[Oe List ...] Fwd: more Moore!

[R Williams]

John,
 
Of course you are correct about care.  Ever since I saw Thomas Merton's quote, "Compassion is the keen awareness of the interdependence of all living things," I've tried to articulate for myself what would be the opposite of compassion as arrogance is of humility and greed is of gratitude.  I've thought of obliviousness, unconsciousness, numbness, ignorance?  My using care-less-ness was really a take off on what John McKnight describes in his book The Careless Society.  None of these completely does it for me, so give me some help here.  What would be the opposite, or antithesis, of compassion?  Would appreciate your insight.  Anyone else care to jump in on this?
 
Randy

"Whatever the problem, community is the answer.  There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares about."  Margaret Wheatley
 

________________________________
 From: "jlepps at pc.jaring.my" <jlepps at pc.jaring.my>
To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> 
Sent: Sunday, December 30, 2012 10:59 AM
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Fwd: more Moore!
  

Well said, Randy.

Just one caveat: On your last transformation (from carelessness to
compassion), we've found it the case that people really DO care: they
just don't have effective ways to act it out. In fact, there's a basic
give-a-damness at the heart of humanity. Even those most in opposition to
gun control care a lot, as is apparent from their passion. There's
something deeper going on here -- maybe it's the lack of effective ways
to enact that care.

Anyway thanks again for your fine response to an excellent
article.

John

At 06:20 AM 12/30/2012, you wrote:

