Check out this video about bears. Then share it.
There are a few species we all can watch that will help us see whether things are better or worse. Bears are one. So are frogs, and the large herbivores like elephants. We are already losing many at the top of the food chain, just like the bears. Look at tigers, lions, etc.
The GOP in North Carolina is working hard to protect their own. The NC Senate, led by the GOP, released a budget this week that includes moving most of the investigative capacity of the State Bureau of Investigation out from under North Carolina’s Department of Justice, watched over by Attorney General Roy Cooper, into the Department of Public Safety, under control of Governor McCrory. The Governor’s campaign finances are part of an investigation involving inappropriate monies channeled to his campaign (and other GOP candidates) from a video gambling operator, likely through Governor McCrory’s former employer, a Charlotte law firm.
According to a report in the News & Observer of Raleigh, Attorney General Cooper, along with sheriffs, police chiefs, and prosecutors from around the state, have pointed out that this will make it very difficult to pursue cases involving political corruption.
A McCrory spokesperson said that McCrory also opposes the move, believing other issues need to be attended.
A Republican from Jacksonville, Sen. Harry Brown, claimed the motives for this were purely to save money in the budget. No public committee meetings or hearings were held.
Resources
http://www.wect.com/story/22299635/cooper-wants-sbi-kept-in-his-department
I’ve been thinking for a long time about my church. It is the only denomination I’ve ever claimed, and the second congregation of that faith to which I have belonged.
It is a mainstream Protestant group, with origins in Europe and large numbers in Africa as well as an established presence on the other continents. I joined as an adult after learning of its long-standing commitment to the education of women, its recognition that men and women and children have different needs at different stages of life, and its commitment to remembering its simple beginnings.
I never thought it would be susceptible to the hateful discourse coming out of so many religious institutions today. All congregations struggle with human frailties: rumors, innuendo, envy, pride, bullying, ignorance…and all the other things that make us human.
My life fell apart during the Great Recession, as so many others did. It wasn’t as if it was unpredictable. My chronic health problems left us struggling for years before the collapse of our economy. But we were no more unlucky than many others. More and more of our state’s people were struggling just as we were. Many fell into the depths of poverty. Others, like us, danced along the surface, hoping for salvation and fearing that we would sink.
When we finally did ‘sink,’ we went through all the usual stages: embarrassment, denial, shame, guilt, anger, and pain…God, forgive me for the things I thought when the pain was so great.
My church stood by me many times over the years. I owe more gratitude and received more grace than can be imagined. And yet I could no longer attend services. I had no financial contributions to share. I had no time, either; my time was eaten with hunting jobs, finding shelter and food, and just surviving. Attending worship required one to be clean, appropriately dressed, and preferably cheerful. No one wants to hear your sad tales, certainly not more than once and definitely not if they never seem to change. And change comes at a glacial pace for people in poverty.
I had become uncomfortable in the one place I had always felt I could go.
Maintaining some contact with my former life through electronic communities such as FaceBook became a lifeline of sorts. Imagine my surprise to read comments by people I knew, even people from church, championing the conservative agenda that was causing unfathomable fear and suffering for so many, my family included. Those political rants cut to the bone. When we were counting ourselves lucky to have three dollars to eat for a day, we were joyous. When we had no food, we counted the days until we would eat again, and I tried to overlook those calling us lazy or ‘takers.’
I disconnected or blocked those who seemed most determined that people like me, like my family, should simply disappear. There were many, and I felt some anguish that some from my church–the church I had chosen and that had seemed so accepting–were so lacking in compassion. It made it even more difficult to contemplate going to church services again.
Things are getting better, but I will never again have confidence in our survival. Things can change through no fault of our own. We simply survive.
But returning to worship is still not easy. I don’t know whether I ever will, at this point. I don’t see the society around us becoming civilized again. I don’t see tolerance valued. And I don’t see compassion for the poor, elderly, frail, or disabled as a priority of our society. Unfortunately, churches tend to reflect the culture where they exist.
So I still read through our hymnal, choose the liturgy for the correct time of the year, and I hope the pain will someday recede. I do miss the sunshine pouring through the windows on Sunday mornings.
