“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced,” said SΓΈren Kierkegaard. Personally, I have reached the point in life where I don’t feel the need to understand everything, particularly in the area of faith.
The mystery and wonder of life is at the heart of this season when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. But religion often focuses on doctrine, creeds and even the divinity of Jesus to such an extent that we miss the reality of his humanness.
My friend Rev. Ben Campbell in his wonderful lecture series Who is Jesus?, says: “The Son of God can mean a lot of things. But the one thing it most assuredly cannot mean is that Jesus was not human, that he was not a man, that he did not come from the womb of Mary, that he did not function in a normal human way… God may be a lot more like the Jesus we see as human than the miracle-working Jesus we see as divine… The more we sense the reality of Jesus as a human person, the more likely we are to be infected by the holiness of his being.”
Watching our two granddaughters (18 months and 6 months), I marvel constantly at the gift of life, a true miracle each time. I imagine Jesus as a baby and a toddler who, like our grandchildren, had to be fed, washed, and educated and – no doubt – scolded from time to time. The values that he lived he learned from his mother and father. One of the things that fascinates and humanizes Jesus for me is that he appears to have been learning all his life. He was open to new insights and even challenges – sometimes from women.
Jesus did not come to found a church or a religion. He came to demonstrate a way of life that above all emphasized love of our neighbors, particularly those of different economic, cultural and racial backgrounds. Yet his name has been used as justification to exclude, persecute, imprison and kill countless innocents. Other religions are equally culpable. In Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road? Brian McLaren recalls a mentor telling him: “Remember, Brian: in a pluralistic world, a religion is judged by the benefits it brings to its nonmembers.”
A demand for certitude and discomfort with ambiguity misses the wonder of the season. Ben Campbell remarks on the frequent descriptions of amazement in the Gospels. “The good news will call you to a stature of astonishment rather than certitude; of appreciation rather than control; of heart knowing rather than head certainty.”
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Friday, December 13, 2013
Mandela’s spirit in Ukrainians’ stand for democracy
While the world celebrates and mourns Nelson Mandela, another great drama is playing out in Ukraine, Europe’s largest country. While South Africans throng the streets of Soweto to honor the man whose moral courage overcame the brutality of apartheid, thousands of young (as well as not-so-young) men and women brave winter weather and the security forces to stand for democracy in the streets of Kiev.
This fall our office was privileged to host as an intern a leader of the young Initiatives of Change team in Ukraine. Lena Kashkarova is among the many young professionals in Eastern Europe who have been trained by the IofC program Foundations for Freedom. Based in Kiev it fosters the values of honesty and personal responsibility that are essential for free, democratic and just societies.
Lena leads the House in Baranivka project. With their own hands she and her colleagues are building a meeting place and establishing a community of people who are working to improve society. Few countries suffered more than Ukraine in the last century. Millions of Ukranians died under Stalin and under Nazi occupation. Lena is a facilitator for an important project called Healing the Past.
In November, Initiatives of Change and Open Ukraine Foundation jointly led a forum for 51 young professionals from 13 countries of Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region. Held in association with Chatham House, Britain’s Institute of International Affairs, it drew people working in government, academia and civil society on the topic Towards the European Union through Good Governance. Participants were selected through a competition for the best policy papers on good governance.
Last week, as the protest movement in Ukraine grew, Lena cut short her internship in Richmond to fly home to be with her colleagues. Before leaving she shared with us her feelings about the growing demand for change in her country: “It is about dignity, being treated with respect and feeling responsible for what happens in your country… This is not about economics and trade agreements. It’s about honesty, accountability, rule of law and democracy. Young people are not scared. They don’t have the experience of the Soviet Union and they feel they can really change something.”
South Africa had the good fortune of transitioning to democracy after the collapse of Soviet communism. But as Chrystia Freeland writes in the New York Times “The struggle that seemed to be over in 1989 is still going on...Russia and the former Central Asian republics developed a new, post-communist form of authoritarianism; China never dropped the original, communist version, though it finally figured out, at least for now, how to combine it with robust economic growth.
“Meanwhile, back at home, free-market capitalism is feeling tired. Europe is economically sclerotic, politically fragile and flirting with xenophobia. The United States is still struggling to recover from the 2007-9 recession. The neo-authoritarians in Beijing and Moscow are, by contrast, increasingly confident… What is important about the demonstrators [in Kiev] is their certainty that democracy matters, and that it can be made to work.”
