The Distance of Progress

So, I have been reading a book of essays by Wendell Berry called "The Way of Ignorance," which has been at some times challenging, some times encouraging, and a few times has even been boring. I can only read so long on the topic of agricultural sustanibility. I am in complete favor of it, but I am at a big loss as to how we replace our topsoil. I think it is because I begin to see just how completely and totally we have screwed up the world, and that makes me a bit depressed, for it takes more imagination than I have to figure out how we turn it around and peacefully co-exist with the world we have been abusing for so long. I guess I don't have enough faith in humankind's ability to deny itself pleasure for a greater good. For that is what would be required of everyone in order to truly restore the environment. Confession that we have indeed caused problems in the world is not enough- we need true repentance.

I was reminded also, of just how far removed we are from the natural world in a couple of instances this week. It seems that part of the Easley community, located in a fairly rural county to our west, was experiencing a wretched stench this week. Several people called in to complain to authorities of this rotting, putrid and acrid smell that some supposed might be a sewer leak, and still others thought could be a chemical spill somewhere. The local authorities set to the task of finding the source of the smell, and for a brief time thought they had located it in a festering dumpster behind some institution. But, that was not the source. After a day or two, they finally tracked it to a nearby farm, where a farmer, in preparation for spring growing, had begun to spread a load of chicken manure. 50 tons of it to be exact. That's a lot of chicken poop. It didn't surprise me that it would whip up quite an odor, and that that odor would drift a mile or two around. What did surprise me though, was that noone was able to identify that this would be the time of year farmers spread manure, nor were they able to identify the smell as manure- since so few of us are ever around it anymore. We could much more readily identify the smell of chlorine, or perhaps that odor they put in natural gas. But not good old black gold fertilizer that used to be used on every farm in every town. Did I mention this took place in a fairly rural community?

The second thing that has caught my attention is the Bradford Pear trees. They are all blooming like crazy and they are a welcome sign of spring with their almost lollipop shaped white popcorn clusters of blooms. The thing of it is, though, is that you know they aren't a native tree, because native trees know better than to bloom just yet. They are for sure getting ready to pop, but the Bradford pears beat the dogwoods, peaches, apples and such by a good 2 weeks or more. That makes them much more likely to succumb to a late season frost or ice event, which is not unheard of in these parts (like last year's killing frost on April 15th). As I reflected on the Bradford pears, a few things struck me. Bradfords are an ornamental, they were originally bred as sterile trees- they don't produce pears. At least, not what you would call pears. A few have found their evolutionary way around that and now produce these marble sized brown fruits each year. Their blossoms also really stink- I mean badly! Of course, that won't bother you from inside your climate controlled car or house. (I seriously wonder if car makers would have stopped making car windows that roll down if it weren't for fast food drive-thrus or toll booths.) Lastly, the way Bradfords have been bred makes them ill suited for regular wildlife. Their limbs all come from one point in the trunk, giving it an upside down umbrella sort of structure- which looks cool, but doesn't invite birds to make their nests since the v's in the branches are all at one point, and all too low to the ground for protection for nests. They were also originally crossbred with a thorny tree, and now as they've evolved, many come equipped with sharp thorns along the branches. Lastly, their structure is open to the wind, and when ice storms come around here, the tree splits right down the middle due to its construction. Oh, and while they grow rapidly and provide a nice row of trees to line a highway, they only live for about 15 years (which is short in tree-time) so they will have to be replaced quicker than other trees.

All of this makes them a poster-child of modern times- a fruit tree that doesn't provide fruit; that looks great when blooming even if it smells horrid; provides no windbreak for houses or housing for birds; and only lasts about half the distance of your mortgage. Don't we all want pretty trees that don't do the things trees are supposed to do- ones that can be chopped down and replaced when we get bored with them?

So there you have it- we have come a long way from an agricultural society where people knew the smell of manure and understood the value of a good native tree species. This distance is what makes me fearful for our ability to repent and turn away from our current course- to return to what we should know as caretakers of this garden. This is, I guess, the distance of progress.

