The Way To Salvation?

Recently I received three copies of a pamphlet entitled “What Must I Do to Be Saved?”, accompanied by a handwritten note declaring, “REPENT GAYS REPENT. JESUS IS COMING VERY, VERY SOON… JESUS IS COMING. BE READY TO REPENT”.

While these came from a very conservative/evangelistic/in-your-face homophobe, whom I do not know, it appalls yet amuses me to know that not all persons are capable of making up their own minds and those of us who are not anointed or saved have to be badgered by such reactionaries. I, for one, do not have to be washed in the blood of no damn lamb.

I am and always have been an independent thinker. In fact, a couple of weeks ago Mom and I were reflecting back on my independent streak and what she and Dad had to deal with as I grew up and was exposed to the wider world in college. I praise Mom and Dad for letting me find my own way and walk my own path. As a teenager when we moved to Arlington, our family started attending the local Methodist church. Mom and Dad were not very taken with the church or its members, so they started attending another nearby one. They did not force me to go with them. They let me stay with the new friends I had made and never even suggested I attend their church.

While I have not attended a church in over 40 years, such is not to say I have rejected church as a vehicle for traveling anyone’s path; it’s just not my way. I like to say, “I don’t belong to an organized church; I’m a Quaker”. I don’t consider myself religious. I consider myself spiritual. I don’t believe in force feeding beliefs to anyone. I believe in continuing revelation and letting them discover for themselves what’s right for them.

That is what is so great about this country. We are not a theocracy, although I’m sure the most rabid evangelicals would love to have it that way. We are and should always be a democracy. I may disagree with you and you with me, but don’t try to beat me over the head with your version of the way it should be. As erroneously attributed to Voltaire, while I may not agree with what you say, I will defend to the death your right to say it. My prayer is that we all can live in a civil society, treating all--be they liberal or conservative; gay or straight; Jew, Gentile, Muslim, or Buddhist—may they all be respected and allowed to proceed unfettered on their own separate paths.

Ronald Reagan vs Barack Obama

Ronald Reagan:

• Gave amnesty to undocumented aliens;
• Grew the size of the federal government and the budget;
• Added a whole new cabinet agency;
• Added tens of thousands of government workers to the federal payroll;
• Tripled the federal deficit;
• Expanded Social Security with a big fat tax increase;
• Raised corporate taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars;
• Raised taxes on gasoline;
• Signed into law the largest tax increase in history;
• Supported federal handgun controls;
• Called for a world without nuclear weapons.

Barack Obama

• Passed health reform;
• Stimulus package pumped over $100 billion into crumbling infrastructure;
• $60 billion for renewable energy sources;
• Expanded state children’s health insurance for 4 million kids;
• Signed the Lilly Leadbetter Act, insuring equal pay for women for equal work;
• Signed nuclear reduction treat with Russia to reduce each country’s nuclear weapons stock by a third;
• Created new nuclear non-proliferation agreement designed to keep nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists;
• Signed the Hate Crimes Prevention Act aka the Matthew Shepherd Act;
• FDA permitted, for the first time, to regulate tobacco;
• Dismantled the Minerals Management Service;
• Fired two wartime generals in little more than a year;
• Overhauled the student loan program;
• Cancelled weapons program that was bloated, unnecessary and totally irrelevant to the two wars we are involved in;
• Don’t ask; don’t tell;
• Closing Gittmo.

Response by Vern Buchanan to my email

Well, Congressman Buchanan FINALLY responded to my email after a couple of prodding posts on his Facebook wall:

Dear Mr. Hilsheimer:

Thank you for your email about House passage of S. 3473, legislation amending a 1990 law to exempt advances to the U.S. Coast Guard from the requirement that amounts in the trust fund shall be available only as provided in annual appropriations.

Had I been present when the House voted on S. 3473, I would have supported the measure, which passed 410-0 and has been signed into law.

Again, thank you for your email.

Sincerely,

Vern Buchanan
Member of Congress

Email to Congressman Vern Buchanan

I subscribe to a C-SPAN service which gives me a weekly report on the votes taken by Florida Senators Nelson and LeMieux as well as my congressman, Vern Buchanan. Today I learned that Mr. Buchanan did not vote on a measure which would allow emergency access to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. As Buchanan's congressional district (Florida 13th) borders the Gulf of Mexico, I am astounded at the fact he did not vote on the measure, undoubtedly because he did not wish to vote against it. In any event, I was upset enough to write him an email via his website to find out why he did not vote for the measure. The text follows:

Re: S. 3473 to amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990

Dear Congressman Buchanan:

In a measure to suspend the rules and make it easier for the Administration to withdraw money from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, a measure which was passed, overwhelmingly, by a 410-0, with one voting "present" and 20 Representatives (including yourself) not voting, I am wondering why you did not feel it necessary to register a vote on this most important of matters. The Gulf of Mexico which, unless you have forgotten, borders the 13th Florida Congressional District. It is facing the worst catastrophe in our history, yet you apparently did not feel it necessary to register a vote, even a "nay" one at that.

I know you have been a constant opponent of Obama's spending policies. However, this crisis, caused by BP's negligence (which John Boehner wants a bailout) is one that the Administration may need access to without jumping through a lot of hoops.

So, please, explain to me why you did not feel it necessary to vote on this measure.