When I first visited South African in 1977 it was hard to imagine how the country could transition from the grip of apartheid to a non-racial democracy or how horrific bloodshed could be avoided. Yet South Africans surprised the world. Paying tribute to the man who made this possible, President Obama said, “We will never see the likes of Nelson Mandela again. But let me say to the young people of Africa and the young people around the world -- you, too, can make his life’s work your own.”
People like Lena and others in the Foundations for Freedom network embody Mandela’s spirit. They are the best hope for Ukraine. Maybe they will also inspire Western Europeans and those of us in the USA to take our democratic responsibilities more seriously.
This fall our office was privileged to host as an intern a leader of the young Initiatives of Change team in Ukraine. Lena Kashkarova is among the many young professionals in Eastern Europe who have been trained by the IofC program Foundations for Freedom. Based in Kiev it fosters the values of honesty and personal responsibility that are essential for free, democratic and just societies.
Lena leads the House in Baranivka project. With their own hands she and her colleagues are building a meeting place and establishing a community of people who are working to improve society. Few countries suffered more than Ukraine in the last century. Millions of Ukranians died under Stalin and under Nazi occupation. Lena is a facilitator for an important project called Healing the Past.
In November, Initiatives of Change and Open Ukraine Foundation jointly led a forum for 51 young professionals from 13 countries of Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region. Held in association with Chatham House, Britain’s Institute of International Affairs, it drew people working in government, academia and civil society on the topic Towards the European Union through Good Governance. Participants were selected through a competition for the best policy papers on good governance.
Last week, as the protest movement in Ukraine grew, Lena cut short her internship in Richmond to fly home to be with her colleagues. Before leaving she shared with us her feelings about the growing demand for change in her country: “It is about dignity, being treated with respect and feeling responsible for what happens in your country… This is not about economics and trade agreements. It’s about honesty, accountability, rule of law and democracy. Young people are not scared. They don’t have the experience of the Soviet Union and they feel they can really change something.”
South Africa had the good fortune of transitioning to democracy after the collapse of Soviet communism. But as Chrystia Freeland writes in the New York Times “The struggle that seemed to be over in 1989 is still going on...Russia and the former Central Asian republics developed a new, post-communist form of authoritarianism; China never dropped the original, communist version, though it finally figured out, at least for now, how to combine it with robust economic growth.
“Meanwhile, back at home, free-market capitalism is feeling tired. Europe is economically sclerotic, politically fragile and flirting with xenophobia. The United States is still struggling to recover from the 2007-9 recession. The neo-authoritarians in Beijing and Moscow are, by contrast, increasingly confident… What is important about the demonstrators [in Kiev] is their certainty that democracy matters, and that it can be made to work.”
When I first visited South African in 1977 it was hard to imagine how the country could transition from the grip of apartheid to a non-racial democracy or how horrific bloodshed could be avoided. Yet South Africans surprised the world. Paying tribute to the man who made this possible, President Obama said, “We will never see the likes of Nelson Mandela again. But let me say to the young people of Africa and the young people around the world -- you, too, can make his life’s work your own.”
People like Lena and others in the Foundations for Freedom network embody Mandela’s spirit. They are the best hope for Ukraine. Maybe they will also inspire Western Europeans and those of us in the USA to take our democratic responsibilities more seriously.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Finally, the unvarnished truth about slavery
12 Years a Slave is the most important film ever made about American slavery. Steve McQueen’s harrowing masterpiece will put to rest any lingering sentimental notion that the culture supported by enslaved labor was anything but utterly destructive.
Based closely on the remarkable first-hand account of Solomon Northrup, it depicts his kidnapping in Washington, DC, and his transportation to New Orleans where he is sold to a Louisiana plantation owner. On the way south he passes though Richmond, Virginia, where he spends a night in one of the city’s notorious holding pens owned by a Mr. Goodin. (This scene is not included in the film.)
In unrelenting detail the movie documents the treatment of human beings as chattel: the separation of children from mothers and husbands from wives, the use of brute violence to break the will to resist, and the ever-present threat of rape and torture. Chiwetel Ejiofor as Northrup is stunning as are all the other actors.