Jack,
> 
>This is an insightful article.  I wish someone other than Michael
Moore had written it so that more people would perhaps read it, and more
who do would give it credence.
> 
>I was reminded of some of the conversations we used to have years ago
with conservatives about how alcohol does not cause alcoholism, but
rather some underlying condition(s) in the life of the addicted
person.  Today's conservative argument that guns do not kill, people
do, has merit as well.  What does not is the implication drawn, that
the solution is therefore to arm everyone, another trite version of
"might makes right."
> 
>Moore's key insight is in that he has indeed analyzed the underlying
contradictions and names three of them.  In reading through them I
was very struck as to their similarity, or sameness, with the three that
HRN named way back when, which we know so well; economic imperialism
(poverty), racism (Niebuhr called it "racialism" and we could
probably include many of today's other "isms") and nationalism
(rooted in exactly the same perversion as the "me" society
Moore refers to--egocentricity, individualistic overemphasis,
exceptionalism, etc.)
> 
>The new gun limitations that are being discussed should be enacted, but
as we all know, this will save some lives but not address the underlying
issues.  Also as we know, those will not finally be addressed until
there has been a significant change of hearts and minds in our society
that moves us from arrogance to humility, from greed to gratitude, and from a callous care-less-ness about
innocent suffering to compassion in the face of the interdependence of us
all.  I continue to contend that facilitating that kind of metanoia is all our outfit has, at the end of the day, ever been
about.
> 
>Randy
> 
>"Whatever the problem, community is the answer.  There is no
power greater than a community discovering what it cares
about."  Margaret Wheatley
>
>From: Jack Gilles <jackcgilles at gmail.com>
>To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> 
>Sent: Thursday, December 27, 2012 10:57 PM
>Subject: [Oe List ...] Fwd: more Moore!
>
>Dear Colleagues,
>
>I found this essay by Michael Moore on guns and violence.
>
>Jack
>
>Sent from my iPad
>
>Begin forwarded message:
>
>
>From: "M.
Theophil"
<weave.marga at gmail.com >
>>Date: December 27, 2012, 10:47:59 PM CST
>>To: "M. Theophil"
<Weave.Marga at gmail.com >
>>Subject: more Moore!
>>
>><image001.gif> 
>>December 24th, 2012 5:13 AM
>>
>>
>>Celebrating the Prince of Peace in the Land of Guns
>>
>> 
>>By Michael
Moore
>>After watching the deranged, delusional National Rifle Association
press conference on Friday, it was clear that the Mayan prophecy had come
true. Except the only world that was ending was the NRA's. Their bullying
power to set gun policy in this country is over. The nation is repulsed
by the massacre in Connecticut, and the signs are everywhere: a basketball coach at a post-game press conference; the Republican Joe Scarborough; a pawn shop owner in Florida; a gun buy-back program in New Jersey; a singing contest show on TV, and the conservative gun-owning judge who sentenced Jared
Loughner.
>>So here's my little bit of holiday cheer for you:
>>These gun massacres aren't going to end any time soon.
>>I'm sorry to say this. But deep down we both know it's true. That doesn't
mean we shouldn't keep pushing forward – after all, the momentum is on
our side. I know all of us – including me – would love to see the
president and Congongress enact stronger gun laws. We need a ban on
automatic AND semiautomatic weapons and magazine clips that hold more
than 7 bullets. We need better background checks and more mental health
services. We need to regulate the ammo, too.
>>But, friends, I would like to propose that while all of the above will
certainly reduce gun deaths (ask Mayor Bloomberg – it is virtually
impossible to buy a handgun in New York Citty and the result is the
number of murders per year has gone from 2,200 to under 400), it won't really bring about an end
to these mass slayings and it will not address the core problem we have.
Connecticut had one of the strongest gun laws in the country. That did
nothing to prevent the murders of 20 small children on December
14th.
>> 
>>In fact, let's be clear about Newtown: the killer had no criminal record
so he would never have shown up on a background check. All of the guns he
used were legally purchased. None fit the legal description of an
"assault" weapon. The killer seemed to have mental problems and
his mother had him seek help, but that was worthless. As for security
measures, the Sandy Hook school was locked down and buttoned up BEFORE
the killer showed up that morning. Drills had been held for just such an
incident. A lot of good that did.
>>And here's the dirty little fact none of us liberals want to discuss: The
killer only ceased his slaughter when he saw that cops were swarming onto
the school grounds – i.e, the men withh the guns. When he saw the guns
a-coming, he stopped the bloodshed and killed himself. Guns on police
officers prevented another 20 or 40 or 100 deaths from happening. Guns
sometimes work. (Then again, there was an armed deputy sheriff at
Columbine High School the day of that massacre and he couldn't/didn't
stop it.)
>>I am sorry to offer this reality check on our much-needed march toward a
bunch of well-intended, necessary – but ultimately, mostly cosmetic –
changes to our gr gun laws. The sad facts are these: Other countries that
have guns (like Canada, which has 7 million
guns – mmostly hunting guns – in their 12 million households)
have a low mmurder rate. Kids in Japan watch the same violent movies and
kids in Australia play the same violent video games (Grand Theft Auto was
created by a British company; the UK had 58 gun murders last year in a nation of 63 million people). 
>> 
>>They simply don't kill each other at the rate that we do. Why is that?
THAT is the question we should be exploring while we are banning and
restricting guns: Who are we?
>>I'd like to try to answer that question.
>>We are a country whose leaders officially sanction and carry out acts of