And if I'm elected

At one point in my life, I began to put together my campaign for president. I think I calculated my age (I was 21 at the time) and when I'd be eligible, plus most likely have enough experience, and decided I'd run in 2020- you know, we'd call it the "Clear Vision" campaign. I could probably get complete funding from the eyecare industry alone. As if it weren't unlikely enough on its own, I was reminded this week, in the form of some phone calls with my siblings, of just how unlikely it would be. Billy Carter has nothing on my family.

So, since it's unlikely I'll ever actually run, I've been meaning to write for awhile a list of things I would say if I were running for president. And maybe, if everything as we know it changes in some apocolyptic way in the next 10 years, you'll hear me say these again. Of course, they aren't politically correct at all and would get me in trouble rather than elected. Mostly, they're just some of my more provocative thoughts on political and social issues:

"It used to be that people were Americans first, and then other things second. Now, whatever party you align with, or cause, or gender orientation, or lobby- that is your main descriptor- and being an American is just a consolation prize that allows you the freedom to maintain your primary identity. E Pluribus Unum means "out of many one" as in "One Nation under God, indivisible." We are now a loosely confederated amalgum of many- one nation that has become many things. We fight more with each other about who is right and who deserves the title of American, rather than seeing the person we fight with as a team mate and fellow countryman, who happens to disagree with how we do things, not who we are."

"I believe that if the US were to really claim it's identity as a "Christian Nation," and live into the call of Christ to love our neighbors and pray for our enemies- we would spend 12 billion dollars a month(or what we are currently spending on war efforts) on rebuilding countries, providing safe drinking water, cleaning up air and ocean pollution, making sure human rights were protected and providing health care and education world wide. I think that sort of investment in other countries, not expecting anything in return, is not only closer to what Jesus had in mind for Christian behavior, but also I think it would make it very hard for people to hate us so much."

"How is it that one group of people can claim to have the ear, voice and arm of God and yet be so selfish, greedy and arrogant as to defame the name of Christian worldwide? Seriously, would any reasonable Muslim, upon having their country invaded, their house blown up, their rights, livelihoods and families taken away, think of Christians as anything other than selfish assholes?"

"I propose a money back system on plastic. 5 cents a pound or something. It works really well for aluminum. "

"Do we really mean to say that 'Capitalist Empire' and 'Christian Nation' are the same thing? Then why do we act like they are? I think it's time to choose one or the other."

"If we don't consider everyone who drives a car to be a great mechanic, why do we suppose that anyone who has been to school can be a teacher?"

"I believe that when you say you are a citizen, you acknowledge you are a part of something greater than yourself. You become a part of a community. There is something to be said for the sum being more than it's parts. A united community can do more than each of us on our own. That is what the vision of America has always been. Somewhere, we began to believe it was about each of us getting our own and lots of it. How does that fit with the idea of a community?"

Well, that's certainly enough for now. Maybe I'll put up more later- if I don't get picked up by some US survellience group for my subversive thoughts. Don't forget to vote!

The Western Diet

So, several times a week, George has meetings, or plays soccer, or golf or does scouts, or coaches the boys team. It makes it a challenge to do dinners- especially with the boys hungry at about 6:00pm- and also while I'm trying to think up healthy meals with lots of fresh veggies. Add to this daily dilemma that George is doing a cholesterol fast of sorts and can't have any beef, lamb or pork. Lots of chicken dinners- and as remarkably diverse as chicken can be, it still gets old. So, tonight George is off playing golf, and I started trying to put together a dinner menu. I had a couple of chicken pieces I was going to barbecue- but then I spotted the hot dogs. I added some Pillbury Crescent rolls to make modified "pigs in a blanket". I then rummaged in the freezer and found the microwave bounty of Stouffer's Macaroni and Cheese, as well as some onion rings and Ore-Ida crinkle cut french fries. I topped this oh-so-healthy meal with some Bush's original recipe baked beans, and some Del-monte 'Lite" pear halves. For our beverage, some Crystal Light Strawberry/Banana/Orange drink. I was amazed at what a perfect storm of food stuff products I had concocted. Out of curiousity I wanted to see what additives, nutrients and byproducts I had subjected my family to this night. First, I was suprised by how much real food was actually involved: that is considering the prepackaged quick preparation meal items I was dealing with. Possibly most suprising of all was finding the foods with Corn Syrup or my favorite, High Fructose Corn Syrup. So, here are the products again- you tell me which ones have the ever increasing HFCS or corn syrup....

