Heros

A friend of mine recently sent me the article written by Ben Stein as his last piece for E! Online. Now I have read this article before and it struck me just has hard the second time around as it did the first. But this time around I have this medium, this blog, to express myself.

The word "hero" is tossed around quite loosely in this day and age. And when people speak of their heros you usually hear of a celebrity type person such as a sports figure, an actor, or musician. Even I, when asked who my hero is, would say that, although I don't subscribe to the idea of a hero if I had to chose I would say Gene Simmons. But on deeper reflection I find that I am wrong on two accounts.

First, I do subscribe to the idea of heros. I know that heros exist all around us. I acknowledge their presences and am grateful for them being there. Second, although I admire Gene Simmons for how he overcame his struggles as a young boy and became a Rock N' Roll legend I do not consider him a hero. Admiration is definitely a complimentary feeling to have for another person. But the word admiration can not, and should not, replace the word hero.

A hero is someone you can count on when lives are at stake. A hero is someone that performs a duty or service that people depend on for their well-being. A hero usually receives pay that is greatly below the value of the service they provide and the sacrifices that they make.

Who are heros? The police, fire fighters, emerency medical personnel, military personnel, truck drivers, and the countless volunteers that go out of their way to help others in need. Heros are all around us. They walk along the same streets as we do. They eat at the same restaurants or fast food joints that we do. Heros aren't followed by paparazzi and hounded by screaming fans. You can walk up to a hero and strike up a casual conversation because they are regular people. Not highly paid celebrities with bodyguards and an entourage.

A quick note here about listing truck drivers as heros. I'm sure it is easy to see how the police and fire fighters make the list. But how are truckers heros? The life of a truck driver is a life of being alone and making sacrifices to get freight from one location to another. Think of every material thing in your life from the things that you need to the things you love. Every bit of it arrived on a truck. They say that people will start dying after three days if the trucks stopped rolling. Sounds like a hero to me. Use this as example to broaden your realization of who is a hero.

Below I have reposted Ben Stein's article. Read it. Read it again. And then determine if you have chosen the right heros. I'm willing to bet that you haven't. To all of the real heros I say "Thank you!"

___________________________________________________

How Can Someone Who Lives in Insane Luxury Be a Star in Today's World?

By Ben Stein

As I begin to write this, I "slug" it, as we writers say, which means I put a heading on top of the document to identify it. This heading is "eonlineFINAL," and it gives me a shiver to write it. I have been doing this column for so long that I cannot even recall when I started. I loved writing this column so much for so long I came to believe it would never end.

It worked well for a long time, but gradually, my changing as a person and the world's change have overtaken it. On a small scale, Morton's, while better than ever, no longer attracts as many stars as it used to. It still brings in the rich people in droves and definitely some stars. I saw Samuel L. Jackson there a few days ago, and we had a nice visit, and right before that, I saw and had a splendid talk with Warren Beatty in an elevator, in which we agreed that Splendor in the Grass was a super movie. But Morton's is not the star galaxy it once was, though it probably will be again.

Beyond that, a bigger change has happened I no longer think Hollywood stars are terribly important. They are uniformly pleasant, friendly people, and they treat me better than I deserve to be treated. But a man or woman who makes a huge wage for memorizing lines and reciting them in front of a camera is no longer my idea of a shining star we should all look up to.

How can a man or woman who makes an eight-figure wage and lives in insane luxury really be a star in today's world, if by a "star" we mean someone bright and powerful and attractive as a role model? Real stars are not riding around in the backs of limousines or in Porsches or getting trained in yoga or Pilates and eating only raw fruit while they have Vietnamese girls do their nails.

They can be interesting, nice people, but they are not heroes to me any longer. A real star is the soldier of the 4th Infantry Division who poked his head into a hole on a farm near Tikrit, Iraq. He could have been met by a bomb or a hai l of AK-47 bullets. Instead, he faced an abject Saddam Hussein and the gratitude of all of the decent people of the world.

A real star is the U.S. soldier who was sent to disarm a bomb next to a road north of Baghdad. He approached it, and the bomb went off and killed him.

A real star, the kind who haunts my memory night and day, is the U.S. soldier in Baghdad who saw a little girl playing with a piece of unexploded ordnance on a street near where he was guarding a station. He pushed her aside and threw himself on it just as it exploded. He left a family desolate in California and a little girl alive in Baghdad.

The stars who deserve media attention are not the ones who have lavish weddings on TV but the ones who patrol the streets of Mosul even after two of their buddies were murdered and their bodies battered and stripped for the sin of trying to protect Iraqis from terrorists.

