Last night I attended a parents' evening at Bayside Comprehensive School, the secondary school that, much to my shock and horror, my eldest boy Aaron is due to attend in September. When I sat down in that auditorium, and heard the teachers' presentation, one two thoughts were on my mind. Firstly I thought, man, A LOT has changed in the 18 years since I attended Bayside! Same building, different world!!!!! Second, I kept on seeing the computers, the WIFI throughout the school, the classrooms, the workshops and the staff I kept on thinking, that with the amount of support and resources available to our boys and girls nowadays, I guess the kid that does not make it really does not want to make it? I know that is an unfair comment, and many children have really raw deals in their personal lives, but the point is this: I know that there is much talk about the watering-down of standards in education, given the meteoric rise of grades in recent years - however, no-one even mentions that the world of teaching has evolved by leaps and bounds since a few years ago. The tools and support available nowadays are responsible, in no small measure, to the meteoric rise of grades. Well it seems unreal that my boy will be venturing to Bayside in September. I am assured in part, that in this huge transition for him he will have an impressive backup to assist in his development and in his making the most of these few years ahead.

I have just finished reading Never eat alone, by Keith Ferrazzi. Some good points are to be found in this tome, worthy of immediate application. Ferrazzi sees a world in which your network, or circle, or tribe, now occupies the place that organizations used to occupy. This fluid tribe provides value, and demands the adding of value from us. It is a manifesto for the investment of our time, and energies, into helping others - The benefit that we receive is that we are helped along to achieve our own aims and goals when we do not manipulate the tribe to achieve these.

I for one will try to not eat alone as much in future.

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gait,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley (1875)

 

The arguments has its logic, or so I'm told.  France is fiercely proud, and  protective, of its "secular" republic and so anyone wanting to live in French society needs to embrace its values, values chief among which are the dignity and freedom of women.

Against this backdrop, the Burka is regarded as a backward symbol of religious oppression, harking-back to Taliban-esque values that have no place in modern 21st century European society.  It is claimed that many Muslim women are forced to wear their headscarves by over-bearing dominant husbands and so echoes of chauvinistic oppression of women sound across the land.

Vive la France!, but I am afraid I do not share this point of view.  For a society that teaches tolerance, this is sounding pretty intolerant to me.  I think that France has got it wrong, terribly wrong, when it has embarked down the road of banning the Muslim veil.  The sad part is that this is not a French issue, no, not anymore.  Spain is now following suit, it seems, with the banning of the Burqua in public buildings in Lleida. 

Call me naive, but I grew up here in Gibraltar, surrounded by Muslim ladies, including some that are my friends' wives or mothers, wearing their veils as devout Muslims, and, shock, horror, no they weren't sporting a Kalashnikov underneath their vestments.  It may appear quaint, but I sort-of enjoyed having a three minute conversation with some of them all the time appearing courteous but wondering inside whether I actually was talking to Latifa from the block or Aisha that worked with my Mother.  This is part of the culture here where Muslims are NOT demonized, and where we have grown up together with a fully integrated Moroccan community, a community to whom we the wider Gibraltarian  community owes a debt, and for whom we should now reciprocate by removing any hindrances to their full enfranchisement as British Citizens in our community.... but that is altogether another story for another day.

The dignity of women is not on the line, freedom of expression is.

OK back to the ban.  The argument being flouted about is that the Muslim veil is an affront to the dignity of women.  Firstly, I find it interesting how some see the veil as "undignified" but see vomit-covered, scantily-clad, beer-guzzling, swearing ladettes passed-out on the pavement on a Friday night as modern day liberated women.  I guess dignity is relative.  I guess dignity is subjective.  I guess dignity is a matter of opinion.

Some have said that many Muslim ladies are forced or coerced into wearing this garb.  Firstly, they fail to provide the evidence for this statement.  Secondly, and more importantly, society's reaction to this must be to preserve freedom of expression in the way we all dress, whether for religious reasons or other, whilst providing a safety-net for those caught in a relationship of coercion or restricted liberties.  It cannot be healthy to respond to an alleged coercion by some, by removing a freedom for all.  It is a gross -overreaction, just as it would be to erect a scafolding around a whole building to repair a leaking pipe.

