Post-Thesis Stunted Rambles

I'm Trying to figure out my direction while simultaneously feeling the weight of my future.

I want to write a story. A story about some colonialists who land and settle a new planet that turns out to be difficult to inhabit. Meanwhile the motley group of settlers have to deal with inner conflicts that raise theological, philosophical and political questions that haven't been given much recognition in our current world.

However, I also want to explore my love for law. Figure out whether I want to go to law school and get a degree in law that I can use to help non-profits/charities/underprivileged individuals.

At the same time I want to be involved in a community, in my surrounding community. I'd like to surround myself with friends who I can continue to talk about things that swim in my brain and desire melodic-form. I'd like to facilitate and propagate a culture of cooperation.

Meanwhile I've started to read Loaves and Fishes by Dorothy Day and got to send my subscription to the Catholic Worker itself (25 cents for 1 year subscription!)

I'd like to share some verses from Peter Maurin's Easy Essays would espouse back in the 30's (Peter Maurin helped found the Catholic Worker with Dorothy Day).

People go to Washington

asking the government

to solver their economic problems,

while the Federal government

was never intended

to solve men's economic problems.

Thomas Jefferson says that

the less government there is

the better it is.

If the less government there is,

the better it is,

then the best kind of government

is self-government.

If the best kind of government

is self-government,

then the best kind of organization

is self-organization.

When the organizers try

to organize the unorganized,

then the organizers

don't organize themselves.

And when the organizer

don't organize themselves,

nobody organizes himself,

and when nobody organizes himself

nothing is organized.

The Catholic unemployed

should not be sent to the Muni

[municipal lodging house].

The Catholic unemployed

should be given hospitality

in Catholic Houses of Hospitality.

Catholic Houses of Hospitality

are known in Europe

under the name of hospices.

There have been hospices in Europe

since the time of Constantine.

Hospices are free guest houses;

hotels are paying guest houses.

And paying guest houses or hotels

are as plentiful

as free guest houses or hospices

are scarce.

So hospitality, like everything else,

has been commercialized.

So hospitality, like everything else,

must now be idealized.

A Case for Utopia

The world would be better off

if people tried to become better,

and people would become better

if they stopped trying to become better off.

For when everything tries to become

better off

nobody is better off.

But when everyone tries to become better

everybody is better off.

Everyone would be rich

if nobody tried to become richer,

and nobody would be poor

if everybody tried to be the poorest.

And everybody would be what he ought to be

if everyone tried to be

what he wants the other fellow to be.

Summer Post

I'd like to apologize to my readers for some time has indeed passed by.

Every Friday for the past three weeks I've been gardening down the street at the Charles Street Garden. People in the sunnyvale community can grow food there in plots, but I've been volunteering at the Food Forest part...which involves growing planting/nurturing/weeding/watering plants in permaculture (permacultural?) plots. It's pretty cool too because the food grown there is donated to local charities that feed folks.

I've been reading books as well...two books that especially struck me was The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed , both by Ursula Le Guin. I liked the second so much I bought it (for a whopping $0.10 from Amazon, hoorah!)

The plot of the second book is brilliantly creative and well written. It involves a genius physicist named Shevek and two worlds that revolve around each other (both being the other's moon). One world, Annerres is an anarchist world while the other Urras is split up into nations and having authoritarian and capitalists systems. Anyways...I highly recommend it if you like science fiction at all and would like some good thinking fiction that goes by pretty fast.

As for right now, I'm currently in the middle of Ammon Hennacy's The Book of Ammon. It's a good read, but because it's like his diary (and was published when he was in his 60-70's) it's pretty long.

Two things that I wanted to share (I know I'm not following the structure I had outlined for myself in earlier posts). I just learned today that Erik Prince is a staunch Roman Catholic who has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Focus on the Family, Calvin College and Christian Freedom International: who are described as "an American human rights organization based in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, whose stated mission is to "help those who are persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ."

Erik Prince is the founder of Blackwater, now known as Xe. It is one of the biggest private security firms...which is fancy language for "private army". They essentially are in the mercenary business and have enormously benefitted from contracts with the federal government and other nations. The company has been heavily involved all around the world and is especially notorious for it's corruption/murder/raping of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan (which led to them changing their name).

I also just wanted to quickly share the story of a man named Adam Montoya. The 36 year old male was imprisoned for counterfeiting. He recently lost his life due to (wait for it) hepatitis, HIV and cancer. The only medication he was allowed was some "over the counter pain reliever" despite his many recorded pleas for medical assistance and pain relief. Story link

---Moving onto some more positive things--

There was a quote from The Dispossessed that went along the lines of:

"Excess is excrement, ... Excrement retained in the body is a poison."

