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Category: ethics

Priorities: What Idols Do We Bow Before?

Published by mhelbert on December 3, 2019

Yesterday I ranted a bit about how desire for more ‘stuff’ seems to be the driving force behind the current news cycle as well as virtually all advertising across all media platforms.
It is disheartening.
We place such a premium on our comfort and status that we have lost sight of our obligations in human society.
Yeah, I said Obligations.

That whole concept is foreign to our Western mind.
I remember my Dad telling me one morning as we drove to work together that I needed to make sure and watch out for “Number ONE” because no one else will.
Number ONE in that context was Self.

That one phrase is damning on different levels.

First, it raises ME to the pinnacle of of importance.
“Look at me! I’m the most biggest, importantest Person EVER!”
(Loud applause!!!)
This, alone, creates a problem when Everyone considers themselves Number One.
I mean, the last time I checked there could only be 1 Number One.

While that idea must lead to conflict, there is another part of what Dad said that may be even more damning.

I must look out for my own interests Because NO. ONE. ELSE. WILL.

Really?

Has our society really come to the point where we can count on no one to have our backs?

If you listen to the news and advertisers the answer must be a resounding YES!
The whole world revolves around what I want and to hell with whatever you want.
Did anyone see images of Black Friday shopping?

By definition, an idol is “an object or picture that is worshiped as god.”

In the case that my Dad made, then Number One is an idol.
I am the focus of time, talent, attention, and adulation.

Then, of course, there’s the other idol that comes along with that.
(I bet you didn’t no that we were polytheistic, did you?)
That idol is a picture of a little, green guy named George.
During the 1992 presidential campaign one of the candidates, in attempting to illuminate the most pressing issue on Everyone’s mind coined the phrase, “The Economy, Stupid”!
For the last three decades our culture has taken that to heart and created a god of the economy. A god that needs to be fed with our lust and greed. This god has an insatiable appetite.
This god destroys everything that tries to stand against it.

But, there is Another.

This Other is humble and meek.
He considers the needs of others before His own.
Make no mistake, He is also quite powerful.
He can stand against the idols of Self and George.

During this Advent season, why don’t we stop and listen to that Other.
Let the sound of our heart beating for someone other than Number One drown out the noise and clamor and the demands of those other false gods. For, false they are.

I don’t know.
Just a thought.

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Ideabola

Published by mhelbert on October 30, 2019

“Burn!” cried the mob as the book pyre blazed in the night.
“Death to Infidels; heretics; free thinkers!”

Death?
Books can die?

This sentiment seems to be making a resurgence in some parts of the world. I mean, it’s never really been far from us.
The some churches still believes that Harry Potter poses an existential danger because of the whole witches and wizards thing.
At other times books that some so-called authority deemed ‘subversive,’ (re. Doesn’t agree with my opinion), have been collected and set ablaze as a public rebuke to anyone who might harbor similar positions.

But, books are not ideas.
They may, at best, be the vessels in which ideas travel.
Ideas, though, are by their very nature untouchable.
And, incurable.

Ideas are like a virus that spreads by getting inside of a person at a cellular level, invading and capturing the minds of those who are exposed to them.

Ideas become a part of a person’s DNA. They are, by nature, invasive.

Yet, not foreign.

Not harmful.

In fact, they can produce vitality and health in those who harbor them deep within their hearts and minds.

Ideas CANNOT be stopped by destroying the vessels that carry them.

Even if those vessels are living, breathing human beings.

That, too, has been tried. How many “heretics” have been burned; fed to lions; hanged; drowned?

And, yet, the ideas live on.

“But,” some say, “ideas can lead people astray! They can put a person in harm’s way!”

Astray?
NO! Emphatically, NO!
Ideas may open our minds to other ideas.
They may cause our minds and hearts to grow 2 sizes larger.
They may make us more empathetic.
But, astray? Nuh uh.

Ideas are what make us humans in the first place.
They are the engine that pushes us forward.

Yes, ideas can also give some people reason to hurt, maim, or destroy.
But, it will also be an idea that counters those who would act in that way.

Ideas are like a virus.
They will infect us.
They will change us.

The question that remains is, how will we embody these ideas?
How will we live in a world where Ideas live, thrive, and yes, Infect?

