This week I want to address something that has been on my mind for a while now.  This is our desire for safety in numbers.  Now the problem with this mentality is when it applies to our own personal failings.  This one’s more directed at you, Christians.  We like to lay back into the thought that “everyone struggles with it.”  We like to hide ourselves in the cloud of other’s sins.  This is despicable.

                One of the biggest themes in the Bible is that of facing up to things and being strong and courageous.  Being strong is not accepting an “everyone has this problem” answer.  There is no excuse for our sin and we need to know this.

                It is so easy to slip into this.  I find my thoughts drifting towards just how horrible others are and how insignificant my sins must be, but it is this mindset that makes me much worse than others.  I am lightening my load because someone seems like they are worse.  I am becoming unrepentant for the wrongs I have committed.  At least those whose sin might seem greater genuinely repent of their sin.  This “safety in numbers” mindset is a dangerous one that makes less of our wrongdoing.  Think about it: would you like it much if your friend hurt you in some way and passed it off as nothing?  If he or she said something to the effect of “worse things have happened?”

                I’d ask you to keep this in mind as you go throughout your day.  Are you lessening your own load because someone else stumbles more publicly?  Are you making light of things that are severe?  

Foundations of Spires

                I think, my dear readers, I will again entreat you with a weird blog post.  This time, however, I will be looking into a song I have been writing.  Granted, I have not finished the song’s lyrics, I was blessed with a strong theme that I am really quite excited about.  The song deals with a modified version of the biblical story of the tower of Babel. 

                For those of you who either do not remember or know this story, I will give a brief recap: After the Flood, God again commanded people to multiply and fill the earth.  The people of the earth disobeyed Him, though, placing themselves all in one big city and building a tower “to make a name for themselves.”  Seeing this, God goes down and confuses their language, forcing them to do as He originally intended.

                The theme I get from this story is that of building a tower for one’s own glory.  I can see that in my life all the time and I think a lot of people struggle with this.  I wanted to take the idea to a new level, though, so I thought of spires (which is pretty much a really stinkin’ tall tower).  I know I have often taken credit for the things I have been blessed with and let it stop there.  I find myself thinking, “I really am a great guy,” or, “I’m so much better than them.”  I hate these thoughts that echo in my head like a plague that is me.  So a vision that came out of this thought was that of a endless megalopolis filled with huge towers scratching at the heavens.  About a day later, it came to me to add a flower to this image.  A craggy skyline dark in the background with a flower juxtaposed against it, looking to be as tall as them.  This image really excited me, though, and I hope the song turns out as well as I hope it will.

                In any case, I hope you all weren’t entirely bored out of your mind by this one.  I am considering posting the lyrics to the song later, but we’ll see.  If nothing, maybe you can check my Youtube channel for the actually song later on. 

Farewell!

The Ball and Chain Man

                This week’s topic is something that really puzzles and irritates me.  This topic is that of women giving up their personal aspirations for men.  Now, understand, I firmly believe that the only thing that truly makes us unequal in society is that of claiming people are unequal.  This is not a laughable “civil rights issue” that has risen in the 21^st century, but an idea that has been passed from generation to generation.

                This idea is simple: that the dreams and aspirations of men override those of women; that women need follow their man into his field, thus sacrificing their own.  You hear about it often: a woman choosing to go to the same college as their significant other, whether he be simply a boyfriend or a husband, or maybe she is forced to move to a city where her own dreams are impossible.  It just irritates me to no end when I see women forced to abandon their dreams because a man is in the picture.

                Now, understandably, there are some women who have seemingly smaller visions (at least to the outside viewer) that involve following their husband—this I have no problem with.  Those women who wish to be stay-at-home moms, more power to you.  It is those who leave their dreams for the man who will ultimately fail them.  Ladies, if a man forces you to abandon your aspirations, HE IS NOT WORTH YOUR TIME.  Go and follow your dreams and leave the dirt bag behind.  Men: those ladies around you have dreams the same as you and have the same right to follow them as you.  Don’t be the roadblock between someone and their dreams.