...and such words coincides with this awesome video and story of a woman in Portland who lives in an 84 square foot house (size of a parking spot) in the backyard of one of her friends. Watch the video. You'll smile and be inspired. She did it to save money and have more time. It really makes you wonder about getting rid of "stuff".

Finally, to end this post I would like to share a lovely story of a german missionary priest named Sebastian Obermaier. The guy helped build churches, build health centers (acted as a doctor when he first arrived in the area), built a hospice, a shelter for rape and sexual abuse victims, low-cost senior housing, HIV treatment centers and schools (approximately 30 schools and 30 churches). Pretty humbling to read.

In grace and peace.

A little overdue—by like 4 weeks

I feel like making a regular structure to my posts where I still start out with presenting current event news pieces, both good and bad, followed by short snapshots of noble persons and then progress to subjects that may or may not be related, but I otherwise feel the need to express and communicate. I've become compelled to do this because I otherwise tend to get very distracted and go all over the place.

Current News

Associated Press just reported that according to recent congressional estimate, nearly 4 million US citizens will have to pay a penalty of $1,000 for not buying health care coverage. The reason for them not buying the coverage is because they will not be able to afford it. Unfortunately this will mean paying 1k to old Uncle Sam.

On April 17th, there was a Neo Nazi rally in Los Angeles. About 40-50 members of the National Socialist Movement (a self-acknowledged white supremacist neo nazi group) marched in Los Angeles. Violence erupted when the overwhelmingly larger group of anti-nazi protestors began throwing branches, rocks etc. at the Nazis. Police made a number of arrests of the protestors.

On the subject racism, just two days ago, a man shot up a bookstore while yelling "White Power!".

It's troubling to acknowledge that racism is still alive and well in America. It's troubling too that people use physical differences as a mean to differentiate between cultures...which in the grand schemes of things, are incredibly small in comparison to what we hold in common.

Also, a recent development though a little differently than American racism (although its a subject which still has racial and cultural undertones)...is the amendment Israeli Military order #1650, which "could soon stipulate that residents of the West Bank without I.D. cards may either be expelled from their homes or jailed for up to seven years." This would also affect foreign born residents in the West Bank who are involved in peace movements. This means that the Israeli military will essentially be empowered to immediately deport any non-violent foreign resistors who might be protesting the demolition of houses or ill treatment of Palestinian civilians.

Note: It is important to know that 60% of the populations currently residing in Palestine are aged 19 and younger. Whatever your beliefs regarding the justification of the treatment of the Palestinians because of their insistance to use rockets/violence to further their goals...the brutal, savage and inhumane treatment of children and non-violent resisters is never justified.

Noble people

Albert Schweitzer

I first saw a bust of Albert's face outside of Chapman University library. I had forgotten about him until more recently when I was interviewing Peter Bergel of Oregon PeaceWorks and he remarked that he had grown up in Orange, CA and his parents had been ardid followers of Albert (and had founded an organization in his name in Orange). Small world. Anyways, Albert is a crazy man. He was a great organist and had the potential and possibility of becoming one of the best organists in his time—however his dive into theology led him down the road towards a position of philosophical-scientist (theologian and doctor). He eventually ended up in Gabon where he established a hospital and worked with his wife and others to treat Gabonese. He also wrote the The Reverence for Life for which he got the Nobel Peace Prize in the 50's. Here is a quote from there

"Affirmation of life is the spiritual act by which man ceases to live thoughtlessly and begins to devote himself to his life with reverence in order to give it true value. To affirm life is to deepen, to make more inward, and to exalt the will to live.

At the same time the man who has become a thinking being feels a compulsion to give to every will to live the same reverence for life that he gives to his own.[....] This is the absolute, fundamental principle of ethics, and is a fundamental postulate of thought.”

— Albert Schweitzer

A moving philosophy. He also created some music that is a mixture of J.S. Bach and Gabonese music. I actually got a CD of Lambarena music from Jeani. It was a pretty funny coincidence to have both Peter and Jeani talk to me about Albert within the span of a week. Very funny and a little strange.

Connie Blackwell

A pretty awesome story. A 20 year veteran nurse (a grandmother too!) couldn't tolerate seeing people go without care and so decided to open up a clinic with some other nurses. They've helped premature babies, kids who have gone deaf from hearing loss and kids who need physicals for sports.

Subject of Today: —will be dealt with in coming posts.

