It’s All About the Girl – a Few Easter Musings

One of my favorite movie quotes is from the opening scene of “Spiderman” when Peter Parker states, “But let me assure you, this, like any other story worth telling, is all about a girl.”  Peter Parker was right, wasn’t he? Who would care about a giant ape in the jungle if he didn’t steal the girl who stole our hearts? Would William Wallace’s fight for freedom be quite so epic if he wasn’t spurred on by the hope of reuniting with his lost love? What would Robin Hood be without Maid Marion? “Is she worth it?” If the heroin isn’t worthy of the danger and suffering of the hero, the story usually isn’t worth our time.

Interesting trivia: Nearly every culture has some version of the story of Cinderella.  A partial list from http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0510a.html

The Cinder Maid (reconstructed from various European sources by Joseph Jacobs).

Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper (France, Charles Perrault).

Cinderella (Germany, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, version of 1812).

Link to the version of 1857 (English translation).

Katie Woodencloak (Norway).

The Broken Pitcher (England).

Ashey Pelt (Ireland).

Fair, Brown, and Trembling (Ireland).

The Sharp Grey Sheep (Scotland).

Rashin-Coatie (Scotland).

The Hearth-Cat (Portugal).

Cinderella (Italy).

Little Saddleslut (Greece).

Conkiajgharuna, the Little Rag Girl (Georgia).

Pepelyouga (Serbia).

The Wonderful Birch (Russia).

The Baba Yaga (Russia).

The Wicked Stepmother (Kashmir).

Maria and the Golden Slipper (Philippines).

The Poor Turkey Girl (Native American, Zuni).

The Turkey Herd (Native American, Zuni).

The Indian Cinderella (Native American).

 The Green Knight (Denmark).

What makes this story so universal? It certainly fits the criteria of being all about the girl, in fact most fairy tales are, and while waiting for Prince Charming and the expectation of happily ever after have fallen out of favor with some, the picture of the damsel in distress, or struggling in oppression or danger or poverty often at the hands of the wicked stepmother being rescued by the brave handsome and virtuous prince is so deeply engrained in our cultural psyche we try to extract it at our own risk.

Let me offer speculation as to why the Story of Cinderella resonates in all levels of human existence. I believe it is an allegory of humanity itself.  Cinderella represents humanity; her situation represents the hopelessness of the human condition and Prince Charming? He is the Lord.  It’s not a perfect analogy of course but it is recognizable to something deep inside of us as the Gospel story.

Humanity was in Hopeless straights but it was not the misfortune of a wicked stepmother that caused our misfortune it was our own sin, unable to save ourselves we were the poor hapless maiden, though unlike the fictional Cinderella we had no beauty or virtue to recommend us to the Prince our depravity, like Cinderella’s poverty, made us undesirable, our garments stained with sin not ashes could never be cleaned by normal means.

It took magic to transform Cinderella so that her beauty could be revealed we needed much more. Our flaws were in our character not a ripped dress and smudged face, bippity-boppity-boo and a fairy godmother just wouldn’t do. We needed a Savior, and oh what a Savior we got!  He didn’t just wash our face, he cleansed our soul, no new ball gown, we got garments of righteousness, and best of all it doesn’t end at midnight. The cost for him though was high; he had to take upon himself human form than take up a cross. Sin can’t be waved away with a magic wand it can only be removed when the penalty for it is paid. Our beloved Prince paid the price for it with his death and in so doing transformed us into the pure maiden he would have as his bride. He didn’t love us because we were beautiful; he made us beautiful by his love.

Though we have danced with him and felt his love we still abide in our stepmother’s house, we still struggle with the trials of this world but his coming for us is certain, he needs no glass slipper to identify us, He knows us intimately and His Spirit seals our hearts. One day our Prince will come, on a cloud of Glory, in power and majesty as King of kings and Lord of lords, and that day may not be much farther hence. Our relationship to Christ is described as a marriage, Heaven as the marriage feast and we as the spotless bride awaiting the groom. The story of the gospel is better than any fairy tale because it is true But let me assure you, this, like any other story worth telling, is all about a girl, and from the Lord’s point of view, we are that girl!

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Political correctness vs disrespect

The ultimate goal of political correctness is tyranny, so there is no doubt where I stand. In the name of PC the most obvious common sense tools of law enforcement are deemed racist profiling. The enemy of civilization cannot be identified as Islamic Extremist, but most damning is the silencing of anyone who criticizes anything. Political correctness is the ultimate tool of those who would end the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom in the United States as it has in much of Europe.

With this understanding would it not be refreshing to have a candidate for president who put aside political correctness?  Yes, and this cycle has seen several, but what saddened me was the inability of so many supporters of one particular candidate to differentiate between a rejection of PC and boorish and disrespectful comments aimed at women.

