There is a new spirit of activism and hope in the youth of America. They have been inspired and engaged by President Elect Barack Obama. The whole world is listening and watching as he is installed as the next president of the USA. But, a movement needs a soundtrack. So Norman Lear commissioned the song below. I love the line, "the time has come to reaffirm that hope's not just for some."
The religious (Christian) themes in this are not just a little bit obvious. The title alone, Born Again American, recalls a religious conversion. For me, the most stunning lyric of this song is that line mentioned above, hope's not just for some. Right On! That is the heart of the Christian message.
Woodie Guthrie penned, This Land is Your Land, and people all over took it up and made it their own in their space. I remember singing a Canadian version in school. It was one of my favourites. On the Born Again American website ( http://www.bornagainamerican.org/ ) is the invitation to write your own lyrics. I wonder what the lyrics of Born Again Canadian would be? Where are our dark corners? Who needs hope in Canada?
Which brings me to the important difference of this moment versus others I have seen in recent years. People are taking back their lives and their ability to act. Obama's message has been, get involved personally, make a difference yourself, be a part of the project. America has inspired (positive) worldwide action before and (hopefully) we are in such a moment again.
But, I wonder where the church is (not just the UCC) on this. I have a feeling it is stuck in a committee meeting somewhere. We need to get out of our self pity party and be Born Again. We need to bring that key message, hope is for all, into the public square. We need to clean up our church buildings as examples of sustainable and accessible spaces so people can see it can be done. We need to be conduits of political change so that politicians feel encouraged and enabled to embrace agendas that are born again through the need to address poverty, education, health care, peace and equality. I wonder what the Born Again Church would look like? What are the lyrics for that song?
in hope
K
Monday, January 19, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Today's musing is about obedience, context, compassion, and understanding.
Below is a video someone has posted showing a famous psychological experiment designed to see how people would react when asked to perform tasks by an authority figure. They were conducted by Stanley Milgrim. If you haven't seen or heard these videos (even if you have heard or read about the experiment) they are interesting but very difficult to watch. The volunteers are clearly very disturbed by what they are being asked to do and yet the vast majority of them continue to follow instructions. Keep in mind that these were not bad people. They were (like most of us) ordinary, obedient people who felt very bad about what they were asked to do. Recently, this experiment was repeated, with a couple of modifications, but very similar results. Last Friday, during the second section of The Current, on CBC radio had a very good discussion about both of these experiments and what they can teach us. (continued below)
The main conclusion of both of these studies, according to Jerry Burger (the author of the repeat experiment), "The real lesson is that the behaviour is not a function so much of the kind of person you are as the kind of situation you are in. I think we often fall into this trap of thinking well these must be bad people who do these things."
As a parent, I can't help but think of discussions we have with our kids about peer pressure. Peer pressure is not just about stealing cars, or smoking in the boys room (cuz it's cool). It is also (or mostly) about the little decisions, and having an independent mind. Do you play a game that you aren't entirely comfortable with? What do you do when one of your friends gets mad at another one?
At the end of the day, thinking about how our behaviour is affected by our situation, and recognizing that other people also have their behaviour affected by their situation, beyond their individual predilections, might be an important part of how we try to understand and have compassion for ourselves and others.
The most important part of this study is the reflection on the findings afterwards. What can we learn? Constant reflection and contemplation about our own experience is also the most important part of being honest and growing in our own lives. It is especially important when growing in our spiritual lives.
An end of day review can be very helpful for this. Before you slip into dreamland ask these three questions,
WHERE DID I SEE GOD TODAY?
WHERE DID I MISS GOD TODAY?
WHERE DO I WANT TO SEE GOD TOMORROW?
Peace
K
Below is a video someone has posted showing a famous psychological experiment designed to see how people would react when asked to perform tasks by an authority figure. They were conducted by Stanley Milgrim. If you haven't seen or heard these videos (even if you have heard or read about the experiment) they are interesting but very difficult to watch. The volunteers are clearly very disturbed by what they are being asked to do and yet the vast majority of them continue to follow instructions. Keep in mind that these were not bad people. They were (like most of us) ordinary, obedient people who felt very bad about what they were asked to do. Recently, this experiment was repeated, with a couple of modifications, but very similar results. Last Friday, during the second section of The Current, on CBC radio had a very good discussion about both of these experiments and what they can teach us. (continued below)
The main conclusion of both of these studies, according to Jerry Burger (the author of the repeat experiment), "The real lesson is that the behaviour is not a function so much of the kind of person you are as the kind of situation you are in. I think we often fall into this trap of thinking well these must be bad people who do these things."
As a parent, I can't help but think of discussions we have with our kids about peer pressure. Peer pressure is not just about stealing cars, or smoking in the boys room (cuz it's cool). It is also (or mostly) about the little decisions, and having an independent mind. Do you play a game that you aren't entirely comfortable with? What do you do when one of your friends gets mad at another one?
At the end of the day, thinking about how our behaviour is affected by our situation, and recognizing that other people also have their behaviour affected by their situation, beyond their individual predilections, might be an important part of how we try to understand and have compassion for ourselves and others.
The most important part of this study is the reflection on the findings afterwards. What can we learn? Constant reflection and contemplation about our own experience is also the most important part of being honest and growing in our own lives. It is especially important when growing in our spiritual lives.
An end of day review can be very helpful for this. Before you slip into dreamland ask these three questions,
WHERE DID I SEE GOD TODAY?
WHERE DID I MISS GOD TODAY?
WHERE DO I WANT TO SEE GOD TOMORROW?
Peace
K
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)