The Irony Police didn’t catch this one
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Apparently Elle fashion magazine ran this spread.
Seriously?
Seriously?
Do these people have no shame?
Answer: yes, they do not have any shame.
Category: Issues
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Motley Crew
By Kate, 18 June 2010
Countries that have the death penalty and ban gays in the military:
Cuba, China, Egypt, Iran, Jamaica, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Uganda and Yemen.
Charming.
Support Mormon Workers!
By Kate, 6 May 2010
Rio Tinto (one of the largest mining companies in the world, and owners of the Kennecott mine in Utah) has locked out their workers in Boron, CA since January to try and force them to sign a new contract that would destroy their union.
7 of the locked-out union members are Mormons from the same LDS congregation, and two of the 10 union members on the negotiating team are Mormons.
News on the work I did this summer
“When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a Communist.”
By Kate, 21 April 2010
I posted this on the Mormon May Day blog too.. but just in case you don’t read that one (although you should b/c there are a bunch of great posts there):
Today I read a book by Dom Hélder Pessoa Câmara, who was a Roman Catholic Archbishop in Brazil. He is famous for the above line, and for trying to fight the root causes of poverty.
The entire book, The Spiral of Violence, (more like a long pamphlet) is available in pdf form here.
Read it today.
He addresses the three types of violence that contribute to this spiral of violence:
- Violence of Poverty
- Violence of Revolt
- Violence of Repression
He says: “the only true answer to violence is to have the courage to face the injustices which constitute violence No. 1 [poverty].”
“It is only through justice that a true and lasting peace will be achieved… Within his own religion, each person will discover the necessary impulse to give himself entirely to justice as a condition of peace.”
“Whatever your religion, try to demand that, instead of separating men, it helps to unite them…In the teachings of your faith, what are the principles, the directives which call for justice and peace?…Beyond the barriers let us unite! If existing minorities – and there are minorities within all…religions- can come together in Action for Justice and Peace, we shall have the right to hope.”
“Do you think you are alone? Look around you. Talk to your friends. Talk to people in your house, in your neighborhood, at your school, at your work, with your leisure companions…Leave no one indifferent around you. Provoke discussion. Your youth must force people to think and take up a position: let it be uncomfortable, like truth, demanding, like justice.”
“The time has come when each religion must rediscover, in its sacred texts, the truths capable of encouraging the human development of the outcasts of the modern world and of arousing the consciences of the rich…each religion must leave its own mark on the movement”
“We are hundreds of years behind, and all of us bear direct responsibility for the sin of omission.“
What is the proper place of religious faith in public life?
By Kate, 19 April 2010
A speech I gave in my political rhetoric class today:
Many people have good reasons to fear the penetration of the public sphere by religion. Throughout history unholy coalitions have formed between religious groups and authoritarian states. It is when political dogmas take on an “otherworldly” air of authority that they become particularly dangerous, because by the holder of these views it places them out of the realm of rational discussion and makes it impossible to engage in a give-and-take dialogue about the merits of these ideas or proposals.
I think that in the United States people on the left and the right, although this is a character most often attributed (by those on the left) to the “religious right,” can be guilty of clinging too self-righteously to their platforms and thereby making those on the other side suspicious and fearful.
I understand why people want to know about the religious observance of their leaders. It is the same reason people want to know where they went to school, what jobs they’ve had or how they treat their families.
- It gives little clues about who they are, what they believe and how they will act in the future.
However, I believe that more important than the religion they profess, is the way that they live that faith and they way they live their lives. Anyone can say, I am a Christian, I am a Muslim, I am a Jew, I am an Atheist. I want to know why? How does your faith, whatever tradition you come from, influence your view of the world and law and governing.
- Some of the most kind and charitable people I have met are Christians. Some of the most depraved and selfish individuals I have come across are also Christians. And, the same can be said of any faith.
- What type of faith do you have… be you Christian, Buddhist, atheist? Is it dogmatic and smug, or is it dynamic and transformative?
