The phrase "Arm Chair Quarterbacks" is used to describe those who watch football on the weekends and who always think they could do better than the quarterback, coach or the rest of the team for that matter. There is always one on every crowd, and I, myself, seem to fall into this role at times. Especially when the Red Sox are playing, might I add they are on fire at the moment...best record in the majors for the month of July. I do not think it is any coincidence that my son, Isaac, will be born in October the same month that the World Series will be played. What was I talking about....
Recently there have been many things happening in the country and the world that everyone seems to have opinions about. In this country our government officials have been battling over a debt ceiling and whether to raise it or not. I am 35 years old and this is the first time I have heard the terminology 'debt ceiling'. The cynical part of me wants to believe it is such a big deal now because we are heading into a major election year, but I also know it is a big deal regardless.
As the debate has raged on in Congress and the White House, the airwaves and Internet have been blown up with opinions supporting all the positions. Every Joe on the street thinks they have the best solution and that if it is not done the way they think then the opposition is uneducated and hates the children of America. While I may not agree with all politicians or any politicians for that matter, I know this...they have a job to do. I do not believe any of them take it lightly. Although they all may do a lot of posturing and apparent double speak in front of the cameras, they still have to look at themselves in the mirror and accept what is looking back.
One of the other issues getting a lot of play on the Internet right now is the investigation into the crash of Air France flight 447 that crashed after it departed Rio De Janeiro for Paris on June 1, 2009. Much speculation has surrounded this crash. The plane seemingly disappeared while flying through stormy weather. Debris was finally found floating on the ocean. Little has been know until recently when the black boxes were discovered on the sea floor and are now being analyzed.
I have been following the crash and the subsequent investigation. It seems that almost daily new reports are coming out about what did or did not happen. Just this morning there was a story talking about the conversation between the pilots during the last few minutes of the flight. The makers of the plane want to blame the pilots. The airline wants to blame the airplane. In reality the end result will be a mix of those two positions. Regardless of who is blamed for the crash 228 people lost their lives that night. The pilots did the best they could and demonizing or questioning them at this point will not bring anyone back. This reality does not quiet the aviation message boards that are lit up with, sometimes, ugly discussion and finger pointing.
It begs the question, why is there always a rush to tear down those with whom we disagree? Why the rush to assess blame and point fingers. Now I am not suggesting a blind eye be turned and truth not be brought to light so plane crashes can be prevented and crippling debt will not be visited on our children and grand children. What I am suggesting is that somewhere in the process we have forgotten how to disagree and still be civil. We have forgotten how to be friends in spite of our differences. We have forgotten that at the end of the day there is but one important thing, God and his kingdom. Once we lose sight of our roles as ministers of reconciliation we lose sight of what really matters. May God forgive us!
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