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Welcoming and Acceptance

Published by mhelbert on October 16, 2019

I’m going to take another day or two to reflect some more on the confirmation process that I’m currently taking part in at St. Barnabas.

There is a term that has been floating around for a few years now. That term is “Welcoming.”
Most of us use it to describe a person or place where anyone, regardless of who they are, what they think, what color their skin is or what gender they describe themselves as. It has become almost a password for progressives.
I can imagine someone walking up the the door in a 1920s speakeasy. The little port opens and a burly face with heavy eyebrows and a square chin looks out.
“Welcoming,” whispers the person on the outside.
The burly-guy then opens the door. The correct password was given.

And, for the most part, it’s really easy to say that we’re welcoming.

Especially, for churches.

I’ve been to churches where the priest or pastor stands in front, arms wide open and a big smile on their face as the proclaim, “Of course, we welcome LGBTQs here! I would love for them to come!”
Unspoken is, “So we can show them the love of Christ by pointing out what filthy, wretched sinners they are. Hallelujah!”

But, welcoming is not enough, I think.
Not nearly.

I think that something is bigger than that. And, far more difficult.
Something that comes closer to how Jesus, himself, treated people.

That is Acceptance.

Let me explain.
We can welcome a gay man into our group or fellowship. That’s really the easy part. Especially, if he doesn’t try to spread his gay cuties around.
But, can we accept that gay man, who is married, as our priest and pastor?
How about the divorced woman who was abused in her church? Can we accept her? Are we able to accept her pain as our own and allow ourselves to heal with her in our community? Can we accept her and the gifts that God has given her to be a fellow-worker in God’s garden with us?
What of the person who struggles with emotional or psychological stresses? We surely can welcome such a person so that he may find comfort and healing. Right?
But, can we accept such a one as a peer who is loved and gifted by the same Holy Spirit as we?

It’s easy to welcome and accept people who look, act, and think as we do.
“But, how does that make us any different than the pagan?”, Jesus asks.

I am glad that I am both welcomed and accepted at St. Barnabas.
I am ever so much more glad that St. Barnabas is becoming, not only welcoming, but accepting.

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Jesus Wept

Published by mhelbert on December 18, 2018

Today, as I sat quietly, I remembered how I felt Sunday morning.
Emotions rose within me as I considered the injustice of the “ruling class.”
I held back tears as my I saw those who live privileged lives ignoring the pleas of
those that they consider “Other.” Especially, those who profess to have faith in God through Jesus Christ.

How can they just stand there and do nothing? Less than nothing!

They are complicit in moral crimes against their fellow travelers on this Third Rock from the Sun!

This morning I reflected on that a bit. I realized that my emotions, my tears were
not directed toward those who are the victims of injustice. They weren’t poured out
for the poor and the needy.

No.

My emotion was kindled by those who instigate the injustice. My tears shed because
of their unbelief and unfaithfulness.
How can people stand by and actually feel that they are justified in their injustice?
It’s truly quite easy. As long as I can feel good about ‘Me’ and ‘My’ accomplishments;
‘My faithfulness’ and ‘My exceptionalism,’ I can separate myself from those “Others” who
don’t quite match up to ‘Me.’

I’m reminded of a story in Brennan Manning’sbook, “Ruthless Trust: The Ragamuffin’s
Path to God.” 

A couple was visiting New Orleans. As they walked around the French Quarter,
a woman, smiling, approached them and said that she could tell immediately that they were “saved.”
She continued, “Isn’t it wonderful? Don’t you just fell the Rapture is coming?” For the next several
Minutes the woman talked to them about growing tension in the Middle East that would
lead to the end of the world. At that time the ‘elect’ would be whisked away to heavenly
glory forever and ever.
Of course, this presupposes that there will by “Others” who will not be so fortunate.
How is it that this woman was apparently quite giddy about leaving most of humanity
behind while she and her like-minded friends would escape into the “Sweet By and By”?
And, I weep over her hardness of heart. Her uncaring attitude toward anyone and everyone
who doesn’t think and believe as she does.

Then, a couple other stories came to my mind.

In one, Jesus is standing on a hill looking over the city of Jerusalem.
His heart, breaking with overwhelming emotion he said,
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.
“Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!
“For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

His lament was not for the victims of injustice. He shed no tears for the murdered prophets and those who were stoned to death.

