Thought of the day

Sometimes, the simplest explanation is the one that is actually correct.

Dissent from the new orthodoxy, Volume I Transgenders and new military polices.

So, rumour has it that President Trump has banned Transgenders from joining the military...Everyone's freaking out, time for some common sense, let's start with the obvious:

 a. Being in the military isn't a right for anyone. 

Thank goodness within the US the Military is voluntary. In other places, one is forced to join the military against their will. So, someone will, of course, have the audacity to ask, if someone wishes to serve their country in this manner, why not let them? Should not be equal opportunity be granted to anyone who asks?

To be in the military requires both physical and emotional fitness and readiness. We don't cry discrimination when disabled people are excluded from the military. Why is this? Well, it's rather obvious is it not? A fighting force needs to be mobile, and able to move quickly or move in case of the enemy attacking. A person who is disabled would have a difficult time doing this quickly or efficiently. I'm sure there are many disabled people who would love to serve our country's military, (Actually, believe it or not, I was going to be hired to be a nuclear physicist for the Navy out of HS, however, I got hit by a car and became legally disabled, thus ended that opportunity)....Could they serve in other capacities? Yes, but fighting on the front lines would be an absolute no no. But one doesn't realise that those positions that are "undeployable" TM, are few and far between. Being in the military, one could be on the move at a moment's notice. For a disabled person, it would be a rather difficult task, and extra accommodations would have to be made...And for a force that needs to be mobile, there's little time to have the accommodations ready in time. There are of course disabled people that serve in the military that got disabled via battle, or within the military complex, and accommodations and things are done for them according to their need. So we can't say that the military hates disabled people, or strictly discriminates.

So what does that have to do with transgender people? The simple answer is this, they proclaim to be a sex which they are not. This would be something that would apply more for those who go from female to male, rather than the other way...but the point, if they think they are male, they should be judged according to the male standards for the physical fitness tests, which would self-exclude the vast majority of those applying to join our nation's military. (There would, of course, be a certain percentage that could pass). For males going to female, they'll easily pass (well, the vast majority) the female standards for admission. There is, of course, also a psychological examination as well, which the question could be asked, if the person is confused as to which gender they are, what else could they possibly be confused about? (The other thing that would have excluded me from the military is that my mum recently passed during that time, and I was very emotionally unstable at the time)....One needs to be able to do the orders of the military, if one is ordered to kill the enemy, one must be able to do it at the drop of a hat, and any traumatic experience may make that a difficult task, if not near impossible task. You can't when preparing to shoot the enemy have a breakdown moment and cry over some past trauma or painful experience and place oneself in more danger than one is already in.....I believe it to be fair for the military to have people that are emotionally stable and prepared to do the task assigned to them.

b. But, Joe, there are already transgenders serving in the military, should they be kicked out?

No, they should be allowed to finish their terms of service that they have signed up for, and have their records looked at on an individual basis, and their renewal of terms, based upon what they have done in the service, not based upon transgenderism, or what not.

c. But what if the transgendered person passes both the physical and psychological evaluations?

These things should be handled on a case by case basis, as it was done beforehand. There doesn't need to be a media circus surrounding these decisions. I feel the same about homosexuals in our military, these things should be handled on a case by case basis. There are many situations, where certain types of people are banned from having a certain job or what not, but, there are case-by-case exemptions made for particular individuals. Just like a job that has a certain qualification level, but employers make exceptions on occasion, I believe the same should happen for our military, there doesn't need to be an open door policy, but things need to be looked at on an individual basis.   

d. In conclusion, supposedly

I'd love to be able to say, that LGBT whatever rights are being taken way, but since when is joining the military a right? They correctly make discriminations based upon all kinds of factors, from physical to emotional, and those standards should be applied equally. 

As I say always, In situations where there is actual discrimination in a negative sense, or one's inalienable rights are not being allowed to be exercised, I will, of course, support these kinds of situations in terms of rights, no one has a right to take a gun away from you for being homosexual or trans. AKA, I don't support stoning people to death because they've made this particular kind of decision. I don't wish to see people jailed for doing this kind of thing. (I'm sorry though, marriage and adoption aren't rights) The problem, of course, when someone constantly complains, is that when there's an actual serious thing going on, one will not be taken seriously. 

There's plenty of mistreatment of these people in society (and vice-versa as well), but being excluded from the military is hardly something to cry over....there are plenty of normal people excluded as well. Actually,  normal people are excluded from the military all the time, why would this situation be any different?

