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Friday, November 14, 2008

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 01:57:12 GMT

Dryden Isaiah Osborne - Photo Album
Born at 3:56 am Nov 8, 2008. He weighs 8 lbs 8 oz, and is 21.25 inches long! Also, Mom is plenty healthy.

I love him so much.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:52:49 GMT

Why Greg Voted Demorcrat
Even as I type the above title, I am still asking myself that question. I was raised by conservatives in a Southern Baptist church. I voted for GWB twice and am glad I did, I was sad when Clinton was elected both times. How did I choose a man with the most liberal voting record in the senate over a man who I have wanted to be president since I was 18 years old (No joke, I was sad when Bush won the 2000 Republican nomination).

Before I go on, I will say that I was incredibly torn through the campaign. This weekend I listened to every presidential debate. Something I've never done before. It was a very difficult decision for me, and I am still unsure if I made the right one.

Also, this post is incendiary. I don't want any members of my family or friends to think that I look down on or dislike them based on their views / vote. I really don't. You are entitled to your opinion as I am entitled to mine. I simply share.

The bottom line is I voted Democrat more as a vote against the Republican party than as a vote for Democrats. I understand that there is a huge risk that Obama may not keep his moderate stance he has portrayed during his campaign. But the Republicans have done some things that I disagree with a lot, and I wanted to vote against them.

I am tired of Republicans using morals that they do not hold to gain votes.

Since Roe V Wade in 1973 there have been 2 Democratic presidents in office (12 years) and 5 Republicans (24 years) and nothing has been accomplished. Call me cynical, but I don't think it is realistic to think that abortion will ever end in this country on a legal level. I don't think the decision will be overturned, ever, and therefore I don't think it should be our goal as Christians.

I do not support Roe V Wade, I think it is tragic that it ever became law. As a man with a 9 month pregnant wife, I think it is absolutely sick that she could decide to terminate the pregnancy. Kill our son. I firmly believe our son is a human, and that aborting him at any stage along the way is nothing short of murder. However, I don't think the law is going away.

But I also believe we have put our confidence in evil politicians. Instead of abortion being something Republicans are actively fighting against, it is something Republicans use to twist the consciences of voters, making them feel a moral obligation to vote Republican, and by doing so giving Republicans the ability to push the issues that they really care about and do actively push. Republican voters base their vote on a candidates 'belief' about abortion even though the candidate has no intension changing anything about it, and instead they push tax cuts for the wealthy, less social programs to help families in poverty, plundering of the environment and racist legislation against Mexicans. If you vote based on morals, don't you find this tactic immoral?

I've heard countless statements from people, "How can you vote for someone who supports abortion?" "Someone who supports abortion has no morals and is not fit to lead." They act as though there is only one issue that matters to the presidency, even though that same issue has not had any progress.

It has become the ultimate Republican political football. For that reason alone I bet they don't ever want it to go away, because people vote based on it.

What do I propose we do rather than putting our faith in politicians? Put our faith in God, asking him to end abortion (and I do pray about it). Someday, I pray that the so many Planned Parenthood clinics go bankrupt and close. Then if it ever changes in the lawbooks, it doesn't make much difference. As the church, we need to be the social program that helps pregnant mothers rather than condemning them.

These views line up better with the Democrats. Barack Obama put in his platform, for the first time ever for a democratic candidate, to produce legislation to help out single moms and lower the number of abortions. There is no such proposal on the McCain ticket. All he offers is more of the same failed tactics. I firmly believe that there will be less abortions over the next four years under Obama than there would have been under McCain. Isn't that the point of it all? Saving lives? Of course, this will only happen if Obama lives up to his promise on this issue, which as I mentioned earlier, is a risk.

The other current political football is gay marriage. Even though both candidates have the exact same stance on this issue, some friends and family members of mine seem to think Democrats are pushing it. I personally don't think American marriage will crumble if Civil Unions become a reality. I don't think it's an issue worth basing your vote on.

So there I was. I wasn't going to base my vote over one party's supposed support for moral issues. That idea was gone and I don't want to base my vote on that ever again. I was left with the issues that really matter to the presidency. Things the president will actually do in office. I literally made a chart of issues important to me and I found I agreed with Obama on more issues. I'll briefly describe them hear on order of importance to me.

1. National Defense

This has always been the most important issue to me. I firmly believe that if John Kerry were elected 4 years ago, Iraq would be in chaos rather than the dramatic improvement we have seen. Both candidates have similar stances on Iraq, I don't think either will make a decision that will cause the country to plunge back into chaos. Obama seems to be serious about increasing efforts in Afghanistan which will be good. The only big difference is Obama wants to talk to our enemies without preconditions, McCain doesn't. I think sitting down with our enemies a worthwhile tactic to try in these times.