No. His sorrow was directed at those who perpetrated the injustice…the murderers.

In another story, Jesus went to a village called Bethany. A few days earlier he had been informed that one of his dear friends was very ill. By the time he reached the village, his friend had died.
The text indicates that Jesus was aware of the condition of his friend, Lazarus. He was even aware that the man had died. When Jesus reached the village, Lazarus’ sisters came to him and said,
“If only You had been here, Lazarus would still be alive.”
Jesus looked and saw all of the mourners who had come to console the sisters over their loss.
Now, what’s interesting, is the writer made it very clear that Jesus knew what he was going to do. Jesus had even told his followers on the way that Lazarus had died. He told them that he was glad that he had not been there to heal Lazarus. It was better for them, “So that you may believe.”
Even with this foreknowledge, the text states that when Jesus saw the mourners, when he listened to the sisters as they knelt tearfully before him, the writer recorded these words…

“Jesus was troubled.”

The language that was used indicates that Jesus was “agitated; in great distress.” That his emotions were “stirred up.” This was followed by the shortest verse in the entire Bible,

“Jesus wept.”

The only record of Jesus shedding tears.

“Jesus wept.”

But, why? The mourners all thought it was because of Jesus’ great love for Lazarus. They thought that, like them, Jesus was moved with sorrow for the loss of his friend. For the loss of a brother.
That doesn’t make sense to me. Jesus knew what had happened and what he was going to do.
Why did he weep?
I think it was because of the unbelief of those gathered. Jesus had performed many miracles in and around Jerusalem. Many of these people were witnesses. For sure, the sisters were. Yet, they still did not believe.
They did not have faith.

“Jesus wept.”

The only two times where it was recorded that Jesus wept or lamented there were people who lacked lacked faith or who were faithless.
He did not lament the prophets.
He did not weep for Lazarus.
So, I weep. Not for those trying to escape death by journeying a thousand miles to seek refuge at our border.
Nor, do I weep for the millions of people who may find their health care plans eliminated.
I don’t shed tears for those trapped in addictions or who struggle with the fact that their own brain is their worst enemy.
My tears…my lament…are offered for those in power, for those who aren’t trapped in systems that dehumanize and degrade them. 
I weep for those who can make a difference.
Yet, choose not to.

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What Did Jesus Think About Violence?

Published by mhelbert on December 11, 2018

Yesterday I shared a link to a podcast produced by Dr. Peter Enns. It featured a guy from Canada, Brad Jersak. Brad was a Protestant Evangelical whose life journey led him to embrace the Eastern Orthodox Church. He shared some really good thoughts in Enns’ podcast. So, I visited Brad’s own website to learn more about him. As I perused his About page and some of his previous blog posts, I came upon in which he shared a post by Brian Zahnd. You can read it by selecting the link below.

I’ve heard many people saying that the God of the Bible permits, and in many cases, encourages violence. They cite several passages from the Scripture to validate their positions. As most of you know, I don’t agree with them. Not even a little bit. When I look at the person of Jesus I see the true imago dei, the truest rendering of “Let Us fashion Adam in Our Image.” Jesus is the fulfillment of that. He is the Icon of God. There is no violence there.

But, again, many of my Evangelical friends will say, “Whoa! Jesus did speak about violence and wrath. He even told his disciples to get swords if they could.”

Read this for a different take on that.

What did Jesus believe about violence? Jesus believed what he said when he was asked about it…

“No more of this!”

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White Evangelicals, Why??

Published by mhelbert on June 3, 2018

Recently, I’ve begun to reevaluate what I’m doing with this blog thing. What I considered thought provoking proved to be less than sparkly. Some of the more poetic ‘ditties’ have garnered a slightly better response. Overall, I’m discouraged.

But, Hey! That’s never stopped me from forging ahead. So, it won’t now. Maybe.

Anyway, I have decided that the coverage of religious things from a scholarly point of view is not a happening thing. That will slowly fall away.

However…

When religious issues cloud common decency, I may need to write something.

Ok, religious issues ALWAYS cloud common decency. And, most of the time common sense as well. I promise to try to be selective about which issues I choose to wrangle.

Today is one of those days.

Pew Research did a survey that asked how people in the U.S. feel about admitting refugees to this country. Politically, the results were predictable. Twenty-six percent of Republicans think that the U.S. bears a responsibility to admit foreign refugees. Dems; 74%.

