[Peace-discuss] [Fwd: SojoMail 05.21.03 - Don't be afraid]

Thu May 22 13:09:14 CDT 2003

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: SojoMail 05.21.03 - Don't be afraid
From: "Sojourners" <sojo.SojoMail.m57234 at my.sojo.net>
Date: Wed, May 21, 2003 9:58 pm
To: mitten at life.uiuc.edu

    www.sojo.net05.21.2003

	Quote of the Week

	    Bruce Cockburn: Whose justice?

	Hearts & Minds

	    Jim Wallis: Don't be afraid

	By the Numbers

	    Clergy ratings at lowest point ever, but better than biz execs

	Funny Business

	    Casino-church lights up Vegas Strip

	Politically Connect

	    Norman Mailer: I am not for world empire

	Soul Works

	    John Henry revisited...

	Boomerang

	    SojoMail readers hit reply

	Culture Watch

	    The Matrix Reloaded: Jesus with shades and a beltful of guns?

	Web Scene

	    Brake the cycle of poverty tour

	     |
	    Sneaky cheap

	     |
	    Got A.I.?

	     |
	    Outrage over executive salaries

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    QUOTE OF THE WEEK
	^top

What's been done in the name of Jesus
What's been done in the name of Buddha
What's been done in the name of Islam
What's been done in the name of man
What's been done in the name of liberation
And in the name of civilization
And in the name of race
And in the name of peace!
Everybody loves to see justice done on somebody else."

           - "Justice" by Bruce Cockburn

    HEARTS & MINDS
	^top

  Don't be afraid

by Jim Wallis

My travel and speaking schedule is still pretty busy,
but fatherhood has changed all my routines. I try not to be
away for more than one or two nights running, even coming
home in the middle of the night to be there in the morning
when Luke and Jack wake up. Being away from the boys and Joy
for longer than a day or two is too much for me. And now that
my son Luke is 4 years old, we can have great phone
conversations whenever I am away, often a few each day.

Several months ago, I was speaking at a conference in Florida
and had already talked with Luke a couple of times during the
day. But when I got back to my hotel room that night, there
was a voicemail message waiting for me - from Luke. After
all, several hours had passed since we had spoken, and there
were lots of things to tell me about! His little voice always
brings a smile to my face, as he enthusiastically gives me a
blow-by-blow account of his day's activities. Luke's phone
signoff has become especially wonderful and always warms the
heart of both his mom and dad: "Daddy, I love you, I like
you, and you're incredible!" It's just the kind of
unconditional affirmation we all need but find hard to
accept. (I suspect it's close to what God wants to tell us
sometimes.) But it's probably easier to receive it from a
child. But then Luke finished his message with something he
had never said before. Completely out of the blue, my
4-year-old son said, "Daddy, don't be afraid."

I could hear his mom catch her breath in the background.
Where did a little child find those words? They hadn't been
talking about anything that could have prompted it. "Be not
afraid." These were the most frequent words of Jesus to his
disciples in the New Testament. He kept repeating this
instruction over and over, as if he knew how much his
followers needed to hear it.

Today (Wednesday, May 20), the Homeland Security Council
moved the country up to ORANGE alert again - meaning there
is a high risk of danger from threats of terrorist violence.
We've just been through a war in Iraq - a war that was argued
and justified mainly on the basis of fear. It was Trappist
monk Thomas Merton who said years ago: "The root of war is
fear." Since Sept. 11, our nation has been terrified - even
now in victory after war. There are indeed real dangers
prowling about our world. Prudence and strategic action are
called for, as is much deeper reflection on the causes of
those dangers. But fear can cause us to give up important
things, to accept other things that violate our own best
values, and even to do terrible things to other people.
Fear is now leading us into a new foreign policy based on
pre-emptive and potentially endless wars - which are not
likely to remove our fears and could likely make the dangers
we face worse.

Sept. 11 shattered the American sense of invulnerability.
But instead of accepting the vulnerability that most of the
rest of the world already lives with, and even learning from
it, we seem to want something nobody can give us - to erase
vulnerability. We want it to just go away. If the government
says wars can do that, many people will say, fine. If they
say suspending civil liberties can do that, many will say
fine. If they claim spending more and more of our tax dollars
on the military and homeland security will do it - at the
expense of everything else - many will say fine. But we
simply can't erase our vulnerability, not in this world and
not with the human condition. Being prudent and vigilant in
the face of danger is good. But when a government offers to
take away our vulnerability, it borders on idolatry.

I am becoming convinced that mere political action to
counter policies based on fear will not be enough. We must
go deeper, to the roots of the fear. Courage is not the
absence of fear, but the resistance to it. For people of
faith, it means trusting God in the face of our
vulnerabilities. We need nothing less than the healing of
the nation, beginning with our own fears. That healing will
be essential to make peacemaking possible. I'm not sure what
such healing will mean, but the prophetic words of a
4-year-old - "Daddy, don't be afraid" - keep me asking.

