My Fraternity, My Life, My Love

For the last 48 hours of my life I have dedicated myself to learning all there is to know about my position in my fraternity. I am the Chaplain for the Beta Delta hapter of Pi Kappa Phi at Drake University. This weekend has been spent with my brothers from all over the mid-west, who have come together to learn how to make their chapters the best on campus. I won’t speak specifically on my position, but rather on the overall impacting message I will be leaving with from Mid-Year Leadership Conference 2011 in St. Louis.

We hear from so many people that we need to think of the big picture when it comes to operating our chapters. This is beyond true. It is stated very obviously in our Student Creed that we are “bound together by a common loyalty, which transcends any personal selfishness.” If we do not take this tenant of the Creed seriously, we will never accomplish everything we have set out to accomplish. Sure, Beta Delta is still an associate chapter, but we are working as hard as we can to get our charter. I think, that our biggest obstacle is that we don’t think of our brothers and we focus on what getting the charter means to us. What I have gleaned over these last couple of days is that if we don’t start cooperating, we will not succeed. This rings true for ALL of the chapters of Pi Kappa Phi. When I have talked to the some of the most successful chapters here at the conference, it was the chapter that said that when they worked as one rather than as individuals, that they experienced the most success. So what does this line from our Student Creed mean? Well let’s break it down: “bound together” is pretty obvious. We are one group and should be of one mind and we are united under the banner of Pi Kappa Phi. “Common Loyalty” is our next part. Again, it is a pretty simple phrase to understand. We are Pi Kappa Phi, and we will never do anything to betray our beloved fraternity. The last part of this sentence is the toughest to understand and the hardest to act on. “Transcends any personal selfishness” is a whole mess of words that might sound simple, but is not. To transcend something means to overcome it. To go above it and take a higher road. Well, to go above ones natural instinct to take care of oneself first is hard. Selflessness in the pursuit of success is the key ingredient to a chapters success. Once our chapters commit to this ideal then Pi Kappa Phi will go from tenth largest to the top of that list. People will see that we are true to every word that comes from our mouths and will want to take part in the phenomenal organization that is, Pi Kappa Phi. This drive to overcome my own selfishness, to become selfless, is the biggest idea I have picked up in St. Louis. I think we would all do well to recognize this idea’s significance.

Whether you are a Pi Kapp, or a devoted reader, I urge you think of the big picture before you act. You might think that you are just a small part of the whole, but even the smallest action could lead to the success or failure of any venture. I have enjoyed my time at this conference and I very much look forward to getting back to Drake and begin changing myself and my brothers, to ensure the success of our chapter.

Brad

Dear Iowans:

I generally don’t write about politics. However, in this past months there has been a tremendous outpouring of ridiculousness coming from Iowa constituents. Now, normally I wouldn’t consider their thoughts important as I take an apathetic stance on people I think inferior to my sense of intellect and ability to reason. I’m not saying that I am incredibly intelligent, but I am saying I am more intelligent than a lot of people.

The actual outcome of the retention vote saw 2 of 3 judges voted out. Hanson was retained. Do you know what that means? It means the Varnum decision still stands. Tuesdays vote also did one more thing: kept Iowa from being able to define marriage as between 1 man and 1 woman. The people who voted against the retention of the judges did not do this because the judges were being naughty, they did it because they HATE gay people. Well lucky for those of us who don’t hate based off of someones sexual preference, they voted for the wrong reason. This vote had zero policy effect. Everything is the same. It would not surprise me if Culver reappointed the two judges before he left office. If he doesn’t do that then he should at least appoint two judges who are going to fit right in with Hanson. So Iowans of the Homophobic persuasion, how stupid do you feel?

In another matter, who should judges be accountable to? Should it be the majority? Minority? or maybe the Law? Well its obvious to me. The Law. The Judicial system was put in place to interpret the constitution. Not abide by the will of the people. Our founding fathers would be rolling over in their graves if they knew what was happening.

I firmly believe that our judges were only doing their jobs. Our state of homophobic pricks needs to reconsider and look very closely at the role of the judicial system before they go making rash decisions.

