final musings
Well time to process. Always the best part. I have had a couple of days rest and recovery but I still do not feel like I am back in the States. It really doesn't feel like I am anywhere. Maybe this is what Thomas Merton meant when he said we need to find our home within ourselves? I doubt it though, it's probably just the amoebas. All in all, it was an amazing experience and I was very blessed to have it. I was not quite sure what I was doing down there, but now that it is over, I am thankful for the learning experience and friends I made. I learned so much about the world, another culture and people, politics, international development, Spanish and some Kaqchikel, made some great friends in Guatemala and from other places all over the world, got some experience in development projects, learned some patience with myself and with others, a bit more confidence in myself (the good kind)...not bad for a couple of months.
When I left Nueva Providencia, the Fish Farm was just about to be started. Rick, Kush, and the other fellas working with it say they are all set to start construction. It is kind of a bummer not being around for that, but I think I served my part. I can speak fluent Spanish when it comes to plumbing, construction materials, measurements, etc. It will be exciting to return and see what becomes of the project. I hope it works out. There are some skeptics there, especially on how quickly it will be finished, but if I learned anything in Guatemala it's that they have the time.
People have different ways of living. My lifestyle is not the same as a Mayan from Uspatan, and it is not supposed to be. But when the differences are that I have adequate healthcare, a decent education, potable water, religious and political freedoms and that he does not, there is a problem. Something I hear quite a bit of is how that God did not make all of us equal. Many times this is said to self-justify our own actions or obscure some moral responsibility or immoral action, but I think it is true. I cannot play basketball like MJ or write like Tolstoy. I cannot make tortilla out of corn like a Mayan woman. Equality is a term that applies to our gift and talents as well as our responsibilities. But equality also demands opportunity. Justice demands opportunities for healthcare, education, work, housing. When someone lacks this there is something wrong. We cannot blame "backwards living" or "uncivilized savages" for a poverty that is no one person's fault but everyone's responsibility. But I feel like I am beginning to sound too much like Bono, so just one more thing.
We have more than we could ever need. When we start talking about issues of justice, charity, equality, human rights, solidarity, etc. we are actively recognizing a responsibility that all of us have to each other:
"Mother, little heart of mine," he said (he had begun using such strange caressing words at that time), "little heart of mine, my joy, believe me, every one is really responsible to all men for all men and for everything. I don't know how to explain it to you, but I feel it is so, painfully even. And how is it we went on then living, getting angry, and not knowing."
-Young Father Zossima (Dostoevsky, Brothers Karamazov)
On the special features of the movie Syriana, director Michael Gagghan speaks about how everyone is responsible for the global oil situation we are facing. It all comes down to personal responsibility. No one in their right mind is going to connect the oil in your gas tank to the dying Iraqi women and children in the Middle East and you not buying gas isn't going to end a war. But those responsible for such actions, oil CEOS, Government officials, etc. are agents of our choices. By us continuing to buy gas, we are telling them that whatever it is they are doing is ok. It seems to be more of a symbolic act then, not buying oil, but it is more of a personal rejection to the values and choices that we do not want to be responsible for. That is what justice and solidarity demands. It demands that we individualize each choice, each decision and ask ourselves if we are comfortable with all the implications that come along with it. Am I at peace with my Nike shoes and the Thai teenager who is working 12 hour shifts for minimal wages under conditions of at best, 15 minute breaks every few hours or at worst, sexual harassment and rape? Can I drink my Maxwell house coffee knowing it takes a farmer one day picking beans to make barely enough to buy food for the day? Will I drive my car when I know full well I can walk? Personal responsibility in justice and solidarity require sacrifice. Public Policy and Corporate functioning is not going to change because I decided to drink water out of the faucet instead of buying a Coke, but I am at peace with myself knowing I am not actively participating in that chain of injustice and violence.
