Heads or Tails - Election 2012

For the most part I’ve tried to keep this blog politically neutral over the years. This coming Tuesday, however, is a Presidential Election. The U.S. will decide, on that day, whether to re-elect Barrack Obama for four more years speeches that mean absolutely nothing or to elect Mitt Romney for four years of absolutely clueless bullshit speeches. Every four years the American people are given, basically, two choices; neither of which are particularly impressive to me. Because of the duology of our political system, independent candidates and third-party candidates largely go ignored and the constituency aren't even aware that there are other choices than the two mainstream candidates.

This year is no different. We have a choice of either re-electing an incumbent who has been largely ineffectual during his first term or a electing a multi-millionaire who is completely clueless about who the middle class really is. Our third choice, and for once we have one, is Gary Johnson, running as the Libertarian Party candidate. He seems more balanced than the other two choices - being conservative on some issues and liberal on others (a point of view I prefer). Unfortunately, he doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of winning any state, let alone the key states needed for the electorate. What he does stand a chance of doing is getting enough votes to make folks realize that it’s past time to break away from a very broken “us versus them” two party system.

Be that as it may, I’m not blogging in advocacy of any candidate. I’ve made my choice and will cast my ballot on Tuesday along with all the other registered voters that haven’t already availed themselves of early voting. I really don’t care who you vote for, just vote - or remain silent for the four years.

~ JC

Shaking My Head

Silliness and bullshit seem to abound this week. First, there’s the infamous passing of North Carolina’s Amendment One, which made same-sex marriage wholly illegal in that state (as though it weren’t already). Then there’s the story of the Catholic school that forfeited the championship game because the opposing team, gasp!, had a girl on their team. And of course, there’s the pastor, also from NC, who seemingly encouraged fathers to strike their sons if they see them acting effeminate.

It just seems that the U.S. is devolving into a nation of whiners, complainers, haters, bigots and the like. The ultra-conservative religious types try to curtail the civil liberties of non-ultra-conservative-religious types, while the ultra-liberal types cry about their civil liberties while simultaneously trying to prevent the ultra-conservative-religious types from practicing their religion. And in the end, neither side wins because neither side is able to see that they’re both wrong! If something offends you, ignore it - don’t look at it, watch it or read it. But don’t assume to tell me or anyone else that they can’t either.

Life in this country, simply put, has become entirely to political. And gods help you if you don’t have an opinion, because then you get to be a pariah to both the liberals and the conservatives and accused of being a ‘fence sitter’. Not everything is black and white people. Believe it or not, there are shades of grey and what is truth for you, isn’t truth for everyone else. Get over yourself.

As far as the gay marriage thing is concerned - well, Foamy puts it pretty damn well, so I’ll let him explain it:

http://www.illwillpress.com/GAYM.html

~JC

Additional Links:

www.lwvhcnc.org/PDFs/Amendment1.pdf

http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/-Mecklenburg-County-was-1-of-8-counties-to-vote-against--150812515.html

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/steps-to-help-you-evolve-your-views-on-gay-marriag

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/414027/may-09-2012/barack-obama-vs--north-carolina-on-gay-marriage?xrs=synd_facebook

Color Me Purple

I have never particularly felt the need to wax political in my blog. Today is a little different, mainly because I have reached a point where I am just sick and tired of all the political rigmarole currently in the news. The frank fact of the matter is, both political parties can suck it! For the record, yes, I am registered as a Republican – but I am seriously considering changing that to Independent. Notice I said Independent and not Democrat. As I implied with my “both political parties can suck it” comment, I have no use for either of the two. The political scene in the United States has become so partisan and divisive that it is a wonder that anything gets done. The two parties spend more time arguing with each other and trying to prove how evil the other is to pay any attention to what the citizens of this country want. Don't get me wrong, I am quite aware that the United States is not a pure democracy – it is a republic (i.e., the people don't vote on every issue; we elect other people to represent us who then vote on said issues ostensibly on our behalf). But that still does not change the fact that the people do get to vote for who represents them in said republic, and those representatives simply have come to a point where they are so concerned with their own agendas that they are failing to do their jobs, namely representing the people.

