On the verge of a major life transition...

Due to the adventure I'm undertaking as described in this blog's April 7 post (see below), new posts will be extremely limited or nonexistent during at least the next two weeks, and possibly beyond. Under no circumstances should this be taken as evidence of the blog's demise. Far from it, in fact. Once I complete my 2,000-mile cross-country trek and become settled into my life in the Pacific Northwest, this page will once again be updated regularly, and I'll regale my audience with posts you won't soon forget. I promise.

On that note, thanks for stopping by, reading, and commenting. And please continue to do so, because without your contributions, this blog is dead.

Thoughts on Monday's events

On Feb. 17, almost exactly two months prior to Monday's shooting spree at Virginia Tech, I published a blog post that began with the following:

"Every now and then, America experiences a tragedy that painfully illustrates the consequences of laws permitting free and easy access to firearms. On one occasion, it was two Colorado teenagers who shot to death more than a dozen of their classmates before turning the weapons on themselves. In several other instances, it was a disgruntled employee who vented his anger at the workplace by using bullets...

"...The saddest part about these types of incidents is that people always ask the obligatory questions: Where did the suspect get his gun? Who helped him perpetrate this atrocity? Why wasn't he stopped before it was too late? But after some time, the questions die down and everyone slips back into complacency over America's love affair with guns. Rarely is a concerted, long-term effort made to address this problem and the implications it will continue to have."

I certainly don't bring this up again as an "I-told-you-so" jab at those who disagreed with my position. I respect the fact that there are different perspectives. I also respect the victims of this tragedy, and I recognize that now is not the proper time to rekindle such a debate. I mention this only because I believe it bolsters my position that something needs to change -- and we can disagree about what that is. Again, this is what makes our country resilient and great.

I would also argue that we should try to put this very sad and devastating event into perspective. When I visited MSNBC on the web today, there was a giant, bold, glaring headline at the top of the page regarding the Virginia Tech massacre. About halfway down the page, in tiny print and almost unnoticeable, was another link that read, "At least 183 killed in 4 Baghdad car bombings." The double standard was striking, but not unexpected. It is obvious which headline will sell better. Ideally, though, Americans would be equally troubled by massive loss of life in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Somalia, as we are by the same thing in our own backyard. Ideally, so would our mainstream media. If all human life is precious -- and indeed it is -- shouldn't we strive to stop this kind of violence, not just in Virginia, but across the world?

The fall of John McCain

At one time, I respected Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. He came across as an independent lawmaker beside a long list of ideological puppets in Congress. He appeared to base his stances on intellect, personal experience, and decency, rather than partisan conformity. Now that he's a contender for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, one could logically assume that McCain would wield this maverick spirit to distinguish himself among fellow GOP candidates.

Unfortunately, he's done the exact opposite. Instead of engaging in dialogue about why George W. Bush's war of choice has failed -- and it very plainly has -- and how to mitigate the consequential disasters of that failure, McCain insists on toeing the administration's line by making absurd claims about great "progress" made since the start of the so-called military crackdown. According to McCain, the American mainstream media aren't painting an accurate picture of what's happening over there.

To prove this, he took a leisurely stroll through a Baghdad marketplace -- accompanied, of course, by a bulletproof vest and heavily armed military escort (not to mention the fact that his visit was unannounced in the first place). This could charitably be described as a public relations snafu. More accurately, however, it would be depicted as a plain insult to the intelligence of the American people.

Most disturbing about McCain's stubborn and stupid stance on Iraq is not the fact that he's made it the centerpiece of his campaign -- though, admittedly, that's bad enough -- but rather the notion that he has joined the ranks of high-profile politicians who are hindering any real, honest discussion about how to resolve America's worst foreign policy blunder ever. With public officials like McCain who still refuse to even admit that the Iraq war was a mistake, it's hard to hold out hope that we will ever make any meaningful progress on ending it.

McCain says he would "rather lose a campaign than a war." As Jon Stewart wisely pointed out on The Daily Show, the senator may never need to make that choice. John McCain will lose his bid for the presidency, and justifiably so.

Leaving the boat, walking on water

One of the most widely recognized miracles recounted in the Gospels is the story of Jesus walking on water on the open sea, and instructing his disciple Peter to leave their boat and do the same. Peter himself was able to take strides on water, until he realized what he was doing, became frightened, and began to sink. Jesus lifted Peter back up, asking him why he doubted himself. They then returned to the boat, and the sea calmed.

