That's right, folks..

The Golden Age..

From Wired.com: (emphasis mine)

"Speaking at the Personal Democracy Forum in New York Monday, McCain deputy e-campaign director Mark Soohoo responded to a comment about McCain's self-professed computer illiteracy by saying that McCain is "aware of the internet."

Even though he doesn't use computers personally.


Other things John McCain is 'aware of':

1. 'Digital' Things
2. The Space Shuttle
3. the Euro
4. Escalators
5. VCRs
6. Pagers
7. ATMs
8. Grocery Self Checkout
9. Russia
10. His surroundings (as of 6/26/08)

The Hanoi Hilton Bump.

In an amazingly surreal addition to this presidential race, John McCain's former captor in Vietnam told the BBC that he'd vote for McCain.

Tran Trong Duyet, told the BBC, "If I were American, I’d vote for John McCain, I think he’d make a very capable president. He’s done so much to improve relations between our two countries."

He also said that he and McCain used to argue over the war while McCain was imprisoned, but he now just wants to "leave the past behind".

Leave the past behind? I'm sure all McCain wants in to do is "be able to raise his arms above his shoulders".

Time Heals all wounds... unless those wounds develop into degenerative arthritis.

No Man's Land.

There are billions of pages written each year by partisan ideologues. Tucked between their current take on the other side, is usually a rousting ‘pen is mightier’ call to arms. Heavy generals with names like Franken, and Hannity, Moore and Coulter, rally the troops with unflinching determination. Borders are fortified. Talking points are issued to the infantry, and the drums of political war are whipped into a furious rhythm. For those keeping score, that paragraph contained 9 metaphors. Suck it, Hemmingway.

And I’ve got more.

In the middle, in no-man’s-land, between the barbed wire and the firefight, lie the moderates. The centrists. Those, who in the words of the (depending on your political affiliation) sharp-tongued-liberal-devil -or- boy-saviour-sex-idol, John Stewart, are shouting: “Be reasonable, people!”. But they are never heard.

Moderates don’t have Generals. We don’t even have a standing army. We are political expats, defectors, and draft dodgers. Ours are those that watch from the no-man’s-land, reading every article, listening to the black, listening to the white, and come to the same observation - it’s all a big grey ball of mess.

This isn’t to say we aren’t committed. It’s also not to say we are indecisive. It’s only to say, there is currently no place for us. We are bastards & orphans. When a line is drawn between the partisan crazies - what side is worth taking? Unequivocally, neither.

Even if we wanted to take a side, they wouldn’t have us. Our unique ability to find truth and worth no matter on which side of the wire it lies, makes us an automatic enemy. Our willingness to defend that truth (even if it means defending the other side) in order to maintain an accurate discourse - is high treason.

So here we stand. The thinkers, the thought grapplers, the wrestlers of ideas, stuck between the partisan trenches, trying to moderate a political war through a rolled up newspaper to our mouths.

The power of email forwards and the inability to use common sense OR: Why America is aboslutely f****d.

I received a political email forward today. I love/hate these things. Love because they are hilarious. Hate because they are a disheartening glimpse into the mind of the average American.

The forward (which I'm sure you can probably check out in next Month's issue of the Central Christian Observer), contained the following:

Just in case you have not seen this one......




Obama Explains National Anthem Stance
Hot on the heels of his explanation for why he no longer wears a flag pin,presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama was forced to explain why he doesn't follow protocol when the National Anthem is played. According to the United States Code, Title 36, Chapter 10, Sec. 171, During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform are expected to stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart.

'As I've said about the flag pin, I don't want to be perceived as taking sides,' Obama said. 'There are a lot of people in the world to whom the American flag is a symbol of oppression. And the anthem itself conveys a war-like message. You know, the bombs bursting in air and all. It should be swapped for something less parochial and less bellicose. I like the song 'I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing.' If that were our anthem, then I might salute it.'

WHAAAAAAAT!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this could possibly be our next president.
I, for one, am speechless .

For those who don't know me, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I possess a super-power. I know what your thinking;

"Wait! But he's just a mild-mannered-owner-of-a-strategic-design-firm-specializing-in-interactive-and-new-media-based-results-oriented marketing-and-one-hell-of-a-designer."

You'd be right. But there's something else. something... super. I posses the ability to "think critically based on logic and common sense". You thought I was going to say 'fly' didn't you? No need to fly when you can "think critically based on logic and common sense". I even have an ability similar to 'spider-sense' but it's called "red flag sense". It's a small internal mechanism that allows me to detect bullshit. Using the latest in technology, you will now be able to experience my red flag sense as I do. Here's how it went down:

Hey, I should check my email.

Ahhh.. An email forward.

When I finally came to, I wiped the streams of now dried blood that came from my ears, and sat down to write this post.

My ability to "think critically based on logic and common sense" allowed me to discern the following.

1. The whole thing was a lie.

My ability to "perform a google search" gave me even more information:

1. The piece was written by satirical writer John Semmens and was posted on his internet column "Semi-News" (as in "Wish I could be on the staff of The Onion").

