There are several things I want to say about this book. But I need to begin with a disclaimer. This is one of my Ooze book reviews. I received a copy of this book, gratis, with the expectation that I’d write a review of it. Just so that everyone knows. Okay …
So … I approached this book with a lot of goodwill and anticipation. After all, I’ve been a political independent for a long, long time. Yes, I will admit this in public now for maybe the first time. I’m one of the few people who actually voted for John Anderson in 1980. There are about 17 of us (actually he got about 5.7 million votes … but there are only 17 of us who will admit it). Unfortunately, I was slightly disappointed … with the book, as well as with my vote for John Anderson (but that’s another story).
It’s a good book. If you’re looking for reasons to join the vast middle ground in this country, I would recommend it. If you’ve been in the middle for a long time and are comfortable there (like me), you might find it covering old ground. I have to say though, I recommend it with a couple of caveats. They are these.
First, I wish that whoever Ms. Ford had editing this book had done a better job. I found countless mistakes in both spelling and grammar that left me floundering. Some of them were clearly places where re-writes had failed to remove extra words. Whatever the problem, the spelling errors and extra words began to drive me nuts and detract from the readability of the book. I can overlook one or two, but several per chapter and I wanted to read with a red pen in hand.
Second, was that much of the writing had the nature of a rant and began, through the course of the book, to sound like a conspiracy theory. Now I’m as jaded and cynical as anyone when it comes to the political process … maybe even more than most, but I’m not sure I’d buy much of what Ms. Ford is selling. Or … maybe I’d say it this way. I’d buy the stripped down version, but I don’t think the fully loaded set is necessarily true. For instance, she makes the claim that it is in the best interests of both (political) parties to keep voter participation low on election day and goes to some length through out the book to back this claim up. Some of the arguments have merit. Some I’m not so sure of. Like this one about poll taxes. Poll taxes (that is taxing people on real estate and other property before they could vote) was outlawed in the early 1960’s. They were a popular tool used in the South to prevent African-Americans from being able to vote. Ms. Ford claims that Southern states now use other means of levying a “poll tax” without calling it that. She used as an example the fees that Georgia charges to gain or renew a drivers license – $35.00. That didn’t sit right with me. So I looked it up. In Virginia it costs $4 per year to gain or renew a drivers license and you do so for 5 to 8 years at a time. So it will cost anywhere from $20 to $32 for your drivers license. Now I cannot remember whether or not I was asked for identification when I went to the polls for the primary. Apparently, you need one in Georgia. However, in Georgia you may apply for an ID card for voting purposes … and that is free and good for ten years. In Vermont, a driver’s license costs $40 for four years … very expensive. But again, I don’t know what the identification requirements are at voting. I do know that Vermont requires a Voters Oath. (BTW … I checked Vermont and Virginia because I have context for both. And they are about as opposite as you can get from one another in terms of culture, demographics, philosophy, etc.)
Here’s the thing. For someone who is so impoverished that they do not have and cannot afford a state issued identification card, voting is very low on their list of priorities. I’m fairly certain that eating and keeping a roof over their head is going to take up most of their time and energy. I hope I don’t sound callous when I write this and I don’t mean to. I also don’t mean to say that impoverished people should be excluded from the conversation that is voting. What I am saying is that there are greater obstacles to their participation than that presented by a fee for an identification card. Maybe we need to care more about those obstacles and work around them.
Ms. Ford really shines in her description of political independents and the church. Why we’re necessary. Why we’ve felt so ostracized. The damage that political polarization (on both sides) has done to the church. And how things are changing. The book is worth the price of admission on those chapters alone. So I’ll leave you with a quote:
Within conservative evangelicalism, the notion that America is a Christian nation is a baby step away from the potentially disastrous belief that God is on our side–as long as we have conservative Christians making vital decisions that affect our domestic life and our foreign affairs. This attitude is evident “in the way political and religious conservatives vigorously and often angrily attempt to force their views and interests on everyone as if their interests, by definition, are God’s interests,” writes Obery Hendricks in The Politics of Jesus. “This is not faith; this is arrogance.”
Won’t Get Fooled Again … The Who
first recorded 1971, the above was filmed in 1978, lyrics below:
We’ll be fighting in the streets With our children at our feet And the morals that they worship will be gone And the men who spurred us on Sit in judgment of all wrong They decide and the shotgun sings the song I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution Take a bow for the new revolution Smile and grin at the change all around Pick up my guitar and play Just like yesterday Then I’ll get on my knees and pray We don’t get fooled again The change, it had to come We knew it all along We were liberated from the fold, that’s all And the world looks just the same And history ain’t changed ‘Cause the banners, they were all flown in the last war I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution Take a bow for the new revolution Smile and grin at the change all around Pick up my guitar and play Just like yesterday Then I’ll get on my knees and pray We don’t get fooled again No, no! I’ll move myself and my family aside If we happen to be left half alive I’ll get all my papers and smile at the sky Though I know that the hypnotized never lie Do ya? Yeah! There’s nothing in the streets Looks any different to me And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye And the parting on the left Is now parting on the right And the beards have all grown longer overnight I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution Take a bow for the new revolution Smile and grin at the change all around Pick up my guitar and play Just like yesterday Then I’ll get on my knees and pray We don’t get fooled again Don’t get fooled again No, no! Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Meet the new boss Same as the old boss
We’ll be fighting in the streets With our children at our feet And the morals that they worship will be gone And the men who spurred us on Sit in judgment of all wrong They decide and the shotgun sings the song
I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution Take a bow for the new revolution Smile and grin at the change all around Pick up my guitar and play Just like yesterday Then I’ll get on my knees and pray We don’t get fooled again
The change, it had to come We knew it all along We were liberated from the fold, that’s all And the world looks just the same And history ain’t changed ‘Cause the banners, they were all flown in the last war
I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution Take a bow for the new revolution Smile and grin at the change all around Pick up my guitar and play Just like yesterday Then I’ll get on my knees and pray We don’t get fooled again No, no!
