O CALIFORNIA, CALIFORNIA . . . !

In the Bible it is recorded that Jesus, very near the end of His mortal ministry, rode near unto Jerusalem and stopped and looked over the city and wept before entering into it.  He lamented, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her [chicks] . . . and you would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate” (Matthew 23:37).

 A novel was written over 1,900 years later by Curt Gentry in 1968 that had the provocative title “The Last Days of the Late Great State of California” describing what might happen if a Richter magnitude 9 earthquake occurred on California’s San Andreas fault line—desolation.  The author fictionally described the consequences of the entire western half of the state collapsing into the Pacific Ocean. 

It seems that a political/cultural/economic earthquake is now taking place in California and with its northern neighbors. 

In the mid-1930’s, in the midst of the Great Depression, huge dust storms made desolate many parts of the Midwest of America. The storms took  millions of tons of precious topsoil carrying it hundreds of miles from farms where it had been caused by destructive farming practices.  Not only was soil for productive farms displaced, but also were thousands of people.  These people were generically and pejoratively called “Okies,” people who lived on the heartland and who thought they could relocate in California, the “golden” state, and reclaim their lives from the desolation they had experienced. Many who were willing and eager to work did—and recovered-- but many didn’t—and the state’s population increased with both contributors to the economy and non-contributors.  

Forty to fifty years after this influx, hundreds of thousands of others, survivors of the War years, including many non-citizens who came illegally from south of our borders, inundated what was viewed as a Mecca, but what was rapidly becoming the erstwhile ‘Golden’ state of opportunity.  In addition to providing work and a pleasant environment and climate to live in, what was not well thought-out and provided for by government was becoming overwhelmed:  infrastructure in educational and health-care and transportation and criminal justice and other social systems were, so to speak, ‘heading south.’ Public policy, except in Republican-led years, in response to population growth became more liberal.  The consequences of those policies are now being played out.   

Once the envy of the world, California’s infrastructure is now crumbling.  

After decades of neglect and political misfeasance, California’s educational system, once among the finest in the nation, is now in the lowest tier of student achievement (#37 out of 50 states in K-12 education).  Standards and curriculum have been ‘dumbed down’ to accommodate unprepared students, and in the process better prepared and serious students are neglected and are not being challenged.  Parents are pulling their children out of public education and are fleeing the public schools and public colleges to seek a better education elsewhere.  It is a return to the middle-late 1960’s with all of California’s twenty-six state universities now being mandated to teach ‘cultural diversity’—and students being required to take the class! Remedial classes are now the norm.  Introduced  in the public schools about the same time was ‘sex education.’  What happened to moral constraint since then?

What is needed, rather, is an education in and a return to the traditional underpinnings of American society: the ideals and values that once made her great.  These values are now mocked by the media and entertainment industry, the educational establishment from top to bottom, and so-called liberal political philosophy and policies in state government.

The largest economy of the 50 states is quickly becoming bankrupt because of unfriendly taxing and overly restrictive business regulations. Small businesses as well as large corporations are moving eastward taking their money and people with them.  The 1980’s term, ‘brain drain’ comes to mind.  

Consequently, news reports today are telling of the mass exodus of contributing citizens going the other way--away from California (and Oregon and Washington) who are pulling up roots and moving to states east of her.  My family are among them—we recently moved.

Why?

The bailout is not alone generated by the devastating fires and the terrifying earthquakes; not even the crime in sectors of the large cities and the overwhelmed and ineffective penal-justice system; or the highest tax rate in the nation; not just the failing schools, the deteriorating roads and transportation infrastructure; or the demands on medical care by the uninsured or those whose ignorant health practices have caused their own health problems (California now requires that insurance companies cover ‘disability’ owing to the ‘disease’ of drug abuse!). Not even the heartbreaking destruction and magnet for the homeless of formerly one of the finest cities of America—San Francisco, longtime home of its former mayor and current governor could be called the 'tipping point' generating the exodus. These are all contributive in causing the decision to move out; but there is more.