Brad

A Pointless Debate: Let People Love One Another

A Pointless Debate: Let People Love One Another

In today’s society we often find ourselves arguing about nothing. Are the Pittsburgh Steelers better than the Green Bay Packers, is chocolate better tasting than vanilla, and is it better to dunk your Oreo first or eat half and dunk second? The same useless arguments are found in politics today. When it comes to giving rights to everyone we often think that it’s ok to be selective. Well the reality of this situation is, is that we are only giving rights selectively because we are afraid of change. We want to sit in our comfortable quasi-fifties lifestyle and pretend like everything is the same. You see this today when it comes to giving rights to same-sex couples. No one acknowledges the fact that love between people of the same-sex and love between a man and a woman is the same. In fact religion is often brought in to counteract the rationale used when a law is about to be passed that will allow a same-sex couple to live just as normally as a heterosexual couple. As much good religion does for our society, it is extremely detrimental to anything it does not support. It does not make sense to couple an irrational idea like religion with something rational like politics. The argument could be formed that without religion, there would be no morality to our laws. However, this is a foolish notion. If there had been no morals before Moses brought down the Ten Commandments, we would all be dead. It does not take a genius to figure out that killing is bad. The important question though, is how we are going to secure the rights of all citizens, regardless of sexual orientation? The same question was raised when the NAACP began working to end segregation. Legal action is the best way to secure rights for same-sex couples in the United States. Using demonstrations and non-violent protest, boycotts, and different economic measures would only increase hate and ignorance in our country as well as prove fruitless in the long run.

The pointlessness of some arguments is astounding. Morality to some is ignorance to others and it is generally black or white. There is very little gray area for everyone’s views. What our society lacks is the amount of a gray area that could include more than one answer. Lack of respect for one another as decent human beings has gone out of the window. It means very little anymore to let someone just be happy the way they are. When one person begins to express that doing something makes them happy, there is more often than not someone ready to tell them that what they are doing is wrong. You find this most prevalently in the lives of Christians and the LGBTQ community. To a Christian, the life of a person who is either gay or lesbian is extremely offensive. Whenever something goes against the core belief of a Christian they become agitated and uncomfortable. To gay lobbyists supposed ignorance of Christianity is equally offensive. Both fundamentalist Christians and gay lobbyists are opposed to finding the common ground that our society needs in order to continue to function peacefully. More reasonable Christians and members of the LGBTQ community think that there is a reasonable means in which both groups can be happy: the civil union. Dialogue on this has come to a standstill though. Lobbyists think that marriage is a right and therefore demand a religious union. Fundamentalists argue that the immorality of same-sex marriage will only cause problems and set a bad example in the church and most pastors will not marry a same-sex couple (Harper). Reasoning like this is what keeps progress to a minimum when it comes to securing the rights off citizens. If lobbyists and fundamentalists become more reasonable, then there is still hope for the civil union.

When it comes to giving rights selectively one must ask: is marriage a right? Many people would say yes. In the case of Loving v. Virginia it was said that you could marry anyone you wanted regardless of skin color, but nothing about gender. According to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), marriage is between one man and one woman. If people argue that you cannot choose your skin color then the same logic should then continue to gender. You definitely cannot choose your gender. What about the person you love? If you happen to love someone of the same gender you should not fight that. It is difficult to stop loving someone because society thinks you are wrong. If a Christian, such as myself, were to love an atheist, it would be a giant mess. Most people would look at me and say that I should rethink what I am doing. However, I believe that it is impossible to deny yourself something so basic as your freedom to love whomever you wish. Litigation strategies that the NAACP employed could most definitely work for this debate. The NAACP waited for the right cases before proceeding to challenge the laws. It is that strategy that will eventually secure the rights for all citizens. It was not until Loving v. Virginia that we began to see interracial marriage as a right protected by our constitution. The shift to see same-sex marriage the same way can only occur if we can no longer use the law as a shield for our insecurities and fear of change.

One last point to be made is one that is often unaddressed because people are too afraid of the change. In order for society to become more “politically correct,” religion must be removed from our laws. Racists, bigots, and fascists all use religion to spread their ideas and justify them. People will go so far as to claim it was God’s design that we be separated and for that reason we should stay separated (Wallenstein 219). However, the Bible is very clear when it tells us to love unconditionally and to love our neighbors as ourselves. In fact Jesus says this is the second greatest commandment (Luke 10:27) (“Zondervan Study Bible”). It would seem that Christians are very hypocritical when it comes to loving everyone. Religious law and the law of man are two completely different things. In a modern society like we have now, as painful as it is to admit, God’s just law is not just in our society. If we were to base our laws off of the laws in the Bible, torture, slavery, and selling your kids would be legal. This is why religion cannot rule our society. God is good for many things, everything to some people, but society is based on “tolerance” and “political correctness,” and the Bible is neither “tolerant” nor “politically correct”*. The move from a religion based society to one of more rationale thinking will make way for tremendous leaps in the rights of all citizens.

