Could it be because we don’t really believe we can be whole people? If you’re not a whole person, then the only other options you have left are to be a religious person, a rebellious person, or a victim. If you don’t believe you can be whole, the most appealing thing to be would be a victim, wouldn’t it? Let’s just be whole people, instead!

It’s interesting to me to think of America in terms of a giant social experiment in joy. It’s built into our constitution. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. As if a bunch of philosophers got together and said, “let’s create a nation in which people are free to try [almost] everything to be happy.” That in mind, it’s no surprise our culture is the way it is. Our advertisements are filled with people wearing goofy smiles, driving new sports cars, playing with new gadgets, wearing new jewelry, etc. The message these ads communicate is, basically, “buy this and you will be happy.” Then there is the Oprah/Dr. Phil-isms of our thinking. It’s all about “think positive,” and “feel good about yourself,” and “let yourself go,” and “it doesn’t mater what you believe, as long as it makes you feel good” and blah blah blah… And there are the politicians, who say “are things not going your way? Are you not happy yet? It’s because my opponent is in office. Vote me in instead and THEN you will be happy.” And the thing is, people usually eat all this stuff up. The horrible thing about the American dream is that it’s a formula to happiness that takes an entire lifetime. It goes like this: Grow up in suburbs –> Get degree –> Get high paying job –> Get married –> Get house in suburbs –> Raise 2.5 kids –> Work a few more years –> Retire = Happiness. The problem is, by the time you get finished with it and realize that it doesn’t make you any happier than you started, and you’ve wasted your whole life.

Nothing new.

We could save ourselves the time by reading Ecclesiastes. King Solomon spent his life trying everything to be happy, and did a better job of it than most of us. He had wealth, women, power, the latest technology, etc. and his book opens with “Meaningless! Meaningless! It’s all meaningless!”

Sheep without a shepherd.

At a time when the suicide rates are peaking in this country, divorce is higher than it’s ever been, and most people are on some sort of medication for depression or anxiety, it seems that if people were going to realize that these things will not make them happy, they would’ve by now. I think it’s obvious that people, left to their own devices, will not turn from what is killing them. Sheep without a shepherd will often graze on grass and continue eating until their stomachs burst and they die. Jesus said we are like sheep without a shepherd, but that He came to be the good shepherd.

Perhaps the reason the world does not consider Jesus as a path to happiness is because He does not offer the drive-through happiness the world offers. The problem with drive-through happiness is that you eat your burger, then you get hungry again. Instead, Jesus gives joy, wich is capable of dwelling with suffering. Of course, this sounds lame to a lot of us, especially if we grew up in church and have heard it before. Sort of like a cop-out answer. The world says “have happiness all the time and never have any sadness again,” and the Church says, “that’s impossible, so join our side and have what we have, cause it’s the best you’re gonna get.”

Shepherd. [the good one]

Actually, Jesus says, “I’m planning on coming back, and I’ll bring a perfect world with me, so that you can live in happiness and never experience sadness again forever and ever because I’ll be there with you. In the mean time, why don’t you tell your friends about it so they can come to? I’ll make it easier by putting that perfect world inside of you so that you can access it whenever you please. Just keep focused on me and it’ll all go according to plan.”

There you go, America. Want happiness? Love Jesus and tell you friends to love Him too.

The intensity of this stereotype varies, depending on the art form. Us writers have it fairly good, because we stay out of the way pretty well, with the exception of poets. Musicians can be accepted as pretty manly, as long as they’re not too sensitive, and especially if they don’t write their own songs. Then there are the thespians, the painters, the dancers, ect. who live on the bottom of the high school food chain.

I think we’ve gotten it all wrong.

Creativity has always been linked with Femininity. (probably because of it’s association with beauty, which is a very feminine thing.) Most of us now-a-days, and especially if we’ve matured a little bit since puberty, would say that being an artist isn’t any less manly than being a football player. But, most people tend to say that with a certain tone. Oftentimes, what they’re really saying is, “My bro, Jim, is really cool. I mean, he paints and everything, but he’s totally secure in his masculinity, so it’s cool.” But that’s basically saying that you can be masculine despite being creative, and not because of it.

