CharlotteThat title is probably not even a correct one, grammatically speaking. But then you are reading something written by one who has always enjoyed making up words. I got the only F I every got in college from Mrs. Davies when she failed one of my papers because I had Made Up a Word. Had to re-write the stupid thing. Boy would she have fun today!! But she was a great teacher and I loved her abundantly.
At any rate, this rant is sparked, if that is the right word (I do seem to be having trouble with words today!) by a posting made on my FB page asking how we (I) engage the culture. But, as I pondered over the question, I realized I wasn’t even sure what it was asking. Now that’s bad. I almost posted in return, “Not sure what you mean,” but then decided I could not admit my stupidity.
However, it did get me to thinking. Which is what I assume was the original intent anyway. I mean, who really cares how I do it (engage the culture)? But I have come to appreciate Bruce very much and the way he has of stimulating conversation, something I do love to engage in! So I figured it warranted some of my Deep Thoughts.
Problem 1 is, I am thinking that today at least my intellect is about as deep as Saran Wrap (not an original thought, I must admit 🙂 ). Problem 2 is that I have no desire to do what I consider engaging the culture (though this is debatable, as I have already admitted to not really knowing what is meant by this phrase). However…….if it means relating to it, I must admit I do not. Engage. When I use my R click and look under synonyms I see “connect” (to, I assume) and “take on” as the two closest choices I think apply. With either of these two definitions, I certainly do not do so. I do not connect to it. Nor do I take it on. I see it as a completely hedonistic environment that I relate to in no manner at all. I don’t fit and I don’t want to fit.
Intellectually, it is the same problem. I truly am not an intellectual. But neither am I a total nitwit. Partly, most definitely. Totally? No. And that seems to be pretty much the only choices out there for me.
I am not Politically Correct. I am not Green. (The data behind the Global Warming theology has been disproven (sic) enough to convince me of its being a total House of Cards.) I am not Healthy. I am not Safe. I do not Worship Animals. (I have two kitty cats I love. But my life would Go On if something happened to either one of them.) I cannot stand MADD. I cannot stand Zero Tolerance. I do not believe in any unchangeable mandates. I have no desire to be or believe any of these things. Yet I feel smothered by them everywhere I turn. I am simply a little (I wish!) old gray-haired lady who probably would have been much more at home during the Depression than I am today. Then folks could pretty much do and act as they chose because no one really cared. People speak of poverty as being the root of crime today. I say rubbish! Lack of morals is the root of crime today. I read once that our country’s crime rate was the lowest it has ever been during the years of the Great Depression. And yet poverty and food lines were rampant. Go figure.
Today, people care Too Much. I do not try to tell others how to live their lives nor do I want them to tell me how to live mine. What kind of light bulb to buy. Where I can put my clothesline (OMG, you use a clothesline?!? – Not any more – but I want to!) What words I can use when speaking outside of my home. I am an imperfect human being and I allow others to be imperfect as well. And I do not condemn them for being so.
But then, neither am I a Rebel. I.e., I do not take on the culture. I have no desire to. Rebellion wastes a lot of energy that could be used to better purpose, and usually eats up the Rebel inside more than accomplishes anything. I am not a Pacifist. I stand up for and will fight for what is right when it will do any good. But I don’t waste my energy on Lost Causes. There is evil out there and there are evil people out there. And there is Total Irrelevancy out there. I choose not to waste my time on any of them.
Ok. I think I’m ranted out. 🙂 Just thoughts. Like I said, not quite as deep as Saran Wrap. But mine, nonetheless.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: attitude, Culture, life, word police |
Random Thoughts 
In a rant with little purpose and the opportunity to use words the way one wants, I’m surprised you missed a couple of good opportunities.
“I get mad at MADD.”
“I have zero tolerance for Zero Tolerance.”
There were probably others, but those stood out for me.
How true. Actually I did catch the zero tolerance for Zero Tolerance but the other one escaped me. My, my, I am slipping.
Incidentally, the posting was “inspired” by a FB question from a Friend probably unbeknownst to you as to how the viewers (of which I are/were one) “engaged the culture.” So it was not totally without purpose — though admittedly maybe without reason. (That’s why it also appears as one of my too many Notes. I just couldn’t resist putting it here as well!) Anyhow, I thought it quite inspiring!
I must offer one more defense here. Did you not read my 2nd paragraph? In my feeble efforts to employ satire, and, consequently, be humorous, I am dead serious. Until, as believers, we are willing to lay aside the idiocies of this culture, rather than embrace them, we should not be surprised at the condition the church is in.
I am sure believers can give me reasons for each of the topics I mentioned (and many I did not), but, Dale, they are all based on fear, and thus, paranoia.
Should I blithely accept throwing my garbage out in the middle of the lawn or the road, or emptying my sewage into nearby waters? Of course not. But that’s a matter of indulgence and laziness. The Safety Cult? I chose to teach my children, from the time they were crawling, how to function in dangerous situations. And to risk their lives to save others when necessary.
Jesus did not give us a spirit of fear, so how can we justify it? Satan came to kill, steal (everything, including our minds and freedoms), and destroy (ditto). Why do we so willingly allow him to do so without a fight? The Pharisees represented (and administered) law. Jesus came to fulfill it. In two new commandments. That were laws of the heart, rather than laws of behavior. So why do we so unquestionably embrace and inflict them (unrealistic laws of behavior) on others?
So, I must defend myself here and say there was very serious purpose in all I said. 🙂 Please forgive me if I offend; I do not mean to. You know I love you and Gracie both. But sometimes I simply must speak out and when this question was presented, I truly was not sure what was being asked. Thus the wheels began to spin.
P.S. I chose the pic on purpose. It is full of symbolism for me. Hint: the snowman represents me.
OK. I’m not sure what ‘sparked’ this last rant, but I guess it’s okay.
What sparked it was your comment that the first was of little purpose. It was written from my thoughts of what it meant to engage the culture. And that concept, “engaging the culture” was what I was reacting to. I.e. I realized I don’t want to engage the culture.
I was probably being overly sensitive. Forgive me, Kind Sir. 🙂
I apologize, then. I misinterpreted “deep as saran wrap’ .
🙂