Atheists, Fundamentalists, and Empathy

A title in Raw Story really caught my eye.  “Study:  Atheists more driven by compassion than highly religious people.”  As a PK (preacher’s kid) and an observer of human behavior for almost 60 years, this comes as no shock to me.  What surprises me is that this connection is finally being made in a larger venue than the whispers and shakes of the head I have seen when I bring this topic to light.

I have blogged earlier about the hijacking of Christianity in self-titled fundamental Christian churches.  Trust me, they are nothing close to fundamentalists.  I had a conversation with a conservative acquaintance who spouted all kinds of incorrect facts to me to make her point.  I asked her to give me websites for proof to back up her assertions.  All she should tell me was that she heard people say they were doing what she proclaimed they were doing.  I then asked her that if I said I was a millionaire, then that must be true—because I had said it.  Just because people call themselves fundamentalists does not make them fundamentalists.

According to the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science out of the University of California (http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/30/religionandgenerosity/),  “Overall, we find that for less religious people, the strength of their emotional connection to another person is critical to whether they will help that person or not,” said UC Berkeley social psychologist Robb Willer, a co-author of the study. “The more religious, on the other hand, may ground their generosity less in emotion, and more in other factors such as doctrine, a communal identity, or reputational concerns.”

Why is this?  What has happened that has completely derailed the decency that one would expect from an organization that professes Christian beliefs?  As I have said before, money certainly plays a big role in this—particularly in the mega-church organizations.  However, this goes beyond that.  Barry Goldwater, one of the co-founders of the modern conservative movement, observed the following in 1981.

"There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. There is no more powerful ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus Christ, or God, or Allah, or whatever one calls this supreme being. But like any powerful weapon, the use of God's name on one's behalf should be used sparingly. The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both. I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in 'A,' 'B,' 'C,' and 'D.' Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me? And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of 'conservatism.' "

I believe he hit the nail on the head.  One problem with these people is that they will have no compromise whatsoever.  While I understand why they do it, it is unreasonable to demand this in a heterogeneous society.  The biggest problem, however, is that the assumptions or “facts” that they base their arguments upon are largely incorrect. 

First of all, this country is not a Christian country.  It was founded as a Constitutional separation between any church and the state, which drives them absolutely crazy.  James Madison, author of the Bill of Rights, gave his first veto against a bill that gave a religious group money to take care of indigent people.  While he agreed with the intent, he disagreed with the role of government giving public money to religious organizations, something that GW Bush and Obama have since allowed.

Now we see that these “religious” organizations do not even believe in the basic tenets of Jesus Christ (feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, curing the sick, taking care of the children, turning the other cheek, etc.) unless a profit is involved.  Yes, government is important in taking care of its people (the common good), but does not need to be involved in the accessory aspect of society.  It is the right thing to do.  It is the just thing to do.  Now, however, being a fundamentalist means turning your back on such ideas. At least, now it is being discussed.  Maybe a movement will develop that will remove the tax-exempt of these havens for the rich.

Justice in Florida

            Isn’t it amazing that we celebrate a semblance of justice when it occurs after a horrible injustice was initiated?  I am not criticizing what the special prosecutor in Florida did when she announced that second-degree murder charges were filed against George Zimmerman on Apr. 11.  In fact, I admire the way that Angela Corey has gone about determining the strongest legal action she could take by going through the information she had in front of her.  Instead of relying on a prejudiced pool of grand-jury members, she did all the analysis needed, in her mind.  Many pundits expressed surprised that she went after Zimmerman with second-degree murder instead of “just” manslaughter, but I think it is pretty obvious that she had much more available to her than was shown to the public.

            I have been sitting on my hands by commenting rarely on this case until something concrete were to happen.  I have been astonished at the way information has been leaked to the public.  I am especially disgusted by the Orlando Sentinel’s lack of journalistic standards by releasing the disturbing tidbits of information that were so heavily slanted without any research to prove these statements to be correct. 

            Thank goodness for the social media and for the brave reporters who brought this story to the forefront of the American psyche.  Outraged people responded appropriately against a slowly rising tide of hidden racism in laws like Stand Your Ground.  These laws needed to be brought out from under the rocks to be exposed to sunlight as the ugliness that they are.  This is one of those ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) ideas that billionaires like the Koch brothers have been pushing.  Check ALEC Exposed (http://alecexposed.org/wiki/What_is_ALEC%3F) for more information on this nefarious group.

