Acknowledging the monster behind you.

Have you ever heard the old nursery rhyme about the old lady that swallowed the frog to catch the fly and then a mouse to catch the frog and then a cat to catch the mouse and on and on? The old lady died... of course. I think there is more wisdom in that little nursery rhyme than meets the eye. I think the moral is that sometimes it's better to live with a problem if the only solutions are going to cause other problems that are more severe.

Try to apply that logic to Arizona's immigration problem for a minute. The AZ Legislature recently elected Russell Pearce to be the AZ Senate President and along with that comes a slew of anti-immigration legislation. Russell Pearce is so focused on solving the problem of undocumented immigration in front of him that he fails to see all the problems that his solutions are creating behind him in the wake of unintended consequences. We've already seen instances of violence between communities and the police department. We've seen local economies suffer because residents left in mass numbers to move to other states. And it looks as if the situation is only going to get worse. Recently, there was a bill introduced that would force hospitals to check the legal status of persons who receive emergency care and turn them over to federal authorities after their visit. I don't really feel like going into detail about the negative affects of this legislation because they are so obvious but if you'd like to read another blog that I think is an accurate prediction of what will ensue you can read it here - http://thepragmaticprogressive.org/wp/2011/02/10/a-whole-new-kind-of-death-panel/. 

The point I'd like to make is that I think it's very important to think critically about the motives of people who have a victim complex. Russell Pearce has a victim complex when it comes to undocumented immigrants. And rightfully so, I'm pretty sure he was shot once and had another run in that had something to do with drunk driving. (I might be wrong on the details but the point is that he has had bad experiences involving undocumented immigrants). People who view themselves as victims never feel like they need to be critical of their positions because they think they have a right to vengeance. In a way I can understand why Russell Pearce feels the way he does but I also think that we as a society need to think about the monsters behind his philosophy as he focuses all of his energy trying to rid the state of undocumented immigrants instead of critically examining the effects of his actions. Reason being that if we let him keep swallowing cats to catch mice, Arizona is going to end up like the old lady.

Egypt

Today I read that the protests in Egypt were successful in their attempt to force the resignation of their authoritarian president of 30 years. I feel like this is very good news to me even though I am not personally connected to the situation and do not even know anyone who is. It is inspiring to me because it is an example of real change. Not just a politician who says the word change and then either chooses not to change anything or doesn't have the ability to change anything but actual real change from the grassroots level. It really demonstrated the power of the people. I was having a conversation with my brother-in-law a few days ago and he mentioned how the social contract between the people and the government is what allows a government to stay in power. As soon as that social contract is broken the government has no control whether they remain "in charge" or not. On the peoples end, breaking that contract takes a lot of courage because if it fails to break completely they leave themselves open to continuing abuses from those in power. I am inspired by the courage it took for the people of Egypt to stand up to an authoritarian rule and collectively say, "We will not follow you any more. Our social contract is broken. You are not our leader whether the law says you are or not or whether you stay or not. We are free!"

That is inspiring!

Book Report - The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne

I just finished this book yesterday and had mixed thoughts about it. I like Shane Claiborne but I don't always agree with his opinions. I felt like he was really good at diagnosing problems but his solutions seemed to lack substance. He would hit the nail on the head when he would talk about how the church is apathetic and numb but then his solution would be an idealistic form of communism. If Christians just woke up and decided to share everything the world would be a better place. Sure, but if everyone on welfare decided to stop collecting government checks and actually organize and start businesses the world would be a better place too. I'm not actually proposing the latter as a plan, I'm just saying that talking about unrealistic goals is just that, unrealistic.

In the book he went on and on about Gods heart for the poor, the early church and how Jesus lived his life. I agree with all of that but I don't see how the book is emulating Jesus. Jesus said to do your good deeds in secret, not write a book about every good deed you ever did. Also, I don't understand how you can grasp the concept of the Gospel being good news for the poor and then go and write a book to an audience of rich people. The book isn't good news for the poor. You can look at the cover which is made to look like cardboard and duck tape and see that it's not something the poor are going to be excited about. The already have cardboard and duck tape. The book is good news for the rich because it frees them from money and a boring life of comfort. But good news for the poor? I'm not so sure.

