--by Mike Adams
According to the NY Times Article U.S. Rule Limits Emergency Care for Immigrants by SARAH KERSHAW, under the GW Bush administration, Medicaid has been crippled in it's ability to provide many kinds of vital health care for immigrants. Not only are illegal immigrants being culled out of our population, legal student immigrants are being denied various life saving treatments as well. Perhaps the most disturbing revelation is that the US born children of immigrants are being targeted for health care denial. The explanation is that full medicaid is available only to US citizens...this confuses me, because I was under the impression that anyone born in the US is automatically considered a US citizen.
Somehow, the situation makes me think of Bush's platform as a "Compassionate Conservative." It never really made any sense to me. I wasn't sure what he meant by that statement. After watching his actions in office, I have to assume that it means he experiences a deep and overwhelming compassion for the needs of corporate America to profit while a the same time, experiencing a deep and overwhelming level of conservatism with regards to helping the most vulnerable people in our society to survive and have lives worth living.
I am reminded of W's position with regards to Terri Schiavo. I distinctly remember Mr. Bush weighing in on the topic in March of 2005 by stating that, "it is wise to always err on the side of life" It was Mr. Bush's position that the US Congress should intervene on behalf of Mrs. Shiavo's parents who wanted to keep Terri's body alive by any medical means necessary.
Mr. Bush's position on that issue seems to be in sharp contrast to his position with regards to Medicaid. The Bush administration has ordered extensive audits of Medicaid services and they are systematically denying immigrants the ability to receive vital health services like chemotherapy, one is left to assume that Mr. Bush was being rather insincere with regards to always erring on the side of life. I wonder if perhaps what Bush meant was that it is always wise to err on the side of life when the voting public is paying attention...otherwise, it is better to err on the side of profit.
A quick look at Mr. Bush's record seems to point at an ongoing effort to mislead the American voting public into believing that he is on our side. Take for example W's current showdown with congress. Mr. Bush has preemptively threatened to veto any increased funding for veterans, health care, medical research, education, law enforcement and public works. He claims to be pushing congress for fiscal responsibility.
The man who led a massive misinformation campaign in order to deceive the American public and gain support for an unnecessary war, which every year, costs US Taxpayers almost six times as much money as the philanthropic benefits being championed by Congressional Democrats. The man who took a balanced budget and created the highest deficit in US Government history. The man who led the US while unemployment and energy costs soared to new heights. This man, GW Bush now wants to claim leadership in the realm of fiscal responsibility.
While his assertions are amusing, they are hardly worth consideration as a serious source of leadership. There is no shred of evidence that GW has any practical experience with fiscal responsibility or with compassion. It seems clear that he is NO fiscal or a moral leader for our times unless of course our goal is to become bankrupt in both the fiscal and the moral sense.
Politics, Religion, Common Sense. Can they all mix? I think so. Please read and definitely leave comments! Thanks!!
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Petraeus or Betray US...let's MoveOn!
-by Mike Adams
All right...I am no expert on the Middle East or on international politics. However, looking at available information about the situation, I have to weigh in on this topic.
I would agree with the sentiment that we should maintain a higher level of conduct with regards to our news and advertising than is often seen in today's media. However, having read the MoveOn ad in the NY Times, I can't see what the big deal is!
Seriously, Washington Republicans have very little wiggle room to point their fingers at anyone with regards to any alleged impugnment of a public figure. This is the same American right wing, which misled the American public with regards to John Kerry's military record. This is the same American right wing, which wasted countless hours in Washington holding impeachment hearings against Bill Clinton for having an extramarital affair. America's right wing has such a history of savagely misleading the American public with regards to political figures, who won't forward their conservative agenda that there really is no room to take any conservative criticism of MoveOn seriously.
Putting all of that aside, an examination of the facts is probably in order. According to three independent reports, the GAO report, the NIE report and the Jones report, CSIS, Petraeus' surge strategy has failed. Despite those facts, Petraeus has publicly indicated that the surge is working, "We say we have achieved progress, and we are obviously going to do everything we can to build on that progress." (The Australian, “Surge Working: Top US General,” by Dennis Shanahan). Washington Republicans want to portray MoveOn's advertisement as labeling General Petraeus a traitor. The fact is that MoveOn never used the word traitor...instead they indicated that perhaps the General has Betrayed us. It seems obvious to me that General Petraeus has in fact betrayed our trust. That he has allowed his position to be a political tool of the Executive Branch.
A quick look at MoveOn.org's site, shows that they have done their homework. They back up all of their allegations with external sources:
Yet the General claims a reduction in violence. That’s because, according to the New York Times, the Pentagon has adopted a bizarre formula for keeping tabs on violence. For example, deaths by car bombs don’t count. “Time to Take a Stand,” by Paul Krugman. 9/7/07
The Washington Post reported that assassinations only count if you're shot in the back of the head -- not the front. “Experts Doubt Drop in Violence in Iraq,” by Karen DeYoung. 9/6/07 l
According to news reports, there have been more civilian deaths and more American soldier deaths in the past three months than in any other summer we’ve been there. The Associated Press, “Violence Appears to Be Shifting from Baghdad.” 8/25/07National Public Radio, “Statistics the Weapon of Choice in Surge Debate,” by Guy Raz. 9/6/07Associated Press, “Key Figures About Iraq Since the War Began in 2003.” 9/5/07
We'll hear of neighborhoods where violence has decreased. But we won't hear that those neighborhoods have been ethnically cleansed.Newsweek, “Baghdad’s New Owners,” by Babak Dehghanpisheh and Larry Kaplow, 9/10/07Ibid from the AP, “Violence Appears to be Shifting From Baghdad”McClatchy, “Despite Violence Drop, Officers See Bleak Future for Iraq,” by Leila Fadel. 8/15/07The New York Times, “More Iraqis Said to Flee Since Troop Rise,” by James Glanz and Stephen Farrell. 8/24/07
(above italicized information taken from MoveOn site)
At a time when America's confidence in our elected officials is low, when Republican corruption is more rampant than at any time in the past several decades, when American service men and women are sacrificing their lives for an unjustifiable war started under false pretenses pushed by an Executive branch, who shows nothing but contempt for our Constitution and our Democracy...At a time like this, I wish there were more people and organizations willing to stand up and take some heat for telling the truth. Kudos to MoveOn.org.
Shame on Congress...quit wasting time trying to redirect the debate...its time that you deal with the war in Iraq. It's time you stop wasting American tax dollars on private militias, who's members are being paid five times as much as American service men and women. It's time you deal with America's health care and child care crisis. It's time you do the work which matters rather than focusing on fluff and giving the American public nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
All right...I am no expert on the Middle East or on international politics. However, looking at available information about the situation, I have to weigh in on this topic.
I would agree with the sentiment that we should maintain a higher level of conduct with regards to our news and advertising than is often seen in today's media. However, having read the MoveOn ad in the NY Times, I can't see what the big deal is!
Seriously, Washington Republicans have very little wiggle room to point their fingers at anyone with regards to any alleged impugnment of a public figure. This is the same American right wing, which misled the American public with regards to John Kerry's military record. This is the same American right wing, which wasted countless hours in Washington holding impeachment hearings against Bill Clinton for having an extramarital affair. America's right wing has such a history of savagely misleading the American public with regards to political figures, who won't forward their conservative agenda that there really is no room to take any conservative criticism of MoveOn seriously.
Putting all of that aside, an examination of the facts is probably in order. According to three independent reports, the GAO report, the NIE report and the Jones report, CSIS, Petraeus' surge strategy has failed. Despite those facts, Petraeus has publicly indicated that the surge is working, "We say we have achieved progress, and we are obviously going to do everything we can to build on that progress." (The Australian, “Surge Working: Top US General,” by Dennis Shanahan). Washington Republicans want to portray MoveOn's advertisement as labeling General Petraeus a traitor. The fact is that MoveOn never used the word traitor...instead they indicated that perhaps the General has Betrayed us. It seems obvious to me that General Petraeus has in fact betrayed our trust. That he has allowed his position to be a political tool of the Executive Branch.
A quick look at MoveOn.org's site, shows that they have done their homework. They back up all of their allegations with external sources:
Yet the General claims a reduction in violence. That’s because, according to the New York Times, the Pentagon has adopted a bizarre formula for keeping tabs on violence. For example, deaths by car bombs don’t count. “Time to Take a Stand,” by Paul Krugman. 9/7/07
The Washington Post reported that assassinations only count if you're shot in the back of the head -- not the front. “Experts Doubt Drop in Violence in Iraq,” by Karen DeYoung. 9/6/07 l
According to news reports, there have been more civilian deaths and more American soldier deaths in the past three months than in any other summer we’ve been there. The Associated Press, “Violence Appears to Be Shifting from Baghdad.” 8/25/07National Public Radio, “Statistics the Weapon of Choice in Surge Debate,” by Guy Raz. 9/6/07Associated Press, “Key Figures About Iraq Since the War Began in 2003.” 9/5/07
We'll hear of neighborhoods where violence has decreased. But we won't hear that those neighborhoods have been ethnically cleansed.Newsweek, “Baghdad’s New Owners,” by Babak Dehghanpisheh and Larry Kaplow, 9/10/07Ibid from the AP, “Violence Appears to be Shifting From Baghdad”McClatchy, “Despite Violence Drop, Officers See Bleak Future for Iraq,” by Leila Fadel. 8/15/07The New York Times, “More Iraqis Said to Flee Since Troop Rise,” by James Glanz and Stephen Farrell. 8/24/07
(above italicized information taken from MoveOn site)
At a time when America's confidence in our elected officials is low, when Republican corruption is more rampant than at any time in the past several decades, when American service men and women are sacrificing their lives for an unjustifiable war started under false pretenses pushed by an Executive branch, who shows nothing but contempt for our Constitution and our Democracy...At a time like this, I wish there were more people and organizations willing to stand up and take some heat for telling the truth. Kudos to MoveOn.org.
Shame on Congress...quit wasting time trying to redirect the debate...its time that you deal with the war in Iraq. It's time you stop wasting American tax dollars on private militias, who's members are being paid five times as much as American service men and women. It's time you deal with America's health care and child care crisis. It's time you do the work which matters rather than focusing on fluff and giving the American public nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Vitality of a Movement
--by Mike Adams
As Unitarian Universalists, one of our greatest strengths has been our desire to be inclusive…to make room for “different beliefs.” The value we place on inclusion has lead to our denominational covenant to affirm and promote our seven principles. It has lead to our movement’s participation in de-segregation and to our continued work on behalf of marginalized citizens of our world community.
Over the years, UU’s have passed resolutions at our General Assembly in order to become a more welcoming and diverse community of people. We have made some very impressive gains. Since 1970 when the GA passed a resolution in support of Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women, the number of female UU ministers has skyrocketed. There were fewer than thirty female ministers and today, more than fifty percent of UU ministers are women.
