Blog - Page 226 of 318 - John H Armstrong

War, Patriotism and Becoming a Man

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:46-05:00July 5th, 2008|Categories: Film|

My Boy Jack: A Young Man Fights for His Country
BBC Video (2008)
DVD, 120 minutes

This film is the result of a stage play which finally made it to the screen. It was shown as a part of Masterpiece Theater on television. Though it did not play in American theaters do not let that fool you about the value of this excellent film. It includes some wonderful star power and is, quite simply, a superb movie. Jack, who was the young son of the famous author Rudyard Kipling, entered the British army before he turned 18 and this in spite of his nearsightedness. His physical condition should have kept him in a clerical job and spared him from the front lines of a brutal war where people died in massive numbers for over four years. Think about this simple fact: On a given day as many as 20,000 British soldiers died on the front lines of World War I. In […]

I Am a Patriot, Not a Nationalist

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:46-05:00July 4th, 2008|Categories: America and Americanism|

Today we celebrate the birth of the freest and most amazing country on the planet. I know, such words offend some people. They see all of America’s flaws, and there are many to see. I talk about a lot of them on this blog spot. But still I defy you to name a better and freer and place to live and to experience “liberty and justice for all.” Here we can at least pursue, in the right way, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Yes, some do not get the justice they should but the ideal remains and the willingness to better ourselves is inherent in our way of life. And nowhere else can you find such an opportunity to better yourself and thus to improve your lot in life in every way. Again, I know there are serious exceptions but utopia doesn’t exist, here or anywhere else, and never will.

I am a critical realist about many things. This includes […]

Popular Culture and Modern Reality

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:46-05:00July 3rd, 2008|Categories: Culture|

It is an observation many have made, and some social critics rather profoundly, but one not acknowledged as widely it should be. Popular culture very often trumps common sense and clear thinking in modern America. We cannot sustain serious thoughts for more than a few seconds so we are very impressed by what we see. The ubiquitous visual imagery of our culture impacts us daily. Conservatives like to blame the media in America for everything that is bad. And there is plenty to blame. But how about putting the blame squarely on ourselves, on the public?

Dennis Haysbert is very likely a name that you do not recognize. He is an African-American television actor who presently stars on “The Unit” on CBS. Haysbert was first known through a series of commercials that he did for Allstate. He then came to real television fame in his role with Fox as President David Palmer on the hit series “24.” I love “24,” as many of […]

Last Chance to Vote

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:46-05:00July 2nd, 2008|Categories: Baseball|

Major League baseball conducts a huge popularity fan poll to pick the starters for the All-Star game in two weeks. I think it is a joke. The manages, coaches and player should pick the "real" All-Stars. Now they have used the Internet to get fans to vote. The polling ends at 11:59 p.m. tonight. The rules that govern this process are really silly but I took part anyway. You can vote 25 times on a given day. I voted 25 times last week and then again 25 times tonight. What difference does it make? None, I am sure. But it did make me feel better to vote for no Cubs at all! They will get enough ballots from their over zealous fans anyway. For a time several Cubs were leading the voting who had no business at all being first at their given position. The only Cubs every day player who is a real All-Star is Derrick Lee. You cannot pick Aramis Ramirez at […]

We Shall Not Be Moved

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:46-05:00July 2nd, 2008|Categories: Race and Racism|

Far too few people realize that the Civil Rights Movement would never have happened without the African-American Church. This was a deeply spiritual movement, bathed in prayer and preaching, like so many profound social movements in America’s history. This film sets out to show how this really happened. Narrated by Ossie Davis it proves to be a great introduction to a theme that I fear is almost lost to modern Christians.

The Civil Rights Movement has been examined from many different angles but this is the first attempt to connect it directly to the Church. What role did churches really have in the rise and history of this movement and why was this so important in the long run? Why were ministers so central to this effort and how did they give it strength without becoming political partisans, at least in terms of the kind of politics that are normally associated with such social change today?