A quick note on government [and my criticisms thereof]

When I highlight and point out mistakes, horrors and problems with Governments I do so for several reasons:

1) To raise awareness

Almost everyone believes government is necessary, or at the very least a necessary evil. This attitude is so taken for granted and pervasive, that it often leads to de-facto censorship and ignorance regarding the alarmingly profound injustices perpetrated by those with legal and political authority. Often this unfamiliarity and refusal to acknowledge these injustices stems from our own endorsement and support of government. It is difficult to accept that we support institutions that actively hurt and harm individuals that deserve grace and compassion. By raising awareness, I aim to awaken people to the reality that we support oppressive systems—systems that are cruel, that upon accepting the certain realities, one begins to question its necessity.

2) To provoke and encourage creative and innovative thinking

Immediately following my first goal, I hope to stimulate the minds of my readers so that they may begin to think about different, righteous and just solutions to both the problems perpetrated by Governments, and the problems that require the Government's response. For example, in criticizing the Government's treatment of prisoners, I hope to inspire both new approaches to the treatment "criminals", as well as new approaches to the societal causes of crime.

What I do not wish to do:

1) I do not wish to languish in the stale, bitter land of static criticism:

Everything is a lot more complex than it appears. I do not wish to be the cynic who has a problem with everything because everything is far from perfect. There are many problems in the world and this means that there is a lot of work to be done—there is a also a lot of good in this world, and an endless supply of people who actually care and are constantly addressing aforementioned issues, there are also a countless number of good ideas to explore and to try when dealing with those problems. While there is much bad, there is also much good and everyone—everyone deserves grace and understanding in their faults. A government like the United States often comes off as faceless because of the overabundance of faces supporting it. It is always important to remember that all of those faces are actual human beings with similar hopes, fears and faults. Not everything is black and white as it is made out to be—even as I make it out to be. Please know that I am a glass-half full of water & the glass is half full of air too...and several grains of salt always come in handy.

While I would call myself an anarchist (see linked blog post), I am also (first and foremost) a follower of Jesus Christ. It is actually because I am Christ-follower that I ascribe to anarchism. The mixture of these two results in a tedious balance between respecting those in the government, and acknowledging that they my equal, and that all are equal with the capacity to be corrupted and with the capacity to love. The current unjust and unequal system can only be subverted with total and unabashed love and care for our brothers and sisters—regardless of their position in life.

The Bad and the Good: Romans 6:18

I have a lot to talk about--but this will be a short current-events-sort of post. I had a good conversation slash interview with Oregon PeaceWorks director Peter Bergel which invigorated me and inspired me. I also went to a talk here at Willamette U. given by a man named Jeff Ferrell who is a sociology/criminology professor, who is also an anarchist. He gave a very interesting and informative talk on dumpster diving, a subject I will devote a whole future post too.

--a couple days later

I'm sitting here in the dark sharing a drink with myself and my thoughts, and I suppose you as well.

I screwed up a little bit this past week. I spoke when I should have listened. A small group of us friends have been going through a book titled UnChristian, a book that explores why the new generation of Americans are rejecting traditional, institutional Christianity. Chapter 8 (I believe) is on Politics. One of the reason why people are rejecting the Church and Christianity, the book says, is because Christians are too political. I thought the chapter for the most part, got it right...but it still was stuck/and came from a conservative ideology/bent. When we came together to talk, I came down from my lofty pedestal of being a politics major and unhinged my jaw to let loose a whole sleuth of personal beliefs, conclusions and convictions. I've been informed since that I came off a little arrogant and prideful, this is completely against how I wanted to come across and frustrated me and made me very disappointed in myself. I ended up having a long talk with my best friend Sam and we went back and forth awhile and it was good for me, I have great trouble with disagreeing and having conversing with humility. When I look back now, I realize I should have admitted and confessed my fallible nature and complete lack of all the answers and followed it up with a small bit from Jesus Radicals.com, then I should have closed my lips and listened and engaged in whatever direction the dialogue took.

The bit from Jesus Radicals:

When Christians engage with the political arrangements of the world, be it communism, socialism, capitalist republics, they have often claimed that their political option is the Christian one, and demonized other arrangements. This is the nature of politics, to divide and conquer. Beyond this, when Christians engage in politics they often sell out the Gospels, particularly on the issue of violence. They claim that Jesus did not mean for politicians to love their enemies, only the average person, and even the average person does not have to do so under some circumstances. We believe this approach to politics gives too much to the nation-state and is not distinctively Christian. Following Jesus is not a vocation or something one does in one’s spare time. It is a total life commitment. If we are to engage in politics, we must do so as Christians, but without baptizing the political order or trying to make it Christian.

