Some open-ended thoughts on story

Over the last two years or so there have been various subjects that I have been learning about. These are subjects that keep coming up in my conscious thought, either because they are current issues and events that everybody is dealing with (i.e. the election) or because they are just something that seems to be personal and meaningful to my life, and I’m trying to sort them out. What I’m talking about now could be both, because I am hearing more and more talk about it in the Christian community and also because it affects the way I look at the world, and my role in it. I am talking about story.

Today I read this blog by Don Miller and I found it both funny and compelling. There are certain things that get under my skin so easily. For example, Christian radio gets under my skin very easily. It is hard for me to listen to it without getting angry. In the same way, teenage TV shows annoy the living daylights out of me. I couldn’t watch an episode of Hannah Montana or any of these other similar shows without getting mad. They always seem very shallow and superficial, emphasizing “cool” based on the stupidest things – how good you look, who you are dating, etc. Every character, especially the most important ones, are attractive and the parents are cool and the worst problem a kid could have is whether they have a date to the school dance or not.

This is not reality.

But how much influence do these shows have on kids nowadays? Miley Cyrus can go on tour and probably sell out a show in any city she wants. I see kids all the time with Hannah Montana apparel. Teens and kids alike love this stuff. My question is how much does a show like this affect a kid’s values, outlook on life, and self-perception?

With this in mind, it’s interesting that Don mentions one of my favorite TV shows, House, and mockingly calls it a documentary. I had to laugh at this, because clearly House is not a documentary. It’s a compelling show, but the “reality” of this show is brought into question by a few various occurrences, a few of which I’ll go ahead and point out. One of House’s nurses looks more like a supermodel than a medical professional. This is not to say that there aren’t hot nurses out there, but it does lean more to the fact that this is a TV show. And because it is a TV show there is no chance of an ugly nurse getting a place on House’s team. That’s just how it is. Also, in season 4 House stuck a pocket knife into a plug outlet to see if there was an afterlife. He died, was revived, and by the end of the show we find out that there is no afterlife. Thanks for clearing that up for us, House. Add to that an overly dramatic bus accident that left a woman with a leg impaled by a metal bar and you have the beginning of a list that illustrates that House is not as close to reality as I might like to think sometimes.

It’s funny because over the past year I have watched every episode of House I could get my hands on. And after watching this show I have to admit that it has had a certain amount of influence on me. It’s crazy but by viewing this show it’s like a part of it gets inside of me and adds to this growing soup of influences left on me by people, books, songs, etc. I can see it in how I act and how I look at things. I even look at the world in a different way, partly because of this show.

Another example of this is in my other favorite TV show, The Office. One of the characters, Dwight, often starts to ask a question by saying something like “Question – What is the easiest way to track a bear?” A few times, without realizing it, I have needed to ask somebody a question and just like Dwight I have said something like “Question – What did we eat for dinner last week?”

It’s no question that the things that I watch, read, and listen to leave an impression on me, but I have been wondering lately which of these impressions are affecting me in a positive way and which ones are affecting me in a negative way. Like a kid watching Hannah Montana, is the impression that is left on me something that is positive or is it something that is making me a worse person? For example, is it bad that I like a character who is an outright atheist? Or is it harmful for me to look at reality through the lens of The Office, which is a show that is funny and entertaining, but doesn’t represent the whole of reality?

The interesting aspect of this is that all of these TV shows tell stories. Whether it’s Hannah Montana, House, or The Office, they are all telling stories. And it’s interesting to me because all good stories follow a universal set of principles that are in place and we have no idea where these principles came from. For example, all good stories have elements like setting, characters, conflict, and climax. Without these elements, there is no story. We have these elements in our everyday lives but stories are powerful because they bring these elements together in a way that is meaningful. In fact, Robert McKee says that stories give meaning to our lives. I think this is true, because what is life? Is it a set of random facts and occurrences that ultimately lead to nothing? Or is there an overall narrative that streams everything together in one universal story?