But what’s the first thing we are told about God in the Bible? “In the beginning, God created…” And this was God the Father. Creation is the fundamental act of Fatherhood. To create is to father. Even my old poetry prof at Baylor used to say that writing a poem is like raising a child. You work so hard on a poem and then there comes a time when you send it off to the publishers and you have to kind of “let go,” and hope it makes it alright by itself in the world. After all, it is impossible to be a father without first creating a son or daughter.

Now, how fatherhood informs Masculinity should be kind of obvious. You’ve got to be male to be a father. But, I think most people would agree that fathers are typically the most influential person in a young man’s life. For better or worse. The guy may be a horrible person, but if he’s your father, what he says matters. At the end of the day, Masculinity is defined by the father.

So, what could be more masculine than Creativity?

We cannot create something from nothing, as God can, but we mimic that by creating something greater out of something lesser. We “sub-create,” as Tolkien would say. Furthermore, it costs us something to create. Just as God rested on the seventh day, the act of creating should cause in us the need to rest. We were made to sacrifice in order to create. Lastly, we see in Genesis that God created only what “was good.” So, Masculinity is bringing into existence something of life, truth, beauty… anything and everything the word “good” entails.

Compare this to some other acts that are more traditionally known as masculine… Work, for example. Most people tend to think that men were made for the plow. Work is simply sacrificing your time and energy in order to achieve something. And that something is usually for the good purpose of providing for yourself and your loved ones. How about Athletics? Here, men are able to compete, by sacrificing every last ounce of their strength. And most of the time, they are competing for something good… Think of the World Cup, when people play for the honor of their homelands, or the camaraderie of their team mates. Lastly, War. Pretty similar to Athletics, only the stakes are higher. Men are willing to sacrifice their very lives for something good, like the safety of their loved ones. Starting to see a theme here?

Sacrificing yourself to bring about something that is noble and good… True Masculinity isn’t defined really by what you do, but your attitude in it. The people who are lousy men aren’t the people who are in the Arts. They are anybody who does something out of un-Masculine motives. Do they write music for their own glory? Do they enlist in the military just for the thrill of being able to legally harm another human-being? (it sounds farfetched, but you’d be surprised) Do they climb the corporate ladder for the sake of hoarding money for themselves? Do they abuse their children and bully their wives? These people are the cowards.

The problem is, people tend to swing to ridiculous extremes. If they are in the Arts and are told they are un-Masculine, then soon enough, you have people  think Masculinity is just a bunch of idiots hitting each other on a soccer field. They swing away from everything that is typically thought of as masculine, because their craft is what is real and life-giving to them and, if it is not manly, then they need to become the least manly they can be in order to get more out of their art and become a better artist. But in actuality, being a true man will make them a better artist.

Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that the Arts in our society are getting more and more perverse, in conjunction with the complete breakdown of any understanding that men and women are even different, much less have specific strengths and weaknesses. Or perhaps it has something to do with the fact that churches across America are packed with women, but few men, all the while it is the artists who the Church has always struggled to identify with and serve with.

But I don’t look at this as depressing. I see it as a clear runway for a hopeful future. We know who to focus on. The example of King David stands in the old testament like a shining example to what could be… A passionate, courageous poet/warrior, who led the people f God into a golden age.

Here goes nothin.

The story starts with several different political commentators going on their national television shows and railing on about a Mosque being built on top of Ground Zero in NYC. Then, they start saying one of two things: 1. That it is part of a plan to culturally sway America into a Muslim nation. 2. That it is part of a plan to train Muslim radicals to be terrorists.

Then, it comes out that the Mosque is actually proposed to be built a couple blocks away from Ground Zero, and that actually it’s a Muslim Community Center/Mosque. The commentators still hold that their two assumptions apply despite a lessened proximity to ground zero.

