Too Much Today

The Westboro Baptist Church protesters are out in full force today at my son's school.   Having given them the courtesy glance over their very accusatory website with the posted schedule of where they will protest next, they essentially argue that this is "tough love" for their Catholic brethren (my words).   I only can say that one day, when they and I are both in purgatory receiving the necessary consequences of our failures to love and to act as we ought, with full charity in all things big and small for all peoples, big and small, God will respond, "Me too."  In that searing moment we will grasp for the first time what absolute justice and absolute mercy and absolute love all in one means and see by how far we missed the mark and wonder at our own blindness when the opportunities to be lights were everywhere at our fingertips during our lifetimes.

No matter our religion, we as individuals all labor under the misunderstanding brought on by our own fallen natures that we somehow have a greater grasp on the infinite mind of God than all that came before us and all that are here now.  It is a spiritual narcissism that gains the upper hand once we come of age and that all must battle ruthlessly unto death or be consumed by our own darker more narrow or less truthful vision of God.  Even the Apostles spoke of testing themselves to see if the spirits were of God or fallen; Even the disciples on the boat after witnessing the feeding of the 5000 with 12 plus baskets left over from the five loaves and fishes, misunderstood what they had experienced and sought to have an exclusive understanding of Christ, apart from the rest of the crowded masses who had pressed to hear Jesus speak.  Saint John tells us, their hearts were hardened as all of ours become when we fail to recognize the absolute gift nature of all grace; be it understanding or mere witnessing of a miracle or the opportunity to illustrate courage or the desire to speak truth to others.    

So I told my son to pray for them and simply go about his day and I hope that is what happens, that they come and hold up their signs and the men of my son's school, act as men and simply pray for these people who come to hold up angry signs at their doorstep.   Show the charity that we would wish they would have.  It would be a greater witness to speak silently with love than to engage in clever retorts; as to do so would give credence to the people with the hateful messages by placing them on equal footing in a debate type scenario.  

Looking at all this, I am grateful God does not weary of all of us in our desires to gnash our teeth at each other because admittedly, it is my first instinct and I'm sure that of many in this situation.  Thank God He Loves us infinitely and understands our great littleness and all our willful blindness better than we do ourselves. 

In Defense of REMing...

"Honey? It's seven-thirty, time to get up."

"Did you know that Darpa-funded scientists might have found a drug that will eliminate sleepiness?"

"No. You're awfully informed for having just woke up."

"Radio was left on last night, woke up at 2, heard the report. Couldn't sleep so it was interesting."

"Why didn't you just turn it off?"

"It was interesting. It's a nasal spray containing a naturally occurring brain hormone called orexin A. It reversed the effects of sleep deprivation in monkeys, allowing them to perform like well-rested monkeys on cognitive tests."

"Really? So are you a well rested monkey?"

"No."

"So tell me more about this interesting report."

"Well, I started thinking about the commercials they'd run, inbetween change of possession on ESPN Monday Night Football. A College student wearing a HARVARD sweatshirt looks earnestly at the camera. “I was a party all night kind of guy in high school. Getting a good night’s sleep just wasn’t in the cards and my grades showed it. Now, thanks to Orexin A, I aced my SAT’s and I’m living the IVY LEAGUE life.”

"What are you talking about?..."

"Well, this could really change our society. I've been thinking about the possibilities. Night schools would flourish. Law firms would revamp themselves after hospitals, having clients served by lawyers who worked ten hour shifts managing the same patients, selling their profession with lower salaries and better hours. Early Early shows would become the venue for b-list stars to try and create followings and comebacks."

"Did you get any sleep last night?"

"A little, why do you ask?"

"You're flakier than usual."

"No. I'm informed. I even remember the researcher's name. Hah! Try that gassed monkey. Dr. Michael Twery, he's the director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, said that while research into drugs for sleepiness is "very interesting," he cautioned that the long-term consequences of not sleeping were not well-known."

"Really? I'll phone him now, extreem nuttiness and oddly strong retentive recall powers abound."

"Thanks. But this medication worries me. As a devout wearer of bunny slippers, I want my bedtime! I need my winding down time to read a book, take a bath and brush my teeth. I need to stretch out on the mattress and say, “Yes…no more work for today.” And I don’t want that time to become an indulgence rather than a necessity."

"You don't own bunny slippers."

"Figure of speech love. If this medication becomes as ubiquitous as caffeine and chocolate and Viagra and allergen meds, society will expect us to put in 20 hour days. No thank you. Being able to excuse the fact that I haven’t written the Christmas cards yet or folded all the clothing on the fact that even I, need at least six to eight hours of down time to function, will become unreasonable. I don’t want another 56 hours in the week when I could be doing something."

"Me neither."

"As the medication becomes more popular, not taking it will be viewed as a form of sloth."

"Like not having a cell phone is considered being unprofessional?"

"Exactly. No one used to expect that people would be 100% reachable after hours or on vacation but now, everyone gets annoyed if you don't return an email after two hours."

"Bet it's unhealthy."

"It may not cause mood swings or have unpleasant side effects, but purposeful stillness absent being dead is something this society is rapidly losing as an experience. It’s odd, we go to work at jobs where we scarcely move, to earn money we seldom physically touch, to the gym to walk without getting anywhere, and with this new technological advance, perhaps to a bed but not perchance to sleep or dream. Not counting the time we spend stuck in traffic, where we wait to move, our lives are becoming one long sisyphian pursuit of the unreal. How much more of our lives can we find a way to render superfluous to working?"

"One would imagine that the refined versions of these same medications will eventually reach a point of being able to make sleep utterly unnecessary."

"Being on call 24-7 is one thing. Being awake 24-7 is another. I’m tired just considering the possibility."

"Me too. Are you getting up now?"

"No! In fact, in civic protest and in case this ever comes to pass, I am sleeping in today, while it's still socially acceptable. Carpe REM!"

"Alright. Alright, I'll get up and turn off the alarm."