Another interesting aspect of stories is their ability to resonate with people. I love watching the Lord of the Rings movies. I would watch them more often but they are just so long. But whenever I do watch them for some reason I want so badly for the stories to be real. I really want to believe that somewhere there are hobbits, elves, and dwarves fighting orcs over some majestic landscape in an ultimate battle between good and evil. I watch the great wizard Gandalf defeat a Balrog, an ancient demon hidden in the depths of Moria, and so badly I want to be brave, wise, and powerful like Gandalf. Great stories just seem to stimulate something inside of people, and where does it come from? How did that get there?

Once, several weeks ago, I was sitting in church and it was church like any other Sunday. Sometimes I like to look around at other people sitting in the pews. Do they look bored? Are the engaged? Are they asleep? Like I said, this was a Sunday like any other Sunday, and many people looked bored and kind of tired. The sermon wasn't bad or anything, but I noticed that not everybody seemed to be all that captivated by it, and neither was I.

But then Pastor Ron started telling a story. And he is a great story teller, really able to tell a story in a way that it makes you want to know what happens next. I don’t remember what this story was about but I remember that it had really caught my interest. I was alert, my head was up, and I wasn’t off in La-la land thinking about something else. When I looked around at others I noticed that they were all captivated too. Their heads were up and they were more alive, not sitting there like lifeless bodies in a pew. The story had us all. We cared; we wanted to know what was going to happen. How was this story going to end?

What I’m wondering is this: if story is a universal and powerful way of communicating meaning to people, then are all stories good? Or can stories be used to promote ideas and viewpoints that are harmful? Can they glorify things that are bad and make good things look wrong? If so, does this speak to a universal good vs. evil or does it depend on the values and belief of the person hearing the story?

I left this one open-ended because 1) I don’t know the answers to these questions and 2) I would like some input. So if anybody has any, it would be nice. Maybe we can sort this out together.

We Need a Montage

Question:

What do you do when your first round draft pick and fantasy football Jesus goes down in the first quarter of the first game of the season with a knee injury?

Answer:

NEVER.

GIVE.

UP.

A few years ago the answer would probably have been try to join a new league or start getting ready for fantasy basketball season. In my regrettable, not-to-distant past I have been known to bail on a few teams. But this year was different, I made a commitment to stick this one out, and that's exactly what I am going to do.

I wish that after week 1 I could have created a montage (with the Team America song Montage playing in the background) to footage of me adding and dropping players in my league. It would be even more inspirational than when Rocky runs up those stairs at the end of his training montage. I could just see myself clicking the Submit Roster button and then jumping up and down on my bed in victory. We need a montage...

Anyways, enough about my daydreams. Jay Cutler was at the helm this week. And by helm I mean the QB roster spot, and he did not disappoint. With 264 yds and 2 TDs, Jay Cutler along with Seattle's Julius Jones both put up 20-burgers on the fantasy scoreboard, leaving me with my second win in a row.

Tractor: 99
Hardcore Honky 2.0: 85

But the biggest surprise of the week is the fact that my highest scoring "player" on the team was not a quarterback, running back, wide receiver, or tight end. It was my defense. Allowing only 10 points and getting 5 sacks and 3 interceptions, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and the Baltimore Defense propelled Tractor to victory. Can this be expected every week? Probably not. But you know what they say about defense and championships and how they win them.

Scoring 99 points this week, Tractor is mowing through the competition, moving from 7th place to 4th. Only 1 team scored more points this week. The only problem facing me now is figuring out how to win even though 5 of my starters have a BYE this week.

NEVER.

GIVE.

UP.

Guts, Glory, and Team Names that are Odd

So I don't know if anybody has noticed, but in case you haven't heard, football season is here. Yes, the fall is coming and the pigskin is being tossed around all over America and I couldn't be happier. The Tide has started off the season 3-0, which is great. But instead of writing yet another blog about how exciting it is that Alabama football is here (I have a few friends who are way better at that than I am), I would like to turn your attention to the tales, the ups and downs, the drama of Team Tractor and their quest for Fantasy Football supremacy. Never heard of Team Tractor before? Maybe not. But you may know the team manager. In fact, right now you are reading his blog.

