How Billy Graham Stoked the Fire of My Sexual Desire

I suppose any era would be confusing for youth seeking to make sense of the world into which they are coming of age, but for me in the 60’s it was particularly difficult. I earnestly sought to reconcile God and religion [NOT the same thing in the least, which by not having this figured this out only added to my adolescent confusion] with morality, Americanism, popular culture and human relationships.

Damn near everything was BAD, so we were taught: drugs, booze, tobacco—a given. Lying, cheating, stealing, selfishness—another given. Anti-establishment, pot-headed, protestin’ hippies--to be prayed for but also to be utterly avoided! And then there was that magical little three-letter word that packs such a big bang: “sex.”

Society’s famously repressive guidance on sex was mostly just don’t do it—you’ll go blind if you do it by yourself, you’ll get VD and/or knocked up if you do it with a member of the opposite sex. And as for same-sex shenanigans…well, THAT wasn’t even on the radar—NOBODY spoke of that as if it plain did not exist, as if “it’s not even a possibility, we’re not speaking of it, you’re not gonna do that, nor is he or she and since we’re not gonna talk about it, it ain’t gonna happen, so there!”

Most of my (I’d venture OUR) indoctrination was from the world—the preacher and teacher, the screen and the song—and it all conflicted. Totally sensible proscriptions against pre-marital sex omitted any instruction on how to deal with the real physiology of a powerfully potent pubescent sex drive, guidance that came instead from Hollywood and Madison Avenue.

Then there was the family vacation, the one that takes you down I-75 through Atlanta, Macon and Valdosta. The one where you hear some guy named Johnny Cash singin’ bout a boy named Sue. But it was the fluidly melodious sandpaper sound from who I’d later know as Satchmo, the incomparable Louis Armstrong that helped liberate my budding libido. With that velvety voice Louis proclaimed, “Birds do it, bees do it even educated fleas do it, let’s fall in love!”**

The coup de grace so to speak came on a sultry summer night in ’67, the height of “the summer of love.” With the family all gathered round the tube on came Billy Graham, who cut a Moses-like figure, delivering the Word with eyes ablaze under that wavy shock of hair, arms outstretched. We all loved Billy Graham; my Uncle Willie was especially fond of quoting him.

Tonight Reverend Graham was lamenting contemporary society [query: was “contemporary society” always lamentable no matter what the era?]. He attacked the “if it feels good, do it” mantra as freedom run amok. And then he said it.

Picture Billy Graham with his Carolina voice-from-up-high cadence saying, “…and they’re making songs about girls and boys spending the night together!” WHOO BOY, they’re doing what I thought. Being 12, I didn’t quite get the allure of sleeping with girls—they were, after all, the bearer of the dreaded coodies—so Billy Graham’s protestation really piqued my curiosity.

I stayed ever vigilant to discover that song about which Billy objected. And—EUREKA--about the time I heard the Rolling Stones sing “Let’s Spend the Night Together” I was beginning to “get” the allure of doing so! And to think I first heard the concept from the world’s highest pulpit preacher (excluding God’s vicar on earth, the Pope, who was just a pope to us Episcopalians anyway).

Wow, Billy Graham was right—that’s some FUN stuff and, oh by the way, like booze, drugs, tobacco…it’s SIN! Oh well, at least I had Disney World.

**LET'S DO IT, LET'S FALL IN LOVE
(Cole Porter)

Recorded by: Louis Armstrong; Bunny Berigan; Tommy Bruce & the Bruisers; Ian Carmichael; Noel Coward; Bing Crosby; Dorsey Brothers; Ella Fitzgerald; Marvin Gaye; Georgia Gibbs; Benny Goodman; Stephane Grappelli; Roy Hamilton; Billie Holiday; Leslie "Hutch" Hutchinson; Marion Hutton; Jack Hylton; Dick Hyman; Eartha Kitt; Peggy Lee; Mary Martin; George Melly; Moonlight Serenaders; Alanis Morissette; 101 Strings Orch.; Della Reese; Nelson Riddle; Dinah Shore; Frank Sinatra; Connie Stevens; Toni Ternnille; Rudy Vallée;Dinah Washington; Paul Whiteman; Jane Wyman ..... and others.