            Now, we have to wait to see how this plays out.  I am hearing that the trial will be televised.  I hope so.  I want to see what evidence was not exposed to us in an attempt to manipulate our opinions.  We have a semblance of justice now that Zimmerman is in jail, but we have a long way to go before full justice is obtained.  What is full justice here?  I don’t know, but I will be watching this trial in its entirety.  Zimmerman may be on trial, but a lot of other issues are on trial as well:  journalistic standards, the legal system, the police force at Stanford, Florida, and more.  Whatever the outcome, let’s hope that it is just.  But then, this is the South. . .

Fighting Ugliness

I was depressed after our IEA convention in Chicago a couple of weekends ago.  The mood was pessimistic, and the enthusiasm was mixed.  Our pensions are being attacked by a group of billionaires out of Chicago, and the only hope we have of stopping it is by making the public aware that all middle-class and poor people are under attack by pernicious groups like the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club out of Chicago.  We have to spend money, money that we are struggling to hold onto, to get the message out.  Meanwhile, our ESPs that are in our organization are fighting to gain merely a living wage, which most of its memberships are not getting.  If we fight, we hurt those whom we need badly to be with us.  I did not know where to go with these emotions.  I could not write convincingly to address these issues.

Watching the Trayvon Martin debacle unfold has been tough to follow.  While groups like the Civic Committee continue to attack with their ultra-conservative ideologies, racism in the form of these “stand your ground” laws that were sanctioned and pushed by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a right-wing group (shockingly enough) are finally showing their ugly ramifications.  The way the police have handled this is no accident.  This is what these laws were designed to do:  kill the ones who are not whom we want them to be in the name of self-defense.  If Trayvon had killed Zimmerman because Zimmerman was stalking him, he would have been arrested instantly.  We all know that.  However, according to how the law was written, Trayvon should have been not only exonerated for doing so, he should not have even been processed.  But because he was African American, and, as Zimmerman put it,” they always get away with it,” he was put down like a dog and left with no dignity.  His killer walks free.

I was watching Chris Hayes’ show, and I was stunned when the reporter for the New York Times said that he was encouraged by the social media in helping to get the movement started that got this story to a point in which the authorities in Florida are becoming more and more uncomfortable with the public atmosphere.  He was optimistic with the direction this was taking.  On Lawrence O’Donnell’s show on Monday night (3/26/12), he was to talk to the lawyer of Zimmerman, but the lawyer bolted minutes before the show started.  What happened after that was a great discussion of what questions should be asked of the cowardly lawyer and why those questions were necessary to be addressed by Zimmerman and the authorities.  He also got on a reporter for the Orlando newspaper and slammed her for being a shill for the Sanford Police Department by posting false information as facts in her article.  It was powerful stuff.  I was getting my rage on again.  I stopped moping and started focusing.  

I will talk more later about this because this is pointing to our problem as a profession and to our dilemma as public workers.  However, the time has come to stop playing nice.  The right questions must be asked.  The right pressure must be applied.  We must press for justice for ourselves.  

Paul Mann Youth Activist Award, due March 28

Honor our Youth!

            The NEA Peace and Justice Caucus has initiated an award program to honor youth activism. As our students develop their critical thinking skills and independent belief systems, we believe it is important that they understand that they can be instruments of change, and can find their own avenues for expressing their beliefs.

            Please nominate a youth organization or individual youth activist who has been outstanding in the struggle for human rights, social justice, peace, and/or youth empowerment. You may nominate a young person, elementary through grade 14.  The student selected will be invited if possible to the  2012 Iowa State Education Association Delegate Assembly in Des Moine, IA, or to the sponsoring state education association affiliate’s Representative Assembly to receive their award.

 Due date: March 15, 2012.  Due date extended 

NEA Peace and Justice Caucus

Paul Mann Youth Activism Award

Name of Nominee: _________________________________________________________________________________ School_____________________________________________   Gradelevel/Age___________________________________ Address__________________________________________________City/State/Zip_______________________________________                                    Phone (c) ______________  (h)___________ ________________ email: _________________________________________

Nominated by______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Local and State Education Associations: _____________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________City/State/Zip___________________________________Phone (c) ______________________  (h) ____________________ email: _________________________________________ State Representative Assembly date, location________________________________________________________

Description of the nominee’s activism and achievements: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Please return this sheet and supporting materials by March 15, 2012

Supporting materials could include copies of brochures, flyers, news articles.

Send to:  NEA Peace and Justice Caucus         

porternancy@msn.com                                                       

Crisis in the Gulf: U.S. Policy Toward Iran

Statewide tour by James ZogbyPresident of the Arab-American Institute lecturer and scholar on Middle East issues, U.S.-Arab relations, and the history of the Arab American community, Dr. Zogby appears frequently on television and radio. A regular guest on all the major network news programs and a
featured blogger on The Huffington Post, he is the author of several books including Arab Voices and What Arabs Think: Values, Beliefs and Concerns.
　

