Yes, yes, yes

"My generation cares more about the fact that 30,000 kids died today of hunger, poverty, preventable disease than about gay marriage amendments in California," he told ABCNews.com. "We are pro life, but for us that definition is far broader than abortion. It includes poverty, AIDS, human trafficking and the war in Iraq."

But after that controversial Dec. 2 interview with Terry Gross on "Fresh Air," Cizik was asked to resign -- a "huge disappointment" and a "sad commentary on the current state of evangelicalism in America," according to LaTondresse.

More.

Stop Torture Now

Today is the 60th anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Some applaud this important document. Some decry it as a celebration of socialism (I would say such critics fail to have a global view of what it means to lack basic freedoms -- the freedom to believe, for one; it is hard for Americans to fathom true want of basic rights). But many recognize the inherent value, nonetheless, of this imperfect statement in its public pronouncement that all deserve dignity and freedom.

Among the human rights declared in the Declaration is one on my mind lately as we prepare to welcome a new administration in the White House and seek a better way of taking care of business, as it were. That is, ending torture. Article 5 reads: "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Seems pretty obvious. Seems pretty "American."

You would think so, but you would be wrong.

A lead interrogator in Iraq wrote recently in the Washington Post about the horrors he saw in Iraq. Going by the pseudonym Matthew Alexander, he writes, "I should have felt triumphant when I returned from Iraq in August 2006. Instead, I was worried and exhausted. My team of interrogators had successfully hunted down one of the most notorious mass murderers of our generation, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq and the mastermind of the campaign of suicide bombings that had helped plunge Iraq into civil war. But instead of celebrating our success, my mind was consumed with the unfinished business of our mission: fixing the deeply flawed, ineffective and un-American way the U.S. military conducts interrogations in Iraq. I'm still alarmed about that today."

He continues, "Torture and abuse are inconsistent with American principles. And on the pragmatic side, torture and abuse cost American lives. I learned in Iraq that the No. 1 reason foreign fighters flocked there to fight were the abuses carried out at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. Our policy of torture was directly recruiting fighters for al-Qaida in Iraq."

This writer's observations are consistant with that of other military personnel, as Tom Ricks publicized last year in his "Inbox" column in the Post.

I recently watched Rendition. "Oh, but that's just a movie," some may think. Yes and no. The United States has taken part in extraordinary rendition and inhumane interrogation tactics. Rendition helps the average citizen wrap his mind around what we have been doing. And it is beneath us. It is beneath any human who values the dignity of all persons, in fact.

Still think torture is justified and effective in some cases? Please read this. Want to do something? Go here.

Story of My Life

This song kills me. (Excuse the clips from now-defunct show Popular in the video below -- only one I could find of Abra Moore's 'Trip on Love.')

I used to think that the 'you' in the song would be directed so well at some males I have known. Now . . . I think it's more applicable to myself.

Ooh. Wow. That was revealing. Sorry.

Advent

As we enter the season . . .

Oh, how appropriate

Sent by a friend. Too true.

A can of Off! isn't going to do it

From the New York Times:

In 2000, when the World Health Organization endorsed treated nets as a weapon against malaria, fewer than 2 percent of African children had them.

So even though coverage has increased sharply, 90 million children are still unprotected.

The study’s authors, from Oxford University, are based in Kenya and sponsored by the Wellcome Trust. They collected survey data in regions of 40 countries. (The global extent of malaria is guesswork because so much data is lacking or outdated, but the Oxford-Wellcome collaboration’s work is widely admired. For example, to map poverty, they used satellite images showing light at night, indicating
electricity.)

Donor contributions for malaria have greatly increased since 2002, but distribution of the nets has been spotty. More than half of the 90 million missed children were in just seven countries, and 25 percent in Nigeria alone.

A few small countries did particularly well; Eritrea reached 85 percent coverage. Some medium-size ones, like Kenya and Madagascar, did moderately well.

But some large or populous countries, like Nigeria, Uganda, Mozambique, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan — the last two of which are at war — were below 15 percent.

Free distribution of nets worked best, the authors said.

Here's how you can help.

