Blue Band-Aids - The Long Term Solution

Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall along the Gulf Coast. A year later, it is an occasion for the news media to pull out old video, send anchors to the area for weeklong specials, and for more finger pointing. I've heard a lot about "plans" the past few days - plans for rehabilitating the region, plans of governors and mayors, plans of President Bush and FEMA, and occasionally the plans of folks trying to go home or stay in their homes. All of this strikes me as a bit empty because instead of finding a common vision and then working together in that direction we witness a variety of groups pulling in many different directions. Perhaps such pulling is a part of finding the answer and taking action that ultimately makes a difference. Let us hope that is the case.

As I listen to all of this "news" though I am reminded of a comment by my friend and parishioner, Glen. We traveled together to Beaumont, Texas, 3 weeks ago to participate in our denominations rebuilding efforts in the area impacted by Hurricane Rita. His comment that keeps echoing in my head is, "All I saw were blue tarps and I kept thinking that this is the long term solution for too many folks." My apologies if I didn't get the quote exact but nevertheless I believe it is a profound insight into the situation all along the Gulf Coast. I am sure the blue tarps began as band-aids intended to protect from the weather and additional damage to homes, churches, and business. Like Glen said, these bandages though are no long term solution.

Band-aids don't work for deep and painful wounds. They are usually too small to cover wounds that require stitches or staples. When they are used in such circumstances, they are used to cover and protect those other medical interventions that can aid in the healing of such wounds. In those times when they are used, the band-aids get changed regularly and other wound care accompanies this small aid intended to keep dirt out. Sometimes this additional care is regular washing, other times it is anti-bacterial ointment, and sometimes it is like my mother said, "It just needs some air." The wounds from Hurricane Katrina and Rita and numerous others whose names we have forgotten take a long time to heal. They require more than band-aids but like band-aids ripping them off to provide the other necessary care will be painful.

Let us hope the finger pointing can end and we can find a way to work together and move towards a solution that gives hope and a balm that can heal.

The Politics of Immigration

An Associated Press story on Friday, August 25, 2006, reported, "Many migrants from El Salvador received the temporary status after a devastating earthquake struck the Central American country in 2001. The temporary protection allowed those already in the U.S. to work legally. Their status must be renewed annually, and Sept. 1 is the deadline.

But Saca is concerned that with all the discussion about U.S. immigration reform, some Salvadorans living here may become complacent and decide not to renew their status in hopes that Congress will approve a broader change to U.S. immigration law that would put them on the path to permanent residency.

'If they don't register for this program, they will lose their immigration status and will get an order for deportation. Then they won't be able to apply for future programs that might lead to a permanent residency, so it is very important that they renew,' said Rene Leon, El Salvador's ambassador to the U.S."

Such issues are critical for a country in which 16% of the GDP and 91% of the government's budget come from remittances or monies sent back to El Salvador by immigrants. Such numbers should not be surprising when between 10 and 40% (depending on the study you consider) of the population has emigrated.

During our July mission trip, we encountered numerous folks who had family members who had emigrated, mostly to the United States. We heard one story about an attorney in San Salvador whose service to others had earned him various awards. However, he often took on the cases of folks who couldn't pay or could pay only a little. He emigrated to the United States where he can now make enough money to send some home. He works though not as an attorney but as a janitor. Then there were the stories about teenagers trying to reach the United States and who paid "coyotes" - people smugglers - to get them across the U.S. border. They paid whether they were successful or not. Many times such efforts result in prison for those who immigrate illegally. All of their efforts, all of their beings, everything they are about becomes focused on emigration. So they move from the frying pan into the fire.

Immigration has been a hot political topic in the United States recently. I suspect that will only increase as we move towards mid-term congressional elections and look towards the 2008 presidential election. On every side of this issue there are passionate feelings and intricate arguments. So often though it seems as if it is turned into an either/or argument. Is there some other path?

I raise that question because what struck me during our trip to El Salvador is that emigration is depleting that countries greatest resource. Given the percentages of GDP and governmental budget, it is not surprising to hear Salvadoran political leaders advocating for the renewal of the temporary protection status of immigrants in the U.S. They depend upon the immigrants to fund their economy. What saddens me is to see a situation in which the government of a country is raping its own people in order to continue in power. Hopelessness cannot help but become a serious problem in such a situation.

I have to wonder if there isn't another option, another path to travel with regard to this issue. Is there some way that El Salvador's economy can be strengthened so that people there have some sense of hope? Is there some way to make some changes in order that families are not broken and essentially living in a situation in which spouses, parents and children, or siblings may never see one another again? How do we, individually and collectively, participate in some other option or different direction?

A Creative Answer to Struggling Church Finances

Do you think this would work?

Disproportionate Proportionality - ???

