We Are Nashville?

Thx Jay for this great commentary: the character of a city is not found in how it responds to a disaster in the first week, but rather what it is doing in week 6 and 7. http://bit.ly/cfKJt8

TX Board of Education

I usually don't go into rants on this blog but this issue touched a nerve within me and I just can't let it go. I'm going to try to censor myself but be prepared, I'm going to rant. I can feel my blood boiling while I type this.

First, the facts.

For those of you who don't know, recent actions by the TX Board of Education voted to remove Thomas Jefferson, Cesar Chavez, Oscar Romero, the topic of sex vs. gender, and any specific mention of Tejanos from their the social studies curriculum. They also have changed referring to the USA as a democracy to a "constitutional republic." They also omitted the concept of separation of church and state.  Here are some recent articles and editorials about the changes (note: some of these have been proposed since mid-2009).

Now, my rant.

I am INFURIATED by the fact that a bunch of right-wing conservative republicans have decided who and what constitutes significant contributions to history.  I am OUTRAGED by the fact that racism and sexism (and plain 'ol F***ing stupidity) can be blatently justified with such intentionality toward children's education.

I would be more sympathetic toward this board if they instead proposed to present a more wholistic view of these issues.  I hope that all of your children and grandchildren rebel against your actions and condemn your behavior! HOW DARE YOU!

It makes TX take a million steps backward in terms of social progress to the pre-1950's Mississippi-esque era. WTF people!!?!???!  I mean do you really think that you can erase history? Do you really think your children will be better off by NOT learning these things? Do you see how your dangerous and damaging right-wing religious moral conservative bullshit is TOTALLY crossing the bounds of separation of church/state? (I know you do bcz that's why you want Mr. Jefferson removed.)

I try hard NOT to be one of those "liberal democrats" who thinks I'm right all the time and I at least try to understand another person's differing point of view to the point where I could defend it as my own. I may not succeed but at least I try. And even if I don't understand, I at least try to withhold slandering that point as not to make myself be insensitive nor ignorant.

I understand your point. I COMPLETELY DISAGREE WITH IT!!!!!

Here is an excerpt from a recent article:

Barton, a former vice chairman of the Texas Republican Party, said that because the U.S. is a republic rather than a democracy, the proper adjective for identifying U.S. values and processes should be "republican" rather than "democratic." That means social studies books should discuss "republican" values in the U.S., his report said.

And, it makes me vomit in my mouth and wants me to completely stereotype and bash my conservative republican friends. You give a TERRIBLE name to the republican party.

AND FURTHERMORE, this has NOTHING to do with being a Christian. I am a Christian and I think you have overstepped your bounds.  Who the HELL gave you the right to decide what can and SHOULD be taught???? You have disgraced our nation. You and the people who voted for you should keep your ideologies to yourself and out of the schools. I don't even think you should pass these "values" on to your children. You should be prepared for an outcry from people who are APPALLED and ASHAMED of your actions.  SHAME ON YOU!

You and Glenn Beck. Awful. Awful. AWFUL!  You abuse your power and it should be taken away from you. I HATE it when you proof-text.
 
I applaud Ms Mary Helen Berlanga and Ms Mavis B. Knight and others who voted AGAINST your racist, sexist, narrow minded decisions.

One thing for sure, I am GLAD as F***ing HELL that I don't live in TX and I CERTAINLY NEVER will.

Perhaps I'll write my own social studies curriculum and leave the entire state of TX out of it.

prioritizing

i came across this wonderful quote from maya angelou today.  i thought it needed to be shared.

"I find it interesting that the meanest life, the poorest existence, is attributed to God's will, but as human beings become more affluent, as their living standard and style begin to ascend the material scale, God descends the scale of responsibility at commensurate speed."

from her book I know why the caged bird sings

a page from dutch history

last week julie & i made a trip to the phoenix library. mainly to get library cards, but also to browse their selection. my original intent was to look over the CDs & maybe borrow a few to expand my musical horizons. i've discovered that library collections are great for that.

as it turned out, i borrowed exactly zero CDs and borrowed some books instead. one of them is becoming quite fascinating to me. as you know, dutch history is an interest of mine, as well as social justice issues. the phoenix library had a book that covered both. it's called "Blacks in the Dutch World: The Evolution of Racial Imagery in a Modern Society" by Allison Blakely. it talks about how, even in the historically tolerant society of the dutch, racism still exists. the inside of the front cover has an interesting quote: ""Blacks in the Dutch World" confirms that the existence of color prejudice in a predominately "white" society does not depend on the presence of racial conflict or even a significant "colored" population."