In the West, contributing and home-owning  citizens and businesses are moving out of California (and likewise out of Oregon and Washington state and Colorado) because of the very toxic political and social climates (read here, moral failure) of these states' governments. What is the common denominator of once fine but now failing states?  I submit that it is liberal, even socialistic policies and cultural hostility to historic and religious and conservative virtues and values of marriage and family, and economics. If you are acquainted with the political philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand, you will sense that what we are seeing is what happened when 'Atlas Shrugged.'

What is the attractive pull of where the exodus is headed?  Conservative policies and traditional moral values are the drawing card.  It is ideas and ideals that ultimately move society. 

And where are they going?  They are moving to Idaho and Arizona and Utah and Nevada—the four states out of the 50 in this nation which have gained the most population in the last two years. These are states populated by people who love freedom--with responsibility.  

Interestingly, in addition to California, the states with the largest population losses by percentage in the United States were New York and Illinois--both states embracing liberal governmental policies.

So, I repeat:  It is ideas and ideals that ultimately move society.  Wake up California!

I end this sad tale with a slightly altered verse from the song “The City of New Orleans” sung by Willie Nelson and many others:  

    “Good morning America (good night California), how are you? I'm the one they call(ed) your native son.  I’m the train they call the City of New Orleans (City of San Francisco).  I’ll be gone 500 miles when the day is done.” 

And so it is, and will be until policy makers wake up or are voted out.  Until then, "Good night, California." Any "gold" that is left will be provided solely by the sundown in the West.   

CHRISTMAS

Earlier this month I published what I thought would be my Christmas message for 2020.  I amend my thought, but not my earlier message.  My thought, now, after rereading many of His teachings and listening to many hours of Christmas music, is to very briefly review the basic message of Christmas and what our response might be. 

In America we may call this season of the year from Thanksgiving Day through New Years’ Day the ‘holidays,’ but for me the preeminent ‘Holiday’ (holy day) is Christmas—the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ.  It happened this way:

A little over two thousand years ago the archangel Gabriel appeared from the Heavenly realms and made a startling announcement to some faithful shepherds who were attending to their task in the dark of the night.  The message was that the long-awaited Messiah had been born and was now among them. Additional heralds, a multitude of what we suppose were singing angels, joined Gabriel praising God. They, too, left their message with the astonished shepherds.  The shepherds responded with haste to this glorious outpouring to find this child, this long-prophesied Messiah—to gain a personal testimony of the things they were told.  After they had seen for themselves, they unhesitatingly told all they encountered of what they had heard and experienced. 

What can we learn from this?  The scriptural record here shows that God, on His timetable, will make known even to the lowliest of His children messages of transcendent importance. There is no indication in the record that the shepherds were aged or highly-educated sages; nothing is said about them holding position or priesthood.  Nothing is said of their gender. The likelihood, instead, was that these were probably poor and uneducated young men and/or young women who knew how to care for God’s creatures, who were in the line of their duty, and who were not asleep.

What else might have qualified the shepherds to be given this message?  Perhaps the fact that they had earlier listened to the prophecies about a promised Messiah and found them credible.  Perhaps because they were worthy to receive a spiritual message and that their spirit resonated with the message they heard.  Perhaps because they believed in angels.  Perhaps because God knew they would not hesitate to proclaim the message and witness they received to any person they subsequently encountered.

Can you see the pattern?  Though the wise men came later bearing gifts, the response desired by God of those who were in a position to immediately respond to this Holy day, this Birthday of birthdays, was for them to listen to His messengers, to gain a personal testimony themselves, to worship God’s Son, and to proclaim to others what they knew to be true.  Could this not be the proper response for us to emulate during this Christmas season? Could we not qualify ourselves in the same way?

We will glorify God this Christmas season and give our best gift by proclaiming with joy the Good News message of His Son’s ministry (his activities and teachings or three years following his baptism) and mission (the events of his last week as a mortal) into a darkened world and into the hearts of His children.

Let us light the world!

PRODUCTIVE DIALOGUE

       Every one of us has attempted to talk with someone about something important to us or to them and gotten nowhere.  We have broached a subject or tried to take part in a conversation and have our point-of-view be heard but to no avail. We have been unpersuasive in making our point and, too often, we found the conversation ended with us becoming more frustrated than before the attempt. Not only was the issue unresolved, but sometimes the other party had become defensive or more entrenched in their own point-of-view than they were before the discussion. 