If you have any doubt that the Citizens United decision by the current Supreme Court is corrupting our electoral process, look no further than the North Carolina Governor’s Mansion. Republican Governor McCrory has been in office less than six months and has already acquired the appearance of impropriety in his financial affairs.
Governor Pat McCrory, along with several other recently elected officials, has been the subject of public scrutiny and potential investigation by NC Attorney General Roy Cooper as well as the NC Board of Elections. He and his compatriots received donations from Chase Egan Burns, whose company, International Internet Technologies, operates now-outlawed video sweepstakes gaming establishments in North Carolina. Among the accusations are that donations came from bundled sources and that CPI (a Charlotte company) reimbursed employees for donations to his campaign.
Burns has been charged with money laundering and racketeering. Using his Allied Veterans of the World charity, he donated large sums to political candidates in Florida and North Carolina. Governor McCrory’s former employer, Moore & Van Allen, handled almost all of Burns’ donations, including those to McCrory’s campaign. Governor McCrory worked for the Charlotte law firm until shortly before he took office. He is neither an attorney nor a registered lobbyist, the two major activities of the firm. Moreover, the Governor has never revealed what work he did for Moore & Van Allen.
$235,000 is a lot of money. Burns’ generosity with that sum extended to the Republican House Caucus committee, the Republican Senate Caucus committee, Governor Pat McCrory’s campaign, House Speaker Thom Tillis, and Senate leader Phil Berger. There were, of course, others.
The hint of scandal is hard on a business. After Burns was indicted, Moore & Van Allen dropped International Internet Technologies as a client.
More is at stake than simply winning an election.
Less than two months into his first term, Governor McCrory supported Senate Bill 20, which gives him the right to fire and replace members of committees and some panels of judges, thus giving him control of all regulatory commissions in the state. These include, among others, the N.C. Utilities Commission, the Industrial Commission, the Coastal Resources Commission, the Environmental Management Commission and the Wildlife Resources Commission.
The Wilmington Star-News reported that the bill’s sponsor, Senator Bill Rabon, a Republican from Brunswick County, stated that, “This administration should begin to wield its power.” They also report that Senator Thom Goolsby, a Republican from New Hanover County, agreed: “Our new governor deserves an opportunity to replace the Easley and Perdue appointees with people who share his vision for reforming and fixing North Carolina’s broken state government.”
In the past, committee appointments were made on a rolling basis, thus preserving the knowledge of the board and not allowing any single party to make appointments. Senate Bill 20 is designed to eliminate institutional history and stack the board with members of a single party.
This change has another effect, one that has more than the appearance of impropriety.
Governor McCrory has chosen to appoint an all-new Elections Board, thus significantly reducing the likelihood that his potentially illegal and definitely unethical campaign contributions will be examined.
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Resources for further study:
“The electoral-reform group, Democracy North Carolina, added up the numbers from the often hand-written campaign-finance reports filed by members of the General Assembly and found Burns had given $172,500 to North Carolina legislative candidates in the 2012 election. He also donated $30,000 to the N.C. Republican House Caucus and $25,000 to Republican Senate Caucus committees.”
http://fayobserver.com/articles/2013/03/22/1244973?sac=Opinion
“Chase Egan Burns, the owner of International Internet Technologies and a key player in North Carolina’s elusive video sweepstakes games, faces charges that include racketeering and money laundering in connection with an investigation into the Allied Veterans of the World charity. So far the investigation has led to more than 50 arrests and the resignation of Florida’s lieutenant governor.”
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/03/14/3915342/mccrory-lawmakers-donate-campaign.html#storylink=cpy
Is religion only about hate?
I’ve been contemplating this a lot lately. Looking at what passes for news today certainly seems to suggest that it is so. Whatever spiritual belief someone professes, there is always a core of anger at other belief systems, sometimes kept under control but more often stridently proclaiming everyone else’s viewpoints to be the work of fools or evil demons. Our role models all seem to be dead or hopelessly naïve.
I acknowledge that I am all-too-human, and I find that I sometimes fall into those emotionally charged and ethically tenuous thought paths. In my defense, I do try to respect other beliefs. If I cannot, I try to avoid volatile topics with those people I love in spite of their, in my opinion, incorrect beliefs.