i find this quote interesting, in some ways because it states the obvious. on a personal level, i have never intentionally done anything for or against someone because of the color of their skin, but i know those thoughts of prejudice are in my head. it's a question of what i do with those thoughts when they are there. but, what that quote comes down to is that racism is not something you necessarily see on the surface, but it usually exists underneath. and you don't need to see someone of another color or culture to have prejudiced thoughts/feelings against them. that's something that can be ingrained by the culture around you.

i just started reading this book a couple days ago. it starts out with some of the older dutch history and how they would treat blacks and asians differently than people of european descent, and specifically dutch-based companies & their involvement with the slave trade.

i just finished reading the 1st chapter, which talks about the dutch east indies. the east india company, which did a lot of the slave trade at that time, had some interesting policies regarding the behavior of their workers. the workers were often sent to live in the colonies created as a result of some of this "trade".

"East India Company policy for much of the period was to restrict immigration by Dutch women and to recruit bachelors from the Netherlands and have them marry or take Asian women concubines, who, if slave, were first freed, baptised, and given a Christian Dutch or Portuguese name. This pragmatic strategy, aimed at ensuring the most stable type of service force, is indicative of the pragmatic approach taken concerning racial mixing. A related further measure was restriction of admission into the Netherlands of Asian wives and children of Dutchmen. Meanwhile, within the Dutch East Indies the Eurasian offspring of the mixed marriages became the preferred marriage partners in the society which developed. One result of the combination of practices was that nearly all members of society were raised by Asian women. Moreover, the racially mixed society as a whole was matrilineal, with Asian-born Dutch sons usually sent to the Netherlands for careers and new bachelor recruits brought in for company manpower." page 15 of "Blacks in the Dutch World"

i found this quite fascinating, simply because i didn't know the asian culture played a strong role in dutch culture. i can't wait to get more into this book and find out more.

Reverse Trick-o-Treating

Check out this great way to spread the word on Fair Trade Chocolate during the "candiest" day of the year!

the debate is getting violent

unless you've been hanging out in a cave lately, i'm sure you've noticed the debates that have been going on across the country about the healthcare reform president obama is proposing.

i don't know where you stand, but i am completely for healthcare reform. what that means to me comes down to several things:

1. quality healthcare available to everyone, all the time. no exceptions.
2. insurance providers that are care-based instead of profit-based
3. no one gets denied coverage because the insurance considers the treatment "not medically necessary" or it's considered a pre-existing condition
4. you have healthcare simply because you are alive, not because you have a job

i see it too often where i work where people are denied treatment for these reasons, and some others that are made up by health insurance providers as a method to deny coverage (that the patient is paying for) so they can increase their profits. i think healthcare is a human right, not a privilege only for those who can afford to pay for it out-of-pocket or for those who have jobs. you shouldn't have to be concerned about going bankrupt because of a complication during pregnancy or because you or your spouse gets cancer.

a lot of the talk about healthcare reform has been based on some people thinking the single payer option is "socialist". for that argument, i encourage you to look at this link. we're already close to it. i don't say that as a warning, but it's not as bad as people think. especially when i read a thread like this one on reddit that has people from iceland, france & canada chiming in about how incredible their healthcare systems really are. the US has the one of the worst healthcare systems out of all the developed nations. and we claim to be the best country to live in? if you're healthy, white and male...that's very true.

it's become really obvious to me that most (if not all) of the people who are protesting at these town halls and healthcare debates across the country fall into this category: white, middle class, and republican. most of them, from the points they bring up, have not even read the actual proposed bill and are only listening to people like rush limbaugh (and others who are only trying to push their own agenda) and are not listening to both sides. check out this interview with frank schaeffer (a christian activist) as he talks about this issue.

since a lot of this has become politicized, i encourage you to read the bill for yourself. i'm tired of hearing things like it has a "death panel" or other such nonsense. that was made up by a certain vice-presidential wannabe to get some press. be informed.

Text of Proposed Healthcare Reform Bill

this post is my small effort to dispel some of the myths, etc that are being spread about this issue. i encourage you to honestly research this and what it could really mean for you. not based on fears or what someone else has told you. unless that someone else is an expert in this area.

EDIT: i just came across this post from Tim Wise on facebook about the whole healthcare as an equality issue.

Picking Cotton

I recently read this book and was captivated by the story of ultimate forgiveness and justice. It's an amazing story about how one own's perception can be self-deceiving and how grace and persistence can be redeeming.

One very small part in the book talks about when the prisoner befriends a small cat for a while. While it breaks my heart to hear of the fate of this kitten, it also makes me think of a story I heard about on Oprah. Glenn Close helps support a program where puppies are trained by inmates to become assist dogs to wounded soldiers. The dogs not only learn crucial skills but the hope and encouragement and love to those who are often told that they are unworthy and lost causes. Amazing.

