Got inspired at church on Sunday( This is not an automatic occurrence, I have to confess. I get distracted…and sometimes sleepy, truth be told). Meaning, of course, that The Rev came pretty close to matching my point of view on a whole bunch of things. He also tossed out some statistics that were sobering and even scarey from some points of view. So I’m gonna rant for a bit…on a variety of topics. Hold onto your hats.
First the “church stuff”.
The number/percentage by which church attendance has fallen in the U.S. is truly unsettling…something like 60% of the population simply does not attend church regularly or at all; the most common response on questionnaires about religious preference is “none”, not “nun”–one of those good women–but none, as in no religious affiliation at all. Remarkable, especially since the Founding Fathers felt religion to be so important that they enshrined it in the First Amendment, along with speech, the press(which is also in trouble) and assembly (which church attendance is a form of). Once-upon-a-time all kinds of things–nearly everything, actually, closed down on Sunday, at least until about one o’clock, so everybody could go to church. We all survived.
It is a different world now, some better, some worse.
The loss of a “church family” has left too many in loneliness, isolation and despair, which they might once have avoided by having connection and care with others in a faith community. Everyone is off on their own pursuits–sports, hobbies, employments, distractions–none of them bad in and of themselves, but not in the same manner as the original meaning of the word “religion”, from the Latin, “re”–back and “ligare”–to bind together. “We the People” are more likely to be all about “Me, the star”…across the board. Being together with others, sharing rituals (just like any other team, really), sharing meals, sharing music can take the edges off some of the rougher aspects of daily life and build strengths to go through life. Not that any church is perfect, they’re made up of humans, after all but a little searching can probably locate one with an individual’s good “fit” and a reward for all concerned–participation goes both ways. I, personally, think Quakers are cool–they do lots of good works, always have–but they do not sing! I do not sing all that well, but I love to do it; have to have it in my church. Different strokes for different folks. I do draw the line at snake handling.
So that was the first rant. I have lots more.
Why are so many members of the media not very good at communicating in grammatical and well-spoken English? There is even a word for some of the bad usage that comes out on your screen or audio; the word is “catachresis”–incorrect use of a word or words by misapplication of terminology or by strained or mixed metaphor. Look it up. Somebody has got the idea that all prepositions are the same and can be used interchangeably. ARRGH! My favorite statement on that is “Knocked out,”, “Knocked off,” and Knocked up” are NOT equivalent. Look THAT up.
And then there’s this whole aging thing….
Being an old/experienced person at this point ( with the family background of longevity–grandparents in their 90’s, Mother at 100, step-grandma at 99 )–I sorta figured that I’d be around for awhile, unless I got hit by a truck…or a jealous spouse. However, I usually just figured that I would be , oh, say, 30 or 35 (those were good ages)the whole time. Ain’t happenin’…unfortunately. Geez, I’ve got more pills/shots/treatments/appointments than I’ve had in the whole rest of my life up to this point. They do seem to be working, for the most part, though I DO keep a pretty close watch on information about early-onset of dementia, not that anyone would necessarily notice.
Thus endeth the Rant, edition ‘leventy-two. More on tap. Just wait.
