This blog is not just a work in process-it is a process.
This site was set up to help and focus our converation about doing worship and church together at Lockerbie Central United Methodst.
Every Monday at 6:30 we gather as a community to discuss what worship might look like the next Sunday and beyond. Please join us on Monday nights if you would like to participate.
I can't help with it. sounds like it may be more work than worth. maybe referenced in church on sunday? I could volunteer to read something...
For an interesting read regarding global poverty and the WTC bombings, check out this website from the Atitlan region of Guatemala (where some of our Dean's Beans come from! www.deansbeans.com):
This is from that website that I could not figure out how to link:
What could convince nineteen terrorists to murder three thousand innocent people and kill themselves doing it? As livid as we justifiably are, it's a question we need to dispassionately answer to form at an effective defense. I don't pretend to have the definitive answer but I do believe my years here give me a relatively unique perspective on one facet of the dilemma we face.
Fair or unfair, many people in the world do hate America. While there are religious and political motives, having lived amid third-world poverty for over twenty years it strikes me that this "New War" is no different than many "Old Wars" in that the battle lines are drawn between the wealthy and the poor; the "haves", if you will, and the "have-nots".
About twelve years ago I was walking a path outside the village of Todos Santos Cuchimatan. A young man in the exotic red and white clothing of the village stopped me and we exchanged pleasantries. "Do you own a car?" he asked. I did. "What's your work?" "Do you own land? "a stereo?" And so the conversation went, until he asked the poignant question: "Why do you have everything and we have nothing?"
There are many valid reasons why. Most of them fall under the general clause: "Because that's the way the world is." History, politics, economics, luck, geography etcetera have led to the world as it is, and it is a better world for it. Even that young man is better off today than his grandfather was at the same age. The problem is that on meeting me, he didn't feel better off, and I could see the resentment in his eye.
Is that fair? No. Is it human? Absolutely.
To a hungry child from Kabul we must appear unimaginably wealthy. Our success and power are envied. Envy can readily develop into jealousy, hatred and anger. Add religious fanaticism and the depraved rhetoric of people such as Osama bin Ladin and you have the dangerous emotional brew in which terrorist revel.
In no way does poverty and ignorance excuse the bombing of the WTC any more than the economic mayhem that beleaguered Germany between the wars exonerates the Nazis. Be that as it may, had we known then, what we know now, I doubt we would have let Germany fall into the anarchy that helped spawn the Nazis.
The Marshal Plan financed German and Japanese restoration after World War Two. Our motives for doing so were not necessarily altruistic; for one thing, we wanted allies against the Soviets. Just the same I doubt the US has benefited more from any governmental expenditure since the Louisiana Purchase.
For whatever reason, the mistakes of Versailles were not repeated. Since the war Germany and Japan have played vital roles in building the political stability and affluence the first-world presently enjoys. History shows there are persuasive self-serving incentives to do more to help the have-nots of the world.
To our credit, billions have been spent in third world development. Could we have done more? Yes. Does that make us partially culpable in the WTC bombings? It's a stretch, but one could make the argument. However such breast-beating is at best a waste of time, and at worst, drags us into an emotional quagmire that impedes the thoughtful analysis and steadfast resolution needed to prevent further horrors.
No two "Western" counties have been in direct conflict with each other since 1945. (I use the expression "Western" loosely in that I include Japan and those counties of Asia aligned with the US and Europe.) We need to assimilate the Arab world into the "West" and eliminate the poverty and ignorance Osama bin Ladin and his ilk so deftly exploit.
Years of living in Latin America convinced me the US's principal failing in Central America during the cold-war was in assuming Capitalism's advantages were self-evident, when they weren't. The communists shrewdly exploited this through better public-relations.
In 1983 while in Nicaragua, I went to a concert put on by the Sandinistas in which musicians sang mawkish songs glorifying the revolution. The crowd went crazy. I was dumbfounded that the audience bought the Sandinista propaganda hook, line and sinker. One only had to look at the conditions they lived under to see the absurdity of their enthusiasm.
