.hazy winter sun.

.la boulange’s fruit, yogurt and granola.

.not being charged extra for soy milk.

.hot chocolate.

.walking.

.doggie day care.

.Dansko clogs.

.portable bamboo silverware.

.the flu shot.

.black.

.birthdays.

.the kindle.

.my green kindle cover.

.yoga.

.pedicures.

.gaudy jewelry.

.minimalism.

.the city.

Considering that in lieu of MTV, SNL, Nintendo and other 90’s pop culture tidbits, I was exposed to Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, The Wiz, Hairspray and the like, I naturally disagree with Ryan’s premise. I don’t think that plays are ALWAYS better than movies - I’ve never seen the movie Fiddler on the Roof, and I’m sure it probably is superior - but I, personally, will likely always choose a live, in-the-moment experience over a manufactured one.

My family’s library of Broadway soundtracks and the immense number of hours spent in the theatre growing up certainly contributes to this preference but it’s more than that ~ theatre is, well, a spiritual experience for me. It’s one of my favorite things about life - the feeling that you’re almost eavesdropping in on someone else’s life, someone else’s story. That they’re sharing something with you in a personal way. I’m not going to make the case that all theatre productions are meaningful and profound. I’m not going to say that Les Mis is the same caliber as Legally Blond, of course. They’re completely different ends of the spectrum but they both have the capability to engage with you in an intimate way, whether it be through the heartbreaking honesty of Jean Valjean or through the earnest hilarity of Elle Woods.

I still vividly remember the first time I saw Les Mis, over ten years ago. I was at the Pantages with my family, sitting in the second row. We were close enough to see the actors spit, to be even more thoroughly drawn into what I would already consider one of the, if not THE greatest musical. It was heart-wrenching, raw, and no movie could ever compare to that.

Not to mention that for me there’s something beyond the actual production itself - theater is the thing my family and I did (and still do) together, it’s the thing Ryan and I do together, it’s a thing I love doing with friends. I have fond, fond memories of laughing through the Scarlet Pimpernel with my parents, seeing 42nd street with my Grandma, being completely blindsided by the nudity in Spring Awakening when I saw it with my sister (ok, that one’s not as fond…), queuing up for the cheap seats to Chicago with a friend in London’s West End, attempting to surprise Ryan with Les Mis tickets. My life’s memories are punctuated by theater experiences, so I guess I’m a little bit biased.

I don’t mean to imply that theater (as in film and movies) can’t produce a spiritual experience or fond memories. I just know that I, personally would be far more inclined to pick theatre over theater. And since Ryan and I need a thing we do together, I guess I’ll stick with it. Lord knows we can’t agree on what movie to see …

~ Groucho Marx

Are you going to believe what you see or what I tell you?

~ Willie Nelson

I’ve been facing down this conundrum  recently. It’s not an ignorance due to mis-eduction or lack of information. No, to be ignorant because you have insufficient resources is forgivable. This is an ignorance that people seek out for themselves regardless of the realities around them. This is opt-in ignorance.

Here’s one example that I’m sure will ruffle more than a few feathers but which has been in the spotlight recently: the vaccination “debate” (which isn’t even a debate in the medical community …). Never mind the research done showing no links between vaccinations and certain illnesses. Never mind that the study responsible for the MMR/Autism scare has been discredited or that the doctor who conducted it may have his medical license removed. No. Because this information comes from the medical community - which, by some strange (irrational) double standard is to be completely distrusted - such research is met with an air of “your facts are no good here.”

Of course, in this instance opt-in ignorance stands to (physically) hurt more people than just the person making the decision, which is especially dangerous. It’s a strange situation where reality seems to be incompatible with a previously-established belief system, and I won’t even delve into how many of these systems are constructed.

I can think of multiple other examples of such ignorance that assail me on a regular basis, most of which on the surface don’t appear to hurt anyone but the person opting in. Dig a little deeper, though, and I think you’ll find that opt-in ignorance tends to be a culture. It latches on and often gets passed down from generation to generation, creating a different kind of danger; one where our minds, our rationale and our ability to reason are at stake. This may not be a physical death, but a death of intellect is quite a blow none-the-less.

I wanted to be a TV newscaster.

And so I set out to become one, grabbing all the journalism experience I could get my hands on. I interviewed friends we had who were in the biz. I shadowed local reporters. I did internships (ENDLESS internships, just ask my sister). I got my degree in broadcast journalism. I produced our school’s newscast as well as parts of the news for the community access station where my school was located. After college, I hosted and produced a segment for the DOD TV station while Ryan was stationed in Italy. After that I moved to live, small-town news as a producer (because by then I’d determined I liked calling the shots more than being on camera). And then I was on to big city news.

And then I got burnt out. Too many overnights and 3am shifts and holidays and all I could see was my life flashing before my eyes - and I was only 23. So I got out of “the biz” and stayed in related fields but without an emphasis on production. I toyed around with a lot of other things, even applying and getting accepted to a program for my Master’s in Social Work. In my “spare time” I dabbled in non-profit fundraising and grassroots activism. And I was always obsessed with what to be when I grew up.