A few months ago, while eating with my husband in a fast food restaurant, I witnessed something that filled me with a sad dread. Two parents, conservative in outward dress and demeanor, seated their several children at a table. After bringing multiple trays of food from the counter, they sat down and then led their children in prayer.
I don’t object to public prayer for the most part. I do think it should be done in a way that does not interfere with other’s conversations and, in restaurants, enjoyment of their meal. In fact, I frequently pray, silently, that my meals and the company I keep be blessed. I do so in a very private manner; it is unlikely that anyone is aware that I am in prayer.
These people led their entire family in a loud song-prayer. I could not discern any traditional blessing of food or family in the words. Suffice it to say that they were about as talented musically as I am. I tend to lip-sync whenever possible to avoiding damaging anyone’s eardrums.
Clearly, some other diners were annoyed. I saw shaking heads, laughter, and anger on many faces. This couple’s youngest daughter was happy to please her parents. The oldest child, a son, looked mortified, stared at the table, and kept his silence. The others seemed dutiful, though not especially spiritually motivated.
A few moments later a young couple that had been seated near this evangelical family left the restaurant. As they walked by the family, now eating in complete silence without even looking at each other, the young man muttered loudly, “Freaks!” The teenager who had only been mortified before looked like he was going to cry. The little girl seemed surprised. The father started to stand, only to be held back by his wife’s hand on his arm.
All I could think was that the humiliated teenage boy was unlikely to continue his family’s religious practices once he left home. The other children, with the exception of the young girl who seemed too young yet to make decisions on her own, were equally embarrassed. And embarrassment isn’t a strong foundation for commitment to anything.
My heart hurt for those children. My reasoned self was angry, though. Both the religious zealots, for that is what they were, and the young couple were provocative. Both welcomed confrontation. Neither was respectful of other people and other viewpoints. More importantly, both the zealots and the angry couple were oblivious to the effects of their actions on the children or the other people around them.
Practicing one’s own religion should not prevent others from living their lives as they wish. It seems to me that, in the United States, the basis of our freedom specified in our Constitution is under attack. Nowhere is that more obvious than our freedom to practice or not practice religion. Just as forcing others to listen to your prayers in public places violates this fundamental freedom, so does publicly reviling those who choose to practice a religion because your own spiritual beliefs are non-traditional or atheist.
We cannot continue to practice intolerance and say we are patriotic. By definition, patriotism involves supporting our Constitution. And that Constitution promises all of us freedom of and from religion.
Research suggests that humans are wired to seek spiritual or philosophical answers to the big questions in life. “Why am I here?” “What is right or wrong, and why should I care?” “Who should judge me?” “Whom should I judge?”
In an article in The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/sep/04/religion.uk), James Randerson relates that a professor from Bristol University, Bruce Hood, has done work suggesting that “magical and supernatural beliefs are hardwired into our brains from birth, and that religions are therefore tapping into a powerful psychological force.”
More detailed information on the human brain’s involvement in human spirituality is available.
In a CNN report ( http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/04/04/neurotheology/) , Chris Gajilan examines current research into the processing of religion and spirituality by the brain, a new field called neurotheology:
“Dr. Andrew Newberg, neuroscientist and author of “Why We Believe What We Believe,” wants to change all that. He’s working on ways to track how the human brain processes religion and spirituality. It’s all part of new field called neurotheology.”
Newberg considered conditions like Alzheimer’s and depression. Using brain scans, he also examined Franciscan nuns, Tibetan Buddhists, and Pentecostal Christians speaking in tongues. They found that, regardless of the religious or spiritual beliefs, there were many similarities. In both prayer and meditation, the frontal lobe helps us focus on the act itself. That sense of belonging to something outside of ourself originates in the parietal lobe, where our senses are processed. Our emotions reside in the limbic system.
To find balance in our exploration, we must consider the nature versus nurture arguments, too. An article on The Daily Beast, written by Sharon Begley, delves into the point-counterpoint of secular versus religious beliefs, determining that one’s world view isn’t written in stone from the moment of birth.(http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/08/12/un-wired-for-god.html)
While our brains may be predisposed to accept magical thinking, our training and experiences affect how that is manifested in our belief system.