On refection it occurred to me the only government the Nicaraguans had ever known were the Sandinistas and the vile despot who ruled before them. As an American I knew the advantages of Capitalism. Their concept of Capitalism was based largely on what the Sandinistas told them and the U.S. had done little to persuade them otherwise. In short, the communists outsold us.
So has Osama bin Ladin. Again, effective marketing trumped truth.
Terrorism is a malignant tumor on civil society that must be surgically removed, but beating cancer means eliminating it at a cellular level.
Development projects financed by the West have helped establish economic and political stability throughout Latin America. This in turn has brought peace. The work has barely begun; ignorance and poverty are still more common than not, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
The peace accord of 1996 formally ended Guatemala's civil war. But the peace has held due to the political and economic advances the Guatemalans have since made. This gives them hope for the future and when people believe they have too much to loose, war is no longer an option.
The poor don't want to be poor. They need to see opportunity and security in the West, not their own relative misery. We must convince them that they too can share in the wealth and then we absolutely must keep that promise.
As a young man in Jamaica put it: "We may live in paradise, but you have all the cash." He needs to live in an environment where that isn't necessarily so. More than that, he must be wholeheartedly convinced he has a chance to make it in a flourishing and prosperous world.
The bombing demonstrates that this is as essential to our well being as it is to his.
I think it's a great idea to do this service, especially if we can involve the community in it. I don't think we need to do it for ourselves. In any case, I won't be in town on 9/11. So, if you're taking a head count on the home front, I'm sorry my head can't be counted. Joe
Here's a confession from the GBOD website composed for the 9/11 anniversary.
God our hope and refuge, we confess that anger and hatred have held on to us. Healing has begun, but loss is still real. We are not in control. We don't like being vulnerable. We still want security or the illusion of it. We still want our enemies to be annihilated and for our lives to return to safety and Shalom. Forgive us and heal us. Raise us to new life. Strengthen us in the way of compassion and justice. Fix our faith on you so we know that nothing can separate us from you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
4 comments:
I can't help with it. sounds like it may be more work than worth. maybe referenced in church on sunday? I could volunteer to read something...
For an interesting read regarding global poverty and the WTC bombings, check out this website from the Atitlan region of Guatemala (where some of our Dean's Beans come from! www.deansbeans.com):
www.atitlan.com/wtc/index.htm
This is from that website that I could not figure out how to link:
What could convince nineteen terrorists to murder three thousand innocent people and kill themselves doing it? As livid as we justifiably are, it's a question we need to dispassionately answer to form at an effective defense. I don't pretend to have the definitive answer but I do believe my years here give me a relatively unique perspective on one facet of the dilemma we face.
Fair or unfair, many people in the world do hate America. While there are religious and political motives, having lived amid third-world poverty for over twenty years it strikes me that this "New War" is no different than many "Old Wars" in that the battle lines are drawn between the wealthy and the poor; the "haves", if you will, and the "have-nots".
About twelve years ago I was walking a path outside the village of Todos Santos Cuchimatan. A young man in the exotic red and white clothing of the village stopped me and we exchanged pleasantries. "Do you own a car?" he asked. I did. "What's your work?" "Do you own land? "a stereo?" And so the conversation went, until he asked the poignant question: "Why do you have everything and we have nothing?"
There are many valid reasons why. Most of them fall under the general clause: "Because that's the way the world is." History, politics, economics, luck, geography etcetera have led to the world as it is, and it is a better world for it. Even that young man is better off today than his grandfather was at the same age. The problem is that on meeting me, he didn't feel better off, and I could see the resentment in his eye.
Is that fair? No. Is it human? Absolutely.
To a hungry child from Kabul we must appear unimaginably wealthy. Our success and power are envied. Envy can readily develop into jealousy, hatred and anger. Add religious fanaticism and the depraved rhetoric of people such as Osama bin Ladin and you have the dangerous emotional brew in which terrorist revel.