It should be obvious to even the casual glancer-of-emails that if any part of this was true, if a popular presidential candidate had said that the American flag was a symbol of oppresion, you would have heard about it in ummmm not an email forward. It should be even more obvious that if a DEMOCRATIC presidential candidate said that that the American flag was a symbol of oppresion, FoxNews would have started a new channel devoted entirely to 24 hour coverage of "FlagGate".

It should also be obvious that the writer has his tounge so far in his cheek, that it actually burst forth and impregnated itself into the cheek of the person sitting next to him, i.e. "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing."

To further the disheartening felt by the email, were the comments of those who had forwarded it along:

.............is this guy for real??????

Oh me.........for sure NOT voting for this one!!!

---AND---

Does this man not know the history of our national anthem………..or what??

Wearing the USA flag is taking sides------------if you want to be president of the US---whose side are you on anyway?????

This is ridiculous------folks had better think long and hard about this election!!

Folks had better think long and hard about believing everything that happens to make it into your inbox, and basing your decision on who should be the next most powerful person in the world based off of an email forward.

My ability to "think critically based on logic and common sense" isn't always super. In fact, most of the time it sucks. Most of the time, because I value Truth no matter what it is, I am put into the position of defending things that I normally have no business talking about. Muslims, Barak Obama. Because YOU can't help but not use the most basic of human thought processes, I end up having to point out the truth, subsequently defending something I may not agree with.

But I believe this is my "good fight".

It's also obvious that those that forwarded the email typed a quick message, and hit forward as soon as they finished reading. What they read fit into their current mindset regarding Obama, and so, they accepted what they read without a bit of thinking.

American's willingness and readiness to believe anything, immediately, as long as it fits what they already believe is why America is absolutely doomed.

On Love, War, and MLK.

Yesterday, April 4th, was the day Martin Luther King was assassinated. I walked into a used bookstore a few years ago, around the time of MLK's birthday, and bought a few books they had on a special display. Since then, I've been intrigued by this man. Moreover, I've been intrigued about his legacy in the United States. A Giant of a man, and a pillar of Christianity, reduced to one speech. One radical revolutionary, reduced to a pretty neat guy.

Yesterday, NPR did story upon story, interview upon interview, and played speech upon speech. They did an outstanding job. I had listened to it thoughout the day, but on my way home around , they were wrapping up and played a recording of this quote from one of his sermons:

"Don't ever let anyone pull you so low as to hate them. We must use the weapon of love. We must have the compassion and understanding for those who hate us. We must realize so many people are taught to hate us that they are not totally responsible for their hate. But we stand in life at midnight; we are always on the threshold of a new dawn."

I hasn't left my mind. This sermon was given during the Vietnam war. It's an odd thing to live as a Christian during war. There is a great disparity between what I should think and feel as a Christian, and what I should as an American.

A question arose in my mind; Do you think love can conquer where war both can and cannot? And I'm not referring to flippant "Love not War" b.s., or being helpful, or being kind, but pure, true Christian love. Would it conquer in place of war? Could it conquer the same as war?

I would like to think the answer is 'yes. absolutely.' So what, then, do we do with war?

The Christian "Lifestyle"...

I've been thinking a lot, lately, about Christianity as a lifestyle. Since the Mid 80s, Christianity has leapt from the pews on Sunday morning, and on to people's shirt sleeves. Literally. So is this good or bad?

It's both. Yep. That's what being a moderate is all about, folks. Seeing both sides clearly.

In the last 20 years, Christians have become more comfortable in their Christian skin. It's like dieting. I'm currently on the Atkins diet, and for those that care - it's working. But I've noticed that their is a huge market for taking something you used to have in in your pre-diet life, and making it diet friendly. But it's always a tasteless, crappier version of that thing. Ever try carb free bread? Ever licked cardboard? The hook is, you can have those things that used to pleasure you, guilt free. The same goes for new Christianity. There isn't anything from your 'old life' that you can't replace with a 'Christian' version. Music, books, movies, even mints. The Christian culture is everywhere. Somewhere in your zipcode, there is probably a Christian Bookstore - though the book part is a bit of a misnomer as most of them sell way more than books.

The problem with Christianity as lifestyle is simply this: Lifestyles are ephemeral. I could quit Atkins tomorrow. As easily as I picked it up. All I would do is swap one set of lifestyle rules and traits, back to the other. When I used to work with a youth group, I saw hundreds of kids surrounding themselves with the Christian lifestyle, but never truly having a relationship with Christ - the scary part is - they thought they did. Now as an adult, I see a huge number of adults doing the same. That's the other problem: Lifestyles can quickly and easily become Idolized. It's a natural progression that when your life is summed up by what you listen to in your car, read wear, where you go to school, etc., your faith becomes centered around those same things. Rather than Jesus. Jesus as a lifestyle sucks. Jesus as a lifestyle would never work. Jesus as a lifestyle... would end up killing you.

As a marketer, I understand the absolute necessity of brand focus. If your brand stands for everything, then it stands for nothing. I also understand the value of owning words in people's minds. Safe Car? Volvo. The Real Thing? Coke. Internet Video? Youtube. Search? Google. The Christian lifestyle ultimately dilutes the Christian message.

So is it all just a lifestyle to you?