Texas Faith: The Righteous Mind of Tsarnaev Brothers

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3,300 Americans have been killed in violence since the Newtown Massacre. Was the Newtown killer, Wisconsin shooter or the Denver murderer authorized by Americans Christians to kill? American Muslims did not authorize Major Nidal and Faisal Shahzad either. Indeed, if they had any inkling, they would have been the first to report them to the FBI. Timothy McVeigh was a looney and acted on his own, so are the Tsarnaev brothers who acted on their own – continued: http://nabsites.net/demo/texas-faith-righteous-mind-of-tsarnaev/

Texas Faith: The Righteous Mind of the Brothers Tsarnaev 
By Bill McKenzie/ Editorial Columnist | Published 11:46 AM -04/23/2013

The part of the Boston story that mystifies me is how two brothers reportedly led fairly normal lives after they came to Boston, but then something flipped and their thinking grew rigid. So rigid that they decided to blow up innocents along the Boston Marathon route in order to make a statement.
How does something like that happen?
Jonathan Haidt argues in his book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion that the righteous mind can readily shift into combat mode in political and moral arguments.We launch rhetorical grenades, which impress members of our own group, writes Haidt. But that does little to change the minds of our opponents, especially if they are in combat mode, too.
Of course, the Tsarnaev brothers did more than launch rhetorical grenades. They chose murder over the hard work of persuasion.
“If you really want to change someone’s mind on a moral or political matter,” Haidt counters, ” you’ll need to see things from that person’s angle as well as your own. And if you truly do see it the other person’s way — deeply and intuitively — you might even find your own mind opening in response.”

In other words, it is risky business trying to persuade people. The exercise may prompt us to change our own minds, which can be unsettling.”


So, here’s the question for you: Is it possible to keep the combat mode of the righteous mind from kicking in? If so, how?

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas, and Speaker on interfaith matters, diversity and pluralism
 

America’s success in creating a cohesive environment to work and function effectively has hinged on a can-do attitude. Indeed, we have a choice “to keep the combat mode of the righteous mind from kicking in” or we can opt to let things go sour. But at the end, we have to restore the balance. We cannot function in a chaotic society.
Jonathan Haidt’s statement is certainly unsettling. The idea of seeing another person’s angle takes time, patience and humility. There is a fear in us, that knowing another point of view might change us, and we strongly resist it. On the surface, it amounts to self-negation, compromise or giving up on our own values, but shamelessly some of us demand the same from others.
The Tsarnaev brothers chose murder over the hard work of persuasion. They simply did not understand how democracy functions.
The Muslim community has done everything possible to guard the safety of fellow Americans, and nearly all of the bad guys caught by the FBI were reported by Muslims. Indeed the NYPD surveillance report violated civil rights, but the outcome absolved the Muslim community from radicalization.
GOP Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House’s homeland security subcommittee said this week: “Ninety-nine percent of Muslims are outstanding Americans, but the fact is, that’s where the threat is coming,” and added, ““If you know a threat is coming from a certain community, that’s where you look.”
As a Muslim I welcome this with a caution to Congressman Peter King: No witch hunting, sir. You will do more harm to the cohesive fabric of America than those terrorists could ever do. Please heed the wisdom of Martin Luther King Jr. He said “Injustice to one is injustice to all.” Inflicting apprehension on Muslims is drilling fear in all Americans.
Since the Newtown massacre, 3,300 Americans have been killed in violence. Was the Newtown killer, Wisconsin shooter or Denver murderer authorized by American Christians to kill? American Muslims did not authorize Major Nidal and Faisal Shahzad either. Indeed, if they had any inkling, they would have been the first to report them to the FBI.


Added 

Timothy McVeigh was a looney and acted on his own, so are the Tsarnaev brothers who acted on their own. US News on NBC reports that Dzhokhar has admitted to acting alone. 

As a society we need to make an effort to be inclusive in everything we do, from schools to places of worship and work place, a new culture of cohesiveness needs to emerge, where no one feels alienated. We need to watch for those, who have difficulty in resolving conflicts through dialogue and fall prey to the temptations of taking other’s life.

To see all the 7 responses, please visit:  
 http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/04/texas-faith-the-righteous-mind-of-the-brothers-tsarnaev.html/

….Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel,India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive Americaand offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest onSean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly atHuffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal sitewww.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.

