Truth and Meaning: Christmas is for Children

Truth and Meaning: Christmas is for Children

In a few days, people around the earth will celebrate the birth of a child — a child who changed the world forever. Christmas celebrates the miracle of birth, the miracle of children in our lives. Christmas is a time of wonder and magic, of mystery and anticipation. In the deepest cold of winter and the longest nights of darkness, Christmas reminds us of joy and light, of laughter and love.

But this year, families across the country will remember this season for another reason. They will remember today, Dec. 14, as the day that a man with a gun stole a child away forever from their family. Twenty families will remember children killed in Newtown, Conn. one year ago today. As they remember the birth of a baby in a manger, they will also remember their own birth and raising a child. They will remember sending their child to school, to the safety of friends and committed teachers. And they will remember that they will never see that child alive again.

They will pray for guidance. They will cry and mourn and ask “Why?” Perhaps they will find answers. Perhaps the wisdom to cope with such devastating loss will be delivered to them. Perhaps the grace to forgive the executioner will be granted. Perhaps their faith will sustain them in the absence of any rational reason for the meaningless death of 20 children.

They will pray in silence. Many of us will join in silent remembrance as well, connecting perhaps through our own pains of grief and loss. We will weep silently and feel the dread cold of the eternal night surrounding us all, but which came far too early for these 20 lives.

But, the question, “Why?” must not be asked silently. The question “Why?” should be shouted from every home, at every legislative office, in every hall of government. Why do we allow people to access guns freely without background checks? Why are we incapable of passing one law controlling the sale of guns when the overwhelming majority of Americans desire it? Why do we do nothing as our children continue to die?

Jesus taught the ways of peace. The babe born on Christmas Day commanded his disciples to sheathe their swords, saying that those who take up the sword will die by the sword. America has taken up and embraced guns with the caress that should be reserved only for infants. And we are paying the price for nurturing a gun culture with the blood of our children.

So when you go to your church to honor the babe, pray silently for the 20 lost children, who will never know another Christmas with their families. But come home and scream, “Why?” Go forth and demand that America put down the sword and pass sensible gun legislation. Shout until your voice cracks and your throat grows hoarse so that no family must endure this pain again. Let there be no more silence — let us send out the call for remembrance and resolve.

Truth and Meaning: The War on Women Continues ...

Truth and Meaning: The War on Women Continues ...

Michigan legislators are considering acting on a petition that will clearly reveal their level of callous disregard for women. The petition calls for a ban on abortion coverage as part of Michigan health insurance policies. Instead, to get this coverage, women would be required to buy a separate abortion insurance rider policy.This action would make access to comprehensive health care nearly impossible to obtain for many women around our state. This proposal singles out women and denies them health care coverage for life-saving health care services with no exception for rape, incest or the life and health of the mother.

Now, let’s be clear. The proposal does absolutely nothing to eliminate abortion in Michigan. The action only increases the cost of abortion to women. So the only undeniable impact of this proposal is that a legal medical procedure will now cost a specific, targeted population of citizens more money — money that many of these citizens do not have. This proposal singles out women, forcing them to pay more money for medical treatment to which they have a legal right.

But let’s concentrate on what this proposed action does for the rest of us. If enacted, the proposal will do nothing to make us better men. It will not make us more responsible sexual partners. It will not make us better husbands or fathers. But if we choose to rape, it will make it more likely that our victim will be forced to carry a resulting pregnancy to term and to live with the consequences of our rape for the rest of their lives.

So the real impact of this proposal is to facilitate economic and physical violence against poor women. A woman with enough money will still have access to abortion. But a woman lacking financial resources will now have to play Russian roulette with their health care. A woman suffering a life-threatening pregnancy will now bear an even greater financial burden in order to live. And victims of incest or rape will face one more hurdle to restoring their health and well being.

I urge legislators to reject this ill-conceived and offensive proposal. And if they feel that they must proceed, then stop playing political games and put the matter to a vote of ALL the people — not just the small handful required for submitting such a petition. If legislators truly consider themselves “pro-life,” then they should do the right things to reduce unwanted pregnancies: mandate comprehensive sex education for all children and youth; make birth control widely available and affordable; hold men accountable for violence and sexual assault against women; and provide universal, affordable health care, better child care services, equal wages for women, and quality public education for all of our children. If they are unwilling to support these causes, then they should stop calling themselves “pro-life” and call themselves what they really are — “anti-woman.”

Truth and Meaning: Addiction

Truth and Meaning: Addiction

We have in our nation today a vacuum of responsibility. All too often people and organizations want the benefits associated with their actions without bearing the responsibility for the negative impacts. Our elected officials increasingly avoid tough compromises fearing that taking responsibility will cost them votes. Businesses avoid taking responsibility fearing loss of sales. And we avoid taking responsibility for a number of reasons — it is hard; we will look uncool; people will judge us; we cannot bear the repercussions.

