Why Didn’t God Intervene in the Gulf?

In an earlier post I wrote about the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and the coal mine disaster in West Virginia. You might ask, Why didn’t God intervene to prevent these from happening? The answer is, I don’t know. But let me give you a few thoughts on the matter before you go and blame God for these man-made tragedies.

While God is active in the world in many different ways, which I’ll explain in a future post, God does not micromanage the universe. He is involved, but allows bad things to happen. When God does intervene, we call that a “miracle.” Most miracles aren’t even recognized as such because we aren’t aware that something bad might have happened, but it didn’t. For example, God may have prevented many blowouts from happening on oil rigs in the past, but for some reason chose not to prevent this one.

Why to bad things happen? Because we are on earth, not in heaven. The earth is flawed and we are subject to the laws of nature. In heaven, we won’t have these problems. In addition, bad things happen because of sin. People hurt other people, do stupid things, and are prone to do the wrong thing. Even natural disasters (mistakenly called “Acts of God”) are usually made worse by man’s carelessness, stupidity, greed, or sin.

One such example is hurricane Katrina. Building a city below sea level and then having inadequate levees is man’s stupidity. An inept mayor who didn’t have an evacuation plan for the poor and disabled and left school busses parked when they could have been used, is man’s stupidity. An inept mayor and corrupt state government that didn’t provide first responders until too late is man’s stupidity (FEMA is not a first responder – local agencies are). The list goes on, but you get my point.

So let’s not blame God but draw closer to him so that we can call on him in our times of need.

The Gulf Oil Disaster

It breaks my heart when I see the oil floating in the water in the Gulf of Mexico and coming ashore to pollute the wetlands, marshes and beaches that border on the Gulf. This is a tragedy that, I believe, could have been avoided with a little foresight and planning. Several thoughts come to mind in that regard:

Corporations are profit-making organizations, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Without a profit, there is no return on investment, and eventually the company goes out of business. However, profit must not be the only consideration for a company. A corporation must consider the welfare of its employees, the good of the nation, keeping the environment unpolluted, treating its vendors fairly, and giving its customers value for their money. In other words, corporate citizens have multiple constituencies and they need to consider all of them.

I suspect BP took shortcuts on this oil-drilling rig, causing the blowout that resulted in the oil gushing from the broken pipe under the water. That means BP let profit drive its decisions and neglected one or more of its constituencies. It also means that the government didn’t do its job in inspecting these rigs and insuring they are operating safely. We have seen a very similar situation with the recent coal mine disaster in West Virginia.

Knowing underwater oil drilling is tricky, dangerous, and carries the risk of an environmental disaster, one has to ask, Why wouldn’t oil companies draw up contingency plans to deal with such an event? BP seemed not to know what to do. Why wouldn’t companies develop technologies to contain such oil leakages if they should occur? It seems now BP is making it up as it goes along rather than being adequately prepared for such an event, unlikely as they may have thought it would be. Because BP didn’t prepare and probably didn’t care, innocent people along the coast are losing their livelihoods and tremendous damage is being done to the coastline.

Not having plans, not being prepared, and assuming the best rather than the worst do have costs. BP will pay dearly, as it should, but so will a lot of innocent people. I hope both this oil disaster and the West Virginia mine tragedy will wake up companies and the government. While I hate more government intrusion, it is obvious companies can’t police themselves and can’t be trusted to do the right thing. Look at all the violations that coal mining company had, and now those innocent miners are dead because the company didn’t care. Not only must the government have more rigorous inspections, but there must be enforcement.

Lastly, we in the United States have abandoned God and have made technology and science our god. Well look what technology has done for us recently. It failed on the oil rig that exploded, and it hasn’t come up with a quick way to stop the oil. Technology didn’t prevent the mine explosion and keep those miners from dying. Let me suggest that we start worshipping God again and not the false gods of science and technology. Science and technology are useful but we must always keep them in the proper perspective. They aren’t perfect, but God is. You may ask why God allows such tragedies, but that’s a different topic. We can’t blame God for man-made disasters, or natural disasters made much worse by human foolishness, greed, or sin.

What’s the Big Deal about Gay “Marriage”?