This is where anarchism may come in for Christians. Without claiming that anarchism is Christian or that one has to be an anarchist to be Christian, we claim that if Christians are to engage with the world, the best available option is anarchism because it opens up space for Christians to engage without selling out their primary allegiances and core commitments, especially to peacemaking and nonviolence. Yet violence is not the only issue at stake in politics. All governments operate on a model of ruling over people. But the Gospels claim that Christians should model Jesus’ suffering servanthood. These are fundamentally incompatible outlooks. Anarchism, at its best, is a commitment to systematically critiquing all structures that place one person or group in a position to dominate others or creation. So anarchism, as a political philosophy holds some promise for Christians because the two share a commitment to critiquing the power structures and working towards a more level playing field.

I really feel like I should almost add that as a preface to my original post regarding the Church, the State and Anarchism.

I frequently get overwhelmed by the sins of the state, and the sins of the society.

What Sins of the state?

Well you could probably take a meander over any post and find things that I've outlined, described and cited in past blog posts. But a newer example may NY city's taxation of those who take refuge in homeless shelters. Yes, the homeless will be taxed.

Another might be the accidental murder of some Afghan students who ranged from 12 to 18 years of age at the hands of U.S. special forces...who were tied and bound and then shot point blank, only for the soldiers to realize that they had blundered in their mission and that the school sleeping quarters were not a militant hideout and weapons cache. Link here.

The modern political states of our world are fundamentally founded upon and maintained through violence, coercion and false authority. The very antithesis of Jesus who embodied love, grace and (the ultimate) true authority.

The Sin of our World?

A new report has revealed the slave like conditions of Chinese youth working in a Microsoft factory in China. Link here. With a shrinking, globalizing world...everything is connected. Sin is constantly overlooked and underestimated in its profound ability to disturb and destroy. We may not think it is sinful to buy a Microsoft product...but in reality, a fraction of our money translates into the exploitation of teenagers who work in hellish conditions. In ignorance essentially fall prey to continuing the cycle of violence and sin (and I am under no illusion that Apple is any better, they too have been accused and found participatory in using sweat shops for iPods). This small story is but the tiniest fraction of a microcosm of the sin our world.

As a follower of Christ, I wish to renounce and refrain from supporting anything which is evil; anything which might inflict pain and suffering—whether it be emotional, physical or spiritual—upon my brothers and sisters. Instead, I wish to follow in the footsteps of Christ in loving and blessing my neighbors equally and unequivocally, regardless of their position and disposition.

There is a quote on my facebook, by Albert Einstein who said (actually I'd recommend taking a brief look, 2-3 minutes top, at this page regarding the interactions between Einstein and Gandhi)

I believe that Gandhi's views were the most enlightened of all the political men in our time.

We should strive to do things in his spirit: not to use violence in fighting for our cause, but by non-participation in anything you believe is evil.

Non-incidentally, and not as widely known, yet which I like to constantly tell people...is that Gandhi was strongly influenced by the words of Jesus, and his teachings articulated by both Tolstoy and Anabaptists (just as much, if not more —it's disputed—as he was by hinduism).

But I really like Einstein's phrasing of "non-participation in anything you believe is evil"...to flip that around, "participation in everything you believe is good"...which I think is very much about who God is. God, who is love and who is righteous. Following in the footsteps of our savior, I love the words of Romans 6:18 which I put in the title...which says:

You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

SLAVES TO RIGHTEOUSNESS

Here are some slaves, who are not Christian (as far as I know...they actually very well may be flaming devotees of our God who are but humble in their faith):

I really like that there are people like this man, Narayanan Krishnan who quit his job as a 5 star hotel chef to founding a non-profit company called Akshaya Trust that feeds destitute 400 homeless and poor folks in India.

And people like Marcia Merrick from Kansas City who feeds her homeless friends every single day, 60 hours a week.

I also just watched a video on TED.com which discussed the creation of the site Patientslikeme.com. The website connects people, connects and collects data and reflects it back to its users...who are al (I believe) suffering from some sickness, chronic or otherwise. The website developed out of a love and compassion for a blood brother who suffered from ALS and whose condition slowly deteriorated. To someone like me, who thoroughly enjoys connecting with people in similar physical condition and who also yearns for more information and feedback in regards to the advancement of medicine, AND who knows and requires information to make better and more important life decisions regarding health etc...this website is truly Godsent.

These three inspiring stories fill me with creativity and spark my imagination with endless possibilities.

How can I help those around me? What has been done, what has worked, what has not worked, and how can I do things differently so that I can improve the physical/spiritual/mental condition of my sisters and brothers who inhabit this Earth.