Birds do it, bees do it
Even educated fleas do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

In Spain the best upper sets do it
Lithuanians and Letts do itLet's do it,
let's fall in love

The Dutch in old Amsterdam do it
Not to mention the FinnsFolks in Siam do it
Think of Siamese twins

Some Argentines, without means do it
People say in Boston even beans do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

Romantic sponges they say do it
Oysters down in Oyster Bay do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love Cold Cape Cod clams, 'gainst their wish, do itEven lazy jellyfish do itLet's do it, let's fall in love

Electric eels, I might add, do it
Though it shocks 'em I know
Why ask if shad do it
Waiter, bring me shadroe

In shallow shoals, English soles do it
Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

Israel’s Wall of…Humanity maybe?

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about Israel’s wall from the perspective of Palestinians very badly affected by it and termed it Israel’s wall of apartheid. Well, an excellent article in today’s NY Times by a Muslim Yale student gives the other side of that story http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/18/opinion/18manji.html.

As Irshad Manji says, “Since the barrier went up, suicide attacks have plunged, which means innocent Arab lives have been spared along with Jewish ones. Does a concrete effort to save civilian lives justify the hardship posed by this structure? The humanitarian in me bristles, but ultimately answers yes.”

Ms. Manji notes that the Israeli government allows civil lawsuits by aggrieved Palestinians and that Ariel Sharon himself agreed to reroute sections of it when the Israel High Court ruled in favor of the complainants.

Now this objectivity from an educated member of the aggrieved class certainly leads upwards to a higher truth. While I was already aware of the other side of the coin, perhaps I underestimated the havoc of suicide bombers and its utter uncontrollability by about any means short of that horrid wall.

Therein lies the rub, for I still believe that the wall will fall well short of providing long term security without the powers in control addressing the underlying root cause of bombers’ desire to sacrifice themselves. That desire stems from the unjust dis-enfranchisement of native Palestinians from land they lived on for thousands of years.

As I have long said, this is a situation wherein it appears that all sides have just cause: the Jewish people needing a post-holocaust homeland, AND the Palestinians…[just what is the HIGHEST TRUTH here—were they evicted back in 1948 in an unjust war, did they merely flee from fear of being killed by the armed Zionists, or did they voluntarily leave at the behest of other Arab countries who allegedly promised to return them in a later attack (this is a common Israeli argument)—I just don’t know]…who were displaced in the making of that homeland.

One thing I truly believe is that the Jewish people around the world along with those living in Israel want nothing more than peace. Above all, they want a secure and safe country, and even within Israel there is much distress about the methods used to attain that security. Most are eager to see a stable Palestinian state; many others, out of sincere empathy and desire for the highest justice, decry their government’s aggression towards Palestinians. This reflects the moral objectivity, compassion and empathy that infuses a people who themselves have suffered so much.

I shall keep trying to search for the highest truth. In the meantime I will pray for all.


RFD 3/19/06

How Cal Crucified a Disciple of Christ

It is amazing that during this high holy season of Jesus’ resurrection that Cal Thomas writes as though he wouldn’t recognize Jesus if he were directly in front of Him, much less if he met a modern-day disciple who emulated Jesus’ life, and, in furtherance of Jesus’ message of peace and non-violence, his death as well.

Yet Jesus himself said that those of the world would be blinded to His reality. Seems that Mr. Thomas, a self-described devout Christian who subverts Jesus’ teachings, is among that worldly population Jesus was speaking about.

Thomas, in a March 14 article, http://www.townhall.com/opinion/column/calthomas/2006/03/14/189678.html criticizes Tom Fox, the peace activist executed by his Iraqi captors. Thomas said his murder was tragic “because the likelihood that the presence of Fox and his colleagues would change the attitude or behavior of their captors was zero to none.”

Hmm. And when Jesus told Peter to sheath his sword and otherwise did not lift one finger to prevent his captors from killing him, did Jesus believe that his executioners would adopt Jesus’ message of peace, love and mercy? Of course not, and neither was that the expectation of Mr. Fox.

Thomas is so bent on protecting his radically conservative ideology that he would totally and thoroughly miss this modern-day Christ-like sacrifice and instead demean and sacrifice the fallen lamb on the altar of partisan politics because the spokeswoman for Mr. Fox’s group, Christian Peacemakers Teams, had the audacity to speak the truth: “We believe that the root cause of the abduction of our colleagues is the U.S. and British-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.”

Instead, Thomas insists that Jesus’ teachings of non-violence are wrong. “Peace happens when evil is vanquished,” according to Thomas. And for Thomas that can only occur by the sword, and in the case of the US invasion of Iraq, a sword brandished on the basis of lies, and swung so as to kill hundreds of thousands of innocents.

In short everything Thomas stands for in this regards is the exact opposite of Jesus’ main teachings, indeed the very purpose of His life. Donning the cloak of Jesus, God’s Lamb, to cover the wolf beneath is, what…a lie, a sin… evil maybe?

