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I am officially a "publised author"...well...if you consider getting a letter to the editor published anyway :)
This is my letter to the editor that I wrote in March of 2004. It was published on March 6, 2004.
Letters to the editor
Saturday, March 06, 2004
Civil rights differ for gays
I would like to clarify a point made by Commissioner Lisa Naito. She said that same-sex
marriage is "a matter of civil rights" ("County will license gay nuptials," March 3).
I fear that too many people, like Naito, confuse human rights with civil rights.
Gays have the same human rights as everyone else in America, but their civil rights are different. Human rights are granted
to them for being human beings; civil rights are granted (and may be revoked) depending on the laws of the country/state they
live in.
I challenge Naito, or anyone else, to show where the Constitution states that two men or two women have civil rights, protected
by law, to get married.
Instead, as Commissioner Lonnie Roberts pointed out, this matter was rushed into. It wasn't discussed [in public]. Since
when do the minority opinions get to change laws haphazardly? Outrageous!
-- BRYAN DEHLER Southwest Portland
the following is an email I received from my sister-in-law, Kami, who lives
just north of New Orleans in Covington, LA
Rebuild New Orleans?
A letter to the Franciscans and the Catholic Church:
The recent devastation in Louisiana,
the suffering, and the hope for a brighter future has inspired the following thoughts. All of us are witnessing and
living with great loss, viewing extreme poverty and extreme needs first hand, overwhelmed by the needs, yet, wishing that
each one of us could make a difference
Recently I have volunteered services at a local Shelter and realized even deeper
the needs and the love that the very poor have for their home of Louisiana. Opportunites seem to abound for a bus to
some other place, some other state, yet they continue to stay and to grieve for their homes. The only place they have
known, and they yearn with all of their hearts and souls to return.
I myself am a transport to Louisiana. A
born and raised Oregonian girl who sought a place with broader pro-life values, a Catholic culture and great Southern hospitality.
I myself, have grown to love this place and the people in it. I have only been here two years, and can only begin to
understand the pain of being forced to leave your home, first by a hurricane and then by everyone else.
I was struck
by the so many wonderful people that were interviewed on the news, “Who joyfully stated, “There’s my house
in ruins behind me, but the Lord is directing my path, He is in charge of my life, and here I stand.” Such great
faith in this city of New Orleans and this state of Louisiana.
I realized soon after Katrina that whether you were
directly hit by Katrina or not, you in some way were still hit by Katrina. This rang true for my family when suddenly
the home that we had felt safe from the storm and protected in, the home that trees fell all around but did not touch, the
home we had rented for the past two years became a not so viable financial option for our family, the office where I
had worked suddenly came up for sale and our brother, his wife and our godchild who were our only family in New Orleans moved
back to Oregon.
With thoughts stirring of whether or not we belonged here, the overwhelming despair of a city demolished
and how else this storm would change our lives, I was inspired by this reading at a mass on the recent feast of Padre Pio....
A reading from the Book of the Prophet Haggai
Who is left among you that saw this house in it’s former
glory? And how do you see it now? Does it seem like nothing in your eyes? Take courage all you people of
the land, says the Lord, and work! For I am with you, says the Lord of hosts. This is the pact I made with you
when you came out of Egypt, and my spirit continues in our midst, do not fear! For thus says the Lord of hosts:
One moment yet, a little while, and I will shake the heavens and earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all the
nations, and the treasurers of all the nations will come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts.
Mine is the silver and mine the gold says the Lord of hosts. Greater will be the future glory of this house than the
former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give you peace.
I was inspired by a recent news story
of an elderly woman who lived with her granddaugher. They were completely devastated by Hurricane Hugo. A traveling
Christian group showed up and helped her to clean up and rebuild. They showed her Christ by their good works and faith.
Through this experience the woman and her granddaugher returned to their faith and relationship with Christ.
Local
protestant Churches are full of volunteers who are helping people on the Northshore clean up their yards, fallen trees etc.
While recently at a prayer meeting with the Fransciscans the comment was made that Catholics don’t seem to have as much
of an organized group for relief efforts like our Protestant brothers and sisters? I know at my local Church the youth
group became involved with local cleanup efforts. I know that each Catholic Church tries to meet the needs of it’s
congregation. But what about an organized effort to help the poor and those who would like to rebuild their city?
Father
Tom when talking with the children in mass at St. Peter’s in Covington said that it was a good thing to desire to rebuild
New Orleans, and even to build it bigger and better, but in our desire to do this we cannot forget the poor and their place
in New Orleans or we would not be living the Gospels.
St. Francis was told rebuild the Church. He started his
efforts in the physical realm and began to rebuild the church at San Damiano. He then realized God was calling him to
something greater, the rebuilding of his spiritual Church. This could be an opportune time to follow his example.
Our Church is in desperate need of renewal which starts in the hearts of the people. We can follow Francis by our charity
to the poor of our city and rebuild hearts to the Catholic Faith.
The name “Katrina” means cleanse or
purification. Even the city workers commented that maybe God was cleansing our city. The city of New Orleans was
founded on Catholic roots. On April 9th 1683 Robert Cavelier de la Salle planted the cross on Louisiana soil and erected
a plaque with the French Fleur-de-lis. He claimed the lower Mississippi Valley in the name of God and the French King,
and baptized the colony “Louisiane” in honor of Louis XIV. St. Louis of France - The Patron Saint of the
Third order of Fransciscans. The cross and the fleur-de-lis symbolized the twin authorities that governed and developed
the colony. They formed two intertwined ideals that sometimes worked well together and sometimes clashed. Much
of the early history of Louisiana Catholicism is the story of the interplay between the men and women who represented the
cross and the crown.
