The Bottom Line

Capitalism is all about profits and the bottom line. Free enterprise is about being responsible for your own economic destiny. Capitalism is considered free enterprise, but not the other way around. As Christians, we should not be going for the American dream of living the good life, making a pile of money at the expense of other, less fortunate individuals. As Christians, we need to focus on providing goods and services that will improve the lives of our fellow global citizens, regardless of profit margins. I have been listening to some Tony Campolo podcasts, and they have further stimulated my thinking, beyond the fodder for thought his book Red Letter Christians has provided. If you've never downloaded his podcasts, I highly recommend it - I just love the way this guy talks! He discusses topics ranging from global warming to economics to gun control to immigration - all from a Christian perspective.

Last weekend I picked up a copy of Good magazine - it was their slogan that captured my attention: For People That Give a Damn. I'll be subscribing to this one. The issue I bought is all about China, and the impact they are having on our planet. China is in the news a lot these days - the Olympic games in Beijing this August, the Tibetan crackdown, greenhouse gases, oil conglomerates with pariah nations in Africa, etc. One alarming statistic is this: American citizens owe the Chinese government $3 trillion dollars in mortgages! Why? Because American mortgage companies are selling their loans to China. Do you find that as scary as I do? And this doesn't even touch the eyeball-leveled debt our government and corporations are in for weapons and other cheaply-produced items. I challenge you to go to Wal-Mart and find one item that was made in the U.S. - good luck.

As you may or may not know, I joined with several hundred other activists around the country last year to level an attack on China due to its indirect involvement in the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, by its weapon sales to and oil purchases from the Government of Sudan. But I've backed off a bit, and have begun to rethink my position, based on the hypocrisy of my own nation. What have we done to stop the genocide in Darfur, other than fall terribly short on our commitments to fund the peacekeeping mission?

We recently condemned Russia for its government's use of torture, yet President Bush recently vetoed a bill that would ban torture in interrogations! What gives him the right to criticize the rest of the world for practices to which he adheres? Makes no sense to me.

The war in Iraq and increased global militarization in general has created such a "brain drain" of U.S. scientists and researchers working to come up with more advanced weaponry, that we have no resources available to research, improve, and produce viable products to be sold on the global market - we're getting our butts kicked in this area. Our economy is based entirely on consumption, not production, and this continues to put us in a position of indebtedness to the rest of the world. This will come back to haunt us one day.

How can we be part of the change? How can we be more conscientious buyers, concerned less with finding the cheapest shirt on the rack and concerned more with the beaten and discarded bodies of the people producing that shirt? How can we help indigenous people groups in the developing world maintain a life of dignity, self-reliance, and peace while having their essential needs as humans met in a community fostered by love and cooperation with others?

Tamara's Story

So I'm going to write my first (maybe last!) fictional work - Tamara's Story. It's going to be a work in progress, and you will read the chapters as I write them. And I will take your comments - you can help me shape Tamara's Story. Please read her story and give me your thoughts. I'm not going to commit to a chapter a week or even a month for that matter. But I promise that you will grow to love Tamara, as I already do. And I've only written the first chapter.

SOS - the sweet Smell Of Success

Ah yes, capitalism. Webster: an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market. The 400 richest people in America make $32 billion a year. And that does not include assets. $25 billion a year would solve the world's food, water, health care, and education problems, leaving each of these aristocrats $100 million a year to live on. I wonder if they could survive on that? The gap between the rich and poor continues to widen. Tax breaks for the rich? Don't be silly.

Large corporations are not accountable to anyone, so they continue to consume our planet's resources, shun those unreasonable bureaucratic tax requirements, lessen product quality, raise product prices, crack the whips in their sweat shops, all the while increasing profits and spending millions on advertising campaigns. People walking down a busy city street tend to ignore those asking for money. I have been guilty of this, as well, and have been working hard to remember these people are human and deserve more respect than I have given them in the past. But it's easier to just ignore them than to engage them, right? But nothing is more repulsive to me than the rich asking for more money, which is how I see the TV commercials for these unaccountable corporations.

I know this is nothing fresh. I'm not a brilliant thinker. These aren't exciting insights - I am simply passing on what I've been reading. My point is this: how can we be part of the change? Rather than complaining for hours, what if we spent this time on more productive endeavors like human rights advocacy? Rather than wasting time with the TV on, watching these mindless ads with disdain and concern, what if we wrote letters to our elected officials, proclaiming our decision to turn aside from the suicidal path on which our country is trekking, and asking for his or her help? I have been writing letters for months now, and have been speaking out against social injustice. But it's not enough. I need to do more. And I need your help.

This country is headed for a revolution. At the current pace of consumption, waste, war-mongering, fear, and complete disregard for international relations where our interests are not concerned, I don't see the future being positive for anyone involved. But if enough of us start believing that there is a better Way - perhaps the one Jesus describes - we can pave a new road. Rather than building an empire on the backs of the poor and enslaved, we can build a community of trust, equality, and justice with the tools of faith and love, with hope as our guide. Please post your thoughts. I know I'm not the only one out there that longs for a Revolution of Peace.