Thinking Out Loud, Volume CDLXXIV

It saddened me when I first read the news of the death of Beau Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden. Then I became worried. Whether or not we agree with his politics, we have to admit Joe Biden is a likable guy, yet I feared there would be those who, due to their political differences with our current administration, would begin spouting off, making light of the grief his family is feeling at this time. Thankfully, at the time I'm writing this article, if there has been any of that type of chatter going on, I haven't heard it. Maybe I've lost too much confidence in my fellow man, but with all the nasty comments I've heard and read in the past few years about our brothers and sisters with differing political views, it's easy to understand my fear. I'm longing for the day when civility returns to our political discussions. Isn't it possible for us to debate the issues without stooping to name calling and hateful remarks about those who disagree with us? We're now in the beginning stages of the 2016 Presidential campaigns, which means the parties have hired crews strategically for the purpose of what they call "Opposition Research." That's simply a feel-good title for what would more accurately be called "Character Assassination Research." One side does it just as much as the other. Is this what our founding fathers had in mind? On more than one occasion I have visited The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, DC, and each time there was a significant crowd on hand to watch The Changing of the Guard. One thing struck me as I looked around at all of my fellow Americans viewing the activities: There was no doubt that citizens from both major political parties were represented there, and there was no doubt that every person in attendance was a true American patriot, while we all stood there in reverence as one body. Can't we debate our differences with the same honor and respect we felt for each other at that time? What I believe, I strongly believe, but I've come to the realization that those who disagree with me feel just as strongly about their views as I do about mine. That doesn't mean we have to hate each other. There's a big difference between debating the issues and ripping each other apart. One can only assume that mudslinging begins when an individual feels he is losing the issues debate, the way kids do when they've been proven wrong. I realize much of this is done to play on our emotions, when our decisions should be made on logic....not emotion. I'm all for disagreement, debate, and working to persuade other citizens to see things our way, as long as we stick to the issues at hand and do it in a cordial, civilized manner. It seems to me that I can recall something about one of the two greatest commandments that says, "Love your neighbor as yourself." When we do that, we call each other nice names, even when we disagree. Preston

Thinking Out Loud, Volume CDLXXIII

"I'm moving to Russia." I came home from school one day when I was in the first grade and made that announcement to my parents. On the school bus that day, some of my friends, other first and second graders, had been talking and one of them told us that Russia was going to bomb the United States, and only the people living in Russia would be spared. My mom and dad did their best to assure me that just wasn't true, but I informed them that had they been on my bus, they would be more in tune with what was about to happen. Over time I came to understand that I should be a little more skeptical of what other kids told me, although I still accepted everything any adult said as the absolute, indisputable gospel. It was not until I grew into adulthood that I began to realize that if I was not careful, even grownups would lead me astray. Now I've reached the point where there are certain people I would trust with my very life, but those who don't fall into that category, I may view their words by borrowing a phrase from President Reagan, "trust but verify." I like to refer to it as a "healthy skepticism." I reached my current frame of mind due to some embarrassing mistakes I made by trusting, then repeating, things I saw on my computer. Angie and I now have a little joke we use around our house: "I know it's true, because I saw it on Facebook." It doesn't matter what side of the political aisle you're on, there are those on your side who apparently just make up stories about the other side. I view such tactics as counterproductive, and the real trouble is, these stories grow with each telling. Unfortunately, this type of creative storytelling is not confined just to politics. One of the events where some of the most outrageous stories were being told and expanded was in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I don't have enough space to detail all of the outlandish tales being floated around during that time. I confronted one friend about a story she told me, telling her if those stories were true, the news media would've been all over it. When she responded by telling me we can't trust the news any more, I asked her where she got her story. She looked up the source of her information, and she had to admit it was from someone she had never heard of before, yet she was gullible enough to repeat it as truth. Do people sit around and make up these stories just for the fun of it? If I would repeat every story I heard or saw on Facebook, my friends would begin to lose trust in me and would start to disregard anything I might say. My credibility would be gone. It's sad for me to have to say this, but I believe people even do this regarding biblical prophesy, and then others believe it and blast it all over social media. When we hear stories like the mark of the beast has already begun in some countries, when there's absolutely no evidence that it's true, and we then repeat it as fact, we're harming the work of legitimate prophesy teachers. I don't want to be so harsh as to call someone a liar when they fully believe what they're telling me is true. I've been guilty of doing the same thing, but it humiliates me when I realize I've helped spread faulty information. The truth is, we can't take everything we hear, even from well-meaning friends, as gospel. I guess my primary purpose for talking about this topic today is just to remind us to verify the authenticity of any story before we share it with anyone else. A little dose of healthy skepticism is good medicine for us all. Preston Sent from my iPhone