By contrast, there are currently only thirty people of color serving as UU ministers in our congregations. Here in New Mexico, more than twenty percent of our total population speaks Spanish. I’m not sure if any congregations in our state have a Hispanic Minister. However, in an attempt to discover how many Hispanic UU Ministers there are through a Google search, I discovered the following advertisement: “Unitarian Minister – Shop for Unitarian Minister, and deals on tons of other products at MonsterMarketplace. (click here).” While this was a fruitless and frustrating effort, it was at least amusing.
After attending this year’s GA in Portland, I started researching what would be needed to successfully start a Spanish speaking UU service in Santa Fe or to start a successful UU congregation in Pojoaque. I wrote to a congregation which I mistakenly thought had tried to start a Spanish speaking service. I received a reply from the minister indicating that they had never tried to start a Spanish speaking service, that in their town, most everyone who has a college education speaks English so there is no need for a Spanish speaking service.
I responded to this note with an email indicating that the minister’s response troubled me because I disagree that being a Unitarian Universalist necessitates having a college education. I believe that one of our denomination’s largest obstacles to growth is not necessarily racism, but instead classism. I pointed out that functionally, being classist makes us racist, because the majority of people who are unable to acquire a college education come from economically disadvantaged groups, many of whom are primarily of people of color. I said that I work in the construction field, that I regularly have very interesting conversations with my non-college educated co-workers about politics, philosophy and justice issues. It turns out that blue collar workers are equally concerned with the same issues that concern many UU’s. I indicated that blue-collar workers vote too, that the majority of people in this country and in this world have no college background. I said that I think it would be good if there were more people thinking about UU values when they go to the voting booth…when they decide whether to go shopping at Wal-Mart, etc…. I informed the minister that I have not completed a college degree, that I am largely ‘self educated’. I said that I have known many people, who, like me, never completed a college education, but they read books on philosophy, history, politics as well as regularly reading news papers. I indicated that a minister’s comments in particular have the power to offend and turn people away from a faith, which really could make a difference in the world. I ended by saying, “if we have covenanted to affirm and PROMOTE the inherent worth and dignity of every person, perhaps we want to consider if that might also mean making our faith available to all who share our concerns and values regardless of their intellectual prowess and educational training.”
The next day, the minister responded assuring me that self-educated is good and that there are some UU’s without a college education, that it’s fine and all are welcome. In fact, the minister indicated that there are many good and intelligent people without a college background and that we need to learn to work together. However, the minister went on to say that with regard to ‘denominational market targeting,’ it is quixotic to try and serve new immigrants who are mostly poorly educated Mexican Catholics by starting a Spanish language UU service…that it won’t work and that the minister couldn’t continue to converse…but thanks for sharing my concerns.
I decided not to respond to that message. What is there to say? Perhaps I lack the insight to respond in a way which could make a difference, but I don’t know how to acquire that skill right now. It concerns me that in a UU District which contains a very high population of native Spanish speaking people, a Unitarian Universalist minister would say that it is quixotic to start Spanish speaking services because the local Spanish speakers are, “Poorly educated Mexican Catholics” and I am left to infer they are therefore not good UU material.
I don’t believe that our well intentioned minister believes that Catholics are incapable of becoming Unitarian Universalists…in fact many of our members come from other religions, from which they turned away for a variety of personal reasons. I hope that the minister was not suggesting that Mexicans wouldn’t be good Unitarian Universalists. I feel certain that, in fact…the assumption was not about Mexicans so much as about the poorly educated. Our Unitarian Universalist movement seems to be incredibly prejudiced against people who lack ‘higher education.’ Unintentionally, we seem to value a sound intellect more than a true diversity of membership. This does not make us bad people…in makes us human, with the same sorts of prejudices, judgments and shortcomings that all people come with.
Unfortunately, as liberal thinkers, who don’t tolerate intolerance, we have accidentally made the entirely human conditions of being prejudiced and closed minded synonymous with being a bad person. We need to extricate the value judgment from the reality of human shortcomings. So long as we are human beings, we will never do away with prejudice, racism, xenophobia, impatience, greed, etc…we are stuck with those traits. As Unitarian Universalist, perhaps the best thing we can do is acknowledge those traits as we find them in ourselves and try to be responsible for them when we deal with others.
What are we going to do about this situation? I fear that as a movement, Unitarian Universalism is dying because we continue to maintain an intellectual snobbery. I don’t know what to do about it…I have only questions. I don’t feel qualified to tell you what to do…the only thing I can say is that a good place to start might be to honestly look individually and collectively at our own classism and prejudices. Maybe we ought to search monstermarketplace and find some ministers who will take racism and classism more seriously and challenge us to climb for higher ground.
As Unitarian Universalists, one of our greatest strengths has been our desire to be inclusive…to make room for “different beliefs.” The value we place on inclusion has lead to our denominational covenant to affirm and promote our seven principles. It has lead to our movement’s participation in de-segregation and to our continued work on behalf of marginalized citizens of our world community.
Over the years, UU’s have passed resolutions at our General Assembly in order to become a more welcoming and diverse community of people. We have made some very impressive gains. Since 1970 when the GA passed a resolution in support of Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women, the number of female UU ministers has skyrocketed. There were fewer than thirty female ministers and today, more than fifty percent of UU ministers are women.
By contrast, there are currently only thirty people of color serving as UU ministers in our congregations. Here in New Mexico, more than twenty percent of our total population speaks Spanish. I’m not sure if any congregations in our state have a Hispanic Minister. However, in an attempt to discover how many Hispanic UU Ministers there are through a Google search, I discovered the following advertisement: “Unitarian Minister – Shop for Unitarian Minister, and deals on tons of other products at MonsterMarketplace. (click here).” While this was a fruitless and frustrating effort, it was at least amusing.
After attending this year’s GA in Portland, I started researching what would be needed to successfully start a Spanish speaking UU service in Santa Fe or to start a successful UU congregation in Pojoaque. I wrote to a congregation which I mistakenly thought had tried to start a Spanish speaking service. I received a reply from the minister indicating that they had never tried to start a Spanish speaking service, that in their town, most everyone who has a college education speaks English so there is no need for a Spanish speaking service.
I responded to this note with an email indicating that the minister’s response troubled me because I disagree that being a Unitarian Universalist necessitates having a college education. I believe that one of our denomination’s largest obstacles to growth is not necessarily racism, but instead classism. I pointed out that functionally, being classist makes us racist, because the majority of people who are unable to acquire a college education come from economically disadvantaged groups, many of whom are primarily of people of color. I said that I work in the construction field, that I regularly have very interesting conversations with my non-college educated co-workers about politics, philosophy and justice issues. It turns out that blue collar workers are equally concerned with the same issues that concern many UU’s. I indicated that blue-collar workers vote too, that the majority of people in this country and in this world have no college background. I said that I think it would be good if there were more people thinking about UU values when they go to the voting booth…when they decide whether to go shopping at Wal-Mart, etc…. I informed the minister that I have not completed a college degree, that I am largely ‘self educated’. I said that I have known many people, who, like me, never completed a college education, but they read books on philosophy, history, politics as well as regularly reading news papers. I indicated that a minister’s comments in particular have the power to offend and turn people away from a faith, which really could make a difference in the world. I ended by saying, “if we have covenanted to affirm and PROMOTE the inherent worth and dignity of every person, perhaps we want to consider if that might also mean making our faith available to all who share our concerns and values regardless of their intellectual prowess and educational training.”
The next day, the minister responded assuring me that self-educated is good and that there are some UU’s without a college education, that it’s fine and all are welcome. In fact, the minister indicated that there are many good and intelligent people without a college background and that we need to learn to work together. However, the minister went on to say that with regard to ‘denominational market targeting,’ it is quixotic to try and serve new immigrants who are mostly poorly educated Mexican Catholics by starting a Spanish language UU service…that it won’t work and that the minister couldn’t continue to converse…but thanks for sharing my concerns.
I decided not to respond to that message. What is there to say? Perhaps I lack the insight to respond in a way which could make a difference, but I don’t know how to acquire that skill right now. It concerns me that in a UU District which contains a very high population of native Spanish speaking people, a Unitarian Universalist minister would say that it is quixotic to start Spanish speaking services because the local Spanish speakers are, “Poorly educated Mexican Catholics” and I am left to infer they are therefore not good UU material.
I don’t believe that our well intentioned minister believes that Catholics are incapable of becoming Unitarian Universalists…in fact many of our members come from other religions, from which they turned away for a variety of personal reasons. I hope that the minister was not suggesting that Mexicans wouldn’t be good Unitarian Universalists. I feel certain that, in fact…the assumption was not about Mexicans so much as about the poorly educated. Our Unitarian Universalist movement seems to be incredibly prejudiced against people who lack ‘higher education.’ Unintentionally, we seem to value a sound intellect more than a true diversity of membership. This does not make us bad people…in makes us human, with the same sorts of prejudices, judgments and shortcomings that all people come with.
Unfortunately, as liberal thinkers, who don’t tolerate intolerance, we have accidentally made the entirely human conditions of being prejudiced and closed minded synonymous with being a bad person. We need to extricate the value judgment from the reality of human shortcomings. So long as we are human beings, we will never do away with prejudice, racism, xenophobia, impatience, greed, etc…we are stuck with those traits. As Unitarian Universalist, perhaps the best thing we can do is acknowledge those traits as we find them in ourselves and try to be responsible for them when we deal with others.
What are we going to do about this situation? I fear that as a movement, Unitarian Universalism is dying because we continue to maintain an intellectual snobbery. I don’t know what to do about it…I have only questions. I don’t feel qualified to tell you what to do…the only thing I can say is that a good place to start might be to honestly look individually and collectively at our own classism and prejudices. Maybe we ought to search monstermarketplace and find some ministers who will take racism and classism more seriously and challenge us to climb for higher ground.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
What are We going to do about it?
--by Mike Adams
Today’s New York Times article entitled, “Great Lengths taken to fill Jury Box” caused me to reflect on my experiences appearing for jury duty. I’ve been summoned now on four or five occasions, since I have been registered to vote. On most occasions, I never saw the inside of the court room, because the trial was cancelled or something like that…One time however, in California, I spent a day in a Santa Rosa court listening to potential jurors being interviewed and I was the second to last person called for questioning. It was an interesting experience…the case was about a man accused on drunk driving and two officers, who failed to get a blood alcohol or breathalyzer.
My first reaction was that I didn’t necessarily trust the officers…why didn’t they acquire the necessary scientific evidence for conviction…then, the defendant entered the courtroom…late. And after taking one look at him…I thought there would be no problem believing that he had been drunk driving. I concluded that given my prejudice against each party, I should have no problem with being impartial.
Ultimately, when I was questioned, all the jury positions had been filled and they were interviewing me as a potential alternate juror…I admitted that I would feel resentful at listening to a case where I would not be offering a judgment and I was then dismissed.
Most recently…having moved to New Mexico back to the town I grew up in, I was summoned for duty and I ended up serving as a juror in a drunken driving case…it was an interesting and even uplifting experience. Once again, much of the evidence was not present or hadn’t been collected…on this occasion, however, I was a juror, so I heard all the testimony and I was part of jury deliberations. It seemed that every member or the jury took their responsibility very seriously…we questioned each other and asked the judge in to give us direction regarding the specific legal requirements…we re-read the instructions to the jury several times and we rendered a fair and impartial verdict.
