Where There Is Love | Playing For Change (HD)

When I worked at WUWM, I would have put this in the jazz rotation. The sound of surprise and exciting discoveries took us beyond strict definitions. Believe it or not, these decisions were incredibly controversial. The audience didn't complain so much. It was the volunteer staff of jazz announcers. Their rancor made me feel like I had arrived. They were constantly sniping at each other, claiming only they knew the true jazz. How arrogant.

Regret? Making choices can do that.

The exquisite pain of being alive has something to do ... with how impossible it should be to have these moments of beauty—this sea breeze, that inquisitive finch, this small foot in a bunk bed, that laughter after a fall—but perhaps even more to do with how many choices we slowly realize we can never relive, never re-choose. 

- Elizabeth Cantwell, “Maybe So, Sir but Not Today: The Fragile Humanity of Top Gun: Maverick”

Things That Work / All who are hungry come and eat!

Generosity starts when you open the door.

There’s a dramatic moment in the Passover seder, in which we open the door and declare, “let all who are hungry come and eat!” ... Whatever your religion, I pray that the Jewish model inspires you. 

- Michael Rothbaum

What would happen if we took our generosity beyond ritual and made it our way of life? What if our political will was focused on systemic change to create a fair and just society?

There are solid reasons behind systemic change that benefit all of us.

According to the World Bank, Social protection systems help individuals and families, especially the poor and vulnerable, cope with crises and shocks, find jobs, improve productivity, invest in the health and education of their children, and protect the aging population.

You might not know it from our politics, but the United States is the third most generous country in the world, behind Indonesia and Kenya. That's according to the Charities Aid Foundation. Their report provides insight into the scope and nature of giving around the world by examining three aspects of giving behavior. The questions at the heart of the report are: Have you done any of the following in the past month? 

• Helped a stranger, or someone you didn’t know who needed help? 

• Donated money to a charity?  

• Volunteered your time to an organization?

Our politics set tribes against each other. We have politics driven by scarcity, fear, hate, sexism, xenophobia, grievances, homophobia, nationalism, and white supremacy. Politicians are adept at personal attack and character assassination. But what would happen if we discussed differences based on policies instead of personal attack?

To have generosity of spirit is to act with kindness, to be open and willing to share with others without any expectation of receiving something back in return. It means to celebrate the success and efforts of others without envy or resentment. -Wellington College Apr 27, 2020

Systemic racism and discrimination against the poor are the antitheses of the generosity of the spirit. More about this is made clear in the book of Proverbs.

One person gives freely, yet gains even more;

    another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

A generous person will prosper;

    whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

—Proverbs 11:24–25

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,

    and he will reward them for what they have done.

—Proverbs 19:17

 

Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor

    will also cry out and not be answered.

—Proverbs 21:13

The righteous care about justice for the poor,

    but the wicked have no such concern.

—Proverbs 29:7

A system that is based on respect for the other, is based on listening first, based on empathy instead of sympathy, based on action over words, based on helping over taking charge.

Hate the system that made your brother evil. It is the system we must destroy.
- Clark V. Poling

Trump's Intention: Misdirection

 

Send (someone or something) to the wrong place or in the wrong direction.

Elected Republicans have wavered at times — whether it was Trump’s condemnation of John McCain’s war record, his racist attack against a Mexican-American judge, his sexually predatory language caught on video, his alleged extramarital affairs, his decision to side with Russian President Vladimir Putin over U.S. intelligence, his promotion of false allegations of election fraud and his incitement of a violent mob that threatened the lives of lawmakers in both parties.

But after almost eight years of near-constant scandal, Republicans have ultimately rallied behind Trump over and over and over again. -Associated Press

Why?

Certainly, Trump is feeding into this frenzy. 

First, he set up a false narrative of impending arrest. Republicans rushed to Trump's aid, threatening an illegal investigation into a legal investigation, tarring District Attorney Alvin Bragg as a partisan hack. The idea was to cast doubt on the motivations of a legally assembled grand jury.

The idea was to misdirect. Lamont and Wiseman define misdirection as “that which directs the audience toward the effect and away from the method”, extending its scope beyond the simple manipulation of attentional processes.

And then there's the constant need to be the center of attention as evidenced by Trump's claim of his impending arrest. He needed to reenergize his flagging political momentum. He called for mass protest. What he got was something else. There were few protests. The protesters were far outnumbered by counter protesters. 

The BBC delved into this. Some of his supporters believed the protest were a setup by the deep state. Among them, Marjorie Taylor Greene. 

The same sentiments were rife in pro-Trump Facebook groups, on Telegram channels, on sites like 4chan, and on Truth Social.

Fear of being set up has not put an end to threats of violence. But there are indications that talk of violence against Trump's opponents is rising. "Advance Democracy, a non-partisan research group, found a spike in mentions of violence trebled on Truth Social after Mr Trump declared on Saturday that he would be arrested and urged his supporters to "PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!"  -BBC

House Republicans understand their base is tied to Trump's base. They seem unwilling to stand with the facts. Yet, the lessons of 2016 and beyond are hard to ignore. Those who stood against Trump found themselves on the outside looking in. Because there are no consequences for Trump, the threat of violence increases. 

Let's Get Real

My Grandparents Were Immigrants

They faced the uncertanty of starting over in a strange land,. They did not face the possibility of being dissappeared.

As the American survivors of last week’s bloody kidnapping in Matamoros receive medical treatment, and the bodies of those killed are repatriated, Mexico’s broader epidemic of disappearances remains largely unsolved: More than 100,000 Mexicans and migrants have disappeared, with no explanation of their fate for families. -cnn

Congress, if it wanted to, could fix our part of this problem by passing new immigration laws. When congressmen call on the president to do something, it is a disingenuous call. They hold the power to come up with a fair and just solution. Those who complain the loudest are just looking for political gain, not solutions to the problem. 

