The Failure of Political Leadership

So today the number of COVID deaths in Texas today was 3834 with totals today in the US at 141,000. These deaths are so unnecessary because the COVID virus has been ensnared in the politics of the times. Early on, we could have addressed this virus and limited its reach if our politicians had not been playing “politics.”

If I had a relative who died because of this political football, I would be very angry. I have not had that. It was enough to suffer the loss of my mom during these days because the rampant spread of the virus caused the nursing home she was in to lock it down which limited visitors and simply confused more of the residents. I applaud the action of our Baptist Memorial family, but regret it came to this.

The fact is plain to me, our leaders did not lead. Our leadership did not make the hard choices, or brave the currents of disapproval to do the right thing. They were all cowards. Let me say that again, they were all cowards. No single person in elected office deserves praise for the inaction and the resulting death tolls that robbed innocent people of lives they could have lived. It was not just the old and infirm. It was the young, it was children, it was young adults, it was middle aged couples, and of course it was older Americans who had led distinguished and contributing lives to this culture and society who needlessly died because politicians did not stand up and take action. We should remember that in the next election cycle.

I have often asked myself the question, “What exactly is a leader?” Simple question, tough answer. What politicians often say is the “things that are important to my constituents,” or “the ideas of my party,” or the “wave of the latest thing pulsing through society.” None of those, in my opinion are leadership. There is really no basis in our history for such a tepid definition of leadership.

Real leadership is seeing the real issues which face the nation or threaten the nation and our culture. Seeing is only part of the solution. It also means effectively leading the nation to both see and respond to these challenges. It is both insight and motivation both of which are sorely lacking in our time.

Suppose in Congress and in the Legislatures around the country, we had a group of men and women who stood up and clearly articulated the issues before us, proposed solutions, and then set about to implement those solutions. Without regard to polls or donations pouring in, we had servants who simply served. They were people who actually did their job. They stood up to power, stood up to the electorate, stood up to enemies both foreign and domestic and with courage and confidence called us to move forward in hope.

COVID-19 is real. It has always been real. It was real when it crashed on our coasts January 22, 2020. It is neither more real today than it was then. It is no more lethal than it was then. And believing it is not does not lessen or impact the death toll. In fact, it increases it because ignorant folks want to believe it is some sort of conspiracy to deprive them of their “rights.” I would simply say, “You can decided to die if you want to, I however choose to live.”

I would sadly confess these are days when we are witnessing the failure of our grand experience of government called democracy. We are paralyzed in the tyranny of indecisiveness and moral cowardliness. Coupled with that is the corruption of the most vibrant aspect of our American Culture and our Christian faith—the Evangelical influence in American life. For “thirty pieces of silver” evangelical leaders have sold their place and power for lesser expressions of influence. Knowing that the rule of law cannot ever dictate the conduct of a people, they have bartered away the high ground for the lower ground of power. We are all the poorer for it.

How many more will die needlessly because of such a vacuum of courageous leadership?

Wash your hands, wear your masks for others, mind the gap, and be kind.

Social Security and the End of Life

Today, I got to call Social Security for the second time this week. The nursing home had received a letter to Mom telling her she needed to contact them immediately because the Nursing Home had sent her check back and they needed to know why.

Social Security is a rather prickly bureaucracy with which I have had the occasion to deal with several times over my hundreds of years of life—well, it just seems that way when you deal with Social Security. You can hear the “sighs” of a fellow struggler when you mention Social Security. Because this was not my first call to Social Security this week and before that in the last few years, I sort of thought I knew what to expect.

Right after we moved to Round Rock, Anna and I were on our way to see Mom in San Angelo when my phone rang. It was one of my medical device suppliers and my insurance had been changed and failed to pay for the supplies. I reassured the person my insurance had not changed and everything would work out. Then I called Medicare. They informed me my insurance had changed and was now handled by a company which did not exist and had not existed since 2013. Needless to say, that took a bit to unravel but eventually everything was back on track until the next year at the same time. Same song, second verse. I pushed back harder. I asked, “How come you don't know with whom I have my insurance when it is with you and you deduct the payment every month?” No good answer.

When we have attempted to talk to Social Security in behalf of our son, James, it is an ordeal. Both the person and the (legal)representative must be in the room and James has to verbalize Anna is helping with this issue and some document must be on file saying the same thing.

So, when I first called with the information about Mom's death, I expected to have to send them some sort of identification explaining who I was. Well, you will be glad to know they really don't care who calls to tell them one of their policy holders is dead. It's all good. They will take that news from anyone.