I guess my conclusion now, may be a little abrupt, but a little different as well. I really don't know if I want to "convert", so to speak, people to my political views of anarchism despite my conviction that is the most theologically et. all, sound. Honestly as a follower of Christ I really should and want to be focused entirely on the cross/empty tomb and for me that means spreading His goodnews of love and blessings for all peoples. If I have come off as too proud, too sure in my position, please accept my apology and forgive my anxious and troubled heart.

In peace, to love and serve the Lord

Sharing

How joyful it is to share with one another. What great privilege it is to help and to heal our brothers and sisters in need.

1 Timothy 6:17-19

Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Matthew 25:34-36

Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

In this day and age, sharing is always positive...to a point. You are expected to buy into the materialism and commodification of life. While sharing is looked kindly upon, we are expected to have a healthy dose of greediness—though it will be cloaked as necessities.

I recently watched a documentary with some friends called No Impact Man. The movie title was a little misleading as it's really about a family made up of two wealthy couples, with a young daughter, trying to live sustainably and ethically. Living in New York City they slowly and painfully transform into a family that uses a little electricity from a solar, no diapers, nothing plastic, no new possessions, no TV, no caffeine, candles, locally bought food, no cars etc. You get the idea. They begin to invest in a local community garden, they end up spending much (MUCH) more time with their young four year old daughter and they grow closer as a couple. It made an impression on me.

The movie spurned more thoughts throughout this week. I believe we need (and I'm not the first person to say this) that sharing means more than just allowing others to use our resources/possessions, but it also means sharing our time and it means sharing our attention, our love, our mindfulness and care. It also means, really, the cliché "sharing the planet". The more possessions we accumulate, even if it's to share at our own discretion, the less other people have for their own survival. I was listening to some anarchist tapes that were critiquing the waste of Capitalism—how markets dependent upon the wind and whims of demand of the rich and frivolous creates absurd and arbitrary (and potentially useless products). To make my point, one just has to think of the kitchen. How many different tools and small pieces of equipment are specifically designed and sold to perform one specific function...I freely admit that many of them legitimately make cooking, cleaning and storing easier and save time, but generally other generic and generalized tools (such as fork/spoon/knife) can perform the same functions. By refusing to buy and indulge in the clutter, you effectively are refusing to buy into a system that encourages the wasteful creation of dust collectors, bobble-heads and clutter.

Moving on, I watched a video last night showing a firewood making machine. The machine is pretty cool, and it resonates within me some part of pride in the accomplishment of humanity...but what if you look at what's doing, the machine essentially turns a whole tree into stacks of firewood in a matter of a couple minutes. It ultimately disturbed me, because I began to think of how long it took for that tree to grow. The trees the machine was eating through, each probably took a good solid 15-25 years to grow. It took all those years of gaining strength, of weathering rain and sun and providing shade and shelter. And it took us 4 minutes for us to convert it into something for us to consume for our own heat and shelter. I was talking Sam to her, and she pointed out that we need lumber to build houses and to keep us warm. I think this is a very valid point, but at the same time I think we also need to be looking at all the doodads and pointless crap that's made out of wood. Stuff made out of wood that just sits around on a counter, or frames a picture or little fanciful decorations in so many places. And as for houses, countless number of houses go unused and empty even though people are out living on the street. My conversation with Samantha also led to eating meat, and how senseless it has become, and how wasteful and disconnected it is. If you watch this video regarding a slaughterhouse where chickens and cows are processed, like pieces of metal to be shaped into things for us to use. A cow is led into a barrel like chamber, is rattled around and then shot in the head. Then turned upside down and water is blasted into it it's body to clear all waste and blood out of it.

So how do we start sharing? How can we really, really start sharing life with one another..not just our possessions, but something deeper, how can we share our existence with those around us and with those who will come after us (the generations who will come after you). Here are some suggestions, list style! These are just suggestions for you to consider and mull over.

1) Start living a little simpler. When you buy things, ask yourself if you need it. What will it be used for? Can something you already own, be used to perform the same function? Can you make it for yourself cheaper? How often will it be used, who will use it? What are the costs of buying and becoming an owner (will it prevent you from using money for something better, does it come serious harm to a neighborhood/community/nature?)

2) Consider becoming a vegetarian or at the very least, start eating more vegetables and less meat. Don't shy away from reading books like Food, Inc. (a book I believe I own or owned at one point from my first college English class) and informing yourself of the consequences of your eating habits. Read up on how the cow industry uses up and wastes huge tracts of land and pollute waters. Read up on how we kill 1 million chickens every hour in America. Read up on how certain fishes are becoming extinct due to overfishing. Your children, and your neighbor's children, and their children would like to know what eating fish is like.