The problem is that in my home town, when a person lands in the jury pool…they stay in the pool for six months…so despite having served on a jury…I still find myself being summoned approximately once a month. This experience makes me feel very sympathetic to anyone who will do almost anything to get out of serving. Most of the people living here have jobs, which will pay them when they are on jury duty…I however, don’t have such a job…every time I take a day off, it costs me $240.00, which is almost 25% of my mortgage payment.
That aside…I do appear for jury duty anyway…I consider myself a good citizen and a patriot. I read and research before I vote, I write letters to my elected officials and I try to stay informed about current events, which are important…rather than how things are working out between Brad and Angelina.
This forms the crux of what I have to say on the topic…Here in America, we all want to have a fair and impartial criminal justice system…we want to know that criminals are dealt with appropriately and that there are effective safeguards in place to prevent abuse. The only real problem is that we aren’t willing to do the work in order to have that. According to the NY Times article, only 46% of people summoned even bothers to show up for jury selection. I don’t know what it is like in other counties…but in mine, we are given several weeks’ notice in order to work our schedule out so that we can appear in court. It troubles me that fewer than 50% of people summoned can bestir themselves to even appear for jury selection.
In my previous article, I laid the troubles of our system of governance and our current political crisis square on the shoulders of Mary and John Q citizen…here again, I have to say ‘what is our problem’? Why has America become a country where everyone actually believes that they are entitled to all the benefits of citizen guided governance…but we don’t have to act consistent with the responsibilities of that system?
I mean, come on people…lets go ahead and have our government serve us…lets be responsible for the society we live in. America’s political world of today has arguments about taxation…about welfare…about our government’s role in making the lot of its citizens better. It seems that there have been some important things left out of those discussions…for example, the fact that any entity doing business today depends on our highway system, which was paid for and is maintained by our tax money. The development of today’s internet was funded by tax payers. Libraries, schools, law enforcement and emergency services are funded by tax dollars. Taken all together…isn’t it a little unpatriotic to try and avoid paying taxes…haven’t we benefited from the wise investment of our parents’ and grandparents’ tax dollars? Don’t we owe it to our country and future generations to continue and pay our fair share of taxes and invest it in the future?
Perhaps this all seems unrelated to jury service…but I think it is more related that you might see…we American’s have an unfortunate aversion to making the necessary sacrifices and investments in order to enjoy a government of the people by the people and for the people. That kind of government requires participation from its citizens…from us.
We are the guardians of our government’s values and we are the overseers of her actions…we are responsible for the level of justice, which exists in our criminal justice system and we are in control of our own collective future.
My question is what are we going to do about it?
Today’s New York Times article entitled, “Great Lengths taken to fill Jury Box” caused me to reflect on my experiences appearing for jury duty. I’ve been summoned now on four or five occasions, since I have been registered to vote. On most occasions, I never saw the inside of the court room, because the trial was cancelled or something like that…One time however, in California, I spent a day in a Santa Rosa court listening to potential jurors being interviewed and I was the second to last person called for questioning. It was an interesting experience…the case was about a man accused on drunk driving and two officers, who failed to get a blood alcohol or breathalyzer.
My first reaction was that I didn’t necessarily trust the officers…why didn’t they acquire the necessary scientific evidence for conviction…then, the defendant entered the courtroom…late. And after taking one look at him…I thought there would be no problem believing that he had been drunk driving. I concluded that given my prejudice against each party, I should have no problem with being impartial.
Ultimately, when I was questioned, all the jury positions had been filled and they were interviewing me as a potential alternate juror…I admitted that I would feel resentful at listening to a case where I would not be offering a judgment and I was then dismissed.
Most recently…having moved to New Mexico back to the town I grew up in, I was summoned for duty and I ended up serving as a juror in a drunken driving case…it was an interesting and even uplifting experience. Once again, much of the evidence was not present or hadn’t been collected…on this occasion, however, I was a juror, so I heard all the testimony and I was part of jury deliberations. It seemed that every member or the jury took their responsibility very seriously…we questioned each other and asked the judge in to give us direction regarding the specific legal requirements…we re-read the instructions to the jury several times and we rendered a fair and impartial verdict.
The problem is that in my home town, when a person lands in the jury pool…they stay in the pool for six months…so despite having served on a jury…I still find myself being summoned approximately once a month. This experience makes me feel very sympathetic to anyone who will do almost anything to get out of serving. Most of the people living here have jobs, which will pay them when they are on jury duty…I however, don’t have such a job…every time I take a day off, it costs me $240.00, which is almost 25% of my mortgage payment.
That aside…I do appear for jury duty anyway…I consider myself a good citizen and a patriot. I read and research before I vote, I write letters to my elected officials and I try to stay informed about current events, which are important…rather than how things are working out between Brad and Angelina.
This forms the crux of what I have to say on the topic…Here in America, we all want to have a fair and impartial criminal justice system…we want to know that criminals are dealt with appropriately and that there are effective safeguards in place to prevent abuse. The only real problem is that we aren’t willing to do the work in order to have that. According to the NY Times article, only 46% of people summoned even bothers to show up for jury selection. I don’t know what it is like in other counties…but in mine, we are given several weeks’ notice in order to work our schedule out so that we can appear in court. It troubles me that fewer than 50% of people summoned can bestir themselves to even appear for jury selection.
In my previous article, I laid the troubles of our system of governance and our current political crisis square on the shoulders of Mary and John Q citizen…here again, I have to say ‘what is our problem’? Why has America become a country where everyone actually believes that they are entitled to all the benefits of citizen guided governance…but we don’t have to act consistent with the responsibilities of that system?
I mean, come on people…lets go ahead and have our government serve us…lets be responsible for the society we live in. America’s political world of today has arguments about taxation…about welfare…about our government’s role in making the lot of its citizens better. It seems that there have been some important things left out of those discussions…for example, the fact that any entity doing business today depends on our highway system, which was paid for and is maintained by our tax money. The development of today’s internet was funded by tax payers. Libraries, schools, law enforcement and emergency services are funded by tax dollars. Taken all together…isn’t it a little unpatriotic to try and avoid paying taxes…haven’t we benefited from the wise investment of our parents’ and grandparents’ tax dollars? Don’t we owe it to our country and future generations to continue and pay our fair share of taxes and invest it in the future?
Perhaps this all seems unrelated to jury service…but I think it is more related that you might see…we American’s have an unfortunate aversion to making the necessary sacrifices and investments in order to enjoy a government of the people by the people and for the people. That kind of government requires participation from its citizens…from us.
We are the guardians of our government’s values and we are the overseers of her actions…we are responsible for the level of justice, which exists in our criminal justice system and we are in control of our own collective future.
My question is what are we going to do about it?
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Local Issues are the Big Picture
--by Mike Adams
The morning of May 7th began in a rather jolting manner for me; I woke cursing the time and wishing for more sleep. I was immediately annoyed with my three children and their morning routine, which requires breakfast, attention, mediation and many other things, which are onerous demands to place on any person who has not yet had even one cup of coffee.
I was annoyed that my wife and I had failed to purchase groceries and my limited breakfast choices were quite unappealing. I checked my on-line fax account and discovered that a very important document had not arrived. Now I would have to appear for Jury Duty without a letter from my employer attesting to my essential presence at the job site.
I worried about losing two hundred dollars in wages and resented the idea of spending the day participating in a justice system which was so broken that our executive branch had successfully politicized several top federal prosecutors with impunity.
Rushing out of my house, I considered strategies to get myself excused from service and shook my head with annoyance at my predicament.
As I sat in the courtroom, I took in my surroundings, surprised by the contemporary office furniture instead of the polished wood and banisters I associate with court rooms. I noticed two framed documents hanging on the wall. Both were far enough away that I couldn’t decipher anything except the first few words, written in larger print. On the first document, I read the words, “We the People”. I knew from memory the rest of that short paragraph: “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” The second framed document started with four words “The Bill of Rights.” As the significance of these two documents slowly seeped into my heart and mind, I began to feel a glimmer of pride at being able to participate in an important democratic process.
In short order, the prosecutor and the defense began questioning prospective jurors. I experienced a shift in attitude when each prospective juror was asked whether or not they could maintain personal integrity in the event that after deliberation, they were the only juror to disagree on a verdict. A few weren’t sure how they would react and when I was asked, my own answer surprised me in its conviction: “I think that is paramount. Our legal system was designed to end unjust practices which had been imposed on millions of people in the years before our country was founded. I think it important that any juror stand true to convictions of guilt or innocence despite peer pressure. I certainly hope that anyone serving would feel the same.” At that point, I conceded to myself that I actually wanted to participate in the proceeding.
In retrospect, I believe that I wanted to assure myself that our system can work, that it can be just and that people do care. I was selected as a juror and, mostly, the experience of listening to testimony about field sobriety and blood alcohol tests was rather boring. However, during deliberation, when we all sat in a room and hashed out the facts in order to collectively determine guilt or innocence, I discovered that everyone else in the room was deeply concerned with maintaining the integrity of our justice system. One juror said “oh…I could easily find the defendant guilty of that…I’m glad I wasn’t on the road with him.” In response, another juror said, “The facts don’t prove guilt, I believe he is guilty, but our job is to assume innocence and let the facts prove guilt.” Again, we read the jury instructions and concluded that on that particular charge the verdict had to be not guilty. We held each other accountable to presuming innocence; we revisited the evidence and asked direction from the judge. It seems that each of us accepted and embraced the awesome duty of providing a fair trial. We maintained our integrity; we walked away with a sense of civic pride and we rendered a fair and impartial judgment.
How you might ask does this relate to local issues being the big picture? My answer is this: because actions we take on a local level can restore faith in our system, in each other and in ourselves. Every day, across this country, citizens serve as jurors. They hear cases against businesses accused of unfair economic practices, damage caused by pollution or unsafe working conditions, cases for domestic violence, cases for child abuse or neglect. On its most basic level, our justice system is composed of citizens like you and like me…Our justice system operates with whatever level of integrity we bring to it.
As with our justice system, many forms of civic policy are determined by our action or lack of action. In California, my wife became involved with a local issue regarding waterway restoration for salmon habitat. She spearheaded a group of concerned community members and scientists, who studied the issue. This group worked with the local government and citizenry to draft a proposal, which would meet the needs of the local environment and the local community, which seemed to be in opposition. The group was ultimately granted close to two hundred thousand dollars to proceed with its efforts and now, several years later, we were informed that for the first time in perhaps decades, endangered Coho salmon have been raised from hatchlings born in the creek and relocated in that waterway.
Other groups have convinced local governments to adopt Kyoto protocols. Local groups have stopped Wal-Mart from building in their community; others have halted local forest harvesting. Berkeley has passed legislation banning space based weapons from their airspace. Recently, several states debated legislation which would call for impeachment of federal executives.
