My Faith Based Initiative

I was listening to the news on the radio while driving around town on an errand run. There were a couple of stories, that if you look beyond the headlines, were about the bad things people do and say to each other because of their faith. I got to thinking about all the different kinds of faith we can have: absolute faith, bad faith, good faith, Faith Doherty (Deb's crazy friend who one time grabbed my butt when I was hugging her good-bye), the "Faith of our Fathers", the faithless, the faithful, and who can forget the ever troublesome, blind faith.

I realized something as I was juggling my cell phone and Starbucks coffee, changing the radio station, and approaching a green light at a high rate of speed through a busy intersection. People are so quick to damn and do harm to others because of their faith. Yet we rarely express an appreciation for the faith we have in our fellow human beings. People like Garett Morgan.

"Who the hell is Garett Morgan?" I didn't know either until I Googled my revelation. He has saved countless lives, brought order to society, and we view his work as our guiding light and savior. We look to the heavens and we worship his beacon, a symbol of his excellence; and almost always, without question, obey his word.

Mr. Morgan patented the very first traffic light in 1923. Think about how much faith is involved in the traffic light as you zoom through it in a hunk of steel and glass - faith that it will work, and faith that others will obey it. There are lots of things we have faith in that we use and do everyday - without thought or worship. Faith in things that people have made, or ideas they have put forth.

Perhaps those that have faith (and those that don't) would be better served if they stopped believing what they want to believe because it makes them feel better about themselves. At first I thought faith was the problem. But maybe, if we want to fix the real problems in this world, it is time to start having a little more faith -in each other.

(Editor's Note: It is obvious that winter can't come soon enough for Scott as he has way too much time to think. Things will lighten up and not be so deep once he begins toiling over, tending to, and thinking about his backyard rink).