3) Looking into and consider joining one of the many websites and groups of peoples who are envisioning and creatively rethinking their way of life in the world. People who are trying to share. Here are some people and organizations that I've come across. Check them out, maybe consider signing up or at least looking into.

--Relational Tithe

"RelationalTithe.com is an interactive platform for connecting and meeting needs across socioeconomic and geographic barriers. It is also a place to explore, to meet, to share dreams and ideas, to ask and discuss questions, to learn and to grow together."

--Vittanna.org

"In most countries, student loans just don't exist. The Vittana community is enabling students around the world to get access to higher education for the first time."

--NeighborGoods

"Welcome to NeighborGoods where you can save and earn money by sharing stuff with your friends! Need a ladder? Borrow it from your neighbor. Have a bike collecting dust in your closet? Rent it out for some extra cash!"

--FreeeBay

"FreeeBay is dedicated to gift economy on the Internet. Apart from connecting people to give and get for free, our web site also serves as a library of useful contributions about anarchism, gift economy, and the Internet."

All three of these options have been explored by various strands of Christianity, but the mainline Church throughout history has been far from freely choosing to live out such ideas and ways. I was heartened to have found Relational Tithe, since it came out of (I believe) an even that the Simple Way hosted on Wall St.

I will end here, please know that I love you all and that I'm constantly being challenged. I've been meaning to write a good, solid post and I think this qualifies as one that will engender much thinking and brain buzzing for at least a few days. Please pray for Samantha's (my girlfriend) MCAT exam this Saturday!

In grace and peace,

And Now, for Something Completely Different

Here's a transcript from a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It's worth reading twice. First for the humor, second for the analysis.

Here is the video if you'd rather not read it:

[clop clop]

ARTHUR: Old woman!

DENNIS: Man!

ARTHUR: Old Man, sorry. What knight live in that castle over there?

DENNIS: I'm thirty seven.

ARTHUR: What?

DENNIS: I'm thirty seven -- I'm not old!

ARTHUR: Well, I can't just call you `Man'.

DENNIS: Well, you could say `Dennis'.

ARTHUR: Well, I didn't know you were called `Dennis.'

DENNIS: Well, you didn't bother to find out, did you?

ARTHUR: I did say sorry about the `old woman,' but from the behind

you looked--

DENNIS: What I object to is you automatically treat me like an inferior!

ARTHUR: Well, I AM king...

DENNIS: Oh king, eh, very nice. An' how'd you get that, eh? By

exploitin' the workers -- by 'angin' on to outdated imperialist dogma

which perpetuates the economic an' social differences in our society!

If there's ever going to be any progress--

WOMAN: Dennis, there's some lovely filth down here. Oh -- how d'you do?

ARTHUR: How do you do, good lady. I am Arthur, King of the Britons.

Who's castle is that?

WOMAN: King of the who?

ARTHUR: The Britons.

WOMAN: Who are the Britons?

ARTHUR: Well, we all are. we're all Britons and I am your king.

WOMAN: I didn't know we had a king. I thought we were an autonomous

collective.

DENNIS: You're fooling yourself. We're living in a dictatorship.

A self-perpetuating autocracy in which the working classes--

WOMAN: Oh there you go, bringing class into it again.

DENNIS: That's what it's all about if only people would--

ARTHUR: Please, please good people. I am in haste. Who lives

in that castle?

WOMAN: No one live there.

ARTHUR: Then who is your lord?

WOMAN: We don't have a lord.

ARTHUR: What?

DENNIS: I told you. We're an anarcho-syndicalist commune. We take

it in turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week.

ARTHUR: Yes.

DENNIS: But all the decision of that officer have to be ratified

at a special biweekly meeting.

ARTHUR: Yes, I see.

DENNIS: By a simple majority in the case of purely internal affairs,--

ARTHUR: Be quiet!

DENNIS: --but by a two-thirds majority in the case of more--

ARTHUR: Be quiet! I order you to be quiet!

WOMAN: Order, eh -- who does he think he is?

ARTHUR: I am your king!

WOMAN: Well, I didn't vote for you.

ARTHUR: You don't vote for kings.

WOMAN: Well, 'ow did you become king then?

ARTHUR: The Lady of the Lake,

[angels sing]

her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur

from the bosom of the water signifying by Divine Providence that I,

Arthur, was to carry Excalibur.

[singing stops]

That is why I am your king!

DENNIS: Listen -- strange women lying in ponds distributing swords

is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power

derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical

aquatic ceremony.

ARTHUR: Be quiet!