We put couples with incomes of $100 million a year on the covers of our magazines. The noncoms and officers who barely scrape by on military pay but stand on guard in Afghanistan and Iraq and on ships and in submarines and near the Arctic Circle are anonymous as they live and die.

I am no longer comfortable being a part of the system that has such poor values, and I do not want to perpetuate those values by pretending that who is eating at Morton's is a big subject.
There are plenty of other stars in the American firmament...the policemen and women who go off on patrol in South Central and have no idea if they will return alive; the orderlies and paramedics who bring in people who have been in terrible accidents and prepare them for surgery; the teachers and nurses who throw their whole spirits into caring for autistic children; the kind men and women who work in hospices and in cancer wards.

Think of each and every fireman who was running up the stairs at the World Trade Center as the towers began to collapse. Now you have my idea of a real hero.

I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters. This is my highest and best use as a human. I can put it another way. Years ago, I realized I could never be as great an actor as Olivier or as good a comic as Steve Martin...or Martin Mull or Fred Willard--or as good an economist as Samuelson or Friedman or as good a writer as Fitzgerald. Or even remotely close to any of them.

But I could be a devoted father to my son, husband to my wife and, above all, a good son to the parents who had done so much for me. This came to be my main task in life. I did it moderately well with my son, pretty well with my wife and well indeed with my parents (with my sister's help). I cared for and paid attention to them in their declining years. I stayed with my father as he got sick, went into extremis and then into a coma and then entered immortality with my sister and me reading him the Psalms.

This was the only point at which my life touched the lives of the soldiers in Iraq or the firefighters in New York. I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty, in return for the lavish life God has devolved upon me, to help others He has placed in my path. This is my highest and best use as a human.
Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that God will.

Save the "M&M"

I enjoy the little candy coated chocolate candies with the little "M" printed on them. I especially like the M&M characters. Their commercials are witty and entertaining. The commercials suggest that they know their purpose in life is to be eaten and all is cool. But a new commercial tells and different story.

Now I've seen the commercial in question on several previous occasions but during the TV Land Awards it was run over and over again which really made me feel bad for the M&Ms. What commercial and how did it make me feel bad?

You've probably seen it. Its call the "Kaleidoscope" commercial because of its four mirrored effect and its soft "hippie type" music ("Such Great Heights" from the Garden State Soundtrack). The M&Ms appear individually from the background and move toward the screen. First Orange arrives and he is calm and laid back with a smile on his face. Then he disappears off the screen and Yellow appears. Yellow looks a little confused at first but the is normal because he is the "kind of stupid" one of the group. Yellow mellows out, smiles, and disappears off the screen. Green then appears. She is happy and blows a kiss to the people watching the commercial. Then she disappears off the screen.

Everything is good at this point. Its a nice happy commercial. But then something goes wrong.

Red appears in the background. Now Red seems to be the smart one in previous commercials and this commercial isn't any different. Red has a different look on his face as he moves toward the screen. Red knows something is wrong. You can see worry and concern in his expression and he is looking around wildly for something that we can not yet see. Suddenly you see a hand appear in the background and the thumb and index finger of that hand plucks Red out of the air. You can see Red scream! The hand "pops" Red into the mouth of dude sitting peacefully at a fountain.

What does this commercial tell us? The M&Ms don't want to me eaten! They are frightened! Can you imagine what it would be like to be plucked off the street and tossed into the mouth of some giant creature as a snack? It would be horrible!

And to make matters worse, I have a PVR! I was able to stop the action, rewind, slow-motion forward in order to analyze the situation. If you are just watching the commercial as it plays normally you may miss the pain that Red goes through. So what does that mean? Someone on the "inside" of the M&M/MARS corporation is trying to alert the public of the terrifying situation. It is the only possible conclusion. Images provided by Clipland.

Sporting Event Courtesy

So I've been to a couple of hockey games recently. I'm really not much of a sports fan. It is not that I don't enjoy a sporting event from time to time. I can appreciate the skills and strategy involved. I've come more to understand it is the fans that I can't stand.

To explain this I present to you the two hockey games I attended as these two games were significantly different. Sure, there action on the ice was similar; heavy padded guys with names I can't pronounce sliding around on the ice chasing a small flat disc and trying to get said disc past the other team's goalie with the occasional fight breaking out. Basically your typical icy game.