So, when the letter arrived on Wednesday at the Nursing Home, and I am the Executor of Mom's Estate, my sister-in-law Linda called with a hint of glee in her voice. She and Jim did the hard work of reeling Mom in, taking her cards, and attempting to get her affairs in order for the next stage of her life.

So, I knew I had to call Social Security today. I had a little conversation in my head informed by my track record with them. I expected the person to ask to speak to Mom directly, which of course would be impossible. I was prepared to say, “Well, she cannot come to the phone right now.” To which I expected a typical response(based on previous encounters with SS) “And why can't she come to the phone right now?” At which point I would say, “Because she is DEAD! And strangely enough is not taking calls at this time.” Don't judge me but I was actually looking forward to the call.

Instead I got this really sweet lady Jennifer, who looked up her file and told me they knew she had passed away.(So maybe the government is spying on us after all) I explained the situation(not of her death) but she had died at the end of June which according to the nursing home could mean the July check would have to be returned by law but then would be dispersed to the living heirs. However, Jennifer indicated that would not be the case because—now wait for it, she did not live to the end of the month which would have been Tuesday, June 30^th. I am not sure if there is a time when it is alright for the person to die on the last day of the month because for us it was a mote point. I am guessing by the end of the business day. But this is the government after all.

One down and several more to go.

Wash your hands, wear your mask for others, mind the gap and be kind

Taxes and Trump

I dragged myself to bed last night because my mind was exhausted doing our taxes(don't judge me).

I am proud to say this 2019 tax return was only 13 pages long and it has been e-filed just a few minutes ago. Joseph put me on to a new free tax return program called FreeTaxUSA. Previously I had used Intuit almost from the time taxes could be done on the computer, but it seems Intuit suppressed free tax preparation to of course, add to their profit line. Disappointing. So I switched—because integrity matters to me—even if it doesn't matter as much today as in the past.

I will say I never met a person who loved paying taxes. Especially, income taxes. However, it is the cost of maintaining our government as dysfunctional as it seems to be at this moment in history. I am one of those few who has believed there is a better way to calculate taxes and collect them. Apparently, the lobbyist who stop up the wise way of gathering and funding our government including our military, our different agencies, and our judiciary believe differently. Sadly, their dollars win-they always win. Among the conspiracy theorists who believe there are too many people feeding off of cancer could think seriously about how many feed at the trough of an inefficient and unjust tax system and turn their attention to a real problem. That will never happen. Conspiracy theories are by their nature ways of misdirecting serious energy and attention away from real problems.

So, today, I e-filed my 2019 return to the few people who are working in the IRS office. I don't begrudge them working at home because I truly believe this COVID-19 is a real disease and kills real people who leave behind grieving families. I can live with longer wait times, longer phone ringing without an answer, longer responses to almost anything. I believe every person loves their family as I love my family and doesn't want to lose a single one of them to COVID.

Tomorrow, I will call Social Security for the second time because the nursing home received a letter asking why Mom returned the check they sent. Even though I called on Monday, they did not have the information to stop the letter on Tuesday. They want her to contact them ASAP. So I will call tomorrow and tell them that Mom cannot talk to them because—she is DEAD. That is why they got their check back. I might also have the opportunity to tell them where she is does not have good cell service—not that she would know how to use it—however in heaven she just might! I promise it will be an interesting conversation which the person at the other end will remember for the rest of the day. I promise I will not be unkind just memorable.

I am enjoying filling in the blanks about the DJT dysfunction as I plow through the family history of his family. Families—Mothers and Fathers can shape us or break us and DJT's father broke him in so many ways it is not possible to count them all.

Wash your hands, wear your masks for others, mind the gap and be kind.

The Social Contract in Disrepair

I can only image how short my life would have been if I slid into the driver's seat of my 1964 maroon Impala SS two door hardtop and sped out of the drive way burning rubber because, “No body is going to tell me how fast I can drive my car. This is America and I can do as I please.” At 14 years old, my father would have killed me or he would have made me wish I was dead. In the same way, he did not go out in the front yard and shoot his double barreled 16 gauge shot gun—just because “he could.”

From the time of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, in America we have lived together with a “social contract.” Such a contract helped us form communities, work together, respect laws, have social services: fire; law enforcement; and various other conveniences of an ordered society.

It is as though all of that has fallen away in these latter days of rage and belligerence. When a home was quarantined years ago, we did not rise up and march because “rights were infringed upon.” We understood the risks to the community of contagious diseases.

