Drilling to Our Spiritual Core

We Unitarian Universalists pride ourselves on our commitment to social justice.  We hold in deep reverence past acts of abolitionists, suffragettes, civil rights activists, and others promoting equality, freedom and democracy.

A new movement has emerged that does not ask, "Can you imagine yourself a slave?"  "Can you feel how it feels to be a woman?"  "Can you understand the experience of being African American; Indigenous; Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Intersex?"  This new movement has turned the question around and asks, "Do you recognize that we are the 99%...that you are the 99%?"

Perhaps you are reading this on your home computer, or your smart phone, thinking that things are not that bad.  Maybe you are very happy with your life and you cannot understand why these protesters just don't work harder to find a job, or suck it up and pay their student loans like everyone else.  You see media reports of dirty-looking 60's leftovers whining about everything without any suggestions for real change.  You ask yourself, "Why don't they run for office if they are so dissatisfied?"  Or, "If they hate America so much, why don't they go somewhere else?"

All legitimate questions.  Consider one answer.

Slavery was morally wrong.  It took a century and a horrible civil war, but we eventually abolished slavery.  Denying women the right to participate in the democratic process was morally wrong.  It took a century of activism and protest, but suffrage eventually prevailed.  The exclusion of Blacks from the rights due all American citizens was morally wrong.  It took a century of lynching and violent sacrifice, but the Civil Rights Act was eventually passed.

Are these problems now magically solved?  Of course not.  Millions of undocumented immigrants, who have come to America just like our ancestors did, suffer in indentured bondage under crushing bureaucracy, hunted by an indifferent and overzealous paramilitary army with little or no oversight.  Women remain objectified in virtually every medium as objects for the sexual pleasure of men, their paths to leadership stifled by images created by corporations whose only bottom line is profit.  And GLBTQI people still suffer thousands of discriminating laws, the rejection of the most basic human right of marriage, not to mention all too frequent violence and even murder simply because of their identities.

And now we have Occupy Wall Street - a bunch of poor, dirty hippies grousing about rich  people, if you believe the mainstream media.  But, is that the reality?

The reality is that the United States in the past 50 years has made conscious decisions - moral decisions - to place profit over people.  Industry regulations have been eviscerated in the name of promoting economic development.  At the same time, we have carved away iindividual liberties in the name of security.  With the stroke of a pen, the highest court in the land has declared that a corporation is a person.  Racial minorities, women, gays and lesbians, and immigrants have been fighting for that recognition for 200 years and have yet to achieve their goal.

And what is our reward?  The free press, with the possible exception of a few small outlets, is essentially dead - held in a corporate vice grip by a literal handful of wealthy individuals intent on maintaining their Divine Right.  Ten of millions of Americans still suffer from untreated illness and disease because we have invested in bailouts instead of universal healtcare.  Washington continues to insist on fighting unjust and illegal wars across the globe, and looks to our social safety nets of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and others to foot the bill.  Our corporations rape our environment unabated, shelter billions in earnings from fair taxation, gamble with the economic life of our nation through unscrupulous speculation, and then are handed over the keys to the treasury to cover their losses - money that should be educating our children, creating jobs, caring for our elders, and giving young people reasons to hope that their belief in hard work and the American Dream is not just playing them for suckers so CEO's can get another million dollar bonus.

Religious people of every faith should be outraged, because every text we hold sacred preaches against these moral choices.  Here are just a small portion of the wisdom taught in every religion

• The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. (Christianity, NRSV Bible, 1 Timothy 6:10)
• A lover of money never has his fill of money, nor a lover of wealth his fill of income...A worker's sleep is sweet, whether he has much or little to eat; but the rich man's abundance doesn't let him sleep. (Judaism. Jewish Study Bible, Ecclesiastes 5:9 and 11)
• Woe to every slanderous reviler, habitual defamer, who hoards wealth and incessantly counts it!  He thinks his wealth will immortalize him.  Most surely, no, indeed!  He will be hurled in the Crusher. (Islam. Qur'an Surah 104:1-4)
• The gateway of this [self-deluded] hell leading to the ruin of this soul is threefold: lust, anger, and greed. (Hinduism. Bhagavad Gita 16.21)
• This foolish mind is greedy; through greed, it becomes even more attached to greed. (Sikhism. Guru Nank Dev, Siri Raag, p. 21)
• There is no calamity like now knowing what is enough.  There is no evil like covetousness.  Only he who knows what is enough will always have enough. (Taoism. Tao Te Ching 46)
• Fetters of wood, rope, or even iron, say the wise, are not as strong as selfish attachment to wealth and family.  Such fetters drag us down and are hard to break.  Break them by overcoming selfish desires, and turn from the world of sensory pleasure without a backward glance. (Buddhism. Dhammapada 345-6)
• As long as a person does not know the richness of joy and peace that comes from within, he tries to fill his empty and insecure existence with the clutter of material acquisitions...One must impose a limit on one's needs, acquisitions, and possessions such as land, real estate, goods, other valuables, animals, money, etc. The surplus should be used for the common good...This Jain principle of limited possession for householders helps in equitable distribution of wealth...economic stability, and welfare in the world.  Non-possession, like non-violence, affirms the oneness of all life and is beneficial to an individual in his spiritual growth and to the society for the redistribution of wealth. (Jainism, Twelve Vows of a Layperson, Aparigraha (Non-Possession)