No surprise.

The Pew people also asked the question to various folks based on religious/non-religious affiliation.

This is the response that I want to focus on.

White Evangelical Protestants responded in lockstep with the Republican Party. Twenty-six percent of these respondents said that the U.S. has no responsibility to offer help to refugees. Another way to view it, 68% of Bible-believing, Hallelujah-ing, self-proclaimed followers of Jesus Christ Almighty say that refugees from foreign countries shall have NO succor here!

None! Nada! Nyet!

While I am disheartened by this, I am not surprised. In the late 1970’s, early 1980’s, White evangelicals climbed into the Republican bed when Jerry Falwell, Sr. decided that the government could, and should, legislate morality. And they’ve been rolling around under the sheets ever since. So, the fact that the poll results are pretty much identical between the two demographics is predictable.

Many people, (and when I say many, I mean MANY), have tried to analyze this. The question; Why do so many people who claim to follow Jesus Christ, friend to the outcast, turn their backs on outcasts? How can people who hold up their sacred text as inerrant and infallible suddenly forget about the hundreds of references to caring for widows, orphans, and foreigners?

I’m not going to rehash what these people conclude. You can Google it yourselves.

What I want to do is look at this from a slightly different angle.

White evangelicals in the U.S. feel that this country was founded on some non-existent ‘Judeo-Christian ideal. From the Puritans’ “City on a Hill” to the founding fathers’ so-called Christian bias, the U.S. is God’s country! It belongs to White Jesus come hell or high water! Just ask pseudo-historian David Barton. On second thought, don’t ask him. He’s a lying moron. But, you get the picture.

With that foundational belief it’s entirely understandable that White evangelicals would want to do whatever they possibly can to keep the country ‘pure.’ Can’t have any of those Muslim infidels dirtying up the pool now, can we. Oh, and those brown people from south of the border? No, no! Unclean! Put bells on them to warn everyone that their ‘uncleanness’ is coming. Ewwww!

I can understand this. People in general want to protect themselves and their loved ones from perceived threats. It’s human nature. Quarantine the people with measles. I get it.

But, what can we learn from their sacred text about this? Is there something written that can shed some light on what Jesus, himself, might think?

I think that there is.

In the Gospel according to Mark there is a passage that gets little attention except for those who want to keep wayward children in check. The passage is in chapter 7. I’m providing a link rather than inserting the entire passage. Mark 7:1-15.

To set the stage, Jesus’ disciples were having a quick bite to eat. They apparently just picked up food and started scarfing it. Jewish tradition, however, required that people take time to ceremonially wash their hands and the utensils before eating. The Pharisees and other religious folks were appalled. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!!! Jesus, what are your disciples doing?!?! Why, they’re breaking our taboo! They are putting unclean food into their mouths! Oh, the shame!”

Jesus took this opportunity to teach an important lesson.

First, he called out their hypocrisy. “Oh, yeah! Y’all want to call this out? This is simply a tradition that has been handed down by people. What about how you flaunt what Moses actually handed to us from God Almighty? You have taught people to break the Law of Moses when it comes to honoring their parents. Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)—then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother.”

I want to focus on that word, “Corban.” It is a carry-over word from the Hebrew Scripture. In its simplest form it refers to an offering or gift made to God. However, as time moved forward, the idea began to develop that Corban could be claimed over anything that represented a sacrifice. In this way a person could be called Corban. They would then, for all practical purposes, be dedicated to God. Their lives would move from the secular to the sectarian. Other objects, including money, could also be Corban. This would exclude the item from ANY secular use. It was wholly dedicated to God. So, when the Pharisees taught that money that could be used for the secular purpose of helping parents was declared Corban, that money became unusable for that help. It went into the Temple coffers, period, end of discussion.

Jesus in effect told them that they were guilty of transgressing the Law of Moses by insisting that their own man-made traditions took precedence over that Law.

In a similar way, the tradition of washing had been elevated to a binding activity. The Pharisees taught that anything that was eaten by unwashed hands from unwashed bowls actually made the person who ate “unwashed,” or unclean.

To you, White evangelicals…

It’s nice the way that you set aside the commandment of God for your own hypocritical traditions. You say, “This land was given to us by God. It is Corban! How can we offer it to these ‘others’?