I am not the kind of guy who is so into fantasy football that I get angry when a running back takes a knee at the goal line to run out the clock. I don't read all the fantasy reports and keep the numbers in my head of how many points a certain player is projected to get this season. But I do enjoy some friendly fantasy football, and in the past I have actually been pretty good at it. I have won at least as many leagues as I've lost, which is something worth bragging about.

I like fantasy football because it is such a great way of keeping up with the NFL. It is rare to find many NFL fans here in Alabama, but I have to say I am one of them. In the NFL I don't have a team that I always pull for every year, through good times or bad times. I like certain teams, but there is no Crimson Tide or Atlanta Braves - you know, that team whose success is directly correlated with your mood for that day. Fantasy football gives me the chance to keep up with the season with a little bit at stake. I can root for my players, and pay close attention to the ticker for any news of how the fantasy QB or RB is doing.

Last year I had a great season. I nabbed Tom Brady in the draft and later acquired breakout Pats receiver Wes Welker as a free agent. With that combination I cruised straight into the playoffs and all the way to a championship. While Brady, Welker, and the Patriots were busy going 16-0, I was racking up hundreds of fantasy points and celebrating yet another fantasy victory.

However, this year has been a different story. It started off the same, but things have taken a turn for the worst. Once again I managed to get Tom Brady in the first round of the draft and Wes Welker in the fourth. Along with some other notable pickups such as Plaxico Burress, Clinton Portis, Hines Ward, and Dallas Clark, I was ready to go for another fantasy gold... until disaster happened.

In the very first quarter of the very first game of the season, Tom Brady went down with a knee injury. He stayed in long enough to get me 76 yards of offense and ultimately 3 fantasy points. The news was not good: a torn ACL and MCL. Just a few minutes into the first game and Tom Brady's season was over.

And apparently, so was mine. I got obliterated by my friend and fantasy rival, Keith (whose team name is Wolfpac, by the way). He beat me by an outrageous 115-63. I posted the 7th lowest score in a league with 8 teams. This was not good. Last year, the Golden Boy was absolute gold for my team. He was so good I didn't even worry with making sure my best players were in the game every week. Sometimes a bye week would come for a couple of my starters, I would forget to bench them, and I would still win. It was one of the most low-maintenance teams I ever had. But now, with Brady gone, who would be able to fill the shoes of one of the greatest quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen?

Enter Matt Cass- er, Hasselbeck.

I dropped Brady and went to the waivers to see if I could find a new QB. I picked up Philip Rivers, adding him to my roster along with my draft picks of Hasselbeck and Jon Kitna. Unsure of who to start this week, I went with Hasselbeck because I thought he could do some damage against the 49ers. I was wrong. Hasselbeck threw for 189 yards with 2 interceptions and 0 touchdowns. I got a total of 4 points from him. Rivers threw for 3 touchdowns and Kitna threw for 2.

The bad news is that my QB didn't do so well. The good news is Tractor actually won 80-63, in spite of Hasselbeck's poor performance. Even better news is that no one in the league had Aaron Rodgers or Jay Cutler, two of the NFL's best performing QBs at the moment. This morning, I picked up both of them, dropping Matt Hasselbeck and Jon Kitna in the process. So now my QB roster is made up of Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers, and Jay Cutler. Kind of a young bunch, and they may never match the experience, poise, and skill of Tom Brady. But I'm holding out hope, and I'm feeling pretty good about rebounding from a week 1 disaster.

Man I'm glad football is back. It's going to be a fun season.

LET'S GO TRACTOR!!!!

