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Activist Times Inc. Issue 336
"I die with the conviction, held since 1968 and
Catonsville, that nuclear weapons are the scourge
of the earth; to mine for them, manufacture them,
deploy them, use them, is a curse against God, the
human family, and the earth itself."
-- Philip Berrigan, 1923-2002
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Hi,
One key aspect to ChristianAnarchy is a ton of
faith that dads and/or moms will TeachTheirChildren
the first 10-20 years of their lives EverySingleThing
they NeedToKnow leaving them able to function in all
society whether OutsideInterVention is needed and/or
imposed upon them or not.
What better time to discuss this than just before
Christmas; better place than ATI; better giver than
a Bruderhof person. Read this, and enjoy the rest
of the 'zine.
Marco
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A SEASON OF HOPE--AND BATTLE
Johann Christoph Arnold
This is the season of hope, of light coming into darkness.
For years, psychologists, educators and church leaders
have warned about subversive and decadent influences
on children in our society--the internet, pornographic
literature and films, violent video games, raunchy TV,
and so on. It's an old story: the more sexually perverted
the entertainment, the more teenagers watch it, and the
higher the ratings and the profits.
In my books on parenting, I have pointed to these dangers
and suggested that the greatest trap is not anger or abhorrence,
but indifference. And that indifference increasingly alarms me,
because public and private morals are no longer merely slipping,
but plummeting. Values most people once took for granted are
simply not expected anymore, with catastrophic effects in our
children and young people. What has happened to honor and respect
for father and mother, for one's nation, for law enforcement or
authority of any kind?
I have often pointed out how big companies, exploiting our
greed and materialism, are destroying our children. Both
business and government are now pressuring schools to excel
in academics, rather than focus on developing character and
integrity. Apparently, our culture prides itself on producing
brilliant CEOs, with Ivy League degrees and zero moral values.
We can see the bitter fruits in the recent spate of corporate
scandals.
Faced with these realities, many parents are afraid, and
with good reason, to send their children to public schools.
Every week I hear of another family pulling their children
out of public schools to teach them at home. Naturally this
solution brings its own problems, since working parents too
often are forced to give home-schooled children short shrift
as they valiantly try to earn a living and educate them at the
same time.
Further, healthy parent-child relationships are becoming
rarer and rarer, in part because children are loosing their
childhood innocence earlier and becoming jaded and worldly-
wise long before they reach adolescence. Most tragic of all,
many young people are so discouraged (and, because of the adults
around them, such strangers to the idea of long-term commitment)
that they have no desire to marry, let alone have children.
In a way, it seems that the terror of 9/11, far from
uniting people--as many predicted it would--has divided us.
Everywhere, fear and mistrust are destroying relationships.
I am not just talking about a nagging, low- level nervousness
about terrorism, the sagging stock market, or looming war in
the Middle East. Those uncertainties have become a fact of life
for everyone in recent months. I am talking about the very real
demons of fear, violence, lust, greed, and divisiveness that are
literally pushing individuals, couples, and even whole families
over the edge.
This is a global crisis--one that demands our full and undivided
attention. The Roman Empire collapsed not only because of external
invaders, but because of its own decadence and decay. It pains me
to see my own country, like the Roman Empire, self-destructing
from within. We are waging war on terror all over the world--
and meanwhile neglecting our own homes, neighborhoods, work
places, and schools.
These are the real battlefronts we ought to be concentrating
on. If only more of us realized that what really matters in
life are healthy relationships between individuals who respect
and love each other. This is the glue that holds a society
together, which no amount of prosperity, laws, or security
measures can replace.
Over a hundred years ago, the great Russian novelist
Dostoyevsky wrote:
"Everywhere in these days men have...ceased to understand
that the true security is to be found in social solidarity
rather than in isolated individual effort. But this terrible
individualism must inevitably have an end, and all will
suddenly understand how unnaturally they are separated
from one another. It will be the spirit of the time, and
people will marvel that they have sat so long in darkness
without seeing the light."
Which brings us back to the holiday season.