The plot thickens, when a pastor of a church in Florida announces that he will hold a public book burning of the Qur’an at his church, in order to “send a warning.” Many government officials of other nations urge him not to do it, because the Qur’an is a holy book and it would be disgraceful to do so. Many government officials of the United States urge him not to do it for the same reasons, in addition to the fact that this burning could foreseeably cause such great anger overseas, that people in Muslim nations will rise up and put our soldiers at greater risk. General Patraeus of the US armed forces agrees. The pastor says he’s taken these objections into consideration, but has decided to go through with his book burning anyway.

Then, the pastor was told by an Imam that should he cancel his plans, this Mosque/Community Center will not be built as scheduled. Apparently, whether there was miscommunication or he was lied to, this isn’t the case. So, the pastor in Florida now feels he has been lied to, and is considering going through with the book burning. Everyone waits to see what this one man will do this Saturday.

Now’s the part where I talk all about it.

Here’s my thoughts on this whole shebang, play-by-play.

First, the political talkshow hosts claiming the Mosque would be built literally ON ground zero is misinformation, caused by one of two things: A failure to fully research the issue before talking and getting people riled up about it. This would be bad journalism. The other “thing” is that the facts were intentionally altered, which shows a lack of integrity. People on these shows need to realize that a nationally televised talk show is a big responsibility. It takes both a job well done, as well as at least the moral character not to lie to people who believe in you. We really need to realize the power of journalism and start holding our journalists accountable, before someone gets hurt. (And many people would argue that people already have been hurt)

Second, the political commentators claims that this Mosque is being built to train terrorists is a farfetched claim with little to no facts to back it up. It is simply meant to play on the fears of Americans to sway them to a certain opinion. See the above note concerning journalistic integrity. Their other assumption, however, is very much true. Namely, the assumption that the Muslims plan to culturally transform America into a Muslim Nation. Of course this is true. Islam is an evangelical religion. The goal of any evangelical religion is ultimately to convert individuals and, thus, nations. This fact would probably be common knowledge to more Americans if we didn’t make the word “evangelical” into a political label, thus forgetting it’s real meaning. Christianity is an evangelical religion, too. Missionaries go to other countries every day in order to culturally transform them into Christian Nations. Is that a bad thing? No. I believe it’s a very good thing because I believe Christianity is true. But we need to realize that we have competition. On the one hand, we shouldn’t be worried about these claims of Islam taking over, because our God is the one true God. Think of Elijah and the prophets of Baal in the Old Testament. His God versus theirs. His God won, because Baal does not exist, and because God is jealous for the affections of His people. He will show Himself. However, remember that the confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Baal took place in a time when very few Jews still worshipped God. The majority of them worshipped Baal, because Israel had been “culturally transformed” into a Baalist Nation. Sound familiar? But here’s the catch: They weren’t a Baalist Nation because they allowed the Baalites to set up one too many community centers. They were a Baalist Nation because they allowed their relationship with God to become a boring, stale religion. They went to Temple on the the Sabbath and went through the motions, and every other day of the week, they lived no differently than they had before they were followers of God. In fact, they looked more to their King and government than they did to God. Sound REALLY familiar?

Next soapbox.

Okay, so this Imam. Whoever it was who made the decision to build the Mosque a few blocks from ground zero. Yes, there is nothing technically wrong with this decision, under the law. But, does that make it a good decision? Since when is the government the deciding factor in morality. I seem to remember my American Constitutional Development professor teaching that the ethical and social philosophers who founded our country based the Constitution off of their belief in “Divine Law.” In other words, an objective morality that is higher than any other law ever to exist. (I could get on a whole new tangent here about Post Modernism and how very few Americans actually believe in objective truth now-a-days, but I’ll spare you) The point is, the law of this land is the best the government is able to do, but not the best a person is able to do. I personally think this Imam showed a disregard for wisdom in his decision. And, I find it ironic that Christians are held to a higher standard of political correctness, than any other group in the US. Christian teachers, for example, are not allowed to share the gospel with kids at school, because they might offend someone, but this Mosque’s construction will offend many people, yet it is being defended.