Legal action is the best choice in securing the rights of same-sex couples. If you were to use boycotts, life would continue on very normally. The problem using boycotts is, that you have to boycott religion. People have been boycotting religion for a very long time and not a thing has changed. Protests are no different. You can parade around in front of a church or the capitol building, but it will not change the fact that people are using the irrational morality in Christianity as a means for sculpting law. Fundamentalist Christians will continue to influence politics and people will continue to listen to them. There is no real way to use economics as a means to create this change either. People believe that same-sex couples are a negative influence on our society and will continue to believe this until they die. The only real plausible economic measure you could take is taking the tax breaks that are tied up in marriage (Harper). If you were to deny a hetero couple these tax breaks to make it more “fair” for a same-sex couple, then people might be more apt to act in securing the right to marry who you want regardless of gender. This will not work however because it would mean people taking from themselves a tax break that helps them. Our society is nowhere near that level of altruism. Pursuing the matters legally however, will do some work. If enough people can agree that a same-sex couple is no different from a hetero couple then maybe they could also agree that the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment also applies to them, which it does. As citizens of the United States all people are guaranteed the rights in our own constitution. If this is true, then why do people still allow the law to remain the same? Popular opinion is a large part of it. It is left open to the voters whether or not a law is passed. Majorities of the people do not want same-sex marriage. It wasn’t until cases like Brown v. Board of Education and Loving v. Virginia that the NAACP was able to help end segregation and allow interracial marriage to be legal. Until there are cases directly tied into the same-sex marriage debate, same-sex marriage will always be illegal in most of the United States. It is why litigation is the best way to help end this unjust denial of what should be considered a fundamental right.

Bibliography
Harper, Zachary. Personal Interview by Brad Harris. 20 Oct 2010. 26 Oct 2010.

Tushnet, Mark V. The NAACP’s Legal Strategy Against Segregated Education, 1925-1950. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2004. Print.

Wallenstein, Peter. Tell the Court I Love My Wife. 1. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. Print.

Zondervan NIV Study Bible. 1. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2008. Print.

*The reason the terms “tolerance” and “politically correct” are in quotes is because I personally do NOT like them. I think the ideas of tolerance and political correctness are a way for people to escape the criticism and beliefs of others. Let people love who they love, believe what they believe, and do what they want to do (as long as its not illegal).

Unimaginable

So I really can not imagine the pain people feel when they lose someone close. Albeit I have had my fair share of losses in life including two really recent ones. I mean it doesn’t even have to be someone close. It could be a friend you haven’t seen in a few years or months. Where I am at in life, I have grown accustomed to death. I no longer see it for what it was. I don’t feel the sense of travesty, pain, and anger anymore. Its a simple realization that we must all come to eventually. Life… is a terminal illness. We all eventually succumb to death and its not a bad thing.

I think the tragedy lies within the death of a young person. Its not right for people full of life and who have the whole world in front of them to die. You become disillusioned and want to leave reality when it happens. Especially when it directly involves you or a relationship to someone who dies young. I think the people who know they are going to die make their peace with it. As students and just young adults in general, we should not have to make our peace with it. Unfortunately, I have. For others though it should not be something you should expect.

So I guess what I am trying to say here is, that when someone dies, young or in old age, it still stings a little. What’s going to get you through, is your belief in whatever you believe in. For me it’s God. For others it’s friends, family, or even food. Don’t ever go back on your beliefs because something terrible happens. If its worked this long, its going to continue to work.

Brad

If you read this and need someone to talk to, just let me know. Death makes you feel miserable. At least let someone know you are feeling miserable. Talking really does help to rationalize these things.

A Question for the Ages

My dear friend Fifi and I were driving home last night and she asked me an excellent question.

Why do the people or things I love most seem to leave me?

My answer came to me overnight and part way through the day today. Now I can imagine peoples apprehension to the question because its kind of depressing. Anyways, I am a man of very strong faith. With all of the fibers of my being I believe that God has a plan and the plan for me is revealed in times of tragedy. It started at the seemingly harmless loss of my dog Jethro. He bit me one day and that was the last straw for my dad and Jethro was put down. It continued with the death of my Papa Blain, then my mother, then the murder of my Aunt Linda, then the five kids who decided to kill themselves in two years from my high school. Its been continued with three deaths at Drake in the last six months.

Now the way I see it, God is doing me a favor. He is preparing me for what I will see as a pastor. Only when I am a pastor I won’t just be helping people my age, but people who have had years to become bitter and to hold in pain and anger towards God for taking their loved ones. Does it still hurt when my friends die? It hurts so much. Sometimes it hurts so much that I come close to giving up. However, I will remain strong in the Lord. I will love Him with all I have. I am not afraid to die. I know what lies beyond the stained glass doors. The people who die are to be counted among the lucky. They no longer have to go through what those of us left behind have to.

