To CNN.com: Well… duh.
It is well known that I have been critical of CNN.com's headlines and collective inability to complete sentences and, well, make sense. But this time, they went the opposite route. Headline: "Rumsfeld believes he's right." Wow! Alert the presses! Wait... this came from the presses! You'd think they could show a little more creativity than that. Regardless what political leanings I may have, I'd hope that Rumsfeld believes he's right, otherwise he should really resign and let someone else take over who actually believes they're right.
I need a vacation
And I don't mean that I just need a vacation from work, because things are going fine there -- though I really wouldn't shake my head at the prospect of being able to sleep-in each morning for awhile. What I really need is a vacation from thinking too much and trying to figure out what is going on in the world today and how my faith interacts with choices that I am directly responsible for and how to keep my faith intact while simultaneously apologizing for the choices made by some who share my religion. And all of that is without contemplating the everyday things -- grocery lists, laundry, auto insurance.
As with many things, this current situation reminds me of a scene from a Sports Night episode. Casey and Dana are arguing about the moral implications of an interview they are going to broadcast when Casey looks to Dan for support:
Casey: Hey, you want to get involved with this?
Dan: I so don't.
Casey: You used to care about these things.
Dan: Yes.
Casey: And it wasn't that long ago that you did.
Dan: No.
Casey: I mean, it was like yesterday.
Dan: Right.
Casey: Now, when I say "yesterday," I'm not speaking metaphorically, I mean it was yesterday. What happened to your values?
Dan: I find that maintaining them is a lot of work, I take a day off every now and then.
Casey: You take a vacation from doing the right thing?
Dan: Yeah. I don't loot storefronts or anything, but once in awhile, when I consider the effort it takes to diligently adhere to a moral compass, I take myself out of the lineup and I rest for the next game.
Casey: I swear you could run for Congress and win.
Dan: Not with a goatee.
Casey: Yeah, that's true.
Of course, later in the episode Dan "throws one in for free," which helps focus everyone's perspective onto what is truly important, but it makes me wonder, how does one take a vacation from one's morals? Doesn't part of our moral responsibility require us to ocassionally take a step back and assess where we're at and make sure we haven't strayed too far down some unknown path without realizing it? In today's world where information comes at us so quickly and so often -- much of which requires a healthy moral compass to properly decipher -- how do we take ourselves out of the game and take a seat on the bench?
Well... I'll be sure to pass on those answers when I come across them. They have to be out there somewhere.
I hate Mondays
Maybe hate is too strong of a word. But Mondays always are a struggle for me. It is currently 11:30 and my brain has not kicked into normal gear. I've already accomplished several work items today, but I'm still lagging. Even the three mugs of coffee haven't helped, though they have tasted good.
The one thing I do look forward to on Mondays are the every other week our small group meets... and thankfully, tonight is one of those "every other" Mondays.