I Love My Church

I love my church.

We re-opened today, very carefully, with a lot of rules and procedures that should keep us safe. We are re-opening cautiously and correctly.

Alison and I joined Grace Episcopal Church about 22 years ago.  I have attended Grace more than any other church in my lifetime (I likely passed that mark after the first few years).  When we first moved to Blackshear in March of 1997, we sporadically attended Blackshear Presbyterian, the church Alison attended growing up. The church was nice, but we began to feel uncomfortable as our employer also attended that church and would bring up work while we were attending services.  Now, everybody is different, but I had a phobia (neurotic distaste) for discussing work in a church.  It stems from some childhood incidents that I can enumerate in other posts (and may have if I can find them amidst my 2200 posts).

Neither Alison's father nor mother attended Blackshear Presbyterian any more after their divorce.  Alison's father went to more evangelical churches.  We went to Emmanual Baptist with him a couple of times and found that it did not suit us.  Nuff' said. And we tried Grace Episcopal, where Alison's mother went.

Over time, we fell in love.  We had found our church home.  We went more and more often until we found ourselves members.  People were open and kind to us.  There were many, but Anita and Gene Lynn were particularly special, as were Sarah and David Rollison.  

Alison and I attended the special church event at Honey Creek called Cursillo, a significant spiritual and bonding moment in our lives.  And, in attendance with us, was Benjamin.  Yes, Benjamin is not just a cradle Episcopalian but a womb Episcopalian.  

There are many things I love about my church.  The one I will highlight in this post, something that is very important to me, is the church's diversity and tolerance. This is not only demonstrated in our openness to all communities, including LGBTQ members but in our political diversity.

In most other churches in this area, there would be little to no political diversity.  Virtually all white-majority churches in our area are dominantly Republican-only clubs. They are on the Christian Right and the political right.  In the past, when I ask them if Democrats are welcome or, in their language, "saved," they either outright say no, or look very puzzled and uncomfortable.  The county I live in has little political diversity within the white community, and that is largely because of the over-sized role the Christian Right plays.

Grace is different.  It is one of the few churches in the area (maybe the only church) where the congregation is equally divided.  It's hard to tell.  Sometimes I think the progressives have a thin majority, and at other times I think it is the conservatives.  But I love it.  I love it that we are diverse.

It is so easy to demonize people you don't see.  It's so easy to be arrogant and hateful when you only hear one point of view.

That said, I don't understand people who are willing to vote for Trump.  BUT my church's diversity helps me so those Trump supporters as PEOPLE.  I see their kindness.  I see them doing things to help the church and the disadvantaged in our community. So, it makes it harder just to blindly hate.

I've long felt that people can have different political viewpoints, and as long as they keep the care and support of others in their minds, we can have different ways we think that can be achieved.  Admittedly, support of Trump stretches that hope to the limit.

I cherish our political diversity.  I would not want to go to a church that didn't have that.  We learn so much from each other.

As open as our church is, the division on social media is beginning to strain at us.  Too many church members are engaging each other in ways that re not healthy.

To the extent that I have contributed to that, I apologize.

I strive my hardest to express my political opinions strongly, without compromise.  But I strive to never make them personal.  I have general complaints about those who may take positions that I believe are detrimental to our future and our democracy, but I do not make my attacks personal to one person.

I do not, church member or not, individually question anyone's intelligence or faith.

I do not say things like, "I thought you were more intelligent than that" or "when did you, my friend/fellow church member, become so hateful?"

I'm not perfect.  I have fallen short at times. It's a rough political season.  But I will redouble my efforts to be civil WHILE AT THE SAME TIME be clear about my opposition to Trump and his policies.  

Political divisions run deep.  But, thanks to my church, I can see that there is decency and love in many.

I love politics, but I love my church more.  I am looking forward to the time when the election is over, and maybe, just maybe, we can argue about the best way forward to cover all those in need of health care, food, and shelter, and less time around the character defects of our leaders, and our slide towards authoritarian fascism.

P.S.

Our first service went very well.  Around two dozen parishioners participated and did so wearing masks, socially distancing, and following all protocols. It was a joy to be back!

P.P.S.

Yes, the picture above is from pre-COVID times.

 

Weapon of Choice

 Pictures bring more eyes to the yard.