As many already know, I recently accepted a new job in the Seattle area. It's an editorial position with World Vision, a faith-based international humanitarian organization whose efforts are focused on disaster relief and aid for impoverished families across the world. This endeavor has transpired much quicker than I could have ever imagined; the last day at my current employer is April 20, and I'll be relocating to the Pacific Northwest almost immediately thereafter. It's immensely exciting, a terrific opportunity, but also extraordinarily scary. I have traveled to Seattle on more than one occasion (and it's a city and region I love), but I have no family there, and very few acquaintances. The financial investment, the emotional strain of leaving so abruptly the family and friends whom I love, and the sheer geographical distance, will absolutely make this the biggest risk I've ever taken in my life.

But risk is what life is about. Without it, we can neither grow as individuals nor effect positive change on the world around us. If fear of failure or uncertainty about the future dissuaded every risky decision that confronted us, we'd stay put forever and never fulfill a greater purpose. This surely isn't what God wants for us. Taking risks can result in failures, but more importantly, it can result in substantial success and growth. Either way, we learn from the experience. This, in my view, is the essence of a faith-based life: constant exploration, risk-taking, and personal growth based on experience, all done in pursuit of truth and fulfillment. By virtue of human fallibility, we'll all make mistakes. To become the people we are intended to be, however, we first have to leave our boats as Jesus taught.

This is what I'm poised to do. My present "boat" is the security of a job with stable income, a great home and city in which to live, a network of amazing friends, a supportive family living just three hours away, and a host of other luxuries I've learned to take for granted. Packing up my belongings and moving a distance of 2,000 miles by myself to start an entirely new job will be a classic case of walking on water. How well I stay afloat will be determined in large part by how strong my faith is, just as it was with Peter the disciple. There is a laundry list of unknowns in store, and the sorrow of leaving the people and places I love grows with each day, but the excitement and invigoration over the prospects for growth and fulfillment is more than enough to make me glad that I'm trying this.

Please pray for me as I embark on this journey. Then, come to visit me once I'm there.

Promoting Iowa through tolerance, progress

After implementing a law earlier this year that compels school districts to ban bullying on the basis of sexual orientation, the Iowa Legislature is on its way to passing another bill that would add this and gender identity to the state's anti-discrimination statutes. The proposal would make it illegal in Iowa to single out gays, lesbians, and transgendered citizens in the areas of housing, employment, education, and financial contract. These are smart and necessary moves, both from a moral standpoint and from the standpoint of Iowa's general welfare as a state.

As an alumnus of Iowa's largest public university, I understand the state's appeal lies not in snowy mountain peaks, rugged coastlines, sandy beaches, or large, cosmopolitan cities. Let's be honest: Iowa is anything but a trendy place to live. What it does offer, however, is a quality of life that's hard to beat. With cost of living and violent crime rates at rock-bottom levels, and public schools among the best in the nation (which, by the way, deliver America's highest literacy rates and standardized test scores), there are few better places in this nation to raise a family. Couple that with the state's top-notch health-care facilities, and medium-sized urban areas that are manageable, low-stress, and friendly. If you can deal with the harsh winters and lack of natural wonders, it's hard to understand why anyone would malign the thought of living in Iowa.

Perhaps most remarkable about the state, however, is its reputation for political and social moderation -- an attribute not found in states to the south and west. The University of Iowa became the nation's first public university to admit men and women on an equal basis. The state opted more than four decades ago to ban capital punishment entirely, a prudent decision that stands to this day, and one that many other states have failed to even consider. Now Iowa has stepped up its efforts to become a more welcoming place for a group of people who are often ostracized in our society on the basis of a personal trait they cannot control. This is a shrewd and essential idea. If the state wants any hope of competing culturally and economically with bigger states, it must distinguish itself as a place that embraces diversity and acceptance. This is the best way to attract a skilled workforce. Iowa may lack Colorado's dramatic alpine vistas, but it can compensate for that at least in part through a more tolerant social climate.

This is also a moral issue. Arguments against passage of this law most often cite the premise that it infringes upon people's "religious convictions." I disagree completely. I'm a Christian, and I'm tired of the prevailing notion that my faith is nothing more than a checklist of what is categorically right and wrong; that we do nothing more than judge people whose beliefs are different from our own. It's time to define Christianity the way it should be: that we are all children of God, replete with our strengths and weaknesses, and that we should help, embrace, and love each other, not cast judgment out of fear or misunderstanding. Kudos to Iowa for advancing such a concept.