Many readers come to this blog by googling this very question. Well if you’ve been watching the news recently you’ve seen exactly where most of our clothes come from; they come from unsafe sweatshops just like the clothing factory that collapsed in Bangladeshkilling murdering hundreds of workers.
Why murdering? Because factory owners and the Western retailers (barely mentioned in the article) knew the factory was unsafe – yet the decision was made that higher corporate profits for American retailers are more important than other people’s lives.
This is what American terrorism looks like. Everyday.
As consumers, we are morally culpable if we choose to do nothing. One can not be neutral. Either we actively work to demand fair wages and safe working conditions for the products we buy or, in doing nothing, we actively demonstrate our belief that human life has no value.
So it’s official – Obama’s budget proposal balances the Federal Budget by taking more money from Social Security than from the richest elites. Read the full NakedCapitalism post here. I emailed my congressional representative today and you should too. Here’s what I wrote:
I WILL WORK to see that Franken is NOT re-elected if he supports ANY Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid cuts.
After giving TRILLIONS (not billions)from the public purse in reduced overnight Fed funds rates and tax breaks to banks and the rich (since the 90’s), Obama has DONE NOTHING to claw back the TRILLIONS in corporate welfare handed out in the financial meltdown.
We have seen clearly that handing money to the rich has NOT created jobs – rather millions of jobs have been lost. A strong middle class creates demand and jobs.
Wake up!! Give a trillion (or two?) to support basic needs for our most vulnerable – women, children, elderly and the disabled. This would then be a country I would want to live in.
Email your congressional representatives today. Don’t let Obama or congress balance the budget on the backs of seniors. Demand that massive corporate welfare be stopped in order to balance the budget.
Not too long ago my friend L contacted our parish to let them know that she was interested in forming a new small Christian community. But life being what it is, there were other priorities at the parish and as time went by it became clear that things might not happen within the time frame she had in mind. Rather than become irritated, annoyed, or continue to repeat her request (i.e. nag), she contacted some people she thought might be interested then hosted our first meeting. A wonderful group came together. Through her own initiative, she created a supportive group of people with similar values – a group that she wanted to be part of.
This is the challenge of Christianity. This is what we see in the model of Jesus. Jesus never demanded that the religious authorities of his day change to his way of thinking. Neither did he nag them to do things differently. Rather, he created a community of women and men who shared his values and lived out of those values.
When Jesus was confronted by those in authority he stated his values or offered a parable to shock others into a new way of thinking. Everyone was invited to join in – but not pressured or coerced into doing so. Even when his family confronted him – demanding he come with them and accept their way of viewing the world (a patriarchal, tribal worldview), Jesus responded by radically changing their definition of family – “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? These people here with me now are my family!” (Mark 3). Then he went about his life, not expecting or demanding that his genetic family see things his way or change.
Neither did Jesus spend much time with family or religious authorities who didn’t share his values. After all, the best way to resist patriarchy and tribalism is simply not to participate in it. In moving toward a better, healthier way of living, one naturally moves away from ways that are harmful or toxic.
The same path is open to each of us too. We can continue to bemoan the fact that families, corporations, hierarchies or institutions fail to share our values. We can expend much energy pressuring or demanding them to change – or we can simply start living in a different way. We can change. Like my friend L, we can live into a new reality and invite others to join us.
Resurrection: Walk out of the tomb. Walk into a new reality.
“We do not think ourselves into new ways of living, we live ourselves into new ways of thinking.” Richard Rohr
Maybe you’re looking for ways to make lunch more interesting. Or maybe you’d like to be able to pack a quick picnic in the evening. If so, here’s a post from Apartment Therapy’s The Kitchen – Grab and Go lunch using canning jars.
Canning jars don’t leak, clean up in the dishwasher and they allow you to cook or bake safely in a microwave – without the lid of course.
The article lists five fun and unexpected ideas for lunch: layered salad, miso soup, chili with cornbread that bakes in the jar, vegie sticks in hummus and a crustless quiche – 3 ways from the blog Krista and Jess. Check it out, then try it out!
If I’m not able to freely choose that which contributes to my health and wholeness – whether it be healthy, mutual relationships, nutritious food or enriching activities – then I’m not truly free because something or someone else enslaves me. That enslavement, addiction or distraction impoverishes me because it keeps me from being able to choose freely for those things which will keep me healthy and sustain my life.
