:: eric michael bryant ::

No matter which side of the aisle you are on, this has been and will continue to be an historic presidential campaign.

Barack Obama is the first African-American presidential nominee.
An article by Frank Sesno points out: “It has been 145 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, but in the span of a single lifetime much has changed. The military has been integrated. The schools have been desegregated. There was the King march and his assassination. There have been riots in the streets and breakthroughs in the ranks.”
Ironically, his nomination came exactly 40 years after Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated. Both were known voices for civil rights.  (By the way, Obama would also be considered our 14th Scot/Irish President).

Hillary Clinton was the first woman to get this close to becoming a presidential nominee.

John McCain is the oldest person to be nominated for president.
Now some have made fun of him for being older than Alaska, Snow White, and Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, but we live in a time when people are retiring later and living longer than ever.

Finally, the choice of a Vice Presidential candidate could be historic as well. McCain has been rumored to consider Bobby Jindal, the Indian-American governor of Louisiana and before that Condoleeza Rice, and Obama may choose Kathleen Sebelius, Governor of Kansas.

For a lighter side to this historic campaign, check out this clip from “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” which includes Abraham Lincoln’s response to Obama’s nomination.

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To those who have lost loved ones who were defending our country, to those injured by their service for our country, to those who are sacrificing time with their loved ones who are serving right now, and to those 500,000 active servicemen and servicewomen who are currently risking their lives for our country… thank you.

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“The best executive is the one who has the sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done and self restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” - Teddy Roosevelt

“Great things happen when you don’t care who gets the credit.” - Mark Twain

“It’s better to be hurt by someone you know accidentally than by a stranger on purpose.” - Dwight Schrute from The Office

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We had a hard decision last night: go to Caleb’s game (Tiny Rays vs the Tiny Rangers) or go to the Dodgers game.

We made the right decision as Caleb pitched well (1 strike out and 2 walks), and the Rays won their second game (now 2-6)! The highlight was when one of our newer players, Andrew, hit a grand slam. Andrew had never hit a ball in a game and only hit one ball in practice all year! Unfortunately, the Dodgers ended up losing in the 9th inning.

Today is Jackie Robinson Day in Major League Baseball! One of the best moments in Dodgers history was certainly the introduction of Jackie Robinson into the major leagues, the first African American player. The challenges he faced and endured paved the way to create a more integrated sports world and even more importantly a more integrated society.

Check out one of the most remarkable plays in sports history: Jackie Robinson Stealing Home Base Against Yogi Berra

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One of the most powerful moments at our Awaken event last week was the panel discussion hosted by Goodie Goodloe from our team at Mosaic and featuring Yvonne Latty. All of the African American panelists pointed towards the importance valuing the uniqueness of the individual and seeking to love and reach out to the outsider. At the same time, a prevailing theme seemed to be the power of redemption in the African American story in our nation.

I just happened to read an article a couple of days ago which seemed to be addressing the same theme. The title of the article:
‘Not the descendants of victims but victors’. The article tells the story of David A. Wilson, a 28 year old African American journalist who tracks down a man related to the family which enslaved his ancestors. The man’s name is David Wilson. David A. Wilson’s journey was captured on film as part of a documentary called Meeting David Wilson. Tonight, I watched this film.

This powerful story reminded me of the power of faith, the resilience of those who were enslaved as well as their descendents, the contribution of those who were enslaved to help create the world’s wealthiest nation, and the beauty of reconciliation. This dark time in our nation’s history is not glossed over as the two David Wilsons discuss reparations, the hypocrisy of Christians owning slaves, and what conversations they would have if they were able to travel back in time to talk with their ancestors who lived just three generations ago under very different circumstances.

One of the most powerful scenes for me was when the two David Wilsons have a family reunion with both of their families. It was beautiful! I couldn’t help but smile when I noticed the children from both families were breaking open a pinata.

I was reminded that stereotypes exist because friendships do not.

[Check out your level of prejudice here and read part one (of four) of an article on creating a diverse community].

A real poignant moment came as the two men sat on the porch and talked about their feelings and their hopes. After the scene ended a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. came across the screen which read:

“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.”

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Since I try to be a good husband, I watch American Idol with Debbie. It’s not my favorite show. Sometimes it is hard to watch, especially the ridiculous song and dance routines the contestants do together and the way-too-long results shows (although I did like when all the contestants sang “Shout to the Lord” but perhaps I am biased). Last night, I have to admit, Idol Gives Back was inspiring.

There are so many people with so many needs, and I love that we live in a world in which we can actually do something about it. Giving money is a tiny part of bringing help, but it can make a huge difference. It is like giving someone a boost onto the bottom rung of the ladder so they can keep climbing up.