But all said and done, I would be happy with either candidate on this issue.

2. The Economy

Aside from the fact that Civil Engineers will see more money in our business if Obama's infrastructure plan goes into effect, I had to say that I agreed with Obama more on how to steer the economy. I don't think the deregulation, let the market go idea McCain promotes is going to help. Exec's have gotten to greedy this decade, it's time for more regulation.

However Mr. Obama does have a stance that I strongly disagree with, free trade. I think the idea that we have to export as many Ford automobiles as we import cars from the many many countries that make wonderful cars is downright insane. I don't care how many jobs we lose because our cars are not as good as other countries cars. Car companies in America need to make better cars, or close their factories, and those who are laid off need to find other jobs. That's just the nature of business, it has been for thousands of years.

But still, I would rather have Obama on this issue.

3. Taxes

The idea that we need to increase government spending and not tax enough to pay for it is nuts. Just is. Also, the idea that the wealthy need all the tax breaks that they can get (as if they don't have enough?) and that wealth will just 'trickle down' is also nuts. So it's Obama on this one.

4. Health Care

As an uninsured American with a wife on Medicaid, this was somewhat important to me. Did you know that I am denied health care from all providers just because I am married to a pregnant woman? I am perfectly healthy, but my status as an expected parent forces me to be uninsured. I came back from charity service overseas with Stephanie pregnant and was shocked at this discovery. McCain won't do anything to fix this, so it's Obama again.

5. Experience

This was the toughest one for me. McCain has a stellar record of service, reaching across the aisle, going against his party on numerous occasions. But unfortunately for him, he seemed to forget all that during his presidential campaign. He changed many of his stances to appear more conservative to voters instead of staying where he was as one of the most moderate politicians in Washington. This frankly, made me feel betrayed. Sarah Palin anyone? When this election started, both Stephanie and I were pumped that McCain won the republican nomination, and we intended to vote for him over the far liberal Obama. The way John McCain ran his campaign changed that. He aligned many of his popular 'maverick' stances with the Republican party, and both Steph and I felt that it was a sign that he would carry this practice into his presidency.

So it was very sad that I had to say that even though McCain's record was good, he betrayed his values this year, causing me to say, either candidate on this issue.

So off to the ballet box

So when I weighed it all, it was obvious that I should vote for Obama. Yeah he's a risk, but he is far more aligned with my values than John McCain. It was with a very heavy heart that I left John McCain's bubble uncolored. I hesitated a bit before I colored in Barack Obama's. But I am glad I did it.

I'm not so delusional as to refer to myself as a 'moderate'. We live in a polar political system. We get two choices. You are either one or the other, blue or red, donkey or elephant. So that's how I became a democrat, and I would be proud of my decision even if John McCain were elected.

Let's all hope that Obama does a good job.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:35:02 GMT

Egypt - Part 8 - So What Now?
As I’ve explained in a couple of a thousand words, God led me from thinking of Muslims of the Middle East as people I could never understand or bond with to people I can easily relate to and bond with. God has now given me a heart for the Muslim people.

So what does that mean for me and my family? Stephanie wants to go to grad school so we can’t exactly ship ourselves overseas at this time. So what does this mean for us as American Christians?

Well, I don’t have much of a practical answer right now. But I do know this, there are Muslims who need Christ right here in Colorado Springs just like in Egypt. Maybe God will use me to minister to them? Or maybe God has given me this new heart and perspective to pray for Muslims around the world.

At this point I don’t know, but I’ll pray about it.

Next, I'll start my transcript of a Muslim Born woman telling her story about how she came to Christ.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:54:44 GMT

Egypt - Part 7 - A Surprising Empathy
Morals

For this last one, what surprised me was not something I learned. Instead, I was surprised by how well I can relate to muslim culture.

I grew up in a Southern Baptist Church with black and white morals. The concept of morality has never been difficult for me. I’ve always believed in right and wrong. It’s so engrained in me that I have difficulty empathizing with moral relativists I know.

There is no question that Muslims have a strong sense of morality. The Koran is full of moral law. Now I certainly don’t agree with all of the morals they have, but I can empathize with them easily based on the fact that they have morals.

A strong part of my testimony is when I realized that Christianity is more than a set of rights and wrongs. The Bible has a list of rights and wrongs that no human has any hope of following their entire life. But God stepped in, became a man and paid our price for our sin. Christianity is about accepting God’s grace more than it is about rights and wrongs.

It is this lesson that both Muslims as a culture, and I as a person need to learn. That we need to lay down our own struggles to obey every rule and accept God’s grace through his son Jesus. I can easily empathize with someone who is trying to live up to a moral code and has difficulty doing so. I have the same story.