Then I began dabbling as the producer and host of GovFresh.TV and I got a new job where I’m back to having a significant amount of my time focused on producing a show. And I realized this is the stuff I enjoy the most. No, it’s more like I re-discovered it; it was my ten-year-old self who first realized it all those years ago. I for sure don’t have a career path mapped out and I’m not sure what I want my end goal to be, but it’s refreshing to have a piece of the puzzle figured out and to discover that I should have more faith in myself, in my initial reactions. There are still many other things I want to do in my life (like maybe get a doctorate in theology or write a book or play in a band), but I was beginning to worry I would have to carry the angst of this initial self-discovery into my 30’s when everyone tells me that’s what your 20’s are for.

I’m quite, quite sure I still don’t have it all figured out, and sometimes I feel like I’ve wasted the past few years as I struggled to find my calling. But fortunately more than a few good things have come out of that. The endeavors I dabbled in taught me so much about myself and along the way I discovered a love for the social web, technology, social activism, politics, and other things that continue to shape the way I want to spend and invest my time.

And since I was self-employed during those years, I can pretty much spin my past any way I want!

Of course, this is all common knowledge ~ one has to look no further than the nomenclature “the religious right” to see that we’ve accepted this religious infiltration into our politics and policy. (Check out “The Family” if you want a chilling look into just how inter-connected Evangelical leaders like Dr. Dobson and Pat Robertson are with the political underground.) I grew up in churches where it was no more strange to sign an anti-abortion petition in the foyer of the building than it was to sing choruses at the start of each service. And to many people within Christian circles, I would guess this idea is somewhat innocuous. But here’s the thing: IT’S NOT. By veritably preaching politics from the pulpit, the church is alienating anyone who might believe differently by essentially saying: “We are the authority on this subject, this is the correct thing to believe, and here is the correct way to vote.”

Now, again, for many people in this religious community, that last statement seems perfectly fine. They believe the church IS the authority, and that they (and by “they” I mean whatever denomination or specific church that person happens to belong to) DO have the market cornered on truth and the correct way to vote. But by making this statement, we’re forgetting several things:

We aren’t the authority on absolute truth. I wrote an extensive post on the idea of absolute truth and the misconception that we as one denomination or one religion or one people group can have the market on absolute truth cornered, understood and correctly interpreted. It just doesn’t work that way ~ we all interpret things through our own lenses using a number of different things to taint and affect our understanding.

This isn’t to say we shouldn’t search after truth or that we shouldn’t have a dialogue about it within our churches (I actually think that’s the BEST place to have a dialogue). However, when it comes to politics, it doesn’t make sense to preach a certain action or way of voting as absolute truth when we can’t be sure, and when by so doing we run the risk of creating a rift within a community.

I’m not saying that we don’t stand up for what we believe in. I’m not saying absolute truth doesn’t exist. I’m not even saying that we can’t come to a conclusion about what we believe that truth to be, based on the best tools at our disposal. I AM saying that I aspire to a belief system built on springs (ie, one that can accommodate different view points and is in flux as I learn more and more about my world and my religion), rather than one built on bricks (ie, one that walls people in or out, and is based on a stark black-and-white interpretation without much room for error).

There’s more than one way to skin a cat. I’m going to sidestep the abortion issue right now because that’s not the debate I wish to get into but it’s the easiest issue to point to as it’s one of the things the Church has most actively and fervently aligned itself with. Similar parallels can be drawn between homosexuality, environmentalism, evolution, and the list goes on. There are many, many absolutist beliefs that mainstream Christianity seems to inject into its followers without much evidence, argument or discussion. It can then equate these beliefs with political action.

I’m still trying to get over my frustration and bitterness toward the Church for allowing ~ nay, fostering ~ this type of atmosphere. I’m going to sidestep that as well and suffice it to say that because one church or THE Church isn’t the authority on absolute truth, there are bound to be different beliefs within the community. And that’s ok. It’s when we get into this “Us vs. Them” mentality that we’re treading on dangerous ground.

The bubble is bigger than we think. My above two points have touched on this, but I think we need to remember that even (especially?) within the church, we are all unique individuals with the potential for coming to our own unique conclusions. If our bubbles only include people who think, act and believe like us it can be hard to remember this ~ I should know, I grew up in communities where there was a sense of shock and indignation if it was revealed that someone had voted Democrat!

I’m not saying we shouldn’t have opinions or discuss our political beliefs ~ au contraire! I LOVE opinions and discussions but they shouldn’t be coming as mandates from church leaders.

In closing I do want to point out that I come from a place where the so-called “religious right” and their belief system was most actively espoused, but I don’t think that preaching ANY politics from the pulpit ~ right OR left ~ or encouraging ANY partisan action within a church is acceptable. Even in a relatively small bubble, where many people believe similarly, we can’t be SURE of the convictions our neighbor holds. I’d rather - and this is a process for me, too! - be able to discuss, understand and dialogue about these convictions as I build a relationship instead of creating an environment where anyone with different convictions feels unwelcome.