I need to
stop being in the United States and go learn Spanish.
Throwback.
Still me in 2024.

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@danieldececco
I need to
stop being in the United States and go learn Spanish.
Throwback.
Still me in 2024.

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Polarized
On this night before the official kickoff of the 2016 election season, I’m going to attempt to say a few words about politics without making everyone angry with me. The fact that I feel the need to preface this with such a statement shows how heated and warlike the political debate has become in recent years. After spending a year outside of the US, I came back to a nation that has never seemed more divided along ideological lines in my short 24 years of life. I realize this division has always existed, but it has definitely intensified.
Since it’s a presidential election year, it’s obvious why I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Everywhere I turn, there’s some headline about which candidate said what and everyone’s opinion on that candidate. And that’s completely normal, but my fear is that we as Americans have gotten so wrapped up in this zero-sum, ideological battle that we don’t have any sense of solidarity or identity as “one nation, under God”. And we’re still in the primaries.
I call myself a centrist, partly because I see the extreme sides of our hyperpolarized system, and I want don’t really want to identify with either of them and alienate the other. I feel like Tevye, “He’s right, and he’s right…THEY CAN’T BOTH BE RIGHT!” In my life, I have swung between the conservative and the liberal side, and in my current stage of life, I tend to care more about the issues that progressives care about than the ones conservatives care about, but I’m not really on board with the liberals’ approach with most things. “Ah-ha!” you might be saying. “So you’re really not neutral!” You caught me. There is no neutral, moderate option in our system so we all have to swing one way on ballot day.
I see the Republican Party as having strong values and a better economic sense, but a tendency to marginalize and oppose any group that doesn’t seem to be like them. On the other hand, I see the Democratic Party as having great intentions, but a tendency to throw blanket solutions to solve extremely complex issues and end up creating other problems.
I want to clarify myself in saying that I don’t think it’s bad to be a Republican or a Democrat. I’m just saying that I think we have been taken captive by our Western dualistic way of thinking in how we divide every complex issue, forming two equal and opposite opinions without allowing room for honest discussions and thoughtful analysis.
I’ve also been reading and thinking a lot about Jesus lately. Jesus shows up on the scene in first century Palestine after hundreds of years of the Jewish people living under the rule of various empires and shortly after the Romans have taken control. Jesus came preaching, saying “the kingdom of God is at hand”. One thing I love about Jesus is that people got so annoyed with him because he wouldn’t fit into their mold of what he should look like and didn’t take the sides they wanted him to take. Many of the Jews wanted him to overthrow Rome, and that wasn’t on his agenda. At the same time, we see the legalistic Jewish leaders get so mad at him because he wasn’t obeying all their rules. Jesus didn’t take sides of the current debate of the time because he had purposes way above and beyond throwing the Romans out of Jerusalem or what you can and cannot do on Saturdays. Jesus’ mission was to ignite the reign of God on this earth.
Two millennia later, we who claim to follow Christ have this mission to continue seeking to establish God’s rule of love and justice. And to be honest, I feel that we in the United States are so wrapped up in the partisan debacle of our generation that we’re less concerned with how we live our lives in the context of the Kingdom. And yes, these issues we’re divided over truly do matter. I do not want to minimize that. I just want to say that when it becomes more about whose party has the White House next year than what we’re doing to seek God’s reign, I think it’s time for us Christians to reconsider how we push our platforms.
I know I just opened a huge can of worms, and I’m avoiding any specifics because my point is this: in this election year, can we try to start living in a way that does not demonize those who don’t agree with us? Can we think long and hard about these issues and about who could be adversely affected by the position we support?
Whether you call yourself a liberal, moderate, or conservative, think carefully about what you post on social media or say to those around you and if it’s really beneficial, or if it’s just adding to the noise. Again, I’m not saying we should be neutral. Support who you choose to support, but know that no candidate is going to nor should completely agree with you.
And let’s attempt to live our lives in a way that seeks to love our neighbors, enemies, and friends in a way that is active, not passive. In doing so, we can join Jesus in his mission to bring God’s reign to earth as it is in heaven. Then, go vote as we have the wonderful right to do, knowing that whatever the result is, we have a lot of work to do in seeking justice, mercy, and peace for our world. And I personally think that matters a lot more what the next administration and Congress is going to do and fail to do.
Thank you for reading.
Today I am missing the Grand Ave life: These wonderful roomies, all the plants, and our beautiful house.
I always miss y’all and our beautiful house. Someone please buy it.
Is marriage really something that should be incentivized?
Where the hell are all the small government conservatives when we're talking about Washington getting into the Yenta business?
- President Jed Bartlet, The West Wing

