Memorial Day

Today at a homeless shelter, I talked with a veteran who live in almost constant pain due to nerve damage and who is scared by the person he became momentarily during combat. He complained bitterly that many Americans see Memorial Day as a day for barbecues and shoe shopping, but veterans do not forget the purpose of Memorial Day. He reminded me that it's a day for remembering fallen comrades who didn't make it back--people who died for him, and whom he was willing to die for. He reminded me that many veterans feel forgotten and discarded. He said, "The US used us and celebrated us when they needed us, and now we feel forgotten." It's a reminder that no one deserves to be homeless--least of all those who have served our country and put themselves in danger when necessary, at the behest of a president who claims to be acting for the good of the country. Set aside the legitimacy of current military policy (that is a matter for holding our elected officials accountable). I have heard stories of cutbacks to VA budgets and reduction in spending on post-combat veterans. I have heard that some veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have been bought out of the government's responsibility to care for them. This is disgusting. That's all I have to say right now.

gotta quote this

from my friend EJoye's blog, discussing Sen. Barack Obama and Rev. Jeremiah Wright (2 May 2008):

"Is it any coincidence that the American public demands a black-on-black dismissal before it considers a black man electable?"

A visitation of goats

There is an enormous herd of goats outside our window right now. They seem to be herding one direction--all facing the same way and waiting. A couple of them buck horns, and one little one ventures away from the herd to drink water. I think they're supposed to be mowing the grass, but maybe they're not hungry.
I reflect on how funny it is that I'm fascinated. I've passed this herd when they've been mowing on other hills near here, and there are always a couple of cars and bystanders stopped and just staring at them. There's something mysterious and compelling about them, and I can't help but watch--even though they're just milling about.
I also reflect on the fact that it's cool the City of Oakland uses goats to mow the hills instead of lawnmowers. I also reflect on the fact that these hills are too steep to mow safely with a mower anyway.
Gotta love ecosystems!

Wright/Obama

This week I listened to the podcast of Bill Moyers interviewing Jeremiah Wright (find it by searching at PBS.org). I have to say, what Rev. Wright says is not particularly new, radical, or terrible. He speaks the truth the way I think religious leaders ought to speak the truth. The only reason it's controversial is because it's uncomfortable for those of us who don't like to acknowledge our own history and our own involvement in unfair social systems. I talked about it with a colleague who studied with James Cone (as far as I know, the guy who started Black Liberation Theology) at Union Theologial Seminary in New York. My colleague (a white gay man) pointed out Cone's analysis applied here: Wright is a prophet from the outside (in the ancient Israelite stories, someone like Micah who was a poor farmer in the kingdom). Barack Obama is a prophet from within (in ancient Israelite stories, more like Isaiah (a court prophet who worked for kings). What they say, how they say it, and how they move depends deeply on their position in the system. I like this analysis. My colleague then went on to suggest that Obama proposes solutions that seek to unite whereas Wright proposes critiques that tend to divide. I can see how that's sort of true, but it gives Wright the short end of analysis. As he himself points out, it's not his critiques, but the system itself, that divides. I also see a different role for him as a prophet. If he's speaking from the outside, is it his responsibility to propose solutions? I'm not convinced--isn't that our role as insiders, to listen to critique, form our own, and propose solutions? At the same time, as someone who is certainly inside (and often privileged in) most social systems, I can't help but rue his choice to speak now, knowing that it may damage Obama's chances of getting elected.

excuses/leering

A while back, someone was telling me about attending a gathering of gay Episcopal priests, and one of them joked that when he sees a good-looking man, he is "just appreciating the beauty of God's creation."

Something about this irked me, and it took me a little time to figure out why. In conversation with this person, I came down to this: it doesn't take into account the responsibility of what to do with that urge to look at another person in a sexual/admiration way. This argument is a variation on "I'm just complimenting the other person when I leer/whistle/honk/etc." It's used to justify inappropriate, objectifying/demeaning behavior (as opposed to objectifying/appreciating, which is something that gives the objectified person the control--and it's a blurry line). It's something that's been done to me, and I've done to others, and I've heard many women (particularly) complain about. The person pointed out that thrust of the comment was to move from a shame-filled judgment of same-sex attraction to acknowledging and accepting this attraction as part of creation, as part of God. I get that, but my irk comes from not naming the next step, which is to accept that as part of creation, it is our God-given responsibility to use that powerful attraction/desire for caring, loving, just actions. And then I realized that part of my irk also comes from is not knowing when to take something as humorous and when to take it seriously. I think part of it is when I don't trust the common understandings of those participating. And I think that context is what makes all the difference. If I trusted that group to act responsibly, I wouldn't be bothered by it. I don't know, maybe that's an obvious point, but it just crystallized.