Game 1: Nashville Predators vs Detroit Red Wings.
I didn't see a single goal during this game. Even worse, I didn't get to see a single fight! This is because every single time anything significant was about to happen on the floor, the people in front of me stood up to watch. Therefore I had to stand up to see but by the time I got up the action was over. Whenever a goal was scored the people around me started high-fiving each other and basically patting each other, and themselves, on the back. They were even making comments about how "WE" scored and how "WE" are better than them. Last I checked the people around me were right there around me. They were not on the ice doing anything. Now the seating in the Nashville Arena is designed to suck all the money they can out of attendance. They are very cramped and have absolutely no space between rows. This means that if you want to go grab some nachos or go take a leak everyone in your path must pick up all their stuff, stand up, and lean back so that you can get out. The people around me that night not only could not stay in their seats, they couldn't stay in the arena. They were constantly in and out causing the other people around them to miss portions of the game to let these assholes out. (Oh, by the way the I won't call the Nashville Arena the Gaylord Entertainment Center. To me it is like the old "toilet paper became bathroom tissue" softening of language conversion that I'm sure I'll blog about at some point.)

Game 2: Nashville Predators verse St. Louis Blues
Everything I mentioned above.... Didn't happen. I sat surrounded by a great group of people. They were enthusiastic about the game and cheered for the team they favored. But they stayed seated, they didn't make stupid claims such as "WE scored", and they didn't do excessive ins and outs that disturbed others.

I need to point out that Detriot won the first game and the Predators won the second. Also there were more fights in the second game (something I enjoy at a hockey game). But these factors had nothing to do with my enjoyment of the game. It is the fans, the people around me, that make or break a game for me. The situation of Game 1 is what I typically experience when attending any sort of sporting event. So you can see that Game 2 was a treat for me. I really enjoyed it.

I want to elaborate on the whole "standin up" thing. Why in the hell do people do this? Stadium seating is designed so that everyone can see. You can't see any better by standing up. In fact, by standing you are actually slightly increasing the distance between the action and your eyes. Think people! What to see something really stupid? Go to the drag races. When I go to the Harley drags I observe this on every run. Everyone is seated while the bikes prepare and make it up to the starting line. Then once the light turns green and the bike explode down the line everyone stands up. Those bikes reach speeds near or over 200MPH. By the time you've stood up the bike is gone and you've missed it.

On this "WE" shit... You don't attend practice.... You don't sit on the bench.... You don't play on the field/court/ice/whatever.... So "WE" aren't doing anything. Support the team that you like. But don't claim to be part of that team.

To the people I shared the Predators vs Blues hockey game... Thank you for being excited about the game while not acting like a bunch of idiots and ruining it for others.

Lighten Up, People!!

OK... Get this... A Muslim couple in West Bengal, India have been told that they must separate. Apparently the man divorced his wife of eleven years by uttering the word "talaq", the Muslim word for divorce, three times in his sleep. When Islamic leaders learned of this, they said that the man's actions constitute a legal divorce under an Islamic procedure known as "triple talaq".

Now here comes the fun part of this story. The couple can remarry but with a mild prerequisite. The woman must take to bed with another man and then be divorced by him before she is allowed to remarry the man she has three children with and has shared everything for the past eleven years. So basically, Islamic law forces her to sleep around a little bit so she can again be with, what those of us in the Western world would call, her real husband.

The couple have refused to separate and Islamic leaders and scholars are debating the issue. Zafarul-Islam Khan, an Islamic scholar and editor of a popular Muslim newspaper,The Milli Gazette, says the debate is unnecessary. Khan said, "The law clearly says any action under compulsion or in a state of intoxication has no effect. The case of someone uttering something while asleep falls under this category and will have no impact whatsoever." At least there are some people that have some sense over there. For the full story go here.

Now this "triple taraq" situation in only one example of why these people need to lighten up. Lets take a look at Deeyah, otherwise being referred to as the "Muslim Madonna".

Deeyah is a Muslim pop singer that has recently released a sexy video (NOT a SEX video) that has stirred an outcry in the extremist Muslim world. They say that she needs to "tone down and cover up".

You know, I'm fine with people disagreeing on various topics. Everyone has the right to their opinion. So if people think she is out of line, that she needs to put on more clothes, that she needs to not be in such a glamorous position, then that's their opinion and we should respect that. Its the old "can't please all of the people all of the time" saying. But these Muslim extremists are calling for death. Death! The civilized world would boycott her albums and petition government officials and venue executives to not allow her to perform in their neighborhoods. But did I mention the Muslim extremists are calling for death! Come on, folks. Were talking about a pop singer here. She sings her little tunes, shows a little mid-rift, and maybe shakes her ass a little bit. But their calling for death!
For the full story go here.

