Glaring Injustice

       It may be politically incorrect to criticize an ally, but political correctness concerns itself only with appearances while truth lies deeper.
       In the current Middle East conflict it is not surprising that the Palestinians fight back with whatever means they have.  The imbalance of power is startling.  The world watches as the Israeli army with its advanced weaponry, air power and protective 'iron shield' pummels the boxed in enclave of Gaza.  After several days of fighting the numbers tell the story: on July 16, 2014, one Israeli casualty; more than 200 Palestinians dead--mostly women and children.

       For days now I have struggled to find a way to express the conflicting feelings I have as I watch the crisis raging.  In a global world this problem is not regional, it is universal.  To try and understand the roots of the conflict I watched the Youtube documentary of the 1967 war: 'Six Days in June'. (I recommend it).  The issues are complex and there is enough blame on all sides to go around--but continuation of the conflict is heinous as it poses a world threat.  Two things seem clear to me: 1) the state of Israel has the right to exist but its present governance imposes unjust military oppression to those occupied and 2) Palestinians have an equal right to self-rule with freedom from the 'iron fist' that crushes them but they must move beyond the barbarism of terrorism.

       The state of Israel was founded at the end of WWII because of the Holocaust.  Over the years as I learned of the horrors of that dark period of history when governments' treatment of the Jewish people over time led to that 'final solution' I was appalled that so called civilized and educated people failed to see the glaring injustice of the choices made--people driven from their homes and forced into ghettoes, often walled-in and denied freedom of movement under military occupation, without ability to find work and feed their families, denied basic rights and effectively cut off from the rest of the world--thus treated until that choice was made to exterminate them!

       In retrospect one sees an escalation over time of cruelty that led to that 'final solution'.  The horror of it is almost beyond belief--yet it happened.  For years my compassion for and support of the Jewish people had been unflinching--until I visited the Holy Land five years ago and saw the ugly walls built by Israel to isolate the Palestinians; witnessed Palestinian homes demolished and their roads destroyed to prevent easy passage; I saw the massive sprawling settlements Isralies built on undeclared lands despite the prohibitions.  I personally witnessed a support rally at Bethlehem University for a young woman due to graduate who had been arrested for no apparent reason and deported back to Gaza with the claim she was there illegally.  I saw Christian Palestinians evicted from their homes living in tents under trees in their yards, forbidden to enter their homes on trumped up charges for minor infractions (the aim being to drive them from their homes to 'cleanse' Jeresulem of all non-Jews).
       In this I saw once more a government's cruel treatment of a segment of people under their rule.
                          A five hour 'Humanitarian Pause' is not enough!

                 In counseling we learn that the abused often becomes the abuser.
                      Oh Israel, you dishonor your God of Love and Justice!

Our Greatest Gift

       "Our greatest gift is our heaviest burden"--I don't recall when or where I first heard that but it has stayed with me over the years.  With consciousness we were given freedom; by it we can create or destroy.  Each human choice, to a small or large degree, shapes the life that follows.
       All life is a creative process, it unfolds in a progression from simple to complex be it seed to plant, embryo to adult, or primordial energy to expanding universe.  The process is determined while only the human has the gift of choice to shape the emerging expression--we create the world that is.
       The hope and prayer is that when we fully realize the power we hold the choices will reflect wisdom.
                                        - - -

       My blog entry of 10/14/13, 'Potential', echoes this thought. 

More on 'A Word'

       The intention of my previous post was to propose that a new legal term be used to formally define the union between same-sex couples.  As homosexuality became openly acceptable within contemporary society, gay couples sought legal status to enable them the rights and privileges of married couples (i.e. joint tax status, inheritance rights, family privileges when hospitalized, etc.) that seems clearly defensible yet there is strong opposition.  I contend the same-sex union needs its own identification.  As I see it, the problem has arisen from choosing to define the union as marriage and altering that time-honored institution.  Throughout human history there has been universal understanding that marriage is a permanent union between a man and a woman.  It is the foundation upon which family is built.  Not all marriages are ideal, and children are born out of wedlock but the concept of marriage is fundamental to social order.  It is through marriage we trace lineage, identify ancestors, and pursue genealogy.

       A respondent to my post said marriage is "just a word" that means join something together (yes, a word has more than one meaning) . . . and quoted that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet . . . But this is not changing the name of a rose, it is calling another flower by the rose's name!  My argument is not about "just a word", it is about changing a time-honored institution.  A homosexual union IS different from a heterosexual one, just as adopting a child is different than birthing one--but become equal in the eyes of the law.

       I suggest legalizing another term for the formal bond of same-sex couples (such as life-partners or whatever unique term is favored) and change the law to include that term rather than change our understanding of marriage.

A Word Can Make a Difference

       There is turmoil in our society as the result of a small vocal minority imposing its will upon the majority by insisting that same-sex unions be accepted as 'marriage'.  For most people the objection is not about allowing gay couples equal rights under the law, but rather about changing the nature and meaning of marriage.