On a local level, people can get involved and make a difference in their community. Those local changes may very well have repercussions which could be felt in Washington DC. Like so many people, I have often wanted to focus on the “Big Picture.” In 2004, I worked to send a pacifist candidate to the White House and while that sort of effort is important, it is no substitute for being involved in local causes. The nuts and bolts of any movement are composed of individual people working to make a difference where they live, work and play. It is frequently easy to get involved at a local level. The system of small local governments is starved for participants and whoever shows up to participate, has an immense impact on that local government.
Many months before being solicited by her local government water board to form and lead the committee on salmon habitat restoration, my wife, who has no special expertise in any relevant field, arrived on a sort of whim at the monthly meeting. She was carrying a diaper bag and my second step-son a babe in her arms. The room was virtually empty…there were a local non-resident landowner, the five elected Board members, two contractors slated to give reports, one or two environmentalists from neighboring communities and two men holding a tape recorder which made a disruptive clickety clacking sound. The most vocal people present by far were the men with the tape recorder who accused the Board members of every misdeed and form of corruptions short of poisoning the aquifer.
My wife still insists that she was selected to lead this influential committee simply because she showed up consistently, was polite, respectful and interested in the concerns and problems of the local board…but most importantly, she offered to be helpful.
If the vast majority of municipalities passed legislation to adopt the Kyoto protocols, would our federal government’s refusal to participate be as relevant as it is now? Often there seems a “disconnect” between elected officials and those they serve. A strong message being sent by citizens can turn a leader around. Remember Arnold Schwarznegger’s four pet ballot initiatives in 2005? Even “the Governator” could not fight against nurses, teachers and firefighters…all four of his initiatives were soundly defeated and he wasn’t heard from for a couple of years. Suddenly, this year, Mr. Schwarzenegger re-emerged into public view as a champion of environmentally friendly legislation.
Other benefits of local work are that seeing the fruits of our labor can leave us gratified and renewed. Ready for what ever work comes next. Local causes allow us to be of service to people we see, to influence people’s opinions through our actions and values. We have the opportunity to transform our communities, our neighbors and ourselves.
The morning of May 7th began in a rather jolting manner for me; I woke cursing the time and wishing for more sleep. I was immediately annoyed with my three children and their morning routine, which requires breakfast, attention, mediation and many other things, which are onerous demands to place on any person who has not yet had even one cup of coffee.
I was annoyed that my wife and I had failed to purchase groceries and my limited breakfast choices were quite unappealing. I checked my on-line fax account and discovered that a very important document had not arrived. Now I would have to appear for Jury Duty without a letter from my employer attesting to my essential presence at the job site.
I worried about losing two hundred dollars in wages and resented the idea of spending the day participating in a justice system which was so broken that our executive branch had successfully politicized several top federal prosecutors with impunity.
Rushing out of my house, I considered strategies to get myself excused from service and shook my head with annoyance at my predicament.
As I sat in the courtroom, I took in my surroundings, surprised by the contemporary office furniture instead of the polished wood and banisters I associate with court rooms. I noticed two framed documents hanging on the wall. Both were far enough away that I couldn’t decipher anything except the first few words, written in larger print. On the first document, I read the words, “We the People”. I knew from memory the rest of that short paragraph: “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” The second framed document started with four words “The Bill of Rights.” As the significance of these two documents slowly seeped into my heart and mind, I began to feel a glimmer of pride at being able to participate in an important democratic process.
In short order, the prosecutor and the defense began questioning prospective jurors. I experienced a shift in attitude when each prospective juror was asked whether or not they could maintain personal integrity in the event that after deliberation, they were the only juror to disagree on a verdict. A few weren’t sure how they would react and when I was asked, my own answer surprised me in its conviction: “I think that is paramount. Our legal system was designed to end unjust practices which had been imposed on millions of people in the years before our country was founded. I think it important that any juror stand true to convictions of guilt or innocence despite peer pressure. I certainly hope that anyone serving would feel the same.” At that point, I conceded to myself that I actually wanted to participate in the proceeding.
In retrospect, I believe that I wanted to assure myself that our system can work, that it can be just and that people do care. I was selected as a juror and, mostly, the experience of listening to testimony about field sobriety and blood alcohol tests was rather boring. However, during deliberation, when we all sat in a room and hashed out the facts in order to collectively determine guilt or innocence, I discovered that everyone else in the room was deeply concerned with maintaining the integrity of our justice system. One juror said “oh…I could easily find the defendant guilty of that…I’m glad I wasn’t on the road with him.” In response, another juror said, “The facts don’t prove guilt, I believe he is guilty, but our job is to assume innocence and let the facts prove guilt.” Again, we read the jury instructions and concluded that on that particular charge the verdict had to be not guilty. We held each other accountable to presuming innocence; we revisited the evidence and asked direction from the judge. It seems that each of us accepted and embraced the awesome duty of providing a fair trial. We maintained our integrity; we walked away with a sense of civic pride and we rendered a fair and impartial judgment.
How you might ask does this relate to local issues being the big picture? My answer is this: because actions we take on a local level can restore faith in our system, in each other and in ourselves. Every day, across this country, citizens serve as jurors. They hear cases against businesses accused of unfair economic practices, damage caused by pollution or unsafe working conditions, cases for domestic violence, cases for child abuse or neglect. On its most basic level, our justice system is composed of citizens like you and like me…Our justice system operates with whatever level of integrity we bring to it.
As with our justice system, many forms of civic policy are determined by our action or lack of action. In California, my wife became involved with a local issue regarding waterway restoration for salmon habitat. She spearheaded a group of concerned community members and scientists, who studied the issue. This group worked with the local government and citizenry to draft a proposal, which would meet the needs of the local environment and the local community, which seemed to be in opposition. The group was ultimately granted close to two hundred thousand dollars to proceed with its efforts and now, several years later, we were informed that for the first time in perhaps decades, endangered Coho salmon have been raised from hatchlings born in the creek and relocated in that waterway.
Other groups have convinced local governments to adopt Kyoto protocols. Local groups have stopped Wal-Mart from building in their community; others have halted local forest harvesting. Berkeley has passed legislation banning space based weapons from their airspace. Recently, several states debated legislation which would call for impeachment of federal executives.
On a local level, people can get involved and make a difference in their community. Those local changes may very well have repercussions which could be felt in Washington DC. Like so many people, I have often wanted to focus on the “Big Picture.” In 2004, I worked to send a pacifist candidate to the White House and while that sort of effort is important, it is no substitute for being involved in local causes. The nuts and bolts of any movement are composed of individual people working to make a difference where they live, work and play. It is frequently easy to get involved at a local level. The system of small local governments is starved for participants and whoever shows up to participate, has an immense impact on that local government.
Many months before being solicited by her local government water board to form and lead the committee on salmon habitat restoration, my wife, who has no special expertise in any relevant field, arrived on a sort of whim at the monthly meeting. She was carrying a diaper bag and my second step-son a babe in her arms. The room was virtually empty…there were a local non-resident landowner, the five elected Board members, two contractors slated to give reports, one or two environmentalists from neighboring communities and two men holding a tape recorder which made a disruptive clickety clacking sound. The most vocal people present by far were the men with the tape recorder who accused the Board members of every misdeed and form of corruptions short of poisoning the aquifer.
My wife still insists that she was selected to lead this influential committee simply because she showed up consistently, was polite, respectful and interested in the concerns and problems of the local board…but most importantly, she offered to be helpful.
If the vast majority of municipalities passed legislation to adopt the Kyoto protocols, would our federal government’s refusal to participate be as relevant as it is now? Often there seems a “disconnect” between elected officials and those they serve. A strong message being sent by citizens can turn a leader around. Remember Arnold Schwarznegger’s four pet ballot initiatives in 2005? Even “the Governator” could not fight against nurses, teachers and firefighters…all four of his initiatives were soundly defeated and he wasn’t heard from for a couple of years. Suddenly, this year, Mr. Schwarzenegger re-emerged into public view as a champion of environmentally friendly legislation.
Other benefits of local work are that seeing the fruits of our labor can leave us gratified and renewed. Ready for what ever work comes next. Local causes allow us to be of service to people we see, to influence people’s opinions through our actions and values. We have the opportunity to transform our communities, our neighbors and ourselves.
Friday, July 27, 2007
GW has fallen into long term disfavor with the American Public
--by Mike Adams
Alright, so for two years GW Bush has had a disapproval rating of sixty percent or higher. What went wrong? He is a war President…why don’t the American people love him anymore?
From my perspective, this is a good thing…sort of anyway. After all, it was the American people who allowed him to steal the 2000 election. It was the American people who questionably re-elected him in 2004. Now all of the sudden, the American people don’t like him…why not? Why the sudden rush of distrust and why is it that Congress has such low approval ratings particularly Democrats in Congress?
I don’t know what to make of it all…it disturbs me on a personal level, that the American public is so flakey and ready to follow a goof ball into the gates of hell, but then turn on that same imbecile along with the pseudo opposition party, because we don’t like the heat.
I often suffer from the niggling suspicion that most of the American Public decide about political elections based solely on information presented in political advertisements reinforced with some network television news like fox “news” and occasionally, someone might even read a few news articles from nationally circulated periodicals. What this means is that the American public makes political decisions based on lies and half truths.
To be honest, I can’t stand GW Bush…I haven’t ever been able to stand him though…I voted for his ‘opponent’ in 2000 and in 2004. I raised money to get other people elected President and I campaigned in my local sphere. The troubling thing to me is that despite GW having been a miserable, anti-democracy, crony pandering, dishonest, anti-constitutional excuse for a President, I can’t bring myself to like the Democrats much more than I like the Republicans.
I know that many of the most egregious activities that our government has committed under Republican rule would probably not have happened or at least it wouldn’t have been exposed under Democrats and we wouldn’t be in a position of either being outraged or embarrassed or both…but really are the Democrats much better?
Why hasn’t any Democratic Presidential Candidate been willing to champion fair and free elections, real Universal Health Care, investment into our educational system? The answer is because they answer to the same special interests that the Republicans do…I hate to admit it, but I am starting to think that Ralph Nader was right…I suppose that even a megalomaniacal election ruining rabid individualist can be right on the big questions…go figure.
I’m not saying that we should vote for Ralph Nader in 2008…I intend to vote for the Democratic Candidate. But I also intend to keep writing letters to my elected officials and try to have them make some political decisions which will result in a positive change for my family and other American families. I don’t know that it makes any difference…but I keep writing the letters anyway…it certainly doesn’t hurt.
While I don’t particularly admire Democratic law makers…I don’t believe our current dysfunction with regards to Governance is the fault of Congress…instead, I lay that responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the American public. Voting is a civic duty…which requires a little more effort than simply watching TV. We make incredibly important decisions at the voting booth…our decisions chart a course which will have a profound impact on our own lives and the lives of millions for years to come. We ought to stop acting as if voting requires the same level of care that buying a new car does…our elections may very well be, the most important decisions we make...and we can't even bother to know what we are voting about.
