Here, from the moment as I write this, on the last Friday of summer, are the stories posted by friends on my Facebook news feed: A rant about dog hair, a joke about the annual Air Show at the Canadian National Exhibition (“Fighter planes over my house…”), nine questions you were afraid to ask about Syria, an article about a super athlete, a short film about a friend fighting cancer, Lake Erie from space (“Basically a dead zone”), the Sam the Record Man sign in Toronto gone for good, several articles on Seamus Heaney, Canada’s Perfect Woman beauty contest winner, Israeli soldiers and Palestinians join in dancing Gangnam Style, how to live on a low budget in Toronto, David Cameron defends himself for not leading the charge in Syria, Introverts: Caring For Dandelions, 10 Worst Music Genre Names, everyone needs to stop using crack to describe their favourite things, the Beer Store policy on how many times a person can buy beer in a day, why Obama should not lead the charge in Syria, a clip from Shoah, a Facebook post allegedly by Assad’s son dares Americans to attack, a friend boasting on a painting done by a friend featuring another friend, holiday photos, photos from previous holidays, a rant about Bell service, Lena Dunham used to look in the mirror and say, “I’m just so beautiful,” A single protein may help explain memory loss, Facebook’s new face recognition initiative, Dear Son, don’t let Robin Thicke be a lesson to you, 10 most popular teacher tools this year, a friend announcing he’s going to be on the radio talking about One Direction’s “one dimensional 3D film debut,” the Middle East explained in one (sort of terrifying) chart, a friend remembering her father who died five years ago on this day and a “note to self: wearing flip-flops to a manual car wash is a bad idea.”
This is a snapshot of the world I live in, with concerns ranging from another impending war (Syria) to walking on a soapy floor in flip-flops. If I had picked from the newsfeed yesterday there would have been articles and jokes about Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Liberal MP Justin Trudeau joined as pot smokers. Two days ago was National Bow Tie Day. Three days ago, there was heated conversation on Miley Cyrus’ twerking on a televised awards show. For the past month there have been intense discussions on the implications of Robin Thicke’s song “Blurred Lines,” the much declared Song of the Summer.
(I stepped away from writing this to answer some emails, get a glass of water, surf some more on Facebook; I just learned from a refreshed newsfeed that a friend proposed marriage years ago while watching Saturday Night at the Movies on TVOntario.)
This is a snapshot of the world you live in. Personal, global, environmental, social. It’s a confused and complicated mixture of interests. For you, toking politicians may be more important than Syria, or a friend struggling with cancer more important than a dead Great Lake, but all of these are a part of your life. As a father of a tween girl, I am deeply concerned about the sexualized images in pop culture.
And all of this we bring, one way or another, to our prayers and to our meditations and to our communal worship on Sundays. In all of this is our profession of faith and for all of this we need constant guidance from our spiritual leaders.