So how would he like to be vanquished?


RFD 3.16.06

Send NASA To Nairobi

NASA’s abuzz with the possible discovery of water, and thus maybe, maybe—LIFE--on Enceladus, a tiny moon of Saturn. Predictably, their cry for more funding—“BILLIONS AND BILLIONS” as Carl Sagan was wont to say (but only in relation to the number of stars, not the money to visit them)—is now evermore urgent.


"It's startling," said Carolyn C. Porco of the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo., leader of the imaging team for the Cassini spacecraft that spotted eruptions of ice crystals from the moon’s surface. . "I wouldn't be surprised to see the planetary community clamoring for a future exploratory expedition to land on the south polar terrain of Enceladus…We have found an environment that is potentially suitable for living organisms.”

It is more than mere coincidence that I read this account just after hearing a fellow Rotarian speak of the utter horrors he saw on his mission to help orphaned children in Nairobi, Kenya. The pictures confirmed his woeful words describing the unfathomable poverty, the filth, the stench, the degradation of the living dead. Hordes of Kenyans just existing, barely, on and in the dirt—no dwellings, no goods, no medicines, little food and even less hope.

Gary McCormick’s big heart grew even larger when his eyes met those of the sickly child he was cradling, one of millions left orphaned either by Aids, war or starvation. “Touched my soul,” said Gary, who longs to go back. So much need, so much poverty and yet, those kids seemed content—“they did not know they had nothing, they had nothing to compare themselves to.”

I questioned the relevance of my do-good liberalism here at home in matters that seem so trivial when compared to those in much more dire need of humane intervention. The safe cocoon of America, with all the sedations of its Hollywood/Madison Avenue diversions, may shield our consciousness from the real horrors existing beyond our shores, but it does not negate them.

And the Universal laws of morality, of the yin and yang, of Karma, OF GOD, are as certain of occurrence as they are indeterminate in timing: what goes around comes around. It simply is in our own altruistic self-interest, self-PRESERVATION, to help those parts of the world in such dis-repair.

Of course, we certainly are doing much good through our foreign aid, through our volunteerism and through our involvement with international organizations. And the benefits from NASA have certainly been worth much of its cost, so I am not speaking of eliminating this incredibly successful program.

But why all the fuss and expense of searching for new life beyond our planet? All the life we need to know about, and care about, is right here on Mother Earth. Why not just assume there is life beyond and save the trillions of dollars needed to preserve and enhance life right here on earth.

Instead, send NASA to Nairobi.

RFD 3.14.06

Casi-NO for Kentucky’s future--

I did not want to write this, I really didn’t. I had already upset some with previous writings opposing casino gambling in Kentucky. But the stakes are too high and the pro-gambling forces too potent to remain silent in the midst of the onslaught.

-----------------------------------

Kentucky, from the Iroquoian “Ken-tah-ten”, means The Land of Tomorrow. Yet a vote by our legislators to propose a Constitutional amendment allowing full-scale casino gambling will rob us of this promise and instead return us to the ruin of yesterday.

The slots/casino lobby, KEEP, is now coating their argument within the trendy patriotic cloak of democracy—“let the people vote”—knowing full well that with their bottomless pit of cash they will corrupt the democratic process. That gambling cash is already at work, plying compliant politicians’ coffers and running a non-stop campaign to sell an agenda that, were it so worthy, would need no such maneuverings.

It now appears our legislature is close to a compromise to bring casino gambling full bore to our Commonwealth. If they do allow a Constitutional amendment to come before the public the casino lobby will stand virtually unopposed on the airwaves in the press to sway middle ground voters. They have the wherewithal and will spend and do whatever it takes to insure its passage with a slick one-sided campaign that will exaggerate the good while totally ignoring the harm.

Those who care about our future and the protection of our well being have scant funds to share the ugly facts that would effectively counter their propaganda. Those facts show that casinos/electronic gambling (slots): a) drain money from other traditional, longstanding businesses and services in the community, thus depressing overall economy; b) cause untold individual misery and financial ruin by addicting 5% of the population and enabling many more “problem” gamblers which, c) create huge social costs that gambling revenues never can cover; and d) cause more suicide, bankruptcy, absenteeism.

The truth is that this has nothing to do with “democracy” but everything to do with public policy. The question is NOT whether we let voters decide whether to allow an activity like slots—the “crack cocaine” of gambling--but whether as a matter of POLICY we curtail any chance of its occurrence for the betterment of our community.