The Occupy Wall Street movement has, at its core, a moral imperative.  As a society, we make choices about resource allocations, about what matters to us as people.  In recent years, we have chosen to support corporate idols over the needs of people.  But, corporations do not have souls, the moral capacity to act ethically, to sacrifice, to love.  OWS reminds all religious people, it reminds all of us, that the decisions are ours to make. 

I don't know the direction OWS will take.  But, as Theodore Parker said in "Of Justice and the Conscience" (1853): "I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience.  And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice."

Funeral for the Death of the Middle Class

At our Occupy Midland demonstration today, we had a funeral for the victims of corrupt politics and failed economics. Here is the text of the eulogy.

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Dear Friends,

 

Welcome to this solemn occasion, and join together in loving community as we lay to rest our dear brothers and sisters. We assemble today, people of all ages and races, men and women of all backgrounds and identities, spirits of all faiths, united in common cause against insidious invaders intent on destroying the America of our founders.

• Let us treasure the memory of Participatory Democracy and an economic system that benefited all who built this nation, conquered on all fronts by politicians bought and sold by corporate “persons” and by hijacked elections.
• Let us remember our pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness, murdered by the unfettered corporate control of our media and unregulated financial institutions.
• Let us recall the once healthy and vibrant American Dream, victim of spiraling medical costs, disproportionate distribution of wealth, and cruel repressions against immigrants desperately seeking to follow the lead of our own ancestors.
• Let us mourn our Homes, Retirement Savings, and Safety Nets being sacrificed in order to maintain colonialism and unlawful military actions across the globe.
• And lastly, let us especially grieve our dying Earth, whose pillaging, defacement, and reckless abandonment through oil spills, fracking, waste contamination, and violent abuse leave us homeless of spirit, and without anchor in our chaotic universe.

But, let us not grieve so deeply that we fall into a melancholy of inaction. For new children stand ready to take the place of these, our dearly departed. The 99% does not seek two-car garages, but equality and fairness. The 99% pursues not personal glory and isolation, but revels in teamwork and action with our neighbors. The 99% opens their arms to all willing to work side-by-side in peace and nonviolence, leaving no one behind. The 99% warmly hugs every tree, bush, and stone of our Mother Earth, knowing that living in partnership with our environment benefits all.

 

The forces opposing us are wealthy and determined. But, in the end, they fight only for the illusion of money. For power is only ours to keep or to give away. Let us leave this sad occasion with a new resolve to retain the power of self-determination, of mutual concern, and of fairness and love.

 

Let it be so. Amen. Shalom. Salaam Aleikum. Om. Blessed Be. Namaste.

Where is our Port Huron Statement?

I have had a number of spirited conversations in recent weeks over the Occupy movement.  While I think the movement has been unfairly criticized for lacking focus or specific suggestions for change (it's not even two months old!), I do believe that we need to start thinking about this direction.  For years, I have watched individuals and agencies all fighting for their individual causes, and found the lack of a unifying progressive agenda in this country frustrating.

So whenever this topic arises regarding Occupy, I can't help but think of the Port Huron Statement, the manifesto of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) completed on June 15, 1962.  Whatever one thinks about the 60's and how the movement eventually went astray, I still find this Statement a compelling articulation of the liberal, progressive mind of America.

Now that I find myself in Midland, Michigan - home of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy - I yearn even more strongly for a voice of fairness, compassion, and reason.  What is stopping us from gathering together our best minds and our most passionate leaders to take the New York General Assembly statement to the next level of clearly explaining our vision for a future America?  What is stopping us from creating a plan of action for the next decade?