Oscar Meyer Beef Franks

Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Ore Ida Crinkle Cut French Fries

Alexa Onion Rings

Stouffer's (frozen) Macaroni & Cheese

Bush's Original Recipe Baked Beans

Del Monte Lite Pear Halves

Hunt's Ketchup

Crystal Light Strawberry/Banana/Orange drink



While you think- here's a fun picture of what happens when everything eats too much HFCS...



Made your guesses? Ready?



The only product with High Fructose Corn Syrup was the ketchup- and only one other had corn syrup- and that was....the hot dogs! Oh yeah. I'm loving it. So much for the healthy eating trend.

The Ebb and Flow

I meant to write this in Advent, but it works for Lent too. Advent and Lent represent the two major preparation times prior to the largest and most well known Christian feasts- Christmas and Easter, respectively. As a result, they share a church color (purple) a general austerity (giving up 'Alleluia'; simple greens for altar flowers; quiet days; practices of fasting and denial) and end with a major party of celebratory proportions. So, besides Advent being a bit shorter, what is the major difference? Here's my theory on that:

Advent is about receiving. It's about getting your heart ready to receive the infant king- opening yourself to the wonder of a God who humbles himself to come and live amongst us. Perhaps you have to make room in your heart- but in the end, you receive Jesus- much as on Christmas morning, you receive presents. It is the time to breathe in God's Spirit.

Lent is about getting rid of things. Of emptying yourself and removing the clutter of life that keeps you from living the life God has for you. Sometime it's through outward disciplines of fasting- or sometimes through simply claiming those areas of shortcoming as our own. Whatever the case- we let it go and get it out of our lives. You let God's spirit clean out your life and breathe out the things that keep you from God.

So- receiving and releasing- add to, take away- breathe in, breathe out-Ebb and flow, come and go. The rhythm of abundant life.

When will the church live out the vision?

I grow increasingly weary of the church. I understand how many have lost their 'faith'- not in God, but in the human enterprise which seeks to represent him. I'm especially tired of modernistic mainline denominational thinking. And I think if I hear "well, that's they way it's done in businesses" as an excuse to behave in a totally worldly way one more time, I might retch. So what if that works for a Fortune 500 company- that's not a good reason to treat church ministers the same as you would a cubicle dwelling data entry clerk. "Best practices" simply are the most efficient ways to make profits and get businesses lean, mean and ever chugging towards their capitalistic goals. Is that the same mission as the church's? Aren't the 'best practices' for Christians ones that involve denying oneself, taking care of others and generally saying no to a constant satiation of appetite? And the corporate world is all about consumption, accumulation, looking out for oneself and encouraging more appetites so you can sell more product? So if we don't have anywhere near the same missions, why should we use the same practices? Of course, the unnamed elephant in the room, is that for many, the church is but one more capitalistic enterprise, seeking to franchise its way into being the most prominent 'brand' of Christianity around.
Perhaps even more disturbing to me than this omnipresent trend of Christian capitalism, is the very few people who would agree with me, or find any ethical dilemma in having a church work as a company, complete with the pastor as CEO and vestry as the board of directors. There is, after all, a certain size of church that gets called a "corporate parish". There is far too much interest in bottom line and balanced budgets all in the name of maintenance, and very little discourse on sacrificial living for mission. We must keep the doors open, the heat on and the preacher's salary paid so we can.....what? So we can have a great building to open up for 2 hours a week and meet together and feel good about the 3% of our budget we're giving to the poor. When, oh when, might we stop trying to emulate the 'success' of the corporation and finally start living the alternative( as in different than those of the world) lifestyles of Jesus followers?