Keeping Me in Check (Part 1)

It happened again. As I’ve said before, the presidential election is getting closer and closer, and now people are starting to really look at the candidates. More importantly, now people are starting to talk. Back when Huckabee, McCain, Guiliani, and all the other Republicans were battling for the nomination spot, not a whole lot of people were talking. When Hilary was clawing for any possible way to stop Obama’s surging campaign and trying to hold on to what she thought to be her historical Democratic nomination, only a few people were talking. When Mike Gravel was raving about how every soldier in Vietnam “died in vain,” still I didn’t hear much talking. But now it’s September and with the election only 2 months away, people are starting to talk.

And I am starting to talk. This whole time I have been quietly following the candidates and the issues, listening to what columnists, analysts, bloggers, preachers, writers, and friends have to say about the election. To be honest, I was kind of afraid of what was going to happen when the time got closer and the topic of politics came up in conversation more. I knew that around here my decision wouldn’t be the popular one, a decision that would surely be challenged, and I didn’t know if I would be able to defend it. I figured that my mind would go blank and I wouldn’t be able to think of something to say – something that happens way too often with me.

But the other day I told somebody I was an Obama supporter (not Faye). This lady was a McCain supporter, and we actually had a really good conversation about the election. Even while we disagreed on our candidate, we found a lot of common ground on what we wanted out of the next president. We both wanted change, but we just disagreed on which person would be more likely to bring that change.

Today I got into another conversation about the election, with someone who is also a McCain supporter, and we got into more of a friendly argument. I explained to him a few things I like about Obama and then he came back at me with criticism, and then I explained more and he criticized me more. And so I criticized him and he explained himself and then criticized me some more; and we went back and forth for probably a good half hour. Even though it was annoying at times, and difficult to get my point across to someone who didn’t see it my way, I was really glad to have that argument. I used to think I would be afraid of doing this, but today I learned I actually like it.

There is a Jimmy Eat World song I like called “Carry You” that has a line in it that says this:

It’s easy feeling righteous when removed
All you get is what you want to hear

I like this line because it speaks a truth that is sometimes so hard for me to accept. It points out that it is so easy for us as people to surround ourselves with other people who are just like we are and agree with everything we say - people who never really challenge us or make us think about what we believe. If I’m a voter this year and I am voting Democrat, it is so much easier for me to talk to somebody who is voting like I am than it is to talk to somebody who completely disagrees with me. And it would be easy for me to give in to that, to not engage in a debate with someone with a different point of view, but would it be a good idea? I don’t really think so. If I only talk to people who agree with what I say and I’m not challenged by other peoples’ perspectives, then it is very likely I will be wrong about a lot of things and be deluded because I will think I’m right. And I will walk around with some sort of self-righteous sense about me. But without having my beliefs and ideas challenged, the flaws will never be exposed; and instead of believing the truth, I will be deluding myself with a half-truth or something that isn’t even true at all.

What I’m trying to say is that I need to be challenged.

I bought season 4 of the TV show House a couple weeks ago and I’ve been watching it a lot lately. In the first several episodes of this season, Dr. House has to hire a new diagnostic team, a team of doctors that discuss the symptoms of their patient and help figure out what’s wrong with him/her. He finally selects a team of 3 doctors and starts training them as they learn how to work with a doctor that is as rude and quirky as House is, and lots of times his training involves making them play weird games and perform crazy tasks. In one episode, House makes his team do some absurd task that has nothing to do with the case they are on, and his team actually goes and does it without any questioning. All the while, House tries to diagnose his patient virtually by himself. So eventually, after they have finished their task, his team comes back and tells House that they did what he told them to do. So what does House do? Well, he chews them out.

Kutner, one of the doctors on the team says, “But we did what you told us to do!”

And House replies, “Well, I didn’t want you to do it. I need you to stand up to me!”

Later on in the episode, while they are trying to figure out what’s wrong with the patient, Kutner suggests a certain diagnosis and House just insults him and tells him he’s wrong. But then Kutner keeps going and stands up to House, and in doing so he forces House to consider another perspective and House solves the case because of it.