Moving right along to Reverend McBurn-the-Qur’an. Where to begin? First, I’ll point out the ironic double-standard against Christians again. People of all races and beliefs gather around the world every day to burn Bibles and murder missionaries (over 400 a day, to be exact), but our media focuses all it’s attention on a pastor who wants to burn a Qur’an. Perhaps the problem is that Muslims take it personally when they are persecuted and Christians don’t. Most Christians in America aren’t that bothered by the immense persecution of the brothers and sisters around the globe because they live in blissful, American comfort. So, because of this double standard it’s okay to burn the Qur’an, right? Of course not. Aside from the obvious recklessness of putting soldiers in danger, it is simply wrong! This pastor has apparently forgotten when his mother said “don’t you stoop to their level.” Be the bigger man, dude! Don’t you worship a guy who said “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”? Why not hold a prayer rally for Islamic terrorists? Why not raise money to support missionaries living in Afghanistan? Why not get off your couch and GO to Iran and tell Muslims the good news? They’re trying to do that here, and the best counter-offense you can come up with is to burn their book?

In closing.

People complain all the time about how broken America is, and it truly is pretty broken. Doesn’t seem to be headed towards being fixed any time soon, either. The problem isn’t that people put all their hope in their god. the problem is that their gods are weak and pathetic and have no power to save any of them. The gods they worship are Political Parties, Comfort, Themselves, etc… They think these things will fix our country, but the problem is that they can’t fix our country, because they’re NOT Omnipotent Benevolent Beings. Sure, we go to church on Sundays, but we don’t worship Jesus. We sing songs to the air. We hang cute plaques with Bible verses on our walls, but we don’t read the Bible. An old professor of mine recently polled one of his classes and found that, in a group of 22 students, 3 had read the entire Bible (A total of 807,361 words), while 20 had read all seven Harry Potter books. (a total of 1,084,170 words) This was at Baylor University, the largest Baptist University in the world. I was going to say something clever about how we do something reminiscent of prayer but don’t really pray, but we don’t even do that. We just don’t really pray. At all. And if we do, we will literally exhaust every other option before we resort to prayer. Really? Asking God, who loves you and is capable of doing anything… That should be plan A, not plan Z. Unless, of course, you don’t really believe one of the following: (God loves you. God wants to help you. God can help you) All 3 of which, the Bible clearly states is true.

I’m not trying to be one of those people who say over and over again that we need to get back to our values, though I guess that’s exactly what I am in posting this rather long rant. The difference is this: When most politicians say “We need to restore our values,” they mean “We need to vote for (insert name here), who believes in values.” They never really go very in-depth into what they mean by “values,” either. When I say “We need to restore our values,” I mean “Break out the sack-cloth and ashes! We need to repent before God for OUR sins. Not other peoples’ sins. We need to beg Him to save us, not the Government. And we need to live the way He taught us to live, which includes teaching others how to live that way.” You want to talk about Founding Fathers? How about the Founding Fathers of American Spirituality? You can keep your George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, thanks. They’re great people and all, but I’d prefer John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, George Whiefield, and John Woolman.

This concludes my rant. I’d be surprised to find that anyone has read it in it’s entirety. It was more for me than anything else. This was in my head, and it didn’t belong in my journal or my conversations, so I thought I’d put it on the old blog.

Sorry if I’ve offended you. If this sparks discussion, or criticism, I probably won’t respond to it. I haven’t got the time, and any opponents of anything I’ve said will appreciate getting the last say, anyway. I would, however, ask that you not accuse me of being a flaming liberal, or an intolerant conservative. If you’ve truly read and understood what I’ve said, then you would know that I am neither. If you’ve read this in it’s entirety, and still accuse me of pushing a certain political agenda, then let’s be honest. You shouldn’t be on the internet. You should be at home, coloring… Ahhh! That was too mean, I’m sorry!

Cheers,

Adam K Amberg

PS- Glenn Beck is not a Christian. He is a Mormon. It’s not exactly a secret. Have the “evangelical voters” realized this yet?

• Publication history
• Current manuscripts
• How to hire me for freelance work
• This blog, revamped
• A store for purchasing my books
• Maybe some other fun things!