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Why 2014 Has Been So Amazing
Celebrating New Years with Hamid, Erica, Mike, and Alysha at 1410 Grand
Italian night with Hamid: homemade pasta, cheeseballs, and La Vita E Bella
Relaxing, watching foreign films, and reading good books
Snoeshoeing at Happy Jack and Vedauwoo
Curling in Laramie!
Watching Winter Olympics at XA house (sometimes through my bedroom window)
Noah Gundersen in Denver
Singing in UW Singing Statesmen
IJM Rocky Mountain Student Summit in Colorado
XA Trip at Union Gospel Mission in Portland with Montana Tech
Seeing Dena and Anne in Portland
Global Prayer Gathering 2014 with Emily
Stand for Freedom at UW
Graduating college!!!!
Fun time at the UW Lab School
Making bread at the Cavalryman Steakhouse with awesome people
NOT having class
Watching the World Cup!
Going back to Mexico City after three years to see friends, eat amazing food, and see incredible places
Fun times in Grand Ave house.
Hiking Medicine Bow Peak
Gabe & Liz’s wedding in Utah
Moving to DC for IJM internship!!!!
Celebrating my birthday in DC with IJM friends
Needtobreathe and Oh Hellos in Silver Spring with Kristin!
North Star in Nashville! (STANCHIONS!)
Adventures & misadventures in DC with my sister Dena (JEW Futures concert!)
Random trip to Baltimore and NY with Maria/Edwin
Great conversations with IJM staff
Halloween party
Exploring DC
Noah Gundersen in DC
Visiting Philadelphia
Relient K’s MMHMM anniversary concert with Lashanda and Maria
Seeing Handel’s Messiah at Washington National Cathedral
A week on Long Island with Edwin
Exploring New York at Christmas
Reuniting with friends in Denver, Laramie, and Cheyenne
Moving the Debbans/Christmas Extravaganza
New Years Eve with friends and family in GR
I need to
stop being in the United States and go learn Spanish.
Throwback.
There’s nothing romantic about the Christmas story. If anything, it offers a slice of a brutal world in which a child is born on the street, so to speak, with next to nothing in the way of rights and security, and not even a home. He whose birthday we celebrate at Christmas said, even as a grown man, “I have nothing. I am nowhere at home. Even at night, I have no place to rest or lay my head”.…But now this man from Nazareth comes to us and invites us to mirror God’s image, and shows us how. He says: you too can become light, as God is light. Because what is all around you is not hell, but rather a world waiting to be filled with hope and faith.
Jorg Zink, “Doors to the Feast” (via contrariansoul)
hahahahahahaha (dying)
Your weekend is almost over? Good. #GrumpyCat

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Tim Tebow made a #MyWorstBirthday tweet wish come true!
Oh. Danie :)
STOP IT. I was at Danie's birthday party that year and that's all she wanted! HAHA. This is amazing!!
We want to see the end of slavery. We need our members of Congress to support the movement to end it.
Tuesday, August 05, 2014 2:47 PM
“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6
Praise Report
· Praise God that our team...
“You have listened to fears, child,” said Aslan. “Come, let me breathe on you. Forget them. Are you brave again?”
C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian (via cattedrali)
Mmm.
Borrowing the elephant mug since Erica is in Missouri and can’t stop me.

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The first time I went to Costa Rica was during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. They were ranked 69th that year. I wish I were there THIS year though! They’re ranked 28th…and playing in the quarter finals!
I am so proud of our Ticos!!
There’s pretty much nothing better than a field of wildflowers as far as you can see.
"Oh how pretty is the middle of June." - Noah Gundersen