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Currently ongoing in central Florida, George Zimmerman is on trial for 2nd degree murder in the death of Trayvon Martin.  Here are the facts, as told by CNN:

 

Trayvon Benjamin Martin, born February 5, 1995, was a 17-year-old African-American high school student who lived in Miami Gardens, Florida with his mother Sybrina Fulton.  In February 2012, Martin was visiting his father, Tracy Martin, in Sanford, Florida after receiving a ten-day suspension from Krop Senior High School.  The suspension stemmed from the discovery of drug residue in Martin’s book bag.

 

George Michael Zimmerman, born October 5, 1983, was a part-time student at Seminole State College and a neighborhood watch captain at the Retreat at Twin Lakes gated community in Sanford at the time of the shooting.  He is married to Shellie (Dean) Zimmerman and is the son of Robert and Gladys Zimmerman.

February 26, 2012 – George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain in Sanford, Florida, calls 911 to report “a suspicious person” in the neighborhood.  He is instructed not to get out of his SUV or approach the person.  Zimmerman disregards the instructions.  Moments later, neighbors report hearing gunfire.  Zimmerman acknowledges that he shot Martin, claiming it was in self-defense.  In a police report, Officer Timothy Smith writes that Zimmerman was bleeding from the nose and back of the head.

 

Leading up to the physical encounter between the two, Martin talked to his girlfriend, while  Zimmerman talked to a 911 dispatcher…

 

What happened next is a matter of dispute. Martin and Zimmerman were obviously in the middle of it, but no one else saw all that happened.  One witness later told police that “she heard a commotion, which sounded like arguing,” while another mentioned “loud talking.”

 

And on one 911 call, placed by a neighbor, a police sergeant counted one man yelling “help!” or “help me!” 14 times in a span of 38 seconds.

 

Who was yelling?  When the 911 calls were later played back for him and he was asked if they were from his son, an emotional Tracy Martin “quietly responded ‘no’.”  But an FBI analysis, also detailed on Thursday, said it couldn’t be determined whose voice it was due to the “extreme emotional state” of whomever was yelling, a lack of words from which to compare, overlapping voices and “insufficient voice quality” on the recording.

 

Then at the trial last week, each mother of the men involved testified that the desperate voice on the other end of that phone was that of their son…

 

Zimmerman acknowledged shooting Martin but said it was in self-defense.  Attorneys for Martin’s family have accused Zimmerman of racially profiling Martin and shooting him “in cold blood.”

 

Hence, here is our challenge…

 

First, let’s acknowledge that regardless of motive or responsibility, this situation is tragic.  A teenager died.

 

Second, let’s also acknowledge that since only the 2 men were there, only the 2 of them know fully what happened.

 

The challenge?  Martin was an African-American.  Zimmerman is a white Hispanic.  Would this situation be handled the same — by the media, law, and families involved — if the color of Martin and Zimmerman’s skin was the same?

 

Sadly… that’s a great question.

 

Respectfully,

AR

I witnessed the wildest thing over the weekend.  Ok, so it wasn’t exactly wild, but the reaction certainly was.  It was one of those moments where you watch life unravel so slowly, it seems — like you see what’s happening, can tell what will happen next, you know it isn’t going to be good, and yet, you can do nothing to stop it.

 

En route to my oldest son’s baseball game, my other 2 sons and I were killing a little time prior to the game’s start.  We had stopped at the local grocer just off the main highway in rush hour traffic.  It was a four lane highway with no median but a shared, center left turn lane.

 

A black sedan was heading north in the actual turn lane, while a smaller 4 door Ford was coming swiftly from the opposite direction, seemingly also looking to turn, but seemingly also indecisive as she was not yet in the shared turn lane.  In other words, both the black sedan and 4 door Ford were wanting to be in the same place at the same time.  With full traffic at a 6 p.m. pace, there was minimal room to maneuver and even less time to make the decision.

 

The driver of the Ford then made the fateful choice to turn in front of the sedan.  Watching from the nearby grocery lot, it was painstakingly clear such was not a wise decision.

 

The crash was both loud and immediate.  The front of the Ford was ripped off in an instant, as auto fluids quickly flooded the freeway.  There seemed little question of whether or not the car was totaled.

 

In that eerie silence after a car crash — when the shock of the unexpected meets the reality of needing to deal with it — the driver’s door opened on the now totaled Ford.  Out jumped a young, shoeless girl — a girl no more than 17/18 years old.  She instantly filled the space of the silence.