Even a genius, fictional doctor can make an error if he is allowed to come up with his own ideas unchallenged. When he was selecting his team, he chose people who were different than him – people who would think differently and react differently. In one episode, a possible team doctor comes up with the same brilliant theories as House does, and at the end of the episode House fires him. He doesn’t need a doctor to tell him what he already knows.

One thing I like about my sister is that I can tell her something I’ve been thinking about, and if it’s absurd or stupid in any way (and a lot of times it is), she won’t hesitate to tell me. And if I’m talking about something and not making any sense, she will always tell me. Sometimes the challenge will force me to explain myself better, or to think harder, and then other times I realize I’m an idiot for thinking some of the things I think and then drop it completely. But if it wasn’t for her challenging me, I probably wouldn’t realize how ridiculous I can be sometimes.

People have to be kept in check. Sometimes this takes an unpleasant argument, or a discussion where a person feels a little dumb at the end, but these things are necessary. It’s been a few months since the evolution discussion happened, but this is a great example. My conclusion is still the same as it was then, but because of the argument, I realized that my reasoning did have some flaws and weak points. It took other people pointing them out and criticizing for me to see them, because I was blind to them. Sometimes this is just what it takes to come up with right ideas. If they stand up and make sense, then they might be right. But if they fall under criticism then it exposes the weaknesses and it’s back to the drawing board.

I’m glad to know that my political ideas are standing up. Every time I voice my support for Barack Obama I feel less like an idiot. This should happen more often, it really should.

Coming Out of the Closet

Today was a long day. These happen once every week or so – brutal, lengthy days full of classes, studying, and thrift store work. Sociology at 8 am is followed by an hour and a half of studying, then U.S. History and then English to wrap up the academic portion of the day. Then it’s onward to work. Today was a little different. It was Constitution Day at Jeff State, and for extra credit in both of my history classes I skipped English to attend a talk by Alabama Congressman Artur Davis about the constitution. After this was over I left campus and drove to work to perform my part-time thrift store duties.

And that’s when it happened.

I knew it would happen eventually, and I’m actually surprised it took this long. It is something I wasn’t looking forward to. It was inevitable, especially since we are getting closer and closer to November. Well, today, September 4, 2008, it happened.

“Hey Matt! Have you been keeping up with the conventions?”

“Uh… yes.”

“Did you see it last night? Sarah Palin was amazing!”

“Oh, was she? I didn’t see it.”

“Oh yeah she did so great.”

And then someone else heard what we were talking about and joined in on the conversation.

“Yeah I watched that. I thought she did real good!”

“Did you hear how those liberal Democrats tried to attack her? And the media? She really showed them, didn’t she?

“Yeah, and did you see Fred Thompson the night before, when he was talking about the buckets? I really liked that!”

And so on…

You have to understand that as a guy who is going against the grain and voting Democrat in the upcoming election, I am a rare breed working at a Christian non-profit located in the heart of Alabama. This is a place where WDJC is played all the time, and I mean ALL the time. Harry Potter books are not allowed to be sold. The majority of workers in the store are churchgoers who are Republican, and I think that because of this everybody just assumes I am that way too.

I have never been very vocal about my political views at work. The subject hasn’t even come up much at all. But I knew that one day, as the election got closer and closer, I was going to get caught in a situation where it would come up. The lady I was talking to today, let’s just call her Faye, is an intense conservative. I have used her as an example in a few blogs before, simply to demonstrate our contrasting viewpoints. I like Faye because she is an extremely nice person who is very passionate and serious about what she believes in. She is very informed about the election, although I think she is mainly informed by those who support her viewpoint, but nevertheless she is informed. We get along very well, but today I think we may have strained our relationship a tad bit.

About 10 or 15 minutes into the conversation (which was more of a monologue by her, I couldn’t get a word in), after some Palin praising, Obama bashing, and comments about how liberal the media is, I had to tell her. I finally had to drop the bomb.

