Freedom for what. . . .?

Consider your freedom today, and its price. 

Then take a look at this data on how we spend our time, state-by-state in the USA! 

Reactions? 

Juneteenth!!!

Today is a special day of remembrance for all Americans, and especially for Texans! Juneteenth represents a day of freedom and liberation! June 19, 1965 marked the complete end of slavery in the restored Union of the United States! Remember and celebrate!

Freedom. . .real freedom

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. possessed a radical vision of freedom, liberty and hope. 

We celebrate his life tody. 

Take a look at this as you reflect on the values that consumed his incredible life.

Reflect.

Get back to me. 

Freedom

Recent, firsthand, eyewitness news reports from Iran via Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sources have been depressing and, at times, shocking.

Citizens expressing themselves and their rights in peaceful, public demonstrations end up caught in terrible violence, cruel beatings, arrest and who knows what else?

As a freedom loving person, it is impossible not to be moved and concerned for our fellow human beings on the other side of the world in Iran.

I know that I take for granted the freedom I enjoy as a citizen of this nation.

I am grateful that our nation is not ruled by a "supreme ruler," an unquestioned religious leader who claims the sanctions of God to justify every action, even those involving brutality and torture. Today, I am most grateful for "the separation of church and state." I am thankful for our open, secular, social fabric that allows each of us to work out our own faith without imposing or being imposed upon by some overriding authority. I am grateful for our forefathers and mothers who saw and understood the importance of such openness of religious expression, including no religious expression at all.

I am praying that the cleansing power of liberty would wash all such madmen away in its powerful wake. I am praying that as a people we might understand again the importance of diversity, freedom of expression and basic human rights.

Today, I am praying for the spread of liberty into places where it does not exist. I am praying for those who in this very moment are making tremendous, painful and dangerous sacrifices for the cause of liberty.

And, I am thankful for what we have in this nation and for the freedom we enjoy that allows us to work hard at making things even better.

There will be celebration today in our home. . .and thoughts for people and freedom around the world.

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Things that make you go hmmmm. . .

Did you catch Rep. Betty Brown's suggestion during the Elections Committee hearing in the Texas House of Representatives last week?

When confronted with witness testimony on the problems Chinese-American Texans currently face at the polls and the increased difficulties they could expect to encounter under a voter ID law now being debated, Rep. Brown said, "Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese - I understand it's a rather difficult language - do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?"

Media outlets across the country have picked up on this story, Asian American groups have spoken out against her and still, Rep. Brown continues to stand by her statement.

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Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish quotes from the U. S. Senate ratified Treaty of Tripoli (1796-1797).

Interesting stuff.

Here are a few lines from Article 11 of the treaty:

As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

Check out Sullivan's post here.

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Quote without comment: It is important for you to control your own drawbridge. There must be times when you keep your bridge drawn and have the opportunity to be alone or only with those to whom you feel close. Never allow yourself to become public property, where anyone can walk in and out at will. You might think that you are being generous in giving access to anyone who wants to enter or leave, but you will soon find yourself losing your soul. - Henri Nouwen (as posted by my good friend, Mike Cope)

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Abraham, Martin and John. . .

For inspiration today concerning John F. Kennedy and those who shared his values, stop in here.

Thanks, Gerald, I needed that today!

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Liberty's invitation from the "Mother of Exiles"

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles.

From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame."

Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips.

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

(The New Colossus, by Emma Lazarus)

We dare not forget.

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Freedom

Some folks think
By burning books
They burn Freedom.

Some folks think
By imprisoning Nehru
They imprison Freedom.

Some folks think
By lynching a Negro
They lynch Freedom.

But Freedom
Stands up and laughs
In their faces
And says,

You'll never kill me!

Langston Hughes
The Collected Works of Langston Hughes (Vol. 2, page 78)

Resources for Juneteenth

Wonder what might happen if every predominately white church in the nation made some special effort to celebrate Juneteenth this year?

What if just Texas congregations did so?

Just an idea and suggestion for white people of faith to consider.

Here is a wonderful resource page for such plans: http://coramarshall.com/news_juneteenth08.html.