The debate rages on concerning gay “marriage” with no sign of abating. The gay community is determined to make gay “marriage” legal and available in all states, and many others are determined to not let that happen. While not making any moral judgments concerning the homosexual lifestyle, I’d like to summarize where each side is coming from. Hopefully it will help you to better understand each side’s position on this issue.

Why Do Gays Want to Get Married?

As I understand it, gays want to get married for two major reasons. First, the legalization of gay “marriage” would give the homosexual lifestyle legitimacy. In other words, it would provide the legal (and social) acceptance that is often lacking.

Second, the more practical reason for “marriage” is to provide partners (or “spouses”) certain rights and privileges now closed to unmarried couples. These would include medical benefits and various legal rights.

The downside of this is that if a gay “married” couple wants to separate, they would have to go through a divorce just like heterosexual couples. This could mean alimony, child support, joint custody, and all of those types of things, plus expensive legal bills.

Why Doesn’t the Majority Support Gay “Marriage”?

Based on the votes cast against the legalization of gay “marriage” in California and many other states, the consensus among Americans seems to be against it. What’s the problem with gays getting married?

First, marriage has always been between a man and a woman, with the main purpose of such a union giving birth to and raising children. Marriage, which is supposed to be for life, has protected women, who up until recently were very vulnerable if widowed or divorced. Even now, after a divorce the man’s standard of living either improves or stays the same, but the woman’s and the children’s standard of living generally drops. There are many single parent families headed by a woman who are either homeless or are living in or near the poverty line.

Because of these traditional purposes for marriage, using the term “marriage” for same sex couples doesn’t seem to apply. In addition, many gays believe in an “open marriage” in which the partners/spouses are free to have sexual relations with others. This is contrary to the traditional understanding of marriage, in which both husband and wife were expected to remain monogamous. While that ideal certainly hasn’t been realized all the time, that’s the expectation. Therefore, “open” gay marriages are contrary to the monogamous aspect of the institution.

Lastly, it’s bad enough that the heterosexual divorce rate is so high – we certainly don’t need gay divorces as well.

What Do We Do?

For the reasons outlined above, I don’t think there should be a legal act or entity called “marriage” if it involves two people of the same sex. I believe that the best solution is to have civil unions available to gays and cohabiting heterosexuals who don’t want to get married but who still want certain legal rights. These civil unions would provide at least some of the legal rights desired by gays, but wouldn’t be called a “marriage.” Civil unions would recognize that a formal relationship exists between two people, and would provide appropriate legal rights and protections.

Regarding civil unions, I don’t think there should be a “one size fits all” approach, but each one should be tailored to the wishes of the couple. Incorporated into the civil union documents should be a form of pre-nuptial agreement that would reduce litigation in the event the couple eventually desires to terminate the civil union.

One final thought. There are those who claim that legalizing gay “marriage” would destroy the concept of marriage. I believe marriage has already been seriously weakened by “no fault” divorce laws, lack of commitment, and self-centeredness (what’s in it for me?). Gay marriage could further weaken the institution because of the “open marriage” concept. Nevertheless, I believe heterosexuals must clean up their act and restore marriage to what it’s supposed to be: monogamous and for a lifetime. After all, there are often children at stake. Moreover, marriage is the foundational unit of society. If marriage crumbles, so does our society (which I believe we are already seeing).

Caring for God’s Creation (Part 5)

This is the fifth and concluding post in a series of posts looking at the spiritual aspects of caring for God’s marvelous creation

VI. Conclusion

To put environmental concerns into perspective, I have a few concluding comments:

1. Misinformation Abounds

First, the environmental movement is littered with misinformation because of junk science, fudged numbers, wrong conclusions, and hype. In addition, our knowledge of the complex ecosystem is imprecise and our understanding of these multi-faceted issues is incomplete. So we end up with ridiculous debates over which is better, paper or plastic, or Styrofoam or ceramic cups (each one has its advantages and disadvantages). The debate over global warming has caused some to overreact and others to deny it exists, deflecting attention to the real problems of pollution, contamination, and depletion of non-renewable natural resources.