Please check adamkamberg.com every once in a while. For now, it is just linked to this blog, but not for long!

Thanks!

the wind-fish
by A K Amberg

For W.S. Merwin

as we clutch this dim sand
like something remembered
but slipping through our fingers
its cascade is a worm swallowed
by the western wind-fish

I wonder why
such a breeze
kept anglo-saxon lovers
apart

for who is he
to judge among the grain
who sweetly falls to
his brothers below
and which is kidnapped
by the sky
taken away to live
or die
or both

but the billows
keep racing from old cities
covered by dirt and water
then to places
I’ve never been
but perhaps you have

http://www.pomegranate.me.uk/submission/read/the-wind-fish
]]> http://manofdirt.wordpress.com/2010/04/15/15-the-wind-fish/feed/ 0 Mockingbirds and Pomegranates http://manofdirt.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/14-acquainted-with-the-night/ http://manofdirt.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/14-acquainted-with-the-night/#comments Wed, 14 Apr 2010 07:57:51 +0000 manofdirt http://manofdirt.wordpress.com/?p=398 ]]> Acquainted With the Night
by Robert Frost

I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain—and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.

I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,

But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
One luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right
I have been one acquainted with the night.
]]> http://manofdirt.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/14-acquainted-with-the-night/feed/ 0 Mockingbirds and Pomegranates http://manofdirt.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/13-ode-to-a-nightingale/ http://manofdirt.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/13-ode-to-a-nightingale/#comments Wed, 14 Apr 2010 07:51:15 +0000 manofdirt http://manofdirt.wordpress.com/?p=396 ]]> Ode to a Nightingale
by John Keats

My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains
One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:
‘Tis not through envy of thy happy lot,
But being too happy in thine happiness,—
That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees
In some melodious plot
Of beechen green, and shadows numberless,
Singest of summer in full-throated ease.

O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been
Cool’d a long age in the deep-delved earth,
Tasting of Flora and the country green,
Dance, and Provençal song, and sunburnt mirth!
O for a beaker full of the warm South,
Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,
With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,
And purple-stained mouth;
That I might drink, and leave the world unseen,
And with thee fade away into the forest dim:

Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget
What thou among the leaves hast never known,
The weariness, the fever, and the fret
Here, where men sit and hear each other groan;
Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs,
Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;
Where but to think is to be full of sorrow
And leaden-eyed despairs,
Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,
Or new Love pine at them beyond to-morrow.

Away! away! for I will fly to thee,
Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards,
But on the viewless wings of Poesy,
Though the dull brain perplexes and retards:
Already with thee! tender is the night,
And haply the Queen-Moon is on her throne,
Cluster’d around by all her starry Fays;
But here there is no light,
Save what from heaven is with the breezes blown
Through verdurous glooms and winding mossy ways.

I cannot see what flowers are at my feet,
Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs,
But, in embalmed darkness, guess each sweet
Wherewith the seasonable month endows
The grass, the thicket, and the fruit-tree wild;
White hawthorn, and the pastoral eglantine;
Fast fading violets cover’d up in leaves;
And mid-May’s eldest child,
The coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine,
The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves.

Darkling I listen; and, for many a time
I have been half in love with easeful Death,
Call’d him soft names in many a mused rhyme,
To take into the air my quiet breath;
Now more than ever seems it rich to die,
To cease upon the midnight with no pain,
While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad
In such an ecstasy!
Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain—
To thy high requiem become a sod.

Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!
No hungry generations tread thee down;
The voice I hear this passing night was heard
In ancient days by emperor and clown:
Perhaps the self-same song that found a path
Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home,
She stood in tears amid the alien corn;
The same that oft-times hath
Charm’d magic casements, opening on the foam
Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.

Forlorn! the very word is like a bell
To toll me back from thee to my sole self!
Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well
As she is fam’d to do, deceiving elf.
Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades
Past the near meadows, over the still stream,
Up the hill-side; and now ’tis buried deep
In the next valley-glades:
Was it a vision, or a waking dream?
Fled is that music:—Do I wake or sleep?