Breaking Out of the Consumer Mindset

Lately, I have been gaining a greater awareness of the consumer mindset that pervades our culture.  When I go to the grocery store or to a restaurant I find myself paying closer attention to the attitudes, stress lines, and actions of the workers who are trying to make a living in a very fast paced, service-oriented environment.  It is easy for me to empathize because I work in food service and retail.  I work in a fast paced environment where I have to constantly juggle my actual work tasks with continuous questions and requests from anxious customers.  They are anxious, I am anxious.  It is a disease bread by capitalism and consumerism.  Through my experience as I worker I am finding that I no longer want to be dominated by a consumerist mindset that looks at employees at a store i’m shopping at, or a restaurant I am eating in, as my slaves or inferiors.

There are two kinds of service.  There is the service of one fellow human being to another.  This is one of the most beautiful attributes in the human experience- one to be appreciated and emulated.  In this realm I choose to serve you freely out of respect for you as a fellow, equal human being.  But there is another kind of service that breeds division and frustration (feelings of entitlement to consumer and of inferiority by the employee).  This service is counter-productive and counter-intuitive.  It is contrary to the dignity of the human personality and should be shunned by those who are seeking to build, in some small way, a new world.  So, what can we do?

First, realize that the employee is a human being equal in worth and dignity as yourself.  This is a big first step and puts everything else in its proper light.  Remember, that the majority of employees working under a boss or manager already feel pressure from them.  They feel a sense of slavery and inferiority working as an “underling”.  However, those in customer service have this problem compounded when customers put the same kinds of pressures on employees.  When you are in a store or restaurant, look past the uniforms and dress codes that mark out the employees as slaves to the company and to your passions, needs, and desires.  Instead, view them as fellow workers who have special skills, insight, and expertise in this particular field.  Talk to them the way you would talk to your neighbor who is a mechanic or your father who is carpenter.

Also, understand the work load that the employee is already carrying.  When you come with your request or question remember that the worker already has a job (s)he is trying to perform.  It is true that most company’s tout “customer service” as the number one priority.  But if the worker has no time to put milk in the cooler it really doesn’t matter how nice (s)he answers your question.  Understand the implications of your request.  For instance, if I go to a store and ask for a gallon of Orange Juice that is out of stock I need to understand that that employee will have to leave the job they are currently performing, go all the way to the cooler, and most likely look and dig through a couple pallots of product just to get to your one gallon of Orange Juice.  I’m not saying that there is no place for asking a question or making a request.  I am simply saying we should try to fully realize all of the implications of the requests we make.

We work 8 hours a day under immense pressures and alienations.  It’s easy to think its “our time to be king” when we go to a store or to a restaurant.  We should get everything we want, get it fast, and go through the line in a “jiff”.  Our culture and economic system reinforces and capitalizes on this mindset.  We forget how crappy we were just treated at our job, the pressures we had to endure, the negative feelings when those “above” us failed to take stock of our feelings.  Or, we simply fail to understand that customer service employees have the very same experiences.  If we simply called this simple thing to mind it would help us treat our fellow workers with the patience, understanding, and respect they deserve.

The Weakness of Nationalism

We live in a contradictory society in more ways than one.  The contradiction of the day which we will look at is that of nationalism.  What do I mean by nationalism?  The idea that for some metaphysical reason I have more in common with the people who live inside invisible boundary lines than I do with the people outside of them.  Furthermore, that I have a deeper connection with the people who speak my same language.  In addition, the government that rules the land deserves my allegiance.  All of these ideas merely strengthen the hand of the rich and powerful and keep the poor and oppressed powerless and divided.

The rich and powerful know that nationalism is a myth.  Where is the nationalism of the CEO of General Motors when he sends the jobs of thousands of American workers to Mexico so he can make more profit?  It does not exist.  Where is the nationalism of the rich who send their money to Swiss bank accounts so they can protect it from taxes which would go to help different people groups in their home country?  It is nowhere to be found.  The rich of America have far more in common with their counterparts in Europe and the world than they do with the poor and oppressed in America.  In fact, it is through the exploitation of the poor and oppressed, American and non-American, that the rich accumulate their wealth.

So, why continue promoting the myth of Nationalism?  Simply put, it keeps the poor divided which consolidates the power of the wealthy.  Does the American arms manufacturer who builds weapons for Russia, who then sends the weapons to Syria so they can crush the rebellion of the people, weep when he hears the National Anthem?  I doubt it, unless it reminds him of his fortune.  Capitalism has destroyed nationalism, but nationalism is useful in keeping the poor of each nation divided against the poor of other nations as well as making the poor of each nation obedient to their own ruling class.

