Bill Sinkford, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, spoke at a social witness event here in Fort Lauderdale yesterday. My colleagues here on the indomitable Web staff videotaped his address, and we posted it up on YouTube, and here it is for you to watch…
I like the fact that we’re not just posting videos from General Assembly on the UUA Web site, but we’re also putting them out there into the wider world. And this way, you can post this stuff on your own Web site.
Forty-two people were arrested on Friday during the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq for doing civil disobedience to express their religious opposition to the war in Iraq, down from 222 arrests in last year’s action. (I had planned to attend although not commit civil disobedience — had to back out because of bronchitis.) Very little news coverage, probably because it’s a much smaller action. Both Christian Peace Witness for Iraq and the related Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership are not particularly strong on organization — the sad truth is that spiritual progressives are not really doing much about the war in Iraq, except whining a little bit. Or if we do something, it’s like it is straight out of some 1960’s-era “Manual for Hippie Protests”.
Sigh. Are we spiritual progressives really that ineffectual when it comes to affecting U.S. policy on the war? … actually, I’m not sure I want you to answer that question.
More info on the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq 2008…. Continue reading
For some months now, I’ve been planning to head down to Washington D.C. for the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq on March 7 — the weekend just before the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. I arranged to take a week of vacation at that time. Even though I’d call myself a post-Christian, I’m still someone who tries to follow the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, and as such I found last year’s Christian Peace Witness to be the most theologically significant opposition to the unjust war in Iraq. We worshipped first, protested second; that felt like the right thing to do. And the protest took the form of standing in witness, in the spirit of what Rebecca Parker and Rita Nakashima Brock wrote in their book Proverbs of Ashes:
Salvation begins with the courage of witnesses whose gaze is steady. Steady witnesses neither flee in horror to hide their eyes, nor console with sweet words, ‘It isn’t all that bad. Something good is intended by this.’ Violence is illuminated by insistent exposure.
Last year’s Christian Peace Witness for Iraq also represented the largest single act of civil disobediecne in opposition to the Iraq War: some 222 people were arrested for crossing police lines and praying for peace in front of the White House.
This year: March 7, 2008
In addition to Christians, last year’s Christian Peace Witness for Iraq included Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, and post-Christians like me. In recognition of this religious diversity, this year’s peace witness is being co-sponsored by an interfaith group calling themselves Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership.
Workshops begin on Thursday, March 6, at 6:30 in the evening (along with civil disobedience training, required for those planning to be arrested). Worship services will take place on Friday, March 7, at noon (I’ll be worshipping at All Souls Unitarian Universalist church); and the interfaith witness and nonviolent action will take place at 2:30.
If you can’t make it, why not sponsor an interfaith peace witness in your own community, similar to the Christian prayer vigils that will be taking place. If you are going to the peace witness on March 7, let me know and maybe we can connect at All Souls Church.
Charlie Clements, the head of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) here in the States, is making a trip to Kenya to assess needs for aid following the recent political crisis — and he’s blogging his Kenya trip here. As yet, he has not made contact with any of the Kenyan Unitarian Universalists — I even wonder if any of those fragile new UU congregations (the oldest was started in 2004) managed to survive the crisis intact.
One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) has become well-known for its plan to distribute huge quantities of laptop computers to children in the developing world. The non-profit organization aims to improve education by providing inexpensive (US$100) laptops to schoolchildren. The innovative XO laptop design is rugged, it can access the Web easily, and it can serve as an e-book reader allowing schoolchildren to have access to an entire library of e-books for just the price of the laptop.
OLPC has come under a great deal of criticism, particularly from those who say that far more basic things are needed in the schools of developing countries, that laptops are a luxury. BBC quotes the Nigerian minister of education as saying, “What is the sense of introducing One Laptop per Child when they don’t have seats to sit down and learn…?” OLPC replies that small, incremental changes have not changed the educational situation in many developing countries, and then challenges those countries to think big: “You’ve got to be big, you’ve got to be bold. And what has happened is that there has been an effort to say ‘don’t take any risks – just do something small, something incremental’,” says Walter Bender of OLPC in an interview with BBC. Link.
In a brilliant publicity stunt, OLPC invited anyone in North America to buy the XO laptop for themselves — for $400, you get your own XO, and OLPC sends one to a child in a developing country. I took advantage of this offer myself (you can, too, if you do it before December 31). While the XO won’t solve all education problems, I believe it could be an important and cost-effective part of an overall strategy for improving education. And of course, they look so cool that I want one for myself. Indeed, the BBC reports that “the sheer amount of features crammed in to the device combined with its low price may mean questions start to be asked of PC makers who typically charge a premium for portability” (link) — i.e., the XO could change the way we all think about laptop computers. Not surprisingly, both Microsoft and Intel are seeing the XO as a threat to their profit centers. Microsoft is coming out with a version of their propietary operating system that will run on the XO (currently, all software on the XO is free and open-source); and Intel got worried enough that they began developing their own version of the XO which they call the “Classmate” (they have now united with OLPC). Nigeria may scorn the XO, but Bill Gates is taking it seriously.