In 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006, a fraction of the American people went to polling places to participate in a sacred duty. Many of us arrived at voting locations without having done any real research on the various people and/or issues that we would be voting on. We make decisions which in reality have the power of life and death. In Iraq, several thousand Americans have died and nearly one hundred thousand Iraqi civilians have been confirmed dead…that happened because of decisions we made over the last few years.
I say it’s time to wake up America…grow up America…take voting seriously and at least have a clue of what you are voting about and who you are giving power to.
If this article offends I offer a very small apology and I suggest that you read a self improving book.
Thank you!
Alright, so for two years GW Bush has had a disapproval rating of sixty percent or higher. What went wrong? He is a war President…why don’t the American people love him anymore?
From my perspective, this is a good thing…sort of anyway. After all, it was the American people who allowed him to steal the 2000 election. It was the American people who questionably re-elected him in 2004. Now all of the sudden, the American people don’t like him…why not? Why the sudden rush of distrust and why is it that Congress has such low approval ratings particularly Democrats in Congress?
I don’t know what to make of it all…it disturbs me on a personal level, that the American public is so flakey and ready to follow a goof ball into the gates of hell, but then turn on that same imbecile along with the pseudo opposition party, because we don’t like the heat.
I often suffer from the niggling suspicion that most of the American Public decide about political elections based solely on information presented in political advertisements reinforced with some network television news like fox “news” and occasionally, someone might even read a few news articles from nationally circulated periodicals. What this means is that the American public makes political decisions based on lies and half truths.
To be honest, I can’t stand GW Bush…I haven’t ever been able to stand him though…I voted for his ‘opponent’ in 2000 and in 2004. I raised money to get other people elected President and I campaigned in my local sphere. The troubling thing to me is that despite GW having been a miserable, anti-democracy, crony pandering, dishonest, anti-constitutional excuse for a President, I can’t bring myself to like the Democrats much more than I like the Republicans.
I know that many of the most egregious activities that our government has committed under Republican rule would probably not have happened or at least it wouldn’t have been exposed under Democrats and we wouldn’t be in a position of either being outraged or embarrassed or both…but really are the Democrats much better?
Why hasn’t any Democratic Presidential Candidate been willing to champion fair and free elections, real Universal Health Care, investment into our educational system? The answer is because they answer to the same special interests that the Republicans do…I hate to admit it, but I am starting to think that Ralph Nader was right…I suppose that even a megalomaniacal election ruining rabid individualist can be right on the big questions…go figure.
I’m not saying that we should vote for Ralph Nader in 2008…I intend to vote for the Democratic Candidate. But I also intend to keep writing letters to my elected officials and try to have them make some political decisions which will result in a positive change for my family and other American families. I don’t know that it makes any difference…but I keep writing the letters anyway…it certainly doesn’t hurt.
While I don’t particularly admire Democratic law makers…I don’t believe our current dysfunction with regards to Governance is the fault of Congress…instead, I lay that responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the American public. Voting is a civic duty…which requires a little more effort than simply watching TV. We make incredibly important decisions at the voting booth…our decisions chart a course which will have a profound impact on our own lives and the lives of millions for years to come. We ought to stop acting as if voting requires the same level of care that buying a new car does…our elections may very well be, the most important decisions we make...and we can't even bother to know what we are voting about.
In 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006, a fraction of the American people went to polling places to participate in a sacred duty. Many of us arrived at voting locations without having done any real research on the various people and/or issues that we would be voting on. We make decisions which in reality have the power of life and death. In Iraq, several thousand Americans have died and nearly one hundred thousand Iraqi civilians have been confirmed dead…that happened because of decisions we made over the last few years.
I say it’s time to wake up America…grow up America…take voting seriously and at least have a clue of what you are voting about and who you are giving power to.
If this article offends I offer a very small apology and I suggest that you read a self improving book.
Thank you!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
A Prayer to Mend Broken Hearts
--by Mike Adams
Craig and Cindy are two of the most amiable and kind people I can remember having ever met. They are humble, they know how to listen, Craig said that he has a spiritual life but is not involved in a religion. Cindy has the warmest smile and the kindest eyes; both Cindy and Craig are approachable, easy to talk to and easy to listen to. I feel blessed to have met them both and I hope to maintain a correspondence with them well into the future.
In the spring of 2003, Craig and Cindy’s lives were suddenly, drastically and irrevocably changed when their 23 year old daughter was crushed by a piece of heavy construction equipment. She died before medical help arrived and she left behind a family in heart break. You have probably heard of her, she was an idealist who died in service of her values.
On March 16, 2003, Rachel Corrie, daughter of Cindy and Craig Corrie, a sister with two siblings, a graduate of college, a writer, a volunteer for community health and an activist for the international solidarity movement was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer in the Palestinian town of Rafah. Rachel Corrie was obstructing the path of the bulldozer as it’s driver attempted to demolish Palestinian homes.
In the weeks prior to her death, Rachel had sent emails to her friends, supporters and her parents describing what she saw. In one email she wrote, “Just want to write to my Mom and tell her that I'm witnessing this chronic, insidious genocide and I'm really scared, and questioning my fundamental belief in the goodness of human nature. This has to stop. I think it is a good idea for us all to drop everything and devote our lives to making this stop. I don't think it's an extremist thing to do anymore. I still really want to dance around to Pat Benatar and have boyfriends and make comics for my coworkers. But I also want this to stop. Disbelief and horror is what I feel. Disappointment. I am disappointed that this is the base reality of our world and that we, in fact, participate in it.”
Try if you will to imagine the heart ache that Cindy and Craig Corrie must have experienced at losing their vibrant, talented, passionate and loving daughter half way around the world without warning.
In 2003 after reading a news article about Rachel Corrie, I wrote the following in a letter to the editor, which was never published, “On March 16, 2003, Rachel Corrie age 23 gave her life in Rafah while standing nonviolently for her convictions. She was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer which was aimed at demolishing Palestinian homes. Rachel Corrie is a war hero! The US Government should commemorate Rachel Corrie she exemplified the words of John F. Kennedy: ‘War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.’”
Everyday, the tragedy and heart break that is Rachel’s story plays out somewhere in the world. Everyday, people are killed without regard. Everyday, life is treated as cheap…and quite often, those whose hearts are broken do not react with anything like the peace and compassion that Craig and Cindy Corrie did after losing their daughter.
That heart break, which is inflicted on people the world over, might be viewed as a virus, which infects humanity and keeps perpetuating it’s self at our expense, causing some to react with love and compassion and justice, but often they react, instead, with vengeance and with violence thereby infecting others.
Whether one agrees with the political motivation of Rachel Corrie or not, we must all admit that she perceived injustice, that Rachel Corrie saw actions being perpetrated on a group of people, which caused her heart to break. Rachel was compelled to take a stand, compelled to action in an effort to ease pain and to create beauty from violence. Rachel wanted to make the world a more loving and a more livable place for all people.
Since Rachel’s death, her parents have carried on her work…they have not only worked tirelessly for a governmental investigation into the events of March 16, 2003; But they have also worked for peace between Isreal and Palestine, they have met families who Rachel lived with in Rafa, have spoken with Israeli peace activists.
Craig and Cindy endured the loss of a daughter, the loss of a part of their future…they have suffered heart break and have let their wounds motivate them towards peace and love and justice.
Upon learning of the events of March 16, 2003, my heart broke…our hearts broke…OUR HEART BROKE! We lost a courageous warrior for peace. But that’s not all…on September 11, 2001 our heart broke. Rwanda broke our heart, Bosnia broke our heart and Darfur breaks our heart every day.
Why haven’t we learned from the Holocaust? Why haven’t we learned from the genocide of Native Americans on this continent, from Slavery, from South American Death Squads, from Nagasaki…an so forth? Will humanity ever stop treating each other with such gross disregard? Will we ever stop infecting each other with hatred?
Sadly, a quick look at history and current events indicates that we will never stop…We are doomed to repeat the horror over and over again. Living in our society virtually requires that an individual participate in unspeakable cruelty. The clothes we wear are usually produced in sweatshops by people who are economically enslaved, our transportation and life styles are subsidized at the cost of our environment and our children’s future, our taxes provide military support to dictators around the world, the list goes on.
As a Unitarian Universalist, how can I possibly hold in one hand the knowledge of human cruelty while holding in the other hand a belief in the inherent worth and dignity of all people? Can’t we exclude from that list certain people like Slobodan Milosevic, like Joseph Stalin, like Adolph Hitler?
Are we as Unitarian Universalists being silly and naive in believing that it is possible to create a world of justice? Is there actually room for our values in real life? If I am honest, my answer to those questions is only, “I don’t know!” I don’t know if another world is actually possible…I don’t know if people can actually live in peace. My heart has been broken so many times and I don’t know if I can take it even one more time.
My problem is that I am unable to stop believing in the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice and compassion towards all; acceptance of each other and encouragement of spiritual growth; a free and responsible search for truth; democratic governance; The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; And respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. I can’t turn off my faith, my hope for the realization of those values…and neither can you! As Unitarian Universalists, most of us are stuck believing in our seven principles, they inspire us, they give us hope and they fan the flames in our hearts.
Our challenge is to see if we can find the courage and strength to grow our broken heart even bigger, to fill our broken heart with even more compassion to give our broken heart to the world as a gift of love and service. Perhaps…there is the faintest chance that if we can unite in this effort and give more than we have in us…our love can crash upon the world as a great wave…washing away hatred and leaving compassion for all of humanity. Perhaps the world can mend our broken hearts and fill us with joy. Perhaps we can change the world if only we are childish enough to believe it possible and adult enough to do the necessary growth to be ready for that work. Perhaps all we have to do is listen to others as we have never listened before, welcome strangers not only into our congregations, but into our lives and into our hearts. Perhaps all we have to do is have our hearts broken again, but next time, lets cry together, lets hold each other, lets care, lets give the gifts of compassion, support and love. Lets go into the world ready for pain, ready to confront hatred with understanding and love, ready to confront suffering with compassion and ready to confront accusations with listening.
Craig and Cindy are two of the most amiable and kind people I can remember having ever met. They are humble, they know how to listen, Craig said that he has a spiritual life but is not involved in a religion. Cindy has the warmest smile and the kindest eyes; both Cindy and Craig are approachable, easy to talk to and easy to listen to. I feel blessed to have met them both and I hope to maintain a correspondence with them well into the future.
In the spring of 2003, Craig and Cindy’s lives were suddenly, drastically and irrevocably changed when their 23 year old daughter was crushed by a piece of heavy construction equipment. She died before medical help arrived and she left behind a family in heart break. You have probably heard of her, she was an idealist who died in service of her values.
On March 16, 2003, Rachel Corrie, daughter of Cindy and Craig Corrie, a sister with two siblings, a graduate of college, a writer, a volunteer for community health and an activist for the international solidarity movement was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer in the Palestinian town of Rafah. Rachel Corrie was obstructing the path of the bulldozer as it’s driver attempted to demolish Palestinian homes.
