Social Justice

Selling each other short…

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I am more than a little heart-sick at this story. And I’m keep the Clementi family in my prayers. Have you seen the story? The shameful treatment of a college student leads him to take his own life.

Ya know, I understand the drive to have the next big viral video. I see people everyday online trying to capture that magic, that big laugh. Some achieve a certain amount of online notoriety, and some simply tear their own dignity to shreds while hurting others in the attempt.

Think for a second about the news stories asking about the rightness of parents who post pics and vids of their toddlers with bong pipes and firearms… why? Because they want a laugh. Never caught those stories? Google it.

And amid all the grotesque stories of cyber-bullying, we have this one… a college roommate and his friend hide a camera to live stream a young man’s love life. That young man then commits suicide in shame. And it’s just all too easy. It’s too easy to plant that camera, to laugh at a friend, to Tweet and post and stream a friend for a few laughs, a few glorious moments of viral power. Tyler Clementi was sold short… his life, he himself. He was worth so very much more than the few laughs his antagonists sought.

I hope at least one person with a webcam and a stupid idea for catching an online laugh will stop and ask… “Am I trading my neighbor off for a selfish grab at a laugh or a few more views? What is my fellow human being worth?” And beyond hoping, I pray that when that person looks inside and gropes around for the answers to those questions, they’ll find love.

Oh, God! Help us love each other!
Break our hearts and teach us mercy!
Teach to pursue each other with grace!

And when we’re done praying? Well, then we have to speak and act for love! Speak and act the value and dignity of our neighbors! We have to be love, be the value and be the dignity of everyone around us! For such things our Christ has suffered the cross!

And here’s just a flashback for you 80’s fans… a song I have often sung along with and admired for it’s honest and good questioning of our need to hate…






"People Are People"
- Martin Gore, Depeche Mode

People are people
So why should it be
You and I should get
Along so awfully
People are people
So why should it be
You and I should get
Along so awfully

So we're different colours
And we're different creeds
And different people have different needs
It's obvious you hate me
Though I've done nothing wrong
I've never ever met you so what could I have done

I can't understand
What makes a man
Hate another man
Help me understand

People are people...

Help me understand
Help me understand

Now you're punching
And you're kicking
And you're shouting at me
I'm relying on your common decency
So far it hasn't surfaced
But I'm sure it exists
It just takes a while to travel
From your head to your fists

I can't understand
What makes a man
Hate another man
Help me understand

This entry was posted in Prayer, Social Justice and tagged , , , , , , .

And Update on The Dream…

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I threw this out and many beautiful souls have responded with rich insights and encouragements, so I thought it was time for an update…

Around eight days ago I had a bunch of words and a couple of ideas. Today the dream has a name, a website domain, a twitter account, a three page organizational document, offers for videography/photography and web hosting services, contacts with established nonprofits, four committed, way talented and wonderful board members, a lead on a friendly lawyer who is knowledgeable in helping establish nonprofits legally, and finally our document is being reviewed for free by a professional grant writer… GOD IS TRIPPING MY FUSES!

How many times have any of us wanted to wake from a dream and find it to be our reality? I am awed and humbled by what is happening in the hearts of people and by the ease of making things happen with this little dream. I don’t want to be unthoughtful in my words or less than totally sincere. I am freaking out! And it all makes me very aware of the need for some gratefulness. St. Ignatius of Loyola said that he figured, “The root of all sins is ingratitude.” Word.

So, this is where we have come in a very short time… but so much remains to be done before we ever put the needed antiretroviral medicines in an individual’s hands! In fact, this is crunch time for me. The need for me to do paperwork is terrifying. Paperwork is my worst allergy. The temptation to slow down, rein in and be “common sensical” is overwhelming. But the thing is out of the bag and running and I will not quench it.

So pray with me, please. Go to gratefulness.org and light a virtual candle in thanks, praise and humbled request for all God has done, is doing and will do with us!

And for all those wondering, the full name is Envision HIV/AIDS Relief in Africa, or Envision for short. The domain is EnvisionAfrica.org, though there’s nothing there yet. The Twitter is @EnvisionAfrica.

Scared silly about living the dream but still smiling,
Todd

This entry was posted in Africa, HIV/AIDS, Just Life, Prayer, Social Justice and tagged , , , , .

some new very admirable friends… “A Wider Circle”

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Folks often ask me where they can plug into community volunteering and find good things happening in the area. With that in mind I asked Brooke a while back to help me dig up the local groups that are helping folks, and last week the convergence of two conversations, one with Brooke and one with Gloria at the Chamber of Commerce, brought me to the doorstep of A Wider Circle yesterday morning.

This organization collects household goods and distributes them to families who find themselves without many of the essentials that make a home: beds, tables, appliances, etc. Of course, the group does much more than that, but you can dig thru their website to learn more. Yesterday I was able to pitch in by driving their truck on some morning donation pickups and then loading the truck with throw-away junk and taking it to the dump in Rockville. Seriously, I slept hard last night. They worked me good.

The folks at A Wider Circle are in the process of organizing help for under-funded families to have good thanksgiving meals and joyful holidays in the next two months. Check out their website with the link in their name if you’d like to pitch in as well. At the moment, they could really use help driving that 16′ moving truck on Wednesdays and Saturdays, roughly 10am to 3pm. If you’re blessed with the experience and fortitude to handle such a truck, give’em a call!

Peace, Todd

This entry was posted in Bethesda, Social Justice.

8.8 Million, Baby!

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I don’t know if it is totally hooked to the homeless data collected last month in the Tarrant County homeless census, but I heard on the radio today that Tarrant County is being given 8.8 million in Federal funds for the homeless population! Yeah! Great job people! Huge kudos to whomever and allever hit the streets that night!

This entry was posted in Social Justice.

Any takers for a worth while night of volunteerism?

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Howdy!

Brad Voss made me aware of the (all volunteer) census happening this week of the homeless population in Tarrant County. It happens between 9pm Thursday and 2am Friday. You must attend a training session to volunteer in the count and there are a half dozen or so opportunities left. Here’s the link… http://www.roadrunnerwebs.com/homelesscount/index.asp This census information forms the base for funing and other initiatives in the county.

If you can help, it looks like they’re still in need of many volunteers.

This entry was posted in Social Justice.

Instant Activist… flex your influence…

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Here’s a project for you! Years ago I made an autism awareness poster that was printed and circulated all over the State of Alabama. It doesn’t sell anything, and it doesn’t glorify anyone… it just asks parents, gandparents or concerned friends to act on their concerns. The CDC is saying that these days something like 1 in every 150 births in our country will result in an autistic spectrum disorder. I reformatted this image as a 4×6 photo so you can print it at CVS or Walmart, or wherever, and then tack it up at your local Starbucks or grocery store. These flew off the bulletin boards in Montgomery because people have concerns, but they’re not sure what a first step might be… print five or six and tack them up together in a stack and see how long they last… we can actually do something to help children we will never meet.

Oh, and yes, that is a shot of our Josiah! If you can’t easily grab this image from the page then just email me at reserve7@gmail.com and I’ll send you a high res copy!

This entry was posted in Social Justice.