Video Games as Storytellers

                In April of two years ago, a game called Six Days in Fallujah was announced.  Shortly after it got media attention, controversy arose from its subject matter.  The game depicts the second battle of Fallujah in the recent Iraq War.  At the first sign of controversy, the publisher of this game backed out and left the developer to find a new company willing to touch the heavy subject matter.  Meanwhile, numerous war movies have come and gone, some having taken place in the recent War on Terrorism.  This is a perfect example of how the gaming industry is not taken seriously for storytelling.

                If you pay much attention to the media, it’s likely that you have seen an article on the “evils of video games.”  Ever since video games have emerged as a major form of entertainment, they have been under fire from people very ready to pass the blame.  While some of these arguments have merit, many of them drip from the lips of the ignorant.  The recent London riots have been blamed on video games by numerous people.  The favored scapegoat of teen violence, Grand Theft Auto, has been placed under the grinder on countless occasions.  On one of my favorite occasions, parents of an adopted child claimed the game Portal 2 was attacked with claims that it made fun of orphans.  The parents, in this case, listened only to a single line of dialogue and ignored the following lines in which the character mocking orphans is scolded as being completely ludicrous.  The local news station, of course, took the story of the parents at face value and aired an almost slanderous story about the game’s publisher, Valve.  Yet none of this even taps the attacks the video game industry has suffered since its rise.  Those ignorant of their legitimacy are unable to take them seriously.

                Those that have actually played video games, though, know that they can be an excellent form of storytelling.  Grand Theft Auto IV tells a great story of a man unable to escape his past.  Red Dead: Redemption (developed by the same producer as Grand Theft Auto) tells an incredible story of an outlaw-turned farmer forced to atone for the sins of his past.  The Uncharted games have all contained interesting, well-developed characters to go along with their engaging stories.  The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series creates world with such mood that they become enthralling simply for that reason. 

Video games have a way of drawing in their audience, or player, in ways movies, books, and music cannot.  One of the best examples of this comes from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.  A big point of controversy for this game was an optional level in which the player takes the role of an undercover agent impersonating a terrorist.  The opening finds the player emerging from an elevator, machine gun in hand, facing a crowd of innocent civilians he is expected to gun down.  The decision is left up to the player whether to shoot or not, but the main character’s cohorts soon become violently suspicious if the player chooses not to shoot.  As expected, this level has been highly controversial.  What separates this from the numerous blood-bath movies that have come since the advent of film?  What makes this so controversial?  The same thing that makes it such a compelling device: player control.

                Numerous video games today stress player choice, often forcing the player into situations where there is no clean-cut choice of “good” or “evil.”  These situations put the audience in the shoes of the main characters in ways that other forms of story-telling cannot.  Whether the player is choosing not to shoot innocents, literally crafting their character, or deciding to save a man on the side of the road being mugged, they are investing into these characters and delving deeper into the story.  Few things have captured a sense of desperation and determination better than the ending part of Metal Gear Solid 4, where the player starts by simply walking normally with the joystick and then ends in a beaten crawl, with the player pushing the X button repeatedly to press on and complete the mission.

                I could go on and on with hundreds of examples where video games have been able to bring stories to life and engage the player in things other than mindless violence.  I am not claiming that video games do not contain excessive violence, because some of the most certainly do, but I ask you to not consider them to be a plague to mankind.  They are not the sole source of the problems displayed by today’s youth; actually I do not believe they are the source of them at all, but this is a topic for another time.  I simply ask you, dear reader, to understand that video games are an excellent form of storytelling when utilized well.  The game I described at the beginning of this blog, Six Days in Fallujah, has yet to find a publisher.  In an interview from the developers, it is highly apparent that they were attempting to craft a game that would weave a story of a group of Marines and let the player understand somewhat of what they went through.  One of the biggest cues is the fact that they were advised by a group of 47 soldiers, Iraqi civilians, as well as insurgents.  Despite this genuine attempt to recreate an informative scene for the audience, this has yet to be appreciated because of mainly ignorant nay-sayers.             

