Apparently, Ted Cruz was on College Game Day yesterday, talking about the College Sports Bill about to go through congress. Also, he was apparently booed so loudly no one could really hear what he was saying.
I didn't see it because we don't have full cable anymore, just subscriptions to certain channels, so I'm not going to comment on what he said - plus I still have to finish watching the 20/20 thing on Lindsay Clancy because I still have a post hanging out there about what to think about THAT.
So here's the thing about Ted Cruz - I personally can't stand him, but one thing I was recently pleasantly surprised by was his standing up for both late-night-show comedians, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, against Trump/the government targeting them for cancelation.
The one thing Ted Cruz does right is when he says freedom of speech, he means it - for BOTH political sides - he's not a hypocrite, at least on THAT point lol.
Thus, I don't want to be a hypocrite myself by condemning him for his right to freedom of speech on TV.
But at the same time, 10 minutes IS a bit long right before a football game, when the season has just started, right?
AND though the bill he's talking about is bipartisan and is relevant to sports, there is an opposing side that wasn't presented.
Thus, if you were going to do it, since it's bipartisan, put both a Republican AND a Democrat on, in order to illustrate its bipartisan nature, in the spirit of doing something together, for a change? 😂
Maybe there would've been less booing and it would be heard better!
Also, if you're going to do that, the opposing side should be aloud to voice their concerns?
But since there's no time for all of that, maybe it would be better not to do it all, then, huh? 😉
Otherwise, I don't know about the bill enough to comment one way or the other on it, other than to say the only thing I don't like about it is the language used - referring to human beings in commodity terms like "market value" and "ownership rights" and all of that nonsense. I mean, we ARE still talking about human beings here, not slaves!
Anyway, I later ran into trouble over this issue and I realized a problem that I really need to work on. 😏
So one of Mark's family threads is just for the siblings only - which is fine by me because I feel like they need that rebonding time after family events years ago, and I feel like the 5 of them are getting closer than ever, which makes me so happy! 🥰
I mean, they don't forbid the spouses from being on it, it's just kind of unspoken, and none of us mind because we talk on another thread or privately, and all the spouses realize the importance of that rebonding for the 5 of them. 😊
I usually don't even know what they talk about unless Mark wants to show me a picture I haven't seen yet, or says something hilarious, or there's like a natural disaster going on and their personal experiences with it, like hurricanes or wildfires - something we don't already know from other communication.
Or like if I'm mentioned for some reason, and it's clear they want it shared with me for reaction, either because it's something positive or to tease me about something, usually about my being from Kentucky and hillbilly stuff 😂
But you have to understand, they don't mean a word of it - teasing is the Chaplow family's love language 😂
Teasing is my family's love language, too, it's just a different brand, so it did take some getting used to - plus at first, I was super intimidated by them anyway, as they are all highly intelligent, accomplished people!
Then I realized over time that despite their high IQs and accomplishments, they're all just a bunch of nerdy goofballs , too, underneath, and that they have their own particular brand of teasing as their love language 😂
For example, Mark was lamenting the redneck man-made lakes and beaches here in Kentucky versus the natural, beautiful ones in Michigan, and how I inexplicably loved my Kentucky lake beaches anyway and there was nothing he could do about it. 😂
Sibling C said "There's actually a lake in Michigan called Crystal Lake, how does she feel about THAT?" - then shared a Friday the 13th meme of hockey-mask wearing Jason with a knife behind a Crystal Lake sign. 😂
Mark shared it with me and I laughed out loud, and then Mark shared that my response was "That's right, Bitches - don't mess with my lakes!" 😂
However, yesterday, Mark wanted my opinion on something and showed me the thread because he wasn't sure what to say or do to break the tension, and particularly because bible verses were now being shared, and he wanted to ask me about them.
So though they usually avoid politics, Sibling A mentioned Ted Cruz needing to shut up after a 10-minute speech lol.
I mean, 10 minutes IS a little long for this strange appearance on College Game Day, that's true.
Then Sibling B chimed in with his thoughts on the bill and went on to say that he "Researches his candidates carefully and votes against anybody with ties to socialism."
The Sibling A wrote back "As opposed to a dictatorship?"
(Hehehe ... though I love them both dearly, I admit, I privately applauded that clever clapback 😂)
Cleverness is also a Chaplow family trait!
Then Sibling B wrote not to misunderstand his intent, that he actually believes we should pray for and respect all authority regardless of party, sharing bible verses to illustrate his point.
Then Mark, trying to break the tension, chimed in with something both absurd and funny with"God Save the Queen" 😝
Mark: "I ... don't know what to do. I don't like this. And what about the bible verses he used?"
Me: "Well, you don't HAVE to say or do anything, you don't have to fix everything, Big Brother, ya know. 😜 They're just venting, I don't think anyone's actually mad at anyone else."
"But you DO know how much I hate it when somebody brings bible verses in and mixes them with politics and that I'm likely going to react that - is that why you showed it to me? lol. Okay, so mind if I privately text Sibling B then, and are you sure?