I will be the first to admit that I am really no expert on politics, but it just seems to me that most people I talk to are more likely to take each issue on its own merits while the pundits and politicians vote on party lines or automatically jump to the conservative or liberal side of every argument. They don't weigh each issue, they just go with whatever their political party's stance is like lemmings over a cliff. I don't subscribe to that point of view – I believe each issue needs to be weighed individually. Our so called leaders have demonstrated that they either don't have the ability to think for themselves, or they just don't give a shit what the opinion of their constituents is on the issue at hand. For example, the health care issue. Now, I'm not trying to debate this issue here, but it is very much a hot button issue so I'll use it as an example of how our government doesn't care about us as much as it claims to. The health care bill was largely unpopular (at least, the way it was written). Even people who voted as they did in the 2008 election because they wanted the health care that Obama promised largely disagreed with how it was being handled by Congress. Yet, it passed anyway! Approval ratings of those involved in passing it dropped virtually over night. Some states even threatened law suits against the federal government. As I said, I'm not here to debate health care, but it is a prime example of how the political machine has started to break down and fail, if for no other reason than that our leaders have decided we're all children to be seen and not heard. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico off of the Louisiana coast is another prime example of a government that does nothing. They had weeks to formulate a plan to keep that oil from reaching the coast, and several ideas were given. Alas, the government again sat their holding its dick, and now we have oil in the marshlands and making its way to every beach that touches the gulf.

So, without going into an overly long diatribe, here's my (very brief) take on both parties:

Democrats – claim to be for the poor and working class, but clearly don't get the fact that over regulation of big corporations stagnates the free market and eventually costs jobs because the companies that employ the poor and working class will eventually lay them off or fire them to keep their profit margin (not saying I believe in big corporations, just saying, those companies will fire the little guys before the executives give up their large salaries). The Democrats, in my not so humble opinion, really are leading us down a path toward Communism by their seeming desire to make the Federal Government have its hand in every cookie jar in the country and having a say in everything. They are flaming hypocrites who are themselves millionaires but like to criticize the rich. They come up with social agendas, not out of a sense of wanting to help those less fortunate, but because they feel guilty for having more or feel superior and think only they know what's best for those with less.

Republicans – their claim of wanting smaller government and less government control is total bullshit. Example, how can you say you want more civil liberties and less government control, but then deny civil liberties such as marriage between same-sex couples? Explain that? How can you claim separation of church and state when you perceive that a church's rights are being denied, but still insist that there be prayer in public schools? The Republican party has allowed itself to become entirely to inundated with fundamentalist Christians who want the US to become a theocracy. They've also adopted the attitude of opposing anything the Democrats put on the table just because it was proposed by a Democrat – an “us versus them” attitude that exacerbates an already torrid working relationship.

Yes, I realize that opinions are like assholes – everyone has one and it almost always smells like shit. These are my opinions. Don't like them? Great, that's your right. Now, ask yourself why you don't like my opinion – is it because you sincerely and thoughtfully disagree with my conclusion? Or is it because I prefer to combine Red and Blue to make Purple? As I said, I didn't write this to express my opinions on all the issues and topics ranted about in the news everyday. In general, I don't even really like talking about politics, especially recently, because all it does is lead to arguments. We have become so polarized over the last few years in this nation that it's a wonder our government still functions at all. And with the so called mid-term elections coming up, things are already getting heated even among candidates are in the same party! There are run off elections going on because so many people are vying for the same seat that no one can get a clear majority of votes. Hell, maybe I should have put my name in for consideration; I doubt I would have won, but hey, maybe it would have gotten me a book deal and a chance to be on TV. I mean, that's why these other assholes run for office right? At least, that's how it seems to me.

Until next time kids,
~ JC

When Council's Cave, Cults Win

Some of you may recall a pair of posts I wrote back in April referring to our local Dogwood Festival and how a local church/cult had the balls to actually whine to the city council because the Festival's policy didn't allow political or religious groups to have informational booths.¹ In other words, the Festival people knew that people didn't want a bunch of religious wackos and political zealots forcing their bullshit literature on them while they were trying to enjoy good music, good beer and good food during the Festival. I even got into it with one of the church's associate pastors about how it was decidedly NOT a First Amendment issue because it was two non-profit organizations involved and it was actually Manna Church who was trying to turn it into one by attempting to get the City Council involved.