In Memory of Dadski Everett Blauvelt 1916-2013

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IN
MEMORY OF EVERETT A. BLAUVELT
JANUARY
14, 1916 – APRRIL 21, 2013
On his 97th birtday with Lili Blauvelt – Jan 14, 2013
This
morning Dadski Everett Blauvelt gracefully took his last breath, and departed
on his eternal journey to be with God. He lived his life to the fullest, and I have come to admire this man for the last 36 years!

It’s a great personal loss to me. He has been a great
father figure to me since 1977, and the Mike part of my name was his calling
and I am here in the United States because of him. I have affectionately called him Dadski along with his daughters and son.

My
family and I mourn his loss along with his wife Lily, daughter Mary and her husband
Mike, son Ashley and his wife Shirley and their family, daughter Becky, her husband Paul and their family – and the extended family and close friends.
The
funeral will be arranged next week. He was a devout Mormon.
God
willing, I will be writing a full tribute on him, to express my gratitude and
respect for this great man – Everett Blauvelt.
A
few days ago, I wrote a note about him, which I have reposted, following a profile
composed by Mary Blauvelt;
Beloved
“Dadski” – Lieutenant Everett Ashley Blauvelt, U.S.N.R
Everett
Ashley Blauvelt, Lieutenant, U.S.N.R.  Born January 14, 1916 on the
kitchen table at home in Vallejo, California to Lt. Commander George Russell
Blauvelt and Effie Mary Ryan Blauvelt.  He had two brothers and two
sisters:  George Russell, Jr. (who died at 3 months of age), Helen, Lloyd
and Edith. 
Because
his father was in the Navy, the family moved around in California and
Washington.  Dad worked at various jobs at a young age to help support the
family during the depression.  He graduated from Bremerton (WA) High
School in 1934, went to work as a general helper in the Navy yard for a few
months, then signed up for Forestry at the University of Washington for two
years.  Then went to Metropolitan Business College in Seattle where he
took courses in accounting. 
He
worked at various jobs, and then in 1940 got a job working on a Navy supply
ship that hauled materials to build an air base in Sitka, Alaska.  In
January, 1942, he left that job, went back to Seattle and applied for the Navy,
completed preflight training and went to navigation school.  He was then
given his commission as an Ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve and obtained his
navigator wings.  He was assigned to V Bomber 107 Squadron (he was an
aerial navigator in a B24 Liberator), South Atlantic Fleet and stationed in
Natal, Brazil where his job was convoy and anti submarine work between Natal
and Ascension Island. 
In
1943 Everett was transferred to Dallas (where he met and married Norma LaVerne
Blauvelt) and then was transferred to navigation school in Shawnee,
Oklahoma. 
In
June, 1946 he retired from the Naval Reserves and went to work for Aramco in
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia as an accountant.  During the 12 years he worked for
Aramco, he and his family (LaVerne, Ashley and Mary) vacationed extensively in
Europe, the Middle East and the Orient. 
 In 1958 he purchased a sporting goods store in
Lake Tahoe, California and the family settled there for 10 years.  In
1968, the store failed and he obtained a job in Vietnam working for Pacific
Architects and Engineers.  He later divorced and met and married, Hue Thi
Blauvelt (“Lili”) and they had a daughter, Rebecca.  He moved the family
to California, where he worked for a few years at Philco Ford, then moved the
family to Dallas and he went back to work in Saudi Arabia and worked for Fluor corporation,
dba as Fluor Arabia in Uthmaniyah, Saudi Arabia until he retired in 1981.
 He joined the Mormon church and is a devout Mormon.  He is a man of
wit, charm and principle.  He is our Beloved Dadski.

Praying for Dadski
http://nabsites.net/demo/praying-for-dadski-everett-blauve/

PRAYING FOR DADSKY EVERETT BLAUVELT

These pictures were taken on January 14, 2013 – on the 97th birthday of my friend. I have been visiting him at the Nursing home for the last three days, this morning I went with my son and daughter to see him. He was sleeping… and I quietly whispered “Dadsky”, and he opened the eyes, stretched his hand and acknowledged, and also acknowledged Jeff and Mina. That was a blessing to me and I felt good that I was able to connect with him in his last few days. 















When I lost my father in 1977, Everett and I were working in Saudi Arabia, I was in Shedgum and he was in Uthmaniyah, both were managing the finance departments of Fluor Arabia in the Eastern Province, it was a gigantic $5.3 Billion Natural Gas Liquificiation facility, the largest of its kind in the world at that time.

Caring as he is, he would ask about my family and always was lending his ears to hear me out. He became a father figure to me and has been one for the last 35 years! Even now, when he was in fairly good health a year ago, he always asked about Yasmeen, Jeff, Fern and Mina, and at times he has asked about Ella, Jeff and Mina’s mother.

He has hung the small gift I brought for him from Australia and pointed it out to me; he looks up and thinks about me. What a great soul he is! This is a great lesson we all can learn – to care about others and listen to the ones we care. I have been doing that, but I need to do more of it.

The “Mike” part of my full name; Mike Mohamed Ghouse is his gift, he affectionately called me Mike, and when I came to the United States, I made that a legal part of my name. Indeed, I was wondering on Friday night, if I would have ever come to the United States, had he not encouraged me. One day, he actually told me to go the US Embassy in Dhahran, and I asked him why, he said go there now and I did, the US Embassy handed the passport to me with a visa stamped on it, he asked me to stay at his home in Richardson and I stayed with Lily, Becky and his family for about 4-5 months before I moved out on my own. I am grateful to Lily; she fixed food for me, as I had no idea of cooking at that time.

He is in his last few days at the hospice and I have been praying for him. He is happy and ready to be beamed up. He has lived his life well, a life of caring and positive energy. I love the peaceful smile of a winner on his face. He is the first Mormon I met in life and is a great example of being a good Mormon.

URL –http://nabsites.net/demo/in-memory-of-dadski-everett-blauve/

Muslims beware | Muslims scream with me

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MUSLIM’S BEWARE  | MUSLIMS SCREAM WITH ME
These dudes can act on their own as criminals, but should not be allowed to use religion for their creepy behavior, lets start screaming at them, and shout at any clergy who brainwashes and lies to these kids….lets start screaming at them.

Bad guys will always do bad things, nothing will stop them. The bad guys have killed 3300 Americans in just 4 months, laws don’t mean a thing to them, punishment means nothing to them, and death penalty doesn’t mean a thing to them either. The bad guys who are Muslim, are no different than them. 
However, as Muslims, we can take extra responsibility, to aggressively shout and scream at those few Muslims who are abusing Islam, who are misquoting Quraan, preaching hatred, screwing with the word Jihad, and terrorizing fellow human beings… 
Those who say, what about others who terrorize Muslims? I say, our actions should not be dependent on what others do. We are responsible for our actions.
Prophet Muhammad taught us to pray for the bad guys, there are several examples of it, he prayed for those who pelted stones at him, he was kind even to the lady who threw trash on him…he said, be kind to others,  hold the temptations to take revenge. Quran says do not kill another being, suicide is a sin,…these assholes need to know that this what Jihad is.  We need to scream at those few idiotic clergy who teach otherwise including that filthy Australian imam. 
I will scream at every possible ugly Imam,  scream with me.
The arrest of the suspect is an important step, but not over. We have to find his connections, who is behind it and who All is involved in it.  Indeed I am proud of the way this is handled by the police, FBI and the citizens of Boston.
There is an article in Huffington Post, “What if Boston terrorist is a muslim” may be worth your read, it was written before this discovery. 
These series of notes are available at www.WorldMuslimCongress.com

Mike Ghouse

Posted by Mike Ghouse at 10:05 PM  

Happy Ramnvami, birth celebration of Lord Rama

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Ramnvami is birth celebration of Lord Rama, the Hindu king who set the high standards of morality in governance, of accountability, truth and integrity- his rule was called Ram Rajya.  In the Hindu tradition, he is an avatar (representation) of Vishnu, the energy that sustains the world, the other two energies are Shiva that destroys (brings closure) and Brahma, who originates life.

RamParivarThe epic Ramayana is said to be 8000 years old or beyond, staged in most of the towns in India, if not all. I grew up watching the Ramayana played out on stage on my street in Yelahanka, the town that gave birth to Bangalore.  It was a long show – from 10 PM through 5 Am in the morning. One of my cousin’s husband use to play the role of Hanuman in the play in another town and my brother in law’s friend played Laxman in the show.  There are great story tellers of Ramayana who go around this season and share the stories, and here in Dallas there was a Morari Bapu, and I have listened to him at the Ekta Mandir as well as the Caribbean Hindu Temple in Dallas.