These past few years have fanned the fires of hatred, racial division, conspiracy theories, and a flagrant disregard for the law. I am not surprised because our current President never met a law he would not break or disregard with disdain. So like poison leching into a well, it has poisoned a culture which has been given more, had more opportunities, leads the world in affluence—yet it is still not enough. We feel something for which we are entitled is being withheld from us. Sadly, the false prophets of Evangelical religious leaders are helping peddle that slop. Abandoning the church house and the prayer room, they have crowded polling booths, packed the courts with the “right kind of judges,” all the while making a mockery of “Trusting God not men.”

What the religiously judgmental and angry crowd cannot see is the parallels to first century Pharisees who were strong on the law, but weak on compassion. These ruthless crowds demanding the opening of our society, our schools, our way of life lack the basic compassion of a gnat. In the words of Dr Seuss, “Their hearts are two sizes too small.” That is a terrible indictment for a Christian. In fact, a compassion less Christian is an oxymoron.

Right now in my aging circle of friends, I have a pediatrician, more school teachers than I can count, law enforcement officers, soldiers both active duty and veterans, men and women who are retired but not useless, and children and grandchildren I dearly love. I would add to that ministry families I have known for many years or few years. I cherish each. I know social service folks who work in the trenches of helping children be safe. I know professors at the university level and all of them I respect and admire. I have siblings, nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews, and every single one is loved and cherished. I would not give up a single one of them. I would not exercise a freedom which could put any or all of them at risk. I would not fail to do everything the scientists and doctors who really know what is going on recommend I do. I have no time for pundits, and presidents who cheated their way to the top and know absolutely nothing about everything but they can talk loud and long pontificating with their gross ignorance. They may mesmerize fools and the foolish, but it is all gibberish at the end of the day.

So, perhaps what I would encourage you to do is simply this: Take a moment today and think about the most important people in your world right now. Think about them. Think about what if the reality of COVID is real(and it is) and because of your carelessness or someone else's, you lost them to the most excruciating death to come along in a long while. Put a face on COVID that is the person you most cherish—and then ask yourself, “Is it to much to wear a mask for them?”

Wash your hands, wear your mask for others, mind the gap, and be kind.

Greatness? I don't think so

I was reading the news this morning before I went off for three appointments. I was saddened(but not surprised) by the vitriol pouring from comments about wearing masks in public. Weak weird answers were posted by some using the Bible and then there was just the usual drivel.

Perhaps, our over stressed and overstretched healthcare workers could add a couple of questions when someone comes in with COVID symptoms. The first would be, “Have you exercised your 'right' to go around without a mask around people and in stores?” If the answer is an “honest” “yes!”which it most likely won't be, then the triage person could say, “Well, it just the flu! It can't be COVID-19 because that doesn't exist—right?” Another triage route could be, “Well, we are seeing a lot of people who think they have this COVID-19 thing, but since it is not real, you are probably mentally ill. Please wait until we get our on-call psychiatrist to give you an exam. Be aware, he, or she will be wearing a mask.”

If the selfish, assertive, demanding, table pounding folks who somehow believe their “rights” have been curtailed because of a pandemic, perhaps it is time to let them go to the front of the line—you know the line: exposure to highly contagious disease, health wrecking bodily damage, and possibly death.

These days are unlike any other time in my life. History tells us of plagues and pandemics and the lethally of such diseases, but I have not seen that in my lifetime. I was born on the cusp of the polio epidemic and was vaccinated as soon as it was available. I remember television black and white pictures of iron lungs and children in them. It was not pretty.

So, we are at a crisis point in this nation. The crisis point is simply our lack of compassion and concern for others. Somehow it is more important we get to fully execise our “rights” without restrictions no matter how much that behavior may complicate this disease, its transmission and its impact of select high risk vulnerable groups. We frankly don't care. Somehow wearing a mask in consideration for the safety of others, is an affront to our autonomy, our rights, our freedoms as true red blooded Americans(Ain't no body gonna tell me what I can and can't do).

It is sad our culture has come to that. It is beyond sad, we have allowed the ignorant voices of an maddening crowd to put us all in danger and for longer than necessary.

Who are we hurting when we only think of our personal rights? Let me mention a few. First this nation is a nation of small business owners. Years ago, my father was one and although there are many multibillion dollar corporations, America is still a nation of small business owners. The longer this pandemic is out of control, the more of those we lose. There are folks all around us who are medically fragile, some of which are children. The longer this virus runs out of control, the more of these folks will be at risk. If you have read anything, it is an ugly, ugly virus. It attacks all the systems of the body not just the lungs. Think about the teachers who stand before your children each day and attempt to teach them, preparing them for a more hopeful future. Do you really want to put them at more risk? Is it really important that you exercise that right to not wear a mask? How about the children in the classroom? Do you really want to be implicated in the unnecessary death of a child? Can you imagine the devastation of parents who must bury a child because of the carelessness of others. I can speak to that both experientially and pastorally. There is nothing quite like burying your child.