Tolerance is a two-way street, one can't suddenly announce they have a certain thought or wish to do x activity, and be freaked out when people don't all say it's okay. (Give a hint, if it was okay, everyone would probably agree with it or wouldn't be taken aback by it)....There are some that would be okay with such a thing, but there are some that aren't going to be okay with it, but does one need the approval of everyone to do something? Someone, somewhere on the planet probably does not approve of every decision or announcement that someone or yourself have done. This is a world of multiple opinions, and just dismissing them and throwing around buzzwords without substance to the argument is embarrassing and pathetic. Reading motive into things when one doesn't know the person is embarrassing as well. And one more point of ranting....about these bathrooms....is not a public restroom a place to avoid if so possible? Why not shut one's trap, go do one's business and leave? Use one of the family single stalled restrooms and get on with it....Life need not be that complicated really.....Such is an attempt at the new orthodoxy. 

Of course, these situations aren't quite as black and white as they seem, and there's more nuance to them, but should not those cases be treated individually, rather than the collective whole? Yes, it's very easy to paint a situation black and white when one is not in the situation, and i do believe that people that have to carry various crosses should be treated with mercy, compassion, and respect, but that said, it doesn't mean that everyone's special case be made normal. We deal with people as we should...individually. 

A sort of update and I suppose some comforting words.

a. Joe, what happened to you last week?

Last week, I was involved in a car accident where I got rear ended. The car that hit me was going 25-35 mph. I'm thankful things were not worse, but evaluations with the chiropractor will have me going at least for the next month or so 3x a week. A bit sore on the right side of my shoulder and neck. It is still painful to have full motion on my right side, but well, what can be done?

As the other driver was without insurance, this is going to be all kinds of fun for them....

A week later, and motion on my right side is still not what it was. I suppose it's going to be a long road to recovery....hopefully there will be no complications, my body is all kinds of screwed up already :p

b. It's often said when one door closes, another one opens, or sometimes to that end, there's a reason that various things happen when they do happen. Sometimes it is also said that that we ought to pray as everything depends on God, and act like everything depends on us. I suppose to that end I can state two things.

It's a lot easier to get to Las Vegas, than it is to Russia :p....I was on vacation in Vegas a few weeks ago, coming back to California has reminded me that I need to leave this state once and for all. (Although 3 munchkins will want me to stick around, LA will be a 3 hour drive :p)....

Peace really does come from forgiveness of heart. A certain situation, which I will not specify, I had been praying for, and finally after all these years, it had been answered. It definitely feels great to have found the reconciliation of this particular situation.

Let not one's heart be troubled at the craziness that is going on in the world, from Rome or otherwise. Our Lord is in charge....

Now to find orthodox parishes in Vegas :p

A prayer request

1. Please pray for the repose of my aunt who recently passed away. (Diferent aunt than the other who passed away)

2. Please pray for me, as I was involved in a car accident and got rear ended and am a bit sore from the accident. Nothing life threatening, but please do pray for me :)

3. Please pray for a special intention as well.

Thank you and God bless.

Year 15 of a cross that does not get any easier.

It was on this day, and at this time, when my mum passed away, 15 years ago. As I mention often times enough,  of course in your charity if you can offer prayers for me, my mum, and my family, I'd be much appreciative of it.....

Much often times, I say, like it was yesterday is a lived reality, not some hyperbolic expression. There are some days of course which are easier than others, and some days where near break downs happen, I'd like to say that the new normal is so not normal, it takes stability and tosses it to the side.

15 years after the fact, it's not any easier than it was when it first happened. I suppose that now with age comes some slight attempt at wisdom. But more often times, it's battling the feelings of why then, why at that point in my life, and battling the anger and wrath that often goes through my head, and certainly this year with the death of my aunt, it's been not any easier.

A lot of people will point to the story of Job, and how he lost everything....and still kept faithfulness. I am no where near that holy (nor pretend to be so), I often tend to think the saints were much more human than we're lead to believe....and probably had their doubts and fights with God as well.

Of course, I'm still at Sunday Liturgy, and weekday Liturgy whenever possible, but some days it's extremely hard to keep a staight face. I'm still very Catholic, even if barely climbing the ladder of holiness. I think back to all the times that mum did not let me go explore with my friends who weren't Catholic for Sunday Mass, every Sunday we went. (Even if it meant literally dragging me :p)

To say that she's missed is an understatement. There are many big events that are coming, and although I know that she's watching from above, it's not the same without her here. It's not like there's way to call and hear her voice again. It's kind of difficult, especially thinking of the big M's (Marriage and movement)

May mum's memory be eternal and she have blessed repose.

O Lord, in your goodness, remember your servants and forgive whatever sins they committed in their life for no one is sinless but you alone. You have the power to grant rest to the departed.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever Amen.

With the saints, O Chrisat, give rest to your servants, where there is no pain, sorrow, nor mourning, but life everlasting.

Thought of the day

"I've been used, broken, broken again, and will be broken some more, yet, I am still here, and I refuse to let the stupidity of others to dictate how I will live, and how I will respond to various situations."

100% controversial, yet 100% accurate statements....

1. It is possible to not be a fan of someone, not particularly like their policies, and or thought process, and not wish death upon them, nor simulate death through any means.