Yet the commandment of God is clear. “Care for those who are lost and hurting. Love them as you love yourself. Is this not the greatest commandment after love of God?”

Pull your heads out of your collective backsides and see the Light! What you call ‘Corban’ causes destruction and death!

Is this how your god behaves? It’s no wonder people are walking, no, running from your pews!

 

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Off the Path – A Review

Published by mhelbert on June 27, 2017

Off the Path: An Anthology of 21st Century Montana American Indian Writers, Vol. 1, Ed. Adrian L. Jawort, 2014, Off the Pass Press LLC, Billings, Montana.

I feel a bit strange reviewing a book full of stories written about Native Americans by Native Americans. Mostly because I’m not Native American. I’m a white male descended from the colonists who caused so much of the pain contained in these pages. However, in an interview published in Indian Country Media Network written by Heather Steinberger, the book’s editor, Adrian Jawort said that this book is important because, “it introduces Indian Country to non-Native readers who may not understand what lies right next door. ”[1] So, I purchased the book and read it so that I could get to know my ‘next door neighbors’ a little better.

This volume contains nine stories written by five different authors. Each of them brought their own particular perspective to what it means to tell stories as Native Americans. They shared the raw pain that can only be experienced by people who have been marginalized…who have had their lives ripped open…who have had their culture and history nearly destroyed.

It was a difficult read for me. I have tried to educate myself about our Original Nations and what I found is not pleasant. Our country spent almost 500 years raping, stealing land, and cheating our Native sisters and brothers at every turn so that we could make a profit from the minerals in their lands. We have brutalized these people and tried to assimilate them into OUR culture. In 1879 Richard H. Pratt opened a boarding school for the expressed purpose to, “kill the Indian and save the man.”

I don’t want this to be a history lesson. But, it’s important that we non-Natives have an idea of what has happened as a direct result of our colonial treatment of the Native people in this country.

None of the stories have to do with non-Native violence directly involved. I say ‘directly’ because I think that indirectly we are responsible for everything written. The narratives reveal deep wounds that present in Native violence on other natives. Rape, alcohol and substance abuse, and dysfunction in relationships are all prevalent. The domestic and familial violence shocked me. While I realize that these stories are fiction, I can’t help but feel that they are birthed out of true experience.

I’m not going to review every story in this anthology. I only want to touch on one to give you an idea of what they say. Shoot! If I tell you everything you won’t need to buy the book!

The first story was written by Cinnamon Spear. She is a Northern Cheyenne writer and documentary film maker. In the above mentioned interview she stated, “The greater society knows little to nothing about Natives. Having a voice is everything, otherwise people aren’t going to know the realities of our communities.” Her story is entitled “ God’s Plan.” It reveals a life that very few outside of the Native community will ever hear. A life about which we NEED to hear.

This story tells about a young woman living with a Food Channel expert mom. While the Mom works hard to keep the family supplied with food, clothing, and other essentials, the Dad doesn’t appreciate it. Apparently, Dad had aspirations of becoming an attorney and Mom did something that had shot down that pursuit. At least in his mind. For that he was angry. That anger spilled over to physical abuse. The daughter stated that, while “millions of other American children are in their pajamas carelessly enjoying the aroma of blueberry pancakes while watching Saturday morning cartoons on CBS, [she was] in East Bumfuck, Wyoming unknowingly prepared to practice real life First Responder EMS training in her living room.”

The rest of the story followed this track. The Dad was kind one minute saying, “Good morning, my girl,” to her. The next he was beating her Mom to within an inch of death.

In the end, the Dad announced that he and their Mom were getting a divorce. He proceeded to pit the children against each other by asking who would go with him and who would stay. The daughter chose to stay with Mom while her siblings chose Dad.

In the last scene the Dad says, “I said good morning, my girl. Did you sleep well? Hey! Go wake up your mom and sister, huh?”

The pain and dysfunction in this family resulted in physical and psychological abuse that went beyond extreme. We outside of the Native community do experience dysfunction and abuse. But, within Native communities these appear to be systemic. And, a result of 500 years of mistreatment by colonizers.