This revelation shocked me more than anything else.

p.s.
I know moral relativists have their own code of morals. I just don’t identify with their set of morals as well as I can with the mindset of Muslims. At least that’s what I get from first impressions of Muslim culture.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:39:14 GMT

Egypt - Part 6c - Censored from Supporter Blog
These entries were deemed to racy for the supporter blog.

PDA

When I say PDA, you immediately think about a couple making out in public. This idea does not stem from the term public display of affection as much as our cultural perception of acceptable physical affection in public. Holding hands is a sign of affection, and if done in public, therefore it’s PDA.

Any form of PDA is taboo in Ugandan culture. I never saw a couple holding hands once the entire time I was there. Of course Steph and I didn’t hold hands while there to be respectful of the local customs, but this made me very sad, because I like holding her hand.

In Egypt, I saw several young couples holding hands or locking arms, which made me very happy. I just like to see people open about the love they have for each other in public. It’s happy.

Later I learned that this practice is a product of the rebellious youth culture. The older generation does not find it acceptable, but it is widely practiced with the new generation, which raises an interesting question for westerners. If it’s acceptable for young Egyptians, is it acceptable for young foreigners, or should foreigners adopt the more rigid traditions of the older generation?

I don’t have a good answer to that.

Anyway, it was nice to see people holding hands.

Orderly Stores

Shops had organized shelves, rather than appearing as a packrat’s garage which is what I became used to in Uganda.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:23:18 GMT

Egypt - Part 6 - Casual Mosque-goers
Nominal Muslims / Radical Muslims

I knew that there would be cultural Muslims just like there are cultural Christians, but seeing that acted out was an experience.

Radical Muslim men are very easy to spot, that is they all have a spot at the top of their forehead. Due to praying so often at the mosque, the top of their forehead develops a visible callous. It’s obvious that there are those who have this callous, and those who don’t.

All the Muslims there are Muslim in some sense. Most people practice fasting for Ramadan. It’s more in the life altering realm that people start to ease off traditional Islam. Not everyone goes to prayer five times a day is a good example. But the best example is probably...

Western Influenced Fashion

It was interesting to see what practices became part of the culture so much so that the meaning is lost. The most visual example of this was the way the young Egyptian women dressed. Most women, wore a head cover. Some wore the full burka revealing nothing but there eyes, others wore just the head cover exposing their face. I saw many examples of young Egyptian women wearing a head cover, but their clothes were western, and even skin tight. Though the laws of Islam were obeyed, they were covered from the top of the neck down to their wrists and toes. Some women even had gloves on. But the clothing styles were obviously western.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:43:08 GMT

Egypt - Part 5 - Standards and Holidays
A Happy Religious Holiday

Islam is known for being a strict religion with a very long list of solemn rituals. This side of Islam is visible everywhere in Egypt. Several times a day I would hear the words "Come to Prayer! Allah is Great" chanted in Arabic over the megaphone. More than once we had to cross the road to avoid a mosque whose attendance was so high people started lining up to pray along the side walk.

But there was a much less formal and even happy side of Islam that I got to see in Egypt, Ramadan, which operated similarly to Christmas in many ways. There were traditional Ramadan decorations all over the city. Streamers were zig zaged between high rise apartment buildings. Christmas lights (though I doubt they were called that) are also strung along windows. Fanoos (Arabic for lantern) were hung outside of shops and homes that were beautifully decorated. If you look, the one in this picture has certain familiar arches on it.

There was an atmosphere of happiness and goodwill. My favorite example of this took place while I was purchasing a bookmark for Stephanie with her name written in Hieroglyphics. I joked with the woman writing her name saying, "How do I know this says Stephanie. I mean, you could write "Your wife is ugly" and tell me that it said Stephanie and I wouldn’t have any way to know the difference."

Her response was simply, "Oh, but you must trust us. We would not do that to you during Ramadan, so you can trust us."

Of course it’s still true, that this lovely bookmark may say "Your wife is ugly."

Also, many people told me that during Ramadan, people get a lot more time off to spend at home, and not as much gets done. This also has to do with the fact that they don’t eat from sun up to sun down, so they are sleepy during the day. The soap operas on TV tend to be more engaging during Ramadan because they know people will be relaxing at home.

It was just neat to see that a religion so foreign to me, yet it developed a religious holiday time similar to Christmas.

Note: Yes I know that the reasons we celebrate Christmas are different then the reasons Muslims celebrate Ramadan. But you cannot deny that a large bulk of what we associate with Christmas is cultural tradition, and not religion.

Engineering Standards

In the third world, there are often no building standards. Often, all that is needed is approval from a city official, which of course can easily breed corruption.