DENNIS: Well you can't expect to wield supreme executive power

just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!

ARTHUR: Shut up!

DENNIS: I mean, if I went around sayin' I was an empereror just

because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me they'd

put me away!

ARTHUR: Shut up! Will you shut up!

DENNIS: Ah, now we see the violence inherent in the system.

ARTHUR: Shut up!

DENNIS: Oh! Come and see the violence inherent in the system!

HELP! HELP! I'm being repressed!

ARTHUR: Bloody peasant!

DENNIS: Oh, what a give away. Did you here that, did you here that,

eh? That's what I'm on about -- did you see him repressing me,

you saw it didn't you?

Monty Python, ever the master of in depth critique has the "peasants" talking much more lucidly, coherently and logically than the self-enamored, authoritative King Arthur. Arthur's logical explanation for his authority, to the audience, is deficient to the point of hilarity. Meanwhile, visually, at the same time, the peasants' work involves working in the "filth" or...basically making piles of mud. This speaks to the unpleasantness of necessary work that fills the life of the peasants while Arthur has the luxury of going on a wild goose chase in search of the Holy Grail (which he never finds). Finally, before their encounter ends, Arthur ends up harassing the peasant for questioning and ridiculing his right to authority.

Mercy Now

This is a cover of a song by Mary Gauthier, performed by Joe Crookston. This song was also covered at the MyPeace Kickoff I helped organize/promote.

Here's Joe Crookston singing, it's a really wonderful song and appropriate for what I cover in this blog.

News and thoughts on the beginning of Seder

Happy Sabbath everyone.

I'm sorry I've been gone so long. This month has been much worse than the last, a whole four posts. I'm ashamed.

Me and Sam visited The Canby House, an Intentional Community just south east of Portland. It was pretty neat-o. If you would like to hear about the experience, please comment!

If I have any readers who frequently visit but don't comment, please do feel free to voice your thoughts!

So much has happened since I last wrote:
The Healthcare Bill has been passed and signed

There's been increasing revelation and discovery of the Pope and the Vatican's involvement in covering up and hiding rampant widespread child abuse (and I mean depressingly rampant to the point where jokes made by disillusioned folks about priests and boys are increasingly blunt reflections of reality In this NY times article, the Pope's failure to defrock a priest resulted in 200 boys being molested

Bombs were blown in the Moscow underground metro

Bombs were also blown in Athens, and Greece seems to have secured a financial security through the Europe Union (temporarily at least) --video

Censorship of the Internet has been called for by the former head of NSA and measures similar to China are being discussed/implemented in Australia and The EU

In Pennsylvania, a 12 year old boy will be tried as an adult for the murder of his father's fiancé and her unborn child. The prosecution will be able to push for life imprisonment. The boy's actions were committed when he was 11.

In Michigan, members of a Christian Militia were arrested on charges of conspiring to attack the local police. They have been charged with sedition. Their website is chilling.

Lastly, Wikileaks has been dogged and hounded by our intelligence agencies

There's so much for me to talk about I don't know where to begin. As a person who has serious issues with our country's justice system and laws, I see huge problems in trying to get life imprisonment for a child. Regardless of his actions. Learning about the arrests of the Christian militia members makes me depressed. The scripture has been and continues to be twisted into a call to violence, I just, can't understand it. The corruption and molestation through the Catholic Church is disheartening and alarming. How could such a cover-up happen? Why would one cover them up? Why would no actions be taken? I would highly recommend one read this article, by Sinead O'Connor (an irish, catholic singer) on the situation

To Irish Catholics, Benedict's implication -- Irish sexual abuse is an Irish problem -- is both arrogant and blasphemous. The Vatican is acting as though it doesn't believe in a God who watches. The very people who say they are the keepers of the Holy Spirit are stamping all over everything the Holy Spirit truly is. Benedict criminally misrepresents the God we adore. We all know in our bones that the Holy Spirit is truth. That's how we can tell that Christ is not with these people who so frequently invoke Him.

The passage of the Health Care bill troubles me. Yes, I am gladdened and overjoyed that many more individuals will be able to have healthcare. I imagine many people will have less physical and psychological suffering and the bill undoubtedly will save lives. This is most important. However it's shortcomings are still daunting and the fact that such a compromising bill (many, many individuals on all political spectrums have pointed out that it is a corporate handout—a win for American corporatocracy) was passed with immense difficulty does not give me hope for the future when these shortcomings will be needed to be addressed.

