Where Are The People?

"One wonders what would happen if good-hearted Americans realized that a mere 10% of the US military budget, if reinvested in foreign aid and development, could care for the basic needs of the entire world's poor. Or if they realized that one-half of 1% of the US military budget would cut hunger in Africa in half by 2015. Would there be marches in the streets calling for budgetary reform?"

-Everything Must Change by Brian D. McLaren

Role of the Church

Excerpt from M. Lunn’s 1,500 Inspirational Quotes and Illustrations:

“I was hungry…and you formed a humanities club and you discussed my hunger. Thank you.

I was imprisoned…and you crept off quietly to your chapel in the cellar to pray for my release.

I was naked…and in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance.

I was sick…and you knelt and thanked God for your health.

I was homeless…and you preached to me of the spiritual shelter of the love of God.

I was lonely…and you left me alone to pray for me.

You seem so holy, so close to God. But I’m still very hungry…and lonely…and cold.”

¡Se Hice Puro!

The FMLN won the presidential election in El Savlador on Sunday. This was a historic event, the first time the left has won since the Civil War ended. The main political parties, ARENA and the FMLN, have roots in the war. The right wing military is notorious for the death squads and the guerrillas resistance fighters, are the parents of ARENA and FMLN.

This is an historic event; not only for the 75,000 people that were murdered, but because the US could not scare the Salvadorean people. True to form, the United States became involved in another democratic, international election. The US threatened remittances and immigrants living in the United States if the FMLN won. Groups such as CISPES called for public American neutrality.

For in depth, independent coverage, the BBC, and Upside Down World are the best.
We celebrate this clean victory! ¡Se Hice Puro!

Justice in Public

" Justice is what love looks like in public"
Cornel West

Call + Response

"Justice is what LOVE looks like in PUBLIC" Cornel West

Machuca



Machuca is the best film I have ever seen. I want to make it a pre-requisite for any future friends I might have. If people see this film, they can understand six years of my life, and the next sixty.

{Eden Is West}


Call and Response

Hear the Movement. See the Movement. Be the Movement. Call + Response.

Artists choose to respond to the sex trade. They raise their voices in a response to the call of injustice. Cornel West. Cold War Kids. Emmanuel Jal. Imogen Heap. Ashley Judd. Five for Fighting. Nicholas Kristof. Switchfoot.



"You start fighting for justice even though you started playing the guitar" Cornel West

"Prophets on the Sidewalk" Dennen

It is much more comfortable to depersonalize the poor so we don’t feel responsible for the catastrophic human failure that results in someone sleeping on the street while people have spare bedrooms in their homes. We can volunteer in a social program or distribute excess food and clothing through organizations and never have to open up our homes, our beds, our dinner tables. When we get to heaven, we will be separated into those sheep and goats Jesus talks about in Matthew 25 based on how we cared for the least among us. I’m just not convinced that Jesus is going to say, “When I was hungry, you gave a check to the United Way and they fed me,” or, “When I was naked, you donated clothes to the Salvation Army and they clothed me.” Jesus is not seeking distant acts of charity. He seeks concrete acts of love: “you fed me . . . you visited me in prison . . . you welcomed me into your home . . . you clothed me.
- The Irresistible Revolution, Shane Claiborne