LeftWithoutRight's Xanga

Lapel

Wed, 14 May 2008 22:30:16 GMT

So I've noticed that Obama has begun to wear a lapel pin of the US flag. What a bunch of crap.
I was so excited to see him take the pin off and actually have a substantial conversation on patriotism. It rang so true - you can't simply proclaim dedication through a wardrobe accessory. And now, he's wearing a pin.
Is it because he feels as if he needs to pander? Is he choosing to wear it now after having redefined the conversation? It feels like it's pertaining to the switch from his primary to general campaign, but that's unfortunate.

I see that he's attempting to hold back the 527 influence on the general campaign, which could suggest a more substantive campaign on issues and policies. But after something that was such a huge issue to so many pundits who wear flag pins on their lapel and underneath their clothes (use your imagination), it feels as though it's a concession to the talking heads. I hope that the conversation remains relative and true; I hope that he doesn't give in to "national pressures" because a real campaign based on change should not have to concede on its principles in order to attain the power in which to make the changes they desire.

Stabilizing

Mon, 12 May 2008 10:23:44 GMT

After reading Rob's blogurb (that's a new word by me that refers to a blurb on a blog) discussing his five years on, I got to thinking about how much our lives have changed in this time too. (Actually, I just googled it and found that some German used it in 2005. Fredosphere!!!)

For the first time in a while, it feels like Jen and I are in a stable relationship with our community. In the past five years since our graduation, we have moved once every year - always finding a cooler neighborhood to move to in Atlanta while we were renting and then finding a great house in an affordable neighborhood in Southwest Atlanta our fourth year. Then, came the big move to Athens just under a year ago.

But in this time, so many things have already happened or are happening. Jen's enrolled in the Red Clay Writing program and has been accepted into the doctoral program at UGA. She's also found such a great fellowship of teachers at Whit Davis, which is excellent. I'm feeling very much at home and encouraged at the church through creating new programs and ideas for the church and community. I'm even applying to be a board member of the Keep Athens Clarke County Beautiful organization. I could be a board member, at 27! That feels odd, but cool. We've even found all of those sweet places in town that we're becoming regulars at such as Farm 255, Trappeze, The Grit, Mama's Boy, and the Hot Corner. We've got the greatest neighbors all around. I'm even feeling drawn to watching UGA football games!

Five years ago after graduating from Hiram College, I never would have thought that Jen and I would have stayed in Georgia at all past the time at Candler School of Theology. I assumed it would have been a short trip down to Georgia and back up to Ohio. It's interesting how new opportunities emerge within your life that compel you to follow a new path.

King Corn

Fri, 09 May 2008 18:41:53 GMT

I just watched the recent documentary, King Corn.

It's a very good look at the American farming and food systems that revolve entirely around corn. It's pretty crazy just how pervasive corn is in our diet, always in the form of high fructose corn syrup. Due to some articles that I have read and also a purist attitude towards food and perhaps a little conspiracy theory, I am choosing to eat only foods that do not have corn syrup in them. Trying to find food without it is kind of like trying to find a squirrel that can water ski - naturally, not those squirrels that are trained to water ski.

Out are any chips, pop, candy, most baked goods, most breads, most cereals, and then anything that's processed... So I'm basically cooking everything from scratch, which is pretty cool. And the farmers' markets are totally helping out for this cause. This week, we picked up strawberries, sweet onions, milk, eggs, cinnamon raisin nut bread, spinach, squash and tomatoes.

Tonight I made onion-rings with Spring Wheat Flour, salt, pepper, an egg, and Sam Adams for the batter after marinading the sweet onions in milk and water. BOUYA! Of course, now I have a stomach aching after all of the grease... but at least there's no corn syrup in me...

Thank God I can have coffee, Cinnamon Life, bread, and salad.

Anyways, it's a great documentary and you should all check it out if you have the time.

Peace and Good Food.

Allagash

Wed, 07 May 2008 18:30:02 GMT

So tonight I am off to Trappeze to partake of an excellent brew out of Maine called Allagash.
It is the most beautiful brew I've tasted in some time with hints of a white grape in the beer, it almost has a taste of a pinot gris, which is amazing. Much like the Dortmunder, but far better (sorry GLBC). But I'm not certain about the company's environmental and ethical standards so Great Lakes may still have a leg up on this one.

