My So-Called Life

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

“And even though I am a feminist and even though I am religious, I secretly believe, in some mean little rat part of my brain, that I am my skin, my hair, and worst of all, those triangles of fat that pooch at the top of my thighs. In other words, that I am my packaging. Even though both feminism and Christianity have taught me that I am my spirit, my heart, all that I have survived over the years and all that I have given, still a funny thing happened after I started liking this guy: I looked in the mirror, and sighed, and thought to myself, I will cut my eyes out.” ~Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies

Friday, April 04, 2008

40 Years Later: An Email From Sojourners

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. - a tragic end to a life spent moving the nation towards racial justice and reconciliation.

But in the last few weeks, instead of building on his legacy, the news media have been in a feeding frenzy that plays on our worst fears and demeans the prophetic tradition of the black church.

Tell the television networks to honor King's legacy by covering racial issues in a way worthy of his dream.

Rev. Jeremiah Wright has preached for more than 3,000 hours in the course of his career, but the cable news networks have used a handful of 30-second clips, often taken completely out of context, to exploit racial fears.

Fox News has set the tone for much of this coverage. Even after Barack Obama rejected Rev. Wright's most incendiary comments, on-air host Sean Hannity asked whether Obama's candidacy was "dangerous for this country," saying, "if he agreed with Wright, and I don't know that he does, but if he did, that would mean a racist and an anti-Semite would be president of the United States."

Martin Luther King Jr. didn't endorse political candidates (and neither does Sojourners), but he knew something about attracting controversy from the pulpit. In fact, the week before his death, he was planning a sermon for that Sunday titled "Why America May Go to Hell."

But when King spoke difficult truths, he did so in the pursuit of what he called "the beloved community," believing the nation could overcome racial divisions not by ignoring them, but by coming together in the spirit of nonviolence to pursue the common good.

Click here to tell the media to use this anniversary for racial dialogue and reconciliation, not fear and division.

And please join us in praying that we all might have the courage to continue in King's mission to "redeem the soul of America."

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Memo to Presidential Candidates

I'm a fan of this guy, and I think this is an interesting proposal for the presidential front-runners. (Don't worry, he doesn't think this will actually happen.)