I’ll move myself and my family aside If we happen to be left half alive I’ll get all my papers and smile at the sky Though I know that the hypnotized never lie Do ya?
Yeah!
There’s nothing in the streets Looks any different to me And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye And the parting on the left Is now parting on the right And the beards have all grown longer overnight
I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution Take a bow for the new revolution Smile and grin at the change all around Pick up my guitar and play Just like yesterday Then I’ll get on my knees and pray We don’t get fooled again Don’t get fooled again No, no!
Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Meet the new boss Same as the old boss
Well, by now you’re thinking that the old girl’s finally done it … she’s gone completely off her rocker. Left her last marble far behind. What on earth does this classic rock song have to do with politics and God and the election of 2008? For me … everything. It’s the refrain echoing in the air, just out of hearing, every time I hear a person of faith speak about politics these days.
Here’s a short course in US politics. This country is not democracy. We have a republic. That is, we elect representatives to enact our (the people’s) will in terms of laws and spending. In a true democracy, we would all come together to do this ourselves. We would all vote directly on every single piece of legislation that Congress currently votes on. So we have what is known as representative government. See how easy that is? We speak through our representatives. At the federal level, this means our Congressional representatives (based on state population) and our Senators (2 from each state). The congressional representatives (legislative branch) are up for election every 2 years, the senators every six. In the mean time, we also elect a president (the executive branch of the government) every four years. Now, to complete the system of checks and balances, our Founders threw in the judicial branch of the government; the Supreme Court. The justices are appointed by a sitting president and serve for life and/or until retirement … whichever comes first. The Supreme Court oversees the laws enacted by the legislative and executive branches to ensure that those laws are within the scope of the Constitution. Likewise each of the other branches have veto power over the other two. No one branch of the government has enough power to run things on their own. All three must get along with each other in order for our government to continue functioning. They all three simultaneously hold a carrot and a stick for each other.
If you look around you, you will see a similar pattern echoed in your state and local governments as well. Three branches (executive, legislative and judicial) each simultaneously holding a carrot and a stick for the other two. They will have different names at different levels, but you look; they’re there. This is because our founding parents (don’t fool yourselves, the wives had a lot of influence on the men), were profoundly persuaded of the notion that humans need governance of themselves and of their worst inclinations in order to provide space and the ability to bring out their best inclinations. In other words, if one could curb the greed for power with a system of checks and balances it might be possible to allow the best side human nature to blossom.
So that’s the short course on political systems in our country. I hold a bachelor’s degree in political science and international studies and have been fascinated by study of politics from a young age. I’ve been intrigued by politics and movements the way some people watch soap operas. What will happen next and the speculation is a source of endless enchantment for me.
I’ve begun seeing posts here and there lately which encourage Christians especially those attempting to find a new way in the world to think about not voting in the coming election. This is cloaked in language which helps those people feel subversive, powerful in meekness, and even Biblical. Here’s the thing though … it’s none of those things. Not voting is losing your voice and it’s playing right into the hands of the empire. Here are my thoughts on why Christians should vote and vote carefully in each election.
My first thoughts are that all Christians need to take a course in critical thinking. This is critical. As an adult convert (at the age of 30) who went to a regular liberal arts college and learned the art of critical thinking and discourse, I have been regularly appalled at the lack of critical thinking that I see amongst the brethren and sistren. It is why so many are now so bitterly disillusioned with President Bush. Those of us who are critical thinkers saw him for who he was back in 1999; a charlatan. But most Christians only heard what they wanted to hear in 2000 and again in 2004. Having done that, and been so badly burned they seem unwilling to trust any politician again.
They need to listen for themselves and read for themselves what the candidates are saying. Do not rely on the media reports … do not rely on Fox News or CNN or anyone else. The internet is rife with the ability to get the speeches whole cloth. Do this for yourself. All you have to do is get one or two of the whole speeches and you will have enough to have the tenor of the candidate. For instance,hen the story broke about Barak Obama’s pastor (Dr. Wright), I searched YouTube until I found his entire sermon and found the little bitty clips in context. They meant something then and were not nearly as offensive. If you know anything about the African-American church in this country, then you can understand where they came from. If you don’t, then shame on you. You have some homework to do.
Christians also need to understand the political process in such a way as to get beyond a single issue or even two issues. Politicians, especially at the national level, must be more nuanced than that. However, those same politicians are not above using and abusing naive voter blocks who may be lead around by the nose with a few well-chosen words. We also need to understand the milieu in which we live. We need to understand the vast difference between Israel of 4000 years ago and the United States of now. There are some similarities, but we are NOT God’s chosen people. Nor is this God’s chosen country. It is different.
Here is the point I’d like to make the strongest. We are not electing a king. Ever since the time of Samuel (1Samuel 8:4-8) the people have been asking for a king. When Jesus came as Messiah no one recognized him because they were looking for royalty and He was a peasant. Now today in our country even those not in the church are still trying to elect a king every four years. We try … every time … we keep looking for that savior who will make the country right again. This time, this vote, is going to set us on the right path. And it never happens. It never will. We are eternally disenchanted. Every four years we keep waiting for a coronation, but we have an inauguration and we’re let down once again. Because we do not have a king.