I am not educated in the Politics of New Orleans, nor the governance. We do not yet have
all the answers as to the new statutes, guidelines, etc. of how the city will be rebuilt. However, we do know that we
cannot neglect and run out the poor and this will be the job of those who represent the cross!
This week in scripture
we read all about the destruction of Jerusulem and all about how God will rebuild it as a dwelling place for his people.
A
reading from the prophet Zechariah, Thus says the Lord: I will return to Zion, and I will dwell within Jerusalem;
Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. Thus says the
Lord of hosts; Old men and old women, each with a staff in hand because of old age, shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem.
The city shall be filled with boys and girls playing in it’s streets. Thus says the Lord of hosts; Even if this
should seem impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people, shall it in those days be impossible in my eyes also, says
the Lord of hosts? Thus says the Lord of hosts; Lo, I will rescue my people from the land of the rising sun, and
from the land of the setting sun. I will bring them back to dwell within Jerusalem. They shall be my people, and
I will be their God, with faithfulness and justice.
Imagine God speaking to His people of New Orleans. “Old
men and old women shall again sit on the porches of New Orleans. The city shall be filled with boys and girls playing
in it’s streets. Even if this should seem impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people, shall it in those
days be impossible in my eyes?” I will bring them back to dwell in New Orleans. They shall be my people,
and I will be their God, with faithfulness and justice.
A reading from the book of Nehemiah:
In the month
Nisan of the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when the wine was in my charge, I took some and offered it to the King.
As I had never before been sad in his presence, the king asked me, “Why do you look sad? If you are not sick,
you must be sad of heart.” Though I was seized with great fear, I answered the King; “May the king
live forever! How could I not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins. The king asked me,
“What is it, then, that you wish?” I prayed to the God of heaven and then answered the king; “If it
please the king, and if your servant is deserving of your favor, send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors’ graves,
to rebuild it” Then the king, and the queen seated beside him, asked me how long my journey would take and when
I would return. I set a date that was acceptable to him, and the king agreed that I might go. I asked the king
further; “If it please the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of West-of-Euphrates, that they
may afford me safe conduct till I arrive in Judah; also a letter for Asaph, the keeper of the royal park, that he may give
me wood for timbering the gates of the temple-citadel and for the city wall and the house that I shall occupy.”
The king granted my requests, for the favoring hand of my God was upon me.
A local Catholic school principle once
remarked, “Everyone in New Orleans is Catholic”, if New Orleanians are not Catholic , they are in a sense Catholic
with a little ‘c’ “. Regardless of who you are you live in a parish, not a county; you stroll St.
Peter, St Ann, St. Joseph and St. Philip Streets, your neighboring parishes are St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John, St. James,
Ascension and Assumption; you eat fish on Friday and give up something for Lent, you enjoy All Saints’ Day as a holiday
and perhaps visit the family tomb at a local cemetary because it is the eve of All Souls Day. Even Carnival festivities
begin on the feast of the Epiphany and end on Mardi Gras, the eve of Ash Wednesday. Catholic names, feasts and traditions
are simply part of life in New Orleans and South Louisiana. We must rebuild a city rich in this Catholic heritage and
tradition and we must live out the Christian charity of the Gospels.
Just Some Thoughts I Call My Own...
I've come up with a few ideas for books recently...I think the one I want to pursue would have to be a book I would like
to title "In Case You Need an Excuse to Hate Us." It sounds like a harsh name, but what I'd like to do is publish a
book with various points as to why Second and Third World countries might hate Americans (in general). Don't get me
wrong, I don't WANT them to hate us or further infuriate them. Instead, the book would be intended for us Americans
to read in order to reconsider the sorts of actions we take.
For instance:
- The typical American spending more on a cup of coffee in one day than would take to feed a third world family for a week.
- The amount of money wasted on luxury items and expensive clothing/jewelry. Imagine living in a third world country,
barely able to survive on your own...meanwhile you hear stories about Americans spending thousands upon thousands of dollars
on engagement rings, luxury vehicles, etc
- People spending FAR too much on their pets. Some animals that have appeared in movies are treated like royalty
- treated better than the average American even!
- I think this comic strip, although I thought it was very funny, says it all about the American way of thinking...
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| Adam @ Home by Brian Basset (c) 2004 Universal Press Syndicate |
- Spending $50,000 to clone your freakin' house cat...need I say more? Do I even need to mention the thousands of
children that could have been helped in third world countries with that $50k? Hell, what about the thousands of orphan
cats already alive that could have been helped with it?
- The show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" - need I say more? Oh I suppose I do..."Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire."
Not to mention, "Who's Your Daddy?" Seriously...some of these tv executives need psychiatric help...
- Three words "The Simple Life." Most absurdly stupidest people you've ever heard of -- you can only hope that their
stupidity and (lack of) work ethic is staged.
Another book idea...
Another book I had an idea for was in regards to abortion. It's obviously a very sensitive subject for
many/most people so I would have to work on that project very carefully as well. What I would like to do, though, would
be to speak to those who have had or are thinking of having an abortion. Kind of a "this is the truth about abortion"
type book. Now of course if someone finds nothing wrong with abortion or heavily supports it, they're most likely not
going to read my book. But those who are on the fence about it or are debating whether to have one hopefully would be.
The book wouldn't be anything like a "you're going to hell" or "God doesn't like you if you do this" sort
of thing. Instead, I would have testimonials from actual women who have had abortions. The purpose of the book
would be to give a voice to those women who regret their decision. Who, for whatever reason, decided to have an abortion
and wanted to inform others of their regret so as to prevent anyone else from making, quite debatably, the biggest mistake
of their lives. I would also, of course, include information for pregnant women to go to for help through their pregnancy
and after their pregnancy. For those who have had abortions and regret it, I will have some resources listed for them
as well to help cope with the decision they made.
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