Cause People Believe That They're Gonna Get Away for the Summer

There are sometimes when I stray away from posting here for one or two days. I begin to think that my writing here is probably not noticed by anyone, and I wonder why I continue to put my thoughts out there for public consumption.

Then I have encounters that remind me why I sit down each day to process my life and to try to make some sense of this crazy journey. As I was walking into Business and Professional Communication, I saw Carla Burger. We began talking and she said that she just started reading this blog, and how she was so interested in really talking about things that matter in our lives. That was music to my ears. This is often my forum to discuss things that other people may not always be interested in, but here it is just the keyboard and monitor that are my audience, and I am freely able to express my views and thoughts.

If you read Carla's comment on the earlier post today, she raised a very interesting point about the U.S. occupation of Iraq, and the sometimes misguided view that people have taken about U.S. involvement in that nation. I do not believe that U.S. involvement in Iraq is part of some modern-day crusade against Islamic extremists from a Christian perspective. The misguided Constantinianism that some Americans have bought into in believing that the church and state are the same thing and that if the state is prosperous the church will also be prosperous are some of the most dangerous beliefs that have threatened the church in modern times.

When I look at the past and see how the church had made huge inroads in the past, it has been as a countercultural force instead of being the force "in power." Our actions in Iraq cannot be justified by our religious beliefs, but because of our belief in the power of democracy and self-rule. That is not to say that democracy will be the end-all, fix-all solution for the Iraqi people, but it is a much better solution than simply trying to impose our culture upon them. The conspiracy theorist in me also believes that if N. Korea had some of the world's largest oil reserves, we might also be there right now, but I digress.

Current Listening: "Hot Fuss" by The Killers

I feel like this post was long, rambling and disjointed, but if I made any sense and there was some thread of continuity that you could pick up on, feel free to leave comments, criticisms, or other statements.