aren't involved in any type of bakery, photography, banquet or other businesses that may be asked to accommodate same-sex ceremonies on some level, why should this case matter? Because we're already seeing how expansive it's become.
Aside from Colorado's already demonstrated actions of picking and choosing whose freedoms should be respected, recall the CEO of Firefox, who was fired from his own company for making a financial contribution to California's Proposition 8 to uphold traditional marriage. HGTV cancelled an upcoming real estate show because it was discovered that the two scheduled hosts had previously vocalized their support of traditional marriage. Emergency Services' former top fire official in Atlanta was fired for supporting traditional marriage in Bible study on his own time. In Michigan, a farming couple was recently banned from selling their produce at the local farmers' market because they declined a request to host a same-sex "marriage" ceremony on their farm. It goes on and on.
The homosexual couple in question in this Supreme Court case ended up getting a rainbow cake from another vendor so they could express their support of LGBT activities. That is their right to do so. But don't private business owners have the right to not partake in it? If not, and if instead they are forced to provide work against their will, doesn't that make them slaves?
The First Amendment specifically allows for and protects our differences. The Supreme Court just needs to uphold that.
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