Monthly Archives: November 2006

When Strangers Want Money

Posted on November 2, 2006 by Steve
Posted in It's My Life, Religion in General

I spent yesterday in Indianapolis while Pam attended one of her CPA continuing education classes. She gets to sleep while I drive down, and then I kick around at music stores, computer stores, and a wonderful used bookstore in the Castleton area. Before leaving Indy, we eat at Skyline Chili.

As we left Skyline, a fellow probably 55-60 years old approached the car timidly and motioned for me to roll down the window. He was dressed in older clothes and a stained jacket, and wore a cap, but didn’t look unkempt in any way. A respectable appearance.

He quickly told me his story about moving recently from St. Louis, having an accident and breaking his ankle, and several other things going badly. He was also diabetic, and needed a little over $19 to get insulin at Wal-Mart. He said he only had $3 on him. He assured me he didn’t smoke or drink. Could I help him?

As he told me this story, he kept looking down, trying not to make eye contact. He knew I didn’t believe him. The thing is, if I found myself in his position, a proud fellow who had no other options, I would have acted and spoken in exactly the same way he did. It had the ring of truth. But it could just as easily have been a well-practiced act.

When he finished, I looked at Pam and said, “How about it?” Then I pulled a $20 bill from my wallet and gave it to him. He thanked me profusely, shook my hand with a strong grip, and said, “God bless you.” And then we drove away.

I don’t know if I got taken or not. Probably did. But I don’t care. People will tell me I should have taken him to Wal-Mart and purchased the insulin for him, just to make sure how the money is used (and to call any bluff that needs to be called). I’m aware of these principles. Time didn’t allow that.

A Christian should err on the side generosity, not on the side of suspicion, cynicism, and stinginess. I’ve erred like this before, and will again. I feel a lot better about that than telling guys like this, “Sorry, buddy. Look somewhere else.” And even when I do get conned, I think Jesus smiles with satisfaction.

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A Democracy in Iraq? Riiiight!

Posted on November 1, 2006 by Steve
Posted in World Events

George Bush justifies our Iraq adventure by saying we are spreading democracy. But….

  • Can Iraq be a democracy if 80% of Iraqis want the US out of their country, yet we stay anyway?
  • Can Iraq be a democracy if it’s unsafe to be a minority–a Kurd, a Christian, a Sunni?
  • Can Iraq be a democracy if women are oppressed?

Tony Campolo raises these questions on the “God’s Politics” blog. He says Iraqi voters are choosing a Shiite government that embraces Shia law. That Christians face much more persecution than they did under the comparative protection of Saddam Hussein, and that their numbers have declined from 1.4 million to around 700,000 (he cites a United Nations report). That the new parliament is “showing signs of increasing the oppression of women.” A hallmark of a democracy, Campolo writes, is that the government makes it safe to be a minority. An excellent point.

Fareek Zakaria, in the current Newsweek, says the Shiite politicians he talked to “seemed dead set against sharing power in any real sense.” If not for the US presence, they (and the predominantly Shiite army) would crack down viciously on the Sunnis. The Sunnis, the main insurgents attacking US troops, would be massacred without the presence of US troops. The world is a complicated place, George.

To be fair, Iraq’s new government is very young. Heck, we didn’t have democracy in the United States until 1920, when women were given the right to vote (and then you can argue that blacks weren’t really free to participate in the political process until the 1960s). I think it was Pat Buchanan, speaking on the Daily Show, who said the American model of democracy is: first you say everybody is free and equal, 100 years later you free your slaves, and 60 years after that you let women vote. So we can’t expect perfection out of the Iraqis yet.

But neither should we accept the delusions of George Bush that we are creating a democracy in the Middle East.

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