In the most hard-to-watch scene, a single ten-minute shot depicts Northrup being forced to flog a young woman, whom the plantation owner has repeatedly raped, while the jealous wife demands to see the blood flow. In this one shot McQueen captures the absolute evil of the plantation system, with its toxic mix of racism, greed, sexual lust and jealously, fear, dominance and ubiquitous violence. Such an environment leads to a kind of madness.
McQueen captures the way in which fear conditions its victims to accept violence as the norm. Thus, in another unbearably long shot, Northrup is shown being punished by hanging for hours, almost to the point of strangulation – his toes barely touching the ground – while others of the enslaved workforce carry on with their work around him in the fields. In such scenes McQueen avoids the use of dramatic music; the chirping of birds or insects provides an even more haunting background.
These scenes of cruelty brought to my mind the words of Lincoln in his second inaugural address delivered during the carnage of the Civil War: “Yet, if God wills that [the war] continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said ‘the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether.'"
Our office team viewed the film together. Afterwards we reflected on what we had experienced.
It is a story of unimaginable horror but also a story of survival. Hopefully it will generate more serious conversation about the legacy of our history, why even to this day no formal apology has been offered by an American president – much less reparations by the federal government – and why we still tolerate the de facto segregation of our schools and neighborhoods and continue to feed young men to the prison industrial complex. 12 Years a Slave is more than a powerful telling of history: it can be a spur to our conscience and an inspiration for action.
Based closely on the remarkable first-hand account of Solomon Northrup, it depicts his kidnapping in Washington, DC, and his transportation to New Orleans where he is sold to a Louisiana plantation owner. On the way south he passes though Richmond, Virginia, where he spends a night in one of the city’s notorious holding pens owned by a Mr. Goodin. (This scene is not included in the film.)
In unrelenting detail the movie documents the treatment of human beings as chattel: the separation of children from mothers and husbands from wives, the use of brute violence to break the will to resist, and the ever-present threat of rape and torture. Chiwetel Ejiofor as Northrup is stunning as are all the other actors.
In the most hard-to-watch scene, a single ten-minute shot depicts Northrup being forced to flog a young woman, whom the plantation owner has repeatedly raped, while the jealous wife demands to see the blood flow. In this one shot McQueen captures the absolute evil of the plantation system, with its toxic mix of racism, greed, sexual lust and jealously, fear, dominance and ubiquitous violence. Such an environment leads to a kind of madness.
McQueen captures the way in which fear conditions its victims to accept violence as the norm. Thus, in another unbearably long shot, Northrup is shown being punished by hanging for hours, almost to the point of strangulation – his toes barely touching the ground – while others of the enslaved workforce carry on with their work around him in the fields. In such scenes McQueen avoids the use of dramatic music; the chirping of birds or insects provides an even more haunting background.
These scenes of cruelty brought to my mind the words of Lincoln in his second inaugural address delivered during the carnage of the Civil War: “Yet, if God wills that [the war] continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said ‘the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether.'"
Our office team viewed the film together. Afterwards we reflected on what we had experienced.
- We were struck by the fact that both the enslaved and the slave owners lived in fear: the enslaved men and women never knowing at what moment violence would erupt or when they might be separated from their loved ones; the slave owners constantly fearful of an uprising. In this sense both victims and victimizers were trapped. As my colleague Tee Turner says about race relations today: “Some of us are in maximum security prisons and others in minimum security prisons, but we’ve all suffered and we all need to be healed.”
- A major theme of the film is dominance. We asked ourselves: what part does dominance play in our lives and in our society today?
- Can we handle the complexity and ambiguity of history? The film subtly indicates the sense of superiority of free men like Northrup who had not previously experienced slavery toward others who had grown up in – and been beaten down by – the system. In another vignette, we see an enslaved woman who has become the mistress of a plantation owner and has learned to use her power to attain a position of privilege.
- Does religion require giving up your agency to someone else? The slave system used Christian scripture to justify the subjugation of other human beings. How could men and woman in bondage see beyond this hypocrisy to the spiritual truth that could not be destroyed and to the promise of liberation?
- In light of the history of slavery and the 100 years of segregation that followed, how was it possible for African Americans to forgive?