Well, I read something truly disturbing in the Fayetteville Observer a couple of weeks ago in reference to this issue. On July 19, 2008, in an article titled “Festival reverses church policy” it was announced that the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival caved in to the demands of the local cult leaders and will henceforth allow these fuckers to have informational booths at future Festivals. What's of greater interest to me is Manna's Pastor Micheal Fletcher's quote, “And we’ll follow whatever rules they give us,... Hopefully, everyone obeys them.” BULLSHIT! His church/cult was the source of the turmoil. His church was the one that took 1,000 cult followers to the City Council to bitch and moan. His church was the one that couldn't leave it alone and essentially strong armed the Festival's board of directors into reversing the policy by creating a perceived public outcry and pressure on them. Michael Fletcher, you're an asshole! Just look at this photograph from the Fayetteville Observer:

Can the bastard look any more smug and arrogant? The article mentions that Fletcher said “I had really hoped that they would decide this way. And I’m gratified that they have.” Yeah, I'll bet you are. Now you can recruit more people for your cult. I sincerely hope that if any church truly fucks up and breaks whatever rules the Festival lays down for the use of informational booths, that these are the first assholes to do it so we can be rid of them.² Rev. Brian Thompson of Simon Temple AME Zion Church said in that he was very interested in finding out what those rules are going to be. So am I, and my fiancée and I have some ideas (OK, they're mainly hers, but she doesn't blog, so I'm putting them down here).

Carlisle and His Fiancée's Ideas for the Dogwood Festival Non-Profit Informational Booths (read 'em and pay attention!)

1) Since AIT was kind enough to allow political and church groups to use their parking lot at the last Festival (for double the fee amount, I might add) outside of the Festival's parameters, why not seek their permission to use their parking lot again as a “Community Corner” for all non-profit groups. Anyone with a non-profit organization that wants to hand out information about their organization and therefore anyone who actually wants said information can be in this area where they aren't in the way or disturbing those who aren't interested in this bullshit.

2) Five Foot Rule – regardless of where information booths are placed, there will be a Five Foot Rule for those working the booth. In other words, you have to wait for people to come to you, you can't run around forcing people to take your crap.

3) Lottery – Space will be limited to a certain number of informational booths. PERIOD. Your application will be put into a lottery drawing (provided it is filled out completely and correctly). If yours is one of the lucky ones chosen, you will be notified and will have a set amount of time to pay the fee for the booth. If you miss the deadline, the Festival should draw to see who gets offered your spot.

4) NO FOOD/DRINKS – this was the issue that started all this bullshit, because Manna wanted to hand out free food and drinks to people along with their pamphlets and materials. (Can you say bribery?). Informational booths are just that; information only! If you want to SELL food/drinks, then pay for a vendor booth and leave your tracts and cult literature at home!

These are just a few ideas mind you. Hopefully the Festival's governing body will see to it that the churches that wish to participate peacefully and respectfully may do so while those religious zealots and nutters out there can be kept from disturbing festival goers. I'll concede Fletcher's comment “And churches are a part of this community” as being true. We are, after all, in the “Bible Belt” here. My issue is that there are to many churches that don't respect the beliefs of others or the desire of others to be left alone and try to force their particular brand of Christianity on others. And that is exactly why I don't want them to be allowed to have booths at the Dogwood Festival; that's not what the Dogwood Festival is about or for. The Festival is about celebrating the Arts, and having some cult asshole try to talk to you about Jesus has nothing to do with the Arts. Neither, however, does having a bunch of environmentalist wackos and Al Gore worshipers around either. So let's keep that in mind as well, eh there Festival board? I realized they're trying to be more inclusive, but if they let to many freaks have booths and they don't make those freaks stay in their booths and isolate them, then they'll have smaller crowds of people willing to go downtown for the event. Just food for thought.

Until next week,
~ Carlisle

Footnotes:

1. “Why Can't Churches Live and Let Live” (April 20, 2008) and “Dogwood Manna Emails/Final Comments” (April 23, 2008)

2. If you want to know the source of my venomous comments and apparent anger with Manna Church, make sure you read the comments for the the original two posts and especially the second one in which I have the emailed commentary of one of the church's pastors and how they've managed to lie through their teeth the entire time. I have inside sources at the Festival, so I know what's going on and who's telling what lies to whom.