That’s a good thing. We have checks and balances on aristocratic power and authority. We, the people, have a voice. As Thomas Jefferson wrote:
“Governments, wherein the will of every one has a just influence… has its evils,… the principal of which is the turbulence to which it is subject. But weigh this against the oppressions of monarchy, and it becomes nothing. Malo periculosam libertatem quam quietam servitutem. [I prefer the tumult of liberty to the quiet of servitude.] Even this evil is productive of good. It prevents the degeneracy of government, and nourishes a general attention to the public affairs.” –Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1787. ME 6:64″
“… nourishes a general attention to the public affairs.” You see that’s the most important part of the quote. In order for our republic to function, it requires a general attention to public affairs. That means more than voting. We cannot simply vote and walk away from the process, thinking our job is done. Even so look at the statistics from the last presidential election:
In the presidential election of November 2004, the 64 percent of voting-age citizens who voted was higher than the 60 percent who turned out in 2000 (Table A).2 This was the highest turnout in a presidential election year since 1992, when 68 percent of voting-age citizens voted.3 The overall number of people who voted in the November 2004 election was 126 million, a record high for a presidential election year. Voter turnout increased by 15 million voters from the election in 2000. During this same 4-year period, the voting-age citizen population increased by 11 million people. The registration rate of the voting-age citizen population, 72 percent, was higher than the 70 percent registered in the 2000 election. The last presidential election year to have a higher registration rate was 1992, when 75 percent of voting-age citizens were registered to vote. Total registration in the November 2004 election was 142 million citizens, an increase of 12.5 million registered citizens since the 2000 election.
In the presidential election of November 2004, the 64 percent of voting-age citizens who voted was higher than the 60 percent who turned out in 2000 (Table A).2 This was the highest turnout in a presidential election year since 1992, when 68 percent of voting-age citizens voted.3 The overall number of people who voted in the November 2004 election was 126 million, a record high for a presidential election year. Voter turnout increased by 15 million voters from the election in 2000. During this same 4-year period, the voting-age citizen population increased by 11 million people.
The registration rate of the voting-age citizen population, 72 percent, was higher than the 70 percent registered in the 2000 election. The last presidential election year to have a higher registration rate was 1992, when 75 percent of voting-age citizens were registered to vote. Total registration in the November 2004 election was 142 million citizens, an increase of 12.5 million registered citizens since the 2000 election.
That’s pitiful. Not even 2/3’s of the voting population in 2004. And if you read the full report the breakdown of the statistics is even worse. When you begin looking at age, education, and race the numbers are incredulous. Those who use their voice in our country are white, rich, well-educated … and old.
It’s a self-selecting voice though. We all have this voice. Every single one of us. Every race. Every gender. Education level doesn’t matter. Hell, you don’t even have to be able to read. The empire is hoping that these trends will continue. Evil despises change. And if Christians bow out now we will allow evil to have it’s way.
The really subversive and Biblical thing to do?
These are the ways that we work against getting fooled again. Just bowing out of the system or not thinking about it ensures that evil wins … again. And the new boss will be the same as the old boss. Like or not, we do owe a few pennies to Ceasar as well as some to Jesus.
UPDATE: The discussion here got far too personal and filled with ugly slurs that are not becoming for those who claim to follow or be disciples of Jesus Christ. Because those who were participating in the conversation cannot seem to restrain themselves, I’ve closed comments. 7:30 EST July 23, 2008
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This is a synchroblog … here is a list of others who wrote about this fascinating subject today
Phil Wyman at Phil Wyman’s Square No More Lainie Petersen at Headspace Jonathan Brink enters The Political Fray Adam Gonnerman explains The Living Christ’s Present Reign Sonja Andrews at Calacirian Mike Bursell at Mike’s Musings Sally Coleman at Eternal Echoes Steve Hayes on God’s Politics Matthew Stone at Matt Stone Journeys in Between Steve Hollinghurst at On Earth as in Heaven KW Leslie tells us about God’s Politics Julie Clawson is Singing the Songs of Zion in Babylon Dan Stone at The Tense Before Alan Knox asks Is God Red, Blue, or Purple? Beth Patterson at The Virtual Teahouse Erin Word discusses Hanging Chad Theology
I woke up this morning with these words echoing around in my head:
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
They were spoken in a voice that is different from my voice. A rich deep baritone that is familiar to all of us. This clip is familiar to many of us. I have fuzzy, crackly memories of those words when they were first spoken, crackly and fuzzy on the radio in our house in Kansas. I was two and something. Those words were repeated over and over throughout my childhood.
Twenty years later when I was 22 and something I stood down on the Mall and listened as those words and that speech was re-enacted. I looked around at the poverty and disparity and dispaired of the words ever having truth.
Forty years later when I was 42 and something I listened to those words each year with my children and we talked about what they mean, and who this man was.
Now I’m 47. I woke up this morning and realized I’m watching this dream come true. On August 28, 2008 … 45 years to the day later, Barack Obama will accept the nomination for the Democratic Party.
This year. This election. We’re choosing hope. We’re looking at the content of someone’s character and not the color of their skin. Yes, Amen and all good things, we’re choosing hope. Let justice roll down like a mighty river and may grace abound …
My in-laws visited for a few days recently. They are snowbirds. That is, they spend several winter months in Florida in their motorhome and then return to Vermont for the remainder of the year. So they were visiting on their way back north. My mother-in-law (LightMIL) recently marked her 70th birthday, so we had a celebration with her while they were here.
We did this by taking her on a lunch cruise of the Potomac River to see the cherry blossoms.
