My Shibboleth Blog: Beautiful People

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Beautiful People

I’ve recently debated cancelling my People magazine subscription as it has deteriorated lately into page after page of self-absorbed “beautiful” people interested in the latest fashion or their most recent self-serving exploits. However, I can strongly recommend the “Heroes Among Us” section as both entertaining, uplifting and heart-warming. This past issue featured a Down’s Syndrome entrepreneur named Tim. At 26 years old, he has opened his own restaurant which now employees over 20 people. He regularly speaks to disabled groups to encourage them to aspire to great goals. Please take a moment to view this short YouTube clip. You will be encouraged.

Here’s the ironic twist: People like Tim don’t need us as much as we need them! We need them to desperately remind us what the world would look like without mentally challenged or disabled people. As he manages his store, he keeps a record on the wall of how many hugs he has handed out. I don’t want to live in a “sanitized” society with no “Tims”. Since Roe v. Wade in 1973, the number of Down’s syndrome births has declined dramatically as a percentage of live births. We call this “progress”.

Ironically, as I flip over the People magazine page there is a news article on the other side about the “tanning mom”. The mom who is so addicted to self-tanning that she even salon-tanned her 5 year old daughter to the point of dangerous burns. The juxtaposition between the two is striking. Tim reminds us of the God-given spark of humanity in all of us. This is the same divine spark that enables all of us to do great things regardless of our start in life. The other story shows a navel-gazing fascination with “me, me, me” that sends us down a scary, weird pathway in pursuit of eternal youth and external perfection. Like the “tanning mom”, by the time we as a society take a long, hard look into the mirror of our souls—we have turned into a parody of ourselves. A parody that can no longer recognize how incredibly leathery, scorched and hideous we have become.

This next YouTube Clip was on the front page of Yahoo News today, May 12^th, 2012. It is a fitting tribute for Mother’s Day. Be warned—it will make you weep out loud—but in a good way.

Happy Mother’s Day!

1 comment:

BeccaMay 18, 2012 at 1:51 PM
Thank you for a good cry!
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Why Shibboleth?...

shibboleth [ˈʃɪbəˌlɛθ] n 1. a belief, principle, or practice which is commonly adhered to but which is thought by some people to be inappropriate or out of date rallying cry, war cry, watchword, battle cry, cry - a slogan used to rally support for a cause; "a cry to arms"

Shibboleth is a Hebrew word found in Judges 12:6. This Old Testament Bible story is quite fascinating and remarkable. When travelers wanted to cross over the Jordan River, sentries would ask them to pronounce the Hebrew word “Shibboleth." If they were of Hebrew (Jehovah/God) descent, they could correctly pronounce the “Sh” sound in the word. If they were not of Hebrew descent (Pagans), the sound would come out like “SS” or “ssibboleth,” whereupon they would be promptly executed as a spy or a foreign invader. In more modern times, we have utilized Shibboleths in war. During World War II, the word “lollapalooza” was sometimes used by US soldiers in the Pacific to “out” Japanese spies or enemy combatants. This was predicated on the correct assumption that someone of Asian descent would have difficulty pronouncing the letter “L” as well as the letter “R." The meaning of the word lollapalooza was also quite an esoteric concept to grasp, one that would only be readily understood by people well-familiarized with the American culture and language. If the beginning pronunciation came out sounding something like “rorra,” soldiers would open fire without asking any further questions to avoid American casualties. One last additional interesting history footnote: German Jewish descendants also had a difficult time saying the “sh” sound in Hebrew and again it came out sounding like “ss.” Is it a strange coincidence that the Nazi group most readily associated with atrocities against the Jewish race was named the “SS”?

Something to think about.

Today, in common language usage, a shibboleth has a larger meaning, referring to a word or phrase that distinguishes members of a group from outsiders. Its original root meaning also refers to a“stream” or “river.” A secondary meaning is "battle or war cry." Thus, the meaning of this blog name. I have often found that Sanctity of Life viewpoints cannot always be understood by the outsider. If you are coming from a strictly humanistic viewpoint, it may seem like nonsense to you. However, once you listen with your heart instead of your head (human reasoning), it becomes as shockingly clear as the difference between night and day or, as I like to point out, between LIFE and DEATH. So, I invite you to cross over the Jordan with me. Open your heart and your mind to the idea that each of us is a unique and special masterpiece created in the image of God. This is my battle-cry: that we may start out individually as a stream. It is my prayer that together we become a raging river.

Abortion Clock:
http://www.numberofabortions.com/