When I left Nueva Providencia, the Fish Farm was just about to be started. Rick, Kush, and the other fellas working with it say they are all set to start construction. It is kind of a bummer not being around for that, but I think I served my part. I can speak fluent Spanish when it comes to plumbing, construction materials, measurements, etc. It will be exciting to return and see what becomes of the project. I hope it works out. There are some skeptics there, especially on how quickly it will be finished, but if I learned anything in Guatemala it's that they have the time.
People have different ways of living. My lifestyle is not the same as a Mayan from Uspatan, and it is not supposed to be. But when the differences are that I have adequate healthcare, a decent education, potable water, religious and political freedoms and that he does not, there is a problem. Something I hear quite a bit of is how that God did not make all of us equal. Many times this is said to self-justify our own actions or obscure some moral responsibility or immoral action, but I think it is true. I cannot play basketball like MJ or write like Tolstoy. I cannot make tortilla out of corn like a Mayan woman. Equality is a term that applies to our gift and talents as well as our responsibilities. But equality also demands opportunity. Justice demands opportunities for healthcare, education, work, housing. When someone lacks this there is something wrong. We cannot blame "backwards living" or "uncivilized savages" for a poverty that is no one person's fault but everyone's responsibility. But I feel like I am beginning to sound too much like Bono, so just one more thing.
We have more than we could ever need. When we start talking about issues of justice, charity, equality, human rights, solidarity, etc. we are actively recognizing a responsibility that all of us have to each other:
"Mother, little heart of mine," he said (he had begun using such strange caressing words at that time), "little heart of mine, my joy, believe me, every one is really responsible to all men for all men and for everything. I don't know how to explain it to you, but I feel it is so, painfully even. And how is it we went on then living, getting angry, and not knowing."
-Young Father Zossima (Dostoevsky, Brothers Karamazov)
On the special features of the movie Syriana, director Michael Gagghan speaks about how everyone is responsible for the global oil situation we are facing. It all comes down to personal responsibility. No one in their right mind is going to connect the oil in your gas tank to the dying Iraqi women and children in the Middle East and you not buying gas isn't going to end a war. But those responsible for such actions, oil CEOS, Government officials, etc. are agents of our choices. By us continuing to buy gas, we are telling them that whatever it is they are doing is ok. It seems to be more of a symbolic act then, not buying oil, but it is more of a personal rejection to the values and choices that we do not want to be responsible for. That is what justice and solidarity demands. It demands that we individualize each choice, each decision and ask ourselves if we are comfortable with all the implications that come along with it. Am I at peace with my Nike shoes and the Thai teenager who is working 12 hour shifts for minimal wages under conditions of at best, 15 minute breaks every few hours or at worst, sexual harassment and rape? Can I drink my Maxwell house coffee knowing it takes a farmer one day picking beans to make barely enough to buy food for the day? Will I drive my car when I know full well I can walk? Personal responsibility in justice and solidarity require sacrifice. Public Policy and Corporate functioning is not going to change because I decided to drink water out of the faucet instead of buying a Coke, but I am at peace with myself knowing I am not actively participating in that chain of injustice and violence.
posted by Unknown at 12:28 a. m.
1 Comments:
Hey! As Dr. Mutter would say "Good stuff!" It is so important to recognize our diferent talents and abilities and realize we are all different we are not equal. if we all were we would all look, act and be hte same. if God wanted us to be equal like that he would have done it and then loving one another would be easy because there is apart of all of us that loves ourselves more than most. We can deny it all we want, but that is why the greatest love is sacrifical life, to put another's needs and desires before one's own. Anyway, i liked it. Thoroughly enjoyed the blog and the pictures (BEAUTIFUL!) mi hermano. thanks. have fun adjusting to life in Winoner... slightly similar bluffs-volcanos, people in need of an advocate, people to teach you important lessons, drinking buddies, socially conscious workers, opportunities for growth, so i guess it isn't that different after all. Just a matter of perspective.
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