Moreover, some potential solutions have been disastrous, such as using corn to produce ethanol, thus raising the cost of food and hurting the poor worldwide. Nevertheless, the problems are real: pollution is unhealthy and we must conserve our natural resources.

2. Problem Areas

Fortunately the United States is finally making progress in conservation and pollution control (although we have a long way to go), so the problem now is more in the emerging economies, which are growing tremendously. Countries such as China and India are adding coal-fired power plants, cars, and factories at a furious rate, all of which pollute. In Brazil, which is pretty much energy independent due to forward thinking, rain forests are being cut down, which affects all of us to some extent.

The development of more fuel-efficient cars should have been a priority 35 years ago with the oil embargos of the 1970s showing our vulnerability. Why didn’t we become a leader in such technologies back them? The oil and automotive industries have enormous power over Congress, so little was done for over 30 years, plus we like big gas-guzzlers. One result of not doing anything is huge unfavorable balances of trade as we import oil by the billions of barrels. Hybrid cars are too little too late, but they are better than nothing until improved technologies are developed and can be made affordable to the average consumer.

3. Remember God – It’s His Creation

Finally, when it comes to the environment, let’s keep in mind the spiritual aspects, remembering what God tells us in Psalm 50:10-12:

For every wild animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine. “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all that is in it is mine.” NRSV

So let’s commit to respecting our God-given environment, to helping future generations, and to improving our quality of life by being environmentally friendly. It may inconvenience us somewhat, it may cost a little more, and it may take some getting used to. We may think that one person can’t make a difference. But if all of us are environmentally conscious, 300 million of us Americans can have a huge impact. So let’s all be environmentally friendly, not just for Mother Earth, but for the sake of Father God, creator of heaven and earth.

Caring for God’s Creation (Part 4)

This is the fourth in a series of posts examining the spiritual aspects of caring for God’s marvelous creation.

V. Why We Should Be Green

Now that we’ve examined the spiritual perspectives concerning the environment in the prior three posts, let’s briefly take a look at some practical aspects.

1. Disease

First, it appears that there is an environmental component to a good many diseases and conditions, with man-made pollutants suspected. Cancer is an obvious one, and we clearly see that with “cancer clusters” on Long Island, and the effects of asbestos and smoking. Scientists are seeing an environmental component to Parkinson’s Disease, suspecting pesticides as a possible cause for those with a predisposition to the disease. Other conditions such as asthma and autism have grown significantly in recent years, leading scientists to suspect environmental factors. It is in our best interest to keep our environment and food as clean as possible for our own health and well-being, and that of our children. After all, who wants to breathe in or ingest that nasty stuff?

2. Depletion of Resources

Not only is pollution of air, water, the land, and interior spaces an important part of ecology, but there is also the depletion of natural resources. There’s a finite amount of non-renewable resources, and once they’re gone, that’s it. I’ve been in places where the topsoil has been completely depleted, and nothing but scrub grass grows there – it’s not a pretty sight. Half the topsoil in our big farming states is gone, and the water in the large aquifer under that land is not being replenished as fast as it is being used. Of course there are also concerns about depletion of oil, gas, coal, minerals, rain forests, and the ozone layer.

3. Garbage

Another aspect is garbage – we generate too much of it. Garbage has been dumped in the ocean, and now there are several large floating plastic debris fields in the ocean. I was made aware of how wasteful we Americans are when we lived in Germany when I was in the army. We lived in a two family house, and each family had its own garbage can. These cans probably had about half the capacity of those large green plastic garbage cans we now have. Part way through the week, our can was already full, so I’d have to bring bags of our garbage to the army base and throw it in the dumpster. Much of our waste is packaging, which you and I can’t do much about, but we can pressure manufacturers to use less packaging materials.

V. Recent Gulf Oil Disaster

What affect on these issues will the recent disaster in the Gulf of Mexico have? I’m hoping it will make people aware that we must reduce significantly our dependence on petroleum. Importing oil costs our country dearly in terms of unfavorable balances of trade and vulnerability to disruptions in supply (either intentional or unintentional). Using domestic sources causes risks of environmental disasters such as we are experiencing in the Gulf.

