Thursday, July 31, 2008

I am a Unitarian Universalist

I am not much into forwarding the various things that pass through my inbox. But today I got a copy of a blog entry, which is one that expresses one of the ways I feel about the world right now. This is my way of forwarding it; it is also my way of changing the world. You see, I am a Unitarian Universalist and last Sunday a gunman entered a UU church in TN and shot several congregation members. It was a children's service and the kids were performing Annie. Linda Kraeger and Greg McKendry died and 5 others were injured. The reason for the shooting? UUs are a liberal denomination.

I wish I could say this is the first time UUs have been targeted for their liberal faith. It is not. One of the things a minister once asked my congregation is if UUs were ever targeted again, would anyone know we were UUs. It is a question that has remained with me for years, particularly as I have listened to the ultra-conservatives talk.

Pastor Martin Niemöller wrote a poem which goes (depending on which translation you read):

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up,
because I was a Protestant.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

I first read that poem in college. It has remained a reminder to me that we have an obligation to stand up for others if we want them to stand up for us. That society is really a collection of voices, and if ours are not heard, then society can go terribly wrong.

And so today I want you to know that I am indeed a Unitarian Universalist. And I am speaking up. I may not have known the individuals involved, but I feel a lot of pain, not just for the children who witnessed this horror, not just for the families and friends of the dead and injured, but also because someone so hates what I believe in, that he was willing to take a shotgun into a UU church and open fire on people he did not know. I am horrified that there has been so little news interest in this event. And like the writer, I am struggling to forgive the hate mongers who encourage this kind of behavior.

Please take a moment to read this wonderful entry on Unitarian forgiveness!


Tuesday, July 22, 2008

What are we thinking?

Okay, so I admit that I am drastically overweight and that is mostly because I eat too much at a meal; but today I got an absolute shock. While at the convenience/gas station all these people came out with 52 ounce glasses of soda. Now given that a cola has about 100 calories per 8 ounces, which means that these people are drinking about 650 calories per glass. For a woman who is moderately active, 2000 calories is probably the maximum number of daily calories she should consume. So that drink is about 30% of a woman's calorie needs.

Perhaps the most startling was the little girl (probably 5-6 years old) and her sister who each came out with a 52 ounce drink and a snack. Assuming that the pop was not diet pop, that means they were getting about 45% of their daily calorie needs in the beverage alone.

Like I said, I am really overweight but even I have to wonder at the beverage consumption habits of the US population. Now I know that those drinks were on sale for 79 cents, but just because it is on sale does not mean we need to buy it.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Gorgeous Country

Today we started a trip through Wyoming and South Dakota on our way from Montana to Omaha, Nebraska. Today we drove from Great Falls, through Billings, then across MT212 to Alzada and then south into Wyoming, stopping at Hulett. For those who think that eastern Montana and Wyoming are desolate country, I can only ask where you have been. This was beautiful and the trip from Alzada to Hulett is gorgeous. We had the advantage of early evening, just when the shadows are long enough to make a beautiful view spectacular.

I admit that this is not the lush green land of the humid east, nor the majestic grandeur of the Rockies. But that does not mean the country is not beautiful. The flatter lands give way to ravines and washes as you proceed east. Hay meadows snuggle up to pine tree covered ridges and rock outcroppings become yellow and red. One particular cut was a lovely purple tone. Antelope graze in sagebrush dotted prairie.

And then you start south. The sage land suddenly becomes a forest with meadows and amazing numbers of grazing deer. Time and time again, you drive over a hill or around a corner and see a gorgeous vista. My Dad would have had to come back several times to get all the pictures possible. I can tell that this is the route to take, at least if you are not traveling in winter!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Respect (Neither Wolf nor Dog)

I just went home to visit with my mom. Because I was going to be there for her book group, I read Neither Wolf nor Dog by K. Nerburn. It was a really good book on the differences between "white" culture and Lakota culture, at least from the perspective of Dan (a Lakota man) and Nerburn. Reading it, particularly the first several chapters, really helped me understand some cultural and perspective differences. But there were some points that I really strongly disagreed with. I thought I would take a moment to think about them here.

One of the most problematic items is the issue of respect. I keep hearing these demands for respect but they are so one sided. Dan frequently demands respect under his own terms, but is totally unwilling to offer it under his white author's cultural rules. In fact, Dan is downright insulting and the Nerburn talks as if we are supposed to believe that is okay. If we are ever going to heal the rifts between the individuals in this country, we are going to have to start respecting each other. That does not simply mean that I respect you; it also means that you show me respect. If we come from different cultures, then we each should be striving to show that respect under the other individual's cultural rules. We won't always succeed, but we should try. It is not okay with me if any member of a "minority" culture is insulting. Different cultures are not an adequate excuse, particularly if I am trying.