In his weekly piece on language in the August 13, 2006, edition of The New York Times Magazine, William Safire comments on the ongoing situation involving Israel and Lebanon and specifically the fighting between the Israeli forces and the forces of Hezbollah. He writes, "This attack [Hezbollah's], widely considered 'unprovoked,' provoked a fierce military reaction from Israel. The ensuing counterattack - aerial and artillery bombardment of suspected terrorist positions, missile launching sites as well as Lebanese sea and air supply lines and power stations - not only infuriated the Arab 'street' but also raised ethical and diplomatic questions" (20). The questions center around a word and that word is proportional.

In an earlier article in The Washington Post, Eugene Robinson had called Israel's response "disproportionate." The Post adjoined Robinson's article with one by Richard Cohen in which he suggested "proportionality is madness..." for Israel.

I found Safire's article interesting and helpful for understanding current discussions around the topic of proportionality in the conduct of war. The element missing from his article, however, was the placement in the larger context of why the discussion of proportionality matters. In other words, why does proportionality matter as an element in the conduct of war?

The answer to that question is that proportionality is an element of the Just War Tradition. It is a criterion of JUS AD BELLUM (about when to go to war) and of JUS IN BELLO (how war is conducted). There are 6 criteria in the Just War Tradition that need to be satisfied before going to war. These criteria are: 1) Just Cause - war is for the defense of innocents against unjust attack and/or the defense of human rights, 2) Legitimate Authority - individuals cannot declare war and it must be authorized by duly acknowledged government, 3) Right Intent - war is conducted to reestablish a just peace, which rules out vengeance, revenge, and hatred as reasons for war, 4) Probability of Success - there must be a reasonable hope of achieving these aims and winning, 5) Last Resort - all nonviolent means must be exhausted first, 6) Proportionality - the evils associated with going to war must not outweigh the evils already present and that we are attempting to prevent. Once hostilities have begun, there are 2 criteria for the means of conducting war: 1) Proportionality - use only the amount of force necessary and not excessive force, don't use a tank against someone attacking with a knife,
2) Discrimination - do not directly or intentionally target civilians, avoid collateral damage, target, directly and intentionally, only combatants and perpetrators.

The Just War Tradition within Christianity is not a universal precept but proponents of this position throughout history include: Ambrose, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, and the mainline denominations in the United States. The tradition has a presumption against violence, harm, and war, but certain injustices require the use of force. The presumption against force, however, continues to impact the use of force as we see in the criteria above.

In the last decade, I can recall numerous times that there have been partial references to the Just War Tradition such as Safire's comments. I don't know if there is a presumption that everyone knows the criteria and so can locate the discussion of one criterion in relation to the others or if it is something else. It seems to me though that the Just War Tradition is not being discussed as a whole nor is it being taught widely and the circumstances leading to this situation feel as if they are leading us to a place where we are not able to reflect upon conflict or war with any ethical framework other than the one Richard Cohen advocates, "you slap me, I will punch out your lights." Look out Rambo, here we come...

Back Home Again

The week of work in Beaumont went well. It was a hot trip but a fulfilling trip. We completed the work on Temple of Praise Christian Church. It was quite satisfying to complete the work at a mission site and not just be a part of the beginning or middle of the work.

I have a lot of experience to process after this trip and the El Salvador trip. But that will have to wait. I moved some furniture on Sunday evening at home and paid the price for it on Monday as I bent over to pick something up. Now my back isn't working too well and prevents me from sitting comfortably for extended periods of time. So, I'll move to thinking aloud in this space next week. I hope, anyway.

Arriving in Beaumont

We're here after another long day driving. We waited for about an hour on the interstate west of Baton Rouge. It turns out that there was a semi-truck off the road with part of the trailer back across the road. We've had our orientation and heard about our work for the day tomorrow. If the rain holds off, we'll be working on a fellow Disciple congregation's building that volunteers have been working on for the past 5 weeks. We'll be joined in our work tomorrow by 12 folks from National Avenue Christian Church in Springfield, Missouri. I think it is 4 adults and 8 Chi Rho kids.

We 've had excellent barbeque tonight for supper and are gathering supplies for tomorrow's meals. I'll keep things updated as I can. Right now, Glen and I are sitting outside a closed restaurant called Wings to Go piggy-backing off of their free internet service. I don't know what the deal is and whether I will be able to gain access in the days ahead. Check it out and I'll update it as I'm able.

On the Road Again

On the road again; I just can't wait to get on the road again... That's where I find myself this morning as I awake in Batesville, Mississippi. I'm heading to Beaumont, Texas, along with 6 other folks from Central Christian. We heading south to put roofs on houses in the Beaumont area as a part of hurricane recovery efforts. We should arrive there later today and then we'll begin work tomorrow morning.