Internet censorship and Wikileaks are really the same topic. Australia has taken steps similar to China in regulating the content the Internet and the EU is taking similar steps. The methods are performed in the name of eradicating online child pornography, but a closer look reveals a power hungry powers capable of much more. In Australia for example some sites to be banned have turned out to be political dissenters and political opposition to those in power. In America, the call for regulation was just voiced by the ex-head of NSA who sees danger in entities such as Wikileaks.

What is Wikileaks you might ask? :their website:

From wikipedia:

wikileaks is a website that publishes anonymous submissions and leaks of sensitive governmental, corporate,organizational, or religious documents, while attempting to preserve the anonymity and untraceability of its contributors. Within one year of its December 2006 launch, its database had grown to more than 1.2 million documents.

In three years Wikileaks is said to have leaked more pertinent, newsworthy documents than any major media company has in the last 30 years. They have produce such valuable leaks as the Guantanamo Bay procedures and treatment of detainees. The army and the pentagon view Wikileaks as a threat (as reported by the NY times) and most recently, after leaking some documents related to diplomatic relations between Iceland and the U.S., people who work for Wikileaks were harassed and interrogated. If I were to say that Wikileaks is perhaps one of the greatest examples of transparency that my generation yearns, and which the internet makes possible. A couple days ago they published a leaked CIA memo addressed to Western Europe. You can download the pdf here, it makes an interesting read. In it, the CIA describe domestic conditions which allow for continuing military support for the war in afghanistan:

Public Apathy Enables Leaders To Ignore Voters. . .

The Afghanistan mission’s low public salience has allowed French and German leaders to disregard popular opposition and steadily increase their troop contributions to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Berlin and Paris currently maintain the third and fourth highest ISAF troop levels, despite the opposition of 80 percent of German and French respondents to increased ISAF deployments, according to INR polling in fall 2009.

It goes on to advise European governments to emphasize the suffering of women under the Taliban in order to garner support for NATO presence in Afghanistan. The words are true enough. Public apathy allows governments to do whatever they want, and despite general unrest the public generally will swallow what it is fed, wholesale without question. If our government's involvement in spreading propaganda and blatant manipulation of other countries' foreign and public policy doesn't irk you, then perhaps this will. One of the most recent acquisitions of Wikileaks will be fully published on April 5th. It is said to include a video of the US military shooting and killing journalists and civilians.

SO!

What does this all mean? What does one do? I usually will throw my hands up in exasperation. I am unable to stop the CIA from arrogant interfering in other countries, or unjust laws and courts that would put a child in prison for life. I am unable to change the hearts of Christian Militia members or the Vatican and I am unable to pay for the healthcare of the remaining 22 million Americans who will still be uninsured under the new healthcare bill.

About what I can only, seriously change is myself. Here are some thoughts of mine...very arbitrarily and abstractedly:

Become real friends with those in the community:

With neighbors, with those who are involved in public service–be it the postman or the garbageman. Do not shy away from purposefully befriending those who are in power—be they policemen or public officials (this will be a challenge for me). Become friends with those involved in local news reporting, bet they the newspaper or bloggers. Become friends with those who are involved in local relief such as food banks and shelters. Hang out where younger kids are, hang out where older folks are. Become friends with the homeless, the poor and the drug addicts. Don't forget to be involved in a church as well. Full and total, real integration into the community. One of the biggest causes for injustice in my opinion is the denial of a person's importance and humanity and this only happens when people do not KNOW each other. By submersing oneself into the lives of merely knowing and acknowledging the existence of those who surround us, we start to create and make connections where there should be. One of the greatest and worse part of the American myth is the unabashed spirit of individuality. On one hand this is a great strength, enabling us to push ourselves to accomplish great feats, on the other hand is has left us, Americans, feeling disconnected from one another.

My second and last idea for tonight, is the importance of knowing how and where to allocate one's own resources. While browsing the website Jesus Manifesto (highly recommend it if you are interested in Jesus, and creative Justice) I came across this comment by a person named "destroyideas":

We need to change our priorities. Consider looking at purchases through how much labor you expend to buy this. A $20 widget seems cheap until you consider it's about 2-hours of your life to pay for that. And then consider what the maker of said item spent to create the item. A necktie might take 2-hours to make by hand, or half an hour by machine. How much is the laborer's time worth to you? Keeping in mind they have to use their time buy other things they need/want.

This kind of wisdom is incredible valuable. It introduces a radically refreshing perspective to the traditional "keeping up with the jones'" idea. I would add that we must look at the purpose of our purchases, and the amount of resources that went into making them.

On that note, I will end. I have so much more to say, we've been talking about interesting things in my Dissent class regarding racism and women's rights and I will have to come back to them later.

For now may you be blessed with peace,

and grace