Have you noticed how the attitude in our culture seems to be shifting? It used to be that certain churches, missionaries, and certain non-profits cared about the plight of the poor. Now even pop culture does! Sometimes the church has been slow, but other times there are followers of Christ who have paved the way.

We would be amazed with the amount of progress we can make if we began to serve those we deem untouchable. Just as slavery and colonialism have ended we can be a part of ending poverty.

In The End of Poverty, Jeffrey D. Sachs writes, “Our generation is heir to two and a half centuries of economic progress. We can realistically envision a world without extreme poverty by the year 2025 because technological progress enables us to meet basic human needs on a global scale and to achieve a margin above basic needs unprecedented in history…Let the future say of our generation that we sent forth mighty currents of hope, and that we worked together to heal the world.”

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I was interviewed near the end of the most recent Catalyst podcast which includes John Eldredge (episode 46). If you want to check it out, click here.

Whenever I work out (twice this week already - a new record!), I listen to the Catalyst podcast. Ken Coleman and Brad Lomenick do a great job on the interviews. This morning I listened to an older interview with Michael Flaherty from Walden Media, the film company which has brought us The Chronicles of Narnia, The Bridge to Terabithia, and other family films. In this interview he was promoting Amazing Grace, a film about abolitionist William Wilberforce and his pastor John Newton (the man who wrote the song “Amazing Grace”). I haven’t seen the film but would like to sometime soon.

We need more people like William Wilberforce, people willing to stand up to stop the spread of human trafficking today, a $32 billion industry which has trapped 27 million people around the world in slavery. To find out how to help go to Stop the Traffik, International Justice Mission, ServLife, and Nightlight.

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“The Adoration of the Name of Jesus” by El Greco (1578)

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I have been reminded that freedom isn’t free. I just spent the last 3 days as a potential juror before being released today. I was one person away from being an alternate juror. It was a very close call!

I have never served as part of a jury before. For some reason they don’t want me.

Now, I don’t want to sound ungrateful for those who are truly sacrificing and serving for our freedom - the military, police officers, firefighters, along with other civil servants. Serving for 3 days as a potential juror is nothing compared to what these brave men and women do on a daily basis.

Furthermore, I was merely inconvenienced compared to what the two men facing assault and gun charges may face. I hope and pray they receive a fair trial. If they are found guilty, my hope is that they would find help and rehabilitation rather than just punishment.

It dawned on me that I have been thinking and blogging alot about our justice system almost certainly as a subconscious result of this impending time with jury duty.

One final thought: I truly do appreciate our system. In some countries the judge is both the investigator and the decision-maker, and there is no opportunity to have your case heard before your peers. In addition, in some countries the accused has to prove his or her innocence rather than our assumption that the accused is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

With all of this said, there has got to be a better way to do this! At least 90% of those there were trying desperately to get out of this obligatory service. It took the attorneys 3 days to decide on a jury because the potential jurors were so anxious to leave. Some seemed to pretend not to understand the “big words” being used. Others claimed they were unable to consider the accused as innocent. One guy went so far as to acknowledge he was prejudiced - right in front of other jurors from the very same ethnic group as the accused! Strangely enough, several of those who actually wanted to be on the jury were dismissed!

With so many fans of CSI and Law and Order, can’t we start by recruiting those who want to serve to be on our juries? Those who receive unlimited days of pay for service (like government employees and teachers) should be given the opportunity to serve once or twice a year - at least! If jury service continues to be an obligation, then businesses should be obligated to pay their employees for serving.

People in the jury pool were complaining that they were imprisoned since we were unable to leave! I did find it ironic that I was reading through Exodus this week. I don’t want any of the plagues to take place in LA (apparently the busiest courts in the world with 10,000 jurors “invited” to serve each day) or to any of those involved, but all week I couldn’t help but hum the song “Let my people go!”

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Yesterday, Debbie and I celebrated our anniversary!

Since I don’t have a scanner at the moment, here is the earliest pic I have of the two of us with Caleb and Trevi (circa 2003):

We began the day watching some of our favorite songs by “Flight of the Conchords.” Our favorites include:

Jenny and The Humans are Dead

After all day in downtown L.A. for jury duty (expect another post on this experience sometime soon), I rushed home for our date.

We enjoyed the Parkway Grill with the Tiger Shrimp Corndogs as an appetizer, mesquite grilled kobe burger with maytag blue cheese and sweet potato fries, with the classic s’mores desserts. It was delicious!

After watching a very slow-paced movie which Debbie really liked (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day), we came home. After Caroline our babysitter left, we looked at all our pics from our engagement and wedding. 14 years ago looks like a really looooooooooong time ago!

Some of you might know this, but 14 years ago yesterday, on our wedding day, I woke up with chicken pox. Crazy, huh?!? I can’t make this stuff up.

For more to this story and our honeymoon, watch this stand up comedy gig. I start talking about that fateful wedding day about 3 minutes in.

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