A Night at The Red and the Black: Truth, Beauty, and The Shackeltons

It is not often that you hear an indie band that you cannot compare to a more well-known band—that is, lesser-known bands almost always have a sound comparable with a more popular band. Were I to try, I would liken The Shackeltons to Modest Mouse in terms of eccentricity, and to the Killers or the Old 97’s as far as the instrumental goes. I would compare lead singer Mark Redding’s voice to that of Fred Schneider of the B-52’s—but Mark’s has more energy. But even as I type that, I’m shaking my head. Really, The Shackeltons have a sound like no other.

On a cold night in November, a friend and I found our way to The Red and the Black Bar in the Atlas district of Washington, D.C., a perfectly dark and darkly perfect dive of a place where we found moments of joy, sometimes unexpectedly. The Shackeltons opened the night with their unmatched style. While the audience stood wanly, sipping their longnecks, the band members poured their art out on stage.

Interacting with the audience between songs, Redding drew the listeners into the grand story he was weaving in the music—countering their stagnant presence with his animated one. He prefaced his songs with brief descriptions: “This one is about my mom.” Or, “This one is about the Chicago Fire of 1871.” Even, “This is about reaching middle age and not getting enough sleep.” There was definitely nothing tiring about The Shackeltons: They were enlivening.

They also touched the listener deep inside.

My friend Angie said their music was “like performance art,” adding that it really moved her. I felt I was listening to poetry. It was definitely more than mere entertainment.

Recently in Rolling Stone, Bono said of Bob Dylan, in his album Shot of Love, that his “voice becomes the words. There is no performing, just life—as Yeats says, when the dancer becomes the dance.” And Sam Cooke's description of Dylan: “ . . . from now on, it’s not going to be about how pretty the voice is. It’s going to be about believing that the voice is telling the truth.” And that is art—as it should be anyway: It tells the truth.

With The Shackeltons, you don’t just hear something easy on the ears, some Top-40 schlock. You hear a part of yourself you might not have wanted to confront. Some might call the band’s music discordant. But so is life. And in that discordance, you hear truth. In that is beauty, and that is good.

Not many bands express human longing with any truthfulness—with sincerity, maybe, but not stark truth. It is this reality of human longing that The Shackeltons exude so well. Listen closely, and you’ll hear your own.

(All photos by Angela Aveta)

Obama the Father

Well, he's been sneeringly called the Messiah, so might as well tack on the Father.

But seriously, lifting these observations from friend Kevin, even if you disagree with Obama's views, you have to admire him as a father.

Bush does.

Wish I had a father like this. Wish even more that my kids did.

Completely amazing

As friend Erik Lokkesmoe, whose group Different Drummer promoted Call+Response, called it, the anthem for our generation: Matisyahu singing "Redemption Song." Just beautiful.

This is so me and my daughter

The end is near

And desperation is your ally, sweetheart. Chris Buckley could not be more spot on. Respect could be garnered if they would simply speak on the strengths of their own platform instead of trying to win the fear vote. Sad.

Right recognition

The Nobel committee missed the boat, but good for the European Parliament for giving honor where it's due. (HT Thunderstruck)

Money wasted, style ignored

If you're going to spend $150,000 on a wardrobe for a candidate, at least don't dress her dowdily. And I'm thinking maybe I need to become a makeup artist.

Achtung Baby Faith

If there were only one U2 album I could listen to the rest of my life, it would be . . . iTunes "Complete U2." No, but seriously. It would be Achtung Baby for so many reasons. Stephen Catanzarite offers a few of them. (HT Thunderstruck)

A New Call

Steve Beard (creator of Thunderstruck) has a great review of Call+Response at NRO:

According to the 2008 U.S. State Department “Trafficking in Persons Report,” approximately 800,000 people are trafficked across national borders. That does not include the millions trafficked within their own countries. “Approximately 80 percent of transnational victims are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors,” states the report. “Human traffickers prey on the vulnerable. Their targets are often children and young women, and their ploys are creative and ruthless, designed to trick, coerce, and win the confidence of potential victims. Very often these ruses involve promises of a better life through employment, educational opportunities, or marriage.”
“We’re not talking about good or bad business practices or working conditions,” former ambassador John Miller testifies in the film. “We’re talking about slavery. We’re talking about the loss of freedom and the threats of force or the actual use of violence to deprive people of freedom.”