Of greatest interest to me was the news that, according to the BBC, Walter Bender has acknowledged that “OLPC had done a deal with Birmingham, Alabama, in the US, to provide the laptop for schools in the city.” I’ve been waiting for this to happen: forget Nigeria, we need the XO in the United States! For example, here in New Bedford there are plenty of families who cannot afford a computer at home, let alone afford to buy a laptop for each of their children. This lack of access to computers can present serious educational obstacles for kids, particularly those who want to go on to college. I’d love to start a “One Laptop Per New Bedford Child” program. Again, it won’t solve all our educational problems, but it might get some more kids through college — right now, the percentage of college graduates in New Bedford is an appallingly low 11%, less than half the national average. However, I predict that the response of New Bedford politicians will be much like that of the Nigerian politicians; like Nigerian politicians, New Bedford politicians are generally risk-averse and generally unwilling to take bold action on education.
One last thought: I also believe that one reason the XO will be successful in schools is that it is a totally cool machine. I liked it enough that I ordered one for myself — my dad did, too. But don’t take my word for how cool it is, see for yourself:– the BBC has 9 video clips of the XO laptop in action, including shots of schoolchildren in Nigeria using them. Link.
P.S. Looks like for a mere $29,900, you can donate 100 XO laptops, and designate that they go to New Bedford: Link.
Under the title “Is This the Silver Bullet?”, the winter 2008 issue of Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) cites recent research showing that narrowing the gap between rich and poor appears to alleviate a wide range of social ills:
What do teenage births, early deaths, homicide, mental illness, underperforming students, packed prisons, and drug abuse have in common? All of them thrive in countries with large gaps between the rich and the poor, report two researchers in the November 2007 Social Science & Medicine.
What is the mechanism behind this? According to SSIR, “inequality exacts its costs by causing people to feel less socially secure and more physiologically stressed.” One result of a wide gap between rich and poor is decreased social mobility, and this can cause persons in less egalitarian countries to feel “deprived,” and can even lead to a shortened life span, compared to poorer but more egalitarian countries. Additionally, a large gap between rich and poor has significant detrimental effects on persons of all income levels — inequality has “a pollution effect” and affects everyone’s health — thus, it is actually advantageous to rich persons to reduce the income gap, to improve their own health and quality of life.
You probably won’t be surprised to know that the United States has one of the worst gaps between rich and poor of any industrialized nation. The policy implications of this study for the United States are significant. Want to improve children’s test scores? The conservatives tell us we must have rigorous testing, the liberals say we must have smaller class sizes, but the social epidemiologists tell us that research shows we should reduce income disparity. Want to reduce crime? The conservatives want fewer restrictions on gun ownership, the liberals want to fund more social programs, but the social epidemiologists tell us that research shows we should reduce income disparity.
Over on her blog, Dani has a really nice post on the Iraq War. She talks about how many Americans seem perfectly able to forget the fact that we’re at war:
Thich Naht Hahn has been an author and peace activist that I’ve been reading about a lot lately. I have been practicing mindfulness, and as of yet I have discovered one thing that I realized; I have been quite unaware that we are still in a war. Some discussions in my group of aquaintances or friends have, as of late, the question “We’re still in that war?â€
The post continues with some wide-ranging thoughts on the intersection of war, religion, and the individual activist. It’s a little rambling at times, but a passionate and thoughtful post worth reading. Link.
Last Saturday (27 October), I went to the New England Mobilization To End the War in Iraq. It felt — strange. Very 1960’s, and not necessarily in a good way. Ranting through megaphones, hippies, people curiously dressed. Blah.
There was at least one speaker who inspired me, however…. (2:32)
The fellow who inspired me, who is featured at the end of the videoblog post above, is actually from the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch his name. His positive, humane vision stood out among all the shrill-voiced “We’ve got to stop the killing now!” and “No more blood for oil!”
And I don’t want to trash the entire peace movement. Last year’s Christian Peace Witness for Iraq felt meaningful (and they’re already planning another one for March 8th, assuming that the United States is still in Iraq). I like some of what the Quakers are doing. But the old-fashioned 1960’s-style peace rallies have got to go.
(Happy birthdays,Abs!)
Note: video host blip.tv is defunct, so this video no longer exists.
My partner, Carol, found a video online showing a lunch-time protest staged by local unions two months ago outside City Hall here in New Bedford. The city wants to tear down the Cliftex building, a historic mill building on the waterfront. Local unions want the mill building renovated for housing and buisnesses — the renovation will provide union jobs, whereas if the building gets torn down we’ll be lucky to get a parking lot, or a big-box retail store providing minimum wages jobs.
In any case, I went and stood with the union people, and I was impressed with the quietly effective way they made the protest happen. No chanting, no screaming. They talked to passers-by, they distributed flyers to passing motorists, they button-holed people coming and going from City Hall, they were politely articulate about why the city should save the building.
During that lunch hour, they reached a lot of people. They did it without the street theatre that usually characterizes demonstrations done by leftists since the 1960’s. They did it without polarizing opposition, as most leftists today seem to do. The emphasis was on making face-to-face connections with as many people as possible.
Link, if you want to watch the video.