New Message Received

I thought for this post, I might try something a little different.  I wrote a short story kinda deal, so please read (and hopefully enjoy) it!  Thanks and feel free to leave comments/critiques!

New Message Received – Ellen

                Lol i knew ud like it

Message Sent

                Yeah, it’s pretty amazing what people do with gifs anymore.

New Message Received – Ellen

                so do u have plans 4 tonite

Message Sent

Sorry, I’ve got to stay late for work tonight.  We can still chat, though.  Maybe I’ll get you that new phone with the overtime check.

Incoming Call – Mom

Call Ignored

New Message Received – Ellen

                Oooo make sure 2 get teh one w/ the camera

Incoming Call – Mom

Call Ignored

New Message Received – Ellen

                u there?

Message Sent

Sorry, mother’s trying to call, even though I keep telling her not to call.  I just don’t have time to make small talk for an hour. 

New Message

                This stupid screen isn’t adjusting to the light let me

                The man suddenly crashed quite violently into another, coming out of the collision a spitting, furious mess.  The tall man he had crashed into had been standing still, taking in some view and now apologized and offered a disarming smile that somehow managed to quell the tempest of invective that threatened to spill out from the other man’s mouth.  There was something odd about the tall man; his eyes seemed to curiously wander from face to face.  The other man simply stared at the tall man while retrieving his phone from the ground and stared around to see at what he had been staring.

                His eyes glimpsed the beautiful way the light danced off the distant and near skyscrapers, finding its way to the lake in the central park.  He walked around as if in a daze, taking in a view he had been long been oblivious to.  He slowly made his way to the work he had visited daily for years, taking wrong turns often.  His pocket buzzed every minute or so.

New Message Received

New Message Received

Mail Inbox Full—Clear Memory Space 

As he stumbled into the city block containing his workplace, he stopped for a moment to take in the view of a building that was all-too familiar, but strangely new at the same time.  He enjoyed the stylish curves that accented the edifice’s slow ascent into the heavens. 

But the man’s observations were suddenly interrupted as another man crashed quite violently into him.        

          For this week’s blog, I want to look more broadly at the issue of what it is to “be a man.”  Understand, though, that most of this applies to both men and women, though.    

          Men are designed to be strong and decisive by their very nature.  While often they can be bull-headed and stubborn, they also can be directed by the wisdom of another.  A problem with men, though, is that we also have the strong desire to be passive when the time of need comes.   We “wimp out” and fail to do what we know we should have done.  Looking back at the countless places where I could have acted and done something for the better of the situation, I know I am guilty of this crime.  So I urge those reading to be strong and courageous and to listen to those around us. 

          I also want to encourage men and women to be what Grace calls “servant leaders.”  Looking back at all those who have ruled all the various societies, we know that the tyrants all eventually were taken down and that those who serve rather than simply push are much more successful.  We need to serve each other that we might learn from each other.  Another tidbit of information I was given recently (from an author called Jon Acuff) was that a true leader does not look at a person thinking “what can I get from them” but “what can I give them.”  I have found myself analyzing just how I look at people from this simple idea. 

          These are just some thoughts I have been having recently and I wanted to get them down.  This has been a very, very brief look at the responsibilities we bear and I may choose to come back to this issue in the future.  So for now, just remember that we all need to look for what we can be giving others, rather than simply what we can be getting from them. 

