Wednesday Morning Quarterback

Sports culture dominates. And sports culture invites everyone to participate, not just the athletes on the field/court. We know what plays to run better than the coaches. We know who not to put on Dirk to defend the last shot. We know who should have won American Idol, who the best star dancer was. And we are even allowed to "vote" on who should win.

Sports culture spilled over this week into the legal field. Millions of 13th jurors decided that the 12 jurors on the field made the wrong move. We know better than them. From the 30 scattered minutes I watched, she was clearly guilty. And I know the law inside and out and I am never influenced by the media nor Facebook.

So we are mad and sad. Mad at the injustice. Sad for the little girl. But we are a Christian nation and so its ok because (and here I summarizing about 50 FB posts)...

God will get her someday.

Its Osama all over again. Except this time, we didn't get the satisfaction of revenge killing but our God will.

Dear followers of Jesus Christ, is this really a helpful message? Is this the way that Christ would want us to respond to the situation?

When I read one FB posts that says "I hope Casey knows that God loves her and will forgive her" I will leave the bench and enter this game.

True Blood, In-Vitro Meat, and Human Compassion

Recently I was watching HBO’s vampire series True Blood. This got me thinking: If a more powerful life form has developed a synthetic, cruelty-free way to feed themselves, then why can’t human beings? The parallel is not exact. Vampires must drink blood to survive. Human beings can live without consuming animal flesh. But for most, the craving for meat (and the social pressure to eat it) is too strong to resist.

I have been a vegetarian for 14 years with a short period about 3 years ago when I ate meat occasionally. During that time, I succumbed to social pressure and just didn’t think about what I was eating. I think most people would rather not think about it and because (in this culture) it is widely accepted as normal, most people just keep eating what they want.

A 2008 study showed that more meat was eaten worldwide last year that at any other time in history (not sure how long statistics have been kept on this). Meat is a luxury and as developing nations advance economically, more meat will be consumed (see India and China). This means, generally, more environmental problems from land degradation, animal waste and methane gas (cow farts).

When I first read about in-vitro meat production in the University of Chicago Alumni Magazine http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0906/features/future_fillet.shtml), I was repulsed. And although I would probably never eat it, if it reduces animal suffering and environmental degradation, then I am willing to lend my support.
Vampires (I assume) are not real and human beings are in the fortunate position to be the most powerful creatures on this planet. But what if we were not? Would we object to being breed and slaughtered for the consumption of another species? Would we not try to convince the “higher” species that they could synthesize human flesh?

For more information, see http://invitromeat.org/content/view/12/55/

A (maybe not so) Hypothetical Question

If you won 1 Million USD and you had to give it away to one or more organizations, which ones would you give to and why? Discuss.

The Life You Can Save - Creating a Culture of Giving

Peter Singer argues in his latest book (http://www.thelifeyoucansave.com)

1. Suffering and death from lack of food/shelter/medical care are bad.
2. If we can prevent something bad from happening without sacrificing anything nearly as important, it is wrong not to do so.
3. By donating to aid agencies (the good ones who do good work), you/we can prevent suffering and death without much personal sacrifice.
4. If we do not donate, we are going something wrong.

Its hard to find fault with his argument. I want to find fault. You mean, if I buy that new flat-screen and spend money on something I don't need, then I am doing something wrong?

Singer goes on to defend many of the most levied-criticisms and common objections to giving. More interesting (to me at least) is his description of research showing why people give and why they don't.

1. We are more likely to give if we think that others are already doing it.
2. We are more likely to give if the person/people we are giving to are identifiable.
3. We are less likely to give when we think the situation is futile.
4. We are less likely to give if the responsibility for helping does not rest entirely on us. The phenomena is known as "The Diffusion of Responsibility."

This book has got me thinking about what I give and why and how much I give. In tough economic times, people are giving less and less especially to those groups serving the poorest of the poor.

TheLifeYouCanSave's challenge is simple. You can view he pledge here. http://www.thelifeyoucansave.com/pledge/pledge.php?curr_country=171&lang=EN

For me, its about 2% of my annual income. Not really that much. I did it (still researching who to give to). And if all American taxpayers did it, 471 billion would be raised.