As a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador against Trafficking and Slavery, British actress Julia Ormond visits places around the globe suspected of benefiting from slave labor and interviewing those who’ve been set free. “This is about people being held often at gunpoint, being chained, being electrocuted, being drugged, being thrown out of windows, having their families threatened that they’ll kill them,” she says in the film.

In researching his book Not For Sale, professor David Batstone — featured in Call + Response — traveled to Cambodia, Thailand, Peru, India, Uganda, South Africa, and Eastern Europe to investigate modern-day slavery. His findings are breathtaking. “Girls and boys, women and men of all ages are forced to toil in the rug looms of Nepal, sell their bodies in the brothels of Rome, break rocks in the quarries of Pakistan, and fight wars in the jungles of Africa,” he writes. “Go behind the façade in
any major town or city in the world today and you are likely to find a thriving commerce in human beings.”

There are many things you can do to stop this evil. Go to http://www.callandresponse.com/ to learn how.

Why I'm proud to be an American

We can laugh at ourselves in the most serious of times.

Fellow Xers, we need a new niche

Because we've become cliche.

Ann Hornaday had a great piece this past Sunday in the Washington Post, "From Indie Chic to Indie, Sheesh." It's cringe-inducing. In sum, mentioning so many movies I love -- and still do, despite her column -- she boiled "indie films" down to, essentially, the Gen X stereotype writ large. You know that stereotype: We're cynical, apathetic, self-absorbed slackers. And every time we hear that stereotype invoked against us, we balk: "No! We're much more!" At least I do; I always think, No, we're wall-breakers, open-minded, activist-oriented, and engaged. Some of us anyway.

And then along comes Hornaday with a perfect description of the films that define us, or at least have enraptured us, the past 20 years -- a description that's spot on. And a description that not only captures these films in a nutshell -- but also perfectly fit into the Gen X Stereotype Mold. (Yipe!)

American independent films used to be the stuff of the cognoscenti,
denizens of film festivals and art houses who laughed knowingly at their inside
jokes, appreciated their scratchy production values and applauded their formal
daring. It all changed in 1994, when the $8 million "Pulp Fiction" surpassed
$100 million at the U.S. box office. Since then, "low budget" films have been
steadily churned out by boutique arms of big studios and ambitious young
filmmakers looking for a hot Hollywood career.

By the time "Juno" screenwriter Diablo Cody won the Oscar this year, it was
painfully clear that the very principles that made indies so attractive in the
first place had morphed into tired, cynical mannerisms: Spontaneity became false
and studied; intimacy became precious; daring became shock value for its own
sake; personal became shallow and solipsistic; and willingness to challenge
linear narrative became pretentious and incoherent.

But there's hope:

Can indies be saved? Yes, but only as long as the question is framed
differently. It's time to stop talking about budgets, "edge" and filmmakers'
come-from-behind biographies -- indeed, maybe the word "indie" itself should be
banished -- and instead rediscover values like intelligence, emotional truth,
moral heft and restraint, which will endure long after indie-chic signifiers and
smug hermeticism have worn themselves out. . . .

Some of the best films of this year have been indies, in the most classical
sense of the word. "Frozen River," "Chop Shop" and "The Visitor" (by "The
Station Agent's" Tom McCarthy) each tells a well-crafted story about characters
we haven't seen before, in spontaneous, unstudied ease. Another bright spot on
the horizon is "Wellness," by Jake Mahaffy, which has barely been seen on the
festival circuit but turns heads wherever it's played. Mahaffy's unsettling,
finely observed drama about a traveling salesman in Pennsylvania suggests the
possibility for a new cinematic genre: post-industrial American neorealism. . .
.

In financing, lineage and vision, these movies are as independent as they
come. But none of them looks or sounds or acts like "Little Miss Juno Dynamite."
Instead, they look and sound and act exactly the way they should. They don't
concern themselves with being cutting-edge or groundbreaking; rather, as Chekhov
exhorted, they simply care about "what flows freely from the heart." Devoid of
mannerisms, gimmicks or look-at-me gestures, they do the truly radical thing.
They tell their stories simply and well. Move over, indie: Old-school classicism
may be making its own comeback.