The government must provide tax incentives that will motivate people to buy hybrids and other fuel-efficient vehicles until the first generation of alternative-fuel vehicles is readily available at reasonable prices. Then the government should provide incentives for purchasing those vehicles, and perhaps help finance the infrastructure needed to support such vehicles.

The government must provide disincentives for purchasing inefficient vehicles such as implementing a gas-guzzler annual excise tax, and perhaps a national sales tax on such vehicles. I would love to see large SUVs taxed out of existence.

I’m hoping this disaster in the Gulf won’t discourage off-shore drilling because it is an important domestic source of oil until alternative-fuel vehicles are readily available at a reasonable price. However, I hope this disaster will give the drilling companies the incentive to do better when it comes to safety.

By the way, I have put my money where my mouth is. One of our cars is a hybrid and the other is a 1.8 liter small economy car that gets over 30 mpg. We have purchased energy efficient appliances and we keep our thermostats set low in the winter. Most of our light bulbs are compact fluorescent.

Please pray for the people of Louisiana, who have already taken several hits economically in the past few years. Pray that this leaking oil can be contained soon so that no more gushes out of that well.

More on this topic in the concluding post.

Caring for God’s Creation (Part 3)

This is the third in a series of posts examining the spiritual aspects of caring for God’s creation.

III. Respecting God’s Creation

How do what I wrote in the two prior posts relate to Earth Day and God’s creation?

1. Humans Are God’s Creation

First, humans are a part of God’s creation – the pinnacle of his creative work. Jesus told us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and although he didn’t say why, I believe it is because we are God’s creation, made in his image. If we disrespect one another, we are disrespecting God.

2. Worship Creator, Not Creation

Second, we have to be careful that we don’t worship the creation rather than the Creator as I mentioned earlier. Environmentalism can degenerate into pantheism, believing God is every-thing and everything is God. Some talk about Mother Nature more reverently than they do about God, who made everything. We mustn’t worship the creation, but we should respect and honor that which was made by God because he did it, and it is good.

3. Protect God’s Creation

Third, if we have the attitude that God made everything and everything belongs to God, then we will treat it properly. Moreover, if you respect your fellow human beings, you won’t do things that reduce their quality of life or disrespect them in any way. You won’t litter, create noise pollution, pollute our air and water, or let your dog mess up your neighbor’s lawn. Think of how much better life would be if people had the right attitude towards God, each other, and the environment.

4. Stewardship: God and Future Generations

Fourth, stewardship is a significant part of environmentalism in that we are taking care of the environment and preserving natural resources for others. The most important person is God, who gave us dominion and responsibility over the earth, entrusting his creation to us to use but not abuse. In addition, future generations are trusting us to leave them the earth in good condition, with adequate resources for them to have decent lives. The way we are going, future generations will be disappointed and I believe God is saddened by our lack of stewardship.

More on this topic in a future post.

Caring for God’s Creation (Part 2)

This is the second in a series of posts concerning the spiritual aspects of caring for God’s creation.

Unfortunately there have always been those who refuse to acknowledge that behind this amazing creation is a divine Creator. Some may think that not recognizing God as Creator isn’t a big deal. So let’s take a look at what happens to society when people don’t recognize God as Lord and Creator. The Apostle Paul gives us the four results in Romans 1:21-25 based on what happened historically – and we clearly see these things happening today:

1. Minds Become Futile

First, “They became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools. “(Romans 1:21-22) If you don’t recognize God for who he is, then you are living in darkness, which is what’s happening more and more in this country. There are many who are considered wise by the world, but in God’s eyes, they are fools, and they are fooling many others as well. Yet God doesn’t want anybody to be lost or in the dark, per 1 Timothy 2:4:

[God] desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. NRSV.

2. Worship Images, Not God

The second result of not recognizing God is, “they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images.” (Romans 1:23) You may wonder how otherwise intelligent people can turn to idolatry? Idolatry begins when people reject what they know about God. Instead of looking to God as the creator and sustainer of life, they see themselves as the center of the universe. They soon invent “gods” that are projections of their own self-centered ideas or desires.

These gods used to be wooden or stone figures representing some aspect of nature such as fertility or good weather. Today our idols are goals or things we pursue, such as wealth, power, or possessions. Sometimes even good things are made into gods, such as science. Our idols may even be misrepresentations of God himself—making God in our own image.