Mark also knows that most of my fellow Christians don't want to get into a political debate with me, trying to misuse the bible for support, because they'll lose every time. I studied the bible, and other religious texts, at a collegiate level, in their historical and cultural context - to include the scriptures and laws all cultures swiped, borrowed, or otherwise incorporated into their own faiths and pretended like it was their own idea 😂 When the truth is, NO religion is in its purest original form - they all swiped texts from each other.
In fact, the only truly unique thing about Christianity is that though other deities or prophets have made sacrifices for humanity in some way (Egyptians and Greeks in particular), or they suffered/were martyred over their faith, Jesus really is the only deity or prophet to ever die in true sacrifice to pay the price for human redemption from their own misdoings.
Anyway - so I did. 😏
Let me just start by saying that I genuinely love ALL of Mark's siblings, even the ones Mark butts heads with most (IMO, mostly because they're more alike than they care to admit 😂)
However, I'm probably the closest to Sibling B, as Sibling B loves and talks to everyone - as the exact middle child, he's the mediator and gets along with everyone!
You also need to know that though the rest of the family is Catholic, Sibling B has converted to a more evangelistic form of the faith a few years ago and he's super excited about it.
As for me, I speak both languages 😂
Anyway, I wrote Sibling B and I don't have the text thread in front of me for verbatim, but the gist was it went something like ...
Me: "Brother, I love you, I respect what you have to say, but please reconsider using bible verses to support your political stances, okay? Jesus was neither Republican or Democrat."
Sibling B: "You confused my intent. I did say my personal opinion and then added that actually God requires we pray for and respect all authority."
Me: "Well, when you give your personal political opinion first and then start quoting bible verses later, it conflates the issue and sounds like God is putting his stamp of approval on just your personal political perspective, when that may not be the case."
Sibling B: "My actual intent was just to say that we should pray for them and respect them, no matter what. Just quoting facts" and "Either the bible is true or it isn't."
Me: "It's not that simple. There are mistranslations, differing interpretations, there have been parts removed, there's context [including at what point in their ministry they said these things, to whom, and why they were said to that person]."
They were all human except Christ - and the miracle part is that Christ's message survived all of that and was separate from almost all of the rest of the bible."
"Also, the bible - and people - evolved over time, helped along in particular BECAUSE of Christ's message of compassion and mercy, between old testament and new, and Christ encouraged us to KEEP evolving our law in love."
"But then there's Paul afterwards, the consummate politician, who kept waffling back and forth between Christ's new message versus OT /Levitican law, just to please the Pharisees, which is something Christ would never do. "
"People act like Paul's word is gospel, when in fact, he was human versus Christ and made mistakes. The bible just doesn't narrate his mistakes as it did David's, so we're left trying to figure them out ourselves - i.e., Paul refusing to have Timothy circumcised because he said it wasn't important, but then did so later, caving to the Pharisees's pressure on him to do so."
"When Paul was focused on the love of Christ, there was no better orator - but when he wasn't - and was instead trying to please the Pharisees, re-adhering to OT/Levitican law, thereby directly contradicting Christ - I believe we are supposed to choose Christ over Paul."
"One of the things I'm proudest of about this country is separation of church and state exactly for that reason - we can't even agree with each other regarding Christianity 😂"
"Also, socialism and fascism are 2 sides of the exact same extremist government-control coin. Just because Trump doesn't paint himself as a socialist dictator doesn't mean he isn't one - methinks the smeller is the feller, actually, with most of his accusations lol "
Sibling B: "Yes, the sanctity in the sacrifice of Christ. Yeah, I may have gone too far. I always appreciate your insight and counsel."
Me: (Realizing that I, myself, had gone too far/overstepped my bounds)
"No, it's me that overstepped and needs to apologize. I have a real problem with people quoting the bible as authority to support their political opinions, I really overreact to it and I need to work on that, so I'M sorry."
Sibling B is so gracious and loving, he just said ...
Sibling B: "This is why I love you - you re-examine things and pull back after looking at it from a more heavenly perspective."
Ha! I wouldn't go THAT far 😂
And yet SELF-examination is actually supposed to be the biggest part of Christianity, which most Christians forget in favor of judging others!
And yet Sibling B is great at it, genuinely - and isn't he great? 🥰
Then we both admitted to being human and it turned out wonderfully, and yet I really felt bad and embarrassed and realized that I really have to get a handle on why this bothers me to this degree, right?
I mean, I know WHY it bothers me so much - but other people don't - and it's not like I attacked him, but still, not my business or place and he has a right to say and do what he wants, right?
Ergot my point, we are all still human, after all - but ya gotta get a handle on your own stuff before you speak, right?
Not to mention it wasn't my business (though Mark did ask me), PLUS I'm more confused than ever about even the existence of God or truth in any of it recently; thus, I have no business even commenting it at all!
Ugh, me, sometimes, right?
Again, don't answer that 😂
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