If there is anything about the book that disappoints, it is the editing. Or, lack of editing. I’m a grammar geek. When I read a book and come upon misspellings or parts that are not cohesive within the plot I become distracted. And, there was a lot in this book to distract. Perhaps, this was by design. Maybe the editorial staff desired that the work be ‘raw’ and ‘natural.’ I don’t know. But, for me, it was problematic.

Would I allow this to keep me from reading it? No! As I wrote earlier, these stories must be read. They must be read widely. We, as non-Natives owe it to our Native sisters and brothers to listen to their stories. We owe it to ourselves to hear their stories.

[1] https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/culture/arts-entertainment/off-the-path-native-writers-in-montana-share-work-in-bold-new-anthology-2/, Accessed: June 20, 2017.

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You Will Be Assimilated

Published by mhelbert on June 16, 2017

Everyone likes a good story. We grow up with Aesop and Little Red Riding Hood. Stories that contain some kind of moral. There are the stories of Christmas with that old elf in Red. Stories of wonder. Tales of ancient heroes and travelers. Stories of adventure. All good stories capture our imaginations. They carry us to distant lands and worlds. They, in a way, form connections between us and the characters, our past, our lives. Stories can evince within us an emotional, even spiritual, identity with our world and ourselves.

Madeleine L’Engle wrote, “it is affirmation that story is true and takes us beyond the facts into something more real.” More real than our empirical Western minds can describe. For story unveils the true world that facts and figures cannot possibly discern. Things that reveal the deep longing for that which is truly “real”. The Germans gave us a word to describe this: sehnsucht. This may be defined as “Spiritual yearning; a longing after a higher, unbroken and eternal world in which something that is adumbrated in the images of stories – and in life itself truly perceived – will be real, and a conviction that that world is one’s true “home.”

So, what is story? Why is it important? Do we have one?

I think that many of us, in the U.S. particularly, don’t appreciate the power of story. Or, at the very least, we don’t recognize it in our lives and culture. In most parts of the world there is an ancient culture that has nurtured it’s own indigenous story for many thousands of years. We can look at the indigenous nations of North America and find a rich heritage of story passed from one generation to the next for over 10,000 years. These stories were born out of intimate relationships with Creation, especially the Land. Deep roots grew into the rich earth where indigenous Nations dwelt. This is spirituality that flourishes in gratitude and relationship to each other and every part of the Cosmos. Creator God was busy building God’s own relationship with these people. In a very true sense, Indigenous people understand the mandate to steward the land and its resources.

But, what about us? What is our connection to this land, the beings who live here; the People who live here? I don’t think that we who came across the ocean have a story. Well, we do. It’s a story of conquest and murder. We hail from people who, like the Borg of Star Trek, came to assimilate anything and anyone. “Resistance is futile.” Our fathers uprooted themselves and left their stories behind. In fact, I think that many of our ancient stories were lost as we assimilated another one. We took and owned the story of Israel and her Messiah. That story became ours. We even changed the Jewish Messiah, a Semitic man from the late Temple period, into a white savior with long brown locks and a Roman nose. By taking Israel’s story, her connection with her land, and making it our own we were cast adrift from any true moorings to our own land and history. And, without those deep roots to original cultures, we cast about for any other story that could fill the void of our loss. Yeah, Israel’s story helped. But, it wasn’t quite ours.

As we came to this land, new to us, we brought our assimilated story. This story formed our thinking and our way of life. The grafted connections to an ancient Near Eastern people had mutated and became a story of conquest. We overwhelmed the original inhabitants of this land through force and deceit. We stole their land and their lives in the name of our story. We then worked to assimilate these people. In the words of Steppenwolf, ‘the whole world’s got to be just like us.’

In the process of assimilation we attempted to graft onto ourselves the stories of the Original inhabitants. We appropriate what is rightfully theirs and made a cheap mockery of them and their story.

What would happen, though, if we honored their story as THEIRS and learned from them? If we let them tell their story and, if they were willing, to share in their wisdom and understanding of this land? Maybe we could be equal partners in the care and stewardship of this land. I’ve often thought about the Europeans’ so-called divine mandate to colonize these lands. What if there truly was a divine mandate to sail to these shores so that WE COULD LEARN FROM THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE. Instead, we came as rude intruders who burned and destroyed. Our Christian lust and greed decimated the people and laid waste to their land.

The real sad part of this story is that we are the same as our ancestors. Nothing has changed.

