I'm reading Gil Rendle's engaging book on "The Multigenerational Congregation." His general thesis is that our congregations have large clusters of members of the "GI" generation, and large clusters of (late) baby boomers, and very few folks in-between those two groups. This leads to a creative tension that can sometimes turn into disconnects in the congregation as the pre-1946 (people 63 and over) act based on their values and assumptions and the post-1946 generation (post '56 are who you'll mostly find in a congregation) act based on their values and assumptions.
If you think about the disagreements you've witnessed in your congregation you may find that this fits.
I haven't gotten to the part where he explains how to overcome these disconnects (though I have some ideas), but I got to thinking about the health care debates, the racial sub-text (and sometimes main-text) in our national dialogues now.
Are we having the same generational disconnect around health care, environmental protection, equal marriage, etc? and are we having the debates, all over again, that raged between Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Dubois?
There may be more parallels (and I invite folks' contributions) but what struck me first was the three characteristics of the "GI" generation named by Rendle (paraphrasing mine):
1) Delayed gratification: the idea is that if you keep your own nose clean, hunker down, and just work hard, it will come right in the end. Washington advocated this approach, even using it to postpone agitation for civil rights.
2) Identification with the group: the idea is that the group is the norm and individuals need to conform to the group. Washington demanded, and received fierce loyalty from his followers, condemning those who broke away from the 'party line.' This idea is also used to establish white middle class reality as The Reality and thus to marginalize all other people. There were epithets to refer to black people acting like white people in Booker T. Washington's day, and they were leveled at him.
3) An assumption of sameness that arose from an assumption that there was such a thing as a single truth or a single right way that all should adhere to. This 'one-size-fits-all' approach to truth prevented white americans from hearing the unique experiences of black americans, prevented people with power from recognizing the goods of diversity, and led many black americans to accept the pronouncements about truth that fell from B.T. Washington's lips.
I will leave the conclusions that may be drawn about current events, and individual congregations to my readers.
For a positive spin on delayed gratification see the T.E.D. talk on "Don't Eat the Marshmallow." I also feel very strongly that identification with the human race, across difference, and indeed with all life, is critical for the future of our survival. As with everything, there are pros and cons to the life stance of the GI generation.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
The dream of reconstruction
A quick thought... I'm reading my texts for a J-Term (January) class. Just learned something that either didn't stick, or wasn't taught, in history class. During the reconstruction, post civil war, people in southern states turned out in record numbers to vote. Setting aside the fact the women were denied the vote at that time, the fact is that previously disenfranchised people, including poor whites, were having a say in government for the first time. This is the time when public education was first founded in a serious way in the United States of America. What an amazing legacy. At that time there were two black Senators in the US Senate. (A high-water mark we are having a hard time eclipsing more than 100 years later!)
This is also the time when priviliged individuals, who were used to concentrating the community's wealth into their own pockets, reacted. They responded with a "states rights" argument, and an anti-socialism argument, and a campaign to discredit black people and working class people. The campaign succeeded, eliminating all but a few token people of color in positions of power by 1876. The campaign included violence, in the form of the KKK and others, in a terrorist action that used intimidation and assassination to eliminate the progress made during reconstruction.
The paralells to our current debates are chilling. The individuals who are calling for "the good old days", states rights, capitalism uber-allis, and a demonization of people of color and poor people, are continuing the tradition that partnered with lynchings, disenfranchisement, and oppression until, at least, the civil rights era of the 60's, and in reality, until now.
Frankly I really, really, do not want to go back to the "good old days" because those were the days of slavery, where women "knew their place", and immigrants and free people of color were pitted against each other. Some days I have some real trouble telling those days from these. Other days I'm very very grateful for the civil rights struggle led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Frederick Douglass through Martin Luther King and now... Moveon.com.
