Highway To the Danger Zone

okay, i've decided that i need to write this post very carefully for fear of being misunderstood. i don't know if ya'll are familiar with the media uproar that has recently surrounded Tom Cruise and his stance on Scientology, his professed religion. he's said some things about Brooke Shields and her treatment for post-partum depression after she had her baby. he's also had a tent erected on the set of War of the Worlds as a means of informing his cast and crew about his beliefs, what some view as proselytizing. :: YAWN :: I KNOW...it's not the most interesting post, BUT STICK WITH ME. i have a point, i just wanted to make sure you had a little bit of the background.

the first thing you should know is that while i can see some of Tom's points about certain issues that circle around his belief system (i.e. we sometimes rush to prescribe drugs too quickly when treating psychological issues....ADHD, depression), that doesn't mean that i think drugs shouldn't be used at all AND it should really be emphasized that i do not, whatsoever, associate myself with the beliefs of Scientology.

there is one thing i admire about Mr. Tommy though. too many times in the past year, have i met someone who when asked what they believe says, "Dunno," with a shrug, "never really think about it." And it's not just that mindset, but the whole approach that i have so often let be a part of my life, where I'm a christian who doesn't really say much about what i believe if it's not comfortable for me. i guess the thing that i respect about the whole circus, is that he actually has conviction about something. conviction that's strong enough where he doesn't really care about how the media portrays him, but he'll take steps to make his beliefs known.

i don't do that as a christian like i should. i usually REALLY care about what people will think, or say, or how they'll react to me. i usually freak and then back out, kind of like i did yesterday when at lunch with an old friend. i guess my point is....a lot of people DO care about what others will think about them, so i almost feel like i don't have much of a right to say anything about The Old Topgunner--

i found myself changing the channel to a Nighttime Talk Show yesterday evening so i could ridicule how "off his rocker" he seemed, and shake my head, and tut at how he had finally dropped off of the deep end. "first his crazy antics about scientology, now his engagement to someone 17 years his junior who talks out of the side of her mouth."

but halfway into the interview, my mind was challenged and changed. i think ol' Maverick has something right. if you believe something deeply and passionately, you need to speak it, and i can't really fault him for that--as annoying as it is because scientology is more about opinions than truth. i just wish more of us christians had the same mindset.