So, often I try to search out a photo to begin my blog stories.  In doing so, I have made a terrifying discovery.

No matter what topic I choose, no matter how "lefty" I try to be, when I search for photos on Facebook, the vast majority of those I get to choose from are pro-Trump.  Hard to believe from a candidate who has ALWAYS been more unpopular than popular,  

You can discover this too when you pull up the Facebook feeds of people who may only tangentially be your friends, ones whom Facebook's algorithms have decided you don't need to see very often.

You come up with one regrettable conclusion:

Facebook is the Trumpeteer's weapon of choice.

This is not readily apparent to we anit-Trumpers, because between our own unfollows and Facebook's algorithms reinforcing our already set beliefs, we don't always see the madness.

That is why when the people on my side post memes and stories AND FACTS that spell out how horrible and dangerous this President really is, it falls on deaf ears.  If they see our posts at all, we are mere blips on their Facebook radar.  They are awash with anti-Democrat (and anti-Democratic) propaganda, a lot of stuff that we either don't see or only see as blips.

The young have fled Facebook, in no small degree, preferring Instagram, Redditt, Snapchat, and things that are too new and hip for this old guy to even know about.  Some are divided like Facebook, algorithms reinforcing beliefs. Some of these sites are more apolitical than others, but all cater to the niche interests of each participant.

I saw an interview yesterday on MSNBC (center left CORPORATE media) of a reporter who had spent in-depth time with women who had voted for Trump in 2016 but would not vote for him in 2020.  What struck me most about what they said is that they weren't really paying attention to Trump's negatives in 2016, that what they were hearing and seeing on Social media was mostly Trump-positive, and didn't realize until it was too late how bad he really was.  Yeah.  OK.  I thought anyone halfway sentient would recognize from the 80s on what a scumbucket Trump was, but maybe that was just me.  I may not be much, but I do have a highly refined and sensitive CONMAN RADAR.

The point is, social media, which several years ago (e.g., the Arab Spring) I thought would make the world more democratic, has instead fostered division and hatred.  Additionally, I believe that Facebook is now dominated by Trumpeteers (thanx and a hat's tip to Russian bots).

Oh well.  Never give up.  Never surrender.  Beleive, as naive as it may be, that you can eventually reach the decency in people.

Back to my windmill tilts.  

Strategic Facebook Withdrawal

Some will not see this as they don't read the blog, but for those who do, here's what's happening.

First, I want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes, particularly to those who sent personal messages.  It's a tough age to face - being 65 means you are now officially a no-excuses old person.  But it's much better with friends and family that care for you.

I have decided to withdraw my involvement from Facebook, at least for a while.  There are many exceptions to this, which I will explain, but it primarily means I will not be posting memes or other responses.  I will not be engaging anyone.

It's getting way too depressing.  And I need to once again prioritize some health issues.  Trying to combat with Trumpeteers and Co-vidiots is causing me too much anxiety.  I have to take a break.  That means very little time on Facebook spent scrolling, reposting, responding.  That means no reposting of memes, no matter how important I feel they are in making anti-Trump messages.

I will still be doing the following:

You may see me briefly because I will be playing the CBS Sports Baseball Game I have been addicted to for the last year.  It tasks about 20 to 30 minutes each day.

I will still be posting a Song of the Day.  I don't think many see it, because of the vagaries of Facebook algorithms, but I've been doing it pretty much every day for the last six years, so I find it kind of hard to stop.  I still find it fascinating that no one is really curious about the method behind the madness of Song of the Day song selection.  Again, though, that's probably because even my closest friends probably don't see it in their feed.  Thank you, Facebook.

I will be posting blog stories, but only to groups and pages.  My political posts will be on political groups I belong to.  The rest will be on my T. M. Strait author page.

DON'T FORGET.  YOU CAN BOOKMARK THE STRAIT LINE AND GO DIRECTLY TO IT.  YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GO TO FACEBOOK TO ACCESS MY BLOG STORIES. YOU CAN GO "STRAIT" THERE!

If you need to message me directly, text or call me.  I may monitor Facebook messenger, but I can't guarantee how frequently that will be.  I will make an effort to respond to messages left on my Facebook author page, T. M. Strait.

This is not a complete Facebook withdrawal.  It is a strategic withdrawal.  I have to prioritize my time and health.

Please don't vote for Trump.