 

The young girl sprang out the door, began jumping up and down, waving her arms, screaming.  She was screaming so loud it was the only sound to be heard.  My heart stopped; for a moment I wondered if someone else had accompanied her — and perhaps that person was injured — but such was not the case.  She was alone.

 

The girl continued jumping, continued screaming, and then she proceeded to start running up and down the street… first through that not-to-be-shared center lane… then actually running across the rush hour lanes… then up and down the adjacent sidewalks.   The screams and hysterics continued until the sights and sounds of rush hour traffic resumed and drowned out the air space.  The young teen was hysterical, mad, and possibly also in shock.

 

Let me first say that even as an eyewitness, there is so much I don’t know.  I don’t know if she had insurance or if she was down to her last dollar or if she deceptively took her parents’ vehicle without their knowledge.  Even though I saw the action unfold, I do not know the entire substance of her screams.

 

I thus learned 2 things from the encounter…  First, even an eyewitness is incapable of making all conclusions.  Second, how often (and God bless the young girl…) but how often do we react hysterically to the bad things that happen in our lives, forgetting that so many others have it far worse?  I wonder if sometimes we are so focused on our own experience that we react in an extreme way, forgetting it could be worse… forgetting there’s always much to be thankful for.

 

There’s one more thing I learned this day…  Tough circumstances — scenarios we can’t control — can happen in an instant; hence, we shouldn’t take any day for granted.  If we truly knew that, such perspective would undoubtedly, dramatically affect our reaction.

 

Respectfully,

AR

As of yesterday, all 3 of my children advanced to a new grade level.  Education is important in our family.  Allow me to humbly share with you what I hope they learned…

 

If they learned to speak the languages of foreigners — but have not love for the foreigner — then the learning of language is pretty hollow.

 

If they unlocked great truths in history, social studies, or even in an advanced Lit class — comprehending all sorts of mysteries and knowledge — but know not how to apply that knowledge to a grace and peace for other people, then they really have learned very little.

 

If they learned about the faiths of the world — those invented by man and those backed up by historical documents and eyewitness accounts — but haven’t learned to transfer that learning from the head to the heart, then the learning is by no means complete.

 

If they learned about sacrifice — noting that sacrifice prompted by the individual heart as opposed to demanded en masse is one of life’s most beautiful, contagious examples — but yet give little away, then their intellect will have proved lesser.

 

If in chem lab they learn to build and blow up mountains — but have not concern for those impacted by the explosion and respect for the one who actually created the mountains — then in all reality, they still gain nothing.

 

If they scored incredibly well scholastically — surging to that top 10% — but care not about the 90% below them, then they will not have scored as they truly should have.

 

If they completely grasped both micro and macro econ, understanding supply and demand and economies of scale — but fail to have compassion on those the theories affect — then their economic education will be incomplete at best.

 

If they go further in economics, following economists who promote the politically-influenced theory — but spend with no specific, measurable means to repay — then their learning will omit the wisdom found in accountability.

 

If they have not learned love… if they have not embraced wisdom…

No matter the higher the education… it will be less…

 

If any of us have believed that only a school is responsible for that education, then we as parents and role models will also be less…

 

Love is patient and kind.  Love does not envy or boast.  It is never arrogant nor rude.  And it certainly does not insist on its own way.  It’s not irritable or resentful.

 

That means all these intelligent people… near us and in our neighborhoods… in our classrooms and communities… in Washington and in our work place… elected, appointed, or simply adjacent to us in some capacity… no matter their intelligence… no matter the loftiness of their rhetoric…

 

If they boast, are arrogant, or rude in their expression, whatever it is they actually have — from a Ph.D. to a Ph.Something — it is by all means lesser… it is less good.

 

Respectfully…

AR

And what is a wise form of communication?

 

From cyberspace over Saturday and Sunday… thoughts…

 

“God Bless our Veterans!

 

Thanks to the men & women who sacrifice so much for our freedom; Happy Memorial Day!

 

Changed my profile picture to my Dad while he was stationed in Korea. Thank you to all the service personnel and also to their families who keep things working on the home front. Thank you for your sacrifices for your country.

 

Thank you to all Military and those who have served this country in any capacity that allows us to enjoy our freedoms! I am so thankful to you and so blessed to be enjoying this beautiful day!!!

 

So thankful for the incredible, loving, supportive and caring families that both we have!

 

Thank you to the many veterans who are friends and family who have sacrificed much to allow me the many freedoms I have.

 

Your sacrifices are truly selfless and what this Country is based on. God Bless You.

