Duck Duck Sheep

Left: a Duck Dynasty family before the keen idea of a television show.

I woke up Thursday morning and logged onto Facebook to discover, much to my chagrin, that even before I had a chance to investigate the dialogue in the GQ interview with Duck Dynasty's, Phil Robertson, that if I didn't "agree" with what he said then I am un-American, un-patriotic, un-Christian, and holy of all mother un-holy's, a LIBERAL! Needless to say I dove right in and read the entirety of the interview. And low and behold, it turns out that I do in fact take issue with some of his statements. Wouldn't ya know it? I found his seque from the sin of homosexuality to that of bestiality defaming and unnecessary. And by the way, his family's $400 million empire was built on a product who's purpose is to trick ducks into thinking the (human) caller wants to have sex with it. His comments regarding his upbringing in rural Louisiana during the civil rights movement made me cringe a bit. The fact that he saw no evidence of the mistreatment of African Americans at the time could have been tempered with a simple acknowledgment of what MANY of them endured, even though it was out of his line of sight. His remarks seemed to almost discount what history has deemed an irrefutable and shameful time in our nation's not-so distant past, what with the church burnings, lynchings, societal and judicial inequality, and rule by fear tactics. I also sorely dislike his verbiage in matters of his heterosexual preference for all that vaginas have to offer males vs. anus'. But, no matter. Phil can prattle on about anything he wishes to. His right to speak freely is still in tact and hasn't been challenged in any way. For those needing a perfunctory citizenship lesson, our rights are a legal matter, not a social one. How his employer chose to handle future dealings with him is none of my concern.

I'm more concerned by people's fascination, often resembling worship, of these multi-millionaires. Simply because they espouse similar values to the ones held by rural, Southern America doesn't mean that they're heroes or deserving of blind support. The idea that Christians corner the market on morality is asinine. The notion that an anti-gay stance that includes the promotion of inequality under the laws of this country is somehow noble or "non-judgmental" is preposterous. There's no way to sensibly reconcile a position that someone else isn't worthy of the same legal rights and treatment as you are because of their sexuality, AND simultaneously refrain from judgment. "I'm not judging you, I just believe that you shouldn't be the way you are, get married, share benefits, receive hospital privileges or be able to adopt children." No sale. It's a judgment call. Own up to it.

And finally, I have a problem with people who claim to be Christians supporting millionaires. The Biblical view of money seems lost on many believers these days. I challenge anyone to find a single passage in which Jesus so much as mentions same-sex attraction. BUT he has quite a bit to say about money. "It is easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven." "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."
"Sell your possessions and give alms." "...But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." "...You cannot serve God and wealth." "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on." There are MANY many more. But I quoted only six, which is two shy of the number of times both the OT and NT combined, mention homosexuality.
It isn't unreasonable to create a life of financial prosperity. We all strive for fiscal health, as it lends us more energy for other pleasures. The Robertsons have created an empire. Their net worth is in the neighborhood of $400 million. Half of that is comprised of Duck Dynasty merchandise sold in retails stores like Walmart. I've researched their charitable giving, and from everything I've read, they're not exactly known for it. They often speak and entertain at fundraisers. They show up and ask other people for their money to help support organizations. They are also quite often, well compensated for their appearances, put up in nice hotels and given gifts and promote their own merchandise, books, and their show. And you buy it. You feed the machine. You rally round the millionaires, under the guise of Christian values. And THIS is what offends my senses. I care nothing about the Robertsons. I wish them no ill, but they mean nothing to me. And I cannot for the life of me figure out why millions of people think they're worth throwing down a gauntlet over. A gauntlet that in the end will only mean MORE money for A&E when they bring Phil back, MORE money for the Robertsons, and LESS money for the people who buy into what was likely only a money making ploy to begin with. It's all nonsense. Shameful nonsense perpetuated by people who question a major network without ever questioning themselves or their own judgment.

I suppose this post is harsh... but I can't think of another way to view the ridiculousness I've witnessed the last couple of days. If someone would look up what Jesus said about gays, I'd really appreciate it though.

CANCER: WE ARE AWARE!!

     The month of September is 'Childhood Cancer Awareness Month'. Recently, there have been several highly, locally publicized incidences of metastatic cancers affecting children in surrounding counties. Almost all of them have lost the fight. Several of the families of these children have Facebook pages dedicated to the support & progress of the children & their families. Many of them have also had fundraisers sponsored in their honor in order to assist the families with the outrageous costs associated with caring for someone with the disease. Each time I see one of these children in the news feed, or local newspaper, my heart aches & I squeeze my own children's hands a little tighter.