The answer--whether we are Christian, Muslim,
or Jew--is to believe that the God who created
us has not given up on us. This is the original
Christmas message: on a dark night 2000 years ago,
angels announced to the world, "Fear not, I bring
you good news." And the good news? A little baby
was born, pure and undefiled, bringing light into
the darkness.
Even today, new children are born into the world
every day, and each one is, to quote the Indian poet
Tagore, "a renewed message that God has not lost faith
in humankind." If the creator has no lost faith in
humanity, who are we to do so?
As Jesus taught, we will find peace and happiness when
we, too, become like children. Our only hope is to once
again encourage and appreciate wherever we can this
childlike innocence, which can still be found in small
children and sometimes in the aging. Fighting to reclaim
this carefree spirit of childhood will make life worth
living. It will take away fear and depression, bring back
a sense of purpose and security to our youth, and encourage
parents who are desperately trying to raise their children
in the face of so much adversity.
[Johann Christoph Arnold is an author, family counselor
and spokesperson for the Bruderhof movement. Read more
of his articles at http://www.bruderhof.com .]
#s
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/CIA/National%20EndowmentDemo.html
http://ender.indymedia.org/twiki/bin/view/Vancouver/HistoryofVanIMC
http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/2002/12/04_Klein.html
http://www.webactive.com/pacifica/demnow/dn20021204.html
http://www.webactive.com/pacifica/demnow/dn20021118.html
http://radio.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=1580
http://www.everreviledrecords.com/label/label.html
http://www.greaterthings.com/News/Dubya/index.html
http://www.latinousa.org/program/lusapgm345.html
http://audio.maineindymedia.org/rovicscoa.htm
http://www.counterpunch.org/brasch1202.html
http://www.secretsofthetomb.com/excerpt.php
http://katemoraine.tripod.com/justdust.html
http://www.yuppietakeover.com/statement.php
http://radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=5950
http://www.amy-martin.com/community.html
http://www.cryptome.org/tia-eyeball.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/indie/oneidas
http://muhon-nin.hypermart.net
http://zoe_mitchell.pitas.com
http://www.pastis.org/joann
http://digitaldisaster.org
http://www.bluecoupe.com
http://www.nuncamais.org
http://www.textscene.com
http://fhrg.org
LIFTING A QUOTE: More Ways Than One
"He showed us all what it meant to be free."
"Dad never seemed touched by that even in
those awful places."
"He was still free."
-- Kate Berrigan
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1210-01.htm
Did you know?
The MilkMustache campaign cost $180M to run?
[that's a
LOT of
lactose
intolerance
to be
over
ridden]
Biometric signatures of humans?
Story telling, change detection,
and truth maintenance???
Y I K E S ! ! !
http://www.darpa.mil/iao
"When this happens to innocents under classified or
secret systems such as the No-Fly lists, the public
seldom finds out about it."
-- John Gilmore
A MAGICAL HAIKU MOMENT:
TIMELESS
We love each other
An indisputable fact
Now and forever
-- Theodore, 69, Queens
SU LIN, OUR MAGIC PANDA, INTERPRETS
"This author is a grandfather who has attained great
wisdom. He is expressing the ultimate paradox: we may
not always be on this earth, yet we are always attached
to each other. An ardent passion for living such as this
exudes joy to those around them."
EXPRESS YOURSELF
An Asian form, Haiku is a non-rhyming three line poem of
5-7-5 syllables. Every other month, Su Lin will choose a
new Haiku to post on the Zen Don package... {snip}
[Taken off of a box of ZenDon Cappuccino soy milk]
THINK ABOUT IT:
Especially now, when the generals and pilots have gotten
their parades and the resisters are getting the brig,
court-martials, and harsh sentences (including the
governments threat to give resister Erik Larsen the
death penalty for desertion!) we know who this war's
true heroes are. And we must stand with the resisters,
and continue refusing to "Support The Troops."
[ref]=[http://www.oz.net/~vvawai/gulfwar/Lessons-gulf-war.html]
We end this zine as we began it,
with a Phil Berrigan quote:
"Because of myopic leadership, of greed for possessions,
a public chained to corporate media, there has been
virtually no response to these realities..."