Let the dream of true democracy that was expressed so fervently during reconstruction never die, and may we all continue the struggle for human rights and dignity. Senator Kennedy was one of our companions in that struggle. I thank him for all the good he was able to achieve, and hope that we can remain faithful to the work that must be done.
This is also the time when priviliged individuals, who were used to concentrating the community's wealth into their own pockets, reacted. They responded with a "states rights" argument, and an anti-socialism argument, and a campaign to discredit black people and working class people. The campaign succeeded, eliminating all but a few token people of color in positions of power by 1876. The campaign included violence, in the form of the KKK and others, in a terrorist action that used intimidation and assassination to eliminate the progress made during reconstruction.
The paralells to our current debates are chilling. The individuals who are calling for "the good old days", states rights, capitalism uber-allis, and a demonization of people of color and poor people, are continuing the tradition that partnered with lynchings, disenfranchisement, and oppression until, at least, the civil rights era of the 60's, and in reality, until now.
Frankly I really, really, do not want to go back to the "good old days" because those were the days of slavery, where women "knew their place", and immigrants and free people of color were pitted against each other. Some days I have some real trouble telling those days from these. Other days I'm very very grateful for the civil rights struggle led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Frederick Douglass through Martin Luther King and now... Moveon.com.
Let the dream of true democracy that was expressed so fervently during reconstruction never die, and may we all continue the struggle for human rights and dignity. Senator Kennedy was one of our companions in that struggle. I thank him for all the good he was able to achieve, and hope that we can remain faithful to the work that must be done.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Racism, Single-Payer Health Care, and a Public Option
I've held off posting on this as the issues continue to be complex and to change shape. However, the announcement from Gibbs, at the white house, and the clip of Obama, both backpedalling on the public option for health care reform have made me mad!
There are legitimate concerns about the bills coming out of committee so far... How to pay and where the savings will be found are two complex and worrisome items. I appreciate the conservative voices asking questions. This will make the final reform better.
However, the rabble-rousing, lies, rumor, and hate-mongering must stop! The sad thing is that it isn't just Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh who are speaking lies and inciting fear and anger. Senators, Congresspeople, Sarah Palin, and official spokes-people of lobbyist front-groups like "Patient's First" are feeding the fear and anger.
Inciting to riot. Inciting to assassination. Inciting to threats of violence. Results in death threats, swasticas on posters and defacing public property... Results in people attending Presidential Town Hall meetings wearing guns and sporting the same slogan Timothy McVeigh wore on his t-shirt.
We've already seen what such rhetoric results in. The anti-abortion activists have killed and injured. And they have successfully terrorized officials and service providers so that safe, legal, late-term abortions are nearly impossible to get in most states now.
I'm also concerned about the tactic of inciting white resentment and fear on racial grounds. Tim Wise describes this well: here. Supporting his argument is this article from AFL-CIO site, pointing out the fear and reaction to change and its association with race. Texas may bar students from learning about Chavez, Thurgood Marshall. Finally, Melissa Harris-Lacewell spotted this tactic and named it early on in this video.
A single payer solution to health care would benefit all Americans except for the privileged few who are making money from the current state of the industry. We have successfully done it for veterans. We've mostly successfully done it with Medicare/Medicaid, other countries are providing far superior outcomes for their citizens through state run health care. The facts are so clear that the mere fact that the debate has grown shrill, involves guns and fists and hate-speech, shows that the debate is not about health care. It is about something else, and that something else, I believe, is race.
Come on Americans: Thomas Jefferson regretted his compromise around slavery and the fact that the country he helped to found did not live up to his vision and his words. We still have a chance to fulfill the vision of a land where we believe that everyone is created equal, and has certain inalienable rights, including equal protection under the law and the ability to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.
Let your congresspeople know that you support fair health care for all, and that you do not plan to be distracted by racial politics and fear-mongering. See Move On for signs, schedules, etc. and stay informed! I rely on Rachel Maddow.