Next week's topic (unless I change my mind at the last moment) - “A Graves Point of View (Askew)”

Dogwood/Manna Emails and Final Comments

This past Sunday I wrote about a controversy that's popped up in this little burg I live in involving our annual Dogwood Festival and a local church [see blog entry “Why Can't Churches Live and Let Live” on Sunday, April 20, 2008]. I sent a link to said blog to the church via their contact page on their website. I received a response. Below are the communiques between Pastor Delane Hulen, the Director of Ministries at Manna Church, and myself, after which I'll share my final thoughts on the whole thing. I post these here to be fair in giving the church a chance to respond, and I appreciate the candor of Pastor Hulen in clarifying a few things (and I do have his permission to post the emails, by the way). Except for making things fit into the layout of the blog (and fixing two minor spelling errors), I haven't edited his emails in anyway; I've simply copied and pasted them straight in.

First Email from Pastor Hulen – received on April 21

Carlisle,

I appreciate your input and outlook on your blog. It seems, however, that
someone has misinformed you in several areas. I'm assuming that you wish to engage in conversation regarding these issues, thus the email sent to us. I would love the opportunity to give you the truth regarding these circumstances so that your blog can be accurate and informative to those who wish to read it in the future. I look forward to hearing from you.

Delane Hulen
Executive Pastor, Manna Church

My Reply – sent on April 22

Pastor Hulen,

Now, we all know what happens when we ASSUME things don't we? I sent the link so the church would be aware that the blog post existed and there are other view points than their own. However, I am interested in hearing what you have to say. I will admit that I am a bit disappointed that you chose to email me rather than post a reply on the blog itself. I gave you a forum in which to dispute my (and other's) opinion but you chose not to take the opportunity. Why is that?

As for the alleged misinformation, I would love to for you to share with me what you think is the truth. I'll even make sure your response gets attached to the blog for you if you would rather not directly comment on the blog post yourself so that my "blog can be accurate and informative to those who wish to read it in the future."

~ JC

Wow! I sounded a little angry there, huh? Especially that opening remark about assuming things. Then again, I was expecting to have to gear up for an argument, so my apologies to Pastor Hulen if I came off sounding like an ass.

Pastor Hulen's Response to my Reply – received on April 22

JC,

First I want to thank you for your integrity regarding your blog. The reason I emailed you instead of posting is because some we have encountered in the past have taken information we have given and modified it to accomplish their goals. I see that you are not that way and I appreciate it. I have no problem with any and all of this being posted to the web, and any further dialog I would be glad to respond to in that manner. I will say, however, that I am responding to quite a bit lately, so unless contacted I may not be checking the blog consistently.

Regarding misinformation I just feel that there are some facts that the public are not aware of. I’ll elaborate below in relation to their category...

VENDOR APPLICATION – The Dogwood Festival policy has been in place, yet unenforced for at least eight years. We have participated every year for the past several years, as approved vendors (by the Dogwood Board of Directors). Manna has served as both informational, as well as, food vendors in the past. I have the financial records to show the purchases of the agreements. This year we were told (and I have a voicemail recording to prove it) that there were “no churches or political groups allowed to participate”. They reiterated this statement to not only to us but other churches in the city who are willing to testify to the same. The problem stems that they then go to both the city counsel and Observer and state that we COULD be a vendor (after the deadline for application, as well as, after their comments to the church community). Someone is not telling the truth. The bottom line issue is that if an organization tries to pick and choose when to use their policy based on who they do/do not want participating, it becomes discrimination. Discrimination against any political organization or religious institution is a violation of the First Amendment. Take a look at their application for vendors, it starts there. We just need them to decide what they’re going to do and how they’re going to do it.

HANDOUTS - Our goal has always been to just bless the people in the city by providing a blessing (free drink, candy bar, etc.). Twice over the years when we were told that there were other vendors selling what we were handing out we changed what we were providing as not to hurt their business (hot dogs, candy bars, eventually to free water).

