Brighten the Corner . . .

In 1913, Ina Odgon wrote the song "Brighten the Corner Where You Are." The title says it all really. But if you want a more thorough explanation of the main idea, you can Google the lyric or, better yet, read the scripture on which the lyric was based—Matthew 5: 14-16. I've decided that, first, the corner where I am—at any given moment—is all I can brighten and, second, that corner is worth brightening.

The broader scenes of American politics and American culture are tending toward a bad end, I believe. Our political life is polarized beyond repair or recovery, and our culture is prostituted beyond rehabilitation or reclamation. We can still vote, sure, and we can avoid participating in the downward spiral of American life. But votes are wasted on political figures who have no words of wisdom, whose promises can't be realized, whose ideology is, in truth, a front for—as Machiavelli suggests—gaining power and keeping power. As for culture, we can hold on to parts that still make sense to us, be those what they may, and try to ignore the destructive encroachment of stupidity and pointless celebrity—the Lindsey Lohan syndrome, if you will.

So I turn away from political stagnation and cultural degradation and try to brighten the corner where I am. I do this as I can with my friends and family. I do this as I can in the classroom. I do this as I can at Cherokee Church. I do this as I can in "the Tri." These are my corners.

Upcoming is an event called "Impact JC." It's a day of service in Johnson City—all kinds of service, from helping those who help youth, to caring for the military and its families, to building and repairing homes for the poor, to giving blood. (Check it out at http://johnsoncity.rethinkchurchevents.org/.) I don't have skills or gifts that will address many of these needs as well as they might be addressed, but I can make a little music. So, I'll be part of the band that leads the celebration at the end of the day of service. I hope to help lift a few spirits and, in that, brighten the corner where I am, where I live.