3. Sexual Sin Abounds

The third result of not recognizing God as creator is, “God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves.” (Romans 1:24) Paul is talking specifically about sexual sin – “impurity and the degrading of their bodies among themselves.”

Why does sexual sin result from not recognizing God as creator? For one thing, why should we respect one another and control ourselves if all we are told is that we are slightly more evolved animals? On the other hand, the Bible says we were created by God in his image. If you believe that, then you will be more respectful of one another and not view somebody as a sex object to be used as you see fit. If you don’t believe that everybody is God’s creation, fearfully and wonderfully made, and that God is over all everything, then anything goes. Why? Because you are not restricted by any moral code, you have no respect for others, and you don’t feel you are accountable to God.

4. Worship Created Things, Not God

The fourth result of not recognizing God as creator is, “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.” (Romans 1:25) People tend to believe lies that reinforce their own selfish, personal beliefs. Our beliefs and behavior should be based on biblical principles. Since we are constantly exposed to beliefs that are contrary to the Bible, it’s easy to be pulled in bad directions if we aren’t firmly grounded. Non-biblical beliefs have us serving the creation rather than the Creator. If the Bible is our basis, then we serve the Creator and respect and honor his creation, which he said is good in Genesis.

More on this topic in a future post.

Caring for God’s Creation (Part 1)

I. Introduction to This Series of Posts

Earth Day occurred recently, and I’d like to look at the spiritual aspects of caring for God’s creation. We should be aware that everything in life has a spiritual component. After all, we are spiritual beings temporarily inhabiting material bodies. Moreover, God made the earth and the universe, and everything belongs to him, as we read in Psalm 24:1-2:

The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers. NRSV

So let’s looks at some of the spiritual aspects of God’s creation and our stewardship of it.

II. Not Recognizing God as Creator

Psalm 19:1 says:

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. NIV

The work of God is obvious in his creation:
-The universe with all its majesty, beauty, and mystery;
-Even a the atomic level we see God’s creative hand;
-The human body, with its well-engineered complexity, multiple communications systems, and genetic code still being understood;
-The incredible variety of plants, animals, and even fungi, each unique and well designed for its particular role in the fabric of life.

Isn’t evolution grand! Obviously this incredible diversity, complexity, and specialization did not just evolve out of millions of random mutations. This well-ordered world was designed by the Master Designer, God. God’s creation declares his glory, yet some are blinded and fall into the category of what Paul wrote in Romans 1:19-20:

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse. NRSV

More on this topic in a future post

The Arizona Immigration Law

There’s been quite a fuss over this law passed in the state of Arizona concerning illegal immigrants. There’s been a knee-jerk reaction by those on the left, who automatically assume the law is wrong. I haven’t read the law myself, but as I understand it, the law was designed to pass any constitutional tests.

I’m certainly against any law that goes against the freedoms we have as guaranteed in the Constitution. However, we have to remember that any right guaranteed in that document is subject to limitations. That goes for free speech, freedom of assembly, and all the others.

Most of the people protesting this law don’t live in Arizona, which is on the front lines of the illegal traffic in drugs, contraband, and people. The flood of illegal immigrants into the state is a problem, and Mexico itself has far more restrictive laws against immigrants and what they can do than the Arizona law.

There has to be a balance between protecting the citizens of the United States against crime and other problems, and not trampling the spirit of the Constitution. We have to remember that the Constitution was established for the general welfare of the people and not to protect criminals, illegal trespassers in the United States, and others who may want to do us harm.

I’m not saying the ends justify the means, but I am saying that the government has a right and a duty to protect its people. We are a nation of laws, and people entering any country illegally are breaking the law and possibly putting its citizens in danger. We live in a post-9/11 world in which hidden enemies wish to do us harm. While we can’t close our borders, nor would that be desirable, we must control them.

Finally, those opposed to illegal immigration are not “anti-immigration.” Those on the left throw around the term “anti-immigration” very liberally, but there is a big difference between controlled and legal immigration, and the illegal crossing of our borders. Don’t be fooled by the careless rhetoric and name-calling.

