****S O J O M A I L****
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+++++++++++++++++++++++++ 9-June-2000 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Q u o t e o f t h e W e e k
*Mr. Chesterton's neighborhood
H e a r t s & M i n d s
*Empty chairs in Oklahoma City
F u n n y B u s i n e s s
*Everything you need to know about HMOs
C u l t u r e W a t c h
*Facts of life: 1900 versus 2000
*Bonhoeffer special airs on PBS
S p i r i t u a l P r a c t i c e s
*Deep messages from Old Baltimore
B o o m e r a n g
*SojoMail readers hit reply
O n the W i r e
*Online fraud
B u i l d i n g a N e t w o r k
*Religious movements bolster Haitian democracy
W e b S c e n e
*Cool siting of the week
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Q u o t e o f t h e W e e k
The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also
to love our enemies; probably because generally
they are the same people.
- G. K. Chesterton
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H e a r t s & M i n d s
Empty Chairs in Oklahoma City
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
By Jim Wallis
Empty Chairs
"Those who were killed, those who survived, and
those who were changed forever. May all who
leave here know the impact of violence."
I spent last Sunday preaching and speaking in Oklahoma City.
After the meetings, I went to see the newly opened National
Memorial on the site of the bombed Murrah Federal Building
in downtown Oklahoma City. It was dedicated April 19, the
fifth anniversary of the bombing that killed 168 people.
Two monumental twin gates frame the moment of the destruction -
9:02 in the morning as hundreds of federal employees were just
starting work. The bombers meant to kill a lot of people.
What most struck me was the "Field of Empty Chairs." One
hundred sixty eight symbolic chairs crafted of bronze and
stone are placed in nine rows, for the nine floors of the
building. On each chair is a name, translucent at night.
Nineteen of the chairs are a smaller size, representing
the children torn from their parents and families.
Timothy McVeigh, now on death row, seems to have been a
drifter who could never quite make a success of his life.
He and Terry Nichols, also convicted of complicity in
the crime and serving a life sentence, are known to have
frequented the meetings and the Web sites of various
hate groups. They hung around the "Christian identity"
circles, the gun shows, and the bars where the talk is
always of scapegoating, blaming, threatening, daring, and
planning. The end result is violence, always justified
by smoldering angry grievances.
McVeigh had been to Waco, observing the confrontation
between the Branch Davidians and the federal government.
The bombing took place on the first anniversary of Waco.
It was payback time. But 168 ordinary federal workers,
including 19 kids? I think they ought to bring McVeigh
to Oklahoma City, and make him sit in every empty chair,
especially the little ones. That would make more of a
point than just putting him in an electric chair, or
however they're going to kill him. Make him sit in the
empty chairs, and think about his grievances.
Things like symbols, ideology, and endless justifications
are what sustain hate. But looking at glowing names on
empty chairs at night reveals how absurd and cowardly
hate really is. It makes you think about where hate goes
and how it ends up grotesquely disconnected to original
grievances.
Outside, on the fence of the monument, are countless
messages, pictures, poems, and teddy bears in memory
of those whose names are on the chairs. All are gone
because of grievances misdirected into hate and
violence that never quite hits the right target.
And all we're left with is empty chairs.
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F u n n y B u s i n e s s
Everything you need to know about HMOs
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Q. What does HMO stand for?
A. This is actually a variation of the phrase,
"Hey, Moe!" Its roots go back to a concept pioneered
by Doctor Moe Howard, who discovered that a patient
could be made to forget about the pain in his foot
if he was poked hard enough in the eyes. Modern practice
replaces the physical finger poke with hi-tech equivalents
such as voice mail and referral slips, but the result
remains the same.
Q. I just joined a new HMO. How difficult will it be
to choose the doctor I want?
A. Just slightly more difficult than choosing your
parents.
Q. What are pre-existing conditions?
A. This is a phrase used by the grammatically challenged
when they want to talk about existing conditions.
Unfortunately, we appear to be pre-stuck with it.
Q. Well, can I get coverage for my pre-existing conditions?
A. Certainly, as long as they don't require any treatment.
Q. What happens if I want to try alternative forms
of medicine?
A. You'll need to find alternative forms of payment.
Q. My pharmacy plan only covers generic drugs, but I
need the name brand. I tried the generic medication,
but it gave me a stomachache. What should I do?
A. Poke yourself in the eye.
Q. What should I do if I get sick while traveling?
A. Try sitting in a different part of the bus.
Q. No, I mean what if I'm away from home and I get sick?
A. You really shouldn't do that. You'll have a hard time
seeing your primary care physician. It's best to wait
until you return, and then get sick.
Q. I think I need to see a specialist, but my doctor
insists he can handle my problem. Can a general practitioner
really perform a heart transplant right in his office?
A. Hard to say, but considering that all you're risking is
the $10 co-payment, there's no harm giving him a shot at it.
Q. What accounts for the largest portion of health care costs?
A. Doctors trying to recoup their investment losses.
Q. Will health care be any different in the next century?
A. No, but if you call right now, you might get an appointment
by then.
