"I die with the conviction, held since 1968 and Catonsville, that nuclear weapons are the scourge of the earth; to mine for them, manufacture them, deploy them, use them, is a curse against God, the human family, and the earth itself." -- Philip Berrigan, 1923-2002 _ _____ _ _ _ / \ ___ |_ _| (_) __ __ (_) ___ | |_ / _ \ / __| | | | | \ \ / / | | / __| | __| / ___ \ | (__ | | | | \ V / | | \__ \ | |_ /_/ \_\ \___| |_| |_| \_/ |_| |___/ \__| Hi, One key aspect to ChristianAnarchy is a ton of faith that dads and/or moms will TeachTheirChildren the first 10-20 years of their lives EverySingleThing they NeedToKnow leaving them able to function in all society whether OutsideInterVention is needed and/or imposed upon them or not. What better time to discuss this than just before Christmas; better place than ATI; better giver than a Bruderhof person. Read this, and enjoy the rest of the 'zine. Marco _ ___ | |_ |_ _| _ __ ___ ___ ___ | __| | | | '_ ` _ \ / _ \ / __| | |_ | | | | | | | | | __/ \__ \ \__| |___| |_| |_| |_| \___| |___/ A SEASON OF HOPE--AND BATTLE Johann Christoph Arnold This is the season of hope, of light coming into darkness. For years, psychologists, educators and church leaders have warned about subversive and decadent influences on children in our society--the internet, pornographic literature and films, violent video games, raunchy TV, and so on. It's an old story: the more sexually perverted the entertainment, the more teenagers watch it, and the higher the ratings and the profits. In my books on parenting, I have pointed to these dangers and suggested that the greatest trap is not anger or abhorrence, but indifference. And that indifference increasingly alarms me, because public and private morals are no longer merely slipping, but plummeting. Values most people once took for granted are simply not expected anymore, with catastrophic effects in our children and young people. What has happened to honor and respect for father and mother, for one's nation, for law enforcement or authority of any kind? I have often pointed out how big companies, exploiting our greed and materialism, are destroying our children. Both business and government are now pressuring schools to excel in academics, rather than focus on developing character and integrity. Apparently, our culture prides itself on producing brilliant CEOs, with Ivy League degrees and zero moral values. We can see the bitter fruits in the recent spate of corporate scandals. Faced with these realities, many parents are afraid, and with good reason, to send their children to public schools. Every week I hear of another family pulling their children out of public schools to teach them at home. Naturally this solution brings its own problems, since working parents too often are forced to give home-schooled children short shrift as they valiantly try to earn a living and educate them at the same time. Further, healthy parent-child relationships are becoming rarer and rarer, in part because children are loosing their childhood innocence earlier and becoming jaded and worldly- wise long before they reach adolescence. Most tragic of all, many young people are so discouraged (and, because of the adults around them, such strangers to the idea of long-term commitment) that they have no desire to marry, let alone have children. In a way, it seems that the terror of 9/11, far from uniting people--as many predicted it would--has divided us. Everywhere, fear and mistrust are destroying relationships. I am not just talking about a nagging, low- level nervousness about terrorism, the sagging stock market, or looming war in the Middle East. Those uncertainties have become a fact of life for everyone in recent months. I am talking about the very real demons of fear, violence, lust, greed, and divisiveness that are literally pushing individuals, couples, and even whole families over the edge. This is a global crisis--one that demands our full and undivided attention. The Roman Empire collapsed not only because of external invaders, but because of its own decadence and decay. It pains me to see my own country, like the Roman Empire, self-destructing from within. We are waging war on terror all over the world-- and meanwhile neglecting our own homes, neighborhoods, work places, and schools. These are the real battlefronts we ought to be concentrating on. If only more of us realized that what really matters in life are healthy relationships between individuals who respect and love each other. This is the glue that holds a society together, which no amount of prosperity, laws, or security measures can replace. Over a hundred years ago, the great Russian novelist Dostoyevsky wrote: "Everywhere in these days men have...ceased to understand that the true security is to be found in