As a result, blame rolls down the hill. Those with resources and agility dodge the blame, which continues rolling. Those with friends in high places get advance warning of the coming blame. And, in the end, the blame settles at the bottom of the slope, in the hands of the weakest members of our society — society’s victims. This inevitable slide of blame teaches us that weak people deserve to be taken advantage of, minorities deserve to be oppressed because they are the wrong skin color, sexual orientation, age, or ability. Women deserve to be assaulted and paid less in the workplace because, after all, it is a man’s world.

All of this blame, all of the burden of responsibility weighs heavily on these unfortunates. The pain of responsibility, of shame and guilt, hurts no less than a fist, a fractured bone, a broken heart. And when aspirin is not enough to kill the pain, people seek stronger remedies. In time, the victims become addicted to the pain killer, whatever form it takes — alcohol, tobacco, drugs, gambling, food, self abuse. And when the addict seeks help, they become victim once again, as society tells them that they are responsible for becoming the junkie, the drunk, the drain on society.

Well, this is wrong. We are society and we can change this. Because addiction is a disease — a disease we can understand and treat.

We can start by helping our brothers and sisters with their burdens. We can help by making therapy and rehabilitation far more available. We can help by stopping the blame from passing us by and taking up our share of the responsibility for society’s problems. And we can tell the powerful, the wealthy, the elected officials to start leading again and exhibit the courage we need them to model.

Truth and Meaning: An Atheist’s Jesus

Truth and Meaning: An Atheist’s Jesus

I am an atheist. And I am religious.

I am not a Christian. And I am a follower of the teachings of Jesus.

I am a pacifist and proponent of nonviolence. And I am an active agitator for justice and human rights.

Yes, I am an atheist minister. I have little use, however, for that strident form of atheism than condemns all organized religion and would throw the baby of love and charity out with the bath water of dogmatic intolerance and oppression of the Other.

Yes, I am a non-Christian follower of Jesus. Whether he actually existed or resides merely in myth, I admire the person who walked humbly, helped everyone without judgment, and stood up to the authorities of the day speaking out for equality, fairness and mercy. If he walked our streets today, I imagine him decrying our cuts to food stamps, calling out business greed that destroys families and demanding an end to our violence against each other.

Even the most hardcore atheist can find much to admire in the life of Jesus. He fed the hungry, healed the sick and comforted the oppressed and outcast. He debated the learned experts on matters of policy interpretation and law, showing them the errors of outmoded and irrelevant thinking. And when the time came for action, he forced the defilers from the sacred places and denounced their love of money.

Jesus lived a life of principle. He didn’t “do” charity. He didn’t attend events. He didn’t plan protests. He lived every day according to the ideals he upheld — love everyone; care for the needy; speak out against injustice; and stand up to the corrupt. He loved everyone regardless of their station in life, their gender identity, their religion, or their occupation. He lived in neither opulence nor poverty and sought similar fairness and justice for all people.

Jesus lived a model life, a life we can all aspire to lead, whatever our beliefs regarding religion.

Truth and Meaning: Friendly Fire

Truth and Meaning: Friendly Fire

As a boy, I remember hearing this phrase during the Vietnam War. My oldest brother served a tour in the Central Highlands, and I remember well events like the killings at My Lai 4. The country was in deep shock at the notion that our soldiers could act so brutally … so inhumanly. I was old enough to understand the debate about the changing nature of war, the chain of command and responsibility.

Noncombatants die. That has always been a fact of life. Throughout history, the women and children, the farmers and shepherds, the poor innocents have always paid the price for our inability to resolve conflict. The events during Vietnam, however, numbed us deeply to the notion that these victims deserve our sympathy.

Friendly fire rages all around us. Our nation drops bombs all over the world every day. We argue that drones kill terrorists and that we are justified in using this great technology. We cut food stamps for millions of children. We argue that our government must be fiscally responsible. We starve public schools, cripple organized labor, and ship jobs overseas. We argue that our economy depends on “free markets” and capitalism.

Here is what I say. If we cannot stop terrorism without murdering children, then we are no better than the terrorists ourselves. If we cannot balance a budget without making children go hungry, then we have become morally irresponsible. If we cannot support an economy without lining the pockets of selfish special interests, then we doom our public welfare to financial slavery.

How did we become so heartless? When did the unfettered purchase and possession of any firearm start to trump children’s lives? When did our pursuit of profits become a higher priority than our entire global climate? When did grandstanding and brinksmanship become the only tools in our political repertoire? When are we going to grow up and put out the friendly fires we are lighting everywhere?

If you support democracy, and you feel as I do, then the time has come to speak out. Until people of faith place moral values above conquest, people above balance sheets, and economic self determination above trickle down lies, then our nation will continue its spiral into moral decay. As citizens, we must let our voices be heard and stop listening to the corporate media spin machine. People are dying, starving, living homeless and hopeless. It is up to us to stop it.

Truth and Meaning: Putting our Podophobia into Perspective

Truth and Meaning: Putting our Podophobia into Perspective

My dad traveled quite a bit as part of his job. I remember fondly going to the airport, riding the moving walkways and collecting Avis buttons that said “We try harder” in different languages. But I most remember standing at the gate, anxiously waiting and watching for him to walk off the plane.