If anyone takes me up on this idea, please let me know!

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Freedom and community

When you are interiorly free you call others to freedom, whether you know it or not. Freedom attracts wherever it appears. A free man or a free woman creates a space where others feel safe and want to dwell. Our world is so full of conditions, demands, requirements, and obligations that we often wonder what is expected of us. But when we meet a truly free person, there are no expectations, only an invitation to reach into ourselves and discover there our own freedom. Where true inner freedom is, there is God. And where God is, there we want to be.

Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith (Harper Collins, 1997)

Change and thought

It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds.

Samuel Adams






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A Quick Quiz

A prominent American made the following statement about immigrants:

"Few of their children in the country learn English. . . .The signs of our streets have inscriptions in both languages. . . . Unless the stream of their importation could be turned they will soon so outnumber us that all the advantages we have will not be able to preserve our language, and even our government will become precarious."


Who was it?

A) Lou Dobbs, CNN journalist

B) Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO)

C) Tim O'Hare, Mayor Pro Tem and member of the Farmers Branch, Texas City Council

D) Benjamin Franklin



If you selected "D," you are correct.

Franklin spoke disparagingly of the German immigrants of the 1750s.

Some things never change in this country.

Bill Moyers' Commencement Speech at SMU

Bill Moyers presented the commencement speech for the Southern Methodist University Class of 2007 on May 19.

The entire speech is more than worth your time. You can find it at: http://www.smu.edu/newsinfo/stories/
commencementday2007.asp.

What follows is just a section of his poignant commentary on life in the USA today, a big part of the world every graduate will face as they move out with their lives.
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Let me see if I can say it a different way. A moment ago, when the reunion class of 1957 stood up to be recognized, I was taken back half a century to my first year at the University of Texas. In my mind’s eye I saw Gilbert McAlister – “Dr. Mac” – pacing back and forth in his introductory class to anthropology. He had spent his years as a graduate student among the Apache Indians on the plains of Texas. He said he learned from them the meaning of reciprocity. In the Apache tongue, he told us, the word for grandfather was the same as the word for grandson. Generations were linked together by mutual obligation. Through the years, he went on; we human beings have advanced more from collaboration than competition. For all the chest-thumping about rugged individuals and self-made men, it was the imperative and ethic of cooperation that forged America. Laissez faire – “Leave me alone” – didn’t work. We had to move from the philosophy of “Live and let live” to “Live and help live.” You see, civilization is not a natural act. Civilization is a veneer of civility stretched across primal human appetites. Like democracy, civilization has to be willed, practiced, and constantly repaired, or society becomes a war of all against all.

Think it over: On one side of this city of Dallas people pay $69 for a margarita and on the other side of town the homeless scrounge for scraps in garbage cans. What would be the civilized response to such a disparity?

Think it over: In 1960 the gap in wealth between the top 20% of our country and the bottom 20% was thirty fold. Now it is 75 fold. Stock prices and productivity are up, and CEO salaries are soaring, but ordinary workers aren’t sharing in the profits they helped generate. Their incomes aren’t keeping up with costs. More Americans live in poverty – 37 million, including 12 million children. Twelve million children! Despite extraordinary wealth at the top, America’s last among the highly developed countries in each of seven measures of inequality.

Our GDP outperforms every country in the world except Luxembourg. But among industrialized nations we are at the bottom in functional literacy and dead last in combating poverty. Meanwhile, regular Americans are working longer and harder than workers in any other industrial nation, but it’s harder and harder for them to figure out how to make ends meet…how to send the kids to college…and how to hold on securely in their old age. If we’re all in this together, what’s a civilized response to these disparities?

America’s a broken promise. America needs fixing. . . .

Some of the elders among you will remember that Martin Luther King made a powerful speech here at SMU in 1966. It’s been said – this part of the story may be apocryphal – that when he was asked why he chose SMU instead of one of the all-black colleges, Dr. King replied: “Because if John Wesley were around he’d be standing right here with me.” Martin Luther King said at SMU: “…The challenge in the days ahead is to work passionately and unrelentingly…to make justice a reality for all people.” One of your own graduates – the Reverend Michael Waters – got it right a few years ago when he was a student here: “Martin Luther King became the symbol not only of the civil rights movement but of America itself: A symbol of a land of freedom where people of all races, creeds, and nationalities could live together as a Beloved Community.”

