Vote NO on Tuesday
People who move into the Bible Belt find it a little peculiar when they discover that there are places in this country that do not sell alcohol. Growing up in Central and Eastern Kentucky it was just a part of life. When Georgetown first went wet in order to attract restaurants I was in favor because I don’t have a problem with alcohol consumption, and actually enjoy a good beer or glass of wine with my meal.
However, I do not believe that allowing packaged sales is a good thing for three reasons that mostly pertain to the poor.
1. Vote NO because it’s cheaper than going into a restaurant and buying it. Now this may seem like an oxymoron, but for low income folks this could be disastrous. I see the terrible impact of the pain killer epidemic in Georgetown every week. Providing the opportunity for them to walk to their gas station and buy alcohol will only introduce a new temptation to drown their problems instead of face them. Those who hold a job, and are productive members of our community can afford the inconvenience.
2. Vote NO because it’s more convenient. Once again this may seem oxymoronic, but the fact that people now have to put gas in their car in order to go to the liquor store places a hurdle that many need to have in order to help them make the right choice between saving money for their rent or buying a 12-pack of beer. Those who hold a job, and are productive members of our community can afford the inconvenience.
3. Vote NO because it may increase the burden that we as a community already have by increasing the jobless and homeless and by increasing the need for alcohol related counseling. Sure we are a damp county already (alcohol in restaurants), and that need existed even when we were dry, but the need is likely to increase far beyond our capacity to deal with it as a community if we go Wet. This is not something even a productive member of our community can afford.
The “No” proponents warned that once Scott County went damp the “Yes” proponents wouldn’t stop with restaurants. In many cases being damp may have caused us to grow numb to the negative influence that alcohol availability can have in a community. I would encourage everyone who reads this to be content with our current alcohol policy, and be a little different than the rest of the world.
Vote No on July 31st.
When a husband dies…in Uganda.
While red tape in America can often seem overwhelming it is far better than red tape covered by layers upon layers of corruption. Imagine being a mother of five young children and losing your husband. Now imagine that situation and then enduring Grace’s situation
The Temptation of Procrastination
People were created in the image of the Creator-God which should mean that people are therefore creative and are creators, but because of sin we have a resistance to creativity that is called the temptation of procrastination. When we fall into it we become consumers rather than creators, and it can become a viscous cycle of time wasting activity.
I read this two years ago and bookmarked it. After preaching on temptation and bringing up how social media can be a pretty big one I thought it might be a good time to share with you guys in case you don’t follow Seth Godin or may have missed his post. Note that the lizard brain refers to the part of us that is reactive and will remain in control unless we engage the other higher orders of thinking.
Seth’s Blog: Modern procrastination
Modern procrastination
The lizard brain adores a deadline that slips, an item that doesn’t ship and most of all, busywork.
These represent safety, because if you don’t challenge the status quo, you can’t be made fun of, can’t fail, can’t be laughed at. And so the resistance looks for ways to appear busy while not actually doing anything.
I’d like to posit that for idea workers, misusing Twitter, Facebook and various forms of digital networking are the ultimate expression of procrastination. You can be busy, very busy, forever. The more you do, the longer the queue gets. The bigger your circle, the more connections are available.
Laziness in a white collar job has nothing to do with avoiding hard physical labor. “Who wants to help me move this box!” Instead, it has to do with avoiding difficult (and apparently risky) intellectual labor.
“Honey, how was your day?”
“Oh, I was busy, incredibly busy.”
“I get that you were busy. But did you do anything important?”
Busy does not equal important. Measured doesn’t mean mattered.
When the resistance pushes you to do the quick reaction, the instant message, the ‘ping-are-you-still-there’, perhaps it pays to push in precisely the opposite direction. Perhaps it’s time for the blank sheet of paper, the cancellation of a long-time money loser, the difficult conversation, the creative breakthrough…
Or you could check your email.
I would encourage you to engage in a social media, texting, cell phone abandoning, fast and then try to create something with your time. What might you make?