“Would you hate me if I told you I was voting for Obama?”

Once, Faye told a fellow employee at the store that she thinks Barack Obama is the anti-Christ. Oh, snap. Did I just say what I think I said?

“Faye, would you hate me if I told you I was voting for the anti-Christ?”

Was it stupid? Was it brave and courageous? Was it the right thing to do? I haven’t figured that out yet. Still, I said it. And I’m glad I did.

Tensely and carefully Faye replied, “No I don’t hate you but I don’t see why you would want to vote for someone who supports killing babies.”

And so tomorrow, the entire body of workers at Bargain Center #2 is going to know that I’m “voting for a baby-killer.”

This is what we talked about, after I dropped the bomb. Abortion, abortion, abortion. How can I vote for somebody who is pro-choice?

Well, I think that there are a few reasonable points that need to be made on the subject of abortion. One is that most Christians think that the only way to deal with this problem is to win a “moral victory” by outlawing abortion completely. We have been going at this for about 20 or 30 years and nothing has happened. Even with a Republican president who opposes abortion and has been in office for 8 years, what has been done to actually outlaw abortion? How much closer are we now than we were 8 years ago? And what in the world makes anyone think John McCain, who is not as right-wing as many voters would like, is going to do anything about it? I know that Sarah Palin is intensely pro-life, which is great, but the Vice President doesn’t have as much power as we might think. And I’m not at all convinced that she wasn’t picked as VP just for political reasons – to try to get the female Hillary Clinton supporters, and to counter the excitement over Barack Obama’s historical run for the White House.

Today I was talking to a friend about this, and she reminded me that before Roe vs. Wade, when abortion was illegal, women were still finding ways to get it done. Even on the slim chance that abortion is outlawed, it’s still not going to stop abortions from happening. Granted, it would significantly reduce the number of abortions, but girls would still be seeking this procedure in ways that are a lot more dangerous and harmful than we have now.

I think that Obama’s got it right when he says he wants to find ways to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies and work to help women who are impregnated because of rape. If it’s easier to support these children, then we can significantly reduce the number of abortions happening every year. I heard once that the least amount of abortions took place while Bill Clinton was in office. Why? Because Bill Clinton worked to help programs that provide support for people in this situation. Maybe, if we can quit spending $10 billion a month on this ridiculous war we’re in and actually focus our tax money on things that are happening inside this country, problems like this can be helped. They won’t be eradicated or abolished, but they will be significantly helped.

Whenever I let someone know that I’m voting for Barack Obama this November, the abortion issue always comes up. And while abortion is a very important issue, it is also important that we remember that it’s not the only issue we are dealing with here. During the election in 2004 we picked a president who opposes abortion but also wants to legalize torture. Do you see the double-standard here? We can’t just key in on one or two issues and then ignore the whole picture. There is more to deal with here than abortion and gay marriage. We have 2 wars going on, the economy, health care, the environment, immigration, and those are only a few. Are there very serious moral implications for how we deal with the war in Iraq? Absolutely. Is it important for us to consider the poor when we elect a president? Of course it is, and on these issues I don’t side with John McCain. I side with Barack Obama.

That conversation I had with Faye was tame, but tense at the same time. We agreed to disagree and I had to go back to work because we had been going at it for about half an hour and my assistant manager was right there. The presidential race is heating up and I think everyone is getting more and more passionate about it, including me. I don’t think that it will ever divide me against the people that I see every day, as long as the conversations stay tame and don’t become personal. I just think our country could do better, and I think that Barack Obama would be great in leading us that way. Tomorrow, when I go to work and everybody knows that thing about me that hasn’t been revealed until today; I guess I’m going to have to defend that belief.

This just gets more fun every day.

Jesus is a Friend of Mine

This is my second post in a row without actually having something to say but I couldn't help it. I just happened to come across this little nugget of delight and I had to put it up. I'm so surprised I haven't heard this on WDJC yet.