In the 1960′s the United States government sent poor black men, oppressed at home, to fight the Viet Cong in a so called “war for democracy”.  We set our poor who were fighting non-violently at home for civil rights and freedom, to fight the poor of another country who were in essence fighting (albeit, not non-violently)  for the very same thing.  The poor were fighting a war for the capitalists not for democracy.  And the two are not synonmyous.

What a glorious system for the rich of the world.  They dominate through economic oppression and political power while the poor fight one another over a myth.  The truth is, I have more in common with the poor Venezuelen laborer than I do with Barak Obama or Mitt Romney.  I have a deeper connection to the unemployed strikers in Greece than I do to the idiots who can’t even create a national budget in our National Congress.  I refuse to divide from anyone based on language, skin color, or invisible boundary drawn up by the powers that be. 

There is a reactionary movement in America that wants to move us back to a deeper nationalism.  They want to get America out of world involvement, and in some ways are correct.  It is true that America’s military needs to get out of other nations.  It’s true that we have spent far too much money on military expenditures.  But the answer is not for a more deeply entrenched nationalism.  Why?  Because my enemies are not overseas, they are within the boundaries of my nation.  The parasites who suck the blood of my neighbor and eat the plasma of my brother are in my very city (although in a different neighborhood, no doubt).  Nationalism is not the answer.  Capitalism has exposed this myth.  But the answer is not to move back as many right libertarians would like to do.  The answer is to move forward.  We must embrace, “Internationalism”.  We must see the world as our nation, every human as our sister/brother.  Defy nationalism; Embrace Internationalism.  No doubt, Uncle Sam won’t thank you.

Why I am Glad to Have Encountered the Spirit and Words of Jesus

Over the past 7 years or so I have taken a slow, and sometimes painful journey out of the strange realm of Evangelical Christianity.  At the age of 15 I encountered Jesus Christ and began to consider myself his disciple.  Over time I began to identify as an Evangelical and began to adopt the its worldview.  Around the age of 22 I began to retreat.  Now, I do not consider myself an Evangelical and go back and forth as to whether I would consider myself a Christian at all.  I know many people would be quicker to affirm that I am not a Christian because of some of my beliefs and direction in life.  Despite all this, I am grateful for many things that happened to me as a result of my encounter with the Spirit of Jesus through the Word of Jesus found in the New Testament.

The main thing I was thinking about this morning was that before I met Jesus I was a racist.  Sometimes openly so.  At one point I even flurted with neo-nazism.  I grew up in a home with a father who was openly right-wing and latently racist.  He was no Klan member, or Neo-Nazi, but the word Nigger was heard from time and time and I imbibed a common right-wing ideology that poor black people were part of the problem.  Let me say, that my father no longer is like this at all.  He, himself, is now a Christian and is a very gracious man.

But it was through the encounter with Jesus that my racism was dashed.  I saw that there was no place for judging my fellow human being based on the color of their skin.  I learned that fear of the unknown and of what is different is no good reason to form a judgement or opinion.  Through my encounter with Jesus I gained a love and understanding of the poor.  I came to realize that the American Dream is not God’s dream.  I also discovered something called “the kingdom of God” and “the life of the age to come”.  Through Jesus I discovered that my life could have a clear purpose and direction and that it could be channeled to building a new world; ushering in a new age here and now.

Through Jesus I learned the importance of community.  I discovered that human beings are created to be in community- to share our lives and resources- with one another.  I discovered that the whole world is my family.  And there is so much more.  Now, I don’t equate the kingdom of God or the life of the age to come with what evangelical christianity does.  I am not speaking of a world where everyone goes to church, votes republican, or knows that they are going to heaven when they die.  I am talking about a community of people in the earth who are committed to one another and to building a new world in the shell of the old.  Just thought I’d share.

The Momentum of the People Stifled by the Political Hampster Wheel (Direct Action is the Miracle)

Last year in Madison thousands upon thousand of working class citizens of Wisconsin invaded the capitol to convey their disgust with, and opposition to, Scott Walkers bill banning the collective bargaining rights of public workers.  It takes no genius to realize that to restrict this right of public workers is only the first step in a comprehensive attack on labor.  Scott Walker has admitted as much.  Just tonight I was watching an episode of “Independent Lens” on PBS which was focused on the town of Janesville and the direction the city has taken since the closing of the GM factory in 2008.  In this episode Scott Walker clearly said that this restriction of bargaining rights for public employees was a tactic to “divide and conquer” in order to weaken the whole apparatus of Labor- public and private.

This injustice unleashed pent up agitation in the working class.  This man, who supports tax credits, ie corporate welfare, put the tab for the state debt upon the working class of Wisconsin.  This kind of bullshit was unacceptable to the working people of Wisconsin and all their energy turned to direct action.  We took action.  We raised our voices.  We went to the capitol.  And then we let it die.  Instead of finding a new way forward to redress our grievances we chose to direct our resources, time, and money to a recall election.  We jumped on the political Hampster Wheel forgetting that by nature it can only go around and around.  The recall election, with its steep cost to tax payers, cooled the zeal of many, and in the end Scott Walker won the recall election.

