Story of the day - Bottled water

We were meeting for our monthly book club in the basement of the independent book shop in town discussing Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver.

"I think it's just terrible what is happening with this climate change stuff," said Jennifer as she took a swig of water from her Poland Springs plastic water bottle.

Should I say something or keep my mouth shut, something like, Plastic water bottle, Jenn, really? How concerned are you? But I didn't want to embarrass her in front of the group and she doesn't like me much already because I speak my mind which I can tell at times makes her uncomfortable. Let it go, I say to myself, but then good ole Jenn says, "I just wish people were more aware and would do more for the environment" and I couldn't stop myself, I mean I tried, but it came out in spite of my better intentions, "You mean like drinking water from plastic water bottles that are totally unnecessary and are based on fossil fuels like oil and clog up our landfills for decades?"

Jenn looked like a deer in the headlights. She appeared to be stunned like I'd caught her with her pants down, and then she blushed and her eyes started to tear, and I thought, "Oh shit, what have I done?"

She looked at me and said quietly, "Ahhhhhhh, you're right. I hadn't thought of that. It is silly to buy water in plastic bottles. I should get one of those re-usable ones."

The other group members sat stunned at first, but then started telling their stories too about the water bottles they use and how plastic water bottles and soda bottles are a little thing but something we could do as a group.

"Will it save the butterflies?" said Sarah sarcastically bringing us back to the topic.

"You know how the Christians ask, WWJD what would Jesus do? Well, what would Dellarobia do?, asked Linda.

There was relieved laughter in the group and Karen said, "She couldn't afford bottled water on her budget."

Sitting the death vigil for the extinction of a species

Dellarobia and Dr. Ovid Byron are up on the mountain collecting data. It had been cold the night before and there is a question of whether the roosting Monarch butterflies will survive. As the day warms up, melting occurs and it rains. They are standing under a tent like canopy to shelter a small work space. Here is how Kingsovler describes it:

     Long clusters of butterflies began to drip. Hangers-on at the bottoms of their strings twisted slowly in an imperceptible wind, like the caricature of a hanged man. A chunk of a cluster near the shelter dropped suddenly to the ground, severed from the great beast. Grounded butterflies could not hope to lift themselves in a rain like this. She watched this fresh legion of the extinguished, taking their time to die.

     "Nobody else came to the site today?" she asked.

     He shook his head.

     "I've left a couple of messages with Vern, but he doesn't call back. It seems like we're losing volunteers. Maybe they're having exams."

     Ovid said, "Not everyone has the stomach to watch an extinction."

     She noticed the fabric over their heads had begun to droop in spots where the rain pooled. The roof of their invisible house, collapsing. What wouldn't, under all this. She was slowly submitting to his sense that weather is everything. Not just the moving-picture view out the window. Real, in a way that the window and the house were not.

     A scattering of butterflies in the fallen mass twitched open and closed, while getting pounded, showing their vivid orange a few last times. 'Rage, rage against the dying light.' That was the end of a poem, brought to her by the one bright spot in her education, Mrs. Lake, now dead. Dellarobia suddenly found she could scarcely bear this day at all. She stepped out in the rain to pick up one of the pitiful survivors and bring it under their roof. She held it close to her face. A female. And ladylike, with its slender velvet abdomen, its black eyes huge and dolorous. The probocis curled and uncurled like a spring. She could feel the hooked tips of the threadlike legs while they gripped her finger. She held it out and the wings opened wide, a small signal.

      "So you're one of the people that can," she said. "Watch an extinction."

      He did not quite break his communion with the day, his vigil, whatever it was, but asked, "If someone you loved was dying, what would you do?"
pp. 318-319

Most of us don't have the the stomach to watch an extinction so we watch sports, movies, anything to distract us from the reality of what is happening to our planet caused by us humans. We are in the geological age which Eugene Stoermer called the Anthropocene indicating the significant influence that human activity is having on the planet. Once we acknowledge and understand what the scientists are telling us about our impact, we have increasing responsibility to manage our relationship with the interdependent web in constructive, empathic, and loving ways.