Tell the Stories of the People of Guatemala

This was the one request that we received when myself and several seminary classmates went to Guatemala in January of 2002. Here is a recent story of more corruption in this country.

Pray for the people of Guatemala.

Prop 8 in CA

Sad for the state of CA. Dang.

Read here and how generations disagree on this issue.

Evil Church

Here's a great post from my friend Adam about how complacent and apathetic many, many of our churches can be. And I mean the church universal, not one specific denomination.

It also reminded me of a Nooma video Brian and I watched on Sunday. Rob Bell's famous video series highlighted the roots of why people do and why they should go to church. This particular episode is called Sunday.

BTW, I also liked the video titled Bullhorn as well.

in 6 days...

i have a couple different thoughts going through my head as we head toward the inauguration of our 44th president. one can be summed up in the simple word of "excitement". it's the 1st time in my life i am actually excited about our new president. i don't know if you voted for him, or if you agree with him, or if even now you haven't figured that out. but i know i am looking forward to january 20th, 2009 when president-elect barack obama becomes president barack obama.

i wonder where he will lead this country in the next 4 years. i wonder what changes he will bring about that will strengthen our economy. i wonder how his example and leadership will help erase some of the racist mentalities that exist not only here in the states, but internationally. i wonder what kinds of things he and soon-to-be 1st lady michelle obama's daughters will glean from experiencing this unique event. i hope they come out of it as strong world leaders in their own rights.

all of this wondering is laced with a sense of joy. that we may see some new unique things from this young president. this president who not only knows about new technologies, but uses them extremely well.

the other thought i have revolves around feeling conflicted. conflicted in the sense that, although prez-elect obama did succeed, that our country still has a lot of issues it needs to work through. as i type this, nashville is 8 days away from voting on it's "english-only referendum". a referendum, that if approved by voters on january 22, will make it completely legal for all government documents, proceedings, etc to be done in english only. to put it simply, i'm not a fan of this. it's another step toward negating the many cultures, ethnicities and backgrounds that exist in nashville. it's also a referendum that seems to be aimed at the "inconvenience" of the average english-speaker of having to "work through" the non-english portions of documents, etc. the united states exists because people came here from other countries to live and breathe together, to find their dreams. these referendums go against that. and yet we have voted in a president who is the embodiment of all of that, the diversity that this country needs to embrace even more.

stewart vs. huckabee

jon stewart interviewed mike huckabee last week on "the daily show". during the interview, jon tackled the issue of gay marriage with mike...and did it wonderfully.

i also came across this blog a few days ago. it's an example of why a heterosexual marriage is not necessarily better than a homosexual marriage in regards to the health of a child.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Mike Huckabee Pt. 2

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

white education

i've learned a lot in the past 6 months of being married to julie. some of it has been hard, and some a bit easier. one thing that i'm learning more and more about each day is white privilege. i'm going to be completely honest here and say that before i met julie, i was ignorant/naive/uninformed as to the existence of white privilege.

white privilege is defined this way on whiteprivilege.com : "a right, advantage, or immunity granted to or enjoyed by white persons beyond the common advantage of all others; an exemption in many particular cases from certain burdens or liabilities". this happens in everyday life. the fact that many times, in the course of looking through résumés, an employer will ignore those from people whose name "sounds" black. or that salespeople are more willing to help a white person in a store, while a black person may be watched suspiciously. how often have you passed a black person on a dark empty street or alley & the thought "i hope he doesn't try to steal my wallet" has crossed your mind? i'm sure this doesn't happen in the same scenario when the other person in the street is white.

this can happen consciously or subconsciously, but it does happen. all of this is the result of white privilege, and it's roots stretch back to the beginning of before the founding of the united states, when europeans came over committed genocide (some even call it a holocaust) over the native americans, killing an estimated 90-95% of them. why? 1 obvious reason is the selfish reason of having more land. Another reason comes from a quote by the father of our country and our 1st president, george washington, who

"preferred buying indian's land rather than driving them off it because that was like driving "wild beasts" from the forest. he compared indians to wolves, "both being beasts of prey, tho' they differ in shape"" (taken from Robert Jensen's book "The Heart of Whiteness").

this mentality toward nonwhite people continued into the era of slavery in the states, and still happens today.

i know this is a lot to wrap your head around, and this is only the beginning of all that white privilege entails. i'll write more in the future about it as i learn more about it. and don't think it's limited to just blacks & whites. it stretches into hispanics & whites, asians & whites, etc. the biggest step forward is realizing that it is there and doing your part to erase it in your own life...which can take a lifetime to occur.

thanks for reading this.

brian