Maybe it would have been different if we would have stayed in the capitol.  Perhaps we never should have left.  Just maybe we the people could have taken hold of the symbol of state power and made the decision to start running our communities ourselves- our way.  The singing should never have stopped.  The steps leading to the capitol never abandoned.  We should have staked our tent peg deep in the earth and said, “This is ours.  We’ll take it now”.

I’m tired of political usurpers in their black suits coming down from the celestial heavens of “business” to save us.  They don’t want to save us.  They don’t care about saving us.  They care only about the economy.  A thing.  A market.  They want it to be strong.  If that market is strong because of low paying retail jobs that are raking in billions for owners and CEO’s, so be it.  Scott Walker has made it clear that the concerns of Labor are of no import to the powers that be.  I am not against political activity or voting.  But direct action should not be a stream that flows into the stagnant waters of politics.  On the contrary, politics should simply be an avenue that flows into the mighty tide of popular direct action.  Direct action is the miracle- not a Savior being elected.

What can we do now that we know our government can kill us without due process of law (btw, this not new in our national history)?  We can stop passing on responsibility for things to others.  We can take responsibility.  We can organize our workplaces.  We can raise our voices.  We can form alternative power structures based on democracy, service, honesty, and egalitarianism.  We can choose to know what’s going on.  Consider it.  Form a thought out and moral opinion.  And take action in accordance.  Your ideas are as good as mine.  Let’s get them flowing.

The Law vs. Justice

What would you say if I told you that being a law abiding citizen can be one of the most despicable and horrible things a person could be.  Would you call me a radical?  Would you call me an insurrectionist?  Revolutionary?  Well, if you and I lived in Germany in the 1940′s it would simply be decent to not be a law abiding citizen.  Law is a peculiar thing.  It is drafted by those in power and may be bended and shaped by the capricious will of those who wield institutional authority.  We say that we believe in “the rule of law”.  But I ask the question, who rules over the law?

Today the world found out that the Obama Administration has sanctioned the assassination of American citizens suspected of terrorist connections and plots by unmanned drones.  Today I listened to the news as one representative of the government said that this was lawful.  And it made me think about something very important.  Something that Howard Zinn does a far better job expounding in his Reader.  I am speaking of the difference between law and justice.  And the choice each of us must make in regards to them.  What will we hold in the ascendency?  When push comes to shove which of these two will influence our actions and course in life?  Sometimes laws are just and it is right to obey.  But other times law and justice clash and we are left to answer the words of the old labor song, “Which side are you on, boys, which side are you on.”

In Germany in the 1940′s it was legal to turn in Jews and murder them.  It was illegal to hide them or protect them.  Hitler came to power legally.  He came to power through popular elections.  But the laws he enacted, and the administration he set up, was nothing less than the archfoe of justice.  To choose justice over the law during such a time was costly.  You very well could be put to death.  To be a law abiding citizen, to take the road of less resistance, would have meant an utter rejection of justice.  Luckily, we do not yet face such dire circumstances in this country.  But when a nation turns its own military on its citizens ominous times very well may be approaching.

Howard Zinn uses the wonderful illustration of the moving train and coins that ingenious phrase, “You can’t be neutral on a moving train.”  We live on a moving train.  Our nation, our communities, our government, are all going in a certain direction.  The overarching goal of the state is to make us obedient, patriotic, law-abiding citizens.  And if it is unable to illicit such strong feelings then it would simply have us remain “neutral”; to take no stand one way or another; to be content with beer and cable tv.  Why?  Because neutrality is an illusion.  In the words of the Canadian Rock band Rush, if you choose not to decide you still have made a choice.  The only right and just course is that of resistance.  You and I must resist the path that is being taken.  We must jump the train of law and take the train of justice which at this time is moving in a totally opposite direction. 

In all spheres of life we must move against the current.  When faced with unjust laws that may not hurt us, but hurt our sister or brother, we must choose justice.  In the economic realm and on the job we must choose justice.  In the political arena we must choose justice and resist allegiance to the entrenched powers who dictate “law”.  In the spiritual realm we must resist passive obedience to the beast who looks like the Lamb but speaks with the tongue of the Dragon.  The spiritual beast who tempts us to passive obedience to the state and to an exploitative economic system.  We must resist this present evil age and proclaim and live out a new way.

