From My Perspective - - -
It’s amazing how easily people can slouch their way into a double-standard and/or duplicitous mindset. All of us come to any given event or situation with some personal biases. In the July 3rd, 2010 edition of World Magazine, the Editor (Joel Belz) has a column entitled: “Faultfinding Friends”! A valid point is raised in terms of how one responds to a given statement when it is based solely on the “Who Said It? Whodunit?” mindset and perspective. Example: "The problem here is this is an administration that, as Hillary Clinton famously pointed out during the primary campaign, you may not want to have answer the 3 a.m. call. These are guys who have tremendous vision about legislative achievements and specific things like healthcare, going forward on immigration, those difficult issues…But when it comes to the crisis, when it comes to the Gulf oil spill, the wars, the recession, they feel as if it's being imposed upon them, rather than taking the helm. That's what Americans are sensing right here…Are you able to handle a crisis in a convincing way that inspires confidence? And so far, the president hasn't done that." If you think that statement was made by Rush Limbaugh, or Dick Morris, or Sarah Palin, or George Will – then your particular bias would affect your reaction to that statement. However, it was not said by any of them. Here is the lead-in to the above statement: “Two years ago…Juan Williams of National Public Radio could barely contain his excitement when polls seemed to dictate Obama's election later that year. But two weeks ago, Williams said bluntly…” the above statement. If one listens to Juan Williams at all, it is clear that he is more of an apologist for the President and his policies, and will more often than not promote the Democrat Talking Points.
There is also the issue of duplicitous or double-standard thinking. An example of this comes from a Press Corp Briefing yesterday: “A White House spokesman mocked BP's chief executive Monday for attending a luxury yacht race despite the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, but then defended President Barack Obama's own weekend golf game. Tony Hayward, the British energy giant's embattled chief, drew fire from the White House over the weekend for having gone to the yacht race Saturday off the Isle of Wight. White House spokesman Bill Burton took him to task again on Monday, suggesting that Hayward take part in the cleanup operations in the Gulf of Mexico with the 300,000 euro yacht he co-owns…if Tony Hayward wants to put a skimmer on that yacht and bring it down to the Gulf, we'd be happy to have his help, Burton said to laughter in the White House briefing room. But what's important isn't what Tony Hayward's doing in his free time; it's what BP is doing to take…responsibility for the mess that they've made…His comments echoed those of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel who called Hayward's decision to go to the yacht race part of a long line of PR gaffes and mistakes. But when asked about Obama's day Saturday, in particular his four hour golf game at a course near Washington, Burton said the president had the right to decompress a bit after a hard week. I don't think that there's a person in this country that doesn't think that their president ought to have a little time to clear his mind…I think that a little time to himself on Father's Day weekend probably does us all good as American citizens…” The President also attended a Washington Nationals Baseball Game over the weekend. Has anyone heard that “sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander”? Maybe not!
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:37), Jesus makes this simple and declarative statement: “Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” The Message Translation is: “Just say 'yes' and 'no.' When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.” We see and hear many manipulation of words by politicians and people of every stripe. However, the intent of Scripture is in terms of how it impacts and influences a particular individual. Does it stimulate greater consistency in ones life? Are the things you say and do measured by their necessity and consistency according to your core values? It’s easy to criticize others and to magnify their inconsistencies. What if we were transparent with ourselves and looked objectively in the mirror each day using the same standards and values we apply to others – how would we measure up? We might be compelled to conclude: “But for the Grace of God, go I”? Consider these things with me!
It’s amazing how easily people can slouch their way into a double-standard and/or duplicitous mindset. All of us come to any given event or situation with some personal biases. In the July 3rd, 2010 edition of World Magazine, the Editor (Joel Belz) has a column entitled: “Faultfinding Friends”! A valid point is raised in terms of how one responds to a given statement when it is based solely on the “Who Said It? Whodunit?” mindset and perspective. Example: "The problem here is this is an administration that, as Hillary Clinton famously pointed out during the primary campaign, you may not want to have answer the 3 a.m. call. These are guys who have tremendous vision about legislative achievements and specific things like healthcare, going forward on immigration, those difficult issues…But when it comes to the crisis, when it comes to the Gulf oil spill, the wars, the recession, they feel as if it's being imposed upon them, rather than taking the helm. That's what Americans are sensing right here…Are you able to handle a crisis in a convincing way that inspires confidence? And so far, the president hasn't done that." If you think that statement was made by Rush Limbaugh, or Dick Morris, or Sarah Palin, or George Will – then your particular bias would affect your reaction to that statement. However, it was not said by any of them. Here is the lead-in to the above statement: “Two years ago…Juan Williams of National Public Radio could barely contain his excitement when polls seemed to dictate Obama's election later that year. But two weeks ago, Williams said bluntly…” the above statement. If one listens to Juan Williams at all, it is clear that he is more of an apologist for the President and his policies, and will more often than not promote the Democrat Talking Points.
There is also the issue of duplicitous or double-standard thinking. An example of this comes from a Press Corp Briefing yesterday: “A White House spokesman mocked BP's chief executive Monday for attending a luxury yacht race despite the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, but then defended President Barack Obama's own weekend golf game. Tony Hayward, the British energy giant's embattled chief, drew fire from the White House over the weekend for having gone to the yacht race Saturday off the Isle of Wight. White House spokesman Bill Burton took him to task again on Monday, suggesting that Hayward take part in the cleanup operations in the Gulf of Mexico with the 300,000 euro yacht he co-owns…if Tony Hayward wants to put a skimmer on that yacht and bring it down to the Gulf, we'd be happy to have his help, Burton said to laughter in the White House briefing room. But what's important isn't what Tony Hayward's doing in his free time; it's what BP is doing to take…responsibility for the mess that they've made…His comments echoed those of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel who called Hayward's decision to go to the yacht race part of a long line of PR gaffes and mistakes. But when asked about Obama's day Saturday, in particular his four hour golf game at a course near Washington, Burton said the president had the right to decompress a bit after a hard week. I don't think that there's a person in this country that doesn't think that their president ought to have a little time to clear his mind…I think that a little time to himself on Father's Day weekend probably does us all good as American citizens…” The President also attended a Washington Nationals Baseball Game over the weekend. Has anyone heard that “sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander”? Maybe not!
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:37), Jesus makes this simple and declarative statement: “Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” The Message Translation is: “Just say 'yes' and 'no.' When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.” We see and hear many manipulation of words by politicians and people of every stripe. However, the intent of Scripture is in terms of how it impacts and influences a particular individual. Does it stimulate greater consistency in ones life? Are the things you say and do measured by their necessity and consistency according to your core values? It’s easy to criticize others and to magnify their inconsistencies. What if we were transparent with ourselves and looked objectively in the mirror each day using the same standards and values we apply to others – how would we measure up? We might be compelled to conclude: “But for the Grace of God, go I”? Consider these things with me!
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