Radio Dispatch Received

Hello again daring readers. I know this could very well be an idealistic goal, but I’m going to be aiming to put up a new post three times a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, will be the target dates that I’ll be trying to get some writing out. Some random things first. No. If there is a blog revival, then I am not aware of it. Such trends are below (absolutely apart) of me. If not for trends, then why am I blogging again? It’s never been so much about blogging as it has been writing. I am not quite so intent on desiring to communicate to the world what I ate for breakfast today, or garnering an audience of people who are concerned with such things (though I probably will blog, at some point, about what I ate for breakfast). It is primarily an exercise in mental fitness. Spring has sprung, and with such glad tidings as that, it seems proper to take out the pen (keyboard) and begin some critical, self-reflective writing. That’s pretty much it. I do appreciate the few people that come by and actually read the toxic byproducts of my mind. It amazes me that you continue to read unscathed and have not generated extra organs or limbs as a result of your continued reading. For that, I thank you for your prodding and feedback.

As you may know, a dear thing has been lost to me recently. My faithful companion on numerous journeys to locations near and far, life has not quite been the same since its disappearance. My I-Pod was always there on my morning and afternoon commutes – sparing me from the realities of radio. What good can come of thee radio? Well. NPR can; except when NPR is running its spring membership drive. I must say that I came within two clicks of sending off money to support KPCC and taking ownership of a station that has served me for over 20 years…

Complaining aside, this morning, NPR brought me some very sobering news on my morning commute. Perhaps it was only sobering to me. Today, in Cambodia, the trial for the first person associated with the Cambodian genocide has begun. Now I am generally not the type of person to put undue emphasis on my ethnic background. However, one thing I have learned over the years is that, as far away as some history seems, it can strike much closer to home then we may expect.

I do not know exactly when my father immigrated to America, but I do know that he and his family came here for a reason. That reason was to escape the genocide that had killed several of his relatives. Over two million Cambodians were killed during the Pol Pot regime. Two million Cambodians equates to roughly a quarter of the population of the country. It is very easy to distance ourselves from history that, in reality, could only be one generation removed. While nothing can excuse some of the things that occurred while my parents were together, or that resulted in their ultimate divorce, viewed within the greater context of history I have grown in sympathy (not pity) for my father and those who fled their homes for a foreign land. Perhaps the reason why we moved so frequently (eight times at least) was to keep the family unit cohesive and whole, because they had to. Because maybe that was all they had left their homes with; family.

As these thoughts meandered through my mind in the span of a few seconds this morning, my heart turned toward feelings of justice perhaps finally being done.

“At last, someone is going to face justice for one of the world’s worst crimes against humanity.” I thought to myself.

The report continued on. Duch (a pseudonym) ran one of the most notorious prisons in Cambodia. People were not incarcerated there for crimes committed; they merely awaited their gruesome executions after confessing to crimes they did not commit.

“Those bastards! How can we do this to each other? How could they do that to their own people?!” My emotions began to run high.

As a final note, the report mentioned that Duch, had become an evangelical Christian. Further research on (the relatively reliable Wikipedia) yielded that he worked as a Community Health Supervisor and worked closely with Christian aid organization World Vision. He turned himself in and pleaded guilty in the court. The missionary that God used to bring about this conversion said the following:

“(In reference to the trial) He’s looking forward to it. He wants to reveal what he did to his people.”

Again, several seconds, perhaps a minute, go by in the car as I sit in silence. Many parts of me wanted Duch to not be Christian. How could it be? He was responsible for killing thousands, if not tens of thousands. Yet…somehow…even him…in his sin…God has brought him…into the fold. Into the body of Christ. Amazing. And amazing also how similar my heart is to Jonah.

“When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? This is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” Jonah 3:10-4:1,2

Tears came to my eyes as I pulled up to the parking lot at Gateway. I am indeed no better then Duch…just in need of God’s grace as him. Who am I to say who deserves judgment and who does not? Humble me before thee Oh God, that I would praise you and worship you for being gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.