All, it's time for a rewrite. There are stories to tell.

Sure, gas prices are high, but how are you eating?

Probably better than most, if you're a Westerner.

"The poor are usually neglected. I think they're going to be even more neglected right now."--Jeffrey Sachs, development expert and adviser to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. (via UN Wire)

Please let it be true

A friend noted recently he received a record number of e-mails in a day: 300. I had to wonder, how many were spam? According to the Guardian however, the U.S. just shut down a major global spam gang. (via UN Wire)

Refreshing words from McCain -- go figure

The anger is getting raw at Republican rallies and John McCain is acting to tamp it down. McCain was booed by his own supporters Friday when, in an abrupt switch from raising questions about Barack Obama's character, he described the Democrat as a "decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States."

More.

'The New Abolitionists'

As mentioned previously, here is my interview with Justin Dillon, producer of Call+Response.

The film you must see

The Washington Post's Style section today features an article on a film opening tomorrow, October 10: Call+Response, which I first discussed here.

The film goes undercover in the brothels of Cambodia, the brick kilns of India and near the dead lakes of Ghana to reveal that in 2008, the slave trade that we hoped was halted in the 1800s with emancipation in the United States and elsewhere is alive and escalating, feeding the dark side of globalization. The State Department estimates that at least 800,000 people of all ages are sold across borders each year, many of them to make products we use, wear or eat without knowing the origin.

"There are more slaves today than ever before in human history," Dillon said in an interview. "In 2007, slave traders made more money than Google, Nike and Starbucks combined."

Think that sex slavery is "not our problem" in the States? Think again: Even the Today Show had a difficult feature story on this human-right atrocity right in our backyard.

I have an interview with Call+Response producer Justin Dillon that will be posted soon. His dedication and passion on this issue is admirable.

Make your plans this weekend to see Call+Response. We must never become comfortable in our complacency. And there are things you can do in your corner of the world to make an impact on this issue: to stop human trafficking our lifetime. You can start by paying the ticket price to see this film. One hundred percent of the proceeds go toward activist groups fighting on the frontlines against human slavery.

Hook, line, and sinker

How (part of) the Church was bought. (HT Thunderstruck)

'Let Them Know They're Enough'

At my daughter's back-to-school night the helicopter parents were there in force, and the teachers knew it. My daughter's extended language arts teacher handled it beautifully.

"Extended" means "advanced" -- the higher level version of the class. So naturally, it's a class that includes many, let's say, "intimately involved" parents. Which is good! Really. But there's a line between involved and overbearing. I have to watch where my toe's going.

But all that to say, this is a class where the students are precocious, and some parents may be obnoxious. God bless 'em . . .

So, my daughter's teacher, Mrs. P., relayed a story to illustrate a point. She said when she first became pregnant, she didn't think, "I hope I have the next president" or "I hope I have the next Olympic gold-medal winner." She said, "I hope that he's healthy -- just that he's healthy." And then "if he ties his shoe, that's a bonus," and "if he graduates high school, that's a bonus." But just that he is, she said, "that's enough. He is enough just as he is, however he is." This is the point where I got a little verklempt.

She noted how she came from Fairfax County, Va., where if you didn't letter/pin in three sports and get nothing but A's, you weren't doing something right; you weren't enough. Meanwhile her mom always let her know she was enough; she loved her as she was, and it made all the difference in Mrs. P's life. She said that she knew the types of students in this class pushed themselves hard. "If they miss a homework assignment, they're in tears," she said. "They don't know if it will be all right."

Mrs. P. then looked at the parents and respectfully asked us always "to let them know that they're enough," no matter what. Wise words.

(My post first appeared at The Point.)

This is good eating

And the drive to Locke Modern Country Store is nice too. Gourmet foods, wines from all over the globe, amazing prepared food. An unexpected find in a small town.