What about your family physician, or the specialists you turn to. How about the nurses who staff the hospitals and clinics where you go at a time of medical need or crisis. Are their lives worth less than your right to go without a mask in public? Really! Do you really think so little of another human life?

You see, in my opinion, America was great once, because it offered hope and opportunity to all who could get here—by whatever means. It was great once because it attempted to aspire to great freedoms for all. Each generation has had to push those freedoms further to more fully realize what it means to be “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” It was great once when no matter where the catastrophe, or the magnitude of the devastation, America was one of the first on the scene. It was the embodiment of who we believe we are. We had an expansive view of “our neighbor.” It was great once attempting to embody the influence of a vibrant church and faith in order to bless the world with the Gospel of peace.

So, I struggle in these days to understand how, with a daily, dangerous spike of COVID-19 cases in our state, that somehow, we can regard our neighbor with so little compassion but so much disdain, we would refuse to do our part in protecting ourselves and others.

This is not my America. And frankly, this is not the mark of “greatness.”

Wash your hands, wear your mask for others, mind the gap and be kind

A Call to Action

This could be one of those watershed moments in the life of our culture and our nation.

Several undeniable forces are pulsating through our nation and culture today. Of course there is the racism issues that have boiled to the surface again, and there is the COVID pandemic which is spiking in some areas(Texas for example) putting stress on everyone.

There are nations which have an identity of community and even solidarity however, that is not really the routine American experience. We have taken pride over the years of being a nation of individuals and of personal, individual rights. If the right is there, we have the right to exercise it to the fullest.

The problem is these are days which need a more cohesive and kind camaraderie because so much is at risk. It calls from us both kindness and consideration in order for all to move through these days which have beset us.

Let me address the two issues on my heart and mind. First, there is the issue of ongoing systemic racism which has plagued the American experience from its inception and even today pour a toxic poison into our national life. I will freely and sadly admit I have chosen to move forward in my life in ignorance about the forces of racism in my world. I chose not to listen, not to see, not to intervene, and as a result simply piled injustice upon injustice. I am guilty. I can and will not speak for no other person. It is a weight and a failing I carry every day. However, the failure of the past does not have to be the failure of the present and the failure of the future. I believe there are many White people who have been awakened to the urgency, the need, and the injustice that has plagued our communities of color for far too long. There is a momentum building and an opportunity which need to be seized to move equality forward for all. It was a notion in our founding documents, it was a failure of our founding fathers not to address the racism and slavery of the time, but the time is now, the opportunity is now. So we must act. We must join people of color who choose the peaceful demonstration over the rioting and vandalism and walk with them amplifying their voices moving the cause of equality forward until all are encompassed in the promises of our Declaration of Independence, Constitution,and Bill of Rights.

The COVID-19 pandemic requires a selflessness from each of us which is daily on display in our hospitals, our Ers, our ICUs which are exploding with new cases of COVID. When that happens, some may survive but many will not. Our doctors, nurses, medical technicians are both overwhelmed and exhausted. Long hours, tough choices, and endless demands are wearing them down. Our first responders are putting themselves at daily risk as they respond to emergency calls thus exposing them to this deadly disease.

This is not a time for complacency. It is not a time for selfishness which asserts one's right above the best interest of others. It is not a time to parade one's resistance to the wise counsel of scientists and medical personnel because “no one can tell me what I can or cannot do.” Let me be clear, if the exercise of your “right” to not wear a mask results in the spread of COVID(because you may be a asymptomatic carrier), causes the infection of one person, contributes to the over-stressing of already stretched thin medical resources, or results in one death unnecessarily, then you are wrong, and especially if you are a believer you are guilty of the careless death of another.

There will be a time to push back on intrusion into our personal liberties, but this is not that time. There will be a time when we can ignore wise counsel with few consequences, but this is not that time. There will be a time when you can do as you please as often as you please, but this is not that time. However, this is the time, really past time for us to put our hearts and shoulders together to move this state and nation further down the road of containing and extinguishing COVID from our midst. This is the time to think about others when we consider our actions. It is time to pray for others because we know some are fearfully cowering in their homes. It is time to refuse to add to the already overwhelming burden on our medical people and first responders no matter what the request or the inconvenience.

It is time for us to live boldly, out loud with the love of Christ for all around us whether or not they are believers or part of our faith group. It is time. It is past time.

Wash your hands, wear your mask for others, mind the gap and be kind.

