Yesterday the 6 billionth person was born in Sarajevo. Well, not exactly the 6 billionth. It’s all symbolic. The UN declared October 12, 1999 as the day the human population would surpass the 6 billion mark. They picked the first baby born that day in the city where the current secretary general of the UN was born. Okay, very symbolic.

Another interesting fact is that of those 6 billion people, 16% of them consume 80% of the world’s natural resources. That 16% is the most affluent countries in the world: the United States, Japan, and most of Europe. For the most part, that’s us. Not only that, but the United States is home to one third of the automobiles in the world.

That doesn’t seem like a very sustainable system. You can’t turn the faucet and magically get water forever. You can’t always put your trash on the curb before the landfill starts to creep into your backyard. You can’t drive your cars forever without turning the sky black with pollution. I don’t mean to preach apocalyptic doom, and rain down on your happy day, but it’s a reality we may soon need to accept. God made us stewards of this planet. I can’t help but wonder if some day he’s going to come home, find the place trashed, and we’re going to have some explaining to do.

The salt of your own sweat burns your eyes, and you watch the people pass by. People with money. People who have everything they need and more of what they want. People who think nothing of tossing out half a sandwich or buying a pop on the way home. Sometimes you wonder how people can live that way knowing the many needs around them. Where has the money gotten them? They just find more and more that they want, and they’re never happy with what they get. Has a peanut butter and jelly sandwich ever caused your eyes to light up and satisfy your hunger? Have you ever seen the people handing out free samples and thanked the heavens for the refreshing drink? As everyone walks by ignoring you and your need, all you can think to yourself is God will provide. God will provide. Though the storm clouds come and the pain of hunger strikes, God will provide.

July 4, 1776. The shackles of tyranny are cast off, and what would someday be called the greatest nation on the face of the earth took its first few feeble steps. Today, 223 years later, that nation is still taking its feeble steps, and you have to wonder if they’re not feebly drunk.

“…the bombs bursting in air and the rocket’s red glare, gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there. Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave?”

To celebrate our independence we light up the night sky with explosions, and the echoing booms can be heard miles away. In other countries when explosions shatter the silence, the citizens bury their heads in their knees and pray. In America, the land of the free and home of the brave, we raise a sweaty beer can to the sky and let out a drunken cheer. Men and women have fought and died for this country, to preserve the freedoms and liberties that we hold so dear. And what have we done with that freedom? We’ve chased the American Dream to the ends of the horizon. We’ve filled our homes with toys and bowed to the almighty dollar. Is this what our soldiers have fought and died for? Are we really the greatest nation on earth? I watched Saving Private Ryan on Friday night, and the dying soldier demanded that his comrade “earn this.” Earn the sacrifice we’ve made for you. “Have I lived a good life?” the elderly comrade asked as he stood weeping above the dead soldier’s grave. “Have I earned this?” I think that’s a question we should all ask ourselves.

Police brutality. This isn’t exactly a happy issue, and right now it’s ripping the city of Chicago apart. In the past few weeks there have been reports of police gunning down unarmed civilians. A young activist told me three people were murdered in the last three weeks. You’d have to be living in a bunker not to have heard about two of the fatal shootings, both of which occurred during traffic stops. People have been protesting, marching, and even boycotting. When I went downtown to yo-yo today, a group of radicals was boycotting the Taste of Chicago, a huge food festival downtown that draws nearly four million people. They were handing out flyers and urging others to do the same.

Continue reading Police Brutality in Chicago →

Seventeen boats of drunken people, lashed together in the middle of a river. A blood red moon rises in the east and fireworks explode overhead, a celebration for Memorial Day. While the brilliant colors flash across the sky, someone comments that you could see this every night in Serbia. This is how we celebrate our independence.