In the weeks prior to her death, Rachel had sent emails to her friends, supporters and her parents describing what she saw. In one email she wrote, “Just want to write to my Mom and tell her that I'm witnessing this chronic, insidious genocide and I'm really scared, and questioning my fundamental belief in the goodness of human nature. This has to stop. I think it is a good idea for us all to drop everything and devote our lives to making this stop. I don't think it's an extremist thing to do anymore. I still really want to dance around to Pat Benatar and have boyfriends and make comics for my coworkers. But I also want this to stop. Disbelief and horror is what I feel. Disappointment. I am disappointed that this is the base reality of our world and that we, in fact, participate in it.”
Try if you will to imagine the heart ache that Cindy and Craig Corrie must have experienced at losing their vibrant, talented, passionate and loving daughter half way around the world without warning.
In 2003 after reading a news article about Rachel Corrie, I wrote the following in a letter to the editor, which was never published, “On March 16, 2003, Rachel Corrie age 23 gave her life in Rafah while standing nonviolently for her convictions. She was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer which was aimed at demolishing Palestinian homes. Rachel Corrie is a war hero! The US Government should commemorate Rachel Corrie she exemplified the words of John F. Kennedy: ‘War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.’”
Everyday, the tragedy and heart break that is Rachel’s story plays out somewhere in the world. Everyday, people are killed without regard. Everyday, life is treated as cheap…and quite often, those whose hearts are broken do not react with anything like the peace and compassion that Craig and Cindy Corrie did after losing their daughter.
That heart break, which is inflicted on people the world over, might be viewed as a virus, which infects humanity and keeps perpetuating it’s self at our expense, causing some to react with love and compassion and justice, but often they react, instead, with vengeance and with violence thereby infecting others.
Whether one agrees with the political motivation of Rachel Corrie or not, we must all admit that she perceived injustice, that Rachel Corrie saw actions being perpetrated on a group of people, which caused her heart to break. Rachel was compelled to take a stand, compelled to action in an effort to ease pain and to create beauty from violence. Rachel wanted to make the world a more loving and a more livable place for all people.
Since Rachel’s death, her parents have carried on her work…they have not only worked tirelessly for a governmental investigation into the events of March 16, 2003; But they have also worked for peace between Isreal and Palestine, they have met families who Rachel lived with in Rafa, have spoken with Israeli peace activists.
Craig and Cindy endured the loss of a daughter, the loss of a part of their future…they have suffered heart break and have let their wounds motivate them towards peace and love and justice.
Upon learning of the events of March 16, 2003, my heart broke…our hearts broke…OUR HEART BROKE! We lost a courageous warrior for peace. But that’s not all…on September 11, 2001 our heart broke. Rwanda broke our heart, Bosnia broke our heart and Darfur breaks our heart every day.
Why haven’t we learned from the Holocaust? Why haven’t we learned from the genocide of Native Americans on this continent, from Slavery, from South American Death Squads, from Nagasaki…an so forth? Will humanity ever stop treating each other with such gross disregard? Will we ever stop infecting each other with hatred?
Sadly, a quick look at history and current events indicates that we will never stop…We are doomed to repeat the horror over and over again. Living in our society virtually requires that an individual participate in unspeakable cruelty. The clothes we wear are usually produced in sweatshops by people who are economically enslaved, our transportation and life styles are subsidized at the cost of our environment and our children’s future, our taxes provide military support to dictators around the world, the list goes on.
As a Unitarian Universalist, how can I possibly hold in one hand the knowledge of human cruelty while holding in the other hand a belief in the inherent worth and dignity of all people? Can’t we exclude from that list certain people like Slobodan Milosevic, like Joseph Stalin, like Adolph Hitler?
Are we as Unitarian Universalists being silly and naive in believing that it is possible to create a world of justice? Is there actually room for our values in real life? If I am honest, my answer to those questions is only, “I don’t know!” I don’t know if another world is actually possible…I don’t know if people can actually live in peace. My heart has been broken so many times and I don’t know if I can take it even one more time.
My problem is that I am unable to stop believing in the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice and compassion towards all; acceptance of each other and encouragement of spiritual growth; a free and responsible search for truth; democratic governance; The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; And respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. I can’t turn off my faith, my hope for the realization of those values…and neither can you! As Unitarian Universalists, most of us are stuck believing in our seven principles, they inspire us, they give us hope and they fan the flames in our hearts.
Our challenge is to see if we can find the courage and strength to grow our broken heart even bigger, to fill our broken heart with even more compassion to give our broken heart to the world as a gift of love and service. Perhaps…there is the faintest chance that if we can unite in this effort and give more than we have in us…our love can crash upon the world as a great wave…washing away hatred and leaving compassion for all of humanity. Perhaps the world can mend our broken hearts and fill us with joy. Perhaps we can change the world if only we are childish enough to believe it possible and adult enough to do the necessary growth to be ready for that work. Perhaps all we have to do is listen to others as we have never listened before, welcome strangers not only into our congregations, but into our lives and into our hearts. Perhaps all we have to do is have our hearts broken again, but next time, lets cry together, lets hold each other, lets care, lets give the gifts of compassion, support and love. Lets go into the world ready for pain, ready to confront hatred with understanding and love, ready to confront suffering with compassion and ready to confront accusations with listening.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Is Unitarian Universalism Relevant? - by Mike Adams with Tara Adams
--by Mike Adams
Fear, Anger, Hopelessness...we succumb to the pull of this maelstrom with slumped heads, broken hearts and forgotten dreams. Our resources seemingly drained, we feebly accept our impotence and hide in episodes of American Idol. Like small children afraid of the night, we cower, having forgotten our power, having misplaced our souls, having turned our backs on creativity.
In a single moment we are stirred by a word, a song or a memory, which reminds us that we chose this…we created our predicament. With resolute passion we burst into life looking for those who will join us calling for those who will love us and hoping that together, we will change all we see.
Originally, I wrote this sermon in February…it was inspired by my outrage over conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Since that time, things have changed…we’ve already forgotten the Alberto Gonzales scandal, there are ever increasing deaths in Iraq, Democrats surrendered to GW signing a blank check for the supplemental war funding bill and Cindy Sheehan has dropped out of public life. I am left feeling morally impotent and embarrassed of my country, my government and my community.
I feel helpless in today’s world of globalized economics. Ours is a strange new world where any country’s autonomy, her laws, her government, her democratic processes, her very citizens can be forced to buy and sell genetically altered foods, without the right even to label those products. I feel stunned that despite an overwhelming Democratic revolt in our last election, our Democracy’s machinery can’t check the war ambitions of its executive branch. I’m revolted that around the world, basic, vital resources like water are being co-opted by corporations and controlled for profit, despite the thousands who are dying from lack of clean water. In this climate, I feel that I can make no difference. There seems to be no group I can join which is powerful or organized enough to influence our course. There seems to be no petition that I could sign or letter I could write that finds its home in the hands of those powerful or brave enough to act decisively. News of political headway made by those who share my values is like the quiet plink of a tiny pebble landing in a deep and murky well. I feel violated, on a personal, psychic and empathetic level by the acts of callousness and aggression committed by my own society against its members. I have developed something like an ethical Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It seems there is no scream, no genuine outburst of anguish or cry of “Stop!” which is loud enough to be heard. There is no where to flee, no way to make a stand and I am left in a state of paralyzed apprehension…waiting for the next act of violation. Sometimes, I long to have no conscience and no empathy…that I might escape the emotional anguish brought on by these conditions.
I grew up as a patriot of this country. I marveled that we would struggle to live by principles expressed in our Declaration of Independence. I studied our constitution, memorizing her preamble and loving the ideals which we had made law. I knew our sins could be converted to wisdom and strength as I memorized Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. I felt pride about our sacrifices to subdue the Nazis and then rebuild a tattered world. I was inspired by the courage of those who struggled and prevailed against bitter racism only a generation before mine.
As a young adult starting college, I knew we faced a long road of work, spiritual growth and great struggle. Nonetheless, I brimmed with pride and awe when confronted with the progress made in generations before mine. I lived in a world of ideas ruled by notions of equality, democracy, compassion and justice. These sentiments swelled my pride and I was grateful to be part owner of a country, which strove constantly toward those ideals.
Today I stand before you nearly two decades older, a little bit wiser and much more cynical. I struggle with the fear that I am destined for unremitting apathy. I am repulsed by the fleeting yet incessant notion that I am a broken man, who must ignore the world, and take solace in assuring my children that I love them and would leave them a better world if I could. I have recently plodded through a depression, the likes of which I had thought impossible after giving up Alcohol in 1995 in favor of a practical spiritual path. Ironically, during one of my periods of outrage, I found an inspiration, which I now think worthy of sharing with you.
While doing internet research on my wife’s grandmother, noted UU Muriel A. Davies, I discovered a sermon she wrote in 1998 for the 90th Anniversary of the Summit, New Jersey Congregation.
Davies wrote: “I think we Unitarian Universalists have a great opportunity today, if we cease putting obstacles in our path -- obstacles of vocabulary, of narrow identification. In a conversation with a friend who had attended the most recent General Assembly, I was saddened to hear that there is still apparently controversy between humanists and theists and anxiety about splinter groups such as Unitarian Pagans. These conflicts can even split congregations.
We have a message which supersedes these differences. I submit that our message, as stated in our seven principles, is one to which we can all subscribe, whatever our religious preferences in expression are. Surely, whether one chooses to use the word God or adheres to a humanist or scientific approach, we can unite in covenanting to affirm and promote the inherent worth of every person; justice and compassion for all; acceptance of one another; the search for truth and meaning; the right of conscience; the goal of world community, and respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
In a culture which is becoming increasingly global, there is need for a religion which is relevant to an expanding world. If we can focus on our basic message, I believe we can make a significant contribution to this new world. Our religion looks to the future. In a world of intolerance, where religious, ethnic and cultural differences are tearing people apart, we offer a religion which is inclusive, from which no one is excluded except, as William Ellery Channing once said, "by the death of goodness in his or her own soul." In a world of rigid sectarianism, we offer a religion which finds wisdom and insight from many sources, past and present, thus linking us to the whole human experience. We affirm our belief in world community with peace and justice and liberty for all.”
We are all experiencing a difficult and divisive period. We can’t agree on how to proceed. Splinter groups are attempting to force the whole in one direction or another. I assert that we are making ourselves irrelevant. Davies sermon describes a historical UU turning point; decisions were made resulting in explosive growth for Unitarianism. The first half of last century saw many lawmakers and people of import listening to Unitarian ministers. Our influence was important and our values made a real difference in the world.
Today, many people even in our congregations don’t know what it means to be Unitarian Universalist. Unitarianism has a marginal influence in our laws. Our values, while worthy are easily found in other groups that one might join. It’s not difficult to imagine gaining more spiritual fulfillment and a deeper experience of fellowship from volunteering to help Habitat for Humanity.