 

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

 

Sadly, for the first time in my life, I am afraid of our government.

 

Flying high, standing for so much…

 

We remember and are grateful….

 

Yahoo! My son made Regionals in shot put… Go Camden! Hurl it buddy! (That sounds nasty but you know what I mean….)

 

Today I am so very grateful for those men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for my freedom, and for their families who live without someone they loved because of that sacrifice every day. I hope there is a measure of comfort today in the remembering…

 

Respect…

 

I want to thank all of you that posted pictures of your fathers, brothers, uncles, etc. that served in military. Especially the ones going back to WW II.  Reminds us that our parents and grandparents were young once. They weren’t always “old.”

 

I am cranky and so I have put myself in time out. Getting to go to my room, all by myself, where there are books and a comfy bed and Magnum PI on Hulu, until I am no longer cranky and can interact with my family in kind and non-cranky ways? Yes, time out, please.

 

Greater love hath no man than this…

 

Happy Memorial Day… always…  always thinking of what’s most important…”

 

Respectfully… thinking of someone other than me…

AR

Several years ago, I was given a sweet book entitled “The Valley of Vision.”  Truth be told, I didn’t totally ‘get it’ right then.  Nice alliteration.  Neat looking book.  But I stumbled at the simple thought of how one was supposed to see from a low lying level of the land.

 

Down at the lowest point?  Seeing life from there?  And then it dawned on me…

 

Only from the bottom are we forced to look up.  Only from the lowest levels do we put other people above ourselves, crafting a humble yet healthy respect for other people.  We were created to respect one another — without allowing differing opinion or perspective to justify arrogance.

 

Where does arrogance come from?  The person who never looks at life through the valley of vision.  Arrogance evolves in the person who must always stand on top, so-to-speak — thus justifying looking down on those below, thinking they always know best.

 

As I’ve watched the events of the last few days unfold, I’m unsettled by what’s happening…  something less than transparency in Benghazi, something conflicting with impartiality by the IRS, and something obviously not just in the actual Justice Department.  An accurate account wasn’t shared about Benghazi; the IRS targeted conservative groups leading up to the last presidential election; and the Justice Dept. has been secretly stealing the press’s information.  Hence, there are continued reasons for distrust in a growing American government, and those reasons are not rooted in extremism.

 

When the reputations of solid establishments are pierced by corruption, we crave wisdom; we long for leadership.  We long for men and women of integrity to point us to prudent perspective and encourage accountability.  We thus long for leaders who humbly exercise the vision gleaned from the valley.

 

This week concern by the Intramuralist has significantly increased.  Similar to the 2 most recent White House occupiers, soon into a second term, a credibility crisis has arisen.  The crisis is evident via the questioning and criticism by seemingly likeminded partisans.

 

Pres. Clinton’s credibility began to crumble with his perceived dishonest response to involvement with Monica Lewinsky.  Pres. Bush’s credibility was pierced by his perceived too stoic response to Hurricane Katrina.  I say that with no disdain for either leader.  The reality is that once a leader’s credibility is damaged, their influence also dissipates.  From my limited perspective, the influence of presidents Clinton and Bush began to wane due to their chosen responses.  This week we’ve noted the response from Pres. Obama.

 

Typically, when the events receiving increased publicity are obviously good (i.e. the capture of Bin Laden), we hear a lot of “I”…  I did it.  I promised.  I am responsible.  When the events are negative (i.e. the fragile economy), there’s blame casting, distancing, and absolving of individual accountability.  When it was unveiled Friday that the IRS has been intentionally targeting groups based on their beliefs, Pres. Obama waited the weekend, then hedged his initial comments on whether or not this was true (even though the IRS had already publicly apologized); and then, while calling the if-true acts “outrageous,” he referred to the IRS as an “independent agency.”  The IRS is a bureau of the Treasury Dept., which in turn reports to the Executive Branch; they are not independent.  Thus, it appears an attempt to put distance between the agency and administration.  Obama is beginning to respond differently, but who will forget Clinton’s wagging finger regarding Lewinsky and Bush’s fly-by pic over New Orleans?  The first response is always remembered, for it’s typically not as calculated as the impression management tactics political advisors later recommend.

 

Friends, I am not suggesting Pres. Obama was personally involved.  My point is this…  With the not-so-perfect storm of altered Benghazi accounts, biased IRS auditing, and an unjust Justice Dept., we need wise leadership…  to take responsibility…  to be accountable… to adopt Truman’s bold mantra of “the buck stopping here.”  Every CEO is accountable for his business.  We thus need leadership that looks at the storm from the valley of vision — meaning instead of finding ways to deflect blame and diffuse controversy, look up; lead us out of this; respect other people as you are motivated only by integrity and truth.  Let there be no distancing, hidden political motive, or continued blame.

