the Web Editors 9-11-2015

1. The Ecology of Trauma: Resilience in a Post-9/11 Nation

"What within the fabric of our national identity has forever been changed? Have we responded in a way that moves us towards recovery and healing or further disrepair? Perhaps what is important here is not to attempt to answer these questions, but simply to consider them."

2. Forget The Redistribution Of Wealth: Let’s Redistribute Neighborhoods

"Growing up poor in the U.S. isn’t always a life sentence to poverty. But growing up poor in a very poor neighborhood is much closer to one."

3. Cult Week

A weeklong series of reported essays on belief, zeal, and creed, from Bikram yoga to frat life. “‘But’—you're asking—‘do I belong to a cult?’ To which American media says, probably, yes.”

Naisa Wong 9-11-2015

Some social and trauma theorists believe these issues are directly symptomatic of an undiffused, collective trauma around the event of 9/11 — exacerbated by our post-modern, technocratic society, in which our witness of one another is often relegated by social media personas and devices. The environment is controlled, protected, guarded — a false sense of security that instead perpetuates isolation and disconnection. This raises a question as to where, and whether, we are experiencing integrated and authentic community as we heal.

It is widely acknowledged that supportive and caring community is an absolutely necessity in trauma repair. To be sure, the answer is complex and dynamic. But perhaps on this day of remembrance, rather than re-enacting our dissociative narratives, we can attempt to reimagine and embrace courageously an authentic witness — to continue the work towards a restorative, integrative, and peaceful future.

the Web Editors 9-11-2015

A bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide passed the California state assembly Sept. 9., according to MSN News.

Senator Bill Monning, one of the bill's backers, described the bill's passage as "a historic step forward."

MSN News reports,

The measure, approved by 43 votes against 34, is expected to be adopted by the state senate this week.

the Web Editors 9-11-2015

As the the refugee crisis worsens, President Obama has directed his administration to resettle at least 10,000 Syrians over the course of the year, reports The New York Times.

Pressure on the U.S. has been mounting from European nations to increase its promised quota of 2,000. White House press secretary Josh Earnest made the announcement Sept. 10.

According to The New York Times,

The announcement brought a variety of reactions that underscored how the refugee crisis has become another polarized political question. Aid groups called the administration’s action a token one given the size of the American economy and population, while a number of Republicans warned that Mr. Obama was allowing in potential terrorists. “Our enemy now is Islamic terrorism, and these people are coming from a country filled with Islamic terrorists,” said Representative Peter T. King, Republican of New York. “We don’t want another Boston Marathon bombing situation.”

Simon Oh 9-11-2015

My friends and colleagues are generally aware that before I began working at Sojourners, I was a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for six and a half years. What most of them do not know, however, is that I interviewed for that job — a five-minute drive from the Pentagon — on September 11, 2001.

Early that morning, I decided to take the Metro rather than drive to the USPTO’s offices in Crystal City, Va. I reasoned that if I got the job, I would want to get some idea about my future daily commute. This would prove to be a fortunate decision later on.

Even before the end of my trip to Crystal City, I had already heard news of the first World Trade Center tower being hit. When I arrived at the office, I hoped the interviewer would remember me after our conversation. He did — but considering the significance of all that happened that day, my concerns about employment now seem minuscule in hindsight.

Joe Kay 9-10-2015

How many times have we heard news of a shooting somewhere – a school, a theater, a workplace, a military base, a church – and felt shock and disbelief? We feel bad, say a prayer, and move on. I remember seeing the video of the shooting at the church in Charleston for the first time when I got home from work on June 17. I couldn’t sleep that night. I wondered how this could keep happening.

So when the latest shots were fired in Virginia, I was numb. If it’s going to just keep happening – new day, new place, new victims – then why even pay attention? Why become emotionally invested again?

Jim Wallis 9-10-2015

The pope’s teachings and his deeds have inspired people to put aside their differences and to work together for a common good. We hope that this momentum will carry over to the debates on immigration. We must work together push back against the hateful anti-immigrant messaging coming from some of our elected officials and candidates for office, and draw on the moral high ground we find in our faith and Scriptures. Including Matthew 25.

Beyond the need for broad-based legislative reform, ordinary people and communities of faith in the United States can also make a difference on an individual and family level. Just as the pope has called on European Catholic churches to “welcome the stranger” in their own parishes and homes, American churches, synagogues, mosques, and even individual homes should take up that challenge as well. It’s time for people in the United States and Europe to learn what it really means to welcome the stranger.

Abby Olcese 9-10-2015

However, even among multi-tasking, family-oriented comic book stars, Nicole, the star of the new independently published series Raising Dion, is unique. A widowed, black single mother, Nicole has no superpowers of her own. Her son, Dion, is the one with emerging superhuman abilities.

The comic, created and written by Dennis Liu, aims to show readers what it’s like to raise someone who may become the next great superhero...or the most terrifying supervillain the world has ever seen.

The first issue of Liu’s new comic (available as a free download from the author’s website) introduces readers to Nicole and Dion, and tells the story of how Nicole met her husband Mark, Dion’s father. One night, on a camping trip, Mark witnesses a strange phenomenon in the sky, and is struck by a powerful flash of light. Whatever side effects Mark picks up from his experience, he passes on to his son when Dion is conceived.

9-10-2015

House Republicans began their effort to de-fund Planned Parenthood Sept. 9 with the first in a series of hearings intended to make the case that the group is illegally harvesting and selling tissue from aborted fetuses, a claim the group vehemently denies.

The hearing in the House Judiciary Committee — titled “Examining the Horrific Abortion Practices at the Nation’s Largest Abortion Provider” — is the first of several hearings expected this fall as three House committees pursue investigations of Planned Parenthood. House Republicans also launched a website Wednesday to track their investigations into the group.

Beyond the specific techniques under scrutiny, the hearing became an opportunity to air a broader agenda of reducing abortions generally. Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., opened the hearing with a call for Congress to pass legislation to bar all abortions after five months of gestation, which would “help ensure that the body parts of late-aborted babies cannot be sold because late-term abortions would be generally prohibited.”

the Web Editors 9-10-2015

In a sneak peek at an upcoming interview, Stephen Colbert discusses his faith with surprising frankness.

The new host of Late Night sat down with Father Thomas Rosica, media attaché to the Holy See Press Office and CEO of Salt and Light Television.

The Daily Beast, which got a preview, writes that, "[t]he extensive exclusive interview, which is at times hysterically funny and profoundly serious, airs in full on Rosica's interview program Witness on Sept. 13."