• Des Moines, 7:00 PM Tuesday, March 20^th,

Plymouth Congregational Church, 4126 Ingersoll, Des Moines

• Cedar Falls, Wednesday March 21^st, Noon, UNI

Multi-Cultural Center (E. side of UNI campus)

• Iowa City, Wednesday, March 21^st, 4:30PM, historic Old Capitol on U of I campus
• Cedar Rapids, Wednesday, March 21^st

7:30 PM, Kirkwood Training & Outreach Services Center, 3375 Armar Dr, Marion,IA 
"the region is a tinderbox, and it is as if everyone is too busy playing with matches to think of the consequences"
Free & open to the public @ accessible to allSponsors: Veterans for Peace,Iowa United Nations Association, American Friends Service Committee, Arab-American Institute, Iowa Physicians for Social Responsibility, Iowa NEA Peace & Justice Caucus

Finding Information

MSNBC has two new shows on that is chock full of information:  Up with Chris Hayes and MHP (Melissa-Harris Perry.)  These shows run consecutively from 7AM until 11AM Central Time.  Chris Hayes's show spent its complete two hours on Sunday, Mar. 11 talking about Israel.  This topic is so complex that even two hours was not long enough to get all the information needed to get a decent idea of the intricacies of this topic, but it was more information than I have ever seen on a TV show.  Even one of the guests stated that she was concerned that the topic was glossed over after they were done.  She was probably right, but the attention span of the average American viewer is more around 12 minutes, much less the 120 minutes the show donated to this topic.  When we are inundated by crazies proclaiming that we must protect Israel at all costs with their 30-second dumb-speak messages, we really need people to sit down and watch programs like this so that we can understand some of the issues in a fuller sense.  Instead, many of our fellow inhabitants prefer to let someone else do their thinking for them, rather than think for themselves.

MHP's show is the strong in that it deals with race politics much of the time.  No show ever dares do this, but MHP, through her apprenticeship with Rachel Maddow and others, has learned to present this material in a way that is educational and palatable.  The guests teach with their knowledgable and informative ways that allow a race discussion to be rational.  I know many people fear talking about this because they are afraid to expose any hidden racism they may have in them, but these discussions take that fear away.  I thoroughly enjoy and admire MHP for her skills.  I wish all my friends (heck, all people, but I know that's not going to happen) would watch this show, and I push it constantly to anybody who listens to me blather on as I do.

Bill Maher on his show the Friday before the Up show with Israel had Christine Pelosi, daughter of Nancy Pelosi, go to Mississippi to film comments of people about politics.  She insists that this was an honest accumulation of comments.  These have to be seen to believe.  I lived in the South for four of my adult years; so, this was no great surprise, but I know many of my students do not believe life is as described in this video.

I have always maintained that education is the key to removing obstacles of advancement in this country.  I have read countless reports about how teaching reading to inmates in jail made a huge difference in their lives.  I have seen changes in my students as they become more educated in our school system--becoming more rational and open to opinions different from their own.  Programs such as Up and MPH give education in their rational discussions and presented research results.  We, as teachers, know that blocking ignorance via education is a slow and sometimes painful process, but when it works, it works wonders.  Mississippi is the poorest and worst educated state in the country.  We can debate why it is this way, but I think it is safe to say that the bad education is its greatest obstacle to a rational understanding of almost every aspect of life.  What motivation do we need as teachers to know the job we are performing is important?  I think the answer to that is "Look at Mississippi."

P.S.  I will  be at the Illinois Education Association RA meeting at the Hilton in downtown Chicago from Thursday 3/15 to Saturday 3/17.  I will be sitting with the District 18 group.  If any of one happen to be there, please stop by and say hi.  I'd love to meet you.

Iran's Nuclear Program--Pooof!

You know, I try.  I really, really try.  I try to keep rational, particularly when unexplainable events occur that do not square with the given “facts.”  I have been a science teacher and student for over forty years.  I have learned to ask questions.  I have learned that sometimes the answers have to be dug out from wherever they are hidden.  I can speculate as to what the answer might be, but until I get the facts, I struggle to come to a conclusion that I am willing to defend.