Dr. Ovid Byron is sitting vigil over the possible extinction of a species, Monarch butterflies, which is happening at increasingly frequent rates to other species as well. The biodiversity of planet earth is being decreased and eroded because of the activity of one species, homo sapiens. The difference between our species and others is that we have consciousness, we know what we are doing if we choose to pay attention and take responsibility.

There is no other religious denomination that has the moral awareness of Unitarian Universalists of the relationship of human beings with the interdependent web other than Native American and Wiccan. We have ensconced our awareness and values in our seventh principle of respecting the interdependent web of existence of which homo sapiens is just a part. Unitarian Universalists, based on our faith, need to enhance our light to the world on the rightness of the respect and collaboration with Gaia if we are to survive as a species and continue to be the co-creators with God of the world being created.

We can sit the death vigil with Dr. Byron and express our grief for our sins, but this has little value unless we also repent and change the way we live on this planet. As Unitarian Universalist preachers are fond of saying, "May it be so."

UU A Way Of Life August, 2014, theme

The theme of the month of August, 2014 on UU A Way Of Life will be the third principle of Unitarian Universalism, Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations.

Please send your poems, essays, comments, ideas about this principle to davidgmarkham@gmail.com.

Book of the month for August, 2014, The Green Boat by Mary Pipher

The UU A Way Of Life book of the month for August, 2014 will be The Green Boat: Reviving Ourselves In Our Capsized Culture by Mary Pipher.

Story of the day - The Bullshit Express

John Lago, the young hit man in Shane  Kuhn's novel, The Intern's Handbook, says on p. 37 "Our minds are not interested in truth. They are our private twenty-four hour news cycle putting a constant spin on reality. It's like the Matrix. Everyone is plugged into the Bullshit Express."

"That seems awfully cynical," said Alicia.

"Really," said Greg, "I think he hits it right on the money."

"I'm interested in the truth," said Alicia.

"Really?" said Gregg.

"Yeah," said Alicia, "Don't be such a prick."

"What about the cosmetics you wear that were tested on monkeys in that lab in Riverside? You think that's right, that animals get exploited to see if the chemicals they put in that shit will harm humans? They're just using them like guinea pigs. When did that term "guinea pig" even come to mean what it means if we humans didn't exploit animals for our own benefits which, at times, are pretty superficial and vain," said Greg.

"I don't think it's such a big deal," said Alicia. "Are the animals really harmed or inconvenienced?"

"Inconvenienced or harmed? Really? Listen to yourself. Like Lago said, you're not interested in the truth, you're plugged into the cosmetic industry's "Bullshit Express"  and you're not interested in finding out the truth which might conflict with your practices. You don't need all that make-up anyway. I love you just the way you are without all that crap."

"I don't know if you're sweet or being a dick," said Alicia.

"Maybe I'm a sweet dick," said Gregg laughing.

"I don't know if it's fair or not to be testing cosmetics on the monkey's. I guess they really don't have a say in it do they? And if they could talk would they agree to it? What do they get out of it except an allergic or toxic reaction sometimes. But they are well cared for, I assume, fed, looked after. They must get medical care. So I don't know how bad can it be?" Alicia mused.

"Go ahead, rationalize, justify, twist it around to make it seem okay."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," said Alicia. "I have to go put my make-up on before we go out."

Fairness, equity, leads to compassion

When we are sensitive and aware of the drive and desire to be fair in our relationships with others we become naturally more compassionate. Compassion flows from an awareness that often in life things are not fair for reasons far beyond the individual's control. Our heart goes out to the person whom we perceive as suffering. We want to relieve the person's suffering as much as possible.

Of course, we are often told that life isn't fair. Suck it up. Nobody owes you a living. You have to take care of yourself, don't expect a handout. In the United States since the days of Ronald Reagan this libertarian ethic of dog eat dog has grown and proliferated and led to inequality greater than at any time in our history. How this has happened in the richest, most powerful nation on earth, where abundance is visible on a grand scale, can only be explained by the triumph of the ego which demands increasing levels of assuasion, and leds to the insane and nonsensical extreme attitude that nothing is ever good enough.

