Winning Words 3/8/12
“One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.” (Jane Austen) There’s much talk these days about the loss of the middle class. In fact, people seem to have chosen sides in such a way that there’s no longer any middle anything. I went to a liberal arts college and learned to appreciate both sides of issues. In the present world we need more people who are willing to build bridges instead of walls. ;-) Jack

FROM MT IN PENNSYLVANIA: You make many excellent comments and observations, but this is one of your most quotable: "In the present world, we need more people who are willing to build bridges instead of walls."
Those words deserve a permanent place in Bartletts!////FROM JACK: The mind works in a strange way. I had prepared a different last sentence for my commentary. But, then, I thought....I can do better.

FROM EMT SINGS IN MICHIGAN: This a trait of yours that we have admired since we first met you!////FROM JACK: Some might say that I have the Charlie Brown character of being "Wishy-Washy", because I seek the middle ground. I don't mind being identified like that.

FROM SHARIN' SHARON: I had a brief exchange a few years ago with our then-Pastor regarding (being so concerned with people all over the world who are having to live on $2.00 or even less a day) that we, in the first world, need to learn to live more simply and sustainably. There's simply not enough for the whole world to have our standard of living. He, having had a talk with another church member, said "Oh, no. God provides plenty and it's up to us to figure out how all the people of the world can come up to our standard of living." I happen to know the other church member is fairly well off while I regard my husband and myself as blessed but living pretty simply both because we don't have a lot of money but also because we were brought up simply in not affluent families. Wasn't Jane Austen the author who used to pepper her novels with actual figures of the monetary spending of her characters? How much this man or that woman owned and so forth? I love your WW today. Jesus knows everything, what would Jesus do? I think he was talking to Jane Austen. ////FROM JACK: What I know about Jane is that she was a writer of popular romance novels which included biting social commentary. This quote seems to fit.

FROM CL, AN ADMINISTRATOR AT WESTMONT IN SANTA BARBARA: We value the liberal arts at Westmont too. Where did you attend college?////FROM JACK: For example, Liberal Arts gave me a course in Abnormal Psychology, allowing me to get along better with people having differing views from mine. I went to Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill. My scholarship was $100, but the education was invaluable.

FROM RG IN ARIZONA: There is application of the wisdom of the Gospel here. For there are those whose eyes, hearts, and minds are "veiled" from the Truth. I only pray that my own eyes are opened to see! We need to be aware that building a bridge to the deceitful and/or a blinded ignorance is fruitless. Better that one "shakes the dirt from one's sandals" and moves on, rather than to throw pearls before swine. The "middle class" wasn't something conceived; it was a result of economic circumstance and industrial opportunity. This situation has been irreparably altered through an assortment of unfortunate and short-sighted policies of our "leadership" over these many years -- not to mention the individual person's desire for the consumption of wealth. It is beyond naive to think we can simply reconstruct it -- eventhough those who intend to deceive you speak as though it is within his/her/their capabilities. NEVER has it been that any person with the means to do so could not have shared one's wealth and good fortune with another. This NEVER required government assistance or direction. Nor, did it ever require a Pastor's direction. One must decide for oneself, and by oneself, how much of the blessings one has been afforded will be utilized as a blessing to another. What would Jesus do? This is what He did: He asked the beggar if he wanted to be healed. Jesus didn't take it upon Himself to heal him. Why did He ask? Because, there are certain requirements that are assigned to being healed. When you are healed, you can no longer sit on the street with a cup and ask for help. It is much easier to be a beggar than one who labors. It might or might not be preferable, so one must ask what is preferred. There's your bridge. ////FROM JACK: Idealism as opposed to realism. For the most part, people have to be "led, inspired, educated," to be generous and understanding. I still have a ways to go before I achieve true empathy.

FROM ILLINOIS LIZ: Isn't that the truth?////FROM JACK: ...and the truth hurts when it is so often ignored.

FROM MY FLORIST: You are 100% on target - all to many people refuse to see the other side of the coin. When I was a kid I was a debater and part of that involved taking the negative side and then taking the affirmative side of the same issue. This was a valuable experience. The common courtesies have lost their value in today's discourse. The old expression "you can disagree without being disagreeable" seems to be a lesson that far to many people have not chose to learn. What makes matters worse is that it is nearly impossible to engage in a discussion unless both parties have a willingness to understand before being understood. This willingness to understand seems to be lost. It seems that volume has become more important than the message. A few days ago I was on a conference call will a fellow who was so into volume that I could not receive his message. What made matters worse was when I tried to extract the message I was told that I was bing "condescending" so I never did understand the message. There seems to be so much distrust and so much anger and frustration that the result has been simply more volume.////FROM JACK: I long for a reasonable discussion, but, in the political world, the volume control seems to be controlled by the one who has the biggest bankroll.

FROM BF IN MICHIGAN: Well said my friend!////FROM JACK: I try to write what I think...my friend.

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER: The problem with building bridges these days is that some of them get built to nowhere. And that's partly the cause of all of this divisiveness. There is a middle class and it's far larger than either extreme, just not aggressive enough.////FROM JACK: The term "silent majority" has already been used. The Golden Rule: "He who has the gold rules."

FROM TAMPA SHIRL: That is true, but people have to be responsible for themselves when they are able to be. There will always be a need to help those due to death or illness or something dire. But it seems to me that people in the Midwest were resourceful in providing for themselves and their families barring some catastrophic event.////FROM JACK: Yes, there are resourceful people, and I admire them. The ones who concern me are helpless and the hopeless. How can we give them help and hope?

FROM BLAZING OAKS: As a fellow Augie-ite, I too, am happy I was taught to explore both sides of issues...It is invaluable in developing understanding and empathy. :-) Desmond Tutu says "Do your little bit of good where you are: It is those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." Onward and upward! OLE!////FROM JACK: In Sunday School, we liked to sing: "Brighten the corner where you are."