Secularism.

Those proponents of a secular society, such as the French, are quick to point out that this debate has implications of separation of church and state.  They point towards demographical trends and see that a particular ethnic group may get to have too much influence over a future society and thus may erode this secular doctrine.  This is nothing but hypothetical conjecture.  However I would like to add that the doctrine of separeation of church and state is, in essence, a two-way street, meant as much to keep undue religious influence and nepotism from the organs of state, as it is meant to keep the political reach of the state from the freedom to worship according to one's own convictions.

I speak as a Christian.

As a Christian I must speak out for the protection of our freedom of worship, and our freedom of expression, above all other considerations - The only limitations being when my freedom encroaches on another's freedom.  My Muslim friends should be able to wear whatever they want as an expression of their faith, otherwise, and I speak as a Christian, how long will it be until the Christian Cross, or the Jewish Kippah, are also seen as an afront to a secular society?

The Vision from Dave Wright on Vimeo.

So this guy comes up to me and says: “what’s the vision? What’s the big idea?” I open my mouth and words come out like this: The vision? The vision is JESUS – obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus. The vision is an army of young people. You see bones? I see an army. And they are FREE from materialism. They laugh at 9-5 little prisons. They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday. They wouldn’t even notice. They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the west was won. They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no passport. People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence. They are free yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying. What is the vision ? The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes. It makes children laugh and adults angry. It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago to reach for the stars. It scorns the good and strains for the best. It is dangerously pure. Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation. It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games. This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause. A million times a day its soldiers choose to loose, that they might one day win the great ‘Well done’ of faithful sons and daughters. Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night. They don’t need fame from names. Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again: “COME ON!” And this is the sound of the underground The whisper of history in the making Foundations shaking Revolutionaries dreaming once again Mystery is scheming in whispers Conspiracy is breathing… This is the sound of the underground And the army is discipl(in)ed. Young people who beat their bodies into submission. Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms. The tattoo on their back boasts “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain”. Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes. Winners. Martyrs. Who can stop them ? Can hormones hold them back? Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them or death kill them ? And the generation prays like a dying man with groans beyond talking, with warrior cries, sulphuric tears and with great barrow loads of laughter! Waiting. Watching: 24 – 7 – 365. Whatever it takes they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from its cosy little hide. Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs, laughing at labels, fasting essentials. The advertisers cannot mould them. Hollywood cannot hold them. Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties before the cockerel cries. They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive Inside. On the outside? They hardly care. They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate but never to hide. Would they surrender their image or their popularity? They would lay down their very lives - swap seats with the man on death row - guilty as hell. A throne for an electric chair. With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days, they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them. Their DNA chooses JESUS. (He breathes out, they breathe in.) Their subconscious sings. They had a blood transfusion with Jesus. Their words make demons scream in shopping centres. Don’t you hear them coming? Herald the weirdo’s! Summon the losers and the freaks. Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes. They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension. Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden. And this vision will be. It will come to pass; it will come easily; it will come soon. How do I know? Because this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning of the Spirit, the very dream of God. My tomorrow is his today. My distant hope is his 3D. And my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great ‘Amen!’ from countless angels, from hero’s of the faith, from Christ himself. And he is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner. Guaranteed. (The Vision - - by Pete Greig) Technorati Tags: 24/7 Prayer, Vision

I just finished reading Seth Godin's book "Tribes" and have just been fired-up with its message of radically changing the rules of the game through the fluid, cause-based, leadership of communities that he aptly terms "Tribes". Anybody who is involved in influencing the market of ideas, would do well to take this book's central themes to heart. By the way, YOU are that person, involved in influencing the market of ideas. If you care about stuff, if you want to get things done, if you want to change things, if you use the power of words to bring about change...... then this message os for you.

If you are passionate about an idea, or a message, then there is a tribe out there waiting for you to take the initiative and lead. Your message needs you - your tribe needs you..... welcome to the new world.

