Day 15 (September 7, 2009)

I guess I need some screaming lessons.

More and more I'm discovering that in our world the person who screams the loudest and longest wins. Being right doesn't matter. Being good doesn't matter. Being ethical doesn't matter. When it comes to making decisions, the best decision is the one that appeases the screamers.

Case and point came today. Actually, on Friday we got a letter from my kids' school saying that the Archdiocese of Baltimore was, because of the many phone calls they'd received, decided to have an "opt out" option for kids whose parents didn't want the President encouraging them to do well in school. To me, that was disturbing.

This afternoon, however, we received an email from the principal of the school saying that only the middle school students would watch the broadcast while the younger kids would not be allowed to watch it. This was the result of further "concerns expressed by parents."

Amazing.

Now, if GWB had done this when he was president I would not have been thrilled. However, my kids would have watched it. We've taken out kids to several presidential sites, like libraries or homes, including Bush I, FDR, and Eisenhower. Agreement with their politics is not the reason for a visit or, for that matter, choosing to not. Respect for the Office and respect for authority is the basis for listening to the President.

The screaming about health care is working my last nerve, too. People who don't like the "public option" scream that there needs to be a compromise. They've already forgotten that the "public option" already was a compromise from the single payer system.

This need to scream (both literal and metaphorical) is not limited to the political arena. This happens in so many areas of life; at church, on the highway, or trying to deal with any level of bureaucracy.

Perhaps that's why I get screamed at so often. I've been cussed out more as a pastor than at any other job I've ever had. This is especially surprising when one considers that I used to work as a telemarketer for MCI.

I think that's because when you try to practice Matthew 5:37 (Let your yes be yes and your no be no) people don't like it. When you try to make and stick with your decisions, people who disagree don't want to talk, debate, or try to understand. Apparently, engaging the intellect is too hard. Instead, they revert back to the basic instinct which started at birth with a good, loud scream.

No one likes the sound of a screaming child. People will bend over backward to accommodate a child's every whim to stop the screaming. Perhaps if we could see relationships as having roles other than "screaming child" and "appeaser," saving screams for only dire emergencies, we could progress a bit as creatures and as a society.

And I could save some money by not having to hire a screaming tutor.

Thanks for reading,

Jeff