Will.(Power).I.Am

Time to chase the dust bunnies off the old blog (again). Sorry I haven't been posting much. I could blame moving, but as that happened over a month ago, it's kind of a lame excuse.

Today's post has nothing to do with politics, really. I just want to write this post because I'm frustrated with myself. Recently I heard/read some off-hand comments of "Just pray about it, and everything will work out." Like most things I took it too personally and got discouraged. Something I've been praying about for a really long time seems just as far off and unobtainable as ever.* It struck me that sometimes we view prayer as our own personal ATM, receiving free blessings without ever having to deposit anything.

Sometimes our desires are beyond our control, and it's not in God's timing to answer them. In looking at verses on prayer, I like this promise from the Doctrine and Covenants: "Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and great shall be your blessing—yea, even more than if you should obtain treasures of earth and corruptibleness to the extent thereof" (D&C 19:38). Notice that this verse doesn't say you'll have everything you ever wanted (i.e. the treasures of the earth) - it promises that you will have the Spirit. Mormons believe that the Spirit, or Holy Ghost, will guide us in paths that are right. Given that gift, we can understand God's answers even if they're not what we expect.

I think, too, sometimes answers to our prayers require our own willpower. We have to do things beyond our comfort zone, beyond what we would normally do, to stretch ourselves and try to create opportunities for our prayers to be answered. Not everything depends on us, but as we have the spirit, we can see what we can do, and perform some self-mastery to really TRY. It's my firm belief that through the enabling power of God's grace our efforts will be magnified.

I hope this post doesn't come across as disparaging of prayer. Prayer is an important component of my inner religious life, and some sacred and personal experiences with prayer have taught me that we have a loving Heavenly Father who cares about hearing our thoughts. So, I'll try to dust off my willpower along with this blog, and stop being discouraged.

*Disclaimer: not marriage. Just in case you were thinking it, 'cause I'm getting up there in years. (Tangent off my tangent: I was thinking a great theme song for singles wards would be U2's "I Still Haven't Found what I'm Looking For")

Health Care - We Did It!

I've been so busy lately that I have not celebrated the legislative victory of President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid. This was one of the moments that I was dorky enough to watch on TV. As I was watching it, I though about how glad I was that I live in a democracy. I am so lucky and blessed in that regard!

Now, this post is not to say that the Health Care Bill is perfect. In my mind, one of its strengths is that the bill has things that both the left and the right don't like. As the saying goes "a good compromise leaves everybody unhappy." But a recent post by a friend about how unhappy she was with the bill has caused me to think about how I would respond to her, and my many Republican friends, in their charges against the health care bill. From talking with them, I think these are some of their main arguments:

1. The bill will provide government funding for abortion.
2. The bill is not supported by a majority of Americans.
3. The bill impinges on individual freedom.
4. The bill is unconstitutional.
(Now, please tell me if I'm not being fair or leaving out any important points to you)

I'd like to address points number 1 and 2, and address 3 & 4 in a more in depth post later. I'm going to avoid using scriptural based reasoning, because I don't like it when people use scriptures to push their own political agenda (tho I have been guilty of it on occasion).

Abortion
Claiming that someone who voted for the Health Care bill wants to kill babies is as ludicrous as saying that Republicans who voted against the Health Care bill want all the people who are dying without health insurance to die. Bart Stupak, a pro-life Democrat, voted for the bill. People have condemned him for it, but I applaud him for valuing life, including a baby's life after he or she is born. I really liked Stupak's OpEd in the Post about why he was voting for the bill. I think the pro-life movement has it wrong on health-care, because there are many reasons that health care reform will actually reduce the number of abortions in this country.

I think we better face up to the fact that abortion is going to be legal in the U.S. in the long term. What we can do, instead of being counterproductive in accusing others, is work to reduce the number of abortions. There are methods to do this - sex education in schools, better pre-natal care, increasing penalties on dads who don't pay child support, and, YES, health care. In fact, I think health care reform will reduce the number of abortions by providing health care to moms pre- and post- birth. Women are more likely to go through with a pregnancy when they know they and their child will have access to affordable health care. Having health care also means that women have access to birth control, which reduces the risk for unplanned pregnancy, thus reducing the demand for abortions. Please don't label me as pro-abortion because I support health care.

Public Support

Many people pointed to the high number of protests and anti-health care phone calls to Congress, as well as polls showing public opposition, as a reason not to pass the health care bill. Two points: (1) people were not universally opposed to the health care bill as you might think and (2) this a dumb reason not to do something.

First, while some polls showed a majority against the bill, many of the individual provisions, such as requiring coverage of pre-existing conditions, were very popular. In most cases, the "against" vote hovered around 50%. This hardly means a wholesale rejection of the bill. It does show deep division, but this leads me to my second point: are we supposed to do what's right or what's popular? Representatives voted for the bill because they believed it was the right thing to do, and I respect that. Disagree with them? Vote 'em out of office!

