EVIL DAYS

In the beginning, the elohim created skies and earth.

Welcome back. Let's think about terrible days in history.

Yesterday, I wrote about a terrible day Jesus experienced. On this day, in world history, some really bad things happened.

On this day, Anne Frank and her family were arrested. Great Britain declared war on German for invading Belgium in 1914. Lizzie Borden may have axed her father and her step mother to death. Buried in a dam of dirt were found the bodies of James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman.

This date in history has seen some terrible times. We wonder how God can let these things happen, and then we remember that this world, such as it is, was created by God and declared good. Thus, we are the ones screwing it up.

Just as we might expect in life, evil is never pure. We may mourn and feel those times when good is never pure too, but we can celebrate when an evil date knew good times.

On this day, Jesse Owens won gold medal #2. Those medals were four pokes in Hitler’s eyes and his theory of racial superiority.

One of my favorite actor/directors, Billy Bob Thornton was born today. Without him, Sling Blade and Monster’s Ball, would be Slingshot and Monster’s Bawling.

Today is also President Obama’s birthday. That’s a good thing. I like this president. He entered office sounding and behaving like an intellectual. We have not seen too many intellectuals among the presidents, although we have had some really bright men who nudged or pushed our country towards a path to justice.

Mr. Obama, even though he engineered his political rivals’ heathcare plan into a national healthcare plan, must be counted as a president who sought to rectify an unjust, prevailing social ailment among our citizens.

Indeed, some truly intellectual presidents have done the same, some with caveats. Adams, Jefferson, Lincoln, Wilson, Hoover, Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Carter come to mind.

The caveats are: Mr. Adams will always be remembered for his Aliens and Sedition Act.  Mr. Hoover, a truly great man, suffered the collapse of the economy and responded conservatively, that is, he did nothing.  That collapse became The Great Depression.

Of course, I realize, to many conservative citizens, Mr. Obama’s election and administration has been as wicked as Hitler’s reign in Germany. 

So they would not consider his birthday a reason to celebrate. I wonder where the concentration camps are hidden. I ask them, and they cannot tell me.

Blessings…