Jack’s Winning Words 12/18/20

“Good men must not obey the laws too well.”  (Unknown)  As a child I was always taught to obey the law!  As I grew older, I realized that there were exceptions.  I learned about “Jim Crow” laws.  I even learned that some “laws” espoused by the Bible had exceptions.  A man was told that Jesus said, “Love your neighbor.”  The man responded, “…but Jesus never met my neighbor.”  Would Mr. Rogers be comfortable living in your neighborhood?” ;-)  Jack

FROM WILLMAR REV:  I use this often when closing my funeral messages— Three surprises will be found when walking the streets of gold in Heaven- 1) finding some you never thought had a chance of being there; 2) some not there you thought surely would be; 3) the biggest surprise when seeing the glory of God displayed before you your very eyes, that you were there?! Have a blessed Friday, Jack!! 0;-)===JACK:  Another surprise......I think that the quote is from Martin Luther.  He thought tht he was more sinner than saint.

FROM GOOD DEBT JON:  Thought-provoking as always, you bring up an excellent point about the Jim Crow laws.  Shiva Ayyadurai mentioned this, an MIT Ph.D., known by the New York Times as “always the smartest man in the room” in his Massachusetts Supreme court case he won a few days ago against the Republican party.   Oddly his Jim Crow reference referred to how the voting machines were used in a Senate race to allocate only 3/5 of the vote for his voters. Dr. Shiva knows a bit about this; he came from India as an untouchable and moved to the top of his field.  Only in America can you change your social-economic class through hard work. He invented email when he was 14. He is interesting to listen to; we take our liberty and freedom for granted and eschew opportunities to give thanks and be grateful.  Dr. Shiva is in year four of his battle. If his rights can be taken that easily by corrupt politicians and a few machines, I think we all have to wonder about the fragile nature of our rights.===JACK:  Law is never simple.  Even when Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself,"  it's subject to interpretation: "What does this mean?"  Countless sermons have not fully come up with the answer. ===JON:True enough. The law is not simple but the results of simple math are. No one of sound mind believes now or then that blacks were or are 3/5th of a person.  I presume that would apply to all humans?  It is only when you cast people or groups as less than human that things like this are thought permissible. 

FROM MY LAWYER:  Me and Jesus would have been pals!!!===JACK:  You might have been able to help him with the Law.

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  MY NEIGHBORS SEEM TO BE KIND AND CARING,  BUT I HAVE NO  IDEA WHAT ACTIVITIES THEY ARE INVOLVED IN EXCEPT FOR  A VERY FEW. I FEEL THEY ARE GOOD PEOPLE !  i THINK MR. ROGERS COULD COUNT ON ANY OF THEM TO "DO THE RIGHT THING".  SOME LAWS WE MARCHED AGAINST IN LONG GONE YEARS, WERE ABOUT UNFAIR HOUSING LAWS, AND UNEQUAL SCHOOLING FOR MINORITIES. IN CHICAGO THAT IS STILL A PROBLEM, AND PROBABLY IN MANY BIG CITIES..===JACK:  It must have been exciting to be "activists" for a just cause in those days.===OAKS:  So true! I guess it made us feel we were standing up to be counted in a just cause. The Congress passed a Fair Housing Law, the Fall after we marched, making it  unlawful to refuse to rent to or sell to ANY individual.   Which helped, but the ones who integrated neighborhoods still suffered consequences!===JACK:  I will not forget one of Bill's "favorites," Once to Every Man and Nation Comes the Moment to Decide."