Monthly Archives: January 2017

Korematsu Google Doodle

In the News, , , , , ,

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I don’t normally give more than just a passing glance to the Google Doodle of the Day. Sometimes they are fun, sometimes they are commemorative, but usually I have a web destination in mind when I open the browser and do not allow myself the distraction. Today, however, I paused.

I’ll be the first person to admit that I am largely ignorant of the news. I don’t watch news programs, don’t listen to the news on the radio, and do not read a newspaper (physical or electronic). And lately, tensions have been running high as the executive leadership of the country has changed hands, so I have been avoiding political posts on social media.

But if a topic is very large and pervasive, you cannot help but here about it here and there. I’m sure if I try to speak about what happened this weekend, my account will be largely fraught with errors, so I’ll just give my impression: President Trump put something into effect which is restricting the movement (I believe via air travel) of a certain segment of the population.

Which is why the Google Doodle grabbed my attention.

It looked both patriotic, as well as reminiscent of internment camps, so I poked around Wikipedia and read about the case of Korematsu v. United States. In this particular instance, the Supreme Court upheld that the government acted appropriately and in the best interests of national security. Later, they found that the Supreme Court may not have had all the appropriate information to make their decision, but the case was never overturned.

Today happens to be the 98th anniversary of Fred Korematsu’s birth, but it is very interesting to have this juxtaposed with the events of the weekend.

In reading the Wikipedia article, one of the decisions of a dissenting judge caught my attention. Justice Frank Murphy wrote,

I dissent, therefore, from this legalization of racism. Racial discrimination in any form and in any degree has no justifiable part whatever in our democratic way of life. It is unattractive in any setting, but it is utterly revolting among a free people who have embraced the principles set forth in the Constitution of the United States. All residents of this nation are kin in some way by blood or culture to a foreign land. Yet they are primarily and necessarily a part of the new and distinct civilization of the United States. They must, accordingly, be treated at all times as the heirs of the American experiment, and as entitled to all the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.

As a country, there have been times where we have embraced the world and been a refuge for all nations, and times where we have been xenophobic and restricted our borders. I do not have the answer to the immigration issue or any of the related struggles. I just hope that as a people and as a country, we have compassion and love in our hearts as we make decisions. We are heirs of the American experiment. Only time will tell how our experiment turned out. May God guide us and protect us.

National Day: Freethinkers Day

Calendar Trivia, Uncategorized

Today is Freethinkers Day.  And perhaps that is the reason for a lot of frustration.  I find for myself that the hardest questions to *want* to answer are the ones where there is a canned answer.  Especially if the answer is well documented and accessible to the person asking.  The questions I like answering best are the ones which require some investigation and creative thinking. Then, if I can come up with a workable answer, it feels like a victory.

Question Mark Graffiti
Photo Credit: Bilal Kamoon, Flickr

Planning to Plan

Planning, , , ,

January has been rough. You’ve probably noticed my long absence. Or not, as the case may be.

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I still have my resolutions which I am working through, but things have been very busy at work and I’ve been exhausted when I get home, so there has been very little time for documenting what I’ve been up to, much less any “me time.”

What accomplishments have I made this month?  Anything?  Small victories, I think.  I took all of the boxes to the trash this week; they had been cluttering up the bedroom and kitchen hallway.  I finally took the leaves to the kitchen table I had given away last year to the curb. I moved my sticker binders into the office instead of the living room. And half of the stovetop is cleaned off.

Also, I’ve started taking photos of what each room in the house looks like *right now*.  I’m planning on doing this each month to keep myself on track.  I’ll probably add those photos to a different post.

Hopefully, February will be a little calmer and I’ll be able to get more routines in place.

Only one month until Lent!

Remain in Him

faith, Scripture

With every New Year comes a spate of New Year’s Resolutions. I look forward eagerly to this time of renewal and enthusiasm for goals and planning and getting back to the things that I love and the things that I value. Every year, however, I always find myself ill-prepared and scrambling. I’m rarely ready to start right out of the gate, and I never have enough pre-planning done to make my goals sustainable. There’s nothing different in that regard this year.

For a while, I’ve felt at least somewhat distant from God. Not that I believe any less. Just… It’s hard to put into words. I want to have a passionate faith. But just wanting something does not make it happen.

And I know that feelings are not something which can be controlled, only actions, but they certainly can make things more difficult. The more that I feel disengaged, the more that I need to put myself in His presence.

I had a planner that I dedicated to my faith life last year and it went largely untouched. This year, I again have a planner dedicated to my faith life, and I’m hoping to be able to use it more. To want to use it more. To grow, instead of stagnate, in my faith. I haven’t decided yet how I will set it up, but I think it’s more important this year to let it grow organically, rather than impose a set pattern from the beginning and then abandon it if the pattern no longer works for me.

I don’t yet have a reading plan for Scripture. There’s one to start soon in my Llamas Do Scripture group, and there’s always the daily lectionary, but this evening as I sat down to read after writing down in my planner my feelings, I decided to go into my Laudate app on my phone. The daily Scripture reading they suggested was entitled “Remain in Him,” 1 John 2: 27-28.

But the anointing which you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that any one should teach you; as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie, just as it has taught you, abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.

It seems terribly appropriate, right?

The app gives suggestions on how to remain in Jesus: read Scripture, pray, receive the Eucharist, serve others.

Abide in Him or Remain in Him seem, to me, to be active things. Do it. Don’t wish you had a more fiery faith, just live it. Even if you are not feeling it right now. He’s there whether you feel His presence or not. He loves you no less now than before. Human hearts have this quality that makes us say, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” or “Time makes you forget,” but God’s heart is not fickle like this. God’s heart is steadfast, hesed.