This year, Shabbat Across America goes 2.0, with the rebirth of the
initiative as a social-network-savvy connector of Jews everywhere. It's
got a new slogan ("Sit Down and Shabbat Up!") and a new, more inclusive
attitude toward Shabbat, in its stricter and more liberal definitions:
On SAA 2.0, users gather around virtual Shabbat
tables they create, and invite their friends--"chosen people," as the
site calls them--to share in the experience. Once invited, guests can
choose to 'bring' virtual food items (chicken soup, challah, wine),
political positions (liberal, right-wing), and social inclinations
(green, grumpy) to the table. Unlike most social networking sites
however, SAA 2.0 also encourages virtual Shabbat tables to 'get real'
by taking their table offline and into reality. Sleek design paired
with kitschy cultural references keep SAA 2.0 informal and inviting,
doing away with seriousness that might turn off a young crowd.
Curious to learn more, maybe from someone you already know? OK...
"As young Jews in their 20s and 30s become more involved in social
media sites, they seek modes of expressing their Jewish identity---and
solidarity with other Jews---in the online space," said Esther
Kustanowitz, a writer and online media consultant, citing the
proliferation of Jewish-related Facebook groups and widgets that
encourage members to customize their online identities. "SAA 2.0 was
designed to integrate with Generation Facebook, and represents a
groundbreaking way to leverage the power of online social networking to
inspire a reconnection with Jewish tradition."
Yup, that's me. I'm working with them as a consultant. (Complete press release is here.)
I have to say, connecting with other Jews over Shabbat is an excellent
way to expand your social and spiritual circles. And the kickoff for
SAA2.0--March 7th--is only the beginning. With a social network, the
site becomes a tool that's useful far beyond any one Shabbat; use it to
connect with Jews of all stripes and denominations, and even
locations--use the Wandering Jew function to tell everyone where you
are and what you're looking for Shabbatwise.
So check out www.ShabbatAcrossAmerica20.org:
sign up to be one of the Chosen People, start your own virtual or real
Shabbat tables, and start connecting to your weekend (and your
community) Jewishly.
One aspect of the American political, faith & civic arena that I am working against is the fear agenda, the pervasive use of fear to keep people stuck in a narrative that imprisons us and serves the needs of the Empire.
You can see this in the cynical words of Bill Kristol, that scion of neo-cons about whom Jon Stewart once quipped "Oh Bill Kristol, are you ever right? :
[Obama’s] riding a wave of euphoria. She [Clinton] needs to puncture it. The way you puncture euphoria is reality, or to be more blunt, fear. I recommend to Senator Clinton the politics of fear.
or in a more compelling manner, this analysis from Keith Olbermann:
what we were told about terror, and not told, for security reasons, has
overlapped considerably with what we were told about terror, and not
told, for political reasons
It is trily sad to see another politician, someone I actually have admired, take the advice of someone like Bill Kristol, follow in the footsteps of the Bush Regime and fall into this manipulative trap:
1 in 100 Americans Are Behind Bars: Highest Rate Ever
U.S. also is the leader in inmates per capita (750 per 100,000 people),
ahead of Russia (628 per 100,000) and other former Soviet bloc nations
which round out the Top 10. Incarceration rates are even higher for some groups. One in 36 Hispanic adults is behind bars, while one in 15 black adults is. While one in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, for black males in that age group the figure is one in nine. The report, from the Pew Center on the States, also found that only one in 355 white women between the ages of 35 and 39 are behind bars but that one in 100 black women are.
These photos are EXTREMELY DISTURBING - they are disgusting, they can be seen as obscene and most definitely degrading.
Disturbing enough to turn away, to ignore them, to choose not to view them.
For me, I need to see them. I need to be reminded what good people are doing in my name, what patriotic folks are doing in the name of justice and freedom, what is being done to fellow creatures of the God I worship and follow. I need to be aware & awake to the things I am condoning and even supporting through my efforts as a citizen of the United States.
Zimbardo notes in the WIRED interview:
Situations can be sufficiently powerful to undercut empathy, altruism,
morality and to get ordinary people, even good people, to be seduced
into doing really bad things -- but only in that situation.
Ethan Zuckerman liveblogged the session here - highlights for me:
We tend to argue that evil is a personal characteristic. In Abu Ghraib,
the Bush administration argued that the soldiers were good, but there
were a few bad apples. Zimbrano’s hypothesis was that the apples were
good and the barrel was bad. He’s got a unique perspective - he was an
expert witness in support of Sgt. Chip Frederick, accused of abuse in
Abu Ghraib.
Evil in systems comes from:
- mindlessly taking the first step
- dehumanizaiton of others
- anonymity
- diffusion of responsibility
- blind obedience
Understanding evil is not excusing it. We want to understand why
people engage in evil so we can avoid designing systems that cause it.
And we want to build models that make it easier where people can become
heroes. Joe Darby,
who exposed Abu Ghraib acted heroically. So did a woman who begged
Zimbrano to stop the Stanford Prison study - he calls her his heroine,
and he married her a year later. He asks us to inspire heroic
imaginations, to help create heros-in-waiting, like Wesley Autrey, who saved a man he didn’t know from being hit by a subway train: “I did what anyone could do, and what everyone ought to do.”
As a person struggling to follow God in a Jesus way, I am called to stand with the people in the photo - and with the ordinary people, even good people, seduced
into doing really bad things. They are creations of God and they are all my brothers and sisters.
For me, being awake to this is part of living in the Empire today is a central calling . This passage from Luke's Gospel helps me:
1-3By this time the crowd,
unwieldy and stepping on each other's toes, numbered into the
thousands. But Jesus' primary concern was his disciples. He said to
them, "Watch yourselves carefully so you don't get contaminated with
Pharisee yeast, Pharisee phoniness. You can't keep your true self
hidden forever; before long you'll be exposed. You can't hide behind a
religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your
true face will be known. You can't whisper one thing in private and
preach the opposite in public; the day's coming when those whispers
will be repeated all over town.
4-5"I'm
speaking to you as dear friends. Don't be bluffed into silence or
insincerity by the threats of religious bullies. True, they can kill
you, but then what can they do? There's nothing they can do to your
soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire
life—body and soul—in his hands.
6-7"What's
the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right? But
God never overlooks a single one. And he pays even greater attention to
you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So
don't be intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth more than a
million canaries.
8-9"Stand
up for me among the people you meet and the Son of Man will stand up
for you before all God's angels. But if you pretend you don't know me,
do you think I'll defend you before God's angels?
10"If
you bad-mouth the Son of Man out of misunderstanding or ignorance, that
can be overlooked. But if you're knowingly attacking God himself,
taking aim at the Holy Spirit, that won't be overlooked.
11-12"When
they drag you into their meeting places, or into police courts and
before judges, don't worry about defending yourselves—what you'll say
or how you'll say it. The right words will be there. The Holy Spirit
will give you the right words when the time comes."
One of the A-list uber-bloggers in my mind is Andrew Sullivan. One of his tricks is the Matt Yglesias Award is for writers, politicians, columnists or pundits who actually criticize their own side, make enemies among political allies.
"We've been preoccupied and polarized by two hot-button issues --
abortion and homosexuality -- for way too long. It's hard to see any
positive results out of all this conflict," - Brian McLaren, evangelical pastor.
Recent Comments