The old prophet Amos told God’s people that he was sick of their worship services.  Tired of their hymns and emotional songs of praise.  Their patiotism and religious observances were vanity.  Instead, God called for justice to roll down like a flood.  God called on his people to resist the popular trends of their day and to return to justice.  Not even strict, legalistic observance of the law was enough.  No.  Only justice would do.  But if we choose justice we put ourselves in danger of having our hearts pierced along with the oppressed and marginalized.  But if we choose such a path we may comfort ourselves with the fact that we are in good company.  The Nazarene said, “Blessed are you when you are persecuted for justice’ sake.  For that’s how the prophets were treated.”  And of course, we will find ouselves in the company of the Master Himself.

Check out Howard Zinn’s page:  http://www.howardzinn.org/zinn/

The US Government Okays the Killing of United States Citizens

By now I’m sure you are well aware of the infamous 16 page report that was leaked to NBC news containing the Obama Administration’s policy of targeting US citizens.  This particular policy declares that if a United States citizen is tied to a terrorist organization, is deemed to be an immediate violent threat, and cannot be apprehended, he/she is a legal target for a drone attack.  If this is not another red alert that democracy is a fable in this country then I don’t know what is.  The leader of our country, and its government, has assumed the unilateral right to take the life of a US citizen without due process of law.  This law was not passed by elected representatives, mind you.  It was drafted and enacted in secret without popular knowledge, let alone consent.

Lest we be tempted to point a finger at Obama and the Democrats only, let us remember that all of this is simply the extension and broadening of the Bush foreign policy.  Both Republicans and Democrats should be ashamed,  and their parties abandoned, for this travesty of justice.  The American people need to think and feel beyond sports, popular media, and all the distractions of life, as good as they can be.  We need to give thought to the kind of community we want to live in.  We need to resist the mindless urge to simply shift from one bankrupt party to another.  We must abstain from the easy path of feeling  like we’ve done our community duty simply by casting a vote once every four years.

Whenever I hear of government sanctioned murder I can’t help but think of the Rabbi from Nazareth.  For those who hold to the idea that the government has the welfare of the people at heart in enacting such ludicrous laws remember Jesus.  Never in history was there a more honest, non-violent, and innocent human being.  Yet, the government, blind by an insane allegiance to its own power interests, killed this man.  They came up with good reasons to do it.  He says he’s a king.  He preaches allegiance to another kingdom.  He says that one day his kingdom will replace all the kingdoms of the earth.  You can’t get any more sedititious than that.

Mind you, the governments of this world can’t fathom such a revolution without violence.  Yet, there is such a thing as revolution without violence.  There is such a thing as radical change, a paradigm shift, without coercion and force.  But the government doesn’t understand this since it is protected and propagated by force.  It is a revolution through the word of truth and the power of the Spirit.  Through the proclamation of the good news of the Kingdom and the inner influence of the Spirit the hearts and minds of human beings, and whole communities, can be transformed.  Those of us who care about our communities must be willing to use these non-violent weapons to bring about change.  In addition to the Word of Truth and Power of the Spirit, we need put into practice the things we preach.  No, we don’t need to be perfect, or supermen.  But we must find practical ways to create here and now the kind of world we want to live in.  There must be a practical expression of what we are inviting others into.

There are many ways we can begin to make a difference and resist the totalitarianism and facism that is increasing with the new reach of technology.  Consider looking into, getting involved with, or voting for a third party.  If you don’t like politics, find ways to get involved in your community on a day to day basis.  Get to know your neighbors and your community.  Get involved.  Consider experimenting with alternative models of community and business.  Or maybe simply sit down and figure out what priorities you hold to be important; what values you deem worthy to be lived out.  In a world that seeks to simply medicate and fill up our attention it can be a break through just to figure out what it is you stand for; to simply stand for something.  Cheers brothers and sisters.

The Word of Truth and the Power of the Spirit

Lately, I’ve been intrigued by the thought of the Word of Truth and the Power of the Spirit.  The world uses many forces to coerce people.  They use laws, threats of punishment, jails, and ultimately violence.  Violence is what holds the world system together.  However, no new world will be created with the tools of coercion used by the old.  The Kingdom cannot be spread by gun point, nor mixed together with the colors of a national flag.

What are the weapons we can use to fight evil and transform the hearts of humans?  Of course, the Word of Truth and the Power of the Spirit.  In fact, that ancient Christian Paul said that the Word of Truth is “the Sword of the Spirit.”  From Christ’s mouth proceeds a sharp two edged sword, and despite the common interpretation, that sword is not a literal weapon (that would hurt like hell pulling one of those out of your mouth).  The sword is the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of Truth.  The Word of Truth can change people when the influence of the Spirit is active in the heart of the speaker, in the words themselves, and in the heart of the hearer.  I’m not talking about merely giving sermons, or hearing sermons.  I’m talking about simply sharing with one another the words of truth that give the Spirit material with which to influence and change us.

Within us all is a spirit.  A center to which we may continually return.  The word of truth is able to cut through all of our culture, sinfulness, and upbringing and pierce reality right into that spirit within us.