Love Your Enemies

"It was Sam's first view of a battle of Men against Men, and he did not like it much. He was glad that he could not see the dead face. He wondered what the man's name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home; and if he would not really rather have stayed there in peace."
- J.R.R. Tolkien

          Many of you who know me will know that my favorite author is J. R. R. Tolkien. Aside from his ridiculously awesome style of writing, he also takes the time to inject meaningful themes into his writing. The quote above is possibly my favorite of his writing and I think it is a great way to introduce today’s topic, which is understanding your enemies.
          The Bible in, Matthew 5:44, speaks of loving your enemies. Even if you do not believe its writings are inspired, we can all take wisdom from this. Even the least confrontational of people gain a few enemies. Whether these enemies are on a board game, at work, or on a battlefield, we do the same thing to them—we de-humanize them. Think about it—suppose we do not even call these people “enemies.” Even if we simply dislike people, we tend to think less of them; to think of them as some sort of evil irritant sent to destroy our lives. 

          Now let’s elevate things: now this person is going to literally destroy your life. He has a gun and is pointing it at you. Is he still less of a person? Does the fact that he is going to kill you make things different—especially when you are pointing a similar gun right back at him? No. People have reasons for doing the things they do, even if they are simply misguided or delusional.
          Here’s another quote on the topic from Editha, by William Dean Howells. This dialogue occurs when Editha comes to tell her would-be mother-in-law that her son has died after Editha pushed him into joining the war:

"You just expected him to kill some one else, some of those foreigners, that weren't there because they had any say about it, but because they had to be there, poor wretches--conscripts, or whatever they call 'em. You thought it would be all right for my George, your George, to kill the sons of those miserable mothers and the husbands of those girls that you would never see the faces of. [ ... ] I thank my God he didn't live to do it! I thank my God they killed him first, and that he ain't livin' with their blood on his hands!" 

          So I challenge you this week to really try to understand those that might annoy you or insult you. I challenge you to try to understand those that fight our soldiers over-seas. Do we not look the same to those we dislike? Always remember that ignorance is our enemy above people.

Introduction

          Indeed, readers, a miracle has happened! I have recently enrolled in the new Advanced Creative Writing class at Grace and as part of that class, I am required to submit a blog at least twice a month. What exactly does this mean? Well, firstly, this means I will have to be more consistent in my blogging. But this also means I might post something a little different than the standard blog from time to time. Feel free to continue to comment or critique no matter what though. And as always, I appreciate your faithfulness and look forward to your input.

For the newly expanded purpose of this blog, I will be introducing myself:

         

          Hello, my name is Trevor Franz. I am currently a senior at Grace University and I am majoring in Humanities – English (pretty much English). As indicated by both this blog and my major, I do plan on being a writer in the future, but in what form this comes to being is still yet to be determined. I am a follower of Christ, and proudly so. However, this does not mean this blog is only for Christians nor is it for me to preach at people. Mainly what I try to do is to get people thinking about different topics. Those who have read my blog would know at least one of my sayings that reflects most my blog ideas: "ignorance is the enemy." I have recently adopted another saying, which is: "indifference is death." What I mean by these is that I want people to take a side, but not to do so without gaining a better knowledge of things. If we face an opposing view, the best thing to do is not ignore or disregard it, but to study it and understand why people take that view. In any case, I welcome and ask for your input on both the topics at hand as well as on my writing. As an aspiring professional, I want to the best I can be and the best way to get there is by having people critique my writing.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing from you all!

Only Temporary ...

            Today, I take the time to write another much-overdue blog.  I apologize for the long period of silence, but I find that the desire to write blogs often finds me when I am busy and evades me when I am bored.

           

            To the topic at hand, though is the temporary nature of our world.  Just look at nearly all aspects of the world around you: some major appliances arguably are not made to last, marriages are treated as if they will end in divorce eventually, political band-aids are applied to gaping wounds in government, the list could go on for a while.  And the temporary nature of some things is not a bad things, it can be the undoing of others.  Mainly what I am talking about here are those intangible items. 