The beauty of such a statement today is that the Port Huron document was the reflection of only one generation.  The Occupy movement could  bring together literally every demographic in this nation.  And today, the technology certainly exists to bring together people of every socioeconomic group without a concern over travel expenses and lost wages.  We could even use the New York General Assembly Statement as an outline to frame the document that could eventually be distributed and ratified by General Assemblies in countless cities.

I want a Declaration of Independence for 21st century America - independence from the corruption of the democratic ideal, from the perversion of capitalist economy that our corporate complex has created.

The Real War on Terror

I imagine that I pestered my parents quite a bit as a seven-year-old child.  It was 1963, and a new show – Shock Theater – was airing late Friday night.  Starring Ghoulardi, one of the first in a long line of horror hosts continuing even today, Shock Theater presented B-grade monster and science fiction films to the generation born during the imminent threat of nuclear holocaust and Communist invasion.  We were a demographic ripe for the fertile nurturing of terror.

I had already seen The Twilight Zone, and The Outer Limits would burst on the scene later that year. So, I couldn’t wait to stay up past my bedtime for this offering.  What made Shock Theater different was that Ghoulardi was cool – a funny and irreverent Beatnik.  Ghoulardi became a master of the catch phrase.  If you happen to remember minor novelty hits like "The Bird is the Word," and "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" by The Rivingtons – that was Ghoulardi.

Between cinematic classics like Kronos and The Deadly Mantis, Ghoulardi also exposed me to the classic Universal horror monster films of the 1930’s.  Even if you have never watched a minute of these movies, you know the themes.  These characters pervaded 20th century media and still represent icons of modern cultural literacy.

Dracula, the Vampire – a soulless, loveless creature of seemingly overwhelming strength and ability. Modeled after Vlad the Impaler, an historically notorious slaughterer of enemies, Dracula lives on today in endless film and print versions.  Vampire stories on the small screen range from Buffy and Angel, to Being Human and True Blood. And who could be oblivious to the new interpretation of the vampire myth that has a generation of young girls rapt in the Twilight series?

The vampire represents the terror of powerlessness, a hypnotic horror that doesn't just kill your spirit quickly, but slowly drains it away.  The vampire is no force of nature, but a conscious and malevolent power bent on the deflowering of the innocent and the tainting of the pure.  Protection exists for those with unwavering faith, and especially strong believers can wield the tools capable of destroying the monster.  Ironically, mortal love is the one variable most able to foil the vampire’s plans.

In some ways quite the opposite of Bela Lugosi’s Count was Imhotep, the Mummy, a reanimated flesh golem whose sole purpose of existence is to complete the execution of an ancient curse.  The Mummy is less popular, especially among the ladies, perhaps because of his lack of independent initiative or creativity – and the dirty bandages don’t help.  The Mummy is a brute, pummeling or strangling victims, with none of the subtlety and finesse of the vampire.

The Mummy represents the terror of inevitability, because no matter what you do, the monster will eventually catch you.  Unlike the vampire, little can put the Mummy off your track as his slow but relentless pursuit wears you down until you relax your guard just once.  But, like the vampire, the Mummy has one key weakness that makes it ultimately vulnerable – his forbidden love for the Princess Ankh-es-en-amon.  And while his body is impervious to attack, the paper scroll containing his life-giving spell can be burned to end his threat.

A much more human character was Larry Talbot, the Wolfman – a gallant, but innocent soul infected with a disease that transforms his body and subjugates his mind.  Over time, writers have often pitted the werewolf and the vampire against each other, most notably in the recent Underworld series and the aforementioned Twilight books and films.  For, while we helpless rabble might lump one monster with another, these two are irrevocably different.  The vampire is lifeless, a heartless killing machine with only vague memories of mortality.  But, the werewolf is still a living human inflicted with the disease of lycanthropy.

The Wolfman symbolizes the terror of corruption, an unyielding virus that insidiously attacks the body from within.  The lycanthrope has the mighty power of animal nature, driven by the mysterious power of the Moon, an eternal metaphor for darkness and mystery.  The true evil of the werewolf lies in the non-death of the circumstance.  Unlike the mummy or the vampire, lycanthropy steals away one’s free will, but not one’s life.  Once again, in death there lies release, but only when delivered by the hands of a loved one.

