Eat Food

Maybe we have all gotten lost on a wrong track, endlessly searching for health in various nutrients discovered each year. That is the sound observation of Michael Pollan in his book In Defense of Food.

We need to eat "food"--the stuff our great-grandparents ate. Lots of vegetables and a little meat. Not mystery factory products in shiny boxes covered with health claims about antioxidents and flavanoids.

"Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." I'm switching to that--and not worrying about the thousands of organic compounds in the food. We have enough to worry about without today's pseudo-nutrition and bad science.

Compassion, Community, and Civility

The book Who Speaks for God by Jim Wallis presents an alternative Christian politics, sounding a lot more like the Jesus we read about in the gospels. Some quotes:

"Although they are called the 'Religious Right', they don't talk much about Jesus at all, or about the Hebrew prophets; nor do they discuss the kind of spiritual values that might bring us together, or heal the nation's wounds, or uplift the poor, as you might expect from a group that proclaims itself the voice of religion in politics. Instead, they tell us who to be afraid of."

"It is ironic, and indeed quite tragic, that the tremendous increase in the political power of Christians, through the organizing of the Religious Right, has not served to benefit the poor and oppressed, but instead has actually hurt them."

Jesus did not attack the Roman government, despite its many ungodly aspects. He brought his Good News and love to the poor. I choose to turn away from the distortions of the so-called Conservative Christians. I will follow Jesus and try to show his love to all people.

Simple

Like the Amish, the Quakers reflect a simpler lifestyle. Although they may blend more with modern society and modern technologies, the Quakers can teach us all something about what is important in life and what is not.

The book Plain Living by Catherine Whitmire collects a wide variety of quotes from Quaker writers through the centuries, promoting simplicity.

She quotes George Peck 1973, "So I don't spend much time with the radio, television, and the daily paper. A car without a radio is a place for contemplation. When friends object that I don't know what is going on and am not concerned with the life of our society, I answer that they are deluded. History does not happen by the day. Once I read every copy of a leading newspaper from January to September 1870, with the intention of discovering the nature of the historical forces of that period. What I did discover was a host of superficialities, fleeting illusions, and enormous blind spots as to what was really going on...." The news media is not presenting important long-lasting news. Let us turn off the media and love our neighbors.

She quotes Elizabeth Watson 1992, "In many ways those of European background in the United States still live with the mindset of Columbus. We believe that we are the greatest nation on earth; our democratic government and capitalist economic system represent the acme of civilization. Our political and economic interests are of the utmost importance and we are justified in exercising some control over the rest of the world, making war where our economic interest requires it, and covertly overthrowing governments not in our orbit. And like Columbus and his friends, we are driven by greed. The bottom line is more important than human need and the fate of the earth." Let us say no to society pressures and love our neighbors.

She quotes Richard Foster 1981, "We plunge ourselves into enormous debt and then take two and three jobs to stay afloat. We uproot our families with unnecessary moves just so we can have a more prestigious house. We grasp and grab and never have enough. And most destructive of all, our flashy cars and sports spectaculars and backyard pools have a way of crowding out much interest in civil rights or inner city poverty or the starved masses of India. Greed has a way of severing the cords of compassion." Yowza, so true. Lord, steer us away from avarice, that we may love our neighbor.

Be sure to read the many other great quotes collected in this Quaker book.

Love God *and* Your Neighbor

Having read Rob Bell's book Velvet Elvis, I find myself refreshed. I pushed aside the unfriendly criticism of the emerging church movement and read what Rob wrote. The book spreads the message that Jesus brings Good News not a set of laws. He sets us free to love Him and love our neighbors as ourselves.

Should we despise the poor as lazy? No, love them as Jesus did. Should we look down on the "unsaved" and force them to jump through hoops of 20th century christianese? No, love them as Jesus did. We spread the Good News; God works on people hearts.

This kind of perspective is freeing and community enriching.

People matter.

Community How-To

Many are the negative books about what is wrong with society. Here are a few books that for me proactive examples and ideas. These are the positive books, inspiring participation.

The Small-Mart Revolution by Michael H. Shuman drives home the importance of converting excessive purchases of remote-mega-corporation imported plastic junk into a more modest quantity of local quality purchases. The book draws a contrast between two competing versions of capitalism. The age-old style for healthy communities is called LOIS, Locally Owned Import Substitution. The new hypercapitalism creates the second kind of companies, TINA, who are selling a theory that There Is No Alternative to massive imports. The argument is that for every dollar I give to a MegaMart, the community sees only pennies. But, take my dollar to the local farmers' market or independent retailer, most of the dollar finds its way back into other businesses in the community. Sounds good. Seems to fit the idea of loving your neighbor as yourself. Lots of information in the book for small, local businessmen.

The Great Neighborhood Book by Jay Walljasper is a breezier book full of ideas of how to participate in the community that you have--and how to help it grow into a vibrant community.

Reinvesting in America by Robin Garr is about helping the poorest parts of the community: the hungry, homeless, and unemployed. Like the others, this is a positive book full of ideas for how to get involved.

The Middle Class Wake Up Call

Is The American Dream Killing You? part 4.

"In the broadest social sense, this dynamic has created a dangerous separation in America between an upper, predatory class and their prey, the middle class, which is still clinging to a unified value system. The middle class is fed the lies....To the slick American CEO, the man of principle is a sucker. As this gyre widens, our entire democratic tradition becomes the shield for a corrupt elite....hiding its real selfish motives."