I have done a few talks and storytelling myself about Dussehra celebrations, a
story where the good wins over the evil by burning the effigy of Ravan. Indeed
in a mixed gathering of people, after my story telling, most of the non-Hindus
were able to answer the questions about Rama and Sita, Ravan, Bharat and Laxman,
as a teacher of Pluralism, it was a satisfying experience to hear the positive
feedback.
It’s a dream of many Hindus for the return of Ram Rajya, the governance of justice, fairness and truth. As a Muslim, I revere Rama and what he stood for. When you hear the story of Moses, Buddha, Rama, Krishna, Prophet Muhammad, Nanak, Mahavira… I see the commonalities in the life of all the great spiritual masters – they lived for creating common good in the society, they worked where justice prevailed for every human being and everyone was treated with dignity. The story is same, the greatness is same and I honor all of them.

Happy Ramnvami – Ram just does not belong to Hindus, his message belongs to all of the humanity.

Jai Shree Ram.

URL – http://nabsites.net/demo/happy-ramnvami-birth-celebration-of/
……………………

 

So what if Boston Terrorist is a Muslim?

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It
is time for Muslims to face these situations boldly and hopefully put an end to
living apologetically and in fear. So what if the terrorist is a Muslim?
Stereotyping Muslims no more! Here is a beginning of a series of articles and
work geared to fight stereotyping any American be it a Muslim, Jew, Gay-Lesbian,
Immigrant, African American, Hindu or Sikh American.

The following article invokes
common sense to those who thrive on chaos and prefer to aggravate it further,
rather than restore the society to normalcy. It is for those who are anxious to
turn their frustrations into blaming anything in sight including Obama and
Muslims.

Full story at the link…

Consider another scenario; if a single woman wants to move from Seattle to New York or Dallas, and asks your recommendation. Based on statistics, would you say – don’t go to New York, they are murderers. In 2010 they murdered 866 people, and sure don’t go there, they are rapists, they raped 2, 771 women. If you are a New Yorker, how would you feel your categorization?

Just as the New Yorkers and Texans would feel outraged,
Muslims ought to feel the same.  Should
New Yorkers apologize to this woman from Seattle for the rapes and murders in
their state? Should Texans do the same? Should a Muslim apologize for the acts
he or she did not commit? The answer is hell no!

 

We are one nation under God and we need to
think, talk and act as one. 
If you are on facebook, you can see some great commetns – www.facebook.com/MikeGhouse 

A friend wrote a note to me, “But why are Muslims not able to stop their own from committing such horrific acts.” 

Are you saying that the Muslim community is permitting these criminals to go kill? Was the New Town killer authorized by the Christians to go kill children!  Did Americans Authorize KKK and White Supremacist to Kill? Did Christians authorize 50 some mass murders in the United States to run their automatic weapons in Colorado, Wisconsin, Oregon? Were the peaceful Buddhists Monks in Myanmar authorized by the entire Buddhist world community to murder their fellow Muslim citizens? Your question is pretty dumb.

If you live in America, you should know that, we are not responsible for the actions of our brothers, sisters, parents, kids and spouse – why should the community be responsible then? In a civil society, individuals are responsible for the action and not the community. Yes, a few will blame Muslims, and we should not be in shouting match of scoring over each other… instead, we need to find solutions that are good for us, all of us. One of them is to invoke thinking… most will get it, some won’t. This is what I have done. Thank you
Full article at Huffington post – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/what-if-boston-terrorist-is-muslim_b_3108305.html#es_share_ended

……………………

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a
writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work
place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers
pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in
Standing up for others
and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on
national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on
Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to
the Texas Faith Column at Dallas
Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and
several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work
through many links. 

Texas Faith: Will baby boomers be the next source of growth for religion in America?

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WILL BABY BOOMERS TURN TO RELIGION UPON RETIREMENT?

We have come a long way on the road to God, and a lot more to go. The exclusive claims of access to God are steadily declining. Indeed, God has become a public property now, and is accessible to everyone in every which way. Unless you live in silos, you cannot claim your path is the only path to salvation. Indeed, religion is losing its monopoly in supplying God – Mike Ghouse

url – http://nabsites.net/demo/texas-faith-will-baby-boomers-be-nex/

Texas Faith: Will baby boomers be the next source of growth for religion in America?
By Bill McKenzie/ Editorial columnist |  wmckenzie@dallasnews.com  | 4:44 pm on April 16, 2013

Let’s return to Frank Newport’s book, God is Alive and Well: The Future of Religion in America. I did an interview with Newport, Gallup’s editor-in-chief, for our Points section on Easter Sunday. As part of the interview, he talked about the impact baby boomers could have on religion as they retire.