Or how about this one? An Islamic man was taken into custody for committing a "crime". What horrendous act did this vile criminal commit? He converted to Christianity. Can you believe this shit? Put into jail for converting to Christianity. And you'll never believe what sort of punishment the people are calling for. Yep, they are calling for death! What a surprise, huh?

Last I checked it was a collection of different religions, one of them being Christianity, that freed these people from the Taliban. So we should be outraged that Afghanistan is persecuting this man for what we believe is one of the key foundations of human existence, freedom from religious persecution. If they don't like it, fine. If they can't accept it, then that's there own personal problem. Just ignore the man. But no. They are calling for death! And this isn't the only case of such actions, either. Do a Google search for "muslim converts to christianity" and see what death and dismemberment is taking place. For the full story (or the main section of it anyway) go here.

Many people that know me know that I am not for one religion or another. I don't, and have no desire to, subscribe to any religion. I have my own thoughts and ideas. But I respect the religious beliefs of everyone. You could say that I am just a neutral party. With one exception. If your religion calls for you to torture or kill someone else, then your a freakin' wacko!

People of the world, lighten up! We are all human beings. Have mutual respect for the people around you. This is the year 2006 for crying out loud! Hell, its the years 4703-4704 on the Chinese calendar! Wake up and grow up, people!

Just how far were they hanging?

I took a moment from work to check up on Isaac Hayes leaving South Park and I stumbled across this article on Fox News.

_______________________________________________

Star Jones Reynolds is recovering from a breast-lift procedure performed last week at a Santa Monica hospital, her publicist said Wednesday.
"Star is recovering wonderfully," publicist Brad Zeifman said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The co-host of ABC's daytime talk show "The View" underwent surgery Friday. That day, husband Al Reynolds slipped at a gym and was taken to the emergency room with two cuts to the head.

_______________________________________________

All I have to say is, how in the hell is Jones's breast lift and Reynolds's slip at the gym related? I can see it now. Jones and Reynolds at the gym together working out. Reynolds walks past Jones and is impeded by her sagging boobs causing him to slip and fall. As the gym staff rush Reynolds to the emergency room, Jones rushes to her plastic surgeon to have those "rat killers" put into their proper place.

I know... Far fetched... But I just find it interesting what the media will report on. Of course, I did find this when looking up the big "South Park vs Isaac Hayes controversy."

Chef of Scientology

So it seems that Isaac Hayes has quit the popular Comedy Central cartoon show. Not because he has done the show for the last 9 years and the show is beginning to lose popularity. Not because Comedy Central, Trey Parker, Matt Stone, or any of the others involved in creating South Park have mistreated Hayes (no contractual or discriminating events). No, Isaac Hayes has quit voicing the character of Chef because South Park aired an episode that poked fun of the religion Scientology.

I wonder exactly where Isaac Hayes has been the past 9 years. South Park makes fun of everything and everybody. They've made fun of Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike. They've made fun of people's heros such as Mel Gibson and Michael Jackson as well as an entire cast of others. They've made fun of places, situations, people, and entire cultures. Absolutely no person, place, or thing has been safe or sacred to the creators of South Park. And guess who has been there lending his voice the whole way. That's right. Isaac Hayes.

So am I to understand that Isaac Hayes supports the often critical humor of everything else on the planet and in the spiritual world just so long as Scientology is left alone? Come on. Now I don't doubt that Scientology is Hayes's sole motivation to take this stand. But what gets me is why was it OK to assist in making fun of everything else, including other religions, but Scientology is the only thing off limits? WTF?

I think back to all the episodes I can recall and all the people humiliated. The episode with Mel Gibson made Mel out to be a complete whacko. I happen to like Mel Gibson. I have yet to see The Passion of the Christ but I have enjoyed his other films. But I laughed at the Mel Gibson episode and "Mel's" behavior. You wanna know why? Because it's a freakin' cartoon! When people start taking themselves too seriously then it is time to let them slip into the recesses of our minds and forget. I don't recall Mel Gibson having a problem with the episode.

Come to think of it, Tom Cruise made public his contempt for South Park when they made fun of him. Why were they making fun of him? Several reasons. His behavior with Katie Holmes, Scientology, and a slew of homosexual rumors.