       I am neither anti-gay nor homophobic, but I take issue with the drive to legalize same-sex unions as marriage.  As far back as history reaches, the permanent union of a man and a woman has been given special regard by name and ceremony--we've known it as marriage.  It is the foundation of social order and the bond that creates and supports new life, the next generation.  I don't suggest that birthing and raising children are the only functions of marriage, but I do maintain it is its most fundamental purpose and for that reason marriage has acquired prominence in every society, is celebrated with joy and ritual, and regarded was a sacrament in many religions.  Even if one is not religious, one can still recognize that throughout time, humanity/society has 'sacralized' marriage as a dedicated state between a man and a woman and worthy of special respect.

       Could not the polarization around this issue be mitigated were same-sex unions to be identified by new terminology which incorporates all legal right of partnership and inheritance?  Such terms as 'life-partner' or 'confirmed bond' already exist; or creative minds could devise an identifiable new legal category to cover same-sex partnerships with the inclusive rights afforded marriage.

       I point to another family-centered legal category that is "same but different".  When a couple welcomes into their life a child to whom they did not give birth, the child is adopted through a legal process giving them permanent status in the family unit.  By law that status carries the same rights as a birth child.  In creating such an identifiable legal category for same-sex partnering (other than 'marriage') which guarantees legal rights, we give acknowledgement to the newly-emerging social change without altering the historical uniqueness of the institution of marriage.  I contend that changing the nature and meaning of the time-honored universal institution of marriage is unwise, damaging, unjust and unreasonable.

Welcome Saint Pope John XXIII

       I am so glad to embrace Pope John XXIII as a saint of the Catholic Church.  Our saints are, after all, people who live exemplary lives with wisdom that helps expand our human understanding.  They are models for us to emulate--our heroes.

       In the 1960's I read Journal of a Soul, Pope John's spiritual diaries--his humility, sincerity and devotion are clearly in evidence.  I believed then that he was an exceptional person who would one day be declared a saint.  Though he was steeped in the religious thinking of the past, he was able to see ahead to needed changes for the Church to remain relevant in the changing world.  He was aware of the evolutionary views of Teilhard de Chardin and did not condemn them but recognized that at that time the Church was not yet ready for so great a leap forward, there were more fundamental changes needed first.  He convened the Second Vatican Council in 1962 to review and revise all documents of the Church.  The 'windows were opened' but the work begun was impacted by his death in 1963 and in the 50 years since then, conservative elements arose to curtail the forward movement.

       When Pope Benedict fast-tracked Pope John Paul II (1978 - 2005) for beatification ahead of John XXIII (1958 - 1963) it seemed to be a vote to highlight the conservative position of the Church.  A balance was regained when Pope Francis intervened to complete the process for both John XXIII and John Paul II to be officially sainted together, thus favoring neither conservatives nor progressives but acknowledging that each has a  place in this struggle to move forward as we once again seriously face the task of bringing the Church into the modern world--a task fraught with many complex issues.

       Pope Francis has already called for an Extraordinary Synod to address issues of the family, thus he seems well suited to take up the mantle of these two influential new saints.

Easter Week 2014

He looked to be a man--
cruelly treated, he forgave
He died, yet resurrected
       How can it be?
     
I was once a child . . . a baby
now an adult, no earlier cell remains,
completely changed yet the same 'me'
       How can it be?
     
We put seeds into the ground
cover them over and wait . . .
flowers and food to sustain us
       How can it be?

I step into a mammoth machine
it rises above the earth
carrying me through the clouds
       How can it be?

We look at a picture
of a tiny blue ball in space
taken from the moon
       How can it be?

I think of this self that I am,
myriads of happenstances necessary
to have called me into being
       How can it be?

Billions of people inhabit the earth
each individual unique
yet sharing a relentless sameness
       How can it be?


Wonder upon wonder upon wonder
if we but remember to look . . .

       How can it be?
       Yet it is so!

Psalm 29 revised

       Although our great country was founded upon trust in God, in my lifetime I have witnesses the relentless elimination of God from public commerce.

       In the past decade I have seen unprecedented natural disasters:  droughts, earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, mud slides, tornados, tsunamis, and winter storms of mammoth proportions!

       With these facts in mind I turned to Psalm 29;  this is my version.

                          _ _ _

We have not kept your precepts, Lord!
We have not shepherded the earth by your formulation;
we have plundered for private gain
      and trampled the lowly to amass profits.


Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones
      ascribe to the Lord glory and strength
Ascribe to the Lord the reverence due his name
      and take heed of the splendor of his holiness!


The voice of the Lord is over the waters
      the God of glory thunders
The Lord gives warning as we despoil the earth
      the voice of the Lord breaks the cedar
      and howls the winds
The voice of the Lord shakes the mountains
      and strikes with flashes of lightening
The voice of the Lord twists the oaks
      and strips forests bare

Look, listen and know!


The Lord sits enthroned over the waters and land
      The Lord reigns King forever
The Lord gives warning to his people:
      heed his precepts and principles
      lest man's choices bring destruction
      to this wondrous earth and all its inhabitants!