Sincerely,

David P. Hilsheimer

I will be interested in his answer, something other than "Thank you for contacting me..." which I received shortly after hitting the "Send" button.

Following One's Leadings

Isaiah 6:8 -- “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”

It can be a difficult thing to recognize when one has a leading. We have all had urges which we feel we must move on. It could be as simple as which political candidate to support or as complex as whether to change jobs or careers in midstream. Whatever the situation, it can be a most difficult one at times. At the same time, we may not know it, but the Divine may be speaking to us in ways we may not realize.

When I was in high school I had the idea I wanted to be a Methodist minister. I read my Bible and went to church each Sunday and was a leader in the youth group. I thought my path was all set. Then something happened which changed my life. I had written a history term paper on the sharecropper during the Depression. My teacher, David Turner, was so taken by it he said to the class that it was one of the best examples of a term paper he had ever read. It was that remark that prompted me to rethink my plans and pursue a degree in history, forsaking what I had felt for some time was my destiny. Was it the Divine speaking to me through Mr. Turner?

Without a leading, Martin Luther would not have posted his 95 Theses on the church door; Mohandas Gandhi would have remained a non-descript lawyer in South Africa, and Martin Luther King, Jr. would have continued preaching sermons on Sundays. In today's America there are a host of people with their varied leadings--everything from stopping the wars to stopping abortions. Each of us has our own interests and causes. While not all of us are as deeply led as others we cannot help but respect their actions and dedication to the cause as being divinely led.

It can be difficult for one to realize they have a leading and even more so to act on it. The most unfortunate thing which can result is that one can be left with regret that they did not act on their leading. Bill Kreidler, a member of Beacon Hill Quaker Meeting in Boston was a gay, tenured, elementary school teacher who, in the 1980s, had the opportunity to speak out against Anita Bryant and her rants against gays and lesbians, but he chose not to do so. One of the regrets which followed him to his grave was the fact that he had the opportunity to act but didn’t. That point in history passed and he failed to act on his leading.

May each of us recognize and act on our leadings, no matter how trivial they may seem at the time, lest we come to feel a sense of inadequacy or regret that we failed to follow them.

Giving of Oneself

In the mid-1970s my wife and I were involved with Big Brothers and Big Sisters in central Wisconsin. We both found a great deal of fun and fulfillment in our matches—Pam with Cindy and me with Scott. At the annual banquet held for volunteers, the keynote speaker was the Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (and later Governor of Wisconsin), Lee Sherman Dreyfus. The crux of the message he gave us was to do unto and for others. The one thought he left and which resonated with me down through the years was, that when you get toward the end of your life, ask yourself the question: “What did I do with my life and for whom did I do it?”

I find myself asking that same question on pretty much a daily basis. My basic philosophy of life is that we are all put on this Earth to be of service to others. It can be in the simplest of acts—holding the door for an older person; or simply waiting that extra second or two to allow the other car to proceed. Muhammad Ali has said that service to others is the rent we pay for our room here on Earth. How true! Roberto Clemente, the late great Pittsburgh Pirate centerfielder once said, “Anytime you have an opportunity to make things better and you don’t, then you are wasting your time on this Earth.” He was killed on a volunteer mission to aid earthquake victims in Nicaragua. He certainly had the opportunity to make things better and was doing so when he paid the ultimate price.

In closing the circle I started at the beginning, I would like to share another resonating quote, this one from Benjamin Franklin: “In the morning ask yourself, ‘What good shall I do today?’ As the day draws to a close, ask yourself, ‘What good did I do today?’” If we all do as he recommends, the ultimate question posed at the beginning will have an easy answer.

Cherish Every Moment

As a volunteer for Tidewell Hospice, I run across many people from different strata of life—from the Jamaican man I was first paired up with to the retired dermatologist I was recently matched with. Each has been on a different journey through their respective lives and experiences. And not all the people I have encountered, especially at the Bradenton Hospice House, have run through what we tend to think of as a full course of life. I have encountered many people of all ages—from two teenaged twin boys at the “House” (one of whom passed away) to those well-advanced in age.

One person, who probably represents the best learning experience I have ever had, was a hospice patient I knew for less than a week. She was a childless widow who lived alone about a block from my house. She had a woman who cleaned her house, drove her to appointments and grocery shopping, and the like. Well, this person had a death in her family, so I was contacted to see if I could take her to the beauty shop one day and to the doctor the next. No problem. On Thursday I took her to her standing hair appointment and did some grocery shopping while she was in the chair. Next day I took her to see her doctor. On Sunday she called to ask if I’d take her trash and recyclables to the curb, as they were much too heavy for her to move. No problem, so I went up to her house and took care of things. She wanted to pay me, but I flatly refused, saying that the only payment I needed was a hug from her. She obliged and I went home. Later that evening, she had a massive stroke and was taken to the hospital where she passed away on Wednesday. It later struck me that that hug we shared was probably the last meaningful contact she ever experienced with another human being.

We never know when fate will catch up with us or the ones we love. The last thing we ever want to do is to burn bridges, never to rebuild them. Having such unfinished business is something none of us wants to leave behind, either when we leave this life or lose someone close (or not so close, for that matter) to us. Cherish each moment; keep the door open; and above all, love and respect all with whom we come in contact. We never know when that final encounter will come.