There are legitimate concerns about the bills coming out of committee so far... How to pay and where the savings will be found are two complex and worrisome items. I appreciate the conservative voices asking questions. This will make the final reform better.
However, the rabble-rousing, lies, rumor, and hate-mongering must stop! The sad thing is that it isn't just Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh who are speaking lies and inciting fear and anger. Senators, Congresspeople, Sarah Palin, and official spokes-people of lobbyist front-groups like "Patient's First" are feeding the fear and anger.
Inciting to riot. Inciting to assassination. Inciting to threats of violence. Results in death threats, swasticas on posters and defacing public property... Results in people attending Presidential Town Hall meetings wearing guns and sporting the same slogan Timothy McVeigh wore on his t-shirt.
We've already seen what such rhetoric results in. The anti-abortion activists have killed and injured. And they have successfully terrorized officials and service providers so that safe, legal, late-term abortions are nearly impossible to get in most states now.
I'm also concerned about the tactic of inciting white resentment and fear on racial grounds. Tim Wise describes this well: here. Supporting his argument is this article from AFL-CIO site, pointing out the fear and reaction to change and its association with race. Texas may bar students from learning about Chavez, Thurgood Marshall. Finally, Melissa Harris-Lacewell spotted this tactic and named it early on in this video.
A single payer solution to health care would benefit all Americans except for the privileged few who are making money from the current state of the industry. We have successfully done it for veterans. We've mostly successfully done it with Medicare/Medicaid, other countries are providing far superior outcomes for their citizens through state run health care. The facts are so clear that the mere fact that the debate has grown shrill, involves guns and fists and hate-speech, shows that the debate is not about health care. It is about something else, and that something else, I believe, is race.
Come on Americans: Thomas Jefferson regretted his compromise around slavery and the fact that the country he helped to found did not live up to his vision and his words. We still have a chance to fulfill the vision of a land where we believe that everyone is created equal, and has certain inalienable rights, including equal protection under the law and the ability to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.
Let your congresspeople know that you support fair health care for all, and that you do not plan to be distracted by racial politics and fear-mongering. See Move On for signs, schedules, etc. and stay informed! I rely on Rachel Maddow.
Friday, August 14, 2009
"Deathers" versus good sense
I've been watching in amazement as lobby groups, Republican lawmakers, and right-wing "pundits" whip Americans into fear-fueled anger through outright lies. I admit to being a bit of a Pollyanna. I constantly assume that people wish to act with honor and to use words, not violence, to get their way. I'm frequently disillusioned, painfully, but keep holding onto hope for the future.
Meanwhile, I want to put in a word for good sense.
If you haven't taken a look at the Five Wishes web site, do so now (http://fivewishes.org.) this is a fine organization advocating for living wills/advance directives with a heart.
First, and most importantly:
1. You will not have YOUR wishes followed unless you communicate them clearly.
2. You will not be able to communicate them clearly once you are on a ventilator, unconscious, brain damaged, or otherwise incapacitated.
3. MOST deaths are NOT instant, where there would be no decisions to be made. Most deaths in the US are NOT at home, surrounded by family and friends, they are in hospitals surrounded by machines and tubes and extreme interventions that YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to make decisions about!
4. You will die. Don't you want as much control over that as you can reasonably get?
5. Communicate now, not later.
Whether you prefer profit-driven corporations or the government administering your health care payments has NOTHING to do with your right to make your own decisions about how you are cared for.
I cannot say strongly enough: Not only do you owe it to yourself, you owe it to your loved ones, and even to the doctors and nurses who are faced with impossible decisions, to put something in writing.
During my hospital chaplaincy internship I listened to a nurse, almost in tears, speaking about the torture of extensive, invasive, medical treatment provided to a woman who, luckily, came out of her coma long enough to say "Stop". This patient died a few weeks later, peacefully, without machines invading her every function and putting a barrier between her and her loving family.