Day 2.
Just realized that I had to write something and I'm off to a meeting!

Spin It Like Hillary

Tue, 06 May 2008 22:55:27 GMT

Since Rob has challenged all of us to write for five days straight, and since today is The May 6th - Primary Day for Indiana and North Carolina - I thought it'd be appropriate to write just a little bit about the politics.

Most of you will, hopefully, know that while I am rather progressive in my thoughts and politics, I do try to remain objective throughout. However, there is a point when I believe that Hillary Clinton has passed over from any prospective victory to existing within a hallucination or fairy-tale-land. But because I continue to be impressed by this campaign's capacity to move the goal-post again and again and to reinterpret history better than the Bush administration, I would like to imagine just for a bit what life would be like if I had Mark Penn as a life consultant...

After sucking so bad on the J.V. varsity team, I could have held a press conference informing the Tallmadge High School that I think the idea of me being the co-captain of the Varsity team would be an unstoppable team.
Instead of trying to work hard to excel at Greek, I could have downed beer and whiskey, spoken with a long drawl, and referred to my professor as a Gucci-wearing, latte-sipping elitist. Georgei!
Just because Jen teaches first grade and has a masters and is now entering into the PhD program, I could claim to any school system that I am just as qualified to teach as she is because I have lived with her throughout her five years of experience and I also listened in to a few other conversations and have read some of her papers.
Finally, rather than think creatively about theology and community, I could simply encourage everyone to pray more for everything to heal and then critique all of the theologians that would suggest otherwise and say, "I don't put my lot with theologians."

Oh, if I could only spin it like Hillary.

Our Fixation on Fear

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:39:27 GMT

I have this love/hate relationship with talk radio.

Every morning, I have my ritual. I wake up, turn on NPR for Morning Edition, pour a cup of coffee, make breakfast, and sit and listen to the news. I'll finish my cereal or eggs and toast and then move to the couch with my cup and a book. Morning Edition passes and then I change the channel over to 1340AM to hear a local news program that is actually good despite the station location. But after the 9 o'clock hour, it's the breaking of peace with a star line-up of people who know how to talk and get their listeners upset about something and brings a new person, item, or subject to fear.

Ideologues with no transparency or responsibility attempt to convey themselves as the "common man" while pocketing millions of dollars a year all to spread the corporate gospel of lower taxes (or no taxes), laissez faire government, and the criminalization of any attempt by local, state, or federal government to "control" any aspect of life whatsoever that may take one more penny from their bank account. Racist and sexist beliefs are made known in their own code-speak that remains welcome through lax oversight of the FCC. And whenever controversy emerges (every day), they invoke the status of martyr by reading the hate mail they receive and speaking of the incremental population they represent and the righteous cause they pursue. Their words must be true because people are upset by what they say - just like Jesus.

Which brings us to the continued conversation of Rev. Wright.

As I sat today listening to a talking head spew out his grand understanding of Black Liberation Theology after a careful google search (true). Then, it came time to take a call which brought on air a caller who listened to Wright's speech; well, at least 5 minutes of it before "knowing everything he was going to say." Yes, because if you can already create an image of this minister who has served the church for decades in just one sound bite, then you can know his entire history and future by listening to him for 5 minutes... The image that comes out again and again (with a concealed racist undertone) is one of a Marxist/communist man and church and therefore this "illness" is also "contagious" and has "contaminated" all who have ever set foot in this church.

Not only does this image refuse to acknowledge a diversity of voices within any particular congregation while embracing the "consumer's choice" perspective of religion, but it fails to understand Christianity as a whole.

Of course, community is diverse. However, I would not expect for privileged radio personalities to understand this when they have the "luxury" of living in very big houses surrounded by land or by people that look and think a lot like them. Perhaps it's a blessing to live in a gated community, but I've only found that these gates keep you locked in rather than locking others out. The blessing of true community is the diversity found within; the ties that bind us together are far superior and larger than the differences that distinguish us one from another. True community is being able to speak your voice and have others hear you while also listening to what others have to say, and remaining together through it all. So where one may voice a message of critique, another may speak a word of reconciliation, and others may speak both. All words (hopefully) spoken in love.