We have no story of our own. We have no roots. As the French say, we have no raison d’etre. When will we humble ourselves and seek the forbearance of our Original hosts? I believe that our very survival rests in the wisdom and knowledge of these people. They have the true story of how to live here.

Can we set aside our murderous arrogance long enough to listen?

 

 

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Human Trafficking/Human Tragedy…Our Tragedy

Published by mhelbert on August 17, 2016

As I was going through some old material I happened upon this piece that I had submitted to the NY Times in January 2013. During the current election cycle Ohio Senator Rob Portman is using his work on Human Trafficking for his campaign. So, I thought that I would publish this now. I can’t express how important this issue is now…today…in 2016. Follow the links and do some digging to see if there’s a way for us all to help free the oppressed. As Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

endhumantrafficking January 22nd marks the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision known as Roe v. Wade. Few topics engaged human emotions like this one. Battle lines were drawn and the battles fought. The benefactors of the decision found that their rights as human beings in the U.S. were vindicated. Women across the country were released from the shackles of a male dominated culture. And, they are adamant that those rights will not be taken away.

On the other side, people decried the violence that was allowed to be perpetrated on the “unborn innocents.” Their right-to-life beliefs empowered a backlash against the Supreme Court and the government. To this day they maintain that an unborn human must have the same rights and protections as any other person.

The position of those who proclaim Right-to-Life has grown to include topics beyond abortion. They are against any kind of euthanasia or medical procedures that may bring about death. Removal of life support apparatus can be anathema for these folks. But, there is another area that has as much to do with a person’s right to live as any of these. It is something that very few, if any sermons will be preached about on Sunday. It is the problem of slavery and human trafficking. Women, children and men whose lives are owned by someone else; people who have no rights to live, only to obey their “master.”

I first learned of this problem through a fellow student in graduate school. She was from Argentina and became a staunch advocate of human rights for those caught in the web of human trafficking. I began to learn about the problem and realized that it is part and parcel about a person’s right to life. A good definition of human trafficking can be found in documents from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Quoting from their website, at http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking.html, it reads, “Article 3, paragraph (a) of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines Trafficking in Persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.” This definition is comprehensive in its scope. It reveals the lengths that some people will go to in order to profit from the lives of others.

In the U.S., trafficking shows up in exploitation of some migrant workers and their families. But, perhaps the most heinous result is the sexual abuse of girls and women. One article reported in 2011, “Each year, 100,000 to 300,000 American kids, some as young as 12 years old, are exploited in the sex trade.”[1] This particular article revealed that major cultural events are used by human traffickers to sell their victims.

To me, this underscores the culture of power and dominance that is so prevalent in the U.S. People’s rights, that are supposed to be guaranteed and protected under the Constitution, are trampled upon in the name of cultural acceptance. Rev. Jennifer D. Crumpton wrote, “But we also must go deeper to honestly examine our accepted social structures and our systemic commodification of the bodies of women and girls in our arts and entertainment, our media, our sports, and our general corporate and consumer marketing.”[2] Yet, we do not “go deeper.” We prefer to avert our gaze from the reality that in 2013 America, people are commodified and enslaved for personal gain. We choose not to get involved while the “Right-to-Life” of thousands of our fellow human beings is taken away from them.

There are many resources available that people can utilize that can help to educate and bring to light this horrible blight on our society. One is the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Their website offers information that can educate as well as provide resources for involvement. (http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/index.html?ref=menuside)

The Salvation Army offers support at their PROMISE website for people who are caught in human trafficking, as well as for those who want to help. (http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf/vw-dynamic-index/F71E07755654D27A85257440006860F9?Opendocument)

A quick search on the internet for the various state’s Attorney’s General will provide a wealth of information that can enable people to learn what their own state government is doing in the fight against human trafficking.

It’s not enough to sit and point fingers at Pro Choice or Pro Life adherents. It’s also not enough to define Right-to-Life by one issue. Hundreds of thousands of living, breathing people do not have a Right-to-Life. We must stand up for them.

 

[1] http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-01-31-child-prostitution-super-bowl_N.htm?sms_ss=email&at_xt=4d4d83322a2ff345%2C0, accessed January 10, 2013.

[2] http://www.newevangelicalpartnership.org/?q=node/109, accessed January 9, 2013.

 

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