The opposite of compassion is the narcissistic grandiose sense of entitlement that not only doesn't want to share but doesn't even perceive or appreciate another's need and desires. In our fears and insecurities we even view other people's suffering with contempt and disdain and congratulate ourselves for not being like "them". Marie Antoinette is often quoted as saying, when she was told of the starvation of the peasants, "If they have no bread, let them eat cake." and that has become much of the attitude in the United States promoted by the 1% who have bought our government officials and design our policies which defines our inequalities as just. There is no compassion because the inequalities are of no concern other than the extent to which they are addressed would interfere with "business".

The ethic of predatory capitalism is based on greed and there is no room for compassion. Compassion interferes with the bottom line and cannot be considered in making sound business decisions which the stockholders will approve. Most of us are complicit in this predatory capitalist ethic when we consider our stock portfolios, our 401 Ks, our retirement funds. As much as we Unitarian Universalists like to promote our second principle, when we look more deeply at the values which contribute to our financial decisions, if we are honest, we will find that they are antithetical to what we superficially profess. When it comes to making money, compassion and equity are values which are marginalized, because winning and profit become paramount. We all want a "good deal."

Jesus was clear about all of this. In fact He couldn't have been clearer. He didn't mince His words. He said directly to the rich young man, "sell all you have. Give the money to the poor, and come follow me." And, the story goes on, the rich young man became sad and walked away. We, too, know better, but, let's be practical, equity and compassion are not really in the best interest of the ego, and we, become sad, and walk away too.

We are told by the public health professionals that depression and anxiety are large mental health problems in the United States with anti-depressants, and anti-anxiety drugs being the biggest type of medications sold in the United States. We have bought so deeply into the predatory capitalistic ethic that we don't even know what ails us. We are sad and anxious because our predominant social values are not congruent with The Good Life. We pay lip service to our second principle, but we eschew any close look at the implications it has for our behavior and life style. It is this cognitive dissonance that contributes to the psychological symptoms from which so many people in our society suffer.

We Unitarian Universalists know a better way. We covenant together to affirm and promote justice, equity, and compassion. Would that we actually practice what we preach.

God Revised, revised available for free.

God Revised, revised is available both in hard copy and in a PDF for free. If you would like a hard copy, send your address to davidgmarkham@gmail.com. If you would like a PDF file request it in email to the same email address.

God Revised, revised contains 16 reflections on Rev. Dr. Galen Guengerich's book, God Revised, which was discussed on the UU A Way Of Life online magazine during the month of June, 2014. Introductions and discussion questions have been added to the 16 reflections which can be used for individual study and/or group discussion.

Here's what it says about God Revised, revised on the back cover:

God Revised, revised is a critical reading of Rev. Dr. Galen Guengerich’s book God Revised. Many new ideas are added to Rev. Guengerich’s articulation of a new religion based on the ethic of gratitude involving a new understanding of the transcendent having given up on a belief in a supernatural god. Markham’s argument with Guengerich is that gratitude is not enough to be the basis for a new ethic because it doesn’t deal with human suffering. Markham suggests that forgiveness is a better basis for an ethical model than gratitude because until human beings can accept and deal with their brokenness they cannot overcome their fears to find gratitude in their hearts.

This is a wonderful little book that really stimulates a lot of thoughts about the function of religion in our contemporary society. Both men provide many ideas for consideration, the depth of which I have not encountered before in Unitarian Universalism.

Betsy Griffin, Adjunct professor of humanities and writer.

These men certainly take their faith seriously and approach it thoughtfully searching to make sense of their lived experience from the inside out. This little book demonstrates what freethinking is truly about. It is a blessing to read and ponder.

Ken Appleton, Convert to Unitarian Universalism, and armchair philosopher.

Two thumbs up to Markham for taking Guengerich seriously. While there is some disagreement, Markham grapples with Guengerich’s ideas, and it makes the reading stimulating and sometimes intellectually provocative. Anyone who takes their faith seriously in the liberal tradition should read both books.

Barb McMullen, Lay minister, mother, member of church board.