MEDIA – Neither Pastor Fletcher, any staff member, or any member of Manna that we know of were the ones that contacted the media on this issue. Pastor Fletcher originally was speaking directly with their leadership in order to try and resolve the issue quietly. The media came to us from the beginning because of another person in the city’s complaints. The original goal has been from the beginning to try and resolve this with their board without anyone knowing the conflict existed. To this point the media has misrepresented on multiple occasions both what Manna Church and its leaders have stated, as well as, some of the things that the Dogwood Festival leaders have stated. It’s almost as if someone is trying to cause a fight to break out so they can cover it.

COMPLAINTS – To our knowledge in the several years we’ve participated, there has never been one complaint about anything Manna or one of it’s members have done. Remember, we’re just trying to bless people with a free drink, etc. and show them the love of God in a practical way. The policy was not developed last year based on a complaint about Manna. There have been some religious weirdos over the years that have caused issues, but we have never been part.

We have had several churches and organizations contacting us about picketing and boycotting the Dogwood Festival. Our direction to them has been not to picket or boycott the event because it is a part of who we are as a city. We support it, and even in the midst of this issue, still support it. We’ve told all of our 4,500 member organization not to boycott but to take their families and enjoy it. I’m sure that there will be some crazies there trying to take a stand in the wrong way, but those are the things that give Christians/Christianity a bad name. We support the event, as well as, believe that anyone who has cast judgment on their Board (like the guy who said they’re going to hell for their policies) should be told that if he’s going to represent “the church” in Fayetteville, to clearly state what church he is from so none of the rest of us get rolled into the middle of it. I believe that this thing has taken on a life of its own. You are welcome to review any of the materials we have to validate what I’ve stated. I just wanted you to see things from our perspective. Thanks again for your candor and posting to the website. I would love for my name to be attached.

Delane Hulen
Director of Ministries
Manna Church

Here, now, are my final comments. I have notified Pastor Hulen so that he may continue to respond if he feels the need for further clarification. I will be pulling quotes from Pastor Hulen's email throughout, but they are not intended to be taken out of context, so please make sure you've read his entire response above; thanks. Also, please bear in mind that these are purely my opinions, as was my previous blog, based on what I know of the situation from both the local paper and from sources outside the media.


Regarding the issue of the Vendor Application and the policy baring religious and political groups – even I'm willing to admit that when I was told that the policy has been in place for long time (and I'm not going to argue whether it was 8 years or only since 2001 because it frankly doesn't matter) but only this year did the Festival board decide to enforce it, seems a little bit “knee-jerk.” However, I do know, via the fact that my fiancée works in the same building where the Dogwood Festival's offices are located and knows their staff personally, I have a hard time believing that nothing was ever said about other avenues of participation for churches and the like. If anything, the Festival's marketing coordinator is known for giving almost too much information rather than not enough. Unfortunately, because the deadline has passed, I'm unable to look up a copy of the application on the website and I see no real need to bother the Festival staff for a copy just to satisfy my blog and all two of my readers (yeah, I know, no one really reads my tripe – and I'm cool with that). I do know, and it is listed on the events section of the Festival's website, that Hay Street United Methodist Church is having a “Hay Day for Missions” on April 25 and 26 as a sanctioned Dogwood Festival event. First of all, “missions” indicates that it is an event specifically meant to be evangelistic in nature (and it's going on for two straight days), and secondly, the information that a church could hold such an event and it be sanctioned as Festival event has to have been available all along or it wouldn't be happening. Perhaps the application needs to be revised to be more clear or maybe during all the stress of going through applications and planning events someone forgot to communicate all the details, but I'm very uncomfortable, and even a touch offended, at the comment “Someone is not telling the truth.” I'm also a little offended that a church would feel the need to save a voicemail or record a conversation, whichever the case may be (I've heard it mentioned in both contexts) in an attempt to offer proof that they think they were lied to.