But the central theme here is a removal from the depth and the risks of Christianity.

"God Damn America!"
What? Now were upset?
We're upset that someone spoke ill of our beloved nation?

It's disturbing that we are more consumed and angered by words against a country than the vices of our country.
35 million in poverty; 47 million without health care; segregated schools and communities; environmental degradation; highest incarceration rate in the world; widening gap between the rich and the poor; war in Afghanistan; war in Iraq; war on terror...
And we are upset by what one man has to say about our country.

Do we not understand the distinction between this country and the Realm of God?
Do we believe we're already living there because of some manifest destiny?
Have we relieved ourselves from any responsibility for the hope of something to come?

As I've read through the gospel, I have yet to read the words, "God bless the USA."
But I have read that we are to feed the poor, care for the sick, visit the imprisoned, that we are to serve God, not money, that we must care for the earth, and that we are to love our enemies, not kill them.
If that is our vision, then how can we do anything but damn the reality that we currently behold?
It does not mean that we are damned, or that we are without hope.
But it does indict our negligence, our ignorance, and our indifference to our neighbors and all of creation.

So yes, damn our failures to live out the gospel that we have received; damn our failures to care for our brothers and sisters; damn our failures to speak truth to power; and damn our failures to care for our earth in search of profit and greed. But do not damn us; for we can change.

We can live out what God has created and called us to become. This is the appropriate response to our indictment. This is our hope: that the power of what we have succumb to if far less than the power of God to liberate us into the reality of God's love and calling.

And I will bet, that if we had the desire to hear more from this one particular voice that sounds so threatening, we would hear a similar message. But oh, it's much easier to monger fear. It's much easier to listen for seconds than for days or years. And it's much easier to mold your faith into your life than the other way around.

Resurrection and the Sycamore Tree.

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:45:12 GMT

So perhaps this subject is on my mind because of the lectionary text that I'll be preaching on this Sunday. Or maybe it's just that life seems to be beginning anew everywhere I look - from the new grasses and flowers and weeds to the church to new friends. New growth and new life are becoming, but as I'm learning, this process is not always an easy or painless transformation.

So often, I look to nature to understand life. One image that I'm continuously drawn to is that of a sycamore tree. I walk by several on my way to work or on the path along the river, and every time that I see these tall, slender trees with bark peeling off from the growth, I think of life. As the bark falls, so we shed our skin and grow. They exfoliate their skin leaving a gorgeous, brilliant white color that stands out among every other tree.

This morning I was on the phone with a non-profit organization to see about arranging an appointment to help out a friend of mine with money for rent or utilities. After the call, I drove out to meet my friend and we talked about the situation, the work, the struggles, the helplessness, the pride that would not give in to handouts, and the gift of community that is all about revealing God working through every one of us. Throughout the conversation and the time together, it became very clear that this friend's situation is due to several transitions in life. From steady employment to none; from living alone to living with family; from having transportation to none; from having electricity to running a cord to a friend's house. The amount of change and transformation ongoing in this one season is terrifying and at the same moment hopeful. It is a period of becoming more steadfast in discipline, more intentional about engaging in relationships, and more open to the possibility of receiving along with giving.

Towards the end of this conversation and time together, my eyes instantly became fixed on something beyond my friend's home. Towering over this house was a 50 foot tall, spectacular, sycamore tree standing straight as could be. It was one of those moments when everything stops and all you can do is stare in awe. This awesome tree had been planted there all this time, and only after an hour and a half had I noticed this creation. Beautiful. A hopeful message for myself and my friend. A realization that presence is not based upon our acknowledgment. A vision of future peace that has come through endurance and change and growth.

We are always growing, always changing, even if we don't know it. Sometimes, I guess it just takes a moment to look on the ground and see our shed skin; it takes a moment to look around us and take stock of just how far we've come, and how much more we must become. The question is not if or when we will change or grow, but how. How shall we change? With what spirit shall we embrace the new and the possibility?

With fear? With cynicism? Or with a fearless hope?
I should think the latter.

