Meaning Amidst The Violence
Today is the anniversary of one of the most shocking events of my lifetime. On this day in 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold carried out their sickening assault at Columbine High School. Last year, upon the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the massacre, President Bill Clinton said the events at that school in Colorado “changed us forever.” 
I wonder what that change has looked like for us. There are plenty of different perspectives after an event of this magnitude. Some people are closer than others, some always seem to see things more clearly, and some are perpetually clueless. Now that eleven years have passed, there’s a large segment of the population who weren’t old enough to notice the worst public school shooting in American history.
Change comes in a lot of forms. The harshest form reshaped the lives of the families of the 15 people who died, two dozen wounded, and countless others in that devastated community. Some folks used the shootings to pump up the gun control debate. A lot of people threw their hands in the air and saw no hope. Many more, especially those inspired by the character of Cassie Bernall and Rachel Scott, found light in the midst of darkness, meaning amidst the monstrous.
I think if we’re honest, a lot of us hear about these hellish tragedies and thank God that it didn’t happen to us. Then we go on with our lives hoping that nothing like that ever will.
We always want everything to make sense but sometimes life just doesn’t. So what do we do with a story like this? How are we supposed to commemorate what took place in Littleton, Colorado? The short answer is that we live purposefully, intending to make a positive difference in the world around us ev
eryday.
If you could, would you reach out to one of the parents whose child was slaughtered while they were at school? Most of us would. Then who is around us today, even right now maybe, and hurting? What person in your life needs a soft word of encouragement or a few minutes of your time?
What about those victims? Would you love to go back in time and tell them what was coming? I think we all wish we could go back and prevent some terrible things that have happened. Of course we can’t, but the future is coming. How much of it do you have left? What if tomorrow is your day? What if it’s today? Are you ready? None of us want to face that reality right now, but could you if you had to? Cassie and Rachel did.
The last one is toughest of all. What about those two young guys who planned the rampage and never looked back? Why did they hate? What did they need? We’ll never have all the answers, but wouldn’t you like to go back to the point in their lives when they ran so far from the main path? I wonder if maybe they were pushed a little from that path, from the crowd. I bet they were pushed a lot. Read more »
Charlie Chaplin Day
He was born on April 16, 1889 and lived until Christmas Day 1977. He saw the world change from grimy cities of the horse and buggy days to men walking on the moon. His brilliant satire reflected the challenges in society all along the way. Groucho Marx called him the funniest entertainer he had ever seen.
Youtuber Lone6gn has put together the best Chaplin montage I’ve ever seen. There isn’t a comedian you enjoy today who hasn’t been influenced by the original master, Charlie Chaplin.
AFC North Blotter
For the love of the Chief. What would Art Rooney say if he saw his beloved franchise piling up more citations than a frat house fight club. The Pittsburgh Steelers were once the cleanest cut of all sports franchises. Now, they’ve spiraled into a police blotter laughingstock.
Maybe they’ve been brought down by the company they keep. The AFC North division of the NFL continues to produce some of professional football’s finest idiots. I’m surprised the league hasn’t realigned to get the Oakland Raiders in with the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Brown, and em’ Stillers.
If you ignore these stories, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger just dodged another legal bullet yesterday when the DA in the case announced no charges would be filed over allegations of sexual assault. In the meantime, Super Bowl MVP receiver Santonio Holmes got in more trouble for smoking more weed (among other things) and proved that winning doesn’t make you mature when he posted messages to the public which might as well have said, “Dear Steelers, please get rid of me as soon as possible for being such a complete…” You get the idea. These events come on the heels of over two years of other legal problems for players Jeff Reed, James Harrison, and Cedrick Wilson.
Let me be clear about Big Ben first. He is not guilty of anything more than terrible judgment. The showboating DA made this point repeatedly and inappropriately during the press conference to announce there would be no trial because there was no evidence and the alleged victim and her family were adamantly against even filing in the first place. So Ben is innocent of criminality but guilty of stupidity. College was fun and all, but what is an internationally-known super-millionaire doing in a college bar in Georgia?
I wish he would talk to Read more »
Quicksand Jesus
A few years back, exhausted from a late night drive, I crawled into a hotel room somewhere and flipped on the television to crash out. Some religious program popped on with talk of controversy over a song call Quicksand Jesus by the band Skid Row. Lead singer Sebastian Bach was laughing at criticisms that his lyrics were blasphemous or something.
Skid Row blew up in the 80s along with all those other hair metal bands in the years before Kurt Cobain killed the pretty boy culture by declaring everything so useless with his angst-ridden movement. (What a downer that guy was). My sister was always quick to point out that Bach (not the German composer) was tone deaf. I’ll be quick to point out that he’s Canadian. Some of you might be quick to point out he’s on Celebrity Fit Club, a show so terrible I wouldn’t watch it even if I had cable.
Anyway, back to the controversy in that hotel room. I should have paid better attention because I really can’t remember the argu
ment. This is where my snarky friends say, “Good story hot shot.You oughta write that down.” Well, enough years have passed that I can take some artistic license here in recreating the argument.
Late Night Preacher Type With Bad Hair: This song is offensive.
Strung Out Canadian Front Man: Yeah right! (High pitched scream).
LNPTWBH: …Satan sings the chorus…
SOCFM: You couldn’t be more wrong. This song is actually about how people use religion as a crutch.
LNPTWBH: That’s enough for me.
Not known for theology
The real irony, other than the contrast of hair styles, is that they were probably both off the mark. Skid Row wasn’t trying to make the church happy, but they also weren’t exactly in league with Lucifer. The song is actually filled with questions, probably honest questions of someone trying to understand how spiritual beliefs work or matter so much to certain people.
***
The idea of Quicksand Jesus has generated a lot of discussion since its release nearly two decades ago. I guess the popular thought is that people turn to religion or Jesus when they are in the quicksand, when life is falling apart. That means God is either a crutch or a savior. You could move towards extremes in either direction from there. I’ve heard one person say those with faith are only sinking; another says once Jesus has you it’s like being locked in quicksand.
I think it’s pretty amazing that billions of people are still trying to figure out what to do with Jesus as we go on over 2,000 years after his crucifixion. Half the world doesn’t even believe in him and the half that does can’t decide whether he belongs on a cross or not. The man is not going away. He’s as relevant as ever.
Here we are at Easter, a holiday for which the very name has become divisive. People are having battles on Facebook and email and TV over just how offensive Jesus actually is. Some folks get enraged by the simple mention of his name while others think the whole thing is a joke. All of history is divided on his lifetime. Today, all of society is divided over his death. Some say it never happened. Some say he stayed dead. Many people, including President Obama again today, say Read more »
The Assassination of Jesse James
April 3rd is the day they finally got Jesse James. Actually, it was only one man, Robert Ford with the help of his brother Charlie. A couple of years ago Hollywood took yet another crack at the life of this infamous criminal. We just can’t get enough of these 19th century outlaws.
Here’s the opening scene to that film. Somehow the movie maintains a slow pace yet keeps tension throughout.
Life. Culture. Education.
Life as Pop Culture Professor Clay Morgan
In The Matrix, Morpheus tells Neo he can take the blue pill and go on believing whatever he wants to believe. Or he can take the red pill to stay in Wonderland and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.
This is a red pill type site that provides information in an entertaining way. It’s about clear thinking and good writing. It’s about finding meaning amidst the absurd. It’s about humor and truth.
I’m a writer / speaker who teaches history and political courses at a couple of local colleges. Where is local, you say? Well, that would be Wonderland of course.
On topics ranging from pop culture to the meaning of life, my brain’s always poppin’. Take the red pill and unplug.