Anonymous, the hacking group, got into the files of Stratfor, a private security company out of Texas.  They dumped 5.5 million emails onto Wikileaks, who promptly released some of the emails on Feb. 26, 2012.  While there were a number of interesting notes, the most striking one, as identified by Susie Madrak of Crooksandliars.com (http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/wikileaks-release-stratfor-emails-isr) deals with Iran’s nuclear program.  Ms. Madrak’s presentation is an excellent, albeit short one.  In an email of Nov. 14, 2011, and another subsequent analysis, Israel seems to have already sabotaged the Iranian nuclear efforts.  As reported in some mainstream media outlets, a number of Iranian scientists in Janurary of 2012 were found murdered.  

So, what does this point to?  I think the answer is pretty obvious.  If these emails and news accounts are true, Iran is without a nuclear program.  Then why do we have the drumbeat by Karl Rove, Newt Gingrich, John Bolton, etc., ad nauseum?  This is where the proof is needed.  Speculate all you want.  Ms. Madrak makes an interesting point about the European Union trying to divert attention away from their economic disasters.  Others may state that the military-industrial complex is very concerned with our pulling out of Iraq and the eventual pull-out of Afghanistan.  This will hurt their profit margin.  Others say that this is Israel trying to take advantage of a weak Iran by forcing its military onto the country that can not defend itself nuclearly. 

I just don’t know, but one thing is clear.  There has been very little written about this whole state of affairs in our newspapers and even less covered on the airways.  Why is that?  Why is there a taciturn resistance to the facts that have emerged?  We find very little being written/spoken about Wikileaks and Bradley Manning.  Why is that?  Are people afraid that if the truth is discovered that more people will take to the streets in protest to our warrior behavior?  We are a country on the verge of financial collapse.  This is the ideal time to make the military spending be scaled backed by at a monumental level to concentrate on protecting our own people and less on sacrificing poor people to defend our corporations and Friedmanian experiments around the world.

Defend Northwestern High Schoolers!

Defend Northwestern High Schoolers punished for standing up for a better education!

Demand that their suspensions be revoked!
 
Call Principal Batenga and other school officials - see info below

Solidarity statements and other inquiries can be sent to studentsforjustice1@gmail.com

Thursday, March 1st was a National Student Day of Action in which students around the country organized demonstrations protesting education budget cuts, educational inequality, and advocating for quality and affordable education for all.

Students at Northwestern High School in Prince George‚s County Maryland planned a walkout and rally as part of the National Student Day of Action. Over 300 students planned to walk out to protest unsanitary conditions in their school, enormous class sizes, cuts to the ESOL program, and denial of promised pay raises for their teachers. The students also were asking for more teacher/parent/student input in the curriculum and demanding an apology for a group of Filipino teachers who were fired and deported after not having their work visas renewed.

The Administration at Northwestern discovered the walkout plan early in the day by trolling Twitter and put the school on lockdown. Police blocked the doors and canine units waited in the school's parking lot. They held student leaders in the Principal‚s office all day, threatened them with expulsion, and at the end of the day suspended four students for 5 days requiring that when they return their parents must accompany them to classes all day.

Northwestern is a high school where a majority of the students are Black and Latino. The student organizers' mission was to walk out for a better school and a better education. Instead the Administration violated their civil liberties, squashed these students' free speech, and punished them for wanting to improve the school environment for themselves and their teachers. Instead of having a dialogue with students, the Administration at this school chose to make an example of several students and punish them harshly knowing this could affect these students ability to get into college.

We ask you to stand in solidarity with the students at Northwestern. We cannot let school officials succeed in punishing them for wanting changes to their school and quality education. Support these students by contacting the following school officials and demanding that their suspensions be revoked and removed from their permanent record:

Mr. Edgar Batenga
Principal
301-985-1820
Edgar.Batenga@pgcps.org

William R. Hite, Jr., Ed.D.
Superintendent
301-952-6008
william.hite@pgcps.org

Amber Waller
Board of Education Member, District 3
301 952-6115
amber.waller@pgcps.org

Jane Spence
Instructional Director of High School Performance
240-264-1720

Northwestern Vice Principals:
Mr. Douglass Jones, x-2318 douglass.jones@pgcps.org
Ms. Patricia Cox, X-2237 patricia.cox@pgcps.org
Mr. Robert Pollard, X-2280 robert.pollard@pgcps.org
Ms. Jennifer Love, x2280 jennifer.love@pgcps.org
Mr. Arrington, x2265

Not So Trivial Trivia

I hosted a trivia contest for a youth group of a local church last weekend.  The person in charge of the fundraiser wanted a category to be about Biblical villains.  I was only too happy to do this.  We had eleven tables for a total of around 100 Christian minds working on this and nine other categories.  I was particularly curious to see how they did on two questions.  Being a preacher's kid myself, I had a fairly strong background in the contents of the Bible, and I have been thoroughly dismayed by the antics of people who proclaimed themselves as Christian.  This is why my curiosity to how these two questions would be answered led me to answers about my non-understanding of their behavior.