We have a hope that while remaining grounded in the sustaining foundation of life has the audacity to look upwards and soak up the very light that nurtures our lives. A hope that holds on to what it has been and still eagerly awaits today and tomorrow for what shall be. This is the hope that I believe we must come to hold on to as we live, as we gather for church, and as we continue to be faithful to a living God who knows the true depth of life, of love, and of wonder.

Let us together be bold in life; let us have the courage to change; and let us have the peace to know that as we change, we never remove ourselves from the roots that grow deep in our foundation, but we grow deeper and taller and truer.

Blessed by the Sycamore Tree.

Politics of Fear

Sat, 19 Jan 2008 17:08:13 GMT

I am feeling the need to vent after watching, listening, reading, and being inspired by Barack Obama and then watching as Hillary Clinton brings out the politics of fear in the primaries. After reading that recorded messages were sent out to voters drawing attention the fact that Obama's middle name is Hussein four times and that Mr. Bill is involving himself again by stating that Obama's campaign has been urging voter suppression, I'm just a little annoyed and frustrated. I might expect such tactics and allegations from some (not all) Republican candidates but actually this round through, there's far more dignity on that side than in 2000 or 2004. But this is ridiculous. This is more than "a reality check," this is about greed. It's not simply that Hillary's vision of the future of our country and our world is insufficient for a majority of people who crave and are prepared to do more, it's that she will not have the chance to become President. Shouldn't all politics have the former in mind? Shouldn't a party be working together to create a vision and to develop policies to make it so, all while listening to every voice in the conversation? Apparently not. Not when that might come at the cost of one person's dream. Isn't that the irony of America and her politics?

We've never been afraid to hope, but it seems that we are all too fearful of what hope could bring.
And it seems to me that the task of a leader is not to tell us what can't be done and list all of the reasons as to how and when it's been tried and failed before; that is the task of the skeptic. The task of a leader is not to instill fear in attempt to obscure the facts or to submit the citizenry to a higher authority; that is the task of a bully or tyrant.
The task of a leader is to portray a future of possibility and lead us beyond our own limits into that vision. The task of a leader is to imagine a better reality and to collaborate and to urge us to become what we can be.

It plain out urks me that a Clinton, who has been "working for change her entire life" and who "is so impatient for change" would resort to such cheap, old, and vested tactics as these.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."

How much growth is enough?

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 14:35:19 GMT

If you have never seen growth at any cost, consider the following:

Bridge collapse, mines collapse, expansion of mountaintop removal, food recalls, pet-food recalls, drug recalls, sub-prime lending, Blackwater...

In the search for greater profits companies have sought out short-cuts for upper management and investors while governments have permitted these endeavors through incompetence, indifference, or impotence.

When will we begin to stop cutting corners and actually invest in what matters?

A new, smarter transportation infrastructure that doesn't revolve so heavily around the car.
A cleaner source of energy that works with rather than removes the earth.
A food system that relies less on oil, heavy irrigation, chemicals, and concentration and more on natural, seasonal produce emerging from local and plentiful farms.
A pharmaceutical industry that relieves illnesses rather than creating them.
A banking system that understands the supremacy of the value of community over money.
A capitalist system that earns money from peace rather than war.

When?

The more I come to read and experience, I more value I place in the argument that capitalism and democracy do not purely co-exist or nurture one another, but they are pitted against one another until one controls the other.
If capitalism is in control, then democracy becomes not a true state, but simply a means to support an end - profit.
If democracy is in control, then capitalism becomes not a true state, but simply a means to support an end - community.

As the media continues in its fascination with the candidates for 2008, perhaps we should be less concerned with who will "lead" the country for a period of 4 years, and more concerned with how WE will interact with our government for any particular year, any particular month, any particular day.

If capitalism is in control, then the government is working for the interests.
If democracy is in control, then the government is working for the people.

So when will all of this begin to change? The moment that we begin to.

Where do I live?

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 15:30:53 GMT

It has been a crazy past few months. We have sold our house - bouya to the third power. Then, we moved in with our friend Stephanie in Atlanta. Now, we've moved out of her house and are now house and dog-sitting at our friend's house here in Athens - great house and no rent. We have officially gone under contract for our new house in Athens, but it won't be finished until mid-August. So. Now, we need to find another place to live in the meantime... Crazy...

But I'll bring on some of the pics of the house when I get them.

Hope you enjoyed the update.

Peace.