Counts for Nothing

Looking way back... In 2002 Unqualified Offerings had some comments that Americans generally find difficult to understand. We would be well advised to contemplate them today.

[Unqualified Offerings/Barber of Beirut]: The fact that we launched our interventions in the name of Good Things counts for nothing with people like Mr. Nawfal. That the interventions may have accomplished at least some good things doesn't either.

This is not fancy-schmancy analysis. This stuff ought to be obvious. But to (us) Americans, it's usually not. With great pronouncements of our principles and proclamtions that god is on our side, we are unable to understand why other people don't see things quite the same way as we do.

10:41:59 PM   permalink: []   feedback:   comments: []  

Who Was That?

It was a cloudy day. Dark, grey clouds were streaming across the sky, carrying with them promises of rain. Somewhere behind them, the afternoon sun was descending toward the western horizon. We had our eyes on the clouds, thinking positive thoughts of long-soaking showers, green grass, and full-to-the-brim rain barrels.

But we were stuck. We were headed home down the west side of town from a day at work as were thousands of people beside us, and the traffic was moving slowly.

As we inched down the hill and approached the overpass crossing the greenbelt, I looked to the right at the feeder road where the hikers park their cars. On most days many are lined up there, angled onto the shoulder one after another up the hill. But today there was only one lone vehicle sitting on the gravel at the edge of the woods.

One lone vehicle was parked there. One lone somebody was hiking somewhere out there under the oaks and juniper or along the creek. Who was that?, I wondered. Who was that somebody hiking out there on a day like that with storm clouds in the sky? Who was that out there walking alone in the woods while the rush hour traffic inched along and curious onlookers looked on?

9:43:19 PM   permalink: []   feedback:   comments: []