Civil War (of Words) and Peace Speech

I had a few thoughts percolating through my brain today somewhat related to freedom and Independence Day and all like that but also relating to other important issues. I really hate that it seems like it's almost impossible to have a civil discussion anymore- at least online, where you have people that don't all believe the exact same things as you. I saw a post online on a page I follow and its message seemed to be a bit ambiguous so I did what I often do on such posts- I asked a question for clarification. (I learned on Sesame Street that that's the best way to find out stuff.) Unfortunately, because social media seems to bring out the absolute worst in us people- and perhaps the feeling of relative safety of exchanges that are not in person adds to this- everyone tends to naturally assume that a sincere question is really just someone looking to upset others and pick a fight, hence earning them the title of "troll". And then it is assumed that the post in question should and must be blindingly obvious to everyone. Thus, if you must ask such questions, you are deemed to evidently be "part of the problem". (Never mind that "the problem" can never seem to be pinpointed or explained.) And such responses shut down conversation and thus disallow further understanding to occur. The nicer shutdown of conversation is the explanation that social media is generally not the best place for delicate conversations. This is essentially a reiteration of the old adage about not talking about religion or politics in mixed company. The problem with this notion is that this means serious conversations that need to happen can never happen because we can't seem to lovingly and respectfully talk about potentially controversial topics without attacking each other for daring to think differently than we do on something. That is very sad when meaningful discussion and debate can't be conducted. In contrast, I had a nice conversation with a gentleman today who was exercising his First Amendment free speech rights by holding up a sign on the sidewalk where passing motorists and pedestrians could see his campaign to boycott some companies with whom he had grievances. (I don't want to get into specifics because that is besides the point of this post much like the ending parantheses bracket is to this point.) I am not sure if I totally agreed with his cause but I could agree that he had a valid point. I wished him well in his cause and rejoiced that he was a fellow believer in Christ, even if we hold to some different denominational views. This is not to say that I am the best at having civil discussions, particularly those with whom I disagree. This is to say that it is possible and it's what the right to free speech should entail. We don't have to hold all the same views in order for me to respect and love you and respect your right to your views. I have a number of friends who hold very different views from me. Some are on different ends of political views and religious stances. Some claim no faith and some claim a different one. It is okay for them to have their views and I respect their right to hold them. And I try to be respectful to listen to them. It is a great exercise to try at times. Read something from a totally opposite point of view. See what you can learn from it. Even if you wind up discarding all of it wholesale, at least you are now better informed so as to understand the way others view things. As Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers." Let's make peace instead of grief when we disagree. My personal guide is of course The Bible, which is God's Word. And He commands us to make a righteous judgment in John 7:24. In 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, we find my guiding verses for discerning truth as I assess various sources of information. "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid all appearances of evil." In doing this, I also make a point to point out to the person I'm speaking with the points I can heartily agree with them on first. I try to compliment them on the good things I see in their speech. And then I gently but firmly point out where I differ and that is where we have to agree to disagree agreeably, as my dad would say. Another wise thing he often said when we were overseas on the mission field often comes to mind for me too. "Different is not necessarily wrong- it's just different." To bring this back to the theme of Independence Day, I will say this specifically about the United States of America. As one who was not "Born in the U.S.A." (which is why my mom says I can't sing the Bruce Springsteen song of the same name ;-)), I have a bit of a different view of America as a foreign country that I also regard as home to some degree. To some degree, I will always regard Trinidad & Tobago as home as well since I still am at least partly a Trini at heart. (Trini 2 De Bone! :-)) To a smaller degree, I feel some loyalty to Spain as the land of my birth. (This is why it's really hard for me to say where I'm from. ;-)) And having lived in different cultures, I can see things that these countries do and believe that I can hold to and agree with, while there are other things I would have to discard. (Just like 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 ;-)) And I'm glad for and proud of my Spanish, Trini and American heritage. I praise God for the Blessings of Liberty in all three homes. God shed His grace on all three- just as He did on the whole world when He sent Christ to die and rise to pay for our sins. (Titus 3:4-7) May God mend thine every flaw for the whole world. That's the process He is doing as His Spirit moves in us who are Christ followers to share The Gospel around the world and live out the kingdom of God so that His will is done here as it is in Heaven. We are God's agents of change spreading the sweet aroma of Christ that overpowers people like bees overcome with the allure of nectar or cats with catnip. We do that best when we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength- giving Him all the glory rightfully due His Name alone- and when we love our neighbour as ourselves. That is what I want to be about as I seek to speak The Truth in Love. (Matthew 22:34-40 and Ephesians 4:15) And as Ephesians 4:29-32 talks about, I want to be kind to others, tenderhearted, forgiving as Christ forgave me- giving grace to all who hear me so that others are built up with my words and never torn down. Every single human being is made in God's image and is worthy of love and respect. They are infinitely important and valuable and eternally loved! Please forgive me for any time I have ever said or done anything to make anyone feel any less. I dare not say anything to besmirch or belittle His creation! The grace and love of Jesus compels me to show His love to others in extravagance, as He has done for me and all of us. (John 3:16 and Romans 5:8) Thank You, Father God, for freedom of speech, assembly, peacefully petitioning of the government for a redress of grievances, the press and religion. I am glad to live in a country that recognizes those rights and acknowledges that all men and women are created equal and endowed by You with these rights- along with the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I am also thankful to You eternally that I have found my happiness in You because You are the source of all joy! Your love pardons and forgives all sin for all who come in faith and repentance to You. And I thank and praise You that my ultimate Home is with You in Heaven because You have saved me from the Hell I deserve for my sins and instead given me the Heaven I don't deserve. Your grace and mercy are amazing and overwhelming! May Your graciousness overflow in me to all I meet in pointing them to You. I thank You for making me a citizen of Heaven. (Philippians 3:20) Whatever gain I had, I count it all as loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and Saviour. (Philippians 3:7-14) Help me to keep pressing on beyond the past to what You have lying in wait for me in the future, doing all You have called me to do in the present. And may all I do be done in Love. In Your Holy Name, Amen.