 

Only an accountability-accepting response — for both the good and the bad — regardless of direct involvement — demonstrates the humble, effective leadership that keeps one’s credibility from crumbling.

 

Respectfully,

AR

Prior to Boston’s bombing garnering most of the nation’s attention, the week previous cable news host Melissa Harris-Perry received more attention than usual for the news she made as opposed to the news she reported.  In only a 30 second promotional ad for her network, the television host and Tulane professor said the following:

 

“We have never invested as much in public education as we should have, because we’ve always had kind of a private notion of children.  ‘Your kid is yours and totally your responsibility.’  We haven’t had a very collective notion of ‘these are our children.’  So part of it is we have to breakthrough our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents or kids belong to their families, and recognize that kids belong to whole communities.  Once it’s everybody’s responsibility and not just the household’s, then we start making better investments.”   [Emphasis was Harris-Perry’s.]

 

While the Intramuralist previously paid little attention to the rhetorical flap that has since transpired on all sides of the equation, my desire today is to briefly analyze what the TV host said and why my internal alarms are unfortunately now sounding…

 

In attempts to either squelch the firestorm (or gain increased publicity — you decide), Harris-Perry acknowledged that while she can comprehend how many are “genuinely upset” by what she said, she still stands by her statement.  She reiterated that the ad “isn’t about me wanting to take your kids, and this isn’t even about whether children are property.  This is about whether we as a society, expressing our collective will through our public institutions, including our government, have a right to impinge on individual freedoms in order to advance a common good.”  

 

That emphasis is mine.  That’s where my alarm begins to sound…

 

Let’s be clear.  People sometimes make bad choices.  We sometimes make bad choices.  I still make bad choices.  I’ve previously allowed my kids to sleep ‘til noon and eat ice cream for breakfast.  I also have zero doubt that at times I’ve allowed them to believe some things that were not true — even completely, totally ignorantly on my part; yes, I have at times taught them wrongly… maybe even “allowing” my kids to believe something that didn’t advance the desired “common good” that one of the country’s presumed intellectuals passionately believes in.

 

But a free, democratic republic, that teaching is no one’s right nor responsibility other than my household’s.  Perhaps even more significantly — and why this intelligent professor’s comments strike me as a contradiction of wisdom — is because it is no one else’s responsibility to teach my kids rightly.  It is no one else’s right nor responsibility to discern what is right or wrong for my children… that applies whether the topic be worldly or weighty, no matter if even about ice cream.

 

For me, that’s what bothers me about this ad.  With all due respect to Melissa Harris-Perry, I do not think of my children as my property; that’s not the issue.

 

Each of us has been endowed with inalienable rights.  Note:  the Declaration of Independence credits our Creator for those rights — not any desiring overreach of government.  One of those rights — and responsibilities — is to raise our children well.  That is not our community’s right nor the government’s responsibility.  That job is notably, divinely ours.

 

So if in my responsibility I make errors in judgment — which will happen sometimes — and if I make errors that cause partisans on one side or another (or both) to cringe at my teaching — it is no one’s right to play the moral compass or perceived human Holy Spirit and convict my kid; it is not their right to straighten my kid out.  Alarmingly, that argument is far more compatible with a socialist state than with a democratic republic that long ago acknowledged the individual endowment by our Creator.

 

Pass the ice cream, please.  For the record, we’ll be serving it for breakfast.

 

Respectfully,

AR

(With all due respect to “Sound of Music” lovers…)

 

How do you solve a problem like Korea?

How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?

How do you find a word that means Korea?

A flibbertijibbet! A will-o’-the wisp! A clown!

 

Many a thing you know you’d like to tell her

Many a thing she ought to understand

But how do you make her stay

And listen to all you say

How do you keep a wave upon the sand

 

Oh, how do you solve a problem like Korea?

How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?

