You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?

[Flick James]

You know what really grinds my gears?

Trevor's underpants.

[JPickettIII]

hi
ok here i go

people who laugh at my son when he has a seizure...

many many more

geeez now i have a headache

That is just wrong.  Hopefully those people that do that will laugh so hard and then turn around and walk into the wall/pole or window and break their noses and be very very very embarrassed.

People are dumb some times.

Later,

John

[ulthar]

Oh, I can beat that.  Today, I was exiting the supermarket with a box filled with wine bottles; it was heavy, but this older (or should I say "even older") man was coming in pushing a cart.  I stood back, pushed the door open for him with one arm while holding the box with the other.  He walked right past me like an automaton like it was my job to hold the door for this sack - he saw me hesitate and open the door for him - we were merely inches apart, yet no "thank you" or "thanks" for having inconvenienced myself.     As I walked behind him and out the door, I said loudly "You're welcome!"  M.F.Aho. 

On the opposite hand, I first met my wife when she opened a door for me while I was carrying a big box containing a printer.

You never know what friendships will grow out of simply being nice or courteous to someone.  I often tell my daughter, "Being nice to someone is NEVER the wrong thing to do."  No matter who they are or what they have done...

Back to cathartic griping...

[indianasmith]

What a great thread!

Flck, you and I will probably never agree completely, but I respect your tone and your passion.  I DO agree - it is no part of the State's business to be teaching Sunday School to our kids.  However, by the same token, I think it is equally mistaken to completely leave out the enormous impact that Christianity has had on Western Civilization - in history, culture, music, and so much more.  Maybe there can be a happy medium we could agree on somewhere.

Lester - You and I disagree a lot, but I think you hit on something important here.  Karma.

3MNKids . . . I think religion is just inherently divisive.  Even Jesus warned that his teachings would divide families and societies.  But,  hey, at least MOST Christians don't cut the heads off those who convert away from their faith!  So it could be worse.  If verbal disagreement on a Bad Movie forum is the height of our religious controversy, we're better off than much of the world!

[Allhallowsday]

  For a Christian who believes in and honors the teachings of Christ, attempting to spread one's faith is an imperative, not a choice.  However, the clear example of Scripture is to spread the faith by gentle persuasion and moral example, NOT by violence, force, or obnoxiousness.  The Church lost its way when it picked up the sword in the Middle Ages.
   However, while the Church today is so splintered and fractured today that it is almost impossible to speak of in the singular, there are plenty of churches out there filled with good people who try to honor the teachings of Christ and obey the Scriptures to the best of their ability.  No church is perfect because churches are made up of people and people are messed up creatures.  But I firmly believe there is more good in the church than bad.
  A very common criticism that is levelled against people of faith is that they are failing to obey one Scripture or another (like praying in secret, as you mentioned), and then criticized roundly when they try to obey another Scripture (like, "Go ye therefore and teach all nations . . .").  For a person of faith, Scripture shouldn't be followed in snippets.  It needs to be read, studied, and followed in its entirety to the best of our ability.  The majority of a Christian's prayer life should indeed be done in private, one-on-one with God.  But there are times and places where Christians should pray as a body (corporate prayer, we call it, but not in the "business" sense of the word), and there are even occasions for public prayer.

  I think a big part of the gripe about prayer in schools is that it was an active part of our nation's academic life for over 150 years, and the courts struck it down without citing a single legal precedent for doing so . . . and now the "Separation of Church and State" issue has been pushed to such ridiculous extremes that teachers in many public schools can't even wish their students a "Merry Christmas."  I don't think even the most deistic of our founding fathers ever intended for the Establishment Clause to reach that level of intrusiveness.  Compare the statistics on reading level, test scores, literacy, student behavior, teen pregnancy and drug use, and almost every measurable category of performance in our schools between the 1950's and today.  Are we sure the Supreme Court did us a favor there?  Maybe those prayers DID do some good!

That's a BIG maybe; much more has happened in the last 60 years than merely the end to prayer in American schools; don't forget that we live in an era often referred to as The Information Age.  Knowledge always leads to questions and doubt. 

Aw, man, there I go sharing my faith again.

You're not sharing your faith, but your politics. I believe prayer does not belong in schools, as faith is a personal concern and not everyone in the USA believes in the Christ. 

[Trevor]

You know what really grinds my gears?
Trevor's underpants.

They may grind your gears but they foul my cheeks. 

[indianasmith]

AHD - Just so you know, I do not believe in teacher or administrator-led prayers in PUBLIC schools.  But I do believe students should be allowed the opportunity to have prayer time that is student led and initiated, as long as it does not interfere with instructional time. 
And I believe that, given Christianity's enormous influence in every area of Western History, that it is all too frequently regarded as a taboo topic in many public school classrooms.  Teaching religion is one thing; teaching about religion is another.

Some of my political stands (although not all of them) are strongly entwined with my religious beliefs, so when I talk about one, the other is going to come up.  It is still a way to share faith, when I talk about faith-based convictions.