It is a story of unimaginable horror but also a story of survival. Hopefully it will generate more serious conversation about the legacy of our history, why even to this day no formal apology has been offered by an American president – much less reparations by the federal government – and why we still tolerate the de facto segregation of our schools and neighborhoods and continue to feed young men to the prison industrial complex. 12 Years a Slave is more than a powerful telling of history: it can be a spur to our conscience and an inspiration for action.
Monday, October 28, 2013
A fair day's wage for a fair day's work
“It’s about cheap labor,” says my friend Eric, an African American businessman. “It was about cheap labor then [when America’s wealth was founded on slavery] and it’s about cheap labor now.” Eric is not a radical. He might even be seen as a conservative in some of his views. He and I were meeting to discuss plans for a dialogue involving two Episcopal churches – one predominantly black, the other majority white – that we will facilitate together next year.
The extent to which race and class are inextricably woven together becomes ever more obvious in the current political climate. “Race is a decoy,” says Eric. This observation echoes the view of many commentators who see racial fears, prejudices, stereotypes and resentments being used as a political lever to achieve the goal of an unrestrained “free market” (free for some), to steadily reduce support for public institutions, and to attack legislation that supports the health, safety and earnings of American workers.
One of the most interesting, unexpected, and hopeful events of recent weeks is the courageous action of Governor John Kasich of Ohio, a Republican, who overrode the majority votes of his own party in both houses, and decided to extend Medicaid to poor adults and people with disabilities who do not currently quality. Kasich has stated that Christian compassion and economic good sense drove his decision.
Kasich told his fellow Republicans, “When you die and get to the meeting with St. Peter, he’s probably not going to ask you much about what you did about keeping government small, but he’s going to ask you what you did for the poor. You’d better have a good answer."
The attacks on Kasich reveal the true face of ruthless materialism. Surely the best in all our faith traditions goes hand in hand with good economics. Conversely, economic policies that are morally indefensible will not in the long run turn out to be sustainable. Doing the right thing generally turns out to be good for business.
It’s time for Republicans of character to stand up like Kasich. Democrats also need to lay aside the focus on political advantage and be willing to talk seriously about entitlement reform.
Both Republicans and Democrats need to start talking about poverty which is at the core of the challenge facing the country. For too long we have lived with the indulgence of a low-wage economy. The fact that half of all public school children (most of whose parents are working) receive free or reduced lunch in the richest country on earth should make us all feel ashamed.
If conservatives are really serious about reducing government programs, the best thing they could do would be to support a radical increase in the Federal minimum wage from the current $7.25 to something closer to $15.
If hard-working American were earning decent wages they would not have to turn to food stamps; they would not have to work two or three jobs, thereby jeopardizing their family life; they would not be crowding our hospital emergency rooms; and they would not have to live in subsidized housing. You can’t on the one hand call for less government spending and on the other hand persist in paying the lowest wage the market will bear. A living wage – a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work – is a truly deeply conservative solution to poverty because it puts equal responsibility on employer and employee.
The extent to which race and class are inextricably woven together becomes ever more obvious in the current political climate. “Race is a decoy,” says Eric. This observation echoes the view of many commentators who see racial fears, prejudices, stereotypes and resentments being used as a political lever to achieve the goal of an unrestrained “free market” (free for some), to steadily reduce support for public institutions, and to attack legislation that supports the health, safety and earnings of American workers.
One of the most interesting, unexpected, and hopeful events of recent weeks is the courageous action of Governor John Kasich of Ohio, a Republican, who overrode the majority votes of his own party in both houses, and decided to extend Medicaid to poor adults and people with disabilities who do not currently quality. Kasich has stated that Christian compassion and economic good sense drove his decision.
Kasich told his fellow Republicans, “When you die and get to the meeting with St. Peter, he’s probably not going to ask you much about what you did about keeping government small, but he’s going to ask you what you did for the poor. You’d better have a good answer."
The attacks on Kasich reveal the true face of ruthless materialism. Surely the best in all our faith traditions goes hand in hand with good economics. Conversely, economic policies that are morally indefensible will not in the long run turn out to be sustainable. Doing the right thing generally turns out to be good for business.
It’s time for Republicans of character to stand up like Kasich. Democrats also need to lay aside the focus on political advantage and be willing to talk seriously about entitlement reform.