We Built This Country (song)

Yes, the starship has descended once more with yet another parody from yesteryear.
This song is a parody of "We Built This City" by Jefferson Starship. And my parody uses some quotes from guys like Patrick Henry, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson (The Declaration of Independence) and of course, The Bible. Read through the Declaration and the Constitution and you'll see both have clear references to God. Just look at the Preamble to the Constitution.

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Look at the definition of "blessing" from dictionary.com

1. the act or words of a person who blesses.
2. a special favor, mercy, or benefit: the blessings of liberty.
3. a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness.
4. the invoking of God's favor upon a person: The son was denied his father's blessing.
5. praise; devotion; worship, esp. grace said before a meal: The children took turns reciting the blessing.
6. approval or good wishes: The proposed law had the blessing of the governor.


Hmm- a blessing is a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness. Someone has to give the blessing- and only God can give true liberty and freedom!

And it's even more obvious in The Declaration of Independence.

"When in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness......"

(And check out how we're gonna pull this Revolutionary War thing off)-

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

Thomas Jefferson acknowledged the sovereignity of God three times here. One of the first things the Pilgrims did when they landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 was to erect a cross and have a minister say a prayer to God for them. In 1954, by an act of the Supreme Court, the phrase "under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance- what we all grew up saying most every day in elementary school. In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower had the phrase "In God We Trust" printed on all American currency- check your money- it's still there!

Check out the full lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner", our country's National Anthem. Especially look at the last verse! http://hjem.get2net.dk/niels_quist/usa.htm

"Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust'. And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."

I love this last verse!!! It's even better than the first (and most familiar) one. That verse just asks the question, "Does the Star-Spangled Banner still wave over America- the land of the free and the home of the brave?" The last verse emphatically answers- "YES, IT DOES!!!!" (Forever may she wave!)

But we must still remember God's Word- "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." (Psalms 33:12)

So here you go........

"We Built This Country"

(parody of "We Built This City" by Jefferson Starship;
copyright Nathan Ludwick 08/15/2007)
Psalms 33:12
Psalms 46:1
Psalms 55:22
Psalms 111:10
Psalms 146
Proverbs 3:33
Proverbs 14:34

Chorus 1: We built this country, we built this country on God alone; Built this country, we built this country on God alone!

Verse 1: Say you don't know me or recognize my face
Say you don't care or know from whence came this place
Knee-deep in brouhaha, "Have not begun to fight"
Through Washington's armies, securing us our rights

Pre-Chorus 1: Monroe, he gave the Doctrine- listen to the men of old
Don't you remember? We built this country, we built this country on God alone!

Chorus 2: We built this country, it's on the money- in God alone! Built this country, we built this country on God alone!

Verse 2: Someone always playing revisionistic games
Truth scares- they're always changing historic claims of faith
Are we just going to stand here? Someone stole God's place
They call us all intolerable, write us off the page

Pre-Chorus 2: John Jay, he says November, Christians are the way to vote
Don't you remember? We built this country, we built this country on God alone!

(Repeat Chorus 2)

Verse 3: I'm just another Fundie in a tired old suit
Atheists got the choke hold (Ohhh!) But we've just got to speak!

We count our money and our sacred honor
Our lives all resting on the God of our fathers
Declaring dependence, 'cause we're of Plymouth roots
Looking for America- Creator gives these truths

(Spoken): "I am sure there never was a people who had more reason to acknowledge a Divine Interposition in their affairs than those of the United States"

Don't you remember? (Remember)

(Spoken): I should be pained to believe they've forgotten the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them...."Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord"

Pre-Chorus 3: Proverbs 33 in 3rd. chapter, Listen to God's Holy Word
Don't you remember? We built this country, we built this country on God alone!

(Repeat Chorus 2)
Built this country, (Ohhh!) We built this country on God alone!
Built this country, we built this country on God alone!

(We built, we built this country)
Built this country (we built, we built this country)
(Repeat until fade) x7
[Interchange with "Rebuild, Rebuild this country"]
(Fade on- "Rebuild this country on God alone!")



.........................................................................

Okay- there you go. And here's the cool music video to watch and sync up with on Youtube- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFtW0WKT0Tw

And here's the cool midi to sing along with!!! http://www.midmninfo.com/mobile/midikaraoke/builtthiscity.mid