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Monday, 02 November 2009

People can change if given the opportunities.

Yesterday I discovered my favorite Last.fm station yet. Combine the tags "folk" and "political" for everything from 1800s union songs to modern anarchist punk. Like this one I liked:

I've come such a long way to get to where I am today,
And I must admit I used to be more like one of my enemies.
And step by step my progress seemed so slow,
Cause there was such a cold and lonely road
That most the while I travelled on my own
With no idea of where I was trying to go.

But we all had to go through so much shit,
And it's hard enough just to live through it
And not lose our hearts and our minds.
How are we supposed to see the light
At the end when we don't even know that it exists?
We need a lighthouse with the fire burning bright!

(People can change if given the opportunities,
That's why I say befriend your enemies.)

(People can change if given the opportunities,
That's why I say befriend your enemies.)

Befriend your enemies and strive to be as perfect as you can be.
Don't ever think that your journey's done.
Cause the road goes on forever,
And it's so much better if we stick together.
Look how far we have come.
Look how far we have come.

("The Road Goes on Forever" by Ghost Mice.)

Or, for your daily dose of white liberal guilt:

Sunday, 25 October 2009

Quote of the Day -- Window Shopping

"One of the things, too, about window shopping, is I call it desire shopping. And desire shopping helps you whet your appetite for the finest. And so, it keeps you motivated to say, "Yes, I've gotta have that!" We're upping the desire level, we're upping the comfort level."

-- This scene from the documentary "People Like Us: Social Class in America".

Friday, 25 September 2009

Quote of the Day -- Speth on Social Issues

America faces huge social problems and needs in addition to its environmental challenges. But priming the economic pump for ever-greater aggregate growth is a poor, sometimes even counterproductive, way to generate solutions on the social front. We need instead to address these problems directly and thoughtfully, with compassion and generosity. A whole world of new and stronger policies is needed--measures that strengthen our families and our communities and address the breakdown of social connectedness; measures that introduce more family-friendly policies at work; measures that provide more time for leisure activities; measures that provide for universal health care and alleviate the devastating effects of mental illness; measures that provide everyone with a good education; measures to eliminate poverty in America, sharply improve income distribution, and address growing economic and political inequality; measures that recognize responsibilities to the half of humanity who live in poverty.

-- James Gustave Speth in The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability

The three courses I have that deal with these topics this semester are in three different subjects: Social Inequality (sociology), Anthropology of Globalization, and Sustainability for Everyone (interdisciplinary environmental, taught by an architecture professor). The funny thing is how much I'm hearing the exact same things in all three of them.

Currently
The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability [BRIDGE AT THE EDGE OF THE WORL]
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Wednesday, 16 September 2009

Quote of the Day -- Purity

Now you might think that normal people would be immune to the religious superstition that mere hand washing absolves you of moral responsibility. But you would be wrong. Specifically, in the same 2006 study Zhong and Liljenquist examined this replacement effect (physical cleansing replacing moral responsibility). In the study participants were again asked to recall a moral failure. Afterward, some participants were allowed to use an antiseptic wipe. After using the wipe (or not) the participants were asked to give mood ratings. Many of the mood ratings assessed moral emotions: Disgust, regret, shame, guilt. After the mood ratings the participants were asked to engage in an act of helpful volunteerism (participating for another study without pay to help out a desperate graduate student).

What did Zhong and Liljenquist find? They observed two things. First, if participants were allowed to use an antiseptic wipe they were less helpful. Where 74% of the control participants agreed to help out the graduate student only 41% of those who used a wipe agreed to assist. Second, when compared to controls those using the wipe reported fewer negative moral emotions (e.g., less shame, less guilt) after recalling their moral failure.

This finding is stunning, with huge implications for the Church. Specifically, the physical act of washing made people feel less guilty and reduced their willingness to engage in an altruistic act. Physical cleansing replaced morality, both emotionally and behaviorally. Physical washing makes me feel morally cleaner and, by implication, morally satisfied to the point of unhelpfulness. You already feel like a good person so why do more good?

From Experimental Theology (where else?) Another really good recent post of his is the one called 'The Bait and Switch of Contemporary Christianity.'

Saturday, 12 September 2009

This Song Gives Me Chills

Discovered on Pandora via a similarity to Depeche Mode.

I didn't realize how depressing it was until I watched the video and paid attention to the lyrics.

Currently
55578
By Wolfsheim
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