Both Republicans and Democrats need to start talking about poverty which is at the core of the challenge facing the country. For too long we have lived with the indulgence of a low-wage economy. The fact that half of all public school children (most of whose parents are working) receive free or reduced lunch in the richest country on earth should make us all feel ashamed.
If conservatives are really serious about reducing government programs, the best thing they could do would be to support a radical increase in the Federal minimum wage from the current $7.25 to something closer to $15.
If hard-working American were earning decent wages they would not have to turn to food stamps; they would not have to work two or three jobs, thereby jeopardizing their family life; they would not be crowding our hospital emergency rooms; and they would not have to live in subsidized housing. You can’t on the one hand call for less government spending and on the other hand persist in paying the lowest wage the market will bear. A living wage – a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work – is a truly deeply conservative solution to poverty because it puts equal responsibility on employer and employee.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Learning to make hard choices
If you want to see a model of what public education can and should be in America’s inner cities you don’t need to look further than Richmond Community High School (RCHC). Established in 1977 as America's first full-time, four year, public high school for academically talented students primarily from minority and low-income families, it fosters a culture of high expectations and high standards.
Entry is competitive but the school is looking for attitude as much as academic talent. Students participate in the selection process and do not let one another fail. Parental involvement is expected. The first year includes a camping trip to encourage bonding. All students complete a well-researched paper and present it to an audience as part of graduation requirement. RCHS has a 100 percent graduation rate and almost everyone goes on to college, often with major scholarships.
Two of our sons attended RCHS. They received a good education but they also learned something about problem solving and how to interact with people of different racial and social backgrounds. They both say this was invaluable preparation for the real world. One of the pleasures of recent years has been seeing their classmates succeed in their careers and blossom into productive and responsible citizens.
This past weekend Susan and I went to see a new feature film by Patrick "Praheme" Ricks who graduated from RCHS with our son Mark in 2002. Troop 491: The Adventures of the Muddy Lions is about choices. The story follows Tristan, a typical adolescent boy facing the pressures of urban life where there are few good role models. His mother (his father is in jail) enrolls him the Boy Scouts to keep him off the streets. But when he witnesses a murder, the shooter – a neighborhood thug – warns him of the consequences of being a “snitch.” Tristan has to choose whether to follow the code of the streets or the code of the Scouts.
Produced with a half-million dollar budget by Virginia actor, comedian and director Tim Reid, the film is inspiring and authentic. It pulls no punches in its message. I hope that it receives the wide distribution it deserves. Thousands of boys and young men face the same daily challenges as Tristan. They need encouragement and the courage to make good choices.
RCHS should be enormously proud of Praheme – and all of its graduates. Certainly “Troop 491” should be a great recruiting tool for the Boy Scouts!
Entry is competitive but the school is looking for attitude as much as academic talent. Students participate in the selection process and do not let one another fail. Parental involvement is expected. The first year includes a camping trip to encourage bonding. All students complete a well-researched paper and present it to an audience as part of graduation requirement. RCHS has a 100 percent graduation rate and almost everyone goes on to college, often with major scholarships.
Two of our sons attended RCHS. They received a good education but they also learned something about problem solving and how to interact with people of different racial and social backgrounds. They both say this was invaluable preparation for the real world. One of the pleasures of recent years has been seeing their classmates succeed in their careers and blossom into productive and responsible citizens.
This past weekend Susan and I went to see a new feature film by Patrick "Praheme" Ricks who graduated from RCHS with our son Mark in 2002. Troop 491: The Adventures of the Muddy Lions is about choices. The story follows Tristan, a typical adolescent boy facing the pressures of urban life where there are few good role models. His mother (his father is in jail) enrolls him the Boy Scouts to keep him off the streets. But when he witnesses a murder, the shooter – a neighborhood thug – warns him of the consequences of being a “snitch.” Tristan has to choose whether to follow the code of the streets or the code of the Scouts.
Produced with a half-million dollar budget by Virginia actor, comedian and director Tim Reid, the film is inspiring and authentic. It pulls no punches in its message. I hope that it receives the wide distribution it deserves. Thousands of boys and young men face the same daily challenges as Tristan. They need encouragement and the courage to make good choices.
RCHS should be enormously proud of Praheme – and all of its graduates. Certainly “Troop 491” should be a great recruiting tool for the Boy Scouts!
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