I took the suggestion of my Facebook feed and allowed Meta AI to use a picture it saw in my phone to create a four-panel comic strip. It wasn't comedic enough to use for Almost the Truth, but cute enough to preserve in this space.
Here's the original picture of SweetCheeks, Me, SkittleKid, and MisterSquishy from last Easter:
And here's the rollicking, fanciful adventure Meta turned us into...
Yes, I am saddened by the most recent loss of school-aged lives.
Yes, I am grieved on behalf of the disrupted families.
But you know what? Posting about it on social media platforms won't change anything.
Raising a ruckus with our elected officials won't change anything. At least it hasn't during the last two decades since Columbine.
TWO DECADES!
It's time to hold those elected officials responsible for their lack of action.
While I am convinced that the ultimate solution will only take place when more and more people give up on worshipping their rights and start worshipping Jesus, I do have a suggestion that just might make an impact.
Don't re-elect anyone.
"But MY guy is in favor of my stand on issues."
- Your guy is also part of the partisan division that refuses to cooperate and compromise and accomplish any real change. As long as WE continue to stand in the muck of our own hatred and selfishness, the politicians will, too.
Part of what makes Jesus the ultimate solution is that he specializes in creating clean slates. This suggestion of mine is a non-religious shadow of that.
#ReElectNoOne
This is not a joke. This is the only language Washington understands.
And so, for your education, entertainment, and to give you something to do while your latest TikTok upload is processing, here's a relatively concise rundown of my current creative outlets:
Almost the Truth™ (http://www.almostthetruth.com) - This was my first online presence...not counting MySpace, which certainly doesn't count...and originated from an idea Sam Helgerson and I had about a humor-laced Bible study radio show (because podcasts had not been invented yet).
Almost the Truth Blog (https://almostthetruth.blogspot.com): If laughter is the best medicine, ALMOST THE TRUTH™ exists to heal the world. New posts every Friday.
Almost the Truth™ Publishing on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AlmostTheTruth): In addition to the Friday postings of the blog, this page is the host of #TheMorningGames - 8:30 Central, almost every weekday morning, you will find the following line up of diversions:
Monday - #MondayMirth - A video clip or illustration that should start your week with a smile
Tuesday - #TuesdayTrivia - Be the first to give the correct, non-Googled answer and win the day's VirtualPrize (no actual prizes are harmed in the playing of #TheMorningGames)
Wednesday - #WednesdayWhatIsIt - A cropped image is posted and the VirtualPrize goes to the first person who correctly identifies it. (It could be a product logo, a scene from film or television, or an almost-common object)
Thursday - #TBT - Our Throwback Thursday will feature blog posts from the early days when hardly anybody knew about us.
Friday - #Earworm Friday - Start the weekend with a song that just might cycle through your head until Monday.
Almost the Truth™ Publishing Books (https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/deweyroth): Self-published collections of the blog's posts and Almost the Truth About Youth Ministry: Salesmen, Secretaries, and Smart Alecks which is a book full of twisted tales and suspect opinions based on my 14+ years as a youth minister.
Almost the Truth™ YouTube Playlist (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLruHdMzfLT7wYAaJCFmlwaF64MAyg8nmt): From time to time, I make a video of me reading one of the blog posts...usually because it involves some singing.
Truth Is... (https://www.facebook.com/DeweyTruth): While Almost the Truth is all about laughs, Truth Is... is all about looking a little deeper.
Truth Is... Blog (https://deweytruth.blogspot.com): It's been said that no one has cornered the market on truth. That's probably accurate, but it doesn't rule out the possibility of this being a little corner of truth, tucked away in the huge City of Life, where, according to Paul Simon, the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls. New posts every Thursday.
Truth Is... Podcast: After 10 years of blogging, I decided to create a podcast that kind of functions as a Throwback Thursday because the podcast consists of me reading the Truth Is... blog, starting with the very first ones from 2012. But for people who listen to podcasts and don't read blogs, this is all brand new stuff! Good thing Truth is timeless.
New podcasts are dropped every Tuesday on SEVEN streaming platforms PLUS a video version posted on Dewey Roth's YouTube channel!
Anchor: https://anchor.fm/dewey-roth
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1JgQzFmNgGX25ofwgjYJoA
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/truth-is…/id1586997516
Breaker: https://www.breaker.audio/truth-is-dot-dot-dot-1
Google Podcasts: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy82NTNiMzlhOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==
Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/eyc6uwz0
Radio Public: https://radiopublic.com/truth-is-GqvmQr
and
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQBwF3gcF1itdroQ208MVPA
Dewey's Jukebox (https://www.facebook.com/DeweysJukebox): This podcast is a #VirtualWurlitzer filled with personal favorites and secret gems. Six decades of music are swimming around in my head, and now it can swim around in YOUR head, too. But please, mister, please...don't play B-17.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1EtUT0bmkUmj8S18jmomnv?si=f1b0308c56b94e26
Anchor: https://anchor.fm/dewey-roth0
Twitter (@deweyroth): Where links to all new blog and podcast posts can be found, along with random bits of serious silliness and silly seriousness. If you have a Twitter account, I would appreciate being followed by you. Makes me look good to possible book publishers and employers!
Instagram (@deweyroth): Where I don't do a whole heckuva lot, but sometimes #MondayMirth and #TuesdayTrivia show up here as well as on Facebook.
Chances are high you'll notice that even though the title of this post is "The First Post," there are posts here that appear to have been posted before this post. That's because I've post-dated some posts that I've moved from Facebook Notes to DewDrops.
It's postacular!
To whoever stumbles upon this...here's a tiny portion of my world, and welcome to it.
I just got back from seeing the film, Darkest Hour, about a crucial few days in 1940 when Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of Great Britain and inspired a nation to “never give up.”
Yes, Gary Oldman disappears into his role as Churchill. Yes, there are stirring speeches and tense confrontations. But it was the scene pictured above that made my tears flow like the Mississippi. (Or rather, the Thames.)
Hitler’s army has conquered most of Western Europe and is on the brink of sealing France’s fate. 300,000 British soldiers are backed up against the sea at Dunkirk. Churchill is about to cave in to the demands of his own political party and ask for terms of surrender from Germany.
It is in that darkest of hours that Churchill ditches his governmental escort and catches a ride on the Underground - London’s subway. There, he talks with normal, working-class citizens instead of the Lords of Parliament and scheming politicians. The mothers, bricklayers, and students inspire him to fight the Nazis to the bitter end. They all said that a swastika must never fly over Buckingham Palace. “We’ll fight with broom handles if we have to.”
Churchill’s legend (in my mind, at least) has always painted him as a mighty, unstoppable force. To see him in this film as a human being full of doubts, in need of encouragement and support, (but who projected that strength and resolve for the good of his country) was moving beyond what my words can express.
* * * * * * *
P.S.
When I originally posted this on Facebook, I was informed that the scene I've referred to is probably historically inaccurate...that the chances of it having actually happened are next to nil. Well, who cares? It still pierced me to the heart. As Tony Campolo used to say, "If it didn't happen exactly that way, it should have."