The first of the two questions was the following:  Jesus lost his temper just one time with what group of people, causing him to turn tables over?  Now, I thought this answer was a gimme--moneychangers.  Half of the group got this question wrong.  The second question was "According to the Books of Luke, Mark, and John, Jesus said that the likelihood of what person getting into heaven was the same as a camel going through the eye of a needle?"  Only two tables got this one correct--a rich man.  Two or three tables wrote down Satan for the answer, and my natural tendency toward irony almost accepted this as correct, but I did not want to turn the event into something that was not about the kids--but it was tempting.

So, what did I get out of this?  I have long felt that big money has corrupted our Christianity for political reasons.  It can be seen in a number of ways, but I thought this was the proof I needed.  I truly believe that the money seeps into the seminary schools by making sure that people with money are not treated badly by the ministers.  How else can one explain that members of a church are not familiar with a quote found in, not one, not two, but three books of the Bible?  How else can a fairly substantial number of faithful members of a congregation not know the story of the moneychangers?  It reminds me of a quote by Senator Al Franken before he got elected:  "Rush Limbaugh hid his drugs in his Bible after he cut out all the references to helping poor people."

This is the Peace and Justice Caucus blog.  Peace and justice will never be obtained when money is allowed to be infiltrated into our most important philosophical aspects of our daily decisions.  The 91% tax rate for the top earners during the republican administration of DD Eisenhower was designed with the purpose to eliminate a continuous money class, and it succeeded to create the strongest Middle Class this country has ever seen.  When WWII occurred, the country assumed a shared responsibility for everybody, and Harry Truman went after the war profiteers with strong public support.  When big money was taken out of play, the ideals were clear, and the pride of the country in achieving a goal together was palpable.

Now, we are divided, and big money is the biggest reason.  Wars are being created to give corporations a bigger profit.  Eisenhower warned us of the military-industrial complex.  He saw this coming.  When FDR was elected, big money tried to fund a revolution against him--not in terms of getting him voted out, an actual coup d'etat type revolution that was thwarted by a Gen. Butler.  Big money funds radio corporations to fund gasbags like Limbaugh and Hannity with super-huge contracts that the radio corporations could never afford so that the lies/misinformation can go unencumbered to many who feed off of the fear of these dangerous people.  Big money is insuring that peace and justice will become an exception in this country and not the rule with the tainting of the political process so that radically dangerous Supreme Court justices get named.

How do we counter this?  We have to educate people to the truth.  I know that sounds like a Pollyanna view, but this is what we are good at--education.  We have to be relentless in this educational process.  We have to push for certain policies that will get us back on track.  Reinstate the 90+% tax rate.  Charge a 50% surtax when we get into an overseas war/whatever-Orwellian-word-we-use-for-war.  Reinstate the draft.  Do what we can to make people stand up and pay attention.  The 50% war surtax and the draft will make people be engaged when big money pushes into another "armed conflict."  Go to church and fight back when the minister insists on quoting Old Testament verses to support war movements, or quotes from Paul that counter Christian values expressed in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  Do not allow the minister to endorse a candidate or an anti-Christian policy.  Boycott mega-church establishments and media events as big money is bankrolling these pharisees.  Be engaged!  Stay engaged!  Push back!  Push hard!  Demand what you know is right!

While most U.S. troops have left Iraq, we are still mired in violent conflicts in Afghanistan and there is an increasing drumbeat for war with Iran.

Numerous military and security officials from the United States and Israel have warned against an attack on Iran. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta cautioned, “The consequence could be that we would have an escalation that would take place that would not only involve many lives, but I think it could consume the Middle East in a confrontation and a conflict that we would regret.”

And Meir Dagan, former head of the Mossad (Israel’s intelligence agency) said, “[Attacking Iran is] the stupidest thing I have ever heard … It will be followed by a war with Iran. It is the kind of thing where we know how it starts, but not how it will end.”

Year after year since 2003, we have heard the numbers and the names of young Americans who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan — more than 5,000. Many more suffer from physical and mental wounds of war. And countless children, women, and men have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Have we not had enough loss of lives? Are we not ready to work for peace? I urge our president and our elected representatives to choose diplomacy — not war — with Iran.

Ann Stromquist

Iowa City

editor's note:  Ann is on the Peace Iowa Board which has been established in Iowa City.  The Board meets monthly at Old Brick and includes representation from Vets for Peace, NEA PandJ, Physicians for Peace, United Nations Association.