Read more commentary by Jim Wallis:

http://www.sojo.net/Wallis

		    Blessed are the peacemakers, for
they will be called children of God. - Matthew 5:9

To some, winning a war proves that wars work.  To others,
wars are never the answer and only reveal how easily nations
abandon reason, compassion, and faith.  But Christians all over
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    BY THE NUMBERS
	^top

  Clergy ratings at lowest point ever...but better than biz execs

Asked to rate the honesty and ethics of 21 professions, just
52 percent of Americans gave high marks to clergy, down from
64 percent the previous year. Confidence in the clergy reached
its peak at 67 percent, in 1985.

Catholics gave lower honesty ratings to their clergy than did
Protestants. Just 50 percent of Catholics gave high ratings to
their clergy, compared to 57 percent of Protestants.

Overall, clergy ranked fourth among all professions, behind
nurses (79 percent), military officers (65 percent), and
high-school teachers (64 percent). Business executives drew
just 17 percent honesty ratings, down from 25 percent last
year. At the bottom of the list: car salesmen (6 percent)
and telemarketers (5 percent).

*Source: Gallup

    FUNNY BUSINESS
	^top

  Casino-church lights up Vegas Strip

Mark Wiltern, for years an unsuccessful pastor on the edge of
town, finally sold his modest facility, bought a small space
on the famous Strip, and secured permits to become a full-
fledged casino-church. "Tithes and offerings weren't enough to
keep the church going," Wiltern says. "I had to get cash flow.
I had to make an impact."

To read the entire story, plus more satirical breaking news...

*Ministry changes name to Campus Jihad for Christ
*Maine congregation finally emerges after Y2K scare
*Human shields in Iraq switch attention to blocking Franklin
Graham

Go to:

http://www.larknews.com

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    POLITICALLY CONNECT
	^top

  Norman Mailer: I am not for world empire

A fascinating conversation with Norman Mailer about Iraq,
Israel, the perils of technology, and why he has become
a Left-Conservative. Indulge at:

http://www.amconmag.com/12_2/mailer.html

    SOUL WORKS
	^top

  John Henry revisited...

A Buddhist monk, Heng Sure from the San Francisco Bay area,
wrote a song to reflect on the work-life balance for software
engineers. Hum along...

"You can keep your T1 trunkline;
My wisdom's like an ISP,
It's a single server portal with infinite bandwith,
It's Great Compassion's own technology."

Sing the entire song at:

http://www.theworkcircuit.com/humanity

    BOOMERANG
	^top

C.G. White writes from Elizabethtown, Indiana:

I want to applaud Jim Wallis for speaking of Bush's "War on the
Poor." I grew up in Appalachia (in West Virginia) and have seen
first-hand the evil that supply-side economics wreaks. As a
Quaker minister I am opposed to all war, but there is irony to
be found in the fact that our president wanted to use decisive
force in Iraq so it would not be another Vietnam. LBJ had two
wars going on...the Vietnam War and the war on poverty...and
failed to commit the resources necessary to win either war. Now,
almost 40 years later, we want to glean lessons from the mistakes  of
the one war (Vietnam) but the threat of poverty still exists
and yet, rather than applying decisive force to the foe (poverty), war
is waged against those living in poverty.  Bush says our attack  was not
against the people who live in Iraq, but its institutions.  Yet rather
than fight the institution of poverty he wages war on
those who live in it.

-------------

JoAnne Harbert writes from Ann Arbor, Michigan:

What a great article by David Batstone on Malden Mills! Thanks for
researching and letting us all know ways we can help principled
businesspeople. I copied the article and sent it to all of my
fleece-buying camping friends.

-------------

Bernard Adeney-Risakotta writes from Yogyakarta, Indonesia:

I appreciate Batstone's articles on business ethics, including
the piece on Feuerstein's values. Good stuff. But I'm a little
confused about the advice to buy "local quality" over "cheap
imports." Are the products of cheap labor in places like Indonesia
really of lower quality than U.S.-produced textiles? Not
necessarily. Are U.S. workers more worthy of jobs than
Indonesians? No. Globalisation of the economy means that U.S.-
made products are flooding Indonesia. Both the U.S. and Europe
are dramatically increasing their share of the world's export
income, while poorer countries see their share of export earnings
shrink. Meanwhile unemployment in Indonesia is close to 50%. The
injustice of globalization and the exploitation of poor workers
won't be relieved by "buying local quality." My advice? Buy the
cheap import! You may feed a poor family for a month.

-------------

Elaine Belz writes from Detroit, Michigan:

I want to thank you for the story about Malden Mills. I wish
more corporations would adopt such an ethic. As to whether
that ethic is contributing to the Mills' current financial
difficulties, we only need to look as far as Enron to see
that corrupted ethics don't save a company either.

