rockinlibrarian

Curiously enough, the sermon in church this morning was on the artificial barriers we all tend to put up between Us and Them - no matter who the Us is, no matter who the Them is. The pastor told an anecdote about a man who secretly scorned a church elder as less spiritual because the elder didn't drink coffee during his morning quiet time, and everybody KNOWS that people who don't drink coffee with their Bible reading are less spiritual. It's funny, but it's also sad, because it's TRUE, people do judge each other, whether consciously or unconsciously, on the smallest little areas of difference. We do, all of us, put up all these fences, in every area, whether it be faith or geekdom or what-have-you. And I wonder if it isn't because we're afraid, deep inside, that WE are the ones who are "wrong" or "not as good as," and so we put up the fences not so much to exclude others as to protect ourselves, but others end up getting excluded as a result. It's easier to say "He's not as spiritual because he doesn't drink coffee!" than it is to say "Am I less spiritual because I rely on coffee to get me through my Bible reading and prayer?" And maybe some guys say "You're less of a geek than me because you're a girl!" because what they're really afraid of is that being a geek somehow makes them less masculine. Which is all stupid, but when are fears of Being Wrong ever rational?

Regarding Wedge Antilles - if you ever want to find out more about WHY he's so awesome, besides the fact that he survived two Death Star runs and the Hoth evacuation, I have all the X-Wing novels featuring him and would be happy to lend them to you. :-) Because Wedge really does need more fans.