Well, the existential angst of the last post evaporated in various reassurances. I am glad. I have enough to deal with right now. In the midst of personal needs I continue to read social and political news, and it continues to be bizarre. A few items caught my attention this week.
First, take a look at this item here. A pastor complained about a mandatory 18% tip by leaving a note 'I give 10% to God. Why do you get 18%?' Wow. There's a great example of Jesus' teachings in action. Perhaps, Ms. Pastor, you never worked as a server. These individuals get a 'salary' of 2.00 hourly. They live on those tips. She gets 15% or so of your check. You boast of giving 10% of your entire salary to God. You're well out of line.
If you tithe, don't talk about it. The advice everywhere in the Bible is the same. Put a smile on your face while you fast and don't let the left hand know what the right is doing when you give charity. If your values are so godly, live them. I am sure Jesus would have been unlikely to leave nasty notes to the poor.
There is a nice paper looking at the relationship of religious values to the propensity to commit petty crime. Interestingly those who professed the strongest fundamental religious beliefs were the most likely to steal. The authors theorize this is because they feel better than other people, and also 'pre-forgiven'. They thus have two excuses to take from others. That's the kind of thinking that leads to contempt for religious faith. I realize the church is a community of sinners, but I would expect better than that. Arrogance and self-justification are not a part of any religion as I know them.
On a completely different note I am delighted to see immigration reform finally get some steam. This is one topic where I disliked both parties. The bill being floated really is bi-partisan, using elements of both parties' ideas. If you look back in this blog, my proposal for immigration reform was nearly identical to what is being tossed about. I'm delighted.
That said, the Republicans have been shown to be clearly out of touch with a substantial portion of the US population. The net result of the election, as one writer put it, is that we want a welfare state but we're not willing to pay for it. The Republicans remain on the right side of that argument. On social issues they are out of touch. Abortion is legal, get over it. Provision must be made for hispanic immigrants. They're not all going to be deported. Marijuana is well on its way to being legalized. Homosexual relationships are being accepted readily in society, no matter what name is given them.
Immigration is a nice bipartisan effort. Republicans are going to have to widen their appeal by accepting the behavior of a larger swath of the US.
Enough. Two little stories, two unrelated items, except they both floated in my head like dead wood this week.
Ted
First, take a look at this item here. A pastor complained about a mandatory 18% tip by leaving a note 'I give 10% to God. Why do you get 18%?' Wow. There's a great example of Jesus' teachings in action. Perhaps, Ms. Pastor, you never worked as a server. These individuals get a 'salary' of 2.00 hourly. They live on those tips. She gets 15% or so of your check. You boast of giving 10% of your entire salary to God. You're well out of line.
If you tithe, don't talk about it. The advice everywhere in the Bible is the same. Put a smile on your face while you fast and don't let the left hand know what the right is doing when you give charity. If your values are so godly, live them. I am sure Jesus would have been unlikely to leave nasty notes to the poor.
There is a nice paper looking at the relationship of religious values to the propensity to commit petty crime. Interestingly those who professed the strongest fundamental religious beliefs were the most likely to steal. The authors theorize this is because they feel better than other people, and also 'pre-forgiven'. They thus have two excuses to take from others. That's the kind of thinking that leads to contempt for religious faith. I realize the church is a community of sinners, but I would expect better than that. Arrogance and self-justification are not a part of any religion as I know them.
On a completely different note I am delighted to see immigration reform finally get some steam. This is one topic where I disliked both parties. The bill being floated really is bi-partisan, using elements of both parties' ideas. If you look back in this blog, my proposal for immigration reform was nearly identical to what is being tossed about. I'm delighted.
That said, the Republicans have been shown to be clearly out of touch with a substantial portion of the US population. The net result of the election, as one writer put it, is that we want a welfare state but we're not willing to pay for it. The Republicans remain on the right side of that argument. On social issues they are out of touch. Abortion is legal, get over it. Provision must be made for hispanic immigrants. They're not all going to be deported. Marijuana is well on its way to being legalized. Homosexual relationships are being accepted readily in society, no matter what name is given them.
Immigration is a nice bipartisan effort. Republicans are going to have to widen their appeal by accepting the behavior of a larger swath of the US.
Enough. Two little stories, two unrelated items, except they both floated in my head like dead wood this week.
Ted
I, too, hope that immigration reform efforts results in a bipartisan law that is good for all concerned (including all of the legal immigrants).
ReplyDeleteRequest: Could you post the name of the paper that looks at the relationship of religious values to propensity to commit petty crime?
On the practice of tipping, everyone I know who has been a waiter at one time in his or her life (and this includes spouse, siblings, friends) always tips generously when eating at a restaurant with waiters. Being the scrooge that I am, I tip, but grudgingly. I have always felt that it is the employer's responsibility - and not the client's - to pay his employees. The problem is that this restaurant tipping practice is so rooted in society that employers are unlikely to get rid of it: by underpaying the waiters, it allows employers to charge lower prices for their entrees (which appeals to customers) and gives incentive to waiters/waitresses to work hard (better service theoretically resulting in a better tip).
Perhaps part of my dislike of tipping has to do with all of the hidden costs of business which crop up in almost everything we do: sales tax added to the posted prices in any store, all the closing costs that get added in to buying/selling a house, all the extra taxes and added costs in buying cars, the cost of all the programs that aren't included in the sale of a new computer, etc. I would prefer to live in a world where prices for everything had "all taxes included," "batteries included," or "all tips included."
Sigh...if only world peace and fantasyland weren't as unreachable as chasing the horizon...
:)
-D-