And then, there is the ultimate Monster, the unnatural creation of Dr. Henry Frankenstein.  This once human, now perverse sacrilege of God’s handiwork, the Monster evokes equal parts pity and revulsion, awe and rage.  Given our routine exposure to mayhem and carnage today, one can hardly believe that this film once caused fainting spells and heart attacks in theaters.  Most would agree, however, that Boris Karloff’s performance made the Monster the memorable figure it remains today – humane and childlike, yet savage.

The Frankenstein Monster exemplifies the terror of profanity, the vile and blasphemous embodiment of humanity’s inflated ego and arrogance.  This creature, at the same time both trauma-inducing and tragic, makes us look in the mirror and question our purpose in the world and our relation with the order of the universe.  Only when his monster threatens his bride on their wedding day does Henry Frankenstein recognize his error and fight to end his creation’s reign of violence.

All of these terrors – powerlessness, inevitability, corruption, and profanity – alone are enough to vanquish the weak and to conquer those lacking the skill and devotion to battle their power.  But, there is one more terror, a terror perhaps worse than the others combined.  For this power, however, we must leave the comfort of cushioned theater seat and the delight of a tub of buttered popcorn for the all-too-real world.  Because, this terror only exists in a universe where the monster can actually emerge victorious when the credits roll.

In June 1876, a real-life character not unlike Henry Frankenstein in his boldness and arrogance took on an overwhelming force of Lakotas, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapahoe in the Battle of Little Big Horn. George Armstrong Custer was among 268 soldiers of the 7th cavalry killed in the action, which has acquired mythic proportions in American history.  One item nearly always omitted from the popular account is that Custer was found with shots to the left chest and left temple.  He seemed to have bled from only the chest wound, meaning his head wound may have been delivered post-mortem.  Some Lakota oral histories assert that Custer committed suicide to avoid capture and subsequent torture.

Being right-handed, historians generally discount reports of Custer taking his own life.  However, several accounts of Indian witnesses note that soldiers committed suicide near the end of the battle. Walking Blanket Woman told of the mass suicide of C Company, which was described by Black Wolf, Pine, Limpy, Bobtail Horse, Rising Sun, Red Fox, and Dives Backward – all Northern Cheyennes. Wooden Leg, also a Cheyenne, described the same incident to his friend, Dr. Thomas B. Marquis, who later wrote a book titled, Keep The Last Bullet for Yourself: The True Story of Custer’s Last Stand. Wooden Leg later recalled: “[T]he white men went crazy. Instead of shooting us, they turned their guns upon themselves. Almost before we could get to them, every one of them was dead. They killed themselves.”  Other Indian combatants spoke of still more suicides among the American soldiers, including He Dog and Turning Hawk.

Now, many of Custer’s men were the rawest of recruits, with no experience fighting the Native Americans, and little practice even firing their weapons.  One might imagine how their heads had by then been filled with accounts of brutal mistreatment and torture at the hands of this particular enemy. This combination of fighting an unknown enemy to whom all manner of atrocities had been attributed understandably made these soldiers succumb to this most powerful of terrors – the terror of hopelessness.

This addition brings us a complete picture of true terror.  True terror makes us feel powerless and as if relentless bad outcomes are inevitable.  We see the causes of terror as corrupting that which is innocent and pure and profaning our foundational principles and beliefs.  Worst of all, true terror robs us of any hope that we can cope with these feelings.  In the face of our recent history, the exploits of Freddy Krueger, Jason, and Michael Myers cannot possibly complete as threats to really terrifying us beyond the confines of 90-minute entertainments.

For the real terror today wields almost limitless financial power and political influence; its doors may only be open from 9:00 to 5:00, but its efforts require no sleep or sustenance.  The real terror has taken a sound theory and corrupted it, not only creating chaos and confusion, but then trying to convince us that chaos and confusion are eventually good for us.  Millions without jobs…millions without medical care…millions homeless and hungry…millions robbed of futures…millions of dreams destroyed…millions deprived of the hope that is America.

The real terror today is the Frankenstein monster that we have built, that we have assembled part by bloody part, often through our own indifference or our own pursuit of comfort.  The real terror today is the perversion of capitalism and democracy generically labeled “Wall Street.”  We see evidence of its attacks on our communities every day.  Our jobs can disappear overnight taking with them pensions and insurance; organizations devoted to improving workers’ rights and workplace conditions are being dismantled by our elected officials; and greed can erase home ownership and the fruits of a lifetime of hard work with the stroke of a pen or the tapping of a calculator.