I must comment on the following statement as I did in my original blog. Pastor Hulen states in his email, “Discrimination against any political organization or religious institution is a violation of the First Amendment.” I will say again, as I said before in reference to Pastor Fletcher's comment that “the policy is unconstitutional” in front of the City Council, it absolutely is NOT a First Amendment issue and to keep saying so is foolish. Frankly, that was the statement during the City Council meeting that really irked the hell out of me and prompted me to fire off that letter to the paper. For clarification, here's the exact wording of the First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.[http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html]

The key word here is Congress; in other words, the government. The Dogwood Festival is not a government agency. It is a completely private non-profit organization, just as a church is. The government can no more tell them who they can and cannot allow into their event than it could a church, mosque or synagogue. Taking this issue before the Fayetteville City Council was inappropriate, in my opinion, because the government was being asked to intervene in a way that could have very easily been construed as a violation of the First Amendment. I'm sorry if that upsets anyone, but you'll never convince me that this was, is or ever will be a First Amendment issue. As a friend commented on the MySpace version of the original blog, “This isn't a first amendment issue, it is a play by our rules or stay home issue” (and that was after he initially started to rebuke me for my rant). Again, they didn't exclude just churches; it was all religious and political groups. Muslims, Jews, Pagans/Wiccans, Republicans, Democrats, those wacky-tree-hugging-hippy-liberals, lobbyists, etc. ad nauseum were all not allowed to have informational booths either. To be discriminatory, they would've had to say, 'yeah, all of them can come, just not the Christians.' But that's clearly not what happened.

As for the the Media, to which Pastor Hulen comments, “To this point the media has misrepresented on multiple occasions both what Manna Church and its leaders have stated, as well as, some of the things that the Dogwood Festival leaders have stated. It’s almost as if someone is trying to cause a fight to break out so they can cover it.” To that I will say AMEN! I can't argue with that in any way, shape or form. It's right on the money! It's part of the reason why I've posted his emails in their entirety (even the parts I disagree with) because I'm certain that not everything that has been said has been reported by the so-called “impartial” media. As I said above, I know at least one of the Festival staff members and I don't even think he was ever even interviewed.

As for the complaints that lead to the Festival board's decision to start enforcing a policy that was already there, well, again, it's probably a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. I accused Manna Church of being the church responsible, and that was irresponsible of me, and for that I do offer my apologies. I fell into the trap of assuming that Manna caused the complaints because they were guilty of giving away free food in conflict with the food vendors (which Pastor Hulen mentioned in his email). But, in case you missed it in Pastor Hulen's email, they did stop when asked to do so, so kudos for that. Pastor Hulen stated, “There have been some religious weirdos over the years that have caused issues...” Well, every religion has those, including (and maybe even especially) my own, but you can't judge a whole group because of a few over zealous people who might have questionable motives.

Once again, I applaud Pastor Fletcher's comments before the City Council that he didn't agree with the terrible things people were emailing to the Festival staff and Pastor Hulen's comment, “I’m sure that there will be some crazies there trying to take a stand in the wrong way, but those are the things that give Christians/Christianity a bad name. We support the event, as well as, believe that anyone who has cast judgment on their Board (like the guy who said they’re going to hell for their policies) should be told that if he’s going to represent “the church” in Fayetteville, to clearly state what church he is from so none of the rest of us get rolled into the middle of it.” I don't share Manna's religious beliefs, and frankly have never been really comfortable with so-called “Mega Churches” with thousands of members. But that aside, that's not what this has been about. I respect all beliefs and believe that God speaks to each of us in a multitude of ways and voices, we need only shut up and listen for it. The point of religion, any religion, is to speak to a person's spiritual needs, period! But, that's a topic that isn't relevant to this issue, so I'll leave it at that.

Bottom line, the Dogwood Festival's board obviously needs to review their policies and procedures for vendor applications for next year, but frankly, churches need to stop and think about how it can end up reflecting on them when/if they complain (especially when it's brought to a public forum at a City Council meeting). I can see where both sides could have handled this whole thing better , and both sides have caught a lot of undue flack for it too. Alas, it's to late to review the policies for this year and the Festival staff and board have moved on to making sure this year's Dogwood Festival goes smoothly with the vendors and entertainment they already have. Hopefully, everyone else can move on as well and just enjoy the festivities. I would like to again thank Pastor Delane Hulen for his candid emails and for granting me permission to share them on my blog. So, this weekend, April 25-27, load up your family and/or friends in the car, head to downtown Fayetteville and the surrounding area, and have a great time! Just save me some barbecue and beer!