The life I have been given is a gift. I will do everything I can to share my gift with those I love.

That is my peace on that.

Brad H.

The M. Knight Tragedy

I am not one to usually say something about a movie I have never see, so I won’t. However, I will say that the reviews I have been getting on M. Knight Shyamalans’s The Last Airbender only adds to my distaste in his directing skills. So instead of going to see this terribly directed film, I will instead be making good on a bet. I going to take my two best friends to the second biggest tragedy in film history, the third installment in the Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Never, make a bet you can not win. Just sayin’.

Brad

What nonsense!

So, as an avid reader I often enjoy my trips to the library immensely. I go because I want to get out of the house and get some work done. Its the reason all college students like myself go to the libraries at the institutions we are attending in the first place. The areas in which we live should not be, unless we choose otherwise, a place where working or studying should be done. Its the opposite of why its called home. If I wanted to work, I would go to work. Its a pretty simple idea. One that I hope resonates with my readers. Of course I understand that people with careers often need to be at home while working because of obligations such as a spouse or kids. Thats fine. However, it is not fine that because certain city councils do not feel like paying a menial tax to one city or another, that young adults like myself, should have to pay to use something that is free to everyone else.

I am speaking directly of course to my home town of Spring Hill, Iowa. I have lived here for roughly 3 years. As one of the youngest inhabitants in this small village of 92, I enjoy getting away from the monotonous chorus of tree frogs and mesquitos. It is not a big deal to support one town or the other with property taxes. It will help the young people in Spring Hill to want to be something better than a small town kid. I grew up in a small town. I was at the library everyday! It would not be too much to ask that Spring Hill pay Norwalk, Iowa a small property tax. For crying out loud its ten minutes away.

I guess my plan is to talk to my dad. He is a city councilman for Spring Hill. Its not like they are spending the money on anything else. We can’t even get decent roads. Our council of geriatric penny pinchers is not helping our town at all. As nice and as fancy as our new bullentin posting place is you could have probably put that away into an account to fix the roads and ditches in our sleepy little town. Its not a bad thing to spend money to help the youth have something educational.

Brad

This Bird in Flight

I wonder what the world is like, to this graceful bird in flight. Continuing on night and day, looking for her place to stay. Going East with all her might, for now there is no end in sight. The world is an adventure, so great to explore, continue on her will implores. Looking down at her distant past, she moves away, going fast. Where she goes, no one knows. No matter how far East she decides to roam, here back West she will have a home

Brad

All caught up!

So I’ve been moving all of my Facebook notes over to my blog. So basically I have caught up to where I left off here. I have added catergories for subject based browsing. So far I have three. A Day in the Life, Poetry, and Photography. I have managed to upload any of my photos yet, but I feel like I will upgrade to have more space. Also I will start designing a flash site for my… well it will be a website all about me! Look for it Summer of 2011. For future subject browsing I plan on adding History/Present comparitive analysis. As I am a History major I feel it would only be fitting to have it as a part of my blogging experience. Who knows. Maybe people will agree with me.

Brad

A Time For Everything

The title is a direct parallel from Ecclesiastes. The time has come for me to let go. I have held onto a lot of nonsense in my life. I’ve held onto a lot of pain. A lot of drama. A lot of false hope in things that really are hopeless. And I’m letting down my guards. Guards that have kept me from a lot of great things.

A great songwriter once wrote “don’t say you won’t let it go. Because you’ll never know” For so long I have put up barriers for myself because I hate being vulnerable. Because every time I have ever let myself become that way my mind has been abused and twisted into grasping at false hope. I’ve always told myself that I would never let my guard down. Thats basically telling myself I’ll never be happy. I guess the long lost secret to being happy is to be vulnerable. To let yourself go and just share what you are thinking with someone. That person is a darn good friend if they just sit there and listen. Do not lose that person. Cherish them and give thanks that they are in your life. Don’t take for granted the relationships you make with people. We are here for a very short time. We were not created to be alone.

To all my brothers and sisters, this is especially true in our relationship with God. It has to be personal. It can’t be conformist or narcissistic. We are not part of this world and we are NOT the greatest thing since sliced bread. God loves us and always will. We are the object of His desire and affection. Thats pretty powerful if you ask me. As many times as we mess up, God loves us that many times more.

That great songwriter also said this “from the top of the world, we’ll let them know. That your biggest fear is letting go.” This is so incredibly profound solely because it describes how most of the world is feeling. We are entirely to scared to let go of the things that hold us back in life. I will admit from the top of the world , that my biggest fear is letting go. So here goes. I’m letting go of a lot here. We’ll see how this goes.

Brad