I do not know where people get this strange idea that we absolutely must kill everyone who disagrees with us. It is an irrationality that needs to stop right now. Disagree with someone, totally, don't threaten to kill them, and don't act like complete morons....or even simulate the act of killing or beating someone up. It's a bit much.

While I'm on the topic, it's a bit over the top to constantly call people names, 24/7. It's blatantly obvious that one does not like a particular candidate, or idea, alright, fine, fine, we get it, but make of some substance how your idea or thought process will make the solution better than insert idea here.

2, Rome does not have a monopoly on Catholicism, neither does Constantinople have a monopoly on Orthodoxy either.

People suddenly find out you're not the world's biggest fan of *insert your favourite private devotion here* and they look at you with dear in the headlights, or give you the look of death, like somehow spirituality is supposed to be uniform, and everyone must absolutely do the exact same thing, always and everywhere.

The Rosary is nice, but it's not the end all be all of Marian devotion and Marian life. Theology of the Body is nice, but it's not the only approach to the theology of the sexes either. The Jesus Prayer is wonderful, but it's not the only way to summarise the Faith. St Thomas Aquinas is wonderful, but not the only theologian in the Church's history, and he is not the magisterium. You get the point, really that within the objective Truths of the Faith, there are many ways to express them, and many ways to live them out. What each person needs depends on various factors.....and that's one reason to have a spiritual father or mother to approach these kinds of topics with.

3. It is possible to have Muslim friends, think highly of them, and also be concerned about the vocal minority.

I've known Muslims all of my life, they'd never do anything crazy like blow up a building, or go on a suicide mission. (They also know I'd raise hell on them if they did such a thing). But it's well possible to be concerned with things like terrorism, and literal interpretations of Quranic verses without condemning those that aren't doing those things. It's pretty easy to see where terrorists get their inspiration from, that's been well documented, and I'm not trying to point that out. Rather, I am going to say that, one should not have to live in fear living in a big city.  OF course, it's also true that various governments paid for jihads over the years as well....My point being, what Islam stands for is something that various schools of Islamic thought need to come together and solve for themselves. We can't solve that for them, nor should we try to solve it for them. So, when there's hashtag, not all muslims, no one is dare saying that all Muslims are committing violent atrocities, no one is dare saying that there aren't other forms of terror, (paid or otherwise).....I think it's important for both sides to listen to one another, but people are so caught up in their ideological corners that they fail to hear and listen to one another.

4. It is entirely possible to have a deep faith, yet struggle very much.

As I like to say, we all have our crosses, some are more heavier than others. It does not make one a hypocrite, if one is struggling to carry their cross. People just throw words around left and right and have zero clue what they mean. It's much of a headache.

5. The attempts to be inclusive, have resulted in more exclusivity than inclusivity.

So many places say, ...we want to be inclusive, but by doing so do the exact opposite of what they intend. It'd be better if they were more honest with what they meant. We only mean inclusive, if you agree with the things that we have to say or do, not if you disagree with us. I don't just mean this within political or religious circles, I mean this for everything.

There are very few people, who I truly think are open minded and truly listen to all opinions. There tends to be those people that will hear your opinion, tune it out, and go on. Those that will hear your opinion, take things into actual consideration, and if they work, possibly consider changing their opinion, and lastly those that listen and go with the flow. I tend to think all people are closed minded, some are open-eared.....now how does this apply to the above?

We welcome all people, except those that disagree with us....Those that want reverent liturgies, go somewhere else. Those that think that homosexuality is wrong, go somewhere else, you're bigoted, If people were perfectly honest, they just want a society where everyone says all things are a-okay, and just whatever everything. There can be zero room for dissent, or rather, they just want robots that don't think for themselves and come to different conclusions.

I have never thought my classroom or my world, to be a place where I tell people what to think, or even how to think. I've always thought my place to be to present ideas, and from that, people are able to put pieces of a puzzle together.

In addition, we can't legislate kindness, I think it's rather ridiculous to force people that don't wish to associate with x, to associate with x. It's kind of a double edged sword so to speak when we do try to legislate kindness, which in the long run, may well do more damage, than good. When people are forced to associate, there's an inward animosity towards this forced association, and results in attitudes which would have been kept indoors to be put in the open, which isn't always a good thing in my opinion.....Lest we get it confused, I'm simply stating the means towards achieving certain ends can't come via force. I'm all for ending certain trains of thought, but it's not going to be done through legislation or ad campaigns. It's going to have to come from an entire change in culture as well as thought. (Which may well be near impossible because of how academia is well taken over by those of a particular thought process in the vast majority of places)

6. There's a reason the saying is think twice, speak once....

In particular when one says something that can be interpreted in a particular way, or when one gives out information that they are not supposed to. Sometimes people are clueless to the things they say....but stupid is what stupid does and there's no excuse for things that should be blatantly obvious.