We’ve certainly heard a lot about how those of us who are boomers will affect entitlement programs likeMedicare and Social Security. But I really had not thought much about how this generation of Americans could affect religion.

Newport’s point is this: If boomers become like elderly Americans of the past, they will become more religious as they enter their senior years. Of course, boomers being boomers, they may defy that trend. But if they don’t, they could become a major source of growth for religion in general and various faiths in particular.

That would be interesting since we are reading about the decline of membership in some traditions, like mainline Protestant churches. Could boomers actually reverse those trends?

I don’t know, but I would like to hear your thoughts about this question:

As baby boomers begin to retire, what is it that your faith tradition could offer to those in that generation who do not have a particular religious belief? Or, to put it another way, could boomers be your next source of growth?

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas, and Speaker on interfaith matters, diversity and pluralism

We have come a long way on the road to God, and a lot more to go. The exclusive claims of access to God are steadily declining. Indeed, God has become a public property now, and is accessible to everyone in every which way.

I do not see the boomers flocking to churches during their senior years in large numbers, as the elderly Americans of the past did. Many of us have found God without being religious, and there is no going back.

However nothing is absolute, a few weeks ago around Easter, a senior friend whispered in my ears: I don’t need to go to the church, but I go there just to make sure my foot is in the door, in case God is really out there to pounce on me. Much of our generation is not motivated by fear, but rather freedom, we can see the religious right losing out to same sex marriages, gender equality and inclusive attitudes.

There was “one” Christianity a long time ago, so was Islam, Hinduism, Judaism and other traditions, that is no more the truth. Not only our branches have eked out their own existence, but we have also carved out a space for those who do not believe in God.

We have accepted diversity as a way of life, the unheard of interracial, interfaith, and intercultural weddings a hundred years ago are a common place now. I have performed a variety of interfaith weddings; Jewish-Christian; Muslim-Jain, Christian-Hindu, and a Muslim-Jewish wedding is coming up. Instead of conversions, they hear a common sermon extolling their traditions which they long for.

The bride and groom must be admired by one and all, they are setting a new standard, that of respecting and accepting each other’s uniqueness. Religion is internal to them and not a thing to flaunt or a wedge.

The attitude of imposing your belief on others is fading. We have freed Jesus, Moses, Muhammad, Krishna, Buddha and others to be available to be respected and honored by anyone. They are no longer exclusive property of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus or Buddhists respectively, and they belong to all.

Unless you live in silos, you cannot claim your path is the only path to salvation. Traditional church puts a restrictive noose around you, and many of those who have lived freely will not join the church where exclusivity is the order.

.To see all the 15 responses, please visit:  
http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/04/texas-faith-will-baby-boomers-be-the-next-source-of-growth-for-religion-in-america.html/

……….Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel,India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive Americaand offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest onSean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly atHuffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal sitewww.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.

Boston Marathon Tragedy

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We need to resist all
temptations to mirror the bad guys, we must avoid thinking and acting
like them, otherwise, what is the difference?

As members of the civil society, we need to be bent on finding solutions, or at least not aggravate the situation.

I urge fellow Americans to withhold speculating the identity of the
criminals, or develop hatred towards any individual at this time. We
need to live a guilt free life.

Punish we must, to the maximum
allowable limit by the law of the land, once the law enforcement agencies
track down those criminals. Hatred of others is more damaging to our
souls than we know it. Let’s be wise and not run sewer through our
hearts like those guys. It is not easy, but it is the right thing to do.

Rachel Maddow lists all such voilence for the last 50 years at this link
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/

I believe President Obama will go after the individual(s) and get them,
just as he did with Bin Laden, get those rascals and spare the world.
He will do the right thing.

On our part, we have to pray for
the positive energies and good wishes of people to envelop the victims
and their families. Amen.

Mike Ghouse for a cohesive America
www.MikeGhouse.net

Praying for Dadski Everett Blauvelt

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PRAYING FOR DADSKY EVERETT BLAUVELT

These pictures were taken on January 14, 2013 – on the 97th birthday of
my friend. I have been visiting him at the Nursing home for the last
three days, this morning I went with my son and daughter to see him. He
was sleeping… and I quietly whispered “Dadsky”, and he opened the eyes,
stretched his hand and acknowledged, and also acknowledged Jeff and
Mina. That was a blessing to me and I felt good that I was able to
connect with him in his last few days.

