Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me and Peter Sagal

So I'm an NPR listener.  It's true.  Does that make me sound old?  Or nerdy?  Or boring?  Or hippy-ish? 

Oh well.

Because I really enjoy listening to it.  Seriously. 

And I know what some people think...that NPR is for liberals.  Meh...that's what I say.  When it comes to politics my opinion is this: I don't care if you're a Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Tea Party (uhh Tea Partian?), Independent, etc.  All I care about is helping people.  Caring for people.  Doing good.

But I digress...

Back to the point.

I typically listen to NPR before/after work in my car to hear the latest local and world news.  I also really enjoy a few programs they have: "This American Life" with Ira Glass, "Wait, Wait! Don't Tell Me." with Peter Sagal, and "Car Talk" with Click and Clack.  Anyway, I was listening to NPR recently and heard that Peter Sagal was coming to Orlando to talk about his experience with "Wait, Wait! Don't Tell Me."  Immediately I thought that I wanted to go.  So I talked to a friend that I work with who I knew was a huge NPR fan and we made plans to go.

So what did I expect?  I expected to be entertained.  And I was.  Peter Sagal is hilarious and engaging.  He has so many stories to tell that are all very interesting.  So I enjoyed his entire lecture.  At the end of the lecture he answered a few questions.  One woman rambled on for a while and eventually asked something along the lines about raising children and how to teach them about politics.

And this is the part that got me...I mean, I may have teared up a little.

This is when I realized that God is EVERYWHERE.  In EVERY situation.  He uses ALL things for Good.

Peter told this story.  And of course, I'm going to paraphrase.  Peter was on a plane once and was sitting next to an old retired farmer.  The farmer told him that he was going to South America for the 8th time that year to take glasses to impoverished children that didn't have them.  The farmer had told Peter that he watches Fox News exclusively.  Peter could have been quick to jump to the conclusion that the farmer was just "one of those people".  (You know what I mean.  The stereotypically type of person that watches Fox News).  But Peter realized that was unfair.  He realized that as he sat talking to this man, that he was doing more good in the world than he (Peter) was.  Regardless of what the old man's political beliefs were, he was helping those in need.

And that's the point.  We need to quit judging people, writing people off, turning our backs to people that are different from us.  We need to keep the lines of communication open.  When someone begins to judge and condemn we need to stop them.  We get nowhere with hatred.  Nothing gets done when we quit talking.

And the bigger story is this.  We are all capable of good.  Regardless of our political party...regardless of our ethnicity...regardless of our religion...regardless of our nationality....regardless of our economic status.  We are all capable of caring for and loving others.

Oh and the best part about the story.  Peter said that the old man said he was doing the work of God...and Peter said "And you know what, I would agree with him."  And so would I...because the work of God is this...to LOVE.