Category: Rev. Joe Dirt’s Ramblings

The unsolicited, unreasoned, uninformed, unapologetic opinions of Rev. Joe Dirt

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The American Flag – Hijacked by Conservatives?

American flagDon’t get me wrong, there is no other country to which I would want to be a citizen. If I were to move to another country, I could not imagine giving up my United States citizenship. It would be an impossibility for me. Having said this it feels to me that this country currently has so many problems that are not being addressed it saddens me. Our general attitude of exceptionalism is one of them. It can be debated if our country was ever exceptional, but I certainly do not feel like it is at this time. Unless, of course, you consider hogging most of the world’s resources and bullying countries around the globe with our military as being exceptional. Another significant problem seems to be that as a nation we are becoming more and more splintered along economic, religious and political lines.1

I live in the Second Congressional District of Missouri. I mention this because this district is ultra conservative. They have elected a couple of the lamest politicians to ever walk the face of the earth let alone take the oath of office. Specifically that would be the incumbent, Ann “there is no climate change problem” Wagoner and Todd “legitimate rape” Adkins.

I bring up  the conservatism of this district as Continue reading “The American Flag – Hijacked by Conservatives?”

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man By James Joyce

portraitartist_1402I was raised Southern Baptist, primarily in the Okie tradition of rural churches. As such I held the opinion that the Baptists had cornered the market on fire and brimstone, damnation, hell and guilt. I experienced all of these as real threats much too far into my adult life. James Joyce reminded me unflinchingly that Catholics have been marketing these commodities long before the Baptists came along. As to who does the dance of eternal damnation better it is a toss-up in my mind.

I did not know anything about this book before I read it. I had read Dubliners and enjoyed it very much. I had read Ulysses which left me scratching my head a bit. What I was not expecting was such a religious work. I suppose Joyce wanted the reader to know the journey he had undertaken to get to where he was. If you read any biographical articles about James Joyce you will find that his relationship with the Catholic religion is described as “complex”. Continue reading “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man By James Joyce”

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Take George Washington Off the One Dollar Bill

I believe it is time to remove George Washington from the quarter coin and the one dollar bill. While we are about it, I think we need to tear down the Washington george-washington-one-dollar-billmonument. The monument, besides glorifying this man, is unabashedly phallic.

I suppose it would not be out of bounds for you to ask me why I have come to this conclusion. Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson are considered the founders of the Democratic Party. Jefferson-Jackson Day is a Democratic Party fundraising tradition across our country. The Missouri Democratic Party has decided to change the name of it biggest fund raiser from the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner to the Harry S. Truman Dinner.

Let’s parse this for moment.

The objection expressed during the local NPR news story was that Jefferson and Jackson both were slave owners.   Nearly 30 percent of our presidents have been slave owners, a total of 12 of the 44 individuals. Of the first 18 presidents, 13 owned slaves. This is not an attempt to excuse, but we are all a result of the time and place our lives pass through. Norms also change with time and place. Continue reading “Take George Washington Off the One Dollar Bill”

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A Golf “Innovation” or A Bridge Too Far — Super Sized Holes

big holeMost of my golf is played on public golf courses. Being who I am most of that golf is played at those courses that tend to be less expensive. The game played at these establishments only vaguely resembles the game that is seen on television. This has very little to do with the disparity in skill levels between the two sets of players. The casual game played at public courses by most players only makes a passing nod to the official rules of golf. It may be different at country clubs, but I suspect it is only by a small degree or perhaps being less open about it.

Occasionally you encounter people that are extremely serious about their game, but most folks are out to have a good time. As such, there are a significant number of players that use golf as an excuse to drink. Perhaps if I were more coordinated I might do this, but I keep my beer drinking to one or two after the round.

I have no problem with folks out for a good time on the golf course. I tell everyone I play golf with three ends in mind. First, I play for the golf. Since I walk and carry my bag 95% of time I play for the exercise. Lastly, I play for the social aspect of it. Which end is most important varies round by round.

The rules of golf are typically bent in several ways. Continue reading “A Golf “Innovation” or A Bridge Too Far — Super Sized Holes”

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Flags, Deflection, Guns, Rationalization

In order to confederate battle flagget through life we all have certain psychological defense mechanisms that we use more or less depending on the person and the situation. A very common one is rationalization which is defined as:

‘Rationalization is the cognitive distortion of “the facts” to make an event or an impulse less threatening. We do it often enough on a fairly conscious level when we provide ourselves with excuses. But for many people, with sensitive egos, making excuses comes so easy that they never are truly aware of it. In other words, many of us are quite prepared to believe our lies.’ 1

When psychologists talk of defense mechanisms, they are typically speaking of the individual. However, humans practice defense mechanisms as a group. While there are many areas that we practice rationalization, a frequent one in the United States is gun violence. Whether the killing is en masse or an individual, we continually hear comments Continue reading “Flags, Deflection, Guns, Rationalization”

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Snowflake Globe Meditation

snow-globe-239988_640I was listening to Krista Tippett’s show, On Being, on NPR this Sunday morning. It is also available as a podcast.   Krista was interviewing Simone Campbell of Nuns on the Bus fame. Ms. Campbell is a nun, a lawyer and a lobbyist for social issues.   She also practices Zen.

She had the most wonderful description of mediation. She described life as being like one of those globes with all the snowflakes in them. In our lives, most of the time, the snowflakes are swirling around pell-mell. Meditation allows the snowflakes to settle and be quite for a few minutes.

I found that a wonderful image.

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought # 9,215

yeah I know you did not ask!

We spend most of our life in anticipation, in looking forward, in dreaming of the future. Suddenly we crest some vaguely defined ridge or mountain and we are looking backwards. Some of us are regarding the past with regret, some of us with satisfaction, and most of us with a some combination of the two.

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought # 7,518

yeah I know you did not ask!

I have a dream that before I die I will have an original idea or at least an original thought.

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought # 3,672

yeah I know you did not ask!

Our perceptions are so colored by our biases, our experiences, and our limited senses that it is highly unlikely that most of us ever really see reality. Perhaps our wise men are the ones that truly get occasional glimpses of reality.