The boat docks at a pier in southwest DC. There’s only a very tiny little bit of DC that is southwest and this pier is in it. So is Fort McNair … the location of the National War College. It takes about an hour to get there from here, no matter how you cut it. We spent a fair portion of that hour in some heavy traffic going and coming. I entertain myself by reading bumperstickers and vanity plates when I’m in traffic. Especially here in the DC area, where I’m familiar with the surroundings (i.e. there’s not much interesting to look at).
I saw the usual number of intolerant bumper stickers. Things like “You can’t be both Catholic and Pro-life.” “Put the Christ back in Christmas.” “Man’s way leads to a hopeless end! God’s way leads to an endless hope!” I reflected, as I often do when I see these bumper stickers, with no little resentment and aggravation, what do the drivers of such cars hope to gain by bearing these stickers? To me (and it is possible that I’m wrong) these stickers seem arrogant, harsh, and hubristic. I don’t mean to pick on the Catholic stance on abortion in this instance, because there are many anti-abortion stickers out there. But all of them suppose that the bearer has thought through the issue most thoroughly, and you, dear reader of the bumper, have not. If you would simply accept the veracity of the sound-bite on the bumper you will be issued into a new level of truth and righteousness.
They also make me think of the nearly constant refrain that this is a “Christian nation.” Keep “under God,” in the Pledge of Allegiance … it’s very important. We must institute or keep prayer in our public schools; letting it go has been the downfall of our whole way of life. Or has it? Are we really a Christian nation? What would that really look like? Who would decide which brand of Christianity we would follow as a so-called Christian nation?
I think about those things. Because some versions of Christianity have a lot of rules. Some have much fewer. Who would decide? Typically the many rules version of a religion is the one that takes charge in a country, when there is a country ruled by religion. There was a time (back when I was in college studying anthropology) when I could tell you the reason for this. Now, I simply understand that it happens and grieve it. I was thinking about this as well the other night as I read toward the end of A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseini. (warning … spoiler alert)
A main character has killed her abusive husband. He had raped her, beaten her, withheld food and water, thrown her around like a rag doll and treated her worse than most of us treat our household pets for nearly 20 years. She killed him as he throttled her best and only friend. Killing her husband was an act in defense of another human being’s life, albeit a woman. What follows here is her sentencing by a Taliban court in Kabul:
“It does not frighten me to leave this life that my only son left five years ago, this life that insists we bear sorrow upon sorrow long after we can bear no more. No, I believe I shall gladly take my leave when the time comes.” “What frightens me, hamshira, is the day God summons me before Him and asks, Why did you not do as I said, Mullah? Why did you not obey my laws? How shall I explain to Him, hamshira? What will be my defense for not heeding His commands? All I can do all any of us can do, in the time we are granted, is to go on abiding by the lsaws He has set for us. The clearer I see my end, hamshira, nearer I am to my day of reckoning, the more determined I grow to carry out His word. However painful it may prove.” He shifted on his cushion and winced. “I believe you when you say that your husband was a man of disagreeable temperament,” he resumed, fixing Mariam with his bespectacled eyes, his gaze both stern and compassionate. “But I cannot help but be disturbed by the brutality of your action, hamshira. I am troubled by what you have done; I am troubled that his little boy was crying for him upstairs when you did it. “I am tired and dying, and I want to be merciful. I want to forgive you. But when God summons me and says, But it wasn’t for you to forgive, Mullah, what shall I say?” His companions [2 other judges] nodded and looked at him with admiration. “Something tells me you are not a wicked woman, hamshira. But you have done a wicked thing. And you must pay for this thing you have done. Shari’a is not vague on this matter. It says I must send you where I will soon join you myself. “Do you understand, hamshira?” Mariam looked down at her hands. She said she did.
“It does not frighten me to leave this life that my only son left five years ago, this life that insists we bear sorrow upon sorrow long after we can bear no more. No, I believe I shall gladly take my leave when the time comes.”
“What frightens me, hamshira, is the day God summons me before Him and asks, Why did you not do as I said, Mullah? Why did you not obey my laws? How shall I explain to Him, hamshira? What will be my defense for not heeding His commands? All I can do all any of us can do, in the time we are granted, is to go on abiding by the lsaws He has set for us. The clearer I see my end, hamshira, nearer I am to my day of reckoning, the more determined I grow to carry out His word. However painful it may prove.”
He shifted on his cushion and winced.
“I believe you when you say that your husband was a man of disagreeable temperament,” he resumed, fixing Mariam with his bespectacled eyes, his gaze both stern and compassionate. “But I cannot help but be disturbed by the brutality of your action, hamshira. I am troubled by what you have done; I am troubled that his little boy was crying for him upstairs when you did it.
“I am tired and dying, and I want to be merciful. I want to forgive you. But when God summons me and says, But it wasn’t for you to forgive, Mullah, what shall I say?”
His companions [2 other judges] nodded and looked at him with admiration.
“Something tells me you are not a wicked woman, hamshira. But you have done a wicked thing. And you must pay for this thing you have done. Shari’a is not vague on this matter. It says I must send you where I will soon join you myself.
“Do you understand, hamshira?”
Mariam looked down at her hands. She said she did.
I know a lot of people will read this and think things like well … that’s the Muslims … we Christians aren’t like that. We have grace, after all. Do we? How do you think this situation might have played out in a Christian court? I’m not certain it would have looked any different.