Another patient DID want everything done that could be done, and his story was, luckily, a happy one, as he is now undergoing the months of retraining and therapy to regain use of his body and brain, and experts have hope that he will someday be able to live a full life again.
Another patient came in with a five wishes document and the social worker shared with me her joy and gratitude that she didn't have to work with quarreling family in extremity, doctors with varied perspectives on the definition of their jobs, or confused and helpless nurses attempting to guess what the patient might like. She had worked in a hospital long enough to know that "it can't happen to me" happened to people all of the time.
It doesn't matter which route you want to take: put your wishes on paper. It doesn't matter if you expect to change your mind. It is easy to change the documents later. If you don't know how to make these decisions, talk to your spiritual advisor, talk to your physician, check out the fivewishes.org web site. (The donation is worth it, they provide lots of useful information as well as the forms.)
And remind anyone who is frightened by the "deather" lies that a living will is about putting choice into the hands of the patient. It is the OPPOSITE of the rumors. Take control of your end of life decisions. Make a death plan. It is as important as a birth plan, as important as how you plan to care for your children, as important as how much you love your family, as important as how much you respect your self. Just do it.
[Update on 8/20/09 - Check out pages 425-432 on language about end of life decision-making in the current bill. at this site. You can also check at the urbanlegends.com site for more info)
Meanwhile, I want to put in a word for good sense.
If you haven't taken a look at the Five Wishes web site, do so now (http://fivewishes.org.) this is a fine organization advocating for living wills/advance directives with a heart.
First, and most importantly:
1. You will not have YOUR wishes followed unless you communicate them clearly.
2. You will not be able to communicate them clearly once you are on a ventilator, unconscious, brain damaged, or otherwise incapacitated.
3. MOST deaths are NOT instant, where there would be no decisions to be made. Most deaths in the US are NOT at home, surrounded by family and friends, they are in hospitals surrounded by machines and tubes and extreme interventions that YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to make decisions about!
4. You will die. Don't you want as much control over that as you can reasonably get?
5. Communicate now, not later.
Whether you prefer profit-driven corporations or the government administering your health care payments has NOTHING to do with your right to make your own decisions about how you are cared for.
I cannot say strongly enough: Not only do you owe it to yourself, you owe it to your loved ones, and even to the doctors and nurses who are faced with impossible decisions, to put something in writing.
During my hospital chaplaincy internship I listened to a nurse, almost in tears, speaking about the torture of extensive, invasive, medical treatment provided to a woman who, luckily, came out of her coma long enough to say "Stop". This patient died a few weeks later, peacefully, without machines invading her every function and putting a barrier between her and her loving family.
Another patient DID want everything done that could be done, and his story was, luckily, a happy one, as he is now undergoing the months of retraining and therapy to regain use of his body and brain, and experts have hope that he will someday be able to live a full life again.
Another patient came in with a five wishes document and the social worker shared with me her joy and gratitude that she didn't have to work with quarreling family in extremity, doctors with varied perspectives on the definition of their jobs, or confused and helpless nurses attempting to guess what the patient might like. She had worked in a hospital long enough to know that "it can't happen to me" happened to people all of the time.
It doesn't matter which route you want to take: put your wishes on paper. It doesn't matter if you expect to change your mind. It is easy to change the documents later. If you don't know how to make these decisions, talk to your spiritual advisor, talk to your physician, check out the fivewishes.org web site. (The donation is worth it, they provide lots of useful information as well as the forms.)
And remind anyone who is frightened by the "deather" lies that a living will is about putting choice into the hands of the patient. It is the OPPOSITE of the rumors. Take control of your end of life decisions. Make a death plan. It is as important as a birth plan, as important as how you plan to care for your children, as important as how much you love your family, as important as how much you respect your self. Just do it.
[Update on 8/20/09 - Check out pages 425-432 on language about end of life decision-making in the current bill. at this site. You can also check at the urbanlegends.com site for more info)
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