Here are some ideas that might help you to turn things around:  

Before engagement in discussion resolve personally that we are out to solve a problem or look at an issue with wisdom and fairness and not out to unilaterally ‘win’ an argument. You have a point of view and want a fair hearing, and so does the other person.  When we engage in discussion, we must understand that often better solutions are a result of not insisting that our way is the only way. We must be trying to understand each other and the facts that define the issue.  The middle way or the not-entertained third way does not necessarily mean a compromise; it can be a higher way that may have not been seen by either party when emotionality was clouding our/their vision.

Respect and listening must come first. If that is understood, both parties feel safe to contribute and express their viewpoint without attack by the other. Then, hopefully, each person will honestly believe that their input counted and that a synergistic outcome is possible where everybody gains: Stephen Covey famously called it “win-win.”

Look at the information, the data, the evidence, the facts contributed to by all parties of the discussion to the issue at hand.  When engagement begins, that is where you start. Do not try to defend or impose the too-often emotionally driven assumptions, opinions, or independently-arrived-at ‘conclusions’ that unproductive dialogue often starts with. Productive dialogue is not a modern political ‘debate’--may God forbid.  

There are methods of engagement that foster helpful dialogue and conversely behaviors that kill it.

Let’s look at behaviors that close down healthy dialogue.        

         Demeaning comments; sarcastic remarks; name-calling; threats; accusations; blame;         coercing; force; revenge; violence.   

         Avoiding, withdrawal, silent fuming, coldness, passive resistance.

         Playing verbal games to overpower or confuse the other person.

     Creating stories in our mind (subjective conclusions) that paint the other party in a         negative way and then shape our unhelpful self-justifying responses to or judgments         about anything they say to us.

That which produces healthy dialogue is to:

·                   Look at your own motives first.  Am I being honest?  Am I being just?  Am I being          fair, and trying to see it through their eyes? Am I at all at fault?

·                   Identify mutual purpose and shared goals, and then state them and share them and           explore them with the other person.

·                    Maintain mutual respect; if they push back, do something to make the other person           more comfortable; try to calm them with a soft answer but be sincere. This does not        mean you have to back down; it may mean that you have to try another approach.           You can smile and say something like, “I think I see your point (and then restate it in        your own words), but allow me to see if I can my point more clear to you. . . .”

·                  Get all relevant, truthful information out into the open and into a common pool. The        larger the pool, the smarter the decisions the parties will make and the greater the            buy-in.

·                 Stay focused no matter what happens. Stay focused on what you really want—for             yourself, and for your relationship, and for others who could be impacted.                       Make these things your highest priorities. Don’t get derailed or divert from your              objectives by what the other party may throw up at the beginning of the conversation.

·                Clarify what you don’t want to happen—bad feelings, wasted time or money,                 damaged opportunities, etc.  See where this is taking you.

How to speak persuasively and productively:

·        Pray first if you believe in this way of receiving strength or insight.

·        Share your facts; your facts are not an attack.  Facts are things, observations, not assertions, not conclusions. Try to keep personalities out of it to start with.  

·        Tell your story—your point of view, your reasoning path which have led to your tentative conclusions. Make sure you are thinking about and talking about the real issue. Use “I” statements, not “you” statements.

·        Encourage them to tell their story—their point of view. Then listen carefully. Be curious and be courteous. This brings their information into the pool.

·        Use tentative language—“In my opinion,” “It’s starting to look like. . .”

·        Be patient.  Don’t assume you know the others’ motives. Get to the source of their feelings.  Try to get to an area of agreement.  Don’t force a conclusion by using your authority, or age, or position. Use persuasion.  

·        Build upon what you’ve mutually come up with. Do something; come to a plan of action that involves both of you. Write it down.  Make a commitment. You are both accountable for the outcome, but only you are accountable for your commitment to the person and the process.   Keep thinking, and say, “We can work this out.” Be positive and confident and know that you can; then encourage them to believe that ‘we’ can. 