     The "War on Cancer" was declared by President Nixon in 1971 upon signing the National Cancer Act, which bolstered the effort to find a cure for cancer via biological research & drug therapy. Forty plus years later, things aren't looking so good. The survival rate has improved, but the occurrence rate has sky rocketed and metastatic cancer is still a killer; although major non-profit research funding organizations would have us believe otherwise. They would have us believe that walking, running, playing hockey, & riding stallions for the cure is actually leading us somewhere. The fundraising has led us to more advanced testing & early detection methods, but that, coupled with the extended life expectancy (of 3 to 6 months) for advanced stage cancer patients, to the tune of $100k - 200k each, hardly explains where/how the annual $2.2 Billion dollars are actually paying off. And the truth is, no one wants to hear the truth. Because the truth is plain, it's ugly, and it's real. It seems more valiant to walk-a-thon, pray-a-thon, and ribbon plaster, than it does to just put down the boxed food & Bic Macs, eat green vegetables, and prevent 70% of cancers & chronic illnesses in the first place. This is no longer speculative information. The cold hard facts are in. One of the foremost nutritional biochemists in the world, Dr. T. Colin Campbell (Cornell University), along with other premier doctors in their fields, have discovered that diets rich in animal fats & proteins, as well as processed food-like products, CAUSE cancer, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and a host of other chronic illnesses. Whole food, plant based diets vastly decrease a person's chances of developing those diseases & can even reverse them; as well as other ailments such as reflux, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, acne, allergies, the list goes on... But people are more comfortable believing that a man with a lab coat & a bag of nuclear poison aimed at your veins, is somehow your saving grace. We've been bred to believe that medicine is the answer. That doctors practice wellness, when in actuality, they practice sickness. Billions of dollars are spent, and billions made in the treatment of chronic illnesses and cancers. There is no money in a cure. Drug companies & Research Organizations can't fund their private jets & Miami condos on wellness. There's no money in prevention. If you've made it this far in life & have yet to make the connection between your health & what you feed your body, there's likely no help for you. You'll spend your days playing patient-for doctors & hospitals. It's easier to over-eat a diet of sodium, refined sugar, & chemical laden food-like garbage, & ask a doctor for some more pills, than it is to re-think what you've always thought, eat some spinach & take responsibility for your food choices. 

     It's easier to tell a child's family that you'll paint your nails Gold, put up a ribbon, & give $10 along with a card declaring your family's prayers as well a sweet note that "All things happen for a reason & God has a plan for this child, we just don't know what it is." That's a cop out. And it pisses me off. The ole "I'll pray for you, God has a plan" bit is played out. It's the easiest way off the hook. It's a way to scapegoat the fact that we're poisoning our children. And maybe, just maybe, God's plan doesn't include killing children slowly while filling their bodies with medical napalm. Perhaps, God's wisdom & mercy is greater than that. Maybe childhood cancer is a call to re-evaluate our environment & the factors that contribute to the vast number of metastatic cancer occurrences in our babies. For every child that suffers, our resolve should be THAT much greater to guard the safety & wellness of the little bodies of the children we're called to care for. We should be angry with ourselves for allowing it to have gotten THIS bad, THIS big, THIS devastating! 

     Many years ago (around 1938 to be exact) a German born Jewish doctor by the name of Max Gerson, cured many chronic illnesses including migraines, tuberculosis, heart disease, and eventually cancer, using his nutritional therapies. He cured Nobel Prize winner, Albert Schweitzer's wife of lung tuberculosis & the two (Gerson & Schweitzer) remained friends for life. After Gerson's immigration to the US during the Holocaust, he performed a study of 50 cases using his healing therapies on cancer patients who were given up to die when standard treatments failed. He was thought by the medical community to be "radical" for his idea that diet could affect health. But like most all radicals before him (i.e. Nichola Tesla) it has come to light that he wasn't so 'radical' after all. But again, no one (except the patient) benefits from nutritional therapy, except maybe organic farmers. Big Food, Big Pharma, Big Insurance won't reap the benefits of our over indulgence in poisoned foods, which will propel our need for medicines to ease our misery, & thus bolster our needs for insurances that help pay to keep us alive & then bury us when the medicines stop working. 

     Gerson was snubbed, and eventually snuffed out. He was poisoned & died in 1959. Dr. Schweitzer eulogized him by saying "…I see in him one of the most eminent geniuses in the history of medicine. Many of his basic ideas have been adopted without having his name connected with them. Yet, he has achieved more than seemed possible under adverse conditions. He leaves a legacy which commands attention and which will assure him his due place. Those whom he has cured will now attest to the truth of his ideas.”
While the only legal cancer treatments in the United States are surgery, Chemotherapy & Radiation treatments, The Gerson Institute in San Diego, CA can provide infinite amounts of information about his healing therapies & where/how to obtain them. His daughter, Charlotte continues his work & is his longest surviving patient - as he cured her of cancer at the age of 12. 

    You don't have to believe in Gerson the way that I do. You don't have to believe that a cure for cancer is as simple as real food. But you owe it to yourself & every family who suffers alongside their loved ones to re-think what 'Cancer Awareness' really means. It's more than a ribbon, nail polish, & a long night spent walking a track. Being truly aware means being truly awake; Wide eyed to the possibility that things are not always as they seem. And the next time you tell a child with cancer that you'll pray for them, back up that prayer with a little research and accountability for the fact that we ALL contribute to the disasters that cause the devastation of cancer. Every time we forge headlong into gimmicks, quick fixes, and pretty packaging, we distance ourselves that much more from the truth. Simplicity is God's language. It's a wonder we don't speak it better.