As part of my preparations for the trip, I pulled out the Christian Century from October 4, 2005, that carries the cover title "Ministry through the storm" along with a photograph of the devastated building of First Baptist Church in Gulfport, Mississippi. I read through the essays, sermons, and reflections again to be reminded where my heart and mind was almost 12 months ago, to reflect on the changes that have occurred since then, and generally to prepare myself psychologically for what we will see or not see as we move further south. I also brought along the June 27, 2006, issue of the Christian Century that carries the cover title, "Ministry after Katrina." As this recent issue points out there is still much work to do. Some of that work is putting shingles on houses. But much more of that work includes the yet-to-happen conversations on poverty and race. Why is it that this other part of the work remains yet undone? It is certainly hard work, maybe harder than shingling houses during the first week of August in Texas and Louisiana. Maybe it is too hard for us to travel down that road...

...but maybe at some point we'll be singing as we head down a path that addresses those issues. I just can't wait to get on the road again...

Death: Where do we find meaning?

This post is more of a dialogue that has been going on in my head over the past few days. It is the most like a journal entry of anything else that I've posted here and departs from my previous practice of mostly putting information out here. Some of my friends at times encourage me to share my thoughts and opinions on various topics and to step out of the teacher mode. Here is an example of that. It feels garbled and unresolved. I'm okay with this ambiguity. I welcome your comments and thoughts so send them to me as a comment to this posting.

A few days ago I heard an interview on the radio with Lisa Takeuchi Cullen about her new book, Remember Me: A Lively Tour of the New American Way of Death. A recent review says this of the book, "This intriguing survey of America's rapidly mutating funeral customs probes the one force mightier than death: consumerism. Journalist Cullen explores the innumerable ways in which funerals are being personalized, publicized, economized, commercialized, trivialized and, perhaps, humanized. Among the many offbeat memorials she unearths are funerals with Hawaiian, tango or Harley-Davidson themes, as well as beer-themed caskets, eco-friendly funerals, "human diamonds" manufactured from a loved one's ashes, and a Colorado town that celebrates a do-it-yourself cryonics pioneer with its Frozen Dead Guy Days Festival, now a major tourist attraction" (Publishers Weekly).

During the interview there was a caller who shared her experiences being a part of funerals for skydivers and who related a story of doing a jump the day after the "church" funeral. This day-after jump was coordinated with a release of glitter mixed with flour done to create a brief sparkling cloud intended, I believe, to symbolize the ashes and transformation of the caller's deceased friend and fellow jumper. She described it as a brief but poignant moment for her and her fellow skydivers. I heard all of this as I have been reflecting on the death of my friends' son last Friday after an 11 month struggle with childhood leukemia. Another friend and colleague, Paul, presided at the funeral service yesterday. (I am certain that he offered words filled with grace and mercy that are the Good News that we have to proclaim as the church.) As I listened to the interview about current practices related to death in our culture, I wondered where is the meaning in all of these practices and what does all of this say about life. At one point in her comments, Lisa Cullen suggested that we as a people are not afraid to talk about death.

I'm not sure that I agree with her assessment of that willingness. I will concede that we are happy to talk about the elements that the reviewer in Publishers Weekly highlights. However, those elements seem to me to be our efforts to talk around the issues of death. Where are the questions that children are more than willing to ask but that we seem unwilling to ask or to which we fail to offer any response: What happens at death? What happens after death? Where is God in all of this? The fight over Terri Shiavo's death over a year ago represents, for me, our unwillingness to face these issues. Maybe it is that we are willing to talk at the surface of the issue of death but that we are unwilling to plumb its depths?

Do we not have the tools to engage this exercise? Does the tradition of which we are a part prevent us from crossing certain boundaries of exploration? Are we afraid of the answers? Is it just too much of an abyss in which to stare? Where and how do we find meaning in death?

Next Steps in Processing

It has been 10 days since we returned from El Salvador and I still find it difficult to process everything that was and is a part of that experience and a part of the ongoing impact of the trip. I'm not sure what the difficulty is. Perhaps a part of the issue is that I did some of that on the trip and posted a least a part of my thoughts here in this forum. Another part of that is, I think, the return to the routine of the day to day. Being away for 11 days meant that there would be a lot of catching up after returning. Then there is the next mission trip that the congregation is taking in a few days. On Sunday, we'll begin our mission experience in Beaumont, Texas, as a part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) disaster recovery ministry. The word we've gotten is that the work will be putting shingles on houses in the area. It is hard to process when there is so much to do in preparation for leaving again. My friend and colleague, Troy, does this most summers. I'm not sure how he does it?

I think another part of the struggle to begin processing is perhaps the biggest piece of the puzzle. Haley expressed it to me at the airport in El Salvador as we were preparing to board the plane back to home. She said, she didn't want to leave these people. I want to figure out how soon we can go back and what more we can do to nurture the relationship between the folks there and here. Is it December? Is it next summer? Is it some other time? Those questions are swirling at the front of my mind right now. Maybe if I address them or find some way to set them aside for a little while then I can move on to process the other parts of the trip. Either way, I still know that it will be a long process. I'll share some more as I can get it out. Plus there will be the experience from the Gulf Coast to share as well.