            For an example: government.  Issues like illegal immigration need a LOT of reform, and not the kind that can be done easily.  The problem lies with the fact that no one wants to truly dedicate to this reform, instead they apply a new law that looks good for the time being.  Think of it as a mess of electrical wiring in your house.  It’s all knotted up and bad looking, but it’s going to take a long time to sort it all out.  So instead, you just throw something over it to hide its ugly mass.  Sooner or later, though, it’s going to cause a big fire.  We don’t seem to fix things for good, we just put them off until later.

            So basically what I am saying here is that we should really work hard to dedicate ourselves to things.  In a world where we are programmed to have short attention spans through almost all forms of media, we need to put ourselves in for the long run.  I urge you not to drop things, but to work on with them.  Never consider something you once dreamed of without merit.  Though we only have so many years on this earth, we need to spend those years wisely; accomplishing something rather than simply starting a million other things.  It is by delving into something that we bring out its true beauty, whether it be a relationship, a job, a project, or simply a pastime.    

Chivalry

            Today, I though maybe I would bring one of my older blogs.  Since I have yet to write another (I am working on it) I think this one is one worth revisiting.  So enjoy:

Ah, the days of olde, when men would treat women with respect and dignity.  When men go off to war to protect women and other members of society.  When men would treat a woman more like a person, not an object to possess.  Of course, not all men were like this even in the time of knights, but we seem to be losing the principles they followed almost on a daily basis.  What happened to men holding the door for women?  What happened to being polite to a lady?  In these times of new-fangled devices, we are losing the personal touches of life.  I will try to make this so that it isn’t something only guys would want to read, for anyone reading who is female. 

First off, I would like top admit that I, Trevor Franz, am not exactly an expert with women.  Far from it actually, but that isn’t the point of chivalry.  I have seen and heard about many things today that truly sadden me.  Asking someone out online?  Honestly?  I realize that some of us as guys have trouble approaching someone we like, but even I have been able to overcome that a few times.  It may have taken me a while to do so, but I refuse to ask in a way other than personally.  Not only is it just plain tacky, but it will gain you no respect from guys and girls alike.  A far worse thing I have heard of, sadly many times, is breaking up over a text or e-mail.  It angers me that someone is not willing to stand up and do so face-to-face with someone.  If you can’t say it personally, then you have no place being in a relationship in the first place.  You are obviously not mature enough for it.

Looking at other aspects of this thing called chivalry is the part about holding doors for women and such (what an idea!!!).  We sometimes stumble across the sight of an elderly man opening the car door for his wife, closing it, and then entering the car personally.  We might stop and think how “cute” it is and how much of a gentleman he is, but a second later we slam the door in the face of someone behind us.  We so quickly forget these things and don’t apply them to our lives.  Would it hurt to show the women in your life a little respect?  I’m not talking just about your girlfriend, wife, or crush, but all you see.  Yep, you heard me (or read me, I guess).  Why should you hold the door only for your girlfriend when there is a big line of people behind her?  Chivalry isn’t a system developed to gain “brownie points” for guys.  It is a way of regarding people.  Do for every girl what you would do for someone you like.  This includes your mother, too; after all, she did raise you.  And when you take a girl out to eat, for heaven’s sake pick up the bill!

I truly hope we do not see the total disappearance of gentlemen in this generation.  I am already disheartened by the things I hear about all the time today.  I fear for the members of those stories and their future relationships.  Chivalry should not be something done every-once-and-a-while, but it should be a way of life.  So I challenge all of you reading who claim to be men: hold the door for a girl today, whether it is someone completely random, or someone you know.  I hope you do not stop there, though.  It takes a real man to treat a woman with respect.  

Meek, Not Silent

            You might think post-modernism has made way for a lot more free-thinking, but in that you would be wrong.  While the post-modernist movement has encouraged people to think for themselves, it has also made way for loud people to suppress everyone else.  For those of you who don’t know what post-modernism is, it revolves around the idea that everyone is right in their own mind; for example: “to each his own” is a very post-modernist idea.  So what you end up with are a few blowhards who get people excited about an idea that may or may not be good and, in fact, suppress free thought.  And why is this happening?  Because the idea that everyone is entitled to their own opinion has turned out to be entitlement to believe you are right in all things.

