Category Archives: human rights
When the Occupy Movement Makes You Late for Dinner
Photo credit: flickr/kosmosxipo
I stood alone on the street corner of Fourth and Cedar in downtown Seattle after a day at work, waiting for my bus to arrive. Like most nights this week, it was blustery and cold outside. But unlike most nights this week, Fourth Avenue was eerily quiet. I paced impatiently, knowing there was a hot dinner waiting for me and bills needing to be paid at home.
Later on the bus, I overheard two others in a conversation. The Occupy Movement had tied up the downtown intersections and traffic heading in my direction was stalled. I would be late to dinner because of this nation-wide gathering. The Occupy Movement directly impacted my life, and that has troubled me in unexpected ways.
It is Time for the American Christian Church to Surrender the Gay Marriage Fight, Apologize, and Share Love
Photo credit: flickr/julesreyes
I need to clarify right out of the gate that this post will not focus on the “choice vs. birth vs. childhood” arguments related to the origin of homosexuality in an individual. We must start from the reality that acknowledges the American Christian church as divided on that issue, and will be for some time. Many on the Right view homosexuality as sin, a growing number on the Left view homosexuality as God-authored and inherently beautiful, and those in the middle have varying views and distinctions to offer. For Christians across the political and denominational spectrum, it is often a struggle to find one’s footing in this complicated issue. After all, the GLBT community includes family members, friends and neighbors.
Instead, this post will focus on making a case from a Christian perspective that gay marriage should be allowed legally in this country, and will attempt to explain why the church will become more like it was intended to be when it concedes this legislative battle. Here’s why.
[TELEGRAM] Mr. Candidate Wants to Make Us Smile and Cheer
“If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.” -Samuel Adams
The U.S. Assassination of a U.S. Citizen and the Nobility of Asking Tough Questions
A U.S. predator drone. Photo Credit: flickr/CliffStreetPhotography
ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper is a hero as far as I’m concerned. Tapper bothered to ask White House Press Secretary Jay Carney a few critically important questions about the U.S. government’s assassination of U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, after Awlaki was decimated in Yemen late last week by a missile fired from a U.S. predator drone. When given the political run around, Tapper didn’t shrink into his chair. Thankfully, he persisted.
Poverty Tourism is Bad. Idle Opinions Are Worse.
Photo Credit: Lauren Ebright | The Broken Telegraph
A discussion has erupted on the internet about the dangers of poverty tourism. The critics argue that we really only make ourselves feel better about America’s disproportionate privilege while glossing over the complex issues of global poverty by visiting struggling countries for a bit of brief outreach. All of this broader talk is happening as my wife Lauren, her boss Matthew and I prepare to travel to Cambodia next week for 10 days in an effort to offer some support in that country.
There is definitely something legitimate to the concerns that have been raised about poverty tourism, but I would argue that focusing on such concerns is far more damaging than any misguided altruism. Here’s why.
[TELEGRAM] Combat as an Acquired Taste
Interview with Author Richard Dahlstrom: On Economic Survival, Evangelism, and the Crushing Nature of Adversarial Consumerism
Photo Credit: Ian Ebright | The Broken Telegraph
As our conversation continues, I’m realizing that this idea of intentional living is not just a bunch of words for author Richard Dahlstrom. He seems to be enjoying the moment rather than trying to rush through it. The office we are sitting in is a loft with the usual computer and bookshelf. But there’s also candles burning on top of the space heater, and a pretty impressive climbing wall that he’s made out of a corner of the office complete with climbing holds, carabiners, and what looks like a meditative prayer sheet that’s been tacked halfway up the incline. On the other side of the stairs is a flat, carpeted cubby area that he calls the prayer space, and the books over there have been left open. I can’t find anything in the entire area that has been placed for the sake of appearance.
Osama Bin Laden is Dead, But This is No Time to Celebrate
Men draped in the flag chant “We’re number one!” Photo Credit: flickr/theqspeaks
For some, the news brought an understandable sense of relief, or a bit of overdue closure. Others are viewing the event through a purely strategic lens, believing the kill shot to be an accomplishment only because it will likely avert greater violence in the future. The merits of such reactions are debatable. But those who boldly celebrate the death of Osama Bin Laden have fallen for a devilish trick. In an effort to assert moral superiority and to separate from the legacy of the infamous terrorist, they have unwittingly participated in the same hatred that gave birth to his kind of extremism.
Living on Two Dollars a Day During Lent: Simplicity in the Burbs
Photo Credit: flickr/kimili
The following is a post written by my friend Kurt Willems of The Pangea Blog.
I am picky.
I hate most foods that could be considered healthy.
In college, I ate Panda Express (Chinese fast food) for dinner almost every night and supplemented other meals with burgers and pizza.
As a child, I would sit at my Grandpa’s dinner table for hours because I refused to eat my veggies. My most consumed meal during childhood: cereal. Count Chocula was not just breakfast, but sometimes dinner. And if I ran out of milk, no problem… water.
Narcissistic Stockholm Syndrome: War Machine
Photo Credit: flickr/Kenny Holston 21
A couple of friends are filling in for me while I’m away on break. This post is written by Jason M. Dye of the blog Left Cheek.
What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?” -Mahatma Gandhi
Someone out there is planning a counter-demonstration to a peace march. Oddly enough, it’s not Boeing, Haliburton, Blackwater, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, nor any of the other war profiteers taking out the banners and megaphones to stymie the influence of the peace activists.
It is a Marine who served in Vietnam.
Please don’t miss the irony of this. Someone who suffered under the direction of war-mongers and profiteers believes that those who oppose the war-mongers and profiteers need to be opposed.
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