Love + War

 Respond to the following common mantra:

"All is fair in love and war."

How do the Ten Commandments respond to it (be specific)? Why is it so important that we, especially Christians, do NOT agree with it?

Pass My Coffee Cop

"Years ago, while working in a Philadelphia coffee shop, I was told not to charge policemen for their drinks. The idea was to encourage them to hang around deter crime. In [Charleston] I recently noticed my local cafe employs the same policy. Sure enough, a couple of latte-sipping cops were often stationed outside. But isn't this a form of bribery and hence unethical?"

Would you sit with Kap?

Colin Kaepernick's protest of racial inequality and injustice in the United States by refusing to stand during the national anthem before his football games has been much discussed and examined in the media. Kaepernick has gone out of his way discussing in detail why he won't stand for the national anthem. Before that, he addressed the 49ers in a players-only meeting, one that teammates described as both "productive and informative." At least one player who originally disagreed with Kaepernick's choice of method emerged from the meeting with a different mindset:

“To be honest with you, I took offense to it,” 49ers center Daniel Kilgore said upon learning Kaepernick opted not to stand for the Star-Spangled Banner out of protest for what he sees as injustice for minorities in the United States.

“But after Kap stating his case today, and seeing where he was coming from, I do stand with Kap when he says, ‘Enough is enough against crime and the violence, discrimination and racism.’

“I believe enough is enough. I can see where people would think it’s bad with the national anthem and the military. For me, I’m going to stand there every time. I’m going to think about and honor those who are fighting and those who have fought, my family members, my friends. If Kap decides not to, that’s his decision.”

What do you think? Does Kaepernick's action bother you? Why or why not? Many in the military have both supported and denounced his sit-down: does knowing that people in the military sit with him change your opinion about his protest?
If you don't like the way he did it, what do you think he could have done that would be this effective in getting people to discuss the issue?

Would knowing the inherent bigotry and racism both in the anthem and in the life of the author of the anthem affect your view?

Brief histories that you all should read:
http://www.theroot.com/articles/history/2016/07/star-spangled-bigotry-the-hidden-racist-history-of-the-national-anthem/
http://theundefeated.com/features/lets-take-the-national-anthem-literally-and-the-songwriter-at-his-word/