Moving on

Spineless

So last year one of the few reasons I was glad for a new political party to assume control of congress was to finally hold the executive branch accountable to the constitution and to the law.  Turns out that my hope was wasted, and the democratic congress is a waste of breath.  The new attorney general is so scarred to get the Bush administration in trouble he can't even go on record to say that waterboarding is torture.  Yet, congress will give him the rubber stamp.  Shameless.  Its hard not to become apathetic when no one will stand up for your deeply held values.  But the one glimmer of hope is that the public is slowly coming around, if only congress would listen.

Tell your congressional representatives to support the Kennedy ammendment to the military tribunals act to outlaw waterboarding!  And as 2008 rolls around, support the candidates who'll return honor and civility to the armed forces (so far the only viable candidates to go on record promising an end to torture are Obama and McCain).

Ask, "Who would Jesus torture?" and keep hope alive.

Currently Listening Essence By Lucinda Williams see related

Hunting, is it right?

I don't eat a whole lot of meat (for an American) but my conscience moves me to eat less than I currently do to be a more responsible consumer of creation's gifts.  Meat is an inefficient food supply, requiring many more acres of agricultural land than an equivalent vegetable crop (and Ronald Reagan was right, bovine methane is a major contributor to greenhouse gas).  My personal philosophy that I aspire to is this: when I am a guest and meat is served to me, I do not abstain.  When I know where my meat comes from and that it is treated humanely (vegetarian fed, hormone-free, free range, and preferably local) I eat with clean conscience, and all this in moderation to recognize that in most places meat is a delicacy and a luxury (not a staple).

I also think that we Americans are to unfamiliar with our meat.  It comes neatly wrapped and pre-prepared so we don't have to deal with the ugly realities that our dinner once had four legs and walked the earth.  Most of our grandparents lived in this reality.  Some still do.  I have great admiration/envy for those fortunate to live “off the grid” and as part of that will occasionally hunt to supplement their diet as a matter of health and survival.

But a recent conversation I shared with my spouse has me thinking about the ethics of sport hunting.  For one; by its very name it says this is not something necessary for survival but something done for entertainment.  It could be countered, “I don’t do it just  for the trophy,” but does a freezer full of venison really equal sustenance?   I think for a large majority, the food is inconsequential, it is the trophy that motivates—the sport of killing an animal.  Secondly and what may be surprising is that my main objection is less about the animals but more about the money.  See if you can follow me here:

Though U.S. urban areas are blighted with poverty, the average face of poverty in this country is actually a rural one.  Poor people don’t golf or ski, because they can’t afford to.  The sport of choice in urban areas is most often basketball because you can play it any where with minimal equipment.  One of the most popular sports in rural America is hunting, but this is not an economical alternative like basketball is to urban youth.  I’m not a hunter, but as I understand it there is a raging market for hunting supplies (guns, bows, ammo, stands, hunting clothes, boots, camping gear, the giant pickup, the ATV, and vacation hours)—this is thousands and thousands of dollars being poured into the sport!  When so many families struggle to get by in rural America, could not the economic resources of rural communities be better invested in family life!

My critique is mostly against the capitalistic culture of hunting; we’ve taken a practice original intended for sustenance and survival and made it an “unsportsmanlike” excess.  Excess, America’s favorite vice.

I know that I could be coming across as a pinko city boy who doesn’t know what he’s talking about.  I can concede that.  I merely ask the question; is the current hunting culture good for America’s rural communities?  Is it justifiable by a Christian ethic of stewardship?  It’s also not my intention to single out the outdoors enthusiast; I can ask the question about so many of our entertainment pursuits.  My thinking is far from settled on the matter, but it is worth thinking about.

Cheese of the Week: Bathtub

On Immigration, Part II