Thinking Out Loud, Volume CDLXXII

I'm actually writing this on a Saturday night, kicked back in my recliner, totally exhausted from the day's activities. I spent most of the afternoon cleaning the vinyl siding on our house, a job I put off for way too long, but it looks sooooo much better than it did this morning when I got out of bed. Yes, I'm tired, but I also feel a great sense of accomplishment, mainly from the satisfaction I receive from just knowing I made a difference today. It's a feeling lazy people rarely get to experience, because if a person wants to achieve this feeling, a significant amount of labor is required. I admit, I was glad to get through, but I'll go to bed early tonight, feeling good about myself and about my day. When the time comes for me to draw my last breath, I want to be able to look back with a sense of pride from knowing I made a positive difference in my world, and other people lived happier lives because of me. My wife, Angie, works for a heart surgeon, and if you live in the Monroe/West Monroe area, you've probably seen the "Grateful" billboards around town showing the faces of individuals who are healthy today due to their heart surgery performed by her boss. Yes, on rare occasions he has to face the anguish of seeing those who were just too sick to save, but what an awesome feeling it must be for him to be able to see someone at a restaurant and be able to say, "We saved his life." I have a friend who is a marriage counselor, and I've often thought about how satisfying it must be for him when he sees happy couples who came to him when everything was falling apart, and he was able to help guide them back on the road to happiness. I'm also friends with a couple who went to China several years ago to adopt a little girl, and now when I see that beautiful, bubbly little nine year old, I can't help but think about what a difference her adoptive parents have made in her life, as well as the difference she has made in theirs. My daughter and son in law are in the process of becoming foster parents, and their goal in this endeavor is to change the lives of a few children for the better. I look at my two little grandchildren, one of which is special needs, and I realize they are living happy lives today because both of their parents go out of their way to see that they do. What about our teachers, our first responders, our police men and women, our military, and our pastors? All of us are living better lives today because of all of them. The good thing about it all is, no matter who we are or what our professions may be, we are all equipped to make positive differences in the lives of others. I will admit there are times when I just don't feel like sitting down and writing my weekly article, but so many of you have told me it's making a difference in your lives, and that's what keeps me going. Making a difference is a great feeling, and I don't want to die without experiencing it over and over in my life, but it requires effort. We have to want it bad enough to work at it. Instead of us sitting back and complaining about the bad shape our world is in, why don't we see what we can do to make it better. Making a difference is a lifelong duty from which we can never retire. Preston

Thinking Out Loud, Volume CDLXXI

It was one of those lightning bolts that's so close you hear the thunder at the same time time you see the flash. Last Thursday afternoon I was driving north on I-35, going through the heart of Austin, Texas, during a blinding rain storm, when it struck, and I must admit, I nearly jumped out of my skin. You would have too. I can say that because there's a very strong chance that you're a normal human being just like I am. Have you ever experienced a near miss of a serious automobile accident? It has happened to me a few times, and it's an event that leaves me weak-kneed. I'll never forget one morning a few years ago, I was walking from a Baton Rouge hotel to a nearby Waffle House, and I was cutting across the parking lot of a pizza place at the same time a young man was walking out the door of the pizza place, which had not yet opened for the day. Suddenly I heard a loud male voice to my left saying, "Hold it right there! Don't move!" I looked just in time to see a man, who turned out to be a plain clothes policeman, as he lifted a pistol with both hands, with his finger on the trigger. He was arresting the young man exiting the pizza place, but when I heard the loud yell and immediately saw the gun, it scared the living daylights out of me. My friend, Claire, and I were running before daylight one morning through a wooded area when a man we didn't know was even in the world rode a bicycle up behind us and made some kind of loud throat-clearing sound no more than five feet away. We both jumped about three feet in the air, and we both made some loud, strange noises ourselves. There's just something about when I have a sudden thought that I may be about to die, it scares me. I believe with all my heart I've taken the necessary steps to insure my soul's salvation, yet it still frightens me when I think I might die in the next few seconds. I wish I could be all calm and collected like the hero John Wayne in those situations, but I'm afraid that's just not the case. I would also like to be able to tell you I always know what to do and what to say in difficult circumstances, but it would not be true. Although it doesn't happen often, I lose my temper at times, and say words I later regret. Sometimes when I'm speaking, my words come out wrong, and what I end up saying makes no sense at all, causing me to feel, and sound, foolish. On occasion, I will ask a stupid question when the answer is right under my nose. I know we're all tempted to do wrong from time to time, but every now and then I give in to that temptation. It's at times like that when I admit to myself, "Maybe I'm just not hero material." In some ways, maybe I AM a little like John Wayne, because I may appear to be calm, while my insides are churning with fear. I wonder if he ever felt like I do. After all, it was he who said, "Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway." Actually, when I take a look at reality (as opposed to movie characters), I realize it's quite possible that maybe I AM a hero to some. I'm thinking of a little nine year old boy and a five year old girl who probably view me as one of their heroes. There's even a chance that someone I don't even suspect might consider me a hero. So....now that I've concluded I might be a hero after all, how am I supposed to act? What are heroes supposed to do? What kind of example am I to set for those who look to me as a hero? Well, I'm not sure, but I have some ideas. Maybe I should let them know it's okay to be scared sometime. (We all look at Captain Sully as a hero, but I assure you, he felt real fear when he put that plane down in the Hudson River.) It would be okay to let them know if perfection was a requirement to be a hero, then heroes would not exist. Perhaps if I happen to mess up and wrong someone, those who view me as a hero could hear me say "I'm sorry" to the person I've wronged. It would probably be a good idea to let them know that even heroes stumble and fall from time to time, but they never let that stop them. They always get back up and charge on. Heroes aren't quitters. I should never forget that, as a hero, I'm constantly being watched, and just knowing that fact should give me an incentive to try to stay on the straight and narrow as much as possible, because those who look to me as a hero want to be like me. It actually feels nice being a hero, but there are some awesome responsibilities that go with it. Think about it. Who thinks you're a hero? Whoever it is, rest assured they're watching every move you make. We can't let them down. They're gonna be someone else's hero some day, and they need to know what heroes are supposed to do. Preston