Sunday, August 22, 2010

Culture

So last night was awesome. I took Rick, Matthew, Jonas and Tyler to the demolition derby at the Wilson County Fair. It was a sort of cultural awakening for Rick and Tyler. I mean, really, how great is it to have 18 huge old cars in a mud pit purposely running into each other in a sort of "king of the hill" battle royale? This experience generated a great conversation on the way home.

Before the event started they had an invocation asking for the drivers' safety and for everyone to act "sportsmanlike". We discussed how pop culture brings God in sometimes and how it is good/bad/misguided/lacking/and comical all at the same time. Think about it, "Dear God, we are going to line up these cars, crash 'em into each other and we want you to protect us from harm. By the way, we are going to put poisonous snakes in the car with us and a few sticks of dynamite. Please don't let us get hurt." This conversation of course segued into a discussion of pop music references to God, both purposeful and "implied." When Amy Lee sang "Bring Me to Life" did she mean to start a rumor that Evanescence was a Christian band? How does one interpret that song other than as a spiritual reference? What about the song "The Little Girl" by John Michael Montgomery--is it possible that Jesus is literally there with a child when the child is in that type of situation? The Bible does mention "the angel of the Lord." Do pop culture references to "God" or even to "god" show a deep societal longing for spitituality or do they show irreverance or is it something else entirely?

What do you think? I really just want to open this up as a conversation. You know me, I love spiritual discussions and would love any insights/thoughts/rants on the topic. Keep it civil.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

It Just Grinds My Gears

Ok, so I know that the last blog was a bit of a rant. Here is another one. You know what bugs me? We have a county with well over 200,000 people and in this county we have the largest undergraduate university in the state. What bugs me is that other than a very small handful of businesses that might have a little bit of stuff on their signs outside, you would never know about the university!!!! If you drive through Knoxville, there is NO mistaking that the University of Tennessee resides in that town. For those of you who didn't know, MTSU football is poised to have a very successful season this year, for the second season in a row. Doing so would propel the program into a very nice position nationally. Before you get all up in arms and say that "we focus too much on academics, yadda, yadda, yadda," remember that football is (aside from tuition and state funding) the biggest money maker for a campus--period. If the football team stinks, the entire university is seen in a different light (I am not debating on the rightness or wrongness of this fact, I am simply stating it as fact). Last season was a good one. A lot more people started coming to games and wearing blue. It was a really nice shift that occurred among the fans. The crazy thing is, I did not see that shift occur among area businesses. This entire town should be painted blue. Every business from I-24 to Rutherford Blvd. should be flying blue flags and saying "Let's Go Blue" on their signs. It is time for Murfreesboro businesses to wake up and acknowledge the 25,000 plus students in their midst. Perhaps they wouldn't all go home on the weekend if they thought you wanted them around!! In the meantime, support the university and show some pride in the home team!! I don't care if you like UT, fly your orange and hate Lane Kiffin. Just show some pride in what we have RIGHT HERE also. NOW IS THE TIME--SHOW SOME MTSU HOMETOWN PRIDE!!! 
LET'S GO BLUE!!!!!