The book quotes a Chinese philosopher explaining the transition from a moral community-based society into a hypermarket, "benevolence and justice rapidly come to be associated with fraud and hypocrisy. Then everybody doubts. And that is when trouble really begins."

There are more and more "con men" in every aspect of society, including coworkers, neighbors, laborers, and doctors. I hope we can wake up and reverse this downward spiral. Society-wide complete distrust seems to be growing closer quickly.

I am reminded of the Red Orchestra song that bemoans, "We've already past the signpost marking The Point of No Return. Some things can be gleaned from the annals of history. We have learned nothing at all."

Let's return to one-to-one community interactions, rebuilding the network of trust.

American Dream, Part 3: Corruption

The highly recommended book Is the American Dream Killing You? is an easy-to-read, but careful presentation of an argument: we have gone too far. Perhaps the most obscene overstepping has been done by the "heros" of our worshipped Market: corporate management.

The book says, "...corporate America is simply saturated with corruption. From one end of the country to another, and in all kinds of businesses and professions, people are lying, stealing, defrauding, conspiring, and otherwise breaking the law, led by those at the very top..."

The book discusses the many corporate scandals of 2002 to 2003, quoting BusinessWeek, "The problems revealed by the scandals were systemic, not the result of a few bad apples," then quickly emphasizing that the problems have continued the same since then. We have a problem with the people at the top of the Market.

Perhaps it is time that we all reconsider that a workable, livable community requires small-scale capitalism, where individuals produce and sell their own goods and services. Perhaps the large corporations have gone too far, and we need to stop feeding their crime spree.

Slaves of "The Market"

I am finding Paul Stiles' book Is The American Dream Killing You? a good summary of how we in America ended up where we are. We worship "The Market" for bringing us prosperity and jobs. We talk as if it were an unstoppable all-powerful force. We thank it for great blessings and opportunities, yet when we look behing the cover, we find we are being buried by it.

The book says, "The last thing the Market wants you to do is see beyond its limited horizons to the ultimate questions of who and what we are, where we came from, and where we are headed. All such matters are overlooked or made fun of....They cause people to lead a simple life, a life centered on reflection, on contemplation, on learning, and on family and friends, rather than on consumption....The last thing the Market wants us to know is the most obvious: We are mortal. We arise from we know not what, return to the same, and spend only the shortest time in between. Who will work an eight-hour week for that Euro sedan once he realizes that?"

Exactly. The capitalist marketplace, once key to strong communities, has bubbled up out of control. Let us recognize this and realign ourselves with the real live human beings around us. We need people. We don't need to work so hard to buy so much junk.

"The Economy"?

I am hearing many people talk about "The Economy". Not just talk about whether it is strong or growing, but talk as if it is the most important thing in the world. I am cautious when I hear personification of abstractions. Paul Stiles' book Is The American Dream Killing You? explains:

"Burnout is facilitated by one of the Market's great lies. The Market is always broadcasting, through its omnipresent media, that the meaning of life is found in the economy, typically through financial success. This tremendous fraud, which has led so many to their deaths, survives on marketing alone, and fails to stand up to the slightest inspection. The Market cannot provide any meaning to life, simply because that is neither its role nor its nature. The Market is nothing but a practical tool, a system designed for putting a roof over our head, food on the table, and clothes on our back--and that's it. The market system can no more provide life with meaning than can the transportation system. Work can certainly be meaningful for noneconomic reasons, such as when it calls forth your creativity, but the more it serves a purely financial end, the more meaning is drained from it."

Good book.

Maybe the Amish Are Onto Something

Sure the Pennsylvania Dutch Amish and Mennonites seem behind the times. For just a moment ignore the authoritarian and quaint aspects of their societies. Instead consider the richness of their lives.

We travel on freeways and past stoplights for 30 minutes to a desk job. We eat frozen dinners and fast food alone or with just our immediate families. We maintain our pretty little homes for people to look at whom we don't even know.

The Amish know each other. They have neighbors. They help each other. They work together within walking or horse-travel distance of where they live. They have a community. They eat real food. They are "real".

Maybe instead of considering the Amish backwards or weird, we should copy the "realness" of their lives, just a little, to reconnect ourselves to each other.

Best Places to Live in US

For people not pursuing New York or California high-life, the nice places to live is a short list. I conclude that people looking for good community, jobs, and reasonable affordability would come to find the following the best choices:

1. Columbus, diverse people, affordable
   
2. Pittsburgh, cool neighborhoods
   
3. Cleveland/Akron, artsy but a bit too spread out
   
4. Baltimore
   
5. Cincinnati
   
6. Portland, more expensive
   

Communities

I am reading Deep Economy by Bill McKibben. It makes me think about the relationship between "the economy" and an enriching community.

Beyond the first $10,000 in income, more money doesn't add to happiness. Look at the Amish. Look at Chinese farmers and factory workers. Americans have accomplished an astounding amount of apparent economic growth in the past 100 years, but we have gone far beyond what we need.

During the same time period, we have lost the vibrant communities and interconnections we once had. We live isolated from each other. We have cars and big houses, but we have few friends. Is it worth it?

Wouldn't we rather have stronger communities than more money?