If we really are one nation under God, why do we refuse to offer sanctuary to those being oppressed and facing death?

Rhetoric that divides

Wokeness

Despite the use of woke as a pejorative, being woke is a good thing. 

Woke is now defined as “aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice),” and identified as U.S. slang. It originated in African American English and gained more widespread use beginning in 2014 as part of the Black Lives Matter movement.

When Ron DeSantis says, "This is where woke goes to die," does he mean Florida is the home of racism, fear, and hate? A place where our history is not taught? A place where we have second class citizens? A place where homiphobia is commonplace and encoraged? A place where children are taught what to think, not how to think? A place where only people with the right connections can get a fair shake? A place where white priviledge is guaranteed?

Racist and Discriminatory Policies

A Stamford pysychologist has identified Seven Factors that contribute to American racism. According to the psycologist, Steven O. Roberts, of the seven factors the researchers identified, perhaps the most insidious is passivism or passive racism, which includes an apathy toward systems of racial advantage or denial that those systems even exist. "After examining research on racism from psychology, the social sciences and the humanities, the researchers argue that American racism systematically advantages White Americans and disadvantages Americans of color – but that it does not have to." It all starts with awareness. That's the opposite of the positions taken by legislators and governors in 44 states, most notably in Florida, Texas and Arkansas. They prefer awareness of racism be suppressed. This includes students with advanced education, starting with advanced placement classes through univeristy cirricula.

What will grow in the place of "woke" if principles like diversity, equity, and inclusion are pulled out of the white rose garden by their roots? We'll be left with a society where diversity will be viewed as problematic, where companies and schools no longer attempt to provide equitable opportunities to their employees and students, and where exclusionary tactics replace inclusion. Racially Restrictive Covenants were once used to prohibit "Black people from moving into specific homes and often entire communities." While these covenants are no longer legally enforceable, the racist language that remains in some of the deeds of American homes serves as a painful reminder of what exclusion looks like in action. -Allison Wiltz

What Can Be Done?

Become active! Learn! Act!

Mei Cobb's blog on The United Way site came up with eight actions we can take to inspire change.

1. Register to vote and help others do the same.
2. Examine and correct your own biases.
3. Have conversations about race.
4. Read to understand the history and impact of racism.
5. Support anti-racism organizations.
6. Advocate for laws that dismantle barriers to economic opportunity.
7. Volunteer to improve the health, education, and financial stability of people living in poverty.
8. Use your influence within your workplace and other organizations to address racial inequity.
9. I would add another. Never give up.   

Things That Work / Social Justice

(Sushil Nash)

Why We Should Give a Damn

Income inequality is creating an untenable situation that is dealing out a majority of the world's population. The disparity between rich and poor is leading to mass migration, extreme poverty, conflict, and human suffering.

The income divide is creating a world that is unfair and unjust. Hoarding wealth is creating:

• Reduced social mobility Income inequality can make it more difficult for individuals to move up the economic ladder.
• Increased poverty Income inequality can lead to higher rates of poverty particularly among children and other vulnerable groups.
• Political and social unrest ...
• Reduced economic growth ...
• Negative impact on health and well-being ...  (economicmatter.com)

What is the divide?

The Pew Research Center has crunched some of the numbers on this issue. The top 20% of income earners in this country brought in 52% of US income, more than the bottom four-fifths combined. Income inequality in the U.S. is the highest of all the G7 nations, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Pew's numbers are from 2018. It's gotten worse, a lot worse. The top 1% of earners make over 20 times as much as the bottom 90%. (Source: Social Security Online) The gap between the rich and everyone else seems to be worsening.

Toward a Just World

According to the Network Movement for Justice and Development, Social justice is still a distant dream for millions. In 2020, the world still has six hundred million people living in extreme poverty. They live on 1.5 dollars a day or even lesser. The definition of social justice has changed over the decades. If it once meant equal access to food, clothing, and shelter; now it is about living with integrity, good education, proper healthcare, and so forth. If you look at the happiest countries in the world, you’ll see they have free access to healthcare, education and is a corruption-free democracy. Social justice is a human right, it is essential for achieving a well-rounded society. Those of us who care are standing up for the end of discrimination, equal healthcare systems, better educational opportunities for all, and equal participation.

Several organizations and institutions provide their own definitions for social justice. Here are a few:

• “Social justice may be broadly understood as the fair and compassionate distribution of the fruits of economic growth.”
  United Nations
• “Social justice is the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political and social rights and opportunities. Social workers aim to open the doors of access and opportunity for everyone, particularly those in greatest need.”
  National Association of Social Workers
• “Social justice encompasses economic justice. Social justice is the virtue which guides us in creating those organized human interactions we call institutions. In turn, social institutions, when justly organized, provide us with access to what is good for the person, both individually and in our associations with others. Social justice also imposes on each of us a personal responsibility to work with others to design and continually perfect our institutions as tools for personal and social development.”
  Center for Economic and Social Justice

What Can We Do?

It's simpler than you think. Pinning our hopes on the grand gesture results in a paralysis. Mindfood.com came up with ten things we can do to promote social justice every day.

1. Spread the word...
2. Listen more...
3. Attend a rally...
4. Reclaim your community...
5. Volunteer...
6. Support local organizations...
7. Adopt a politician...
8. Embrace diversity...
9. Sign a pledge...
10. Practice what you preach.

If you refuse to listen to the cry of the poor, your own cry for help will not be heard 

(Proverbs 21:13).