This monster possesses an insatiable appetite and will never rest until it owns everything.  This monster knows no law but the backroom deal, the special interest group, and the campaign donation.  This monster will happily gobble up all the sacrifices we make to placate it, and then come back for more.

We are not Custer’s raw recruits.  We know our enemy well and have too often turned a blind eye to its misbehaviors.  Individually, we may not have the skills needed to combat the monster, but we know how to acquire them and how to work together to share our available talents and energy.

In recent weeks, people with hope have begun to act.  People from all walks of life, from 9 to 90, dock workers and doctors, people of all faiths, races, identities and backgrounds have come together in more than 1,000 cities and towns across the country.  The grassroots Occupy Movement continues to grow everywhere where people feel the monster at their doorstep.


Despite the best efforts of corporate-owned media to make the movement sound unfocused and leaderless, a statement approved by the general assembly of protesters at Liberty Square in New York City articulates a widely-held call to action.

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments…
• They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.
• They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.
• They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
• They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.
• They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices.
• They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.
• They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.
• They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.
• They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.
• They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.
• They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
• They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.
• They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.
• They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.
• They have donated large sums of money to politicians supposed to be regulating them.
• They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
• They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantive profit.
• They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.
• They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.
• They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.
• They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.
• They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
• They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.

To the people of the world, We…urge you to assert your power. Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone…Join us and make your voices heard!

Where do our churches fit in this movement?  As Unitarian Universalists, I believe that a connection with this movement – if you agree with its assertions – is undeniable.  We affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person, which includes the 1% and the 99%.  And, a corporation is not a person.  We affirm and promote justice, equity, and compassion in human relations, all of which have been under assault in recent years.  We affirm and promote the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process, another area facing challenges from unjustified arrests and detentions, to efforts to undermine our constitutional rights.  We affirm and promote the goal of world community, a goal unattainable so long as primacy is giving to profits over people.

I think that we as religious people, laity and clergy, wield the one force capable of slaying all monsters. We possess the one tool able to saving their victims, of curing the afflicted, and motivating even the most unruly mob to coordinated action.

We are the agents of love.  No silver bullets, no garlic and stakes, no torches and pitchforks.  Just pure love.  Innocent love.  The love of a child, of a parent, of a brother or sister, of a neighbor.  We can bring the power of our love to this movement, helping to heal the pain felt by the 99%.  By standing on the side of love, we can once again show that our churches are relevant in our day-to-day lives, and that a strategy of nonviolence can overcome any obstacle.

I intend to stay involved in this particular war against terror.  I ask you to get informed and make your voices heard.

Enraged?...Engage!

Like many of you on the Internet, yesterday I watched live feeds as police raided the Oakland Occupy site and assaulted peaceful protesters with clubs and tear gas.  I sat, dumbfounded, watching the kind of violent action I expect from totalitarian regimes in third world nations taking place in my country, in my America.  I watched, helpless to stop this outrage, able to do nothing more than make a phone call and send messages of support and love.

I felt tremendous anger at the police, using tactics reserved for criminals against citizens exercising their constitutional rights to assemble, speak, and seek redress of their grievances.  I marvelled that the protesters (as has been the case at all of the Occupy sites I know of) responded nonviolently and did not try to answer these unprovoked attacks with violence.

I felt conflicted.  I have long supported our law enforcement workers, who routinely put their lives on the line to protect us and our communities.  The nation has extended tremendous support to these officers since 9/11 in recognition of their labor and commitment.  But, these police actions only evoked in me a sense of shame; shame that these men and women were acting as agents of my nation.

Then I felt pity.  I imagined how some of the police must have felt.  Surely some of these men and women - who are all part of the 99% in the Occupy movement - hated following these orders and would have refused if not for the threat of losing jobs and benefits.  It is always easy to Monday morning quarterback decisions made by people in such situations.

But, my sympathy only goes so far.  If you are a law enforcement officer, I ask you to consider how far you are willing to go following orders that violate our rights as American citizens.  I ask you to consider whether you would be willing to tear gas women and children for any reason, let alone for being part of lawful, peaceful demonstrations.  I ask you to start to question whether the people giving the orders for you to act as the police in Oakland did, are indeed living up to your mission to serve and to protect.

