Bloggers unite for love and compassion

I received an email from BlogCatalog, one of those blog-indexing websites The Burning Taper joined. The email said:

Thousands of bloggers from around the world are joining together this Thursday, September 27th with a single message: Stop Abuse!

BlogCatalog would love for you to be one of them!

On Thursday, September 27th, post about any abuse topic you care about — child abuse, domestic abuse, animal abuse, drug abuse, emotional abuse, verbal abuse, political abuse — and let the world know you stand united with thousands of bloggers as part of the Bloggers Unite "Blog Against Abuse" campaign. Depending on your topic, you can even link to local, regional, national, or international organizations that you care about or support. Every post will count!

I pondered it for a moment, deciding if I wanted to join in yet another one of those "everybody blog about a specific topic today" memes.

Two thoughts, or rather, one thought leading down two paths, came to mind.

The word "against" is negative. It's about fighting, about resisting.

I was reminded of a quote attributed to Mother Teresa: "I was once asked why I don't participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I'll be there."

The other thought was of something I recall hearing in the movie The Secret. Focusing on something increases the probability of manifesting it. Focusing on "abuse," even if you're against it, according to the philosophy given in The Secret, will not make it go away. It will make it more likely to happen because you're giving it energy by thinking about it.

Do we have more or fewer people living in poverty because of the War on Poverty, more or fewer drug abusers and addicts because of the War on Drugs, or more or less terrorism and fear because of the War on Terrorism?

Abuse is the opposite of caring, of compassion, of love — so why focus on it?

Instead, let's focus on its opposite, something we really do want and need more of in our lives.

How about today we focus on Love? Make September 27 a day you express your love for someone, or something.

Give your pet a treat. Tell your parents, your children, your spouse or significant other that you love them. Go out with a friend, get drunk (if you must) and tell your buddy in slurred, next-day-embarrassing words, "I lub you, man." Share some brotherly love. Walk up to a stranger and tell them you love their fashion sense, their cool car, the way they do their hair, or say some other unexpectedly nice thing that will make them feel good. Smile at someone. Hug someone or something, even a tree. Practice random acts of kindness.

And remember to love yourself.

Love,

W.S.

Click here to play a MIDI file of The Beatles' All You Need is Love.

Love | Compassion | Freedom | Bloggers Unite | September 27 | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Fahrenheit 55

I'm a strong advocate for freedom of choice, and for personal responsibility.

If you don't like this blog, you just don't read it. If you don't like a television program, you just don't watch it. If you don't like Harry Potter, you don't read the books. And if you don't like alcohol, you just don't drink it.

Simple, isn't it?

You don't go on a moral crusade to ban blogs, TV shows or books. You don't try to put TV producers and J.K. Rowling out of business. You just live and let live, letting people who disagree with you go on with their lives, doing what they want.

Unless you think you've got God on your side.

Alabama preacher Eddie Gooch is sure God is on his side, so he and his United Methodist Church congregation have been campaigning to have the sale of alcohol banned in his town. Voters in Athens, Alabama, a town of 22,000 at the crossroads of Interstate 65 and U.S. Highway 72, 25 miles west of Huntsville, are deciding today whether to return their town to the days of Prohibition, AP reports.

Gooch isn't worried about the town losing businesses or tax revenues if alcohol sales are banned. Normal economic growth and God will make up any difference if residents dump the bottle, he said.

"We believe that God will honor and bless our city," Gooch said.

"If it can be voted out anywhere, it will be here because so many Christians are against it," said Teresa Thomas, who works in a Christian book store.

Wonder how she'd feel if books were banned. Where would she work then?

UPDATE, Wed. August 15: The people of Athens, Alabama, overwhelming told Rev. Gooch they are keeping their hooch!

By a margin of 67.9 to 32.1 percent, the measure to return to Prohibition was rejected.

And... in the southern Alabama town of Thomasville, 57% of the voters voted to go "wet," making Thomasville the 17th city in Alabama to allow alcohol sales within a county that is otherwise dry.

Source

Alcohol | Christians | Athens, Alabama | Freedom of Choice | United Methodist Church | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com