Please understand that the coronavirus pandemic is far from over, and American behavior is prolonging and increasing how destructive it is.

Stay safe!

Unplugged Weekend

This is stock footage of St. Simon's Island, and is only representative of our brief trip to the island.  We really didn't watch any sunrises or sunsets.  I have seen them before, in relation to the beach though, not the marsh.  We really didn't have a view of the beach or the marsh.  Mostly it was kudzu.

Sometimes it's good to get away.

We had a friend who was generous enough to let us use their St. Simon's condo for a weekend, and we took advantage of it.  It was a great weekend, mostly spent reading and visiting familiar places.  Alison and I have probably spent more more time there than any other vacation/getaway spot.  For several years, my parents wintered there, and we would see them virtually every weekend.

I prepared the laptop to take with us, so I could keep up with my blog, Facebook, Twitter; maybe watch Netflix, Hulu or Pluto TV.  The laptop bag also had the iPad that Alison uses more than I do.  It had all our chargers.

When we got to St. Simon's and I unloaded the car, I realized that I had forgotten the bag.  The only electronics we had were our iphones.

At first, I was upset, particularly in my losing my ability to write and post to my blog.  And I was used to posting from my blog stories to Facebook, and also select the Song of the Day.  There were a couple of games that I was used to playing at least once a day. It was frustrating at first, but that did not last.  Reading, playing cards, getting out and doing other things more than filled the gap.

I tried, via the smartphone, to keep up with a few things on Facebook, but it was more frustrating than enjoyable,  I realized that I couldn't research my answers well, so my responses became, uh, less well thought out.  I was in danger of becoming part of the 'uninformed" responses I so disliked.

I therefore have decided to continue my break from Facebook, at least for awhile.  I need some time to clear my head, restore using Facebook in a more effective manner, returning it to a more positive experience. 

I may not have the time to construct the type of responses that I need to when trying to discuss political and social issues.  Right now, I need to use the time that I was playing games to instead learn the lines I need to for The Diary of Anne Frank.  I have to start writing query letters, or whatever it is you do, to get actually published,

It won't be easy.  Most of my social connections are through Facebook.  For someone who deals with mild selective mutism, connecting with people through writing has been a godsend.  For me, I either have friendships through Facebook, or I don't have friends.  I have work, church, guild and theater connections, but real friendships are very, very rare.

It will hurt the flow of traffic to The Strait Line.  Much of my traffic comes in my posts via Facebook. Without that, my numbers will go down drastically.  Some one suggested I offer a subscription and people get notices via their e-mail.  That might be worthwhile, but I would have to figure out the technicalities of how that is done.

How long will this be, before I feel comfortable in using Facebook again?  Could be 10 minutes, a day, a week, a month, longer - I just don't know.  

We' ll just have to see.

Song of the Day!

Harry Belafonte!

For over a year now I have been posting a Song of the Day feature on Facebook.  One featured song per day.  The response to this has been underwhelming, but I persevere.  I think the most likes any one song has gotten is five.  Most often, the number of likes range from zero to two.  I would say that zero is by far the most common response.

There also has been little to no curiosity as to why or how I pick the songs that I do.  I have told two people (well, three, including Alison) what the methodology was, but no one else has even asked.

Much of what goes on Facebook goes unanswered or un-responded to.  Conservatives have stopped trying to respond to anything I post.  Which is understandable, because for the most part, I have stopped commenting on anything that represents the far right of the political spectrum.

Most of my constant The Strait Line posts gets little direct response, and very few likes.  Yet I know they are at least pulled up, because I can see the page counts, and although not read by hordes, they are being viewed, anywhere from a couple dozen to a hundred page views.

Family stuff still gets a lot of likes and responses.  That's cool.

I think Facebook is getting more selective in what it shows you or doesn't.  There are things that Alison posts about our earlier foster dog, Angel, that for some reason I never see.  By the way, she told me last night that Angel has been adopted - yay!  There are other close friends whom I virtually never see what they post anymore.  Others I see constantly.  I have no idea how all that works.

Anyways, there is no grand point here.  Just  some random observations.

As for Song of the Day...yeah, I will keep it up.  I'm nothing if not persistent.

As for those hearty few who may be curious as to the method behind the madness in the selection of the Song of the Day?  Well, I'll save that for another day!