Those days are, of course, long gone since one now must have a boarding pass and proceed through a rigorous examination to be granted access to the gates. As someone with a pacemaker/defibrillator, I was recently reminded of the heightened concerns for security in our nation’s airports. Since I cannot pass through the standard scanning machines, I typically must endure the TSA pat down. If you have not had the experience, I imagine this examination rivals the treatment of prison inmates. Every time I travel by air, I recall our ever-expanding safety priorities and the clutch that the iron fist of irrational fear holds us in.

Well over one million people fly in the U.S. every day. And because someone tried to sneak a shoe bomb onto a plane, one million people must take off and put back on their shoes every day before approaching the gates. (In case you are curious, at 30 seconds per person, that requirement equates to almost one full year of lost person time each day). Our possessions are restricted, probed and scanned, our bodies X-rayed and fondled, all in the name of security. And the sad fact is that anyone who passed high school chemistry could still get a pretty wicked combination of explosive concoctions onto any plane in a modest carry-on bag.

Now, even if you believe this massive bureaucratic effort is worth the price, consider this. With last week’s shootings at Sparks Middle School in Nevada, there have now been 32 school shootings since the murders at Columbine High School in 1999. Thirty-two school shootings compared to one domestic shoe bombing attempt. And yet, in spite of overwhelming support among the American people, we still have no mandatory universal background checks on gun purchases and no restrictions on assault weapons or high-capacity magazine clips. Why are we more afraid of our feet than of guns?

All the American people want is common sense. Even gun owners generally support mandatory background checks. When will our legislators stop acting like petulant children and start showing some real concern for the safety of their constituents? Instead of shoes, we should be afraid for poor people losing their food stamps, veterans getting poor medical attention, and hard-working people without jobs because their employer shipped the work off to China. And we should really be afraid of our crumbling infrastructure, poorly-supported public schools and inadequate regulations on fossil fuel producers.

The Soul of America

Liebmann: The soul of America

We face a spiritual battle for the soul of America. And yet, rather than address our real mutual enemy, we bicker amongst ourselves about the color of our uniforms. We the people, of all faiths and beliefs — religious and spiritual people, caring and thinking people — have allowed the enemy to define this battle. We have allowed the enemy to keep us separated by pitting us against false threats. We have allowed the enemy to label us — Catholic and Protestant, rich and poor; Muslim and Jew, conservative and liberal; agnostic and atheist, black and white; believer and nonbeliever, gay and straight. And by accepting these labels, we divide our forces and allow a united enemy to undermine our common core values. Who is the real enemy?

• Obamacare is not the enemy. The enemy is our indifference toward the plight of the uninsured.
• Abortion is not the enemy. The enemy is our failure to embrace God’s gift of sexuality and to treat that gift responsibly through education, medical treatment and birth control. 
• Unions are not the enemy. The enemy is our runaway greed and the misguided and dangerous notion that a corporation possesses the same inalienable rights as a human being. 
• Women are not the enemy. The enemy is our culture of machismo that sanctions abuse, domestic violence and rape, blaming the victim rather than the men who commit these cowardly acts.
• Gay people are not the enemy. The enemy is our fundamentalist arrogance that presumes to know all truth about human nature, and to punish anyone who does not share our personal vision of cosmic design. 
• Guns are not the enemy. The enemy is our ignorant belief that by refusing to regulate the sale of guns, we protect democracy and are not directly responsible for thousands of innocent deaths each year.
• Terrorists and immigrants are not the enemy. The enemy is our complacency in accepting undeserved privilege and failing to correct the imbalance in our society and our world.
• The poor are not the enemy. The enemy is our failure to apply capitalist theory correctly and our amnesia regarding our responsibility to be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. 
• And lastly, religion is not the enemy. The enemy is our dogmatic assertion that any one religion possesses unique ownership of truth, or is the sole recipient of divine providence.

Until we come together — Christian, Muslim, Jew, agnostic, atheist and people of all faiths and beliefs — we will never get past this current civil war. Until we come together, our enemy will win the battle for the soul of this country. Until we come together, indifference and irresponsibility, greed and cowardice, arrogance and ignorance, complacency and amnesia and dogmatic pride will control our lives.

This enemy will stoop to all manner of evil to keep us enslaved — enslaved in the cycle of poverty, racism, homophobia, misogyny and religious intolerance. But we have the power to disarm our enemy of these weapons. We have the ultimate weapon – a weapon our enemy cannot use.

And that weapon is love. Until we love each other unconditionally, indifference and irresponsibility will undermine our society. Until the privileged love the poor and oppressed, greed and cowardice will rule our governments. Until Christians love non-Christians, arrogance and ignorance will stifle common purpose and action. Until we love everyone regardless of their gender identity, skin color, social class, ethnicity or personal theology, then complacency and amnesia will doom our people to violence and hopelessness. Until we reject the labels our enemy pins on us and unite as Americans, dogmatic pride will define us as a nation.