Not as an empire. Or a superpower. Not a place where the strong take what they can and the weak what they must. But a Beloved Community. It’s the core of civilization, the crux of democracy, and a profound religious truth.

But don’t go searching for the Beloved Community on a map. It’s not a place. It exists in the hearts and minds – our hearts and minds – or not at all.

Graduation/Immigration: Monica, Up Close

Okay, I'll admit it.

My take on the current immigration debate continues to be shaped in large part by my experiences and relationships with some incredible friends who live here without proper documentation.

In my view, we need immigration reform so that my friends can "get legal" and remain in the U. S. The debate going on today in the U. S. Senate ought to be shaped in large part by the stories and the lives of the people who will be affected by any new legislation.

I've told Monica's story here in some detail in the past (just search "Monica" to refresh your memory or understand more).

Monica has been living in Dallas since she was 5-years-old.

This year she graduated from Skyline High School! She is a good student and a great person--exactly the sort of person we need in our community.

The picture of her graduation ceremony with her class is a testimony to her hard work and to the quality of life she enjoys in her home. Her parents are hard working people whose home is so full of love that no one escapes it without health, hope and prospects for a bright, bright future.

Unfortunately, due to recent events, Monica may be deported to Mexico later this year. She has an immigration hearing set for August 1.

Last week I accompanied her, her sister and her cousin to the Dallas office of member of the U. S. House of Representatives, Eddie Bernice Johnson. Our purpose was to determine what, if anything, the Congress woman could do to help Monica.

As Monica answered all of the questions that were asked of her, I felt tears welling up in my eyes. So honest. So straightforward. So authentic. So exactly what this nation needs.

Representative Johnson will write a letter of support. That's about all she can do.

One of her assistants advised us to pray that the judge would exercise discretion and mercy in the case.

The immigration debate is personal for me. I know Monica and her family.

As a result, I know what needs to be done. A comprehensive immigration reform bill needs to be passed so that Monica and people like her and her family can remain in the U. S. and continue to help it be a better place in which to live.

Just ask Dr. Janet Morrison, Director of Children's Education here at CDM, pictured here with Monica. She'll tell you the same thing.

Pray for the judge.

Pray for Monica, her cousin, Jose and their great families.

Living in the Promise Land

Events of this week force upon my heart and mind thoughts of America and its cities and, even more, thoughts of the great "American experiment."

What, in fact, is the genius of this nation?

I believe the answer is found somewhere along the continuum of freedom, mutual respect, openness to change and a living commitment to authentic human community.

At one point this week, as I was buried in such thoughts, I heard Willie Nelson singing the lyrics of David Lynn Jones, "Living in the Promise Land." In its own way the song says it all.

There is history here.

There is hope and great promise here.

At the same time, there is a lingering question here.

Everything hangs on how we choose to answer the question together.
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Living in the Promise Land

Give us your tired and weak,
And we will make them strong;
Bring us your foreign songs,
And we will sing along;
Leave us your broken dreams,
We’ll give them time to mend;
There’s still a lot of love
Living in the promise land.

Living in the promise land,
Our dreams are made of steel;
The prayer of every man
Is to know how freedom feels;
There is a winding road
Across the shifting sand,
And room for everyone
living in the promise land

So, we came from a distant isle,
Nameless woman, faithless child,
Like a bad dream;
Until there was no room at all,
No place to come and no place to fall;
Give us your daily bread,
We have no shoes to wear,
No place to call our home,
Only this cross to bear;
We are the multitudes,
Lend us a helping hand;
Is there no love anymore
Living in the promise land?

Living in the promise land,
Our dreams are made of steel;
The prayer of every man
Is to know how freedom feels;
There is a winding road
Across the shifting sand,
And room for everyone
Living in the promise land.

And room for everyone
Living in the promise land.