In no way does poverty and ignorance excuse the bombing of the WTC any more than the economic mayhem that beleaguered Germany between the wars exonerates the Nazis. Be that as it may, had we known then, what we know now, I doubt we would have let Germany fall into the anarchy that helped spawn the Nazis.
The Marshal Plan financed German and Japanese restoration after World War Two. Our motives for doing so were not necessarily altruistic; for one thing, we wanted allies against the Soviets. Just the same I doubt the US has benefited more from any governmental expenditure since the Louisiana Purchase.
For whatever reason, the mistakes of Versailles were not repeated. Since the war Germany and Japan have played vital roles in building the political stability and affluence the first-world presently enjoys. History shows there are persuasive self-serving incentives to do more to help the have-nots of the world.
To our credit, billions have been spent in third world development. Could we have done more? Yes. Does that make us partially culpable in the WTC bombings? It's a stretch, but one could make the argument. However such breast-beating is at best a waste of time, and at worst, drags us into an emotional quagmire that impedes the thoughtful analysis and steadfast resolution needed to prevent further horrors.
No two "Western" counties have been in direct conflict with each other since 1945. (I use the expression "Western" loosely in that I include Japan and those counties of Asia aligned with the US and Europe.) We need to assimilate the Arab world into the "West" and eliminate the poverty and ignorance Osama bin Ladin and his ilk so deftly exploit.
Years of living in Latin America convinced me the US's principal failing in Central America during the cold-war was in assuming Capitalism's advantages were self-evident, when they weren't. The communists shrewdly exploited this through better public-relations.
In 1983 while in Nicaragua, I went to a concert put on by the Sandinistas in which musicians sang mawkish songs glorifying the revolution. The crowd went crazy. I was dumbfounded that the audience bought the Sandinista propaganda hook, line and sinker. One only had to look at the conditions they lived under to see the absurdity of their enthusiasm.
On refection it occurred to me the only government the Nicaraguans had ever known were the Sandinistas and the vile despot who ruled before them. As an American I knew the advantages of Capitalism. Their concept of Capitalism was based largely on what the Sandinistas told them and the U.S. had done little to persuade them otherwise. In short, the communists outsold us.
So has Osama bin Ladin. Again, effective marketing trumped truth.
Terrorism is a malignant tumor on civil society that must be surgically removed, but beating cancer means eliminating it at a cellular level.
Development projects financed by the West have helped establish economic and political stability throughout Latin America. This in turn has brought peace. The work has barely begun; ignorance and poverty are still more common than not, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
The peace accord of 1996 formally ended Guatemala's civil war. But the peace has held due to the political and economic advances the Guatemalans have since made. This gives them hope for the future and when people believe they have too much to loose, war is no longer an option.
The poor don't want to be poor. They need to see opportunity and security in the West, not their own relative misery. We must convince them that they too can share in the wealth and then we absolutely must keep that promise.
As a young man in Jamaica put it: "We may live in paradise, but you have all the cash." He needs to live in an environment where that isn't necessarily so. More than that, he must be wholeheartedly convinced he has a chance to make it in a flourishing and prosperous world.
The bombing demonstrates that this is as essential to our well being as it is to his.
I think it's a great idea to do this service, especially if we can involve the community in it. I don't think we need to do it for ourselves. In any case, I won't be in town on 9/11. So, if you're taking a head count on the home front, I'm sorry my head can't be counted.
Joe
Here's a confession from the GBOD website composed for the 9/11 anniversary.
God our hope and refuge,
we confess that anger and hatred have held on to us.
Healing has begun, but loss is still real.
We are not in control.
We don't like being vulnerable.
We still want security or the illusion of it.
We still want our enemies to be annihilated
and for our lives to return to safety and Shalom.
Forgive us and heal us.
Raise us to new life.
Strengthen us in the way of compassion and justice.
Fix our faith on you
so we know that nothing can separate us from you,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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