The Best News of the Day

Today, the best news of the day was COVID vaccine trials will begin shortly on three potential medications which could prevent infection with COVID-19. At a death toll in the US reaching 135,000 and deaths in Texas exceeding 2,943, it is time for some good news. And no there is no evidence doctors are listing COVID as the cause of death to get paid more. That is a foolish conspiracy theory with no basis in fact which is generally true for conspiracy theories. Generally such murmuring are short on facts and long on paranoia. The general rule is “Someone is out to get us/control us/ exploit us.” You can take your pick. More reasonable thinking people realize such notions are flights of fancy.

It is tragic this COVID pandemic has gotten tangled up in politics and as a result has caused more carelessness and deaths than if it were something straight forward like polio. No one looking a child stricken with polio would say, “It's only a childhood sickness.” Yet time and time again I have heard people infer it is only the “flu.” The problem is this past flu season killed between 24,000-62,000 in the and our first wave of COVID(five months)has killed 135,000 people. So, “No it is not the flu.” We are also beginning to see that even some who recover from a “mild” case of COVID are left with life long debilitating symptoms which will follow them to the grave. Confusing the issue is that the corona virus is a cluster virus that has been around for many years. The common cold is a corona virus, however the COVID-19 is new in the sense it has broken out into the human population. The novel coronavirus is a zoonotic disease, meaning an infection that can jump between different species."Both SARS and MERS are examples of viruses that came from mother nature. In the case of SARS, scientists believe the virus came from a bat then went to a civet cat, and then infected humans. In the case of MERS, they believe the intermediary animal was a camel. (information borrowed) At this point, I am not sure it is important where it came from, but how can it be stopped. This is a pernicious virus which strikes hard the most vulnerable but also leaves a swath of health issues behind in people of all ages. More than that, it may be the first time a virus like this has put at risk so many care givers like physicians, nurses, hospital employees, first responders and others on the front lines of fighting this pandemic.

It is for that reason, we need to find our place in helping our country move beyond this pandemic. Of course God's people need to pray asking God for solutions and treatment protocols which will save lives. God's people also need to find ways to worship when these times keep us from being inside the church house. It is an uneasy accommodation to sit on your couch listening to your pastor on FB or a website, but it should make us more hungry for the fellowship of believers we might have so easily taken for granted. Personally, I yearn for the crowded halls and tight spaces in our worship center as we gather in to worship together. I yearn to hear the people of God sing the songs of praise that are so essential for our worship. I yearn to be with people as we pray together and interestingly enough—listen together to the Word of God shared by the pastor. I have recently come to appreciate the corporate act of listening as the Word of God was set forth to the people. I never had thought of that bond among believers before.

Whatever unfolds, believers need to be a part of solutions. These are unusual times. People cut off from human contact not getting out because they are afraid need someone not just to care but to make contact. Anxious folks need to be in contact with non-anxious folks to help them settle down. The depressed need to know someone cares. Our church leaders need special measures of grace because they have forced to do “church” in entirely different ways than previously done. In the past, streaming was an adjunct to the people present in worship experience. Now, for most churches it is the new normal but we struggle to accept that as normal.

I believe Christians have a unique opportunity to live out loud our faith. We have the opportunity to be kind, to be gracious, to be hopeful, to be intentional, to be magnanimous, to everyone we meet. I am not sure in my adult years, I have ever seen a culture and society under such stress. The adjustments we are making are not easy and not without frustration. Those of us who take this virus seriously know our loved ones of any age can be in contact and even fall ill to this disease which could have life long consequences.

At the same time, we are seeing civil unrest mostly peaceful demanding equal rights long withheld and long overdue for people of color. Some of us are taking the opportunity to educate ourselves in the struggles and complaints of people of color so that we might move forward together. Having lived and worked with African Americans my whole life, I am learning how things look from their perspective and I find myself ashamed at my insensitivity and ignorance.

So, from my vantage point, that is where we are at this time in America. I will say I was born into the American family in Odessa, Texas. Saying that does not mean at some point in the past I forget my linage were immigrants. I am proud of America(mostly) and believe in the ideals of this nation however unfulfilled as they are for all. Having traveled the world with my bride or a mission team, I have been in many countries but never found even one that reflected the hopes and dreams of America. I believe we can have a bright future if we face our past sins, ask forgiveness and move forward together. We can have a bright future is we as believers understand it is not about America, it is about the Church which needs to repent, return to God, and seek Him. When that has happened, the kind of social concerns we have melt away without stacking the courts, gerrymandering congressional districts, and manipulating elections to our favor. America will only be as moral, as courageous, and virtuous as the Church of the Living God is. That is the long and the short of it.

Wash your hands, wear your masks in consideration for your neighbor, mind the gap, and be kind.