I like Claiborne for his passion and recognition of a broken world that needs something new. But I wouldn't be surprised if this book was nothing more than an attempt by a man struggling with pride to make a name for himself. It's supposed to be an irresistible revolution but it was written 5 or so years ago and I hadn't heard about it till now. Must be pretty resistible. It doesn't seem to have gained a huge following. At the end of the book there is a three page list of "communities" that he says are part of the irresistible "revolution." It's almost like he's taking credit for them but when you look closer you can see that they aren't anything new. The CCDA is listed and my church is a member of that and has been since before the book was ever published. Willow Creek Community Church is listed and in the book Shane describes this as being a mega-church that took all the crosses out and had American flags all over the place to be "seeker-sensitive." That can hardly be considered part of his "revolution" but he lists all these organizations and makes it look like he's started something unstoppable when I really don't think he's had much impact.

Anyway, although I had disagreements, I think I still enjoyed this book and benefited from it. I came away from it with a better understanding of some of the problems we face in the world and also more of a will to take up the cause of the poor and the needy even though it probably wont be in line with what Shane suggests.

Book Report - From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman

I finished this book a few weeks ago and thought it was very insightful. This was the first book I've ever read that I underlined and marked pages for content that I wanted to revisit at a later date. I thought I'd write a blog highlighting some of the things I learned while reading this book.

Page 6- "First, when it comes to discussing the middle east people go temporarily insane, so if you are planning on talking to an audience of more than two, you'd better have mastered the subject." I thought this was particularly enlightening since everyone has an opinion about the middle east but it's rare to find someone who actually knows a thing or two about what really goes on.

Page 38 - Talked about people that continued to live in Beirut during war time and how they coped. A psychologist that studied peoples coping mechanisms there found that those who were able to block out everything that was going on around them that was not under their control were in the best physical and mental health. I thought this was interesting and I think it applies to other people as well as those living in Beirut. If you can't do anything about it, don't worry about it.

Page 354 - The Israelites used a mask of law to persecute the Palestinians. It is easy to confuse "rule by law" with "rule of law." It struck me as insightful because I think the same thing is going on in the United States to deal with undocumented immigrants. We justify all kinds of injustices by pointing to the law and saying, "What part of illegal don't you understand?" Just because something has been made into law does not mean that it is right or just. It was interesting for me to see this tactic being used in a different part of the world.

Page 364 - "One aspect of the arrogance of power is that it presumes knowledge." I liked this quote...

Page 381 - "In many ways, it was Israel, through its repressive and humiliating treatment, which managed to give the Palestinians a common experience of bitterness to reinforce their historical and cultural ties and cement them together." I thought this quote was also very insightful because I think it happens all over the world and in peoples personal lives as well. In an attempt to make their country more secure, the Israelites oppressed and contained the Palestinians. Instead of making them more secure, what it did was make their enemy hate them with more zeal. I think this happens to people in their personal lives when they try to get even with people instead of just let things go.

Page 430 - "The very existence of Israel as a modern state is slightly mind-blowing." That's for sure.

Page 431 - Friedman talks about what he notices while reading newspapers and about how there seems to be a spotlight on the Jews. I thought it was really interesting to read about what a journalist sees between the lines that a layman like myself might never notice. In this example he talks about how an Israeli solder made the front page because he grabbed a Palestinian youth while a story about Iran and Iraq attacking each other with long range missiles got buried in the back. The content of reporting on the middle east seems to be a bit unbalanced. What can you really believe?

A thought about my childhood

I'm reading a book right now by Thomas Friedman titled "From Beirut to Jerusalem." The craziness of the middle east is interesting to read about but it's even more interesting to think critically about. As I flip through the pages I can barely wrap my head around how unreasonable people over there can be. Everyone is scared of everyone else and they use that fear to justify the most egregious acts the human mind can fathom. Whether it be the Syrian government leveling an entire city full of non-combatants to crush a burgeoning  rebellion or a small terrorist faction creating a chair with a scalding hot phallus shaped mechanism to do what you'd imagine a terrorist faction would do with such a chair. The atrocities that occur in the middle east are almost beyond imagination for a person raised in Arizona who has never seen or been scared of war. Almost beyond imagination until I remembered something from my childhood that made me see everyone over there as an unlucky version of myself.