Happy Giving,
Brent

Blogging for a Cause

KIva.org, an organization I support, is participating in a "Blogging for a Cause" contest. Are you familiar with Kiva? Kiva provides a way for you to get involved with microfinance, to provide a small loan to men and women around the world who want to start or expand small businesses. Your money is pooled with other people's money for a micro-loan which is then repaid by the lender. You then get your money back and you can lend again.

My first loan for $25 was to Makbuliddin Boboev. Makbuliddin is 31 years old, married and had three children. He lives in the picturesque mountain region of Isfara, in the Vorukh district of Afghanistan. Every year, from June to July, is the season for drying apricots. At this time, Makbuliddin and his family go to orchards to gather aprictos for drying. His total loan was $600 for a 10 month term which is paid back 100%.

Although there is a small risk of default, I do not consider this charity. It is a way for your money to help empower others who are trying to improve their lives. It is your money which goes out and comes back and works over and over again.

If you haven't checked it out, I encourage you to go to www.kiva.org
And for a great introduction to microfinance, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Yunus

Brent

This blog post is part of Zemanta's "Blogging For a Cause" campaign to raise awareness and funds for worthy causes that bloggers care about.

Life in the Slowed-Down Lane

A little update on what I am doing these days (and maybe you can help me piece it all together).

First, I am working on greening my life, house, driving, eating habits, etc. I am walking to work (when there are no tornadoes expected). I am composting. Sara and the boys planted lettuce, peas, peppers, and tomatoes in a neighbor's garden (thanks Robin!). We also signed up for a 1/2 share of fruits/veggies/herbs from a local organic farm. We pick up first box on June 1 (yeah!). For the college I work for, I am brainstorming a grassroots effort to work on sustainability issues. Working name: Culver's Green Team. Financially, I am studying the SRI movement, natural investing, and ESG investing (environmental, social, and corporate governance). This is for personal preferences and also because I hope to one day help my friend Pete with his financial planning business www.krullco.com. (Krull & Company is a financial services firm specializing in Socially & Environmentally Responsible Investing. We help you align your investments with your values.)

Second, I am working on class preparation for 2 new-to-me courses next semester. New Testament - reviewing material I have previously studied. Zen, Punk Rock, and Personal Transformation - this is an First Year Experience course, my own creation, and I'm jazzed about it. We'll listen to a lot of music, sit zazen, read Brad Warner's Hardcore Zen and work on writing skills.

Third, this summer, I will be homebrewing. The equipment was donated and I have some extra malts left over from my last try (hope this batch turns out better). If its any good, I'll let you know.

Destroy what needs to be, Love the Rest,
Brent

Emergency Help for My Friend in Mexico

I know its been a long, long time since I've blogged. The following post comes from a good friend of mine in Mexico. I can personally attest to the need to provide "food packages" to some of the poorest people I have ever had the privilege of meeting.

If you would like to help, you can email me for more information. Any small amount will go a long way to helping those who need it most. All money will go directly to the people who need it most (not to overhead, administration, etc.)

Please read on...

This has been a particularly difficult year for our country: the economic crisis, the presence each day of organized crime, the contamination problems, and now the serious sanitary crisis for the outbreak of a new type of virus that attacks the population. In general, they take us as being en a state of alert.

This is a hard test of faith for all the citizens of this country; the people fear for their health and for their security. For preventative measures, we have made the decision to send the students home, following the recommendations of the federal government.

Thinking a little of the future, we want to invite you to participate in our fund for emergencies. We know that, due to this health crisis, many people are left without employment and without means of survival. For that, we would like to increase our food and water program in communities of limited resources. If you are interested in that, do not hesitate to send me an email in order to receive more information about it.

Also, we ask for prayers. In this very difficult time for our country and for our people, there is nothing better than the protecting hand of our Lord, taking the load for us. We are convicted that without the help of God, we could not get very far.

We very much appreciate your friendship and your prayers. We will continue confiding in God and doing our work as much as we can.

We know that the crisis is the ideal time to reinforce our faith and that separated from God, we can do nothing.

We send you a great greeting.

Sincerely,
Samuel Rodriguez
IBB