 

How do you solve a problem like North Korea?  How do we hold this hostile ‘moonbeam’ in our hand?  … The rhetoric is rising.  The probability of a military conflict is increasing.  Allow me to first share facts (much of which was outlined by USA Today this weekend)…

 

• First president Kim Il Sung established the country’s self-described Juche (“self-reliant”) state, which has essentially cut off North Korea economically and diplomatically from the rest of the world.
• According to South Korean government estimates and Human Rights Watch, between 150,000-200,000 North Koreans live in prison camps.  A 2011 Amnesty International report reveals that as many as 40% of camp prisoners die from malnutrition while doing mining, logging and agricultural work with rudimentary tools in harsh conditions.
• The World Food Programme estimates that 6 million of North Korea’s 25 million people are in need of food aid and one-third of children are chronically malnourished or stunted.
• Only military and government officials can own a motor vehicle.
• Citizens are allowed 1 of 28 government approved haircuts.
• All legal televisions are tuned to state-controlled domestic programming; the Internet offers only a closed domestic network.  Observers believe that few citizens receive news from any source other than North Korean propaganda.
• Nearly all property belongs to the state.
• A modern independent judicial system does not exist.
• Religious freedom does not exist.
• The death of the leader Kim Jong-il in Dec. of 2011, prompted great, global uncertainty as to how the country will interact with foreign nations in the future.
• 2 weeks ago, new leader Kim Jong-un (youngest son of Kim Jong-iI) declared it was in ‘a state of war’ with South Korea, promising “stern physical actions” against “any provocative act.”  He also announced that rockets were ready to be fired at American bases.

 

While many remain on edge because of the nuclear capability possessed by North Korea, many others dismiss the problem because the totalitarian country is a fairly small, singular state.  The challenge, however, lies in the fact that global conflicts are usually sparked by singular, sometimes isolated acts…  After multiple diplomatic clashes between nations, for example, World War I started after the assassination of the Archduke of Austria Hungary and his wife… World War II, with unresolved tensions from war #1, is generally understood to have been prompted by the German/Russian invasion of Poland and the Japanese invasion of China…  singular countries… isolated acts.

 

So how do we solve a problem like Korea?  While many among us promote peace at all costs, that position will likely not serve effective in halting the hostility of such a “flibbertijibbet” country [“flibbertijibbet” chosen for self, diplomatic purposes].  Unfortunate or not, there exists a time for everything… a season for every activity under heaven… a time to be born and a time to die, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time for war and a time for peace.

 

Let’s pray this isn’t a time for war.  But until the problem of North Korea is firmly and effectively extinguished, the possibility solemnly remains.

 

Respectfully…

AR

(…previously posted although edited… but still worth considering…)

 

Studied religion?  Ah, yes… I’ve heard it can be controversial.  Then again, controversy should never impede the way to truth.  Our goal should be to handle truth well.

 

The Intramuralist has long studied other faiths…  Hinduism, Islam, Scientology, etc.  You’ve seen the posts over recent months.  Truth told, I find religion fascinating.  (Just ask my friends, the Jehovah Witnesses, who have visited me 3 times in the past 6 months… egad.)  Through study, no less, the more I learn.  The more I learn, the humbler I become.  I am humbled because it begins to make sense…

 

Truthfully, it would be easier to treat this topic more as a cafeteria plan.  You choose what you like.  I’ll choose what I like (usually the cinnamon rolls).  And then we’ll just eat, drink, and be merry together.  But while considering all faiths as equally true may be easier and more convenient, it may not be factually correct.

 

On the day billions around the globe honor Jesus, the Intramuralist believes it’s important to be factually correct.  Let’s offer 2 facts:

 

1. Jesus is the only leader of a faith whose body was never found decaying in a tomb.
2. In most all prominent religions, the life and teaching of Jesus is acknowledged.

 

Again, it would be easier for us to eat, drink, and be merry.  But it would be wiser to embrace what is true.  If it is true, and we are not embracing it, is that a problem?  I wrestle with the following words…

 

     …The basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is!  By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being.  So nobody has a good excuse.  What happened was this:  People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives.  They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life.  They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.

 

     So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.”  It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out.  And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them — the God we bless, the God who blesses us.

 

Let me add a fact #3:

3. Christians have not always handled the truth well.

 

Although tempted to respond to those around us, we should never allow the behavior of man to blind us from truth.  Otherwise, we, too, may be trivialized into confusion.

 

Happy Easter, friends.  Feel free to dialogue and/or express opinion.  We walk this life together…  even enjoying the eating and drinking.  Let me also be very clear:  nothing else other than Jesus makes any sense.  Granted, there’s a lot to figure out there.  People get confused.  They omit grace.  They omit truth.  They even — we even — then sometimes, actually omit Jesus.  He, however, is the one thing that remains, that makes life make sense.

 

Wishing for blessing for us all… with generous grace… and full truth, too…

 

Respectfully,

AR