And to the rest of us who are not police officers.  Are you enraged by the increasing hostility toward the Occupy protesters?  If you are enraged, then get engaged!  Now is exactly the time that this movement needs the support of the 99%.  Whether you sleep in a tent in a public park, bring food and drink to other protesters, or simply shake a protester's hand in support, now is the time to let your voice be heard. 

The Internet has taught us the fine art of lurking.  Lurking serves a purpose when it comes to reading blogs or participating in listservs.  But, the time for lurking while watching the live feed from Oakland yesterday is over.  If you agree with the principles of the Occupy movement, then get off of the sidelines and jump into the game!

Occupy!

I am normally not much of an "in-your-face" protester, and my body does not take kindly to long marches. But, the Occupy movement speaks so viscerally to so many people, that I jumped at the opportunity to get involved.

Occupy Midland held its first protest on Monday in front of a Bank of America branch at the corner of Ashman and Eastlawn here in Midland. About 50 people participated and I am proud to say that about a quarter of them were members and friends of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Midland.

I wore my Standing on the Side of Love shirt and we picketed as literally hundreds of drivers passing by honked their horns and waved encouragement.

Occupy Wall Street movements take hold in Mid-Michigan: Occupy Midland makes the top story.

Two points I made that didn't make the televised interview were these.  The Occupy movement is expressing the rage and frustration of hundreds of millions of Americans who feel betrayed by their institutions and politicians.  What better place for ministers to be in this time of national distress.  Second, the emphasis of the Occupy movement spans all demographics, including religion.  Every religion teaches that the love of money and the pursuit of wealth only leads to unhappiness and despair.  Every religion teaches the value of charity and being our brothers' and sisters' keepers.  Every religious person is part of the 99%.

Not Dead Yet

As a lifelong book collector (a.k.a. nut), I have bemoaned the death of so many used book stores in recent years, not to mention chains like Borders.  One of the few disappointments I experienced during my year in New York City was the scarcity of stores once so plentiful in Manhattan.  I'm not knocking Ebay and Amazon.com.  I have accumulated considerable customer ratings without ever selling anything online, so I am just as much to blame for the trend as anyone.

But with the birth of Kindles and the immense growth of online texts, I worry for the future of the printed word.  Only a warm and loving caress can beat the security and ambiance of shelves packed with one's favorite novels, histories, and art books.  And nothing has me whipping out my wallet faster than to purchase a desired hardback.

So, imagine my surprise going to my first library book sale up here in Michigan.  Library book sales are big business in Western Pennsylvania, and the collector must develop sharp elbows to brush aside the hoards of dealers crowding the front of the line upon opening.  But, here in Mid-Michigan, I thought that perhaps the competition might tax my resolve - and require fewer body checks - less than I was accustomed to. 

I arrived my customary hour early, and saw the expected handful of dealers already waiting on the windy sidewalk.  I eyed my competition, to better plan my attack on the tables of waiting titles.  I chatted with the people alongside me in line.  One was an older fellow looking for mysteries; the other a young mother who had once lived in Japan looking for picture books for her child's school - excellent, no competition from them!  I was so engaged in conversation, that the appointed hour crept up unexpected.  When I glanced back, I saw a line of people stretched as least 50 long down the sidewalk and around the corner.  And, these were all people actually paying $10 for Friends of the Library memberships in order to gain access to the sale a day early.

Once inside, I went into fast scan mode.  Early in a sale, taking time to actually read titles wastes valuable time, so the collector learns to look for books by appearance and keywords.  For instance, as a collector of accounts of Nazi Germany, the word "quisling" caught my eye on one book - a biography of Vidkun Quisling who assisted Nazi Germany as it conquered his country of Norway...snatch.

Going upstairs, I found the specially-priced books and was shocked to see some nice modern leather-bound editions I was familiar with.  I nabbed the titled I wanted and then walked away before I talked myself into books I really didn't want simply because the price was right.  Literally a minute later, the dealer I had spied at the front of the line came up and cleaned out all of the titles I had left behind.  You know, beating out a book dealer is not equivalent to a fine meal, or a warm hug...but it sure is close.

I left the book sale more upbeat about the future of my favorite medium.  I had found some cool additions to my library.  Even better, though, that finding neat books for myself is finding books for other folks.  Looking through the Religion section, I found a book about Shinto temples in Japan - exactly what the young mother and I had been talking about.  I found her over by the kids tables and handed her the book.  Nothing beats connecting a person with just the right book.

No, the book is not quite dead yet.