I ‘m glad we don’t live in a “Christian nation” but one that is guided by our First Amendment. A nation where Jews and Christians and Muslims and Hindus and Flying Spaghetti Monsters are all equal under the law. The idea of becoming a Christian nation frightens me, quite frankly. While I want to know that those who lead us have thought through their personal issues of faith, I also want them to be open and welcoming to members of other faiths. Thinking that one has all the answers to questions that haven’t been asked has no place in the government of an empire.
Here are some links, conversations and tid-bits for your weekend perusal or something like that. Or because I’m bored and should be doing laundry.
A really fabulous definition of what knowledge is … or is not. An argument … but go see for yourself.
Have you read The Shack? If you haven’t, then get thee hence, go to … go to (yes, it really will change you and your life). If you have, go over to Waving or Drowning and put in your picks for the cast of the fantasy movie that we’re making. I picked Mandy Patinkin for Jesus … but that’s all I’m telling you. You’ll have to go see what started the whole thing for yourself.
Jake is looking for input on theology lectures … if you have a favorite and know where it is on an .mp3, leave it in the comments for him. He’s putting together a mixtape of them. Whodathunk?
Will Samson started a conversation about Dr. Wright and his soundbites but someone left a comment about abortion versus mountaintop removal. I’m not certain I get it, maybe you will … in any case, go watch the YouTube clip and leave a more appropriate comment there to offset the silliness.
Over at Perigrinatio, Doug meditates on the one obligation we are called to. It’s powerful.
Last, on a pretty somber note, I’ll join the growing wave of people who recommend the series over at FuturistGuy on Spiritual Abuse. It is both sobering and redemptive. I have found some of it extremely emotional, part of it made me want to throw my computer across the room, and then part of it made me nod in agreement. But after processing it all I am glad for it. It is helpful, healing and good. I anticipate the next piece with some apprehension and some excitement.
How many of you have killed a fly?
Yeah, me too. Squashed it like … well … a bug. Have you killed other bugs? Me, too.
How about other vermin? Have you ever killed a snake? Or a rat? Have you ever run over an animal by mistake with your vehicle? Or … have you gone hunting and killed an animal on purpose for food?
I’m not certain, but I don’t think I’ve ever killed anything larger than a bug. I did, however, grow up on a farm and regularly participated in the slaughter of animals for food. As youngsters, my brothers and I held headless chicken races to see which of the chickens would run longest after having their heads chopped off during the annual chicken kill. It seems gruesome now, but it was a way of distancing ourselves from the pain of necessary killing. We needed those chickens for food and could no longer afford to feed them. We kept some for the purpose of egg laying, others were for meat. It was part of the cycle of the farm.
Since growing up in that environment, I’ve had occasion to consider just what mental gymnastics it takes for us to kill. For instance, I have an unreasonable fear of spiders. My fear of them is really sort of funny when you consider how much larger I am than they. But I can’t kill them. One day, many years ago, I encountered a spider in my kitchen and went to get my neighbor, so that she could usher the spider to a new life in the great outdoors. I’ve gotten a little better; now I just ignore them. When I see dead animals on the side of the road, I have a brief period of mourning for them. They died at our hands, ignorant of the danger involved in crossing the road. Some of them get caught between jersey barriers, trapped and die, able to get in, unable to escape. Most of this we justify by claiming our dominion over the animal kingdom. Afterall, we have bigger brains, no? It is, at the end of the day, survival of the fittest; the law of the jungle.
I’ve gone on to consider, then, the killing of other humans. How do we justify this? We have many forms of justification for this. Some times there is no justification and then we deem it to be murder. A broken law. Other times we do justify it and call it war. How do we measure the difference? How do we teach men (and now women) to know that difference? To overcome their built in tendency to not kill other humans? It’s simple really. We reduce those other humans to animals. That is how it is done. We tell our armies that the enemy is/are less than human … that is, they are at about the level of animals.
Think about it for a minute. When you hear people (or yourself) talking about the “other,” what language is used? It’s usually not kind or gracious. It is uncomfortable. Think about the current war in Iraq. I have heard the “enemy” referred in terms such as “ragheads,” “towelheads,” “camelmonkeys” and the like. This language is particularly prevalent among the military. This sort of language about “others” is nearly always prevalent in the military of any culture. When it begins to become more common in the general culture we find it easier to begin wars and the making of slaves (either literal or virtual).
It is through the use of language that we devalue people. People … made in the image of God. Children of God. How often do you devalue someone? When you are driving, what assumptions do you make about the drivers who get in your way? When you are out and about, what assumptions do you make about the people who are different from you in some way … be it the color of their skin, or their gender, or their age, or perhaps a physical/mental disability or difference? It is only when we lessen their value and make people into something other than fellow creations of the divine that we are able to commit mass murder. Even when that mass murder is for good reason. Or is it ever?
An Experience of the Captivity.
1By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion. 2Upon the willows in the midst of it We hung our harps. 3For there our captors demanded of us songs, And our tormentors mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” 4How can we sing the LORD’S song In a foreign land? 5If I forget you, O Jerusalem, May my right hand forget her skill. 6May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth If I do not remember you, If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy. 7Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, “Raze it, raze it To its very foundation.” 8 O daughter of Babylon, you devastated one, How blessed will be the one who repays you With the recompense with which you have repaid us. 9How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones Against the rock.
Think about that last verse for a minute … who are the ones who seize and dash “littles one against the rock.” Who are those horrible people? What kind of monster would seize children and “dash them against the rock?” Well … a monster who didn’t really believe that they were children for starters. It would be a person or group who believed that he or they were doing some greater good in ridding the world of vermin.
