Shout Out Time!

Why, I think I’ll mention some stuff I like!

Let’s start the day off with the cast of High Fidelity coming to life in a Columbus, OH living room.  Written by Andy Whitman, a dude who writes great music reviews as well as thoughts on American culture and the Christian faith.

Have you ever heard of a Craft Social?  They exist in different forms around the country, but the one I linked to is the Chicago one.  It’s an evening to get together with friends and other crafters to work on different craft projects.  You can bring your own stuff, or you can float around to the different tables, each which offers a different project to work on.  I’ve attended a couple of these and walked away with a decoupaged cup coaster, spiral notebook with cereal box covers, keychains, cute cards/envelopes and I forget what else.  You should see if there’s one in your neck of the woods, they’re super fun!

This is a photo from a previous Craft Social, which has been held in my old church’s lobby . . . the upcoming Social will be at a cool new location which I’ve been to a couple times for work retreats:

Catalyst Ranch, downtown Chicago.  Check out their website for great photos of their AMAZING colorful, retro/vintage space.

Last, I LOVE LOVE LOVE these maps in flickr that show racial distribution in the U.S.’s major cities.  Check out your city, are you surprised?  Is the place you live considered racially diverse?  If so, is all that diversity mixed together, or segregated?  Do you think the segregation is by choice?  Due to circumstance?  What keeps your area segregated?

you should see inside my mind right now.

on the outside i am an american, middle class, working, married, mother of 3, enjoying cute shoes and coca cola and netflix . . . . . . but on the inside i am nationless and my only responsibility is to feeding the poor and healing the sick and sharing the good news of christ and forcing people (including myself) to look at how their selfishness and self-indulgence is experienced at the same time that so many are literally dying because they can't even get rice or beans to put in their stomachs, can't get a $5 shot for malaria or tuberculosis. a $5 shot i could pay for if my outside self didn't buy that mocha frappucino. a $5 shot my outside self doesn't think is my reponsibility to provide because the person who needs it wasn't born in the same country as me, isn't the same religion as me, has darker skin than me.

will these 2 selves ever be able to co-exist peacefully?

remember at the end of schindler's list when the jews he is able to "buy" from the concentration camp present him with the gold ring as a token of their appreciation for what he did for them? and he breaks down, realizing that he could have sold his car and "bought out" more from the concentration camp so they wouldn't have had to die. i imagine that he looks back over the years that he made so much money, all the fine-dining, all the tailored suits, the cars, the mansions. and he realizes that at the end of the day, those things are gone, they mean nothing, but there are people who could have been saved with the money he spent on those things . . . and he didn't save them. as much good as he did by helping the people he DID help -- he could have done more.

it is very easy for us to make excuses and say, "think about the good things we have done" so that we can go to bed at night. we say, "it will never change, there will always be the poor, you can't save the entire world yourself."

how?

how can we justify living the lifestyles that we do when there are humans on this planet who are dying like this?

.

Independence from America

it's the little things that are said that make me not want to talk about money.

people will be talking about doing their nursery really cute, because "a baby HAS to have a nursery" or upgrading to a new house so that each of their kids can have their own room, because "kids NEED their own space."

or someone will be talking about their maternity leave and saying "why would anyone EVER go back to work before 3 months?"

it's all these "have to/never/must" terms that TEACH ME that my lifestyle is seen as unacceptable - at least by my peers.

i could go on & on with the examples, but i hear it all day long. my whole life i have tended to be a lower-middle-class kid who was surrounded by middle & upper-middle class (some downright wealthy) peers, i have ALWAYS felt the scrutiny and confusion others have towards the way i live.

"why don't you just . . . ?" as if "just" doing something is so simple. "just put it on your credit card." "just get a loan." "just dip into your savings."

at some point, though, i had to realllllly examine what was most important to me, and whether or not i felt like american standards of lifestyle held water. there are many people who would look at my family & consider us poor, from our lack of certain resources to where we live to the condition of our car to countless other things. but i have come to the belief that these trappings do not hold some magic happy ending or satisfaction. i enjoy my life. even as "poor" as i am, i live a luxurious lifestyle compared to most in the world. i have access to LOTS of resources. i have an able body & mind. i have good health coverage. i have a job. i have a roof over my head that has working heat & cool air. good plumbing. a washer & dryer that takes quarters but is right outside my backdoor. my car isn't pretty but it runs. i have money for the gas in it. i even (finally) have money to insure it. i have enough money to feed my family and enough to splurge every once in a while on eating out, treats, inexpensive trips to see family, a few birthday & christmas presents and hobbies.

i make use of the free resources around me like the zoo and the library and the forest preserve and the lake and if someone wants to look down on me because i plan my visits to museums on free days, or can't go because i don't have the gas to get into the city & don't have enough for the bus, then so be it.

i live a full life and i am working hard to come to terms with the fact that it isn't the american dream. i am working to examine the american dream and its FALSE promises of happiness and satisfaction.

/rant. :)

There's a guy onthe internet named John McCollum who I stumbled across one day (my guess he also exists in real life) -- below are 3 blog posts of his that touch on how he views America.

In the last few years my thoughts on patriotism, faith and how the 2 intersect have bounced around all over the place. I wasn't even sure if I was going to vote anymore because I have such a problem with our political process (the funding, the parties, the EC, the lobbies, etc), and problems with people of faith getting more fired up about politics than they do their God. (I did end up voting, if you're wondering).

Anyway -- I read these blog entries quite a while ago but they were on my mind today so I thought I'd link to them so you can have a look. I identify with a lot of what he talks about.

Part 1: To Love One's Country

Part 2: The Country I Love

Part 3: Continuing the Conversation