Observations Made at the National Zoo with Our Kids

The Parable of the Monkey House

Walking into the monkey house, one man quietly gazed upon the large, dark male gorilla. The beast was at peace while all around him was bedlam. The crowd outside his cage hooted and shrieked, made odd faces, pointed and waved, all in a vain attempt to attract the attention of the recumbant beast. Within the cage a TV flickered and sang, but it was ignored as well. The man stared into the eyes of the ape, marveling at the intelligence within them and pleased with himself for noticing. Then the man saw a curious thing. The ape’s eyes usually wandered over the crowd, without finding anything of particular interest. Suddenly, however, the ape sat up straight and his eye’s tracked something unnoticed by the man, something moving from left to right at the back of the crowd. A moment later, the ape relaxed again and his eye’s wandered.
The man was curious now and wondered if this would happen again. What had suddenly gotten the beast’s attention? Watching the gorilla, the man soon saw something again attract the ape’s attention. Quickly, the man followed the gorilla’s gaze. Across the back of the room, a beautiful woman crossed from one side to the other, noticed by no one other than the gorilla, and the man. The man chuckled to himself, mere coincidence he thought.
Still, the man was curious and continued to watch the gorilla as the crowd came and went, making odd monkey noises and gestures which were of no interest to either ape nor man now. Again, the gorilla’s attention was captured. Again, a beautiful woman crossed the room, a different woman than before. Three times this happened while the man watched. Shaking his head, humbled by the experience, the man left the monkey house. The gorilla, mere object of curiosity when the man arrived, proved to be much more, able to find beauty among his captors even as they ridiculed him with their foolish japes.

Information and Belief Collide: Confusion Reigns

Two books I've been reading lately have helped sum up one of the problems of our time.

From Harold Evans' book My Paper Chase, I read: "Knowledge will forever govern ignorance and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." --James Madison to W.T. Barry, August 1822

However, in Joseph Blenkinsopp's book, A History of Prophecy in Israel, I discover that the later prophets were back by such a long tradition of prophecy and so many prophets with divergent views (prophecy varied by time and circumstance) that the average hearer was not sure what to believe and often ignored prophets out of confusion.

Things are exacerbated today. We have a huge onslaught of information, all conflicting and endlessly streaming and knowledge that should govern is submerged in a flood of opinion and visceral response. Oftentimes we throw up our hands and respond, "Oh that's just your opinion" and then turn to our favorite information outlets (so many of them can't be termed news with good conscience) for our own tailormade point of view. In doing so we run the risk of ignoring vital information and being ruled by ignorance. Things are too dangerous today to do that. What a bind we find ourselves in!

Any solutions out there? Anyone wish to impart of real knowledge?

Challenging Quotes in Polarized Days

The following quotes are from the book, Pilgrims of Christ on the Muslim Road by Paul-Gordon Chandler. This book presents the story of Mazhar Mallouhi a Muslim follower of Christ who is introducing the loving Jesus he knows to the Islamic world. These provide food for thought for all, religious and non-religious folks alike, who feel the urge to become invective spewing bomb throwers. Read these, take a deep breath, think twice, repeat:

"We have reduced ourselves to religious, to denominations, to confessions...instead of following my Palestinian compatriot from Galilee, Jesus of Nazareth." Elias Chacour (The Palestinian Archbishop of Galilee) [p. 127]

"...some ... believe they have the whole truth and therefore assume others can have no truth at all. However, as Mazhar says, 'we do not own the truth; the truth owns us.' Consequently, Mazhar is very grateful for all truth found anywhere ..." (Consider this carefully all angry adherents of faith and non-faith before calling others hell-bound or superstitious fools.) [p. 95]

"God walks in the Holy Scriptures seeking people." St. Ambrose [p. 147] (Not one special group of people or another, all people.)

"Out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,/There is a field. I'll meet you there./When the soul lies down in that grass,/the world is too full to talk about./Ideas, langauge, even the phrase 'each other' doesn't make any sense." Jalal Al-Din Rumi, a 13th century Muslim Sufi mystic [p. 73] (Shhhh...)

"All truth, by whomever it has been said, is from God's Spirit." St. Ambrose (who baptized and discipled St. Augustine of North Africa) [p. 73] (Makes drawing lines in the sand seem a little silly, no?)

Less contention, more dialogue, more truth discovered, please.

Disney World Secrets

Oh, by the way, if you're going to Disney World, there are a few extra things you should know.

Now, the most important secret is for grown ups. If you find yourself in any of the parks "in distress" of the digestive or intestinal sort, there is hope for you. Go into any of the shops and quietly ask if they have something to take. From behind a counter they will bring a small box filled with remedies you need. Little double pill packets of Immodium AD or Tums or some other chemical salvation. Long flights and eating on the fly will get you every time. But you have to know to ask because nothing is out in the open. The illusion that everyone is having a Zippity Doo Dah day is always maintained.

Another essential secret concerns breakfast. If you're staying in the hotels, the breakfast food opportunities are vast and varied. However, remember, this is Florida. It is hot. You will be in and out of that heat all morning. Consider twice before eating anything heavy. Better to stick with cereal, toast, or fruit rather than having to ask at a shop for relief later on.

Finally, in the food department, you can eat at Disney on a budget. There are some beautiful and wonderful restaurants of course, but you didn't come for those did you. What you need to know is that two adults can easily eat from a single large salad with slabs of chicken thrown in and do very nicely indeed. For finicky young eaters, we found the found the peanut butter and jelly sandwich pockets (that's not what they're called but they're sandwiches with the ends sealed shut, they're from Smuckers and little kids love 'em) to be salvation.