You cannot kill those who you believe to be of equal value to yourself. I think that is what Jesus was getting at when he said, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca, ‘ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”
Now, consider for a moment what it feels like to be on the receiving end of those comments. We’ve all been called a “fool” at some point or another in our lives. Most of us know how to toss that off and move on. But do we understand the cumulative effect of years and years of being called a fool for reasons beyond our control … reasons having to do with the color of our skin or the shape of our eyes or the place of our birth? What would it be like to be underneath a boot for the entirety of one’s existence merely for the color of one’s skin and nappiness of one’s hair? To wonder every time you got into the driver’s seat of a car if you’d get pulled over for no other reason than …. a policeman’s wish. To wonder about the security of your employment. The realities of lynching because of race are not actually gone in our country. How does a person live with that shadow skulking about the occasional corner? It is not something that I ever have to consider.
Women are encouraged to take self-defense classes in preparation for fending off sexual predators. Perhaps people with different colored skin should also take such classes in preparation for fending off angry hate-filled mobs. Perhaps if we embraced where race relations really are in this country, the recent flap over Dr. Jeremiah Wright’s comments from the pulpit would not be seen as inflammatory. Those comments sound pretty awful. “America’s chickens coming home to roost,” in the shadow of the 9/11 attacks sounds callous, cruel and incendiary. One cannot condone a reverend or preacher actually saying those things in his outloud voice to a congregation can one? Can you? It causes us to pause in our adulation of his follower, Barack Obama, and wonder about his wisdom in following such a mentor. Or does it? Do we really know all that we need to know about Dr. Wright based upon a few sound bites that were released by media moguls who are less than enamoured of liberal causes? Watch, if you will, the above-referenced sound bite taken in it’s full context below.
I am not condoning racism. I am not condoning hate. I am not condoning frenzied, emotional outbursts that do not have love at their center from those who follow Jesus. However, when I listen to Dr. Wright’s words and hear more of his heart, I begin to understand more of who he is. I begin to understand why Obama may (or may not) heartily disagree with him, yet remain a member of Trinity. I have people in my life whom I love dearly, yet with whom I disagree vehemently about certain things. They are part of my family and we are as different as night and day. Would I should disown them, if I were to run for political office? My uncle has advocated (seriously, not as a joke) paving over the Chesapeake Bay and is a racist bigot. I have other family stories which would curl your hair. Most of us do. We are, in the end, all human and all say and do things of which we are later ashamed. Or not. But which make other people question our intelligence, wisdom and character when taken out of context.
Perhaps the larger question might be, what exactly are we looking for in a leader? Are we looking for perfection, a king, a messiah? To find that would be anti-constitutional. Or are we looking for someone with the intelligence and strength of character to know who a good mentor is and learn from that person, despite his or her flaws. Perhaps we need to find a person who can learn from many people drawing on their strengths along the way rather than slavishly following one person and mimicking the flaws in their jewels.
What can we understand from this? I think it is this … in the end we are all more alike than different. We need to ask more questions than we do when things like this hit the front page. Questions such as, who stands to benefit from this? And think long term when you answer that. Who is the long term beneficiary of a drawn out and equivocating Democratic primary race? Hmmm … the Republican party. Think about that for a while, while you ponder the ideas that have been raised in this very hateful period of the race.
Oh, how I wish I could take credit for this … but I cannot. It comes from a comment on the Daily Kos:
Saying that Hillary has Executive Branch experience is like saying Yoko Ono was a Beatle.
and it was followed somewhat lower by this:
Residency doesn’t make a Presidency.
If I hear one more blurb about how many years of experience that woman has, I swear I’m going to … well … I just don’t know … One more reason why I’m supporting Obama in 2008. She is such a charlatan.
I still remember the first ever election I voted in. It was 1980 and I voted by absentee ballot because I was away from home in college. Jimmy Carter was president and running as the incumbent against Ronald Reagan and John Anderson. hehehe … yeah … nobody except political science professors and poli/sci majors remember that. And the 763 of us who voted for John Anderson; we also remember. Those of you who are so enamoured of Ron Paul … you need to take a good hard look at that race. And the race where whats-his-name ran … you know? The guy who was a software engineer and put all his own money into the campaign, he used to own EDS and has a head shaped like a turkey. He was mighty entertaining, but …
There are at least 87 excellent reasons for a more than two party system in this country. However we won’t have one by starting with the presidential campaign. It will begin by organizing a new party or parties at the local level and electing officials down low and moving them up. It’s a process that will take decades. For the record, many libertarians are nuts. Wackos. A group of them voted to secede from Vermont and join New Hampshire, from the middle of the state … led by my cousin, so I can say this. There is more to good government than low taxes and low level anarchy. If Libertarians cannot win their case at the local level, they will not win at the state and national level … no matter how winsome their candidate appears.
On to more pertinent matters.
I’m not voting for Hillary. If the Democratic party has so lost it’s mooring as to nominate her for it’s presidential candidate come it’s convention, I will vote for whoever the Republican nominee is … or I won’t vote at all. I’m not going to settle for a vote between the lesser of two evils anymore. I’m not going to do it. I refuse. I’ve only had one election in my life where I felt an honest choice between candidates … and it was the first election I voted in. 28 years is a long dry spell.
I don’t vote with my breasts and I’m a little put out that it seems a lot of my fellow women are. It’s interesting to me that many of my family, friends and colleagues assume that I am going to vote for her … just because I’m a woman and she’s a woman, so they assume that I will take this ground-breaking opportunity to vote for the first woman president. No, actually … I have a little more integrity than that. I don’t like Hillary and never have. I have felt empathy for her. I have despised the manner in which she was pilloried when Bill was in office. I have admired her courage under pressure. But when the chips are down I do not trust her and I really think that she has an unseemly lust for power. To put it quite bluntly, I do not trust her character. In much the same manner as I never trusted the character of George W. Bush. To be fair, at least she is no fool.
