Teacher Unions and Tenure

The way I see it - anti-union forces in this nation have been skilled at pointing our the flaws of the system. Are there flaws? Are there corrupt union officials and lousy teachers? Of course there are. But such is the human condition, and it's found universally.

Every day I open the business section of the Los Angeles Times, I read of component failures, bad designs, cheap materials, counterfeit parts, management glitches, fraud, corruption and cheating. I don't see folks lining up to do away with Big Business because of this. 

So we work hard to be sure systems work ... doing away with unions, or weakening them to the point of crippling them, and throwing teachers into a high-anxiety produce-or-perish environment will only worsen American education. But conservative voices have always painted unions as the all-time worst element standing in the way of prosperity. But it's simply not true. A case could be made, using the same logic, that Big Business is the worst element standing in the way of prosperity.

It all depends on what sources we trust for our point of view - and those sources might stretch back as far as our parents, our Sunday School, as well as the news-sources to which we listen and the books we read.

Do Americans Know How to Face Death?

Do Americans know how to face death?
I'm not sure.
I'm not sure I know how.

It's unsettling to think about it.

So, we come up with polite euphemisms.
Put a happy face on it.
"What, me worry?"

When someone dies, we're likely
     To blame them.

Lack of exercise, poor diet.

Or too much stress.

"If only they had ..."
Judgment ... so much judgment in those
few words.

When someone loses a loved one.
We grant them grief for a few weeks.
And then they better get on with it.

We're surprised, maybe miffed.
When six months later.
Tears and depression arise.

Maybe even in ourselves.

Death, I don't like it.
But I have no choice.

Perhaps faith offers something.
But even Jesus dreaded the prospect of death.

No cakewalk for him.
Nor for us.

And so it goes.

We can't run away.
Nor hedge our bets.

The mad accumulation of goods
     Is a hedge.
          Against death.

And so are harsh words
     Toward the poor.
          Who can't accumulate.

"What's the matter with them?"
      Do they remind us of something?
           We'd rather not know?

So we worship the Great God MBA.
And its Wall Street Minions.

Little boys and girls in expensive suits and fast cars.
Drinking expensive liquor.
Joy-riding in the fast lane.

Escaping death.
Running from it.
Full tilt.

All the way.
No tomorrow, is there?
But sooner or later.

The last tomorrow comes.
And then what?

Death holds a few keys in its wearied hand:
     Courage.
     Humility.
     Kindness.

As for accumulation?
How about piling up hordes of mercy?
Or justice?

A little charity now and then.
But more than charity;
A whole lot of effort to transform

     The mechanisms of society.

To face life.
That's what it's all about.
To see it for what it is.

Opportunity, but limited.
With death hanging around.
And maybe that's okay.

Can't do much about it anyhow.
Except thank it for the reminder.
That life is precious.

"So, get with it," says death.
"I'm here, waiting for you."

So we learn to face life.
In the gray light of death.
To live, maybe even well.

Some of the time.
Maybe much of the time.

Because there isn't that much time.

There really isn't.

Never Tell a Young Person ...

Never.
Never tell a young person
They will run out of time.
Never.

They won't understand.
Time for the young is forever.
Time, plenty of it.
And they're mostly right.

For a while.
When time is forever.
When you're young.

So, if you need to talk about time
Running out.
Talk to someone with age
Under their belt.

They'll know what you're
Talking about ... uh huh!
They hear the clock ticking
All the time.

Damnit all, they might think.
But they know the clock ticks
for them ... for all of us.
And it's okay.

As my friend said,
"I just hope the end is easy."
Something us enders all hope for.
Us enders.

So, don't tell the young
That time runs out.
They'll think you're nuts.
And maybe that's true.

A little crazy now and then.
About life and its
Fleeting story.
Sure, that's all right.

Tell the young to go for it.
Stretch their wings.
Fly high.
Build their dreams.

The world needs their naiveté.
Their boundless energy.
Enthusiasm.
Hope and foolish daring.

Tell the young:
"You can do it."
"Don't be afraid."
"Take great risks."

The world needs this.
And the young will give it.
Until they tire.
And become enders.

And then another team takes the field.
The young benchers.
Waiting for their moment.
When Time says: "Your turn!"

Suffering and the Task of Peace-Making

Doing some digging about a part of the world that suffered mightily during WW1, yet of this time and place, we know little, what with our focus on the Western Front.

Th attached report about "refugees choking Serbian roads" and their "only food" being dead horses is a snippet of human history, but it makes me wonder about the nature of life - which seems to be mostly war and suffering interrupted by brief moments of calm and rest.

Serbian refugees arriving at Salonika Christmas morning.

Please note the brief note that follows the refugee report, about the suicide rate ...  with older workers being replaced by younger.

I think I'm clear - the task of peace is never-ending, and the drive to war is enormous. Though we decry its violence, we apparently can't help ourselves, as we plunge wildly into one conflict after another.

So press on dear friends ... the cries of the suffering are never-ending, nor are the ways of the wicked who find profit in the bloodshed and suffering.

Keep on learning and keep on agitating ... don't give up the fight for justice and peace ... keep telling the horrible truth ... and while enjoying the delights of life, keep an eye on the larger world and its needs.

Every prayer offered,
every article read,
every petition signed,
every note written,
every book read,
every cup of coffee with a friend on such matters,
every step taken in a picket line,
every effort of solidarity with the poor,
every protest against the vanities of wealth,
every tear shed for the horror of it all,
every moment of righteous indignation,
every promise made to make this a better world,
every vow taken - it all counts.

