Quick Hits for August 22, 2009

* To gain some perspective, go find some place with a lot of people and just sit, watch, and listen to what goes on. Quietly walk around and observe and listen. I do these things periodically at the local Walmart or Target or the park or the shopping mall, and a few other places. You can find out some interesting things about people and human behavior, as well as attitudes.

* It dawns on me that if a nation that proclaims itself to be a Christian nation actually acted "Christian" then there would be no need for Social Security, Medicare, or Universal Health Care. However, the nation doesn't, and thus, creates the need for them. While some of my Christian friends are amazingly Christian, far too many people that I see proclaiming their Christianity really don't sound anything like what I read in the book of Matthew.

* 90% of life is reading or listening, and following directions while showing up. That solves most of life's problems. The other 10% is what separates the dreamers from the achievers: Making a plan, acting on that plan, observing results, and then making corrections and acting again. Too often we fail to show up, we fail to pay attention, and we fail to act. We can have the life we dream of if we would only think while we try.

* People on the left and right often complain about what government does or doesn't do, but the problems that government reacts to are often a result of what people do or don't do. Maybe if we thought out what we do instead of just acting, if we took responsibility instead of simply proclaiming our freedom, then the government wouldn't have to act the way it does. Taking a semi-automatic rifle to a political rally may be legal, but it really isn't a responsible thing to do. With great liberty comes great responsibility.

* People want others to follow the rules until the rules apply to them. Then, the rules generally don't make sense or aren't fair. I have watched people insist that people break the law to accommodate their wishes without concern for the consequences for the person breaking the law for them, and without remorse as they walk away.

* I can't really say I feel bad for the Memphis Tigers basketball program who just lost 38 games from their Final Four appearance and loss in the Finals to the National Champion Kansas Jayhawks because their starting point guard and team leader may have had someone else take his SAT for him to get into college. This isn't the first time for the coach there, but the coach hasn't taken a hit for having his second season in his career turn into a 0-fer, and the program probably made over a million dollars from the tournament.

* What people can do is amazing. What they actually do is often disappointing. People on the right don't trust President Obama, the first President I have ever seen actually not spend $250 billion because it wasn't necessary, but they trust GOP pundits who continually lie to them over and over and over again. I guess we create our own blinders and we focus on the Bill Clinton lie about an affair or ten, but the lie after lie of President GW Bush or the lies of those who make up fantasies about President Obama are credible in their eyes. Often we believe what we want to believe, not what is true.

* Reminder: Only a few more days until I go on vacation. I will keep up with blogs, but they may be a little more scarce because I am on vacation half way across the world.