Other Side of the Coin

Entropy and a Sense of Identity

2011-08-14T11:41:00.000-07:00

Entropy is such an amazing force in our existence. According to the laws of thermodynamics, the universe has an incessant drive toward chaos. The second law of thermodynamics describes the relationship between the amount of chaos at work around us and the amount of energy it takes to resist such chaos. Because entropy (read: chaos) is so strong, the universe is continually spending energy to prevent the spread of chaos, becoming less effective at preventing more chaos, and thus losing more energy than it gains. In short, there are no constant systems; at some point, everything breaks down.

This sounds fatalistic, but we all understand these principles. Our bodies require constant work in order to prevent decay. We brush our teeth, take showers, exercise, and sleep because we are preventing our natural decay. We will do this for our entire lives until the day arrives on which we no longer have the strength to resist. Death will overcome us, and entropy will continue its spread.

Thermodynamic law mirrors Christian theology. According to the first few chapters of Genesis, and reiterated throughout the rest of the Bible, the sins of Adam and Eve started a chain reaction of brokenness in our world, and every human (except for one) has repeated the same errors, thus continuing the destruction of our world. Christians often say, “We live in a fallen world,” just as scientists describe the existence of entropy in the universe.

These are facts of life. Most of us know them, but we spend our every waking moment trying to ignore them. We love to behold beauty, laugh, and play in an effort to postpone the inevitable. The very term “recreation” shows that we try to REpeat CREATION by refreshing ourselves and those around us. But we still know that it will all come to an end one day, so we encourage one another to enjoy every moment of joy we can grasp.

It’s healthy to pursue joy and happiness, but we need to acknowledge the existence of entropy so that we will not cling tightly to systems of the status quo. Humans naturally grasp for a centerline or a point of reference. We have an internal balance that tells us when we are falling, so we learn at an early age how to sit, stand, and walk without falling down. Our desires and emotions act the same way – we find ideas, people, and worldviews in which we are most comfortable, and we fight against those who will take this away from us. This drive to find a centerline of balance is good and healthy. When someone says, “Just be yourself,” they mean, “Be honest about the centerline(s) in your life.”

But we all have to admit that every point of reference will change in some way, or even go away altogether. The older we get, the stronger we fight against change. Since the world is constantly changing and shifting, it’s as if we become increasingly delusional at our ability to overcome entropy.

I don’t want to be fickle, wishy-washy, flaky, or weak in principle. I also don’t want to grow into a dogmatic, arrogant, prickly codger incapable of seeing change around me. I need an identity by which the community around me knows me and by which I know myself, but I also need the humility to change that identity as the world changes around me.

The Harmony of Maturity

2011-07-30T10:42:00.001-07:00

[The act (art?) of writing is extremely difficult for me. It’s not even the writing itself that is the problem; my challenge is actually sitting down to do it. I had great intentions to get this blog moving at a good rate, but this is my first activity in way too long. I could blame it on the fact that I had to move my family back to Los Angeles from Portland, return to my old job, and try to figure out how to do all that with a 7-month-old, but I’ll just leave my excuses in the past, where they belong. I had intended to “re-start” my blog (again!), but who cares. If I have to explain myself for long breaks in between writing, I’ll never write anything. So, for the two or three of you who will read this, let’s just move forward, shall we?]

Harmony has never been one of my defining characteristics. By “harmony,” I mean the overwhelming motivation to create harmony and peace among people. By nature, I operate out of passion and gravitate toward the extremes. In my love of football, I strongly support the Texas Tech Red Raiders, and I have a sickening feeling of angst toward the Texas Longhorns. As my dad has always said, I’m a fan of Texas Tech and anyone who plays the University of Texas. Texas Tech had an average season last year and lost to the Longhorns, but it was a great success because UT had a horrible year overall. In certain areas of my life, I am not okay with sharing success among opposing sides.

But the development of maturity within each person requires growth in the attitude of harmony. As everyone knows from observation and experience, kids love to fight over ownership of territory and possessions. Playground bullies pride themselves on proving dominance over others, and we learn (or are supposed to learn) how bullies are wrong. As we mature, we are taught to share our toys, be kind to others, refrain from violence, and so on. And even though we are supposed to continue to mature for our entire lives, at a certain point (let’s call this point “adulthood”) we are expected to reach a respectable level of social maturity.