Here are a few examples of Trump quotes:

   “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?! I mean, (Carly Fiorina’s) a woman, and I'm not supposed to say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?"

"You could see there was blood coming out of (Megyn Kelly's) eyes, blood coming out of her whatever."

 “You know, it really doesn’t matter what they write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass.”

 “I don’t think Ivanka would do that [pose for Playboy], although she does have a very nice figure. I’ve said if Ivanka weren't my daughter, perhaps I'd be dating her.”

There are more but I think that’s enough.

Perhaps I’m just old fashioned; I know some feminists would consider my views sexist. I think a child having a mom at home is beneficial, I think a husband should be willing to be provider to make that happen.  I believe a man should protect his family (who would send his wife to check out a mysterious noise in the nigh?). I think combat is a man’s world. I think hitting a girl is wrong. A woman is a treasure to be sought and wooed and won and valued above all. Yea I’m an absolute shovanist in some books. Note: I would not want government imposing any of this, except the combat rules,  but these are the type of traditional Christian/American values I believe in.

This doesn’t mean I can’t work with women. Ive had women bosses who were great and women bosses who were terrible. I’ve promoted demoted hired and fired woman and never based one of those decisions on her gender.  But I have never treated a woman with disrespect. Not even when I had to ball them out for poor performance or call them out on an ethical question. Why? That’s how I was raised.

Manners are not PC, manners are the agreed upon rules, generally unwritten by which a civil society shows respect, without them the civil society itself is weakened. The disheartening thing is that Trump’s escapades do not hurt him with his supporters many of whom seem willing to rewrite their own views of right and wrong based on The Donald’s latest rant. This isn’t even about being Presidential, it’s about common courtesy and respect: have a problem with how Megyn Kelley does her job? Forcefully but respectfully confront her about it, to her face if possible. Don’t go to Twitter and call her a bimbo for a couple of GQ pictures.  

The problem is deeply rooted in several areas of our culture, and while Trump is a prime example he is not the cause, just a symptom.

The real problem is men have forgotten how to be men.  Ironically the feminist movement is partially perhaps largely responsible for this. In throwing of traditional feminine roles the feminist has largely neutered men. Much of the natural drive of a man is to have a woman. Properly trained, channeled and morally reigned in this turns into the beautiful relationship of a man and women becoming husband and wife I spoke of moments ago. Failure to do so, results in one of two things weak, ineffective men incapable of leading and doing the heroic things which are required of him by God and the good of Society, or that desire emerges untrained and unchecked and rather than a unique soul loved and created by God a woman is seen as just something to be possessed, used and done away with as the whim may strike. This is evident in Trump’s attitude and behavior, it is far far worse in certain cultures where rape and slavery are the result.  There is however some understandability that when the pendulum is swung so far to the PC side that in correcting itself it would swing too far the other way  when a simple compliment to a ladies appearance or harmless banter is elevated to the level of harassment it only adds to men’s confusion. Having said that is it really that hard to just show a little common courtesy? A good rule to follow, Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

For clarities sake women are not merely possessions to be treasured or used, they are human beings unique and created, and endowed by their Creator with the same rights as men. Valued and important not because of what they do domestically or professionally but because Christ deemed them of such value that he gave his life for their sins to break down the wall of separation that sin has caused. Remember upon his resurrection it was to one of his women disciples he first revealed himself.

We live in a sad state of affairs when  man can make such comments as these and still be a presidential frontrunner. 

It is of interest to note that I decided on this topic before the explosion over the controversial add about the Melania Trump add and subsequent controversy. An anti-Trump group that produced the ad that has been called a vicious personal attack,  I would not have used this line of attack against Trump but the prospect of having a first lady who is a former model who posed nude or nearly so, is unique and perhaps is a legitimate point of discussion.  After all Trump thought Megyn Kelley’s far less controversial poses resulted in her being a bimbo, or at least whoever wrote the tweet for him did. Is it a vicious personal attack after all? It is her in the picture; she does want to be first lady.  Trump’s reaction to go after Cruz’s wife, though the ad was produced by a Romney affiliated with no connection to Cruz may finally be waking some people up to his brand of politic and attitude to women. Time will tell.

But consider this.  A recent ad, also by a Romney related group (if only he fought Obama so hard) had a number of ladies repeating Trump quotes about women. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKmhK8G--7c  This was no surprise to me my wife doing  her own research had already discovered these quotes. She is the love of my life and is as far from a feminist as one can be. She will not tolerate being disrespected however and that’s what Donald Trump’s comments are. Disrespectful.

Wouldn’t it be ironic if after years of being falsely accused of a war on women Republican’s nominate this guy and make those ridiculous claims of the past true going forward?

Ladies though believe me, there are still some guys out there who get it.

God Bless and Happy Easter