~ JC

Holy Crap! This has to be the longest blog I've every posted! According to OpenOffice Writer's word count feature, it's 2,920 words including the emails I've copied and pasted into it. Now, if I could only get this much inspiration to finish those two novels I stared five years ago. :-)

This Sunday, April 27, 2008: a special blog post titled “The Lunatic Who Runs the Asylum: 20 Questions with Jimmy 'The Deez' Calhoun”; Jimmy is the author of the blog Jabberwocky Asylum and has some great changes and additions to his site in the works. I recently sent him 20 questions about his blog, his life and his vision for the future and will be sharing this “interview via email” with all of you on my regular weekly blog post and get off my soapbox for a bit.

Why Can't Churches Live and Let Live?

Anyone that lives here in Fayetteville, NC or the surrounding area is undoubtedly familiar, at least in passing, with a situation that has arisen between one of the local churches and the staff and board of the Dogwood Festival. It seems that the pastor of Manna Church wanted to have an informational booth at the Festival, but was told by the staff of the Festival that they were not allowing religious or political groups to have informational booths, but that they could participate as food vendors or as hosts of a sanctioned Dogwood Festival event. Michael Fletcher, the pastor, has either gone deaf and didn't hear those options given or is just a plain lier and has accused the Festival's staff of never telling him he had those other two options.

I've never felt the need in my blog to wax political or spiritual, but anyone who knows me, knows how verbose I can be on those topics. The entire situation speaks loudly as to why I left Christianity and eventually became a Pagan and now consider myself to be a Universalist. I've also never felt the need to write a letter to the editor of the local newspaper before, but I did. Unfortunately for me, it's likely not going to be published since it's been several days since it's submission and I still haven't seen it in the paper yet. The good news for my blog readers is that now I can publish it here in all of it's 500+ word glory (or as much as I can recover after having to edit it for submission) instead of the watered-down 250 word version I had to submit to the Fayetteville Observer.

The issue involving the Dogwood Festival and Manna Church is ridiculous. Rev. Fletcher and his cult-like following of 1,000 people jamming their way into a City Council meeting only wasted time that should have been spent actually taking care of serious city issues. As I watched the council meeting on television Monday^{[April 14, 2008]} night, I was amused at the comments of Rev. Fletcher, et.,al. I also noted that of those who were allowed to speak on the matter, only one person from the Dogwood Festival was allowed to speak, while there were several either from or in support of Manna Church.

The statement was made that the “policy [of the Dogwood Festival] is unconstitutional.” How so? The first amendment of the Constitution states that the government can't prohibit anyone from practicing a particular religion. The Dogwood Festival is a private organization and can make whatever policies it wants. If his church were putting on a festival, would it allow groups such as Pagans, Mormons, Muslims, etc. have an informational booth. Of course not, and it would be well within its rights to do so because a church is also a private organization and is likewise free to make whatever policies it wishes. For it to be discriminatory the Festival would have to exclude specific religious groups, which is does not.

I found the comment, “If one student in a classroom misbehaves, are all the students sent to the principal’s office?” (because the policy was the result of complaints) laughable. Rev. Fletcher felt that the decisions should be on a case-by-case basis. My understanding of the situation is that it was his church that caused the complaints in the first place due to their continual refusal to adhere to the rules by actively walking amongst the crowd and forcing their materials on others rather than remain in their booth as well as offering free food and drink that (1) was a conflict of interest regarding vending booths and (2) was not defined in their initial application. Perhaps he's correct. Only the group who did not follow the rules should be barred from participating. Oh, but wait; his is the group which didn't follow the rules, so he'd still have something to complain about.

I will give Rev. Fletcher credit for denouncing those who have contacted the Festival's staff with nasty comments and threats. However, if he had simply asked “What Would Jesus Do?” and reflected on how Jesus only taught those willing to listen, then there would have been no uproar, no nasty comments and no un-Christlike behavior from so many so-called Christians.

Pay attention Rev. Fletcher. A single complaint does not result in a policy change like the one made by the Dogwood Festival a few years ago, it takes a multitude of complaints from a large number of festival goers. That would seem to mean that the majority does not want your information. "Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them." (Mark 6:11 NASB) If I am not mistaken, those words were spoken by Jesus Himself as if to say, 'if the people do not want to listen to you, then do not force them to, but move on to a place where there are people who are interested in hearing your teachings.'

~ JC

News Stories and Articles

The initial story by WRAL-TV

The article from the Fayetteville Observer the day after the aforementioned City Council meeting.