I'm pretty sure I am capable of committing every crime committed in the middle east and maybe even worse. Maybe not now that I'm an adult but I remember a time during my childhood when my mind and convictions were still malleable. I can remember sitting in church hearing stories about how the Jews used to stone people for committing certain sins. I never told anyone and felt really guilty but I remember thinking about how much fun it would be to take part in stoning criminals. I imagined a line of people with a "bad guy" a little ways away and getting to pelt him with rocks until he died. Now that I'm older I can't even look at the screen during a movie when someone is getting hanged but there was a time when I could have gone the other way. I guarantee if the adults in my life during that time hadn't taught me the morals that I've come to accept and had instead chose to teach me in a way that a lot of children are brought up in the middle east, I'd fit in just fine over there which is a sad thought. It's sad because I know I'm no different than anyone else, I'm just lucky to have been born into a culture that is less violent than other places.

It's interesting how reading a book can lead me to realizations that were completely unintended by the author. I find that to be very common while reading books. Anyway, I don't really know what the point of this realization is. I guess it's just that if luck is the only thing that kept me from being a middle eastern terrorist than I really don't have the option of hating them. I can only feel sorry for them and try to promote peace through peaceful means.

What he got right and what I'm not sure about

I just finished a book called The Prophetic Imagination, by Walter Brueggemann. One thing I liked about reading the book was that I didn't agree with a lot of what was written in it. I've found that when I read books I tend to agree with the author more often than not. Sometimes the thought crosses my mind that I'm not giving conflicting views enough of a chance because reading a book gives an author a monopoly on your time and thoughts and certain biases might go unrecognized. However, every now and then I read something that I really don't like and at the very least it reminds me that I still know how to think for myself. Since I just finished the book I wanted to write a few things about what I thought Brueggemann got right and what I'm not so sure about.

One reason I didn't enjoy this book is because I think his writing style could have used a little help. The book might have been a little easier if he communicated in a way that was a little more down to earth. It was a book about prophecy and I imagined reading it, not knowing much about religion, and being thoroughly freaked out. It was a little over the top for me.

One thing that I did take away from it is that change in a society will not occur if people don't take the time to imagine how it could be different and think about the steps needed to get there. This, to me, is a simple idea though and doesn't need high and mighty language about prophecy, royal consciousnesses and alternative consciousnesses. "Do not be overrighteous, neither be over wise, why destroy yourself? Do not be overwicked and do not be a fool, why die before your time? It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other, the man who fears God will avoid all extremes." Ecc 7:16-18. I think Brueggemann could benefit from taking this advice.

Another thing I disagreed with was a general undertone that prophecy was a goal to reach. I don't think it is wise for a person to concern themselves with this. Even when John the Baptists disciples asked Jesus who he was he only replied to tell John that the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured... and the good news is preached to the poor. To me this says, "Who cares what you call it, the proof's in the pudding." It seems to me that people who get too caught up in semantics and labels forget what is really important. The goal should be to defend the cause of the poor and the needy and to visit orphans and widows in their distress, whatever you want to call the people who do this is irrelevant. Claiming to be a prophet and using all that other religious jargon is only going to freak people out and make a person prideful. And that is what I think is so dangerous about this book.

Everything's Amazing and Nobody's Happy

This youtube video is hilarious. If you've got a few minutes watch it and then read the rest of my post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r1CZTLk-Gk

This makes me laugh but it also makes me ask a lot of serious questions.

If everything is so amazing why isn't anyone happy?

Our culture spends an enormous amount of time pursuing money and material items which this video describes as so amazing. The more successful we have become, the more unhappy we seem to be. If our unhappiness is a result of our pursuit of the wrong goals, what are the right goals?

Have we inadvertently traded community for self-sufficiency through financial avenues? Is our unhappiness the result of a lack of community?

Is there any way to retain community while still pursuing self-sufficiency? Would that even be a solution?

For some reason, I think there is a very strong correlation between the unhappiness that our culture is experiencing and the breakdown and loss of healthy relationships. We have become so financially self-sufficient that needs no longer bring us together. The need for one person to cook for many and have a communal meal because not everyone has the time to prepare their own food was replaced by restaurants, frozen food, microwaves and higher paying jobs. The need to call your family and friends to help you move was replaced by the company Two Men and a Truck and the ability to pay them. The need to get together with your friends for coffee or beer is being replaced by tv shows like Friends and sites like Facebook. And the list goes on. We are getting more of everything with less authenticity (especially when you think of food and Facebook) and I think what has been lost in the process is contributing to our unhappiness.

I'm not sure I know what the solution is to these problems but I do know that a culture full of unhappy people is a danger to itself. Unhappiness breeds unhappiness. Discontentment breeds envy and jealousy. Crime goes up when people want what others have. Whatever the answer is, I think it's in all of our best interest to start thinking about it and looking for it.