The Trap Of “But What About…?”

LarrySelfPortrait2-copy-copyOne of the most common responses we hear/read during a discussion about love is the almost universal rebuttal, “But what about…?”

As in, “But what about…

…Radical Islam?

…Bigots?

…Mean-spirited Christians?

…Bitter atheists?

…Jesus getting angry and turning over the tables in the temple?

…The thief who breaks into your home?

…Injustice?

…The fact that the Bible never tells us to be “nice” or “doormats”?

…Trump?

…Obama?

…Republicans?

…Democrats?

…Liberals?

…Conservatives?

…[fill in the blank with anything and everything]?

What I don’t understand about “But what about…?” is Continue reading

It Tolls For Thee

For some reason, I’m still upset by the February 17, 2013, suicide of Country Music star Mindy McCready. MindyTenThousand

I didn’t know Mindy personally. I had barely even heard of her before her suicide. I knew her as most everyone else did: by her mug shots and the barrage of sad media stories in the months leading up to her death.

According to her entry on Wikipedia,

Overall, McCready’s four studio albums accounted for twelve singles on the Billboard country singles charts. This figure includes the Number One hit “Guys Do It All the Time”, as well as the Top Ten hits “Ten Thousand Angels” and “A Girl’s Gotta Do (What a Girl’s Gotta Do)”. Although she had not charted a single since 2002, McCready received significant media coverage regarding her personal life. McCready’s fifth studio album, I’m Still Here, was released in March 2010.

Five studio albums? A Number One hit? Twelve singles? Another article stated she had sold over three million albums. So she was not someone without considerable talent. Or beauty. How did her life come to this?

Something about her life, and tragic death, has Continue reading