Technorati Tags: Tribes, Seth Godin, Books, Viral, Marketing

The following email was sent to Gibraltar's Minister for Family, Youth and Community Affairs, asking the Government to introduce a fast-track system for adopting children that are orphaned in disasters such as Haiti's massive earthquake. ------------ The Honourable J J Netto Minister for Family, Youth & Community Affairs 14 Governor's Parade Gibraltar Dear Sir, Re: Crisis response protocol for adoption in Gibraltar. It is with astonishment that we witness the scenes of devastation coming out of Haiti. every day. In times like these we all wish that there was something that we could do to help, and no doubt the typical response from our community will be to contribute money, energy and time to help the lot of those less fortunate. Although I'm not aware of the intricacies of the adoption process here in Gibraltar, I am writing to ask whether the Government of Gibraltar has considered introducing a fast-track protocol for the adoption of orphaned children following a disaster such as Haiti. Parents who decide to adopt these orphans would be able to bring the child to Gibraltar under a certain protocol, that would relax any bureaucratic impediments and expedite the whole process. I am aware that there may not be multitudes of Gibraltarians standing in line waiting to adopt orphans, however I am also aware that sometimes small but poignant gestures, such as having Government introduce the said protocol, will serve as a powerfully symbolic catalyst to motivate some to take action. Sometimes not doing anything at all can be the worst thing we can do. Thank you for your kind attention to this matter, I remain, Yours faithfully, John K. Baw

photo credit: Himalayan Trails

Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth - 1 Corinthians 5:8

Talk to someone about what they think of the "Church" or of "Christians" and painfully often you will hear THAT word: "hypocrites". Ouch! It hurts me that people will often refer to Christians or the Church as "hypocritical", sort-of in the same vein as one hears people talk about politicians, perceived by many to be milking the public purse for personal gain, or bonanza-bonus-taking bankers, who, many argue, are paying themselves huge sums out of money that they only have because they have mortgaged our whole economies for the next few generations. St. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthian church, urges them to "keep the festival" of the (new) Passover, but to keep it in the spiritual sense, having Jesus as their sacrificial lamb that makes atonement for their sins. This festival of the Passover is the foundation of Christianity. I will spare you the intricacies of Jewish Passover-observance, and the rituals of purging-out of yeast that goes with it - suffice it to say that Passover requires a cleaning-out of every nook and cranny of your kitchen in order to remove any traces of yeast - yeast is symbolic of sin and impurity. He then goes on to state that this festival is to be observed "with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." Now here's a thought: We place a lot of emphasis on keeping the festival with the proper truth (and doctrine becomes the rallying-cry for many movements, divisions and separations), but are we placing equal emphasis on keeping the festival, on being true Christians, with the quality of transparency and sincerity? Surely if the world sees the Church as full of hypocrisy, we need sincerity by the bucket load - for fail you might, but people will always appreciate you if something is genuine. In Paul's Corinth, it is said that it was normal practice for people selling earthenware to cover-up imperfections, cracks and crevices with wax, pouring it into all the nooks and crannies, and then paint-over the whole vessel. These were sold in dark shops, so the unsuspecting buyer got the shock of his life when a perfectly looking vessel was used to pour hot water into it - the wax invariably melted, and the water was spilled on the ground - and what looked like a beautiful earthen pot was therefore useless. The way to detect that the vessel was "sincere" was by holding-it up against a bright light, and the wax would let the light through in contrast with the opaque clay and all imperfections would be highlighted. From this practice of filling-up cracks with wax, some say that we get the word "sincere" from the latin sin (without) cere (wax). Here's where this thought is taking me: I don't want to appear as if I've got it all together, only to discover wax covering my cracks and faults. In 2010 I purpose to hold my own heart and life up to the "bright light" of God's presence and have Him reveal all the imperfections, shortfalls, nooks and crannies. I apologize to you all beforehand if it isn't a pretty sight, but when all is said and done I want to be part of the real deal.

Happy New Year Friends! The dawning of a new day..... the birthing of a new year.... the ushering-in of a new decade. One word comes to mind for this 2010 - PROMISE. As you nurture the dreams of your heart, may the HOPE of PROMISE guide your every decision, help you at every turn, and propel you to new heights. Love, John, Annabelle, Aaron, Eli & Ethan.