When I lost my father in 1977, Everett and I were working in Saudi
Arabia, I was in Shedgum and he was in Uthmaniyah, both were managing
the finance departments of Fluor Arabia in the Eastern Province, it was a
gigantic $5.3 Billion Natural Gas Liquificiation facility, the largest
of its kind in the world at that time.

Caring as he is, he
would ask about my family and always was lending his ears to hear me
out. He became a father figure to me and has been one for the last 35
years! Even now, when he was in fairly good health a year ago, he always
asked about Yasmeen, Jeff, Fern and Mina, and at times he has asked about
Ella, Jeff and Mina’s mother.

He has hung the small gift I brought for
him from Australia and pointed it out to me; he looks up and thinks
about me. What a great soul he is! This is a great lesson we all can
learn – to care about others and listen to the ones we care. I have been
doing that, but I need to do more of it.

The “Mike” part of
my full name; Mike Mohamed Ghouse is his gift, he affectionately called
me Mike, and when I came to the United States, I made that a legal part
of my name. Indeed, I was wondering on Friday night, if I would have
ever come to the United States, had he not encouraged me. One day, he
actually told me to go the US Embassy in Dhahran, and I asked him why,
he said go there now and I did, the US Embassy handed the passport to me
with a visa stamped on it, he asked me to stay at his home in
Richardson and I stayed with Lily, Becky and his family for about 4-5
months before I moved out on my own. I am grateful to Lily; she fixed
food for me, as I had no idea of cooking at that time.

He is in his last few days at the hospice and I have been praying for
him. He is happy and ready to be beamed up. He has lived his life well, a
life of caring and positive energy. I love the peaceful smile of a
winner on his face. He is the first Mormon I met in life and is a great
example of being a good Mormon.

Mike Ghouse

Dallas Desi Politics – Mannu Mehta and Indian Member of the Pakistan Society

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As an Individual involved in the communities, literally in every community, I am pleased to present my personal point of view on the issue of whether an Indian Mannu Mehta can become a member of the Pakistan Society of North Texas.

The PSNT, PAAT, IANT (India), BANT (Bangladesh), Nepalese and Sri Lankans are all Desi cultural associations. God forbid if India and Pakistan were to go to war, but if that happens,  I will guarantee you that PSNT and IANT will not go to war here in Dallas. 

Indeed, there were three stupid’s among the community here in Dallas, and one of them pushed hard to disqualify Najma (my late wife, and a big time Pakistani) from running for the President of PSNT – he talked with me and her, and was pushing the idea that since I am an Indian, I will influence her… like I would tell her not to declare war on Indians in Dallas, how dumb and stupid can one be! I should have told him to take his rats ass somewhere else other than Dallas, I did not, out of respect for Najma. 

The India Association has many Pakistanis actively participating, in the beginning a few ugly Indians opposed it, but heck, they were the fringe elements, just like there are among Pakistanis and among the Republicans, Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Jews and others. 

I run this forum Dallas Pakistanis for the last ten years, the only stable forum for the period, and I had lent my office for major planning meetings of PSNT in the late nineties…  every now and then some stupid will cry foul, but apparently some good common sense Pakistani will tell him to shut the eff-up. This is just a service – no remuneration and no advertisement of my business either. There are way too many good people in Dallas who do the good work for nothing back; it is a joy to do that. ( I run Dallas Indians, Dallas Nepalese, Dallas Bangladeshi and Dallas Sri Lankan groups)

The shining examples of be-lous- khidmatgaars are  Dr. Amanualllah Khan and Amir Rupani in Dallas, and I am sure there are others too…. they have funded many events in Dallas – but have never asked or influenced anyone to do things for them or give them the time on the stage or even asked to mention their name… that is the kind of men and women we need; 

The Non-Profit charters cannot prevent any American from becoming a member of any organization; however, individuals choose to be or not to be a member. No one can stop you from becoming a member of American, Canadian, Hispanic, Black or French Chambers of commerce. The only restrictions if you don’t feel  in with them. I am a life member of Punjabi Cultural association as well, but rarely do I participate – I understand light Punjabi, but not every word, I am a life member of Hindi and Kannada associations, and I go there when I can, as I speak both the languages. I wish we had a great non-political non-khusur-pusur urdu association, thats is where my heart is. One of these days, it will come alive.

