The Pathkeeper

Who writes this stuff? A guy writes this stuff.

A guy who:

  • Definitely is feeling his age
  • Is a Baby Boomer
  • Seeks—apparently—to indulge himself and inflict himself upon others

I am a Southerner—a Tar Heel by birth. I write for a living, when I can make a living from writing. I have never been overly fond of large cities, although I thoroughly enjoyed my times and experiences in London, Madrid, Cadiz, Cordoba, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, San Fransisco, Rome, Naples, Munich, Istanbul, Ankara, Raleigh, Baltimore, Washington DC, Richmond, Charlotte, and Atlanta. (The order of this list is completely arbitrary, by the way.)

Path Keeping

Someone wrote or spoke a line that we hear often these days: “The unevaluated life is a wasted life.” I don’t know if anyone really goes through life without ever conducting a personal review, or evaluation. I think it’s important to review and evaluate the whys and the wherefores as well as the hows of life.

As I age, I find myself more rooted in my expressed beliefs but… I’m not unable to change my beliefs, either. As I learn more about something, as circumstances change, I like to think I am flexible.

For instance, I remember a time when I thought that $0.50 per gallon of gasoline was an outrage. Today, I’d eagerly embrace that price.

Politics

I might as well give you some inkling of my political orientation. I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I would write that I’m an Independent, but that’s apparently a recognized political party somewhere, so I have to write that I am an independent. In the world of politics, I’m “non-partied.”

Much to the disgust of some I know, I’ve voted for Republicans and I’ve voted for Democrats. Often, I vote for Republicans and Democrats on the same ballot, but never for the same office. I’ve never voted often in a single election cycle; I always cast one ballot per election. I apologize for no vote I have cast.

Except, perhaps, for the one time I voted for Jimmy Carter.

Liberal or Conservative?

Both. I would apologize to those who cast their eyes to the sky and mutter about fence-sitters, but I really don’t care. I have beliefs and am willing to discuss and debate them. Whether some tag my beliefs as conservative or liberal is of no matter to me.

I believe that women and men should receive equal pay for equal work. However, I think that we should all be paid based on our worth; what we bring and contribute to the enterprise. No one should receive lesser pay based upon gender.

I have not been the victim of reverse-discrimination, to my knowledge. I have, however, seen and lived in a world that accommodated segregation. I will not go back to days when bathrooms are segregated by race. I am, however, in favor of bathrooms that are segregated by gender. So, some might say that I’m in favor of segregation.

I do think that government is intrusive to an uncomfortable degree. I agree with the cliché that the best government is the least, or most local, government. However, I don’t cry about states’s rights. I don’t believe we should return to Jefferson’s democratic ideal—an agrarian society. Farming is needed, necessary, and honorable. I am not, however, a farmer. I would be completely lost if I had to farm. Especially at my age.

I work within the information technology arena and am aware, uncomfortably so, of its implications. And, there are serious issues with information technology. Will there ever be a day when we create, much to our dismay, software that becomes self-aware and seeks to destroy us? I don’t know, but the implications are there.

Religion

Okay, I’ll touch on this, too. I am a known, non-card-carrying Lutheran. I was raised in a Lutheran Church in America congregation in Georgia. I was baptized a Christian and confirmed as a Lutheran. I study Luther and his writings, as well as other canon of the church. I sometimes wonder what the current incarnation of my church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is for and about, but I suppose many others do, too. Including the bishops.

(I don’t yet understand why Lutheran pastors who are elected to lead synods are now called bishops. But, it isn’t a matter that really concerns me, either.)

I am not a theologian. Perhaps some of my beliefs stray from whatever may be, if anything may be, called official ELCA doctrine. I do not believe I am guilty of heresy, but I may be convinced of it through debate.

I don’t care about assigning guilt. According to Martin, not one of us is certain of our status before God, so we may all be condemned or saved. I do believe that salvation is dependent upon faith, and faith alone. I also believe that faith informs, or motivates, actions.

I know I’m not God and don’t presume to speak for Him. I don’t understand others who claim this for themselves. And, I don’t know if God has gender; so I use the traditional pronoun without hesitation or the presumption that its use implies any ranking or superiority between genders.

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