violence as a means to often an immoral end. We invade countries who
didn't attack us. We're currently using drones in a half-dozen countries,
often killing civilians.
>>This probably shouldn't come as a surprise to us as we are a nation
founded on genocide and built on the backs of slaves. We slaughtered
600,000 of each other in a civil war. We "tamed the Wild West with a
six-shooter," and we rape and beat and kill our women without mercy
and at a staggering rate: every three hours a women is murdered in the USA
(half the time by an ex or a current); every three minutes a woman is raped in the USA; and every 15 seconds a woman is beaten in the USA.
>>We belong to an illustrious group of nations that still have the death penalty
(North Korea, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran). We think nothing of letting
tens of thousands of our own citizens die each year because they are
uninsured and thus don't see a doctor until it's too late.
>>Why do we do this? One theory is simply "because we can." There
is a level of arrogance in the otherwise friendly American spirit,
conning ourselves into believing there's something exceptional about us
that separates us from all those "other" countries (there are
indeed many good things about us; the same could also be said of Belgium,
New Zealand, France, Germany, etc.). We think we're #1 in everything when
the truth is our students are 17th in science and 25th in math, and we're 35th in life expectancy. We believe we have the greatest
democracy but we have the lowest voting turnout of any western democracy.
We're biggest and the bestest at everything and we demand and take what
we want.
>>And sometimes we have to be violent m*****f*****s to get it. But if one
of us goes off-message and shows the utterly psychotic nature and brutal
results of violence in a Newtown or an Aurora or a Virginia Tech, then we
get all "sad" and "our hearts go out to the families"
and presidents promise to take "meaningful action." Well, maybe
this president means it this time. He'd better. An angry mob of millions
is not going to let this drop.
>>While we are discussing and demanding what to do, may I respectfully ask
that we stop and take a look at what I believe are the three extenuating
factors that may answer the question of why we Americans have more
violence than most anyone else:
>>1. POVERTY. If there's one thing that separates us from the rest of the
developed world, it's this. 50 million of our people live in poverty. One in five Americans goes hungry at some point during the
year. The majority of those who aren't poor are living from paycheck
to paycheck. There's no doubt this creates more crime. Middle class jobs
prevent crime and violence. (If you don't believe that, ask yourself
this: If your neighbor has a job and is making $50,000/year, what are the
chances he's going to break into your home, shoot you and take your TV?
Nil.)
>>2. FEAR/RACISM. We're an awfully fearful country considering that, unlike
most nations, we've never been invaded. (No, 1812 wasn't an invasion. We started it.) Why on earth would we need 300 million guns in
our homes? I get why the Russians might be a little spooked (over 20
million of them died in World War II). But what's our excuse? Worried
that the Indians from the casino may go on the warpath? Concerned that
the Canadians seem to be amassing too many Tim Horton's donut shops on
both sides of the border?
>>No. It's because too many white people are afraid of black people.
Period. The vast majority of the guns in the U.S. are sold to white
people who live in the suburbs or the country. When we fantasize about
being mugged or home invaded, what's the image of the perpetrator in our
heads? Is it the freckled-face kid from down the street – or is it
someone who is, if not black, at least pooor?
>>I think it would be worth it to a) do our best to eradicate poverty and
re-create the middle class we used to have, and b) stop promoting the
image of the black man as the boogeyman out to hurt you. Calm down, white
people, and put away your guns.
>>3. THE "ME" SOCIETY. I think it's the every-man-for-himself
ethos of this country that has put us in this mess and I believe it's
been our undoing. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps! You're not my
problem! This is mine!
>>Clearly, we are no longer our brother's and sister's keeper. You get sick
and can't afford the operation? Not my problem. The bank has foreclosed
on your home? Not my problem. Can't afford to go to college? Not my
problem.
>>And yet, it all sooner or later becomes our problem, doesn't it? Take
away too many safety nets and everyone starts to feel the impact. Do you
want to live in that kind of society, one where you will then have a
legitimate reason to be in fear? I don't.
>>I'm not saying it's perfect anywhere else, but I have noticed, in my
travels, that other civilized countries see a national benefit to taking
care of each other. Free medical care, free or low-cost college, mental
health help. And I wonder – why can't we do that? I think it's
because in many other countries people see each other not as separate and
alone but rather together, on the path of life, with each person existing
as an integral part of the whole. And you help them when they're in need,
not punish them because they've had some misfortune or bad break. I have
to believe one of the reasons gun murders in other countries are so rare
is because there's less of the lone wolf mentality amongst their
citizens. Most are raised with a sense of connection, if not outright
solidarity. And that makes it harder to kill one another.
>> 
>>Well, there's some food for thought as we head home for the holidays.
Don't forget to say hi to your conservative brother-in-law for me. Even
he will tell you that, if you can't nail a deer in three shots – and
claim you need a clip of 30 rounds – you're not a hunter my friend, and
you have no business owning a gun.
>>Have a wonderful Christmas or a beautiful December 25th!
>> 
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