I’m not going to vote for Hillary, because despite her protests to contrary now, she supported the war in Iraq when it was expedient to her to do so. I’m not going to vote for Hillary because she does not have a consistent ethic of life. I’m not going to vote for Hillary, because her husband was president 8 years ago and that makes him a loose cannon in the White House … with no restraints. I’m not going to vote for Hillary because if she were to become president that would give us 32 years of essentially the same style of leadership (Reagan-Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton?) and it’s time for something new. I’m not going to vote for Hillary because she does what is politically expedient to gain votes, not what she feels is best or morally right for the country or her state. Tom D’Antoni put words to my underlying suspicions in yesterday’s Huffington Post. I’m not certain I’d go as far as he does, but I suspect it’s true and this is why I don’t trust Hillary’s character:
“‘I will work my heart out for you every single day!’ These are the incredible words of Hillary Clinton, who arranges for a cute little Mexican boy in a sombrero to bring her flowers onstage in Texas. What a pitiful and despicable show. If you ever see a Latino near her multimillion-dollar house in Chappaqua, New York, he’ll likely be on his knees in the dirt with a gardening trowel. You are to her a vote, nothing more. It is not you who matters to her. It is your gullibility that matters to her. Her goal is not to serve you. Her goal is to con you and use you to become president, and that is all. You are to her expendable, a mere means to an end that does not involve you or your concerns or your welfare.
“‘I will work my heart out for you every single day!’ These are the incredible words of Hillary Clinton, who arranges for a cute little Mexican boy in a sombrero to bring her flowers onstage in Texas. What a pitiful and despicable show.
If you ever see a Latino near her multimillion-dollar house in Chappaqua, New York, he’ll likely be on his knees in the dirt with a gardening trowel.
You are to her a vote, nothing more. It is not you who matters to her. It is your gullibility that matters to her. Her goal is not to serve you. Her goal is to con you and use you to become president, and that is all. You are to her expendable, a mere means to an end that does not involve you or your concerns or your welfare.
But most of all, I resent Hillary. She brings a bitter gall to the back of my throat. Like Hillary and many women, I sacrificed my dreams for my husband and my children. I do not have such a glamorous husband, he does not have such a glamorous job as Bill. So perhaps the parallels end there. However, I cannot go out into the workplace now after 14 years of not being paid for the grunt work I do, and claim that I have “experience” for a glamorous and powerful job that I would like to have. People would laugh at me if I put 14 years of experience on my resume that looked like what my husband does. People would laugh at any woman who did that. Even if her college experience equalled that of her husband’s. It galls me that politicians, the media, and people in general are buying into Hillary’s experience as if it were true … but for the rest of us women … well … we have to start all over again when we go back to work after raising our families. I know … life ain’t fair. The rules are different for those who rule. But here’s the thing. Our country is founded on the idea that the rules are not supposed to be different for those who rule.
So … who am I going to vote for? Well, the primary came to Virginia last Tuesday (February 12). I voted for Barack Obama with joy and glee. He won by a landslide. For the first time in 28 years I think we have candidate who is a voice for change. Not change for the sake of change, but change in how we think about ourselves. I think Mr. Obama will bring back respect to the position of President. Respect that it began to lose even under President Nixon in the early 1970’s.
I’m very excited about his campaign. I just hope the pols in the Democratic Party have the smarts to listen to the people.
I’ve had another theory about war and killing knocking around in my head for a number of years now about the difference between the army of empire/invasion and the army of defense. Take a look at the following images that I’ve taken from around the web (I’ve given credit for them) and I’ll explain my theory at the bottom.
Roman Army invading Britain – ~55 CE
The Celts who defended Britain ~55 CE
Battle at Bannockburn – June 1314
Bannockburn Re-enactment-Scottish Army
British Army in American War of Independence
Militia in American Revolutionary War
American soldiers in Iraq
Iraqi Soldiers Defending Their Country
I could have found and used a lot of other images from many other times in history, but these will do. You can do your own GoogleImage search for your favorite wars/battles and you will likely find similar results. Notice the similarities in the invading armies of empire. Notice the similarities in the defending armies of the indigenous people. There are many reasons for this. Empires are well financed and can afford to outfit their soldiers well. Their soldiers are much safer, have better equipment and arms than the soldiers of defense, for the most part. It is in the empire’s interest to keep the indigenous people poor and ill-equipped.
Here’s another thing I don’t understand though. The armies of empire almost always lose. Oh, it takes a long, long time. Sometimes longer than others. But empires always crack and fall; indigenous populations survive. It may take generations, but over time it is the indigenous people who will overcome the invaders. There are very few cases where this has not been the case … but the reach of empire becomes over-extension. The strain of maintaining force in too many places eventually cracks the foundations and the empire breaks apart.
One definition of insanity is repeating the same pattern of behavior over and over again, expecting a different result. Yet, as a species, we do this. We continually raise up empires and their armies, send them into foreign lands. Then wonder why we cannot make the center hold. What is wrong? Why does our collective head hurt so badly?
I wonder what would happen if we tried something new?
Instead of sending armies of empire to quell unrest, tax, rape and pillage and behave brutally badly, I wonder what would happen if we simply decided to live well where we are? What if all the countries did that? I am aware that this is naive. We are, however, at a rare point in history, with a rare confluence of circumstances. What would happen if we decided to be good neighbors, instead of the mayor, police force and justice system all-in-one?