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045487/1915-11-29/ed-1/seq-3/

When Mary Anoints Jesus and Judas Complains.

When Mary anoints Jesus with Nard, the oil of death ...

Mary accepts the inevitable end of the affair - that Jesus is headed toward a very strange "glory" ... 

Meanwhile, Judas expresses his "concern" for the poor - how much better to have converted the Nard into cash, cash for charity.

But the gospel nails Judas to his peculiar cross - he really doesn't care about the poor; he's just a thief, and enjoyed carrying the money bag and taking from it when he wanted.

Jesus says to him, "You will always have the poor, but you won't always have me."

First of all, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 15.11, which further encourages kindness and generosity - it has the feel of something more than just charity, but a substantive regard for those who are on the bottom side of an economy.

With that in mind, Jesus goes to the heart of the problem for Judas - he's incapable of a genuine act of devotion to God - he can't let go of anything that's his - and that's why he's incapable of kindness to the poor, even as he uses pious words in some kind of a lame effort to shame Mary for "irresponsible act of love" and puff himself a wee bit.

In other words, the man has no heart - he cannot see beyond his greed, his deceit - he lives in a world of scarcity and fear.

In that respect, who's the poorest person in the story?

Is it not Judas? Bereft of heart and soul, without love of God or neighbor, but only the love of his money?

What a tragic man he is, and what a glorious moment for Mary - who tells the tale, and speaks the truth in the Nard-anointing, the oil of death - who doesn't have to do a little dying now and then in order to live? Who doesn't need the oil of death, the scent of mortality, the reminder of time's inevitable denouement to complete the picture, and get the head and heart on straight? Who doesn't need to give, really give, and deny the allure of scarcity and fear, and trust the higher realities of God's faithfulness and the need to give away whatever one would hope to find.

Mary is the quintessential disciple here ... she knows the truth of Jesus, that his glory will be the cross (a very strange glory, indeed) and now is as good a time as any to see this. Break out the Nard - not in joyful celebration, but in thoughtful acceptance of truth. 

While Judas can only cling to the money bag, Mary anoints Jesus, and in her moment of truth, reveals her grasp of the story and establishes what it means to be a human being!

(My thanks to Richard Rohr and his fine Lenten Book, "Wondrous Encounters: Scripture for Lent).

The Apostle Paul and Big Government

At the heart of Paul's gospel is an idea that strikes a mortal blow against all human pretension and the human inclination to then divide the race between "those who deserve something" and "those who don't."

He read the Text with great care!

It's called grace ... the love of God reaching out to those who cannot reach beyond themselves, their sorrows and their plight.

"None are righteous," says Paul, and therein he demolishes any and ever wall erected by pride of place or power.

In God's eyes, humanity is a pauper of soul, and only by divine largess, both in its initiating and in its sustaining, it is always and forever grace that enables life.

Hence, no one can claim a higher ground, either in the initial awakening, or in whatever good fortune, spiritual or material, may emerge.

Only God's Big Government is big enough to undertake the rebuilding of God's earth - devastated by greed and its demented cousin, War!

The Biblical Message of Grace is the ultimate Liberal Agenda, a Progressive ideal, and when embraced, can only generate the healthiest of all emotions: humility before life, especially if life has been favorable, and kindness toward one another, especially those for whom life has been less than favorable.

No wonder the Medieval Church didn't want people reading the Bible, and no wonder Evangelical Preachers chop it up into tiny little bits and pieces, and then rework it all to become a "personal message of salvation" (which it isn't) or a "Harvard Business Model for Success" (not even close). These are the forces arrayed against Grace, those they tout their own righteousness and speak easily of Jesus, as if they were all his political advisors.

Nevertheless ...

It's God's Big Government, intervening in the affairs of humankind,  injecting massive amounts of spiritual wealth into the human system, that puts Humpty Dumpty together again. 

And to God be the glory ...

All information is slanted ...

All "information" has a slant … nothing is neutral … it's all on where we begin.

If one begins with "abortion is murder and thus must be outlawed," we find information that conforms to that opinion. If, on the other hand, we believe that a "woman's choice is an important element in her health care, and that abortion is a legitimate choice," then we find information that conforms to that.

We have to always dig deeper, more than likely into our personality, family patterns, personal history, and a variety of other factors, social and psychological, as to why we make the decisions we do.

If and when we share out of the deeps of our being, it always has the aroma of authenticity, because it comes from our deeps, and not from some political or ideological source (both liberals and conservatives can suffer from this syndrome). When we share from the deeps, we're honest in our humility and can admit that truth is our opinion of it, and we can hope and pray that we've made a good effort at it. But we cannot claim a higher authority.

We can seek, however, to be well-read, and to hold our opinions lightly. It's okay to have an opinion; that's what life is all about. I'll stand firm on my opinions, and do the best I can to see that my opinions see the light of day.

Hence, I'm pro-choice, have been pro-choice for decades, and I've given it a lot of thought. And in my own take of things, that makes me pro-life. Those who believe abortion is evil and must be outlawed have worked at it, too. So, there we are.

Let's be honest - we have our opinions, and while we'd like to think that our opinion is better than other opinions, none can make that claim - all we can do is muster what science and history we can find, think it through, and offer it up to the world as coherently as we can. Time will help clarify … though not even centuries can clear up some questions.