     These ideas have worked for many good communicators. It is my hope they may help you the next time you need to have productive dialogue where in the past you have had only frustration or hard feelings.            

·        

PEACE

 This is my Christmas message, of sorts, for 2020.  I give these thoughts to you because I am convinced that the Lord Jesus Christ, whose birthday we commemorate, wants to bless those who “bringeth good tidings (news), that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation” (Isaiah 52:7;).

We are all familiar with the Christmas story recorded in the Bible, from Luke, chapter 2, where an angel from the Lord appeared to some faithful shepherds who were watching over their sheep in the fields below Bethlehem and declared the birth, that day, of the Savior of the world. Accompanying this angel were “a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying . . . peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). 

In years past, I sometimes received Christmas cards sent by Christian friends that had the word ‘Peace,’ alone with no punctuation mark following, on the outside of the card. The inside of the card was left blank for the sender’s message. I wondered, Is my friend sending a proclamation, or a declaration, or a question . . . or a plea?;  an exclamation mark, a period, or a question mark, or a sigh?  Too often all I got was a variation of the message, “happy holidays.”  Thank you, but it missed the point. 

As this year 2020 drags to an end, for many who have had their life altered by the outfall of the recent pandemic there has been no peace—only uncertainty, anxiety, disruption, unemployment, confusion, and discouragement.  Add to that the ‘social noise’ of divisive politics by those elected to represent us, name-calling and accusations, riots in the streets, and many other self-and-society-fragmenting influences in the media and in a morally bankrupt ‘entertainment’ industry.

Peace?

What then did the angels mean?  What did they not mean?

Let me begin with what “peace” means.  I like the definition given by the ancient historian Sextus Empiricus: “an untroubled and tranquil condition of the soul; the hope of attaining quietude.” This is the opposite of what many this year have experienced. 

Although great minds have contemplated international peace, interpersonal peace, and innerpersonal peace, all that most of mankind has known is conflict.  Though strife and disquietude has been the lot of most, God, our Heavenly Father, has provided men with the means whereby they could know peace if they would—but they would not; they wanted it “my way,” as Frank Sinatra sang with existential angst, and that the modern world has bought into.  The humanistic mind has rejected God and looked forward to ‘X-mas.’ Man does not live by ‘X-mas’ presents alone.  But he can live by Christmas: God the Father’s gift to us, of Christ, who is the man of peace incarnate. 

No, it cannot come, “my way,” Mr. Sinatra (an interesting name). 

And so, God, by contrast, has provided us with a comforter, a redeemer, a message and His  plan of peace and salvation, but which could come only by His way, and His way was through Christ, whose birth we celebrate but whose mission many really do not contemplate.  One cannot really celebrate Christmas without celebrating Christ.  Genuine peace was and is inextricably dependent upon Him. 

So how do we get it?

“Learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace [meaning internal peace] in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:23).

Isaiah called this child who was born a little over 2000 years ago, “The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).  In fact, when He comes again He will not only be the Prince [promise] of Peace, but will be the “God of the whole earth . . . " (Isaiah 54:5), and Lord of Lords. 

John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way before the Lord, said He [the Lord] would “. . . give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:79).

In the last discourses the mortal Lord gave to His apostles, Jesus said: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you . . . “ John 14:27).   

As He concluded these discourses, the Lord declared: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might [I desire for you to] have peace . . . [although] in the world ye shall have tribulation. . .” (John 16:33).  The angels at Christ’s birth did not mean a peaceful world, though that would be most desirable and will one day come.  But for now, and for the past 6,000 years it has been a fallen world though soon that will end. 

The apostle Paul said, “In Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off [gave little thought to] are made nigh [near] by the blood of Christ [through His atonement by which He ransomed us]. For He is our peace. . . and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us” (Ephesians 2:13-20).  Just as God is love, so His beloved Son is peace.

Paul also said, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). 

The angels, at His birth annunciation, therefore meant Peace is Christ. 

Is not Peace, not only in this world but in the world to come, one of God’s greatest gifts to us? 

It—He—surely is.