Indeed that is why we must amend our Constitution at all. There was a similar national gambling scourge in the late 1800’s. It got so bad that states, including Kentucky, outlawed gaming and, in order to prevent future generations from falling into it again, amended their Constitutions to prevent it from rearing its ugly head again.

And so Kentucky’s politicians are on the verge of enabling something that is unprecedented on a national scale: full-fledged anything goes gambling right smack dab in the middle of EVERY major metropolitan area in the state.

Think about it. If the argument were simply to stem the flow of dollars leaving the state (which is a false issue to begin with) then the appropriate response would be to push for a riverboat right across the river from Indiana’s on the Kentucky side. But such is the strength of mammon that they have far exceeded this by proposing ELEVEN casinos to blanket the state.

Money promised for education and health care is done in the same mold as that used to sell the lottery, and as such, is the conscience-soother that helps persuade us to agree to something we would never accept otherwise.

The real problem is that casino gambling should be federally regulated, as one state’s activity has such profound effects on the others. But until that day when the citizenry demands the end of money’s corruptive influence on politics Washington will not touch it. And so we embark down this losing race to the bottom.

But there is yet time. By remembering history and rejecting the gambling lobby’s false arguments our legislators can stand tall for a Kentucky that is worthy of its citizen’s character.

And they will insure a Kentucky that can truly be the land of tomorrow.


Respectfully, Richard F. Dawahare

Yogi Bear, Beer and God

I really enjoy Friday’s bar on Friday nights. The gang’s all there full of camaraderie, ready to laugh at the draught of a beer, even at one of my corny retorts. Conversations are free-ranging and often spurred by the NTN trivia we all play.

When Yogi Bear came up as one of the answers it was yet another reminder of why I believe that the 60’s were the peak of civilization. [I’ve written before that music, that technology (relatively—certainly there has been much advance since then, but does anything rival landing a man on the moon!), that social and philosophical advancement peaked in the 60’s, and that we’ve regressed ever since].

Take Yogi for instance, denizen of Jellystone Park. He touted himself as “smarter than the average bear!” No strutting, no exaggeration, no arm-pumping braggadociousness. He didn’t claim to be the meanest, bestest bear of all, simply smarter than average. And he probably was considering his wheedling a contract out of Hanna-Barbera the way he did.

Yogi of course was patterned after the loveable Yogi “nobody goes to that restaurant anymore, it’s too crowded” Berra an American original if there ever was one. But he wasn’t the only good guy from 60’s cartoons. The decade that crushed our generation’s hope and optimism with the real-life assassination of JFK anesthetized us with the fictional fantasy of such great animation as Beany and Cecil and Rocky and Bullwinkle—still the best kid-to-adult show of any kind.

There were more humble heroics from the likes of Underdog, Atom Ant and Johnny “hey hajji” Quest. There were the not so humble, but oh so clever Bugs Bunny, Road Runner and Pink Panther. And Al—VINN!, Cool McCool, Quick Draw McDraw, Top Cat, George of the Jungle and my favorite, Go Go Gophers:

“Here comes the colonel with his sargeant,
Both are a-roarin' and a-chargin'.
Go go gophers, watch them go go go. Go go gophers, watch them
GO GO GO!”

Yeah, we were nothing but goofy smiles as I took a big gulp from the FREEZING and bubbly effervescence of the new Mich Ultra AMBER, lovingly poured by Friday’s great barkeeps. Reminded me of my first trip to Amsterdam back in ’79 when my buds and I did the Heineken tour. Afterwards they poured us their fine brew and proudly asked our opinion. I looked at the Dutch brew master and said, “well sir, it’s okay but it just doesn’t have that Budweiser bite.”

It was then that Delores (not her real name) told me that her husband, my good friend Roger (not his real name) might finally have a terrific job opportunity. They weren’t talking about it until it was more solid, but she was praying fervently about it. Delores told me why she had such faith in God.

Years ago her son left home and fell out of contact for nearly a year. Her mother, his grandmother, had had enough and in a screaming plea to God as she was driving implored Him to make her grandson call OR ELSE…she would not believe anymore. It was kinda like Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump, yelling at God from the top of the shrimpin’ boat’s mast through that wicked storm.

Well, Delores told me, the minute her mother got home the phone rang and lo and behold it was her grandson!! Ever since her mother told her, “you simply MUST have faith because God is real” and Delores certainly has kept that faith, no matter what difficulties she has faced, and they’ve been many.

There were many more chuckles and warm fuzzies before the night was done. And outside of Yogi’s intelligence, there was nothing average about it!

Rfd 3/4/06