If we are going to honor the establishment clause, we must also honor the free exercise clause.

[Newt]

THIS! This kind of thing grinds my gears: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sportSkills

They obviously have NO idea of what they are talking about!  Equestrian sports are *easier* that Table Tennis, Golf or Cheerleading?  Oh yeah?  That's ridiculous.

I'm so mad I could spit.

[ulthar]

Is Cheerleading even a sport?

It's always funny to read stuff like that...they build into the criteria bias that favors what they want to be ranked high.  And, even at that, misjudge those activities they don't understand (or have never themselves participated).

[indianasmith]

Don't ever tell a cheerleader that what they do is not a sport!! You'll get an earful!

Our cheer squad had some Tshirts made a couple years back that said:  "Athletes lift weights.  Cheerleaders lift athletes!"

[Leah]

Our cheer squad had some Tshirts made a couple years back that said:  "Athletes lift weights.  Cheerleaders lift athletes!"

[Leah]

People who put Fart cans on their cars/trucks. all it does makes the cars sound like the car had some spicy burritos for lunch.

[Flick James]

AHD - Just so you know, I do not believe in teacher or administrator-led prayers in PUBLIC schools.  But I do believe students should be allowed the opportunity to have prayer time that is student led and initiated, as long as it does not interfere with instructional time. 
And I believe that, given Christianity's enormous influence in every area of Western History, that it is all too frequently regarded as a taboo topic in many public school classrooms.  Teaching religion is one thing; teaching about religion is another.

Some of my political stands (although not all of them) are strongly entwined with my religious beliefs, so when I talk about one, the other is going to come up.  It is still a way to share faith, when I talk about faith-based convictions.

If we are going to honor the establishment clause, we must also honor the free exercise clause.

Here is where reason enters in. The term "school prayer" typically refers to organized prayer in schools, to which I am vehemently opposed and for which there is a reasonable basis for arguing against it's constitutionality. "Free exercise" is another matter. The courts have pretty consistently ruled that a student's religious expression through prayer cannot be abridged unless it can be shown to cause significant disruption in school. So, while not perfectly enforced (what right ever has been?), student by and large already enjoy free exercise. So what's the problem? Certainly far left notions of removing free exercise is equally unconstitutional. I would never support that either.

I don't deny that Christianity has been part of the fabric of the American people all along. It just happens to be what people were practicing. That is completely irrelevant to the constitution and to freedom. The people were fleeing Europe to escape the kinds of things the 1st amendment protects. If the religious right were content with the fact that they have free exercise, the school prayer issue would not be the hot-button topic it is. In reality, however, religious zealots have tried to indoctrinate and influence through publicly provided services for some time, and that's what people really object to, as they should.

I know some of your political beliefs are entwined with your religious beliefs, and that's your business. It becomes my business when elected officials charged with the task of upholding the constitution start making public policy decisions based on their religious beliefs, or institutions pressuring me to recite something I'm uncomfortable with. When I joined the military, I took an oath. I was in a room with about 30 others, swearing to defend this country. The rather hardcore Marine running the ceremony recited the oath before having us take it, and had a rather pronounced hardon about the ending "so help me, God." He asked if anyone had a problem with saying it, with a pretty obvious inflection that anyone who did was probably a Godless commie pinko. I was kind of uncomfortable with it, but I felt the intimidation and went along. During the oath the man made such a big deal about emphasizing "so help me, God" at the end to the point of almost shouting it. This kind of thing p**ses me off to no end. I resent the notion that my oath of service would mean less if I did not reference God in it. Personally I think my oath means more if I'm pledging myself and not using God as my excuse or justification, but that's open to opinion and I won't hold anyone's against them.

Okay, I got myself worked up. Sorry.

[ulthar]

Don't ever tell a cheerleader that what they do is not a sport!! You'll get an earful!

Our cheer squad had some Tshirts made a couple years back that said:  "Athletes lift weights.  Cheerleaders lift athletes!"

I don't deny that cheerleading is very demanding and requires great skill...especially today's cheerleaders that are essentially dancers/gymnasts.

But requiring skill and physical ability does not, by itself, make something a "sport."  Indeed, the label 'sport' is taken as a negative in quite a few physical activities (such as rock climbing, sailing, back packing, etc).  In these areas, those doing as sport are often viewed as lacking is the "real spirit."

In any case, no insult was intended...just wondering about that compiled list...

[3mnkids]

3MNKids . . . I think religion is just inherently divisive.  Even Jesus warned that his teachings would divide families and societies.  But,  hey, at least MOST Christians don't cut the heads off those who convert away from their faith!  So it could be worse.  If verbal disagreement on a Bad Movie forum is the height of our religious controversy, we're better off than much of the world!

True.    

Back to OT...

Mooches.. People who mooch off of other people all.the.time... I'm not a convenience store, ya know. I have a neighbor who tells everyone she quit smoking. No, she didn't! she just quit buying them. she mooches them from me.