The principal participants in […]

My Annual President's Report for 2008

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:46-05:00July 1st, 2008|Categories: ACT 3|

Each year I send a President’s Annual Report to donors and friends of ACT 3. This year I chose to make this report an audio presentation instead of a written one. This audio file was sent to donors last week on a CD. (If you would like a CD simply let me know by sending an email via the ACT 3 Web site.) I sincerely hope that many of you who take time to read these blogs will take the time now to listen to this very special report. You will understand much better the vision and unique mission of ACT 3 by hearing this candid presentation right from my heart.

The President’s Report can be accessed by this link to our Web site. You will get a dialog box when you go to this link asking you to launch an external application. It will harm nothing in your system to say "yes" and then the audio will launch within […]

The Greatest Rivalry in Baseball

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:46-05:00June 30th, 2008|Categories: Baseball|

There are several historic rivalries in baseball. One can think of the Yankees and the Red Sox, or the Cardinals and the Cubs. These both go back for longer than a century. They are unique because they pit regional rivals who have a long history of struggling against one another. Then there are the new rivalries created by inter-league play in 1997.
One can think here of the Mets and Yankees, the Angels and Dodgers or the Giants and the A’s. All of these are intriguing and interesting match ups, with the New York teams getting the most national press attention.

But to my mind ESPN got it right when they decided to cover the White Sox and Cubs games over the past two weekends. This "cross-town" series has become intense, loud and very, very big here in Chicago. Most fans love one team […]

51 Birch Street

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:47-05:00June 29th, 2008|Categories: Film|

Documentary filmmaker Doug Block believed that his parents had always enjoyed their marriage, which lasted 54 years. When his mom suddenly died he began to ask questions. He read her journals and discovered things that led him to doubt a lot he had assumed and even led him into counseling.

Only three months after his mom’s death his father went to Florida and remarried. The woman he married had been his secretary some thirty-five years before. Doug grew even more suspicious. He read and asked a lot of questions and interviewed his two sisters again and again, as well as one of his mom’s best friends. What he discovered was shocking, something that he never expected. What results from his journey is a riveting personal, human documentary that reveals the pain of life, the expectations of an earlier era, and the loss that children suffer when their parents are emotionally withdrawn from them in their childhood.

This brilliant independent film […]

Citizen King: The Non-Partisan Power of the Prophet

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:47-05:00June 28th, 2008|Categories: Race and Racism|

Over the course of 2008 the issue of race has become a subject of conversation for many Americans. The political candidacy of Senator Barack Obama has guaranteed that this would happen. And the preaching segments of Dr. Jeremiah Wright, seen for days on national television, forced us all to have a "brief" conversation about race once again. After saying that he would not disown Wright Senator Obama then chose to do exactly that. Wright responded by reminding us that Obama is a politician and that this is what he knew he would eventually have to do. My guess is that he meant that in a mostly positive way but I am not sure.

What I am sure of is that all prophets, of all colors and types, cannot be good politicians. I watched the PBS video, Citizen King,
this weekend and was made aware of this by rethinking the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr. The video covers a five-year period […]

Does Political Partisanship Help or Hurt the Mission of the Church?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:47-05:00June 27th, 2008|Categories: Politics|

There has been a long debate about the role of partisanship in American politics. I often tell people that I am non-partisan politically. I happily vote in every election and I hold decided (“strong”) opinions about a number of political and moral issues. I would describe my overall political philosophy as conservative, if this term is understood as opposed to the Left and/or radically progressive, even Socialistic, positions. But even the term conservative has become virtually meaningless in the present context. (Maybe this should be fodder for a blog on another day but I actually think President Bush has done as much to set back principled conservatism as any modern president! This is why Libertarian arguments, many of which are appealing to conservatives, have become appealing to many who voted for President Bush in the previous elections.) Because I have an interest in politics, and good government, I write and think about these subjects a lot. But I will not endorse or promote a […]