What if …
I ended yesterday’s post wondering if it really matters and I quoted “Crumbs From Your Table” – a song by U2. If you click that link there, you can listen along as you read the lyrics below:
From the brightest star Comes the blackest hole You had so much to offer Why did you offer your soul? I was there for you baby When you needed my help Would you deny for others What you demand for yourself? Cool down mama, cool off Cool down mama, cool off You speak of signs and wonders I need something other I would believe if I was able But I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table You were pretty as a picture It was all there to see Then your face caught up with your psychology With a mouth full of teeth You ate all your friends And you broke every heart thinking every heart mends You speak of signs and wonders But I need something other I would believe if I was able But I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table Where you live should not decide Whether you live or whether you die Three to a bed Sister Ann, she said Dignity passes by And you speak of signs and wonders But I need something other I would believe if I was able I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table
From the brightest star Comes the blackest hole You had so much to offer Why did you offer your soul? I was there for you baby When you needed my help Would you deny for others What you demand for yourself?
Cool down mama, cool off Cool down mama, cool off
You speak of signs and wonders I need something other I would believe if I was able But I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table
You were pretty as a picture It was all there to see Then your face caught up with your psychology With a mouth full of teeth You ate all your friends And you broke every heart thinking every heart mends
You speak of signs and wonders But I need something other I would believe if I was able But I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table
Where you live should not decide Whether you live or whether you die Three to a bed Sister Ann, she said Dignity passes by
And you speak of signs and wonders But I need something other I would believe if I was able I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table
So why should any of us care what happens in Kenya, or any of the African nations? Or the Middle East? Or Asia? Or anywhere but our little neighborhood for that matter? What does it matter to us? I can think of a million different answers to those questions. I think they’re different for different people. But I’m interested in answering them from the perspective of a Jesus follower. Why do I care? Why is it important for someone who follows Jesus to care what happens in the lives of people half-way around the world?
There are still numerous answers to that question. There is, of course, the idea of bringing aid to orphans and widows. Then there is the idea that we must succor the least of these brothers and sisters in the name of Jesus for in so doing we are aiding Him. Those are valid and indeed wonderful reasons for caring about people in the name of Jesus.
I think though, there is a larger reason we need to care. Jesus talked about bringing His Kingdom to pass. He talked about it being here all around us and being not yet. He said when it came to be the deaf would hear, the blind would see, prisoners would be free and the lame would leap for joy. He also said it was here … right now. He said that if we have faith that is the size of a mustard seed we could move a mountain into the sea. We could also bring sight to the blind and sound to the deaf and freedom to the captives … that in our presence the lame would leap for joy! Indeed, this is his Good News that we call the Gospel.
We also call it hope. It is hope for a better world, a better place and a better time. It is hope that my children and their children will play together and that the content of their character will count for more than the color of their skin (MLK, Jr.). It is hope that where you live will not determine the time of your death (Bono). Because in the now, those things are true and yet not true. In the not yet of God’s Kingdom towards which we strive, they will not be true at all … and that is the hope which we extend and push forward.
In caring we become ambassadors of hope. In hope there is reconciliation. Where there is not hope, there cannot be peace. When hope has died, neighbors war with neighbors and burn houses to the ground. When the truth of Love has been extinguished, fighting and war breaks out. No one can love their neighbor when hope has left the building.
We see this time and again throughout history. Marie Antoinette was famously misquoted as saying to the French peasants, “Let them eat cake.” It was a royal solution to a bread shortage. The shortage was not of bread, but of wheat. The royals did not feel the pinch or lack, but the poor did. Poor Antoinette had no clue. Her cloistered, pampered life ill-prepared her for the storms that came her way. She loved her country and her people, but could not give them any hope. The Jacobins and other forces at play in the French Revolution tore at the fabric of hope in the lives of the people.
In India the reverse happened. Gandhi was determined that independence from British rule could be gained without resorting to violence. Instead of tearing hope away from the poorest of the poor, he restored it. The more real hope he gave them that they could be honestly independent, the stronger and more united the Indians became. Yes, there was violence, but the Indians were not fighting amongst themselves … until later (but that’s another story).
Kenya (and Uganda, Somalia, Sudan and the list goes on) is important because we Jesus-followers are to be ambassadors of hope. We must restore hope to the little people. It is the poor who are fighting and dying. It is the little people, the poor, who are hurting and crying. The rich all around the world continue to eat cake; while the poor have no bread. If we are ambassadors of God’s Kingdom in the here and for the not yet, we must bring hope. We must restore sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, freedom to the captives and cause the lame to leap for joy. It is hope, and that hope alone which will restore peace to the country and allow her people to live in harmony with one another; neighbor helping neighbor to overcome the odds.
Restoring Hope:
Christian Mission Aid
OneWorld.net – Kenya … learn more about Kenya overall, follow links and become an expert!
Avaaz.org – send an e-mail that encourages your foreign minister (US Secretary of State) to put pressure on all parties in the conflict to continue mediation.
Global Partners – invest in Kenya’s future: women and children
WorkNets-Help Kenyans – direct connections with Kenyans on the ground during the crisis. I can’t vouch for any of these people or this site, but it looked interesting. Apparently Kenyans can trade phone credits for food?
Amani Ya Juu – a womens cooperative dedicated to peace and hope in Nairobi (here’s where you can donate to help the women in the current crisis)
Restoring Relationship:
The Walrus Blog (ht Achievable Ends) Mentalacrobatics (ht Waving or Drowning) KenyaUnlimited Blogs Aggregator