These types of clues are what I need to evaluate whether I should be cautious about the religious ties of a political leader, or whether I can rest assured that she will use these beliefs to inform and energize her service, and will be open to divergent viewpoints.
The one place I do not think religion has in modern politics is as a chip to secure more votes, or a way to manipulate voters. I think that views about religion are, as all things should be, an opportunity to speak honestly about beliefs and to learn from one another.
As a practicing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, religion figures prominently into my own political thinking and work.
As a person coming from the Christian faith, I believe that the face of deity can be found with the poor, and that I can demonstrate my faith through serving.. as Christ teaches in the gospel of Matthew, the, “least of these my brethren.” Matt 25:40. And, as a wise prophet from the Book of Mormon taught, “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” Mosiah 2: 17. This wise king, named King Mosiah, told his people that he labored among them so that they would not be “laden with taxes” to support him, and labored for them so that they would know that “if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another?”
This is the type of leader I desire. One who listens with an open heart. One who serves with genuine faith, even if in no Supernatural being, in her fellow human beings.
As one scholar put it, “marrying a rich inner life dedicated to the cultivation of loving kindness and compassion with the practice of new forms of politics, economics and public policy is, I believe, the key to social transformation.” (Michael Edwards)
Although, I believe, as my religion teaches in being charitable. I also believe what Dorothy Day, famed catholic reformer & personal heroine taught, that we must also fight against a “social order which made so much charity in the present sense of the word necessary.” In other words, she combined the practice of charity with the struggle for justice.
Should Atheists and Agnostics be suspicious of me, or other people of faith because we sincerely believe what to them is nonsense and fairy tales?
No.
Because social justice in our world is nothing but a fairy tale.
Peace is a figment of imagination.
Equality is not a concrete reality.
For another world to be possible, we need people of faith, and belief, irrespective of creed, to come together and make it a reality.
This can only be done as we meet on common ground, and proceed towards a better future together.
Ah, The Onion… funny ’cause it’s true. Funny ’cause it’s true.
By Kate, 15 April 2010
U.S. Flag Recalled After Causing 143 Million Deaths
It’s times like these (when you want to share a funny link and nothing more) that Facebook would really come in handy.
Eating Animals
By Kate, 7 April 2010
I have not read this book… yet, but from this interview it sounds very, very interesting.
Choose
By Kate, 6 April 2010
I made the following comment on a friend’s blog:
I am afraid to choose.
I am afraid to choose what I will be “when I grow up” for fear that if I choose one thing, one occupation, one cause… I will un-choose all the rest I care so much about.
But, I think that that’s the problem with being an entirely process-oriented person. You never choose. You become. At times this can feel like drifting.
….
I might also add:
I am afraid to choose to do things completely, thoroughly, decidedly, dedicatedly… because if I do a 1/2-a** job, I can always blame the bad [grade, reaction, outcome] on my lack of work.
I did not fail: because I hardly tried at all.
If my 1/2 effort is sub-par, I can always console myself that my full effort *would have* been sufficient.
It’s official: Glenn Beck will have to leave the church
By Kate, 3 April 2010
or eat his own words.
TODAY in GENERAL CONFERENCE the words social justice were uttered by Elder Christopherson.
“Others would argue that it’s all relative, or that God’s love is permissive. If there is a God, they say, he excuses all sins and misdeeds because of his love for us. There’s no need for repentance, or at most, a simple confession will do. They have imagined a Jesus who wants people to work for social justice but who makes no demands upon their personal life and behavior. But a God of love does not leave us to learn by sad experience that wickedness never was happiness. His commandments are the voice of reality, and are protection against self-inflicted pain. The scriptures are the touchstone for measuring correctness and truth.”
“Mr. Beck said on his radio show on March 2, “I beg you, look for the words ‘social justice’ or ‘economic justice’ on your church Web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words.””
Good riddance!