Blog Archives
KONY 2012: It’s About Hope, not Joseph
Over the last two weeks, two controversial short-documentary films have been released to the public that have raised a lot of questions in millions of hearts regarding the nature and purpose of being human. The first video is a component of the KONY 2012 campaign orchestrated by the organization Invisible Children. The video, as with the campaign, focuses on the ruthless leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, Joseph Kony. Kony has been charged by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. Specifically, the draconian rebel leader has been known to use horrible tactics, including abducting children: the boys to be trained for war and the women for sexual pleasure.
The video in just the last two weeks has had estimates of over 100 million views between YouTube and Vimeo social media sites alone. The video has gone viral on Facebook, Twitter, national and international television channels, and pretty much any other public medium. However, as KONY 2012 exploded into global consciousness, countless individuals, organizations, and news channels have made arguments pointing out the oversimplification and complete-bias of the filmmakers’ product. Clearly, Invisible Children has taken these critiques to heart as they have created a page on their website responding to these concerns. Read the rest of this entry
The Spirit of Creativity: A Reflection on the Life and Death of Steve Jobs
The death of Apple, Inc., co-Founder and long-time CEO, Steve Jobs, has truly impacted a lot of people’s lives in the past several days. But, why? Why are so many people interested in the man behind the scenes of one of the largest technology companies in the world? Are they all geeks and computer nerds? No, they are clearly people from a diverse range of backgrounds. The death of Steve Jobs has had a profound impact because what he embodied was the spirit of innovation and creativity.
According to many, Steve Jobs was one of the greatest innovators of all time. He revolutionized the way we engage with the world. Forty years ago, no one could imagine how connected we are today. No one, except maybe Jobs. Jobs had an innate sense of aesthetic, performance, and design. He could see a problem in technology or a place for improvement and find away to enhance our ability to overcome it. Read the rest of this entry
The Execution of Troy Anthony Davis: Finding Wholeness in Times of Complete Despair
We are Troy Davis
Disgust. Shock. Outrage. Our country is in mourning. Our nation is truly lost. We are in a whirlwind of emotional upheaval, a rollercoaster of spiritual destruction. The lead up to the execution of Troy Davis has awakened this country to the thriving injustices and deep systemic issues of racism that are alive and well in the U.S. today. Tuesday and Wednesday have been particularly emotional, as more and more Americans began to realize the validity and personal impact of the statement “I am Troy Davis.” Whether people cared about the death penalty or not prior to the last few days, weeks, months, or years, starting Thursday morning, this country woke up to a new world, one of pain, confusion, and a greater need for healing than in recent years.
As I was sitting in my Pastoral Care and Counseling course at Chicago Theological Seminary, Tuesday night, I was tormented by the mixed feelings of pain, anger, confusion, and helplessness that were racing through my head and heart. I brought it up to the class, asking, “how do we as future pastoral caregivers grapple with this layering of emotions not just as they affect an individual or family, but also a community, nation, or the entire world? How can we be effective faith leaders in times of pain and grief when we’re confronted with cases as complex as that of Troy Davis?” We grappled with these questions for nearly an hour, with times of silence and utter-speechlessness scattered throughout the difficult reflection. Read the rest of this entry
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? By: Paul Gauguin, 1897–1898
“Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? Mystery. Mystery. Life is a riddle and a mystery.” These questions rest at the crux of spiritual reflection and religious identity. They are each very different questions, but together they create space for individuals, communities, nations, and the entire world to journey down a road towards enlightenment.
These questions are of particular importance to me, as a Unitarian Universalist, because this year marks the 50th Anniversary of the merger between the Unitarians and the Universalists. Each with rich, long histories of liberal religious theology and social justice ministries in this country, Unitarian Universalism stands today at a very unique crossroads, one that allows us to, in ways, avoid some of the mystery and consider the true possibilities of what the next fifty years may look like. Read the rest of this entry
The Importance of Interfaith Solidarity in Times of Sorrow
“This article was originally published on the DePaul Interfaith website on April 11th, 2011″
Students approached the center of the Quad around 8 p.m on Tuesday, March 15. They were handed an unlit candle from a smiling volunteer. The cold, March wind blanketed the students as they stood huddled in groups of three or four. Sixty students came out in the midst of final exams and papers, in order to stand in solidarity with all those who were affected by the tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
What was originally an organized vigil by UNICEF DePaul soon became an interfaith vigil with participants from numerous student groups on campus. Within just a few days of the terrible events, a response was organized and executed with love and compassion leading the way. Read the rest of this entry