I’m beginning to believe that we lie to our children. All our efforts to teach them how to share and get along with one another are acts of hypocrisy. When I look at the society around me and listen to U.S. leaders in government and business, I see adult-sized children fighting over toys in a sandbox. I see school-aged bullies behind microphones and “news” articles claiming dominance over the weakest in society. I will try with all my might to teach my son how to grow in harmony, but as soon as he learns to watch TV he will think I’m full of s***.

Or maybe he will think the people on TV are the liars. That’s my hope.

So many Jesus-following Americans have forgotten that Jesus has told us, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Our country will not continue to function effectively as long as we pride ourselves in the failures of the opposing side. There is a time to stand up against “evil” and a time to listen to, accept, and compromise with those with whom we disagree. May God help us figure out the difference between the two because I fear we’re getting it all wrong.

Beginning with Controversy & Hope

2011-05-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

We all need a motivating kick in the ass to start big projects -- the type of projects that help us feel alive. I have been unsuccessful with two other blog sites in the past 6 years. Each one has lasted a few months and received great support from family and close friends, but I eventually faded out due to laziness, busyness, writer's block (read, laziness), and a general lack of commitment to writing. I love writing, and I need to practice, so here's attempt #3. Third time's a charm, right? (See the "First Time Here?" page for more info.)

I really don't need a kick in the pants to get motivated these days. We have a new catastrophe every month -- earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan, the entire state of Texas catches fire, the Mississippi rages out of its banks -- and each new tragedy erases the prior from our memories. (Does anyone in our 24-hour news cycle ever report on Haiti?) These tragedies are surrounded by a perfect storm of heightened political awareness and unrest across the globe -- particularly in the U.S. I have plenty of muses for writing.

Today I was kicked into action. I read an article on CNN's Belief Blog by an undergraduate student in Boston entitled "My Take: No Apology for Celebrating after bin Laden's Death." The author discusses how her generation deserves to celebrate without apology for the death of Osama bin Laden. ("We celebrate because we can," she concludes.) I want to avoid the discussions about whether it is good or bad to celebrate wildly at bin Laden's death. There's nothing I can say that hasn't been said by hundreds of others, and we are all responding with wildly different emotions. My struggle with this article is the author's representation of her generation.

Lauren Kolodkin has painted a bleak picture of the young adult generation. "My generation has been told for years that our world is a place where there is little reason to celebrate anything." Is this true of an entire generation? I understand that it has been a decade since I was an undergraduate, but I don't feel this way at all. "I remember seeing Osama bin Laden’s face for the first time. I was 9 years old. My generation is cursed by those images of horror and destruction. We are cursed by that face. And since that day, we have been burdened with the consequences." Seriously? Cursed?

I understand that today's college graduate faces some horrible circumstances. Unemployment is high, the large Baby Boomer generation is running corporate America and staying employed much longer than expected, our federal and state governments are broke, and our education system is churning out poorer statistics every year. We are becoming "one of the better nations" in the world instead of the best nation in the world, and downward progress is rarely a good thing.

But humbler circumstances don't equal grave hopelessness. Was our nation's ego so fragile that 9/11 could completely wreck us? Was a group of Middle Eastern extremists powerful enough to devastate the most powerful and economic and cultural force in world? I understand that 9/11 was a serious tragedy, but was it strong enough to wreck a generation of Americans? If so, congratulations to the terrorists for winning.

If this article speaks truth, we should fight with all our hearts to remedy the situation with hope. 9/11 was tragic, just like all death. Cancer killed my sister-in-law, one my best friend's dad, and my uncle; it kills millions, so we fight to combat cancer. AIDS is devastating; we fight against it. And sure, we are "fighting" against terrorism, but they are clearly winning if we are left without hope. We need hope that extreme evil is weaker than devoted love. And we need to spread that hope like wildfire. (No offense, Texas and California.)

I have hope in spite of devastation. The world is filled with evil people, and they will never be eradicated. My biggest disappointment with John McCain during the 2008 election was his response to the question, "How do we respond to evil?" "We defeat it," McCain proudly announced. I know that we cannot defeat evil as America; we can only contain it until a new evil arises. We need stronger hope than our safe havens and comfortable pension funds. We need greater hope than that which was so easily destroyed by 9/11. We need a more loving hope that can celebrate peace and self-sacrifice more boldly than the death of one evil man. I have that hope, and I pray that my generation can share that hope with those behind us.