*Sent to us by SojoMail reader David Monson, Albuquerque,
New Mexico
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C u l t u r e W a t c h
Facts of life: 1900 versus 2000
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
76,306,387 Population of the United States in 1900
274,634,000 Estimated U.S. population in 2000
1.6 billion World population in 1900
6.03 billion Estimated world population in 2000
$438 Average annual income of U.S. workers in 1900
$18,756 Average annual income of U.S. workers in 1997
8,000 Number of cars in the U.S. in 1900
200 million Number of cars in the U.S. today
4 million Number of pounds of horse manure under which New
York City streets were buried every day in 1900
1,086,180 Number of cars that make their way into NYC
streets every day
47.3 Life expectancy of U.S. Americans in 1900
76.5 Life expectancy of U.S. Americans in 2000
12 Number of home runs hit by Herman Long, the NL
leader, in 1900
70 Number of home runs hit by Mark McGwire in 1998
7% Chance in 1900 of a 60-year-old U.S. American would
have a living parent
44% Chance in 2000 that a 60-year-old U.S. American would
have a living parent
$27.52 Per capita debt in 1900
$20,754.89 Per capita debt in 2000
--compiled by John MacIntyre
----------------
BONHOEFFER: AGENT OF GRACE, airing on PBS Wednesday,
June 14, 2000, 9:30 p.m. ET dramatizes Bonhoeffer's
final years, his participation in the German
resistance, and his moral struggle. The 90-minute
film won the top honor at the Monte Carlo TV Festival
this past February.
Shot in the Czech Republic, Berlin, and Canada, the
dramatization brings to a wide audience the heroic
rebellion of Bonhoeffer, a highly regarded Lutheran
minister who could have kept his peace and saved his
life on several occasions, but instead paid the price
for his beliefs. The film is a vital portrait of the
man, the teacher, the resistance fighter, the moralist,
the prisoner, and, eventually, the martyr. The program
also sheds light on the efforts of the German
resistance.
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S p i r i t u a l P r a c t i c e s
Desiderata
+++++++++++
*Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what
peace there may be in silence.
*As far as possible without surrender be on good terms
with all persons.
*Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,
even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
*Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations
to the spirit.
*If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and
bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons
than yourself.
*Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
*Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is
a real possession in the changing future of time.
*Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world
is full of trickery, but let this not blind you to what
virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
*Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither
be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity
and disenchantment, it is perennial as the grass.
*Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully
surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of
spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not
distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born
of fatigue and loneliness.
*Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees
and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether
or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is
unfolding as it should.
*Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive
him to be, and, whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your
soul. With all its sham and drudgery and broken dreams
it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to
be happy.
--"Desiderata" was written in 1927 by Max Ehrmann
(1872-1945). In 1956, the rector of St. Paul's Church
in Baltimore used the poem in a collection of mimeo-
graphed inspirational material for his congregation.
Someone who subsequently printed it asserted that it was
found in Old St. Paul's Church, dated 1692. The year 1692
was actually the founding date of the church.
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B o o m e r a n g
++++++++++++++++++
SojoMail readers hit reply
Pastor Jack Leathers from Bernie, Missouri, wrote:
Jim Wallis hasn't got a clue about Finney. I have read
Charles Finney extensively and never read about his
being a reformist. I believe the word he would have
used instead of "reform" would have been "repent."
I enjoy Sojo.net!
-------------------------
Colette MacNeil from Detroit, Michigan, wrote:
I can't thank you enough for sending Sojo.net.
Sam Mendoza's article regarding his experience in
India was stunning . . . literally. That closing
quote takes your breath away. When you think that
the perverse power of that Indian caste system
does exactly that to whole masses of human beings:
renders them "anonymous," it stuns.
-------------------------
Want to make your voice heard? Send Boomerang
e-mails to the editor: "boomerang@sojo.net"
-----------------------------------------------------------
O n t he W i r e:
++++++++++++++++++++
In case you missed SojoNet in the nation's media....
Interview with Jim Wallis in the Minneapolis Star
Tribune, by Martha Sawyer Allen, June 3, 2000
"The future of American politics will be around
values more than ideology, and movements for
real change will be spiritual as well as social,
just like the civil rights movement was..."
See the full story at:
http://www.startribune.com/stOnLine/cgi-bin/article?thisStory=81845767
------------------------------------------------------------
B u i l d i n g a N e t w o r k
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Religious movements bolster Haitian democracy
Christians are helping build a more civil, democratic
Haiti. The Caribbean nation faces entrenched poverty,
illiteracy, and corruption in its struggle to establish
democracy after the fall of its dictatorship in 1986.
Catholics and Protestants for the first time took a
public stand together April 3, issuing a joint message
reminding authorities to hold free and fair elections,
the World Council of Churches said. The Haitian Protestant
Federation is funding Radio Lumiere, an evangelical
radio station that airs a daily program featuring Christian
guests who urge people to get involved in politics.
The federation has trained 500 young leaders who hold
civic-education training classes in all the parishes,
encouraging people to vote for honest candidates who
have done something useful in political and public
life. Casting an informed vote in Haiti can be perplexing:
there were 29,000 candidates in parliamentary elections May 21.
Christians made up about 40 percent of the observers
monitoring the elections, Edouard Paultre of the
federation said. The observers now are preparing a report
on voting irregularities they observed. Churches also are
strategizing with employers, trade unions, private and
public officials, and doctors in the Initiative for Civil
Society, an effort to build democratic institutions and
end the partisan struggles, the WCC said.
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W e b S c e n e
+++++++++++++++++++
Sacred space online
"When we pray, we are never alone."
That's the slogan of a useful Web site
maintained by the Irish Jesuits.
Each day the site leads you through
10 minutes of meditation and prayer.
The goal: to get busy people to take
daily stock of their spiritual journey.
http://www.jesuit.ie/prayer
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