I am glad to see Mannu Mehta as a Member, the more good things we do together, the more examples we can set for others and some day, this example will make people in India and Pakistan think about it.

I tip my hat for PSNT and urge PAAT to bring others, including the Caucasian, African Americans, Bangladeshi, Indian and other Americans into the fold. Fanaticism decreases when diversity increase – diversity is God’s plan. 

 …..
Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India,interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes his work through many links.

Texas Faith: Can baseball bring you closer to God?

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CAN BASEBALL BRING YOU CLOSER TO GOD?

The analogy of waiting for the season to start with great fervor and starting all over again with a clean slate parallels the wait for Christmas, Easter, Passover, Ramadan, Navaratri, Paryushan and other festivities. It is an opening everyone looks forward to after an exhaustive completion of another year. Indeed, Sexton puts it aptly, “Opening day encourages us every year to seek a path to serenity and transcendence.” – Mike Ghouse
url – http://nabsites.net/demo/texas-faith-can-baseball-bring-you/
   
Texas Faith: Can baseball bring you closer to God?

By Bill McKenzie/ Editorial columnist |  wmckenzie@dallasnews.com  | 1:04 pm on April 10, 2013
A tip of the hat to Daniel Kanter for this question. He sent along a link about New York UniversityPresident John Sexton’s book, Baseball as a Road to God.
Sexton has taught on a course on this subject for more than a decade, where, as this review suggests, he uses “baseball to illustrate the elements of a spiritual life.” I have not read his book, but the link I am sending along — along with this E.J. Dionne column — report that he uses writings about the game, its characters and its rituals to suggest that “we can touch the spiritual dimension of life” through baseball.
His co-author, former Boston Globe columnist Thomas Oliphant, put his own twist on this in a CBS essay. Oliphant talked about “the special feelings in seemingly secular settings that suggest the spiritual. The feelings can be as powerfully simple as having a catch with your dad, or watching the St. Louis Cardinals come back twice from being one strike away from elimination in the World Series, or actually hearing Jackie Robinson breathe as he sprinted home.
Now, some of us who are Texas Rangers fans may equate watching the Cardinals come back twice from being one strike away from losing the World Series — to us — as a near-death experience. But there is a point here worth discussing:
Do secular settings like a baseball game lead us to the spiritual dimension of life? If so, what are those for you? In what ways does the secular lead you to a deeper spiritual understanding?

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas, and Speaker on interfaith matters, diversity and pluralism
John Sexton has comfortably laid out the religious template of, “sacred places and time, faith and doubt, blessings and curses,” on the game of baseball. Not only the secular settings of a baseball game, but even a movie, intense sexual experience, worship or a good political happening can lead us into spiritual dimensions of life.
The analogy of waiting for the season to start with great fervor and starting all over again with a clean slate parallels the wait for Christmas, Easter, Passover, Ramadan, Navaratri, Paryushan and other festivities. It is an opening everyone looks forward to after an exhaustive completion of another year. Indeed, Sexton puts it aptly, “Opening day encourages us every year to seek a path to serenity and transcendence.”
The same template becomes operative when we watch a good movie, and go through crying, getting angry, cursing and rejoicing the movie in every which way. We feel a sense of spirituality with that connection. Like worship, it transforms one from one status of mind to a renewed one. Indeed, the ultimate sexual experience when two people feel completely connected with each other in body and mind takes them into a new spiritual dominion.
On the night of November 4, 2008, when President Obama stood in the middle of millions of Americans soaking in the election victory, tears rolled down my eyes and I let them roll unchecked. This victory represented the pinnacle of civilization, that every human being regardless of his background can make it in America. That night, more than half of the whole world cried. It gave hope to everyone on the planet that if you have the ability, you can make it. It paved the way for every human across the world in every nation. A sense of safety permeated through my body, giving me chills knowing that a new era in the history of civilization had begun. America once again would lead the world in democratic pluralism. To me, it was an intense spiritual experience.
Spirituality means many things to many people. In the simplest terms, it is like “being home” – a state of mind where you are transformed from apprehensions, frustrations and phobias of life to a sense of security, safety and serenity.
  ….
Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel,India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive Americaand offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest onSean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly atHuffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal sitewww.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.