social solidarity rather than in isolated individual effort. But this terrible individualism must inevitably have an end, and all will suddenly understand how unnaturally they are separated from one another. It will be the spirit of the time, and people will marvel that they have sat so long in darkness without seeing the light." Which brings us back to the holiday season. The answer--whether we are Christian, Muslim, or Jew--is to believe that the God who created us has not given up on us. This is the original Christmas message: on a dark night 2000 years ago, angels announced to the world, "Fear not, I bring you good news." And the good news? A little baby was born, pure and undefiled, bringing light into the darkness. Even today, new children are born into the world every day, and each one is, to quote the Indian poet Tagore, "a renewed message that God has not lost faith in humankind." If the creator has no lost faith in humanity, who are we to do so? As Jesus taught, we will find peace and happiness when we, too, become like children. Our only hope is to once again encourage and appreciate wherever we can this childlike innocence, which can still be found in small children and sometimes in the aging. Fighting to reclaim this carefree spirit of childhood will make life worth living. It will take away fear and depression, bring back a sense of purpose and security to our youth, and encourage parents who are desperately trying to raise their children in the face of so much adversity. [Johann Christoph Arnold is an author, family counselor and spokesperson for the Bruderhof movement. Read more of his articles at http://www.bruderhof.com .] #s http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/CIA/National%20EndowmentDemo.html http://ender.indymedia.org/twiki/bin/view/Vancouver/HistoryofVanIMC http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/2002/12/04_Klein.html http://www.webactive.com/pacifica/demnow/dn20021204.html http://www.webactive.com/pacifica/demnow/dn20021118.html http://radio.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=1580 http://www.everreviledrecords.com/label/label.html http://www.greaterthings.com/News/Dubya/index.html http://www.latinousa.org/program/lusapgm345.html http://audio.maineindymedia.org/rovicscoa.htm http://www.counterpunch.org/brasch1202.html http://www.secretsofthetomb.com/excerpt.php http://katemoraine.tripod.com/justdust.html http://www.yuppietakeover.com/statement.php http://radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=5950 http://www.amy-martin.com/community.html http://www.cryptome.org/tia-eyeball.htm http://www.angelfire.com/indie/oneidas http://muhon-nin.hypermart.net http://zoe_mitchell.pitas.com http://www.pastis.org/joann http://digitaldisaster.org http://www.bluecoupe.com http://www.nuncamais.org http://www.textscene.com http://fhrg.org LIFTING A QUOTE: More Ways Than One "He showed us all what it meant to be free." "Dad never seemed touched by that even in those awful places." "He was still free." -- Kate Berrigan http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1210-01.htm Did you know? The MilkMustache campaign cost $180M to run? [that's a LOT of lactose intolerance to be over ridden] Biometric signatures of humans? Story telling, change detection, and truth maintenance??? Y I K E S ! ! ! http://www.darpa.mil/iao "When this happens to innocents under classified or secret systems such as the No-Fly lists, the public seldom finds out about it." -- John Gilmore A MAGICAL HAIKU MOMENT: TIMELESS We love each other An indisputable fact Now and forever -- Theodore, 69, Queens SU LIN, OUR MAGIC PANDA, INTERPRETS "This author is a grandfather who has attained great wisdom. He is expressing the ultimate paradox: we may not always be on this earth, yet we are always attached to each other. An ardent passion for living such as this exudes joy to those around them." EXPRESS YOURSELF An Asian form, Haiku is a non-rhyming three line poem of 5-7-5 syllables. Every other month, Su Lin will choose a new Haiku to post on the Zen Don package... {snip} [Taken off of a box of ZenDon Cappuccino soy milk] THINK ABOUT IT: Especially now, when the generals and pilots have gotten their parades and the resisters are getting the brig, court-martials, and harsh sentences (including the governments threat to give resister Erik Larsen the death penalty for desertion!) we know who this war's true heroes are. And we must stand with the resisters, and continue refusing to "Support The Troops." [ref]=[http://www.oz.net/~vvawai/gulfwar/Lessons-gulf-war.html] We end this zine as we began it, with a Phil Berrigan quote: "Because of myopic leadership, of greed for possessions, a public chained to corporate media, there has been virtually no response to these realities..."