If we want a place at tomorrow’s table, if we want our values to help guide society, if we as a congregation, want to make a positive difference in the world, we must set aside our internal grievances and allow ourselves to serve a greater cause. We must allow ourselves to grow individually and collectively. We must practice personal reflection, accurate self appraisal and practical self criticism. We must not shrink from searching out our own flaws. If we are honest, we can easily identify our own racism, stubbornness, arrogance, and deceit. Where have we undermined others who deserved our support? When did we spread divisive gossip either for our own amusement or to bolster our own egos? Can we really admit when we are wrong? What cost is there in believing ourselves to be always or at least usually right? Consider the words of philosopher Edward de Bono, “The need to be right all the time is the biggest bar to new ideas.” These questions can provide fertile ground for each of us to start looking at our own faults.
Only if we are willing to fearlessly examine ourselves and grow beyond our current limitations, will we become a denomination and possibly a great movement of influence and moral excellence. We can effectively champion our seven principles in the world. We can extend our hands to those who suffer and “ease the world’s pain.” We can collectively be “moved by compassion to service and to justice.” We have the people, we have the organization and right now…in today’s world…more than ever…we have the opportunity.
To be relevant, Unitarian Universalism must stand for something that people want, understand and embrace. Our intellect and heady conversations mean nothing if we as an organization allow society to ignore 8.4 million children who have no health coverage. Our seven principles are ignored and forgotten if we don’t stand up for Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. We must demand they receive care. And We must demand they receive compassion.
It is natural to hear entreaties to reflect on one’s shortcomings as being directed toward, the person sitting next to us or several rows away. Make no mistake, I am talking to you…I am addressing each and every member of this congregation. I challenge any UU anywhere. I assert that we have allowed these transgressions. We have fallen asleep and we have slipped into ambivalence. We have focused on ourselves and our comfort at the expense of others. Is there anyone here who really couldn’t have done more to influence the last two elections? Is there anyone present who really couldn’t do more today in service of our seven principles?
Like many of you, I have complained that our leaders and our ministry haven’t suggested a solid and unifying course of action which will make a difference…Today, I assert that such complaints are shallow and cheap! We design those complaints in order to avoid personal responsibility.
In fact, we Unitarians are the wealthiest, most educated and perhaps the brightest which our society has. Why aren’t we generating plans? Why do we act like it’s “not my job.” Each of us can meditate on our values, and honestly criticize ourselves in light of those values. Any of us could generate plans and produce action. We are responsible for tomorrow’s world. We create our future.
Our Seven principles are the result of centuries of human effort. We have stripped away unreasoning superstitions, we have rejected dogmatisms and we have created a foundation where humanity might embrace the interconnected web of life. Through knowledge and spirit, we are linked to our past and to our future; we author the fulfillment of our dreams…or we author our complete failure. We hold the reins and we must decide. Don’t let this moment slip, each person must chose whether they will stand together and take action to create this dream or whether they will let petty resentment and disagreement impede collective progress towards a humanity which proclaims that “all life is our concern and love is our way.” In the words of Congregationalist minister Reverend Dale E. Turner, “In all the work we do, our most valuable asset can be the attitude of self-examination. It is forgivable to make mistakes, but to stand fast behind a wall of self-righteousness and make the same mistake twice is not forgivable.”
Thank you, Amen, Blessed Be
Fear, Anger, Hopelessness...we succumb to the pull of this maelstrom with slumped heads, broken hearts and forgotten dreams. Our resources seemingly drained, we feebly accept our impotence and hide in episodes of American Idol. Like small children afraid of the night, we cower, having forgotten our power, having misplaced our souls, having turned our backs on creativity.
In a single moment we are stirred by a word, a song or a memory, which reminds us that we chose this…we created our predicament. With resolute passion we burst into life looking for those who will join us calling for those who will love us and hoping that together, we will change all we see.
Originally, I wrote this sermon in February…it was inspired by my outrage over conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Since that time, things have changed…we’ve already forgotten the Alberto Gonzales scandal, there are ever increasing deaths in Iraq, Democrats surrendered to GW signing a blank check for the supplemental war funding bill and Cindy Sheehan has dropped out of public life. I am left feeling morally impotent and embarrassed of my country, my government and my community.
I feel helpless in today’s world of globalized economics. Ours is a strange new world where any country’s autonomy, her laws, her government, her democratic processes, her very citizens can be forced to buy and sell genetically altered foods, without the right even to label those products. I feel stunned that despite an overwhelming Democratic revolt in our last election, our Democracy’s machinery can’t check the war ambitions of its executive branch. I’m revolted that around the world, basic, vital resources like water are being co-opted by corporations and controlled for profit, despite the thousands who are dying from lack of clean water. In this climate, I feel that I can make no difference. There seems to be no group I can join which is powerful or organized enough to influence our course. There seems to be no petition that I could sign or letter I could write that finds its home in the hands of those powerful or brave enough to act decisively. News of political headway made by those who share my values is like the quiet plink of a tiny pebble landing in a deep and murky well. I feel violated, on a personal, psychic and empathetic level by the acts of callousness and aggression committed by my own society against its members. I have developed something like an ethical Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It seems there is no scream, no genuine outburst of anguish or cry of “Stop!” which is loud enough to be heard. There is no where to flee, no way to make a stand and I am left in a state of paralyzed apprehension…waiting for the next act of violation. Sometimes, I long to have no conscience and no empathy…that I might escape the emotional anguish brought on by these conditions.
I grew up as a patriot of this country. I marveled that we would struggle to live by principles expressed in our Declaration of Independence. I studied our constitution, memorizing her preamble and loving the ideals which we had made law. I knew our sins could be converted to wisdom and strength as I memorized Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. I felt pride about our sacrifices to subdue the Nazis and then rebuild a tattered world. I was inspired by the courage of those who struggled and prevailed against bitter racism only a generation before mine.
As a young adult starting college, I knew we faced a long road of work, spiritual growth and great struggle. Nonetheless, I brimmed with pride and awe when confronted with the progress made in generations before mine. I lived in a world of ideas ruled by notions of equality, democracy, compassion and justice. These sentiments swelled my pride and I was grateful to be part owner of a country, which strove constantly toward those ideals.
Today I stand before you nearly two decades older, a little bit wiser and much more cynical. I struggle with the fear that I am destined for unremitting apathy. I am repulsed by the fleeting yet incessant notion that I am a broken man, who must ignore the world, and take solace in assuring my children that I love them and would leave them a better world if I could. I have recently plodded through a depression, the likes of which I had thought impossible after giving up Alcohol in 1995 in favor of a practical spiritual path. Ironically, during one of my periods of outrage, I found an inspiration, which I now think worthy of sharing with you.
While doing internet research on my wife’s grandmother, noted UU Muriel A. Davies, I discovered a sermon she wrote in 1998 for the 90th Anniversary of the Summit, New Jersey Congregation.
Davies wrote: “I think we Unitarian Universalists have a great opportunity today, if we cease putting obstacles in our path -- obstacles of vocabulary, of narrow identification. In a conversation with a friend who had attended the most recent General Assembly, I was saddened to hear that there is still apparently controversy between humanists and theists and anxiety about splinter groups such as Unitarian Pagans. These conflicts can even split congregations.
We have a message which supersedes these differences. I submit that our message, as stated in our seven principles, is one to which we can all subscribe, whatever our religious preferences in expression are. Surely, whether one chooses to use the word God or adheres to a humanist or scientific approach, we can unite in covenanting to affirm and promote the inherent worth of every person; justice and compassion for all; acceptance of one another; the search for truth and meaning; the right of conscience; the goal of world community, and respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
In a culture which is becoming increasingly global, there is need for a religion which is relevant to an expanding world. If we can focus on our basic message, I believe we can make a significant contribution to this new world. Our religion looks to the future. In a world of intolerance, where religious, ethnic and cultural differences are tearing people apart, we offer a religion which is inclusive, from which no one is excluded except, as William Ellery Channing once said, "by the death of goodness in his or her own soul." In a world of rigid sectarianism, we offer a religion which finds wisdom and insight from many sources, past and present, thus linking us to the whole human experience. We affirm our belief in world community with peace and justice and liberty for all.”
We are all experiencing a difficult and divisive period. We can’t agree on how to proceed. Splinter groups are attempting to force the whole in one direction or another. I assert that we are making ourselves irrelevant. Davies sermon describes a historical UU turning point; decisions were made resulting in explosive growth for Unitarianism. The first half of last century saw many lawmakers and people of import listening to Unitarian ministers. Our influence was important and our values made a real difference in the world.
Today, many people even in our congregations don’t know what it means to be Unitarian Universalist. Unitarianism has a marginal influence in our laws. Our values, while worthy are easily found in other groups that one might join. It’s not difficult to imagine gaining more spiritual fulfillment and a deeper experience of fellowship from volunteering to help Habitat for Humanity.
If we want a place at tomorrow’s table, if we want our values to help guide society, if we as a congregation, want to make a positive difference in the world, we must set aside our internal grievances and allow ourselves to serve a greater cause. We must allow ourselves to grow individually and collectively. We must practice personal reflection, accurate self appraisal and practical self criticism. We must not shrink from searching out our own flaws. If we are honest, we can easily identify our own racism, stubbornness, arrogance, and deceit. Where have we undermined others who deserved our support? When did we spread divisive gossip either for our own amusement or to bolster our own egos? Can we really admit when we are wrong? What cost is there in believing ourselves to be always or at least usually right? Consider the words of philosopher Edward de Bono, “The need to be right all the time is the biggest bar to new ideas.” These questions can provide fertile ground for each of us to start looking at our own faults.
Only if we are willing to fearlessly examine ourselves and grow beyond our current limitations, will we become a denomination and possibly a great movement of influence and moral excellence. We can effectively champion our seven principles in the world. We can extend our hands to those who suffer and “ease the world’s pain.” We can collectively be “moved by compassion to service and to justice.” We have the people, we have the organization and right now…in today’s world…more than ever…we have the opportunity.
To be relevant, Unitarian Universalism must stand for something that people want, understand and embrace. Our intellect and heady conversations mean nothing if we as an organization allow society to ignore 8.4 million children who have no health coverage. Our seven principles are ignored and forgotten if we don’t stand up for Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. We must demand they receive care. And We must demand they receive compassion.
It is natural to hear entreaties to reflect on one’s shortcomings as being directed toward, the person sitting next to us or several rows away. Make no mistake, I am talking to you…I am addressing each and every member of this congregation. I challenge any UU anywhere. I assert that we have allowed these transgressions. We have fallen asleep and we have slipped into ambivalence. We have focused on ourselves and our comfort at the expense of others. Is there anyone here who really couldn’t have done more to influence the last two elections? Is there anyone present who really couldn’t do more today in service of our seven principles?
Like many of you, I have complained that our leaders and our ministry haven’t suggested a solid and unifying course of action which will make a difference…Today, I assert that such complaints are shallow and cheap! We design those complaints in order to avoid personal responsibility.