--------------

Sita Supomo writes from Jakarta, Indonesia:

I just bought "Saving the Corporate Soul" last night. I
haven't finished reading it thoroughly yet but I cannot
wait to send this e-mail to thank David Batstone for
writing it so beautifully. Every time I flipped the pages,
I cannot help myself smiling because they are exactly the
thing that I believed in and have talked about at home in
Indonesia to the many company executives.

I am working to make the corporate private sector realize
their social role as part of the citizen living in the
community. In the midst of scarce capable human resources
in the era of regional autonomy implementation in Indonesia,
the private sector is in Indonesia where a pool of talented,
educated, and skilled individuals can play an important role
in advancing the life in the community. I encourage companies
to go beyond the institutional boundary, as CSR should be not
only about the relation between one institution to another
but most importantly it's about the relation of the people -
or the way I termed it "the people-to-people connection."
This approach hopefully will tear down - somewhat - the power
base that corporate people always have when engaging themselves
in the community. During the many conversations I have with the
private sector executives, I always emphasize the danger of
doing the "Santa Claus" act, giving without looking at the
community's assets. This kind of act will only create a
community of beggars rather than a self-sufficient community.

---------------

Bill Dohman writes from Sacramento, California:

I think Spivey's article on Bennett was humorous and a good
poke in the ribs for Bennett. After learning that the man was
in the casinos in a disguise at early morning hours, wasting
lots of money, who needs his advice on virtues? I don't think
it's throwing stones; it is righteous indignation at more
conservative double standards and foolish and insolent behaviors.

-------------

SojoMail readers contribute more postmodern messianic films:

"Metropolis" - Glenn Stegall, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
"Armageddon" - Richard Harrison, Zimbabwe.
"O Brother, Where Art Thou?" - Ian Wrisley, Lake Norden, South Dakota.
"The Matrix"  - Andrea Kelso, Blacksburg, Virginia.
"The Spitfire Grill" and "Places in the Heart" - Marianne Taylor,
Louisville, Kentucky.
"Joe versus the Volcano" and "Platoon" and "Life of Brian" -
Randy Stevens, Dallas, Texas.

----------------------

Boomerang is an open forum for all kinds of views.
The views expressed are not necessarily those of
Sojourners. Want to make your voice heard? Send
Boomerang e-mails to the editor:

boomerang at sojo.net

    CULTURE WATCH
	^top

  The Matrix Reloaded: Jesus with shades and a beltful of guns?

by Colin McGinn

The film reinvents religion, updating the messiah myth (or
fact, depending on your views). It may also have the effect
of making religion seem cool. Neo is the handsome and
charismatic Christ-figure, diffident at first, but maturing
into his divinity, who blasts the evil ones, known as the
Agents, eventually gaining control over the events of the
Matrix - the guy performs miracles. Morpheus plays the role
of a black John the Baptist, Cypher is a weaselly Judas
Iscariot, Trinity may be God Herself (she does resurrect Neo
after a particularly vicious run-in with the Agents). This
is the New Testament story for people raised on video games,
Star Wars, and extreme fighting. Jesus Christ with cool shades
and a beltful of guns. I'm not saying this is a good way to
recast the central characters of Christianity, but it's hard
to deny its cultural impact. And there can be no doubt that
the movie benefits from the religious resonance that runs
through it. In the end, it may be said, The Matrix is just a
movie. True, but then the Bible is just a book.

Want to read more? Link to:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7-680354,00.html

    WEB SCENE
	^top

  *Brake the cycle of poverty tour

The Brake the Cycle Tour is a two-month odyssey from San
Francisco to Washington, D.C. A team of core riders is
cycling the country, stopping in dioceses and parishes to
raise awareness of poverty in the United States and engage
Catholics in the work of the Catholic Campaign for Human
Development to break the cycle of poverty in the U.S. Find
out when the riders will be coming to your community, and
give them a hot meal!

http://www.usccb.org/cchd/brakethecycle/ride/route/index.html

  *Sneaky cheap

There are lots of crafty things people do to save money.
Some are good ideas, some are lousy ideas, and some are
downright criminal. Where do you draw the line? Take your
own moral inventory:

http://www.cockeyed.com/magic/cheap/cheap.html

  *Got A.I.?

The science of robotics is growing in leaps and bounds.
And while we may still be years away from having C-3PO
complain to us daily, R2-D2 is already here. Link here
for a treasure trove of information, expertise, and
community centering around the art of robotics:

http://www.robotics.net

  *Outrage over executive salaries

Nathan Bierma, on the editorial team at Books & Culture,
writes a spirited blog on the excesses of executive pay,
and includes an interview with Bob McChesney, author of Rich
Media, Poor Democracy. Go to:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/books/features/weblog/030512.html

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