            While I don’t particularly agree with the idea of post-modernism, the basic idea of it and I share a common goal: to get people thinking.  Now post-modernism aims itself at the thought that everyone is right; just only personally.  Unfortunately, what this fails to address is how incomprehensibly ignorant and stubborn people can be.  People, in fact, are not always right.  I’m not trying to force the idea of “one truth” on you, but I am saying that people can stick to some highly destructive ideas.  The apparent goal of post-modernism is to get people to listen to each other.  The idea I propose is simply respecting each other.  Be civil when discussing things.  Why I think we have come to the point of suppressing free though is because people no longer respect different ideas because they’re right.  Thus, people start yelling and pit each other further into their particular idea of right and wrong. 

            One of the worst side effects of the post-modernist movement is the shunning of arguments.  Since people have become less civil, the definition of “argument” has changed from a debating discourse to people yelling at each other.  So what we get anymore is extremists overwhelming the world with their ideas and functioning ideas that are drowned out in the noise.  What’s worse is that the world is becoming softer in more ways than this.  People are afraid to do almost anything that might cause a stir or make someone uncomfortable.  I’m here to tell you that an argument is not a bad thing and that discomfort is necessary for change.  Arguments (or debates) are very good things for the world.  I have held numerous civil arguments with friends of mine that broaden both our perspectives – and we’re still friends!

           

            While lack of respect is a big part of the problem, I think the biggest problem is that people don’t do anything anymore.  We forsake action for temporary comfort.  But what we ultimately believe is respecting others inadvertently ends with the world only getting further and further from what we believe is right.  It is very possible to do controversial things without disrespecting people.  Certainly, you might step on a few toes, but such is the nature of change in a large society.  Controversial acts are not bad things - they get people thinking.  These newfound actions against illegal immigration might not be what we really need, but they have brought attention to the growing issue of illegal aliens in the states.  Rising issues with homosexual marriage have made people think about what government can and cannot dictate.  The problem with these issues is that they have become highly polarized.  The frankly childish way we have chosen to debate these ideas has caused us to debate more for bragging rights than for the issue itself.  Debates become more and more personal as sides become more and more hostile.  What I am proposing is that we act on our beliefs, but in a respectful way.  Think for yourselves and make known the other side of the story.  Stand up for your point-of-view when the time comes, but respect those you contradict.

            Christians: this means you as well.  We are called to be respectful, but not to be idle.  We are called to stand out from the crowd, but not to hate it.  Likewise, Jesus says on the Sermon on the Mount that “blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth;” but “meek” does not mean “silent.”  Myron Augsburger says in his commentary of Matthew that “Meekness is not weakness; rather it is the gentle spirit, the disciplined or controlled spirit. In Greek the word for meek, praus, is an ethical word. Aristotle spoke of meekness as the mean between anger and indifference. It is a word that denotes self-control, but also means genuine humility.”  Nowhere in the Bible does it say we are to be silent.  Causing controversy as the Church is not a bad thing and as we are called to stand out from the world it is quite expected.  Our faith will make people uncomfortable.  Jesus was not all about making people feel good; He was about bringing glory to God.  We need to stand up for our faith and do so in respectful manner “so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us” (Titus 2:8 ESV). 

            So there it is: a call to act and a call to respect.  I ask you to think for yourself and to seek understanding.  I don’t necessarily ask you to believe what I believe, but simply to know what you believe.  Question things and seek knowledge of opposing views.  Respect those who disagree with you and you just might learn something. 

            Thanks for reading!  Go and remember: ignorance is the enemy.

Augsburger, M. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Vol. 24: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 24 : Matthew. Formerly The Communicator's Commentary. The Preacher's Commentary series (18). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.                             


I recently did a video component to this blog, so if you want to watch - here it is!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtFL5gkMeBQ