This was not the case in Egypt at all. Even though the building codes were probably not as strict or extensive as exist in the USA, they still exist. That’s important.

Fanoos shaped decorations

Streamers between Apartments

An Egyptian Market

Some old buildings

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:58:12 GMT

Egypt - Part 4 – Smiles and Esplanades
Before I go into the specifics about what surprised me, I want to point out that most of my observations come not as an American, but as an American who has lived in East Africa for a year. Since Egyptian culture has more in common with Uganda than with America, I found myself making Egypt vs. Uganda comparisons rather than Egypt vs. America.

A Friendly Atmosphere

As is customary in America, I didn’t say anything as another person entered the elevator. But to my surprise, the man asked my name and then offered me a cookie. This was one of many instances where I experienced the friendly and social culture in Egypt first hand. The Egyptians I came in contact with, which were a mixture of Muslims and Christians, were quick to smile, laugh and help the silly foreigner. It surprised me a lot.

People were not shy about showing the Americans new things. One man was not shy about asking me for a light. Another encouraged me to get a video of him blowing beans into the mouths of pigeons he was selling, though I never got an answer about why he was doing this.

One of my favorite memories from the trip was giving a very long list of food orders at McDonalds for my entire team with a Muslim woman. She was very kind and patient with my inability to speak Arabic and scribbled mess of a list. It included such items as a McArabia. It was just nice to admit my lack of Arabic skills while being accepted. I even joked with her.

Even though I didn’t belong to their culture, every Egyptian I met made me feel welcome and not just because of the tourist dollars I brought. Actually, I didn’t have any money the whole time until someone gave me five Egyptian pounds.

Divided Highways

Driving in developing nations can be a scary experience for westerners, and an even scarier experience for former Transportation Engineers. Nobody pays attention to the lane lines, honking is used to communicate such things as "hello" or "good job," and stop signs are no where to be found. In Egypt however, it was nice that all two way roads were divided. It took a lot of stress off my nerves.
I haven’t posted any picks yet, so I think I’ll just post five a day in no particular order.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:34:41 GMT

Egypt - Part 3 - The blinders come off
Ever read a story with a shocking truth revealed at the end of the story that causes you to replay previous moments of the story through your mind? Whether it’s the true allegiance of Severus Snape, Norman Bates mental health or Mr. Darcy’s social skills, the climactic revelations give the reader a new perspective on previous scenes, and he or she replays them through their mind looking for new information to support the revelation.

While in Egypt I felt like the main character of a story who had come to a climatic revelation about the world around him. I replayed numerous stories from my life with new perspective. Stories I didn’t even know I remembered.

The blinders had come off. I went from completely uninterested in all things regarding Middle Eastern culture to hungry for more information. Along with replaying latent memories in my mind, I started asking team members, who have studied Middle Eastern Culture extensively, tons of questions.

The answers to many of those questions, surprised me. Not because I found the answers strange, quite the opposite. I found many of the answers relatable, exciting, welcoming and even inviting. I realized that not only could I identify with the culture, I could enjoy being immersed in it.

Like I said, surprising.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:49:13 GMT

Egypt - Part 2 - Preconceptions
Be honest with yourself for a moment. What comes to mind when you think about Muslims? Not just Muslims, but Muslims in the Middle East?

Preconceptions are a great taboo in our culture. We would all like to believe we don’t have any preconceptions or prejudice, but I think if we are honest with ourselves we would recognize what rubbish that is.

Before I continue, I want to make clear that I am speaking about Muslims in the Middle East. I have numerous friends who are Muslim in America, a few from Bangladesh. My preconceptions of Muslims living in the Middle East never applied to them.

In the Blog entry I wrote prior to leaving, I stated:

"I really don't know much about [Muslims] besides what few Muslim friends I've made in America and what I see on the news which we all know are not an accurate representation of Muslims worldwide."

Right there, I state that I know I can’t use what I learned on the news to form an accurate understanding of a foreign culture. However, after my visit to Egypt, I realized that I had preconceptions anyway.

And they were smashed.

What I didn’t write about in my previous blog entry was how I didn’t expect to be changed. I was open to change, but I doubted it would occur. I thought I would return from Egypt with the same heart and opinions towards Muslim culture that I left with.

Before I left, I thought Middle Eastern Muslim culture was the ultimate antithesis to Western culture. I assumed there would be no way I could relate to such a foreign mentality and belief system.

Not only was my heart and mind changed during my time in Egypt, so was my desire. It scared me how one short week in the Middle East had such an impact on me.

In the same blog entry mentioned above, I asked this question:

"Is there something God wants to do in me during this trip that is connected to the location?"

The answer, was yes, and I’ll tell you why in the blog entries next week.