In fact, we Unitarians are the wealthiest, most educated and perhaps the brightest which our society has. Why aren’t we generating plans? Why do we act like it’s “not my job.” Each of us can meditate on our values, and honestly criticize ourselves in light of those values. Any of us could generate plans and produce action. We are responsible for tomorrow’s world. We create our future.
Our Seven principles are the result of centuries of human effort. We have stripped away unreasoning superstitions, we have rejected dogmatisms and we have created a foundation where humanity might embrace the interconnected web of life. Through knowledge and spirit, we are linked to our past and to our future; we author the fulfillment of our dreams…or we author our complete failure. We hold the reins and we must decide. Don’t let this moment slip, each person must chose whether they will stand together and take action to create this dream or whether they will let petty resentment and disagreement impede collective progress towards a humanity which proclaims that “all life is our concern and love is our way.” In the words of Congregationalist minister Reverend Dale E. Turner, “In all the work we do, our most valuable asset can be the attitude of self-examination. It is forgivable to make mistakes, but to stand fast behind a wall of self-righteousness and make the same mistake twice is not forgivable.”
Thank you, Amen, Blessed Be
Sunday, March 23, 2003
Future for America - by Mike Adams
--by Mike Adams
As I listened to news reports of US bombs dropping on Baghdad, I reacted with sadness and revulsion. I thought that I and the rest of the peace movement had failed in our attempt to bring sanity to a situation brimming over with madness. I was horrified at the President’s decision to turn his back on the UN and to turn his back on the Iraqi civilians who will be slaughtered as the result of this unilateral war. Then I received an email with portions of a speech given by Dr. Robert Muller, former assistant secretary general of the United Nations.
Dr. Muller said: "Never before in the history of the world has there been a global, visible, public, viable, open dialogue and conversation about the very legitimacy of war". Indeed, the more I consider Muller’s words, the more I realize that despite the puerile behavior of my Government, the world community is waging peace. The beginning of the 21st century is indeed seeing the birth of a new collective consciousness in humanity.
In May, 2002, I woke up and ended a decade long indulgence in resignation, apathy and willful ignorance. I had been waiting for a great leader to follow. I wanted to be the ‘right hand man’ for the next Martin Luther King Jr. I realized that while waiting, I was doing nothing. I was hoping to some day fulfill on my dreams. I was hoping to someday act on my vision. I was dying…the wait was killing me.
I decided that humanity does not simply need another Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela or Mother Theresa. They are inspirational, great and finite. We need something more than the finite. I believe humanity needs a whole generation of people willing to independently stand for their principles. We need people to be their own leaders to put their freedom perhaps their very life on the line in support of personal convictions.
On March 16, 2003, Rachel Corrie age 23 gave her life in Rafah while standing nonviolently for her convictions. She was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer which was aimed at demolishing Palestinian homes. Rachel Corrie is a war hero! The US Government should commemorate Rachel Corrie she exemplified the words of John F. Kennedy: “War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.”
If we really want World Peace, we will stop applying the same demeaning terminology to Mr. Bush as he applies to Saddam. Although it feels good, it is immature and ineffective. We in the Peace movement must mature. We will call on our leaders to look forward into a future where we are bigger and more generous than we ever thought possible.
As Washington lawmakers plod along trying to outmaneuver each other, we the people might encourage them to stand for principles. We might say that the best way to support our troops is to get them out of harm’s way without ever fighting a battle. How might two hundred billion dollars affect our education system if we don’t spend that money on space weapons? How might two hundred billion dollars affect health care for veterans who are experiencing cuts in VA funding? Could we spend two hundred billion dollars and build a future for everyone on this planet. Our veterans need compassion. They suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Gulf War Syndrome, radiation sickness, cancer and many other ailments.
Contact your Senator and congressional representative. Encourage them to increase funding for Veteran care and to bring our troops home.
It is time to support our troops. It is time to give them care. It is time to keep them safe. It is time to bring them home NOW.
As I listened to news reports of US bombs dropping on Baghdad, I reacted with sadness and revulsion. I thought that I and the rest of the peace movement had failed in our attempt to bring sanity to a situation brimming over with madness. I was horrified at the President’s decision to turn his back on the UN and to turn his back on the Iraqi civilians who will be slaughtered as the result of this unilateral war. Then I received an email with portions of a speech given by Dr. Robert Muller, former assistant secretary general of the United Nations.
Dr. Muller said: "Never before in the history of the world has there been a global, visible, public, viable, open dialogue and conversation about the very legitimacy of war". Indeed, the more I consider Muller’s words, the more I realize that despite the puerile behavior of my Government, the world community is waging peace. The beginning of the 21st century is indeed seeing the birth of a new collective consciousness in humanity.
In May, 2002, I woke up and ended a decade long indulgence in resignation, apathy and willful ignorance. I had been waiting for a great leader to follow. I wanted to be the ‘right hand man’ for the next Martin Luther King Jr. I realized that while waiting, I was doing nothing. I was hoping to some day fulfill on my dreams. I was hoping to someday act on my vision. I was dying…the wait was killing me.
I decided that humanity does not simply need another Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela or Mother Theresa. They are inspirational, great and finite. We need something more than the finite. I believe humanity needs a whole generation of people willing to independently stand for their principles. We need people to be their own leaders to put their freedom perhaps their very life on the line in support of personal convictions.
On March 16, 2003, Rachel Corrie age 23 gave her life in Rafah while standing nonviolently for her convictions. She was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer which was aimed at demolishing Palestinian homes. Rachel Corrie is a war hero! The US Government should commemorate Rachel Corrie she exemplified the words of John F. Kennedy: “War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.”
If we really want World Peace, we will stop applying the same demeaning terminology to Mr. Bush as he applies to Saddam. Although it feels good, it is immature and ineffective. We in the Peace movement must mature. We will call on our leaders to look forward into a future where we are bigger and more generous than we ever thought possible.
As Washington lawmakers plod along trying to outmaneuver each other, we the people might encourage them to stand for principles. We might say that the best way to support our troops is to get them out of harm’s way without ever fighting a battle. How might two hundred billion dollars affect our education system if we don’t spend that money on space weapons? How might two hundred billion dollars affect health care for veterans who are experiencing cuts in VA funding? Could we spend two hundred billion dollars and build a future for everyone on this planet. Our veterans need compassion. They suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Gulf War Syndrome, radiation sickness, cancer and many other ailments.
Contact your Senator and congressional representative. Encourage them to increase funding for Veteran care and to bring our troops home.
It is time to support our troops. It is time to give them care. It is time to keep them safe. It is time to bring them home NOW.
Sunday, December 15, 2002
It is Imperative to Oppose Bush Agenda
--by Mike Adams
I believe that true patriotism necessitates a willingness to look at what is ugly about our country coupled with a willingness to work and perhaps make sacrifices in an effort to affect positive change.
Never before have I seen the media be as kind to a President as now. With control of the Senate changing in January, I’m afraid for the future of this country. I don’t believe that the press will provide accurate coverage. I don’t believe that we can rely on today’s media to keep our Government in check. In fact, I’m certain that those few lawmakers who actively and effectively work against President Bush’s agenda will receive bad press and will suffer scathing attacks from editorials and from their colleagues.
We must support those lawmakers who work against the Bush agenda. We must support the use of filibusters and other legal delaying tactics if necessary.
Certainly, the new congress will attempt legislation allowing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. There will be attempts at more tax cuts for wealthy citizens and corporations. Costs of war in the Middle East will fall on people of middle to low income. The Patriot Act and Homeland security will be used to further erode of civil liberties.
We may be entering one of the most difficult and dangerous times that this country has witnessed since the civil war. People have voted with fear and have given their rights and power to a few conservative thinkers in Washington who would lead us into a war without end and who would lead us to ecological disaster. Mr. Bush has given convicted criminals positions of responsibility and leadership in his administration. Mr. Bush will now make appointments for lifetime judgeships.
Bush’s ability to appoint responsible judges is questionable considering his Attorney General, John Ashcroft who has opposed black judicial nominees under questionable circumstances, praised a magazine that views "Negroes," Latinos, "Orientals," and Eastern Europeans as being ethnically incapable of supporting democracy, accepted an honorary degree last year from Bob Jones University, a school that banned whites from dating blacks, and suggested that gays and lesbians be fired from civilian jobs simply because of who they are.
Please write to your elected representatives and urge them to do any and everything in their legal power to prevent advancement of Bush's agenda during the next two years. Stop him from appointing Judges who will roll back civil liberties. Stop him from allowing drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Stop him from waging an endless war. Stop him from passing out tax cuts to corporations and wealthy Americans leaving the rest of us with the bill for his expensive legislation. What I ask might cause political difficulty with the press and with law makers. Ensure your elected officials that you will support them if they stand against the Conservative agenda. Promise to support those law makers who courageously stand for American Principles especially in the most difficult times ahead.
Thank you, Mike Adams
I believe that true patriotism necessitates a willingness to look at what is ugly about our country coupled with a willingness to work and perhaps make sacrifices in an effort to affect positive change.
Never before have I seen the media be as kind to a President as now. With control of the Senate changing in January, I’m afraid for the future of this country. I don’t believe that the press will provide accurate coverage. I don’t believe that we can rely on today’s media to keep our Government in check. In fact, I’m certain that those few lawmakers who actively and effectively work against President Bush’s agenda will receive bad press and will suffer scathing attacks from editorials and from their colleagues.
We must support those lawmakers who work against the Bush agenda. We must support the use of filibusters and other legal delaying tactics if necessary.
Certainly, the new congress will attempt legislation allowing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. There will be attempts at more tax cuts for wealthy citizens and corporations. Costs of war in the Middle East will fall on people of middle to low income. The Patriot Act and Homeland security will be used to further erode of civil liberties.
We may be entering one of the most difficult and dangerous times that this country has witnessed since the civil war. People have voted with fear and have given their rights and power to a few conservative thinkers in Washington who would lead us into a war without end and who would lead us to ecological disaster. Mr. Bush has given convicted criminals positions of responsibility and leadership in his administration. Mr. Bush will now make appointments for lifetime judgeships.
Bush’s ability to appoint responsible judges is questionable considering his Attorney General, John Ashcroft who has opposed black judicial nominees under questionable circumstances, praised a magazine that views "Negroes," Latinos, "Orientals," and Eastern Europeans as being ethnically incapable of supporting democracy, accepted an honorary degree last year from Bob Jones University, a school that banned whites from dating blacks, and suggested that gays and lesbians be fired from civilian jobs simply because of who they are.
Please write to your elected representatives and urge them to do any and everything in their legal power to prevent advancement of Bush's agenda during the next two years. Stop him from appointing Judges who will roll back civil liberties. Stop him from allowing drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Stop him from waging an endless war. Stop him from passing out tax cuts to corporations and wealthy Americans leaving the rest of us with the bill for his expensive legislation. What I ask might cause political difficulty with the press and with law makers. Ensure your elected officials that you will support them if they stand against the Conservative agenda. Promise to support those law makers who courageously stand for American Principles especially in the most difficult times ahead.
Thank you, Mike Adams
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