“This doesn’t have to be an either-or proposition, however. The brain may indeed be predisposed to supernatural beliefs. But that predisposition may need environmental input to be fully realized.”
These ideas are all intriguing. Whether it is belief in a god or gods or an equally powerful commitment to not believing in them, much more research will be needed to determine how religious or spiritual beliefs develop.
•What does it mean to be educated? What is the purpose of education? Is it an end unto itself? Or is an education equivalent to having the skills for a specific job?
•How do we determine which knowledge is worth learning? What of knowledge that enlightens the soul but does not fill the bellies of hungry children? What of the arts, philosophy, astronomy, or the comparative study of religions?
•Does it matter how your education was acquired? Is it necessary to have a proscribed number of courses at a specific level of educational institution in order to be educated? Aren’t there differing levels of educational attainment required for differing sorts of occupations?
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These are all good questions, and they represent only a tiny number of the ones that we should be considering when creating an educational system not only for our state but also for our nation.
If we believe our governor of less than two months, the answer to them all is that many fields of study, especially the liberal arts, are not to be valued. Calling the individuals who have dedicated their lives to advancing our understanding of our souls and our cultures the ‘educational elite,’ he believes that courses not focused on specific jobs should only be available to those few lucky enough to afford private school educations.
“I’m a big vocational training advocate,” McCrory told Bennett. “I think some of the educational elite have taken over education, where we’re offering courses that have no chance of getting people jobs.”
(http://www.wral.com/mccrory-fund-higher-education-based-on-results/12037347/)
Governor McCrory’s focus on technical schools isn’t enough because it limits the options for our young people and fails to recognize that there is more than one kind of business in our state. Other nations have long recognized the importance of education that meets the needs of those preferring fewer years of education. Many still have apprenticeship programs, too, another idea that existed here in the 1970s and 1980s. Yet these nations do not limit the available opportunities to their lower income students by reducing access to alternative educational paths.
Not everyone wants to be hands-on in their career. Many want to do research. Many want to become social workers, psychologists, artists, writers, historians, or attorneys. All are needed occupations. None should be unavailable to people who cannot afford a private university education. But our governor, who attended a private college, believes that some fields of study should only be taught at private universities, and those who cannot afford those private schools should not have access to their study at public universities.
“In response to a dig that Bennett took at gender studies courses, McCrory expanded on the theme of connecting classes offered to potential employment.
“You’re right,” McCrory said. “That’s a subsidized course, and frankly, if you want to take gender studies, that’s fine. Go to a private school and take it, but I don’t want to subsidize that if that’s not going to get someone a job … It’s the tech jobs that we need right now.”
(http://www.wral.com/mccrory-fund-higher-education-based-on-results/12037347/)
The problem, of course, is that specific job skills change rapidly. The software you need to work today will not be the same you need in two years, regardless of what that job is. Training someone to work one kind of machine, rather than learning broad skills and knowledge that is adaptable to many careers, limits their usefulness to the job de jour. If your college or community college education focuses on technology available while you are in school, your education will soon be out-of-date.
Moreover, research requires broader knowledge that can only be gained from a broad-based education, including not only core sciences but also liberal arts and the humanities. Politicians, for instance, frequently study law or economics, and those both require history, philosophy, sociology, and economics. Where will the researchers of the future come from? Not our public universities, if Governor McCrory has his way.
Specific departments or focused study areas would likely disappear, as our governor has suggested is appropriate for gender studies, an area that Republicans are unlikely to support. Would the companies that make large grants for these social science or humanities programs continue to donate to our public universities, or would those funds go to private schools? I’m certain the private schools would be happy to accommodate those study areas and their wealthy students would locate lucrative careers after graduating in programs unavailable to their colleagues in public institutions.
An example of this is the recent announcement of a large grant from Merck to NC A&T that established the Center for Outreach in Alzheimer’s, Aging and Community Health.
“Merck & Co. Inc. has awarded the College of Arts and Sciences at North Carolina A&T State University with a $1 million grant in support of the university’s new Center for Outreach Alzheimer’s, Aging and Community Health.