Mormons in particular are proud of going against public opinion. I think that many representatives voted for the health care bill even though they knew it would likely cost them their jobs in November, and in my mind that shows political courage and a willingness to do what they believed in even if it wasn't popular. This prong of the debate goes to the heart of what it means to be in a representative democracy. There are two ways you can look at a "representative." Option #1: Representatives should do exactly what their constituents want, voting how their constituency would vote if it could be in congress. Option #2: Representatives should do what's in the best interests of their constituents, even if it's not politically expedient. I'm not saying one of these views is better than the other, but if you are thinking to yourself that Option #1 is how democracy should work, then I hope you're consistent. I hope you thought we should pull out of Iraq once a majority of Americans were against the war. I hope you support current efforts to let homosexuals serve openly in the military (70% popular support). I hope you supported the resignation of President Bush when his approval rating fell to historic lows. If you don't/didn't support those things, then it's hypocritical to argue against health care reform for that reason - let's talk about the merits of the bill.

As always, I end with an apology for the length of the post. Please do leave your comments and thoughts - if I'm not responsive PLEASE don't be offended - I'll be on vacation with limited email access for a while.

"The Life of the Soul"

I was thinking about this poem today:

Hyacinths to Feed the Soul
If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,
And from thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left,
Sell one, and with the dole
Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.
- Attributed to Gulistan of Moslih Eddin Saadi (From Best Loved Poems of The American People, pg. 78)

Mormons sometimes talk a lot about what we don't do (one of the reasons I hate the shirt slogan "I can't, I'm Mormon"). However I think it's important to focus on the positive things that make us happy - the things that "care for the life of the soul" (D&C 101:37). So, be happy - and do the things that make you happier!

Happy International Women's Day!

С междонародным женским днем!!! Поздравлаю вас с 8оро Марта! Although you may not know it if you've never lived in a country that celebrates it, today is International Women's Day. It's a big deal in Russia, and I love it because it's not exclusionary like Mother's Day, it's a day to celebrate all women. To me, it's the perfect holiday for Russia, because I met so many great women in Russia who were examples of faith, courage, and joy to me.

So, take today an tell a woman (or women!) that she's awesome. People all over the world are celebrating the effect of noble womanhood to uplift and inspire humanity. Rock on!

Ain't I A Woman?

How can you not like someone who picks a name like "Sojourner Truth"? This was the self-chosen name of a northern slave who became a vociferous opponent of slavery and adept campaigner for Abolition in the years leading up the the civil war. Her most famous speech (which she may or may not have given in the form we most recognize -read the two versions here) has the following lines:

"I want to say a few words about this matter. I am a woman's rights. I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I have heard much about the sexes being equal. I can carry as much as any man, and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am as strong as any man that is now."

Feminism doesn't have to mean that men and women are physically equally strong, but I admire Soujourner Truth - because she was truly a man's equal. In a time where women were second class citizens, and African Americans weren't even citizens, she stood up for her rights as a proud Black Woman!

Debauchee of Dew

Emily Dickinson is one of my favorite poetesses. Women's History Month honors the achievements of women in all fields, and I especially admire talents I do not possess - the literary and artistic ones.

I'll let Emily speak for herself.

214

I taste a liquor never brewed,

From tankards scooped in pearl;

Not all the vats upon the Rhine

Yield such an alcohol!

Inebriate of air am I,

And debauchee of dew,

Reeling, through endless summer days,

From inns of molten blue.

When landlords turn the drunken bee

Out of the foxglove’s door,

When butterlies renounce their drams,

I shall but drink the more!

Till seraphs swing their snowy hats,

And saints to windows run,

To see the little tippler

Leaning against the sun!

324

Some keep the Sabbath going to church;

I keep it staying at home,

With a bobolink for a chorister,

And an orchard for a dome.

Some keep the Sabbath in surplice;

I just wear my wings,

And instead of tolling the bell for church,

Our little sexton sings.

God preaches, — a noted clergyman, —

And the sermon is never long;

So instead of getting to heaven at last,

I’m going all along!

"General Tubman"

One of the first school assignments I remember is a fictional short story I wrote about a girl who escapes from slavery in the South and walks to freedom. I think I was inspired by Harriet Tubman, one of the most famous conductors on the underground railroad (and called General Tubman by none other than John Brown himself). You can read more about her story here. She is a great example of courage and bravery in rescuing not only her family but others as well!

We probably have an over-idealized and hazy view of Harriet Tubman - a kind of gentle loving woman who had compassion on the downtrodden. But, she was a tough cookie - you can read on Wikipedia about the military expedition she helped guide during the civil war. General Tubman, I salute you!