Well, I'll miss hearing Isaac's voice for Chef. I'm not sure what is in store for Chef but Comedy Central says that, "While Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman are thrilled to have their old friend back, they notice that something about Chef seems different. When Chef's strange behavior starts getting him in trouble, the boys pull out all the stops to save him." This might be interesting. In any case, Chef can be saved.

To read the CNN story go here.

On a related note.... CARTMAN ROCKS!!!!

"Jesus was homeless, too!"

A week or so ago I was turning down 3rd Ave in Nashville and saw a homeless man pushing a shopping cart with all his worldly possession piled into the cart. On the front of the cart was a sign that read, "Jesus was homeless, too! Math. 8:20" Today I saw that homeless man's shopping cart with sign plastered on the front page of Nashville's The City Paper. So I thought about it for a few minutes and I tried to put a homeless man and Jesus together in my mind. I mean, I did get to see this same message in two different formats in the matter of a week or so. Maybe it was a "sign from above" or something. You know what? It just didn't work out.

Jesus may have been technically homeless. He didn't pay rent anywhere. He received food, clothing, and shelter from kind people that he met. However, Jesus was on a mission. He was on a mission that required him to be mobile and not be tied down to one location. God's people didn't live in one village, right? Besides, Jesus performed services for people. Remember the whole "water into wine" bit? Or how about healing the cripples? Come on, who reading this wouldn't take Jesus out to Red Lobster and let him crash on the couch if he could fix your daughters teeth so she wouldn't need braces?

By contrast, the homeless wander the streets and pan-handle from those of us that have chosen to be active members of society by holding down a job and making money to support ourselves and our families. In fact, I've personally seen more incidences of "aggressive pan-handling" than I would care to recall. Homeless people are also the ones urinating in public. Somehow I would think that if Jesus walked among us today he would take care of his waste management with a little more respect for the people around him. I have yet to encounter a homeless person that aims to provide any sort of contribution to our community or society as a whole. Rather, I find that the majority of the times I am outside in the Downtown Nashville area I am accosted by a homeless person looking for a free quarter or dollar. Last I checked, I put in some time doing a task outside of my personal time in order for me to have that quarter or dollar in my pocket. Is it too much to ask that the homeless do the same?

Now I understand that there are legitimate homeless cases. I understand that sometimes some people get down on their luck. For those people I am glad that various organizations exist to provide a helping hand. Hell, even though I am sitting here complaining about the homeless I have been known to reach into my pocket and give. Those that know me know that I am not completely heartless. I hate to see anyone suffering. But I feel that the only real comparison that can be made between Jesus and the homeless is that they both chose to be homeless. For different reasons, of course, but a choice nonetheless.

Now there are advocacy groups that support the homeless "community". These organizations tell us that we need to provide more and better services to the homeless. I mentioned the homeless urinating in public a few paragraphs ago. Recently one of these advocacy groups said that public restrooms need to be provided downtown so that the homeless have a place to take care of that sort of business. I see two problems with this right off the bat. First, public restrooms would become homeless hotels. The homeless haven't shown much respect for their surroundings and they find anywhere free to shelter themselves from the weather. So what makes these advocacy groups thing that the homeless wouldn't take advantage of public restrooms? Second, just where do the advocacy groups think the money is going to come from? We have elderly people, people that have worked and supported our society, without heat and proper medical care. We have schools that are underfunded and therefore education is suffering. Lets put some money to work on these types of issues first. The homeless? Like I said, I understand that some people get down on their luck and need a helping hand. I'm all for helping those people. It is what is referred to as "chronically homeless" that is limiting the aid that can go to the "down on their luck" folks and get those people back up and functioning.

Here is a nice little fact straight out of The City Paper. The percentage of the homeless population that is considered chronically homeless..... Wanna take a guess? 53%!! Nashville has the highest percentage of several major U.S. cities (the article doesn't say exactly where that statistic originates from).

Over half of the people living on the streets are probably there to stay. And why not? I did a photojournalism project on Nashville's homeless a year or so back. I interviewed the people I met and tried to understand them a little bit. One of the things that I learned is that Nashville has some of the better services for the homeless. Somehow word travels on the homeless grapevine and homeless people actually travel to Nashville to take advantage of those services.

Jesus and the homeless aren't similar. Jesus, if he indeed existed, was a good and decent man that cared for people. The homeless......well..... Make the comparison yourself and see how it goes. And for the people that are offended by what they read here I put you to a challenge. Invite a homeless person to stay with you awhile. Clean them up. Find them a job. Let me know how it goes.