“N.C. A&T State University is excited about the proposed center, which will significantly expand the university’s capacity to impact education, outreach, and policy in Alzheimer’s and aging,” said Dr. Goldie Byrd, dean of the college of arts and sciences.
“The Center will attract an interdisciplinary team of faculty, staff and students across the College of Arts and Sciences, and the university, to conduct community based outreach activities that influence healthy aging.”
(http://www.ncat.edu/news/2013/02/merck.html)
Many people recall when businesses began shifting the training of their employees to our secondary schools and to the community college and university systems. It began with the idea that high schools should offer vocational training that would include apprenticeships at local businesses. This is not a bad idea in theory. The students were paid and acquired transferable skills. Often this new method of educating students for future jobs was accompanied by modest monetary or facility donations to specific schools or commitments to hire graduates. They could afford to do this because they were transferring responsibility for training their employees to the government, and to the citizens that the government represents.
Businesses, especially large ones, now feel entitled to having citizens pay for the training of their employees, saving them a fundamental cost of doing business. It seems logical that the best people to train an employee are the people doing the job. This is true for all levels, from the janitor learning the preferred practices to the CEO learning the ropes from his predecessor.
These cuts to our higher education system, proposed by the Republicans and Governor McCrory, and pushed by the various Tea Party groups who object to our government providing services such as free public education as well as religious organizations that want curricula to represent what they consider factual and acceptable doctrinally, will harm our state economically. They will harm our children, our future workforce.
Once again, the Republicans and Governor McCrory are standing with global corporations and large businesses, providing them with yet another entitlement at the expense of the citizens of North Carolina. Their legacy, when finally they leave office, will be the decimation of our economy and our citizens’ awareness that the Republicans take care of their own: the rich who can afford private education.
So many people have died at the hands of others, I could never include all the numbers here.
Yes, I could limit the numbers by a range of dates, or a nation or state or city, by religion, by race or gender, by known or unknown killer or killers. Ultimately, though, my efforts would be futile and hopelessly inadequate to the task. We all know that far too many are dying needlessly. We know that the innocent, by human if not God’s standards, make up far too many of those whose lives are stolen violently.
Like it or not, we do know that we could reduce the number if we truly wanted. We could stop the wars over natural resources. We could stop the wars over whose god or gods or lack of gods is the correct spiritual approach. We could even, if we try really hard, learn to accept one another’s differences, to cherish difference as much as we protect sameness, and to work together to make the world a safer home for everyone of us. If nothing else, we should be able to provide food, shelter, medical care, and some hope of a little joy in everyone’s lives.
To do that, we have to move beyond loving only ‘me and mine’ and hold deeply in our hearts, for the benefit of our souls and our futures, a compassion and devotion to creating the world we want. When we come to believe that what we want for ourselves and our families is the right thing to provide to other families, even those who are different in appearance or belief, we will be able to accomplish this noblest of goals: to live together in peace.
As a person holding strong spiritual and ethical beliefs, who follows a specific religious tradition, I find the silence of Christian churches on the issue of violence in our culture appalling. Worse, there are leaders in the Protestant, Catholic, and other Christian traditions who are actively promoting carry guns in their sanctuaries. They advocate separating one human from another based on personal interpretations of whatever religious book they follow.
I know that many faith institutions are concerned about declining memberships. Yet none seem willing to address the issues that burn in the minds of their potential and actual parishioners. What of gun violence? What should be done for the hungry, the homeless? Is it enough to throw money in a dish to support the church, and permit a small group of church members to decide how best to help? Does it matter how you vote? Who should decide how you interact with the world?
I see very few churches welcoming the homeless into their buildings on Sunday mornings. Why is this?
No, I have no answers. Only questions. I hope you, too, will find the questions. Maybe then we can work on answers that bring us together, rather than driving us apart.
Pocket Guide Makes It Easy to Speak Up | Teaching Tolerance.
As you may have gathered by now, I am on a crusade to reduce the level of bullying in our culture. This guide is a neat little pocket tool for your kids and would permit you to talk to them about the bullying they see among their friends and other people they encounter.