Pray for Arizona and the federal government to have wisdom in dealing with the immigration issue. After all, these are human beings we are talking about, both U.S. citizens and the illegals who are searching for a better life.

The Polarization of America

It seems to me that the United States is so polarized that little gets done that is productive and beneficial. You see it in the Church (both at the denomination level and at the local church level). The Church spends so much energy on fighting among its members that isn’t going out and making disciples.

The other major area of polarization is in Washington, DC. What really annoys me is that the Republicans had something like 12 years of majorities in Congress, with I think six of those years under a Republican president. And what did they accomplish? Next to nothing.

Now they sit on the sidelines taking potshots at President Obama and the Democrats for actually trying to accomplish something for a change. The Republicans accuse them of ruining this country, but yet what did the Republicans do to improve our lot? Did they address health care? Only once, to implement the Medicare drug plan. Did they step up and try to reform health insurance? No. Energy problems? No. Pollution problems. No. Social Security? Only with a lame attempt with a terrible solution. The list goes on, but you get the point.

While we might not agree with some parts of Obamacare, the fact is, he did something when nobody else did. As far as I’m concerned, we can thank the incompetent George Bush and the do-nothing Republican congresses for what we have today. People really did want change, and they got it. The Republicans had their chance and blew it. Both parties in Washington (and most statehouses) forget that they are there to serve the people, not the party, not the special interests, not their careers.

Although I’m no fan of the Democrats, I’m coming to view the Republicans as a pitiful lot. Their hero is Sarah Palin, and their goal is to dethrone Obama. What the Republicans should do is lead, follow, or get out of the way. Right now, they are just plain irrelevant.

The purpose of this post is to encourage you to cooperate, even with those who may not see eye-to-eye with you; to not be an obstructionist but work for the greater good; and to learn to compromise. Things will never turn out exactly they way you want, but compromise will most likely bring some kind of beneficial outcome. Remember, your ego isn’t important. Was is important is the greater good, consistent with legal, moral, ethical, and Scriptural principles.

Too Much Communication

There was that famous line in the Paul Newman movie “Cool Hand Luke” where the prison official kept saying, “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” I think what we have today is too much communication. With everybody having a cell phone, it seems that the mindset is that they have to be in communication with someone at all times. I see groups of kids and half of them are on cell phones. They are in a group, and yet they have to call someone? Aren’t the people they are with good enough?

I see people texting in class, at events, and just about everywhere. What is so important that it can’t wait until later?

I believe there is too much inappropriate use of the cell phone and texting, even among adults. I’ll give you an example. A colleague and I were going to the same meeting, which was about an hour away, so we decided to carpool. I drove, and on the way to this event we talked, plus he took several cell phone calls.

On the way back, he immediately checked his messages and began returning phone calls. He did that for most of the hour ride back home. So what was I, his chauffeur? So there I am, stuck listening to his conversations, and I can’t turn on the radio because I felt that would be very rude. Rightly or wrongly, the message to me was “I’m too busy and /or important to talk with you. I’ve got more important things to do, like check my messages.” Needless to say, we never carpooled again.

Distracted Driving

I was driving on a street recently, and I saw a pickup truck approaching me from the opposite direction. As he got closer, he began to move into my lane. It appeared he had his head down, and I blew my horn to alert him. He lurched back into his lane and we passed without incident. However, that reminded me of the dangers of driving while distracted.

I don’t know if he was texting, fiddling with the radio, putting a drink back into its cupholder, or dialing his cell phone. What I do know is that if I hadn’t blown my horn and alerted him to the fact that he was drifting into my lane, there very well might have been a head-on collision.

I implore you – even beg you – don’t drive while distracted. Texting while attempting to drive is incredibly dangerous. If you drive impaired or distracted, that shows a callous disregard for human life – including your own. You can’t multitask while driving. Driving requires your full attention.

I also encourage you to drive defensively, and watch for anything that might pose a danger. I do not hesitate to blow my horn if there is even a hint of a possible problem. I may think somebody sees me coming, but they may not. I may think somebody is paying attention, but they might not be. So what if another driver thinks I’m a jerk for blowing my horn at him. At least I’m an alive jerk!