Things are getting stupider. The newest trend among teenagers–evidently only among white teenagers–is called eyeballing.
Eyeballing is taking shots of vodka not through their mouth–no, that would make too much sense–but through their eyes.
I wonder what my optometrist thinks of this.
Teens Take Vodka Straight Up – Through Their Eyes – TIME NewsFeed.
With the popular emergence of the Tea Party and the conservative strains of the Libertarian Party comes this false sense that we all could live our individual lives without any connections or involvement at all from local, state, or federal government.
In fact, many libertarian ideologies seem to verge on anarchy–this idea that every individual can and must make it on their own and has the right to do whatever it takes to be successful, even if their efforts undermine the basic principles of moral law or the rights of others. The emerging motto of the Tea Party is the old “Don’t Tread On Me”.
My feeling about these emerging conservative movements is that they either choose to ignore or quite simply take for granted the many ways that a host of government services make our everyday lives not only better, but just plain livable. The greatest weakness of both of these political ideologies is what we might call “the fallacy of autonomy”.
One of the greatest aspects of the Buddhist tradition is an everyday awareness of our interconnectedness–the idea that none of us could possibly live dependent on ourselves only. We wouldn’t be able to do much more than wake up in the morning if we could not depend upon the previous hard work of others (for example, who baked the Poptart you threw in the toaster this morning? Who picked the ingredients that made it possible for the baker of your Poptart to bake it in the first place? The box of Poptarts wasn’t baked in the cereal aisle of the grocery store, so who were the many people responsible for getting it there?) This awareness of our interconnectedness, the Buddha says, should lead us all to a profound sense of gratitude.
Here is an essay (which I did not write) that highlights the many ignored (and often under-appreciated) ways we rely on the way our government–local, state, as well as federal–makes it possible for us to make our safe ways through each day.
It’s not news to say that there are ways that the government, on all levels, could make aspects of our lives more pleasant if they just butt out in particular ways, but those who are asking the government to butt out completely may not know what they are asking for.
Here is the entire essay, written by someone who uses the handle “Radical Texan” and posted on the Democratic Underground website:
This morning I was awakened by my alarm clock powered by the electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the US Dept of Energy. I then took a shower in the clean water provided by the municipal water utility. After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC-regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service (of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) determined the weather was going to be like (using satellites launched and maintained by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration). I watched while eating my breakfast of US Dept of Agriculture-inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the Food and Drug Administration.
At the appropriate time as regulated by the US Congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the US Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-approved automobile and set out to work on the roads built by the local, state and federal departments of transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of quality level determined and tested by Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank. On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the US Postal Service and drop the kids off at the public school.
After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational safety and Health Administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which has not burned down in my absence thanks to state and local building codes, fire marshall’s inspections during government-overseen construction (and possibly since), and the vigilant watch of my city and county Fire Departments. I find my home has not been plundered of all it’s valuables thanks to the cooperation of the city, county, and state Police Department.
I then log on to the Internet (which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration) and post on freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how government involvement in healthcare is SOCIALISM which is BAD because the government can’t do anything right.
Here’s Jim Wallis, leader of the Sojourners, and a wonderful example of a person of faith who puts his faith in action every single day, rebutting Glenn Beck’s attacks on him.
It’s sad that Glenn Beck’s microphone is bigger than Jim Wallis’. Wallis has been doing the work of changing unjust social and political structures through his keen prophetic voice and insightful understanding of Scripture for more than 40 years, but in spite of all of that, he may go down in the minds of many people with the labels Glenn Beck has pinned him with–Marxist, socialist, communist.
Jim Wallis is, assuredly, not any of these. He’s a modern day visionary and a man who, just like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Micah and other Hebrew prophets, speaks wisdom and truth to power.
Perhaps none of these aforementioned prophets would have ever guessed that their voices would ring through the ages as powerfully as they have. Let’s hope that just like their’s, Jim Wallis’ voice–however small it is right now compared to Beck’s, or however lost it is in this noisy world–will one day be recognized as uncompromisingly biblical and truth-telling.
Here’s a paragraph excerpt from Jim Wallis’ letter to Glenn Beck:
Private charity, which Beck and I are both for, wasn’t enough to end the slave trade in Great Britain, end legal racial segregation in America, or end apartheid in South Africa. That took vital movements of faith which understood the connection between personal compassion and social justice. Those are the movements that have inspired me and shaped my life — not BIG GOVERNMENT. And my allies in faith-based social justice movements have wonderfully different views on the role of government — some bigger than mine and some smaller than mine — but we all believe social justice requires changing both personal choices and unjust structures. Apparently Beck thinks social justice ends with private charity, but very few churches in the nation would agree with him.
Read Jim Wallis’ entire rebuttal to Glenn Beck:
Jim Wallis: What Glenn Beck Doesn’t Understand About Biblical Social Justice.
I’d like to share a new magazine that I have just introduced myself to. BBC’s Knowledge Magazine is a beautiful bi-monthly magazine dedicated to nature, science, and history–three of my favorite topics that don’t come together in most magazines out there. Nat Geo aside.
The latest issue highlights Mark Twain at the 100th anniversary of his death.
Good stuff.
The long tradition of misinformation in school textbooks continues…or gets even worse.
Here’s a snippet from this week’s Time magazine:
…the Texas board of education voted 10-5 in favor of curriculum standards that would promote conservative takes on controversial issues in the pages of the state’s textbooks. The changes, expected to win final approval in May, include an increased emphasis on and sympathetic treatment of such Republican touchstones as the National Rifle Association and the Moral Majority. They also tout the superiority of capitalism and the role of Christianity in the nation’s founding. Even Thomas Jefferson’s profile will be diminished; some board members were less than fond of his ideas about the separation of church and state.
Shouldn’t it be troubling to all of us that Thomas Jefferson is deemed too progressive for the 21st century?
Here’s the whole article:
Here’s a must read article in this week’s Time Magazine about the way employment, education, and living is changing and may play out in the near future. I’ve had many of these exact same ideas myself, so it’s intriguing to think that others are thinking along the same lines.
1) What good is a college education anymore?
2) The ways most of us are learning are different than they were just 10 or 15 years ago. What about 10 years from now?
3) It seems like we all are moving toward a smaller, more communal way of everyday living. Working out of our houses, condensing our budgets, sharing out resources with our friends and extended families. Even moving in with one another to simplify our lives. Is communal living the future?
The Dropout Economy – 10 Ideas for the Next 10 Years – TIME.
Paris Hilton responds to “wrinkly white haired guy” with what may be the smartest energy policy we’ve heard yet (Okay, there are some holes in it). Anyway, check it out. She trashes McCain and shows up Obama…
See you at the debate, bitches.
Here’s a round up of some articles and blogs responding the Unitarian Universalist shooting in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Here’s a summary from the UUWorld website: Two Unitarian Universalists Killed in Church Shooting
A statement from the UUA President
Here’s a powerful blog post from Unitarian Universalist Nicole Belle: Unitarian Forgiveness
A blog post from the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA): TN Shooting Reflections
A Letter from the Presbyterian Church (USA) GA Council: Church Leaders Lift Up Knoxville Faith Community
Here’s a response from the General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ
The reaction and response from neighboring faith communities: Presbyterian Church Shelters Children Fleeing TN Gunman
The Knoxville community gathers to remember: A Service of Memory and Healing
About the man who tackled the shooter: John Bohstedt
Here’s a reminder that there were actually two churches affected by the shooter: A Prayer for TVUUC
The shooting seen as an act of terrorism: from the Huffington Post
And the beautiful truth about Unitarian Universalism: What UU’s Believe
