- Naomi Klein, "A Hole in the World." Also, become familiar with Klein on her website and/or Wikipedia and watch "In Deep Water," the Fault Lines documentary embedded at the end of Klein’s essay.
- G. Reid Doster, "A Pastoral Essay on the BP Oil Spill" (download PDF)
- Richard P. Olson, "The Calls from the Gulf Shore Tragedy" (download PDF)
- Ernest Callenbach, Ecology: A Pocket Guide, Environmental Justice
Too much. This is too much pain for me to hold! But somehow I do hold it. We all do in different degrees, don't we?
The video was a vivid and powerful illustration of how big and bad the BP eruption “spill” really was for people and the environment. It is obvious Naomi Klein has a sharp edge to her presentations. I’m not sure I want to Amen everything she’s supported, but I do want to support her edginess because it helps us hear. God knows we have enough voices saying everything corporate America does is good. I’m reminded of a line I read in an editorial, “Corporations are people too.” And the next line was a reference to our bill of rights, replacing corporation for people—“of the corporation, by the corporation, for the corporation.” And then the writer added a reference to a famous love song “corporations who love corporations are the luckiest corporations in the world.” And I’m laughing because I can't cry. But it is encouraging to see Klein’s courage—imagine her chutzpa in crossing Isreal’s handling of Palestinians.
I’m grateful for the thoughtful response written by Dr. Doster, “A Pastoral Essay on the BP Oil Spill.” “Ambiguous Loss” is a new term to me, but it seems an appropriate description for the complicated pain associated with a techno-disaster, which is an unexpected event, with uncertain facts, illogical circumstances, and it is accompanied by a sense of pervasive dread—wow! As a mom with a severely handicapped daughter there are striking similarities, so I deeply appreciate the challenge to “the prevailing myth that healthy, normal people find proper “closure,” and placed more emphasis on learning how to cope with ambiguity rather than remove it” (40). And his list of Specific Ways Faith-Communities Can Serve as Instruments of Healing was wonderful. Beginning with giving “more thought and finesse” to their service. Oddly enough, it is both silence and talking that deeply resonate with my own spirituality. I want to be one who can sit in silence beside those who hurt, and I also know “Human connection and telling one’s story is healing, and…listening often can be just as healing as telling” (43). I also liked that Doster supported more active responses as well. “…respond to God’s call to be advocates or prophetic voices that confront chronic community problems, challenge elected officials, and pursue public policy changes…” (48).
“The Calls from the Gulf Shore Tragedy” was meaningful and important for me to hear.
(1) “ Remember,” Olson writes, “keep informed, and in some way be involved with the ecosystem, creatures, people, and the communities of the Gulf Shore region” (99). I have heard nothing from the pulpit along these lines, and even though my spirit agrees, I don’t expect new sermons any time soon. It’s so common for human nature to move on, especially in America. We seem to have such short attention spans.
(2) Read the Bible Differently—I like how we have been doing this the whole semester.
(3) Encourage creation –ecological passion in the lives of our churches like community gardens, sharing of garden produce, support locally grown farmers markets (I'm doing some of this :-)
(4) Lament and repent—Be sorrowful for our part in damaging our world, and repent—change our actions—quit bad practices! (I'm trying to do some of this, too.)
(5) Insistence on Restorative Justice—ask 3 questions (1) Who was harmed by the violation? (2) What are their needs? (3) Whose obligation is it to meet those needs?
Coming together counts—combined citizen, shareholder, and consumer pressure!
(6) Advocate Adequate Regulatory Measures—root causes are systemic, and significant reforms in both industry practices and government policies are needed
(7) Form-Joint Prophetic Efforts—multi-dimensional prophetic effort is needed. First, develop a different lifestyle, one more in keeping with gospel values—lessen our footprints upon this earth with smaller houses, fewer cars, more walking or cycling, more mass transportation, healthier eating, and gardening. Second, an outward thrust—advocate for more research and higher performance of appliances and vehicles, maintain parks and green spaces, protect endangered species, hold polluters accountable.
The entry on Environmental Justice was one more helpful piece. “…the environmental movement has become more scientifically and socially sophisticated, ordinary people have grown aware that they face environmental problems unknown to the well-to-do, along with overwhelming problems of economic survival.” The slogan, “Not in Anybody’s Back Yard!” really does seem to define environmental justice because corporations should not pollute our air or water, and polluted places should be cleaned up. The section ended with a call to work together—create an alliance between politically experienced environmentalists and people of all classes and colors and ethnic backgrounds.
With all this difficult to hear material, I still have hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment