Get A Grip

On the 18th of February, this year, Andrew Joseph Stack took off from Georgetown airfield, near Austin Texas, in a small plane. He flew to an office park in North Austin and intentionally crashed his plane into an office building that housed an IRS office, killing himself and one person on the ground. Several were injured, two critically. Before doing this he posted a long anti-government rant (which I have not read) on the internet, that apparently expressed his outrage towards the government in general and the IRS in particular. He vowed to give them "their pound of flesh". He then torched his own house and set out on his suicidal flight.

My feelings toward this action are complex. I have some anger. What gave Joe Stark the right to kill a 67 year old man who did nothing more then come to work. Then injure others, most probably with burns, that will set the most critical of the cases on a pain filled journey of medical treatment, skin grafts and the like, that may well last months if not years and change their lives forever? What gave him the right to inflict so much pain on others not the least his own family, just because he couldn't cope with his tax problems?

I feel great sympathy for those injured, both spiritually and physically, as they embark on their odyssey of pain. I feel grief for the loss of two human beings for no particularly good reason. I also feel grief for our culture as a whole. Are we becoming so detached from God and so wrapped up in our own materialism that losing a battle with the IRS leads not only to suicide but homicide as well?

We are in a deep economic crisis and I personally have no idea how it is going to come out. I have a sinking feeling that we may be in a transition as opposed to just a "bump in the road". There are signs that we may never get back to where we started, economically, so I think it we would be well served to consider what is important. We should examine the things we love that no glitch in the economy or bureaucratic whim of government can take away from us. We should draw our strength from lives spiritual aspects, not the material. God, Family and community, that is really all we have when it is all said and done.

It's my blog so I'm going to make a couple of suggestions:

1) Work to live, do not live to work.
This is easier said then done. Everybody wants to get "ahead". Perhaps we should reevaluate what being "ahead" really is. Most of us have to work to support the ones we love but there is a very real difference between what we need and what we want. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for need, but we should always be circumspect about what we sacrifice for what we merely want.

2) Random acts of kindness.
When given a choice, do something nice for someone. Somewhere along the line, self absorption and cynicism became cool (or whatever the present pop hyperbole for desirable is) Vanity, selfishness and greed are considered traits to be valued and encouraged. The reason for this is pretty strait forward, it is more conducive to selling stuff and that is what America thrives on, isn't it? Sell stuff! Look good! Be superior to others! Right? No! Oh so WRONG!

3) Be mindful of our neighbors.
When ever we act, we should always consider how it will affect our loved ones, our communities and our planet. There is a Native American philosophy that involves thinking seven years into the future when community decisions are made. We would be well served to look into the future when we plan. If we start doing that, we may even survive.

4) Live frugally.
When we make purchasing decisions we should consider whether we actually need it or just want it. Are we buying it because it is required or just because it makes us feel good. Also think about what's going to happen to it when we are done using it? Where will it be disposed of. How much of a footprint will using this product leave on the planet. Was there any blood spilled in it's manufacture? I know this can be difficult, God knows I fight my own battles with materialism, every day. All I'm suggesting is to look at these aspects of the products we use and do what we can.

It is becoming more and more obvious that we cannot go on the way we have been. This unsustainable lifestyle we live, as Americans, is not only killing our planet, but it is killing us spiritually as well. This is illustrated by the flight of Joe Stack. We cannot get so wrapped up in our "stuff" that our world ends if we lose it.

Instead of living in constant competition and conflict, instead of fighting and stepping on people, try embracing. Embrace people, embrace nature, embrace family and community, embrace God. Nobody can take those things from you unless you let them.