Oh yeah, one more thing, if you're in the Epcot Center sphere, taking the ride, and you see a night scene with beautiful starry panoramas, don't be a doofus and take a flash picture. You'll ruin the effect for everyone, be roundly cursed, and end up with a picture of a curved white wall. Spare yourself the ire!

Disneyland and Disney World Still Great Vacation Spots for Kids

Hey parents, set aside the postmodern sophistication and jaded view of the world and take your kids on a Disney vacation. Sure, corporate Disney is huge and owns a lot, but the Mouse still puts on a good show.

But you do need a disclaimer. I don't work for Disney. Disney doesn't pay me (I should be so lucky). But, I grew up as a red blooded all-American Mouseketeer and a religious "Wonderful World of Disney" viewer (8 pm Sundays). I watched Walt give us eager 1960s kids a tour of Disneyland (there was no Disney World then) and really, really wanted to go. We went when I was 13 and my brother was 7 ... despite being a teen (especially since nobody I knew was there), I loved the place. I still do.

Disney makes it easy for families. Purchase their package deal (check on prices, we last went in 2003) and you get your airfare, room, and pass to the Kingdom all in one. You won't need to worry about transport from the airport to the park either, Disney has you covered. A bus meets you at the airport and whisks you off to the park. Once there, busses get you to whichever park you want to visit (I'm speaking of Disney World here as that is my point of reference as an East Coast parent). Once inside, the monorail system will take you to all the parks Disney has to offer. It's simplicity itself. Save your pennies and take the 5 day package. You'll be able to visit all 4 parks without rushing and have a fifth day to relax at the water park there midweek.

A word to the wise, however. Wait until your youngest child is at least 6 years old. I've seen too many parents dragging around a kid far to young to enjoy the place and nobody wins in that situation. Everybody is mad at each other, the kid ends up in tears, the parents are red-faced with frustration (we paid good money for this darn it ... now enjoy yourself!!!), and not even Disney magic can defeat that. If your youngest is around six, you'll want to rent the Disney double stroller. Your child sits in one side, your gear rests in the other, and you get to move at an adult pace without the little one wearing out. Our daughter was able to go from park opening to park closing at 10 pm using this system. Best of all, as you move from park to park, you pick up a new stroller at each park but ... if I'm remembering correctly ... there's no fee after the first rental charge. It's a beautiful thing.

Of the parks at Disney World, The Magic Kingdom, Epcot and the Hollywood Studios are our favorites. Plenty to do and see. Surprisingly, the kids loved Epcot (our daughter felt it was the world of shopping) and our son loved all the twists and turns in each "nation." Epcot is best at night by the way.

Best of all, all the favorite rides (Space Mountain and Mission to Mars are musts if you don't have health issues) have fast pass features. You reserve a time with your card (which is also your room key so don't lose it) and enter a short line at the appointed hour. Works like a charm. You've also got to ride "It's a small world" and the Mexico pavilion ride at Epcot (which is the Spanish version of It's a small world") for the "cheese" factor!

When you come back, let me know what you liked best. Also, if you've got stories to report from Disneyland, I'd love to hear them. Why, "because we like you", just like the ol' Mickey Mouse Club members used to say when they closed the show!

Christian Moderates and Liberals, Find a Way to Speak UP, PLEASE!!!

For far too long, Christian moderates and liberals have given the public podium, the airwaves, the television broadcasts, the blogs, ... and every other public media over to the conservatives. Amongst conservative Christians, the ones who really make a splash in the 24 hour news cycle are the most strident voices, those who tend to alienate others rather than show them the love of Jesus, the ones who cast Christianity as a very private club rather than Jesus' healing message intended for all. It's time to speak up in every way possible.

The general sentiment tends to be that Christians of moderate to liberal persuasion don't want to speak up as they don't want to be associated with the far right folks on the airwaves. This is a problem. How do we ever change peoples' minds and redefine Christianity in the minds of others if we don't speak up? We know we are called to witness to others. We know we are instructed to help others and let them know who inspires us to help.

So, I'm asking you to find a way that plays to your strengths to speak out and let others know there are other kinds of Christians out there than those who now have the mics and the public attention. I've chosen to start a little project of electronic evangelism on Hub Pages. You can see what I've done under http://hubpages.com/profile/J.S.+Brooks I admit it's a small start. But in a few months, ten articles from a more moderate to liberal Christian have (last time I checked) been read over 620 times. It's a small beginning. But, if each of us does our part and speaks out in the ways that play to our God-given strengths, we stand a chance of presenting Christ's loving message in a different voice from the strident tone currently reaching the public and shaping opinions at the moment. Give it a shot. We've got a lot to gain ... and too much to lose.

God bless you.

Scientists: Communicate Better on Climate Change!

The new Pew Research poll is out. Only 57 percent of the populace in the U.S. believes climate change is real. This is down from 77 percent in 2006. AND only 36 percent believe humans are responsible for the mess. Okay guys and gals, scientists who are paniced by the implications of global warming, it is time for you to speak up clearly and directly to the general public. But first, get out there and speak with people. Find out what they really think. You'll discover there are many out there who think this is just you opinion and they have plenty of scientists who feel otherwise in their pockets. Others will tell you this is part of the natural entropy of the universe ... things just fall apart. So, it's time to listen and the to communicate. You all need to find yourselves another Carl Sagan, someone who speaks clearly and engagingly on the topic who can get through to people before it is too late.

For the 36 percent out there who feel humans are responsible, 350.org is holding rallies across the nation this Sunday, October 24, to raise awareness about global warming. Be a part of one near you if possible. Speak up and let people know how you feel.

It's time to talk folks. In fact, it's overdue.