I'd like to live in their world

From Reveries:

"I used to buy Sirius stock to keep myself from buying more Hermes scarves," says shopper Jan Goode in a New York Times piece by Susan Dominus (9/26/08). "Now my Hermes holdings are much more valuable than my Sirius stock ... Sirius is at 90 cents a share. I should have been buying scarves all along." Such was the rationalization of one wealthy woman for standing "on" line to get into a Hermes sample sale on West 18th Street in N.Y.C.

Another said: "Even if the economy's down, a sale is all the more reason to buy something nice." She continued: "Buy something nice, it makes you look good, you feel good. If you pay full price and things are unstable at your job, it takes away the enjoyment." Of course, "not paying full price" at a Hermes sample sale means "a $900 pair of boots or $280 leatherbound hunting horn the size of a comb." And spending "nothing" apparently means dropping at least a grand.

As one shopper put it: "Even if I don't find anything, I still spend a thousand. It's like Costco." Only without the "lightbulbs, toilet paper or toothpaste." But it's not as though some of these shoppers weren't feeling just a little guilty. "I'll only buy if it's something I really need," said one. Others wouldn't give their names because they were playing hooky from work to attend the sale. "Let's just say my bank's still around," hinted one anonymous shopper, "That narrows it down to about four." To which another retorted: "Stop bragging!"

Actually, no. If I'm going to "therapy shop," I'll support a friend's endeavor.

What faith sometimes looks like

Joe Biden, on the death of his wife and daughter in 1992. (HT Thunderstruck)

Morphing around

Getting this idea from Ness. Morphthing.com is a silly, little addictive site where you can fiddle with your image and 'morph' it with another.

Like my friend, I've combined with two celebrities I've been compared to. First, me (an image Angie took):

Next, Fiona Apple:

And voila:

Kinda scary...

Then, Piper Perabo:

And the morph:

Yeah, I'm with Angie: I'll stick with the person I've morphed into. ( :

Wisdom from Wilde

One of my favorite quotes -- reminded of it today from Sojourners "Voice of the day":

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." -- Oscar Wilde

Now, this is a block party

This is what community looks like.

Diners and other dives

Why an all-night diner beats a four-star restaurant -- two words: community and equality.

Don't get me wrong -- I do love fine food; Jeffrey Steingarten is one of my favorite writers. But reading this article in the Los Angeles Times brought back fun memories from college -- namely, playing cheap pool at Gene's (where you banged your cue stick on the floor to get the table reset) followed by consuming questionable food at the T Room (AKA the TT, Tea Room, Texas Tea Room, or Texas Inn) at some ungodly hour. At the T Room, a retro diner complete with the lingo yelled by charming waitresses named Flo (at least, they could be named Flo), most of my friends loved the oddball sandwich called the cheesy western (whoever thought that one up must have stock in Tums): It was a burger topped with a fried egg and this horrid-looking mustard-relish sauce that made whatever that topping is on a Big Mac look appetizing. I stuck with the "hots" (hot dogs), which looked suspect, topped with even more suspect-looking chili. I have no idea, upon recollection, why. Here's one blogger with similar memories.

But back to the greatness of these fine eating establishments. Regarding equality, as this reviewer notes, ". . . when you get the urge, it all works, sitting there on a stool in a tiny restaurant, breathing second-hand smoke and passing pleasantries with a homeless drunk on one side of you and a bank president on the other. That's culture; that's atmosphere." Well, I'll skip the second-hand smoke, but it sounds to me like an establishment a certain carpenter might have frequented. (No, I'm not trying to pull a "WWJD?" I don't know that. ... Neither do you.)

Maybe "WWJD?" was what these guys had in mind, as described in the Times article:

At the counter this night is Esmeralda Cordova, a sad-eyed singer-songwriter sipping from a bowl of tomato-basil soup. A late-night regular, she appreciates Fred 62's easygoing comfort: "The great thing about diners is you can come by yourself and no one feels sorry for you," she explains. "It's not like a restaurant."

Her waitress returns with the bill, sheepishly explaining that two gentlemen have paid her tab and left a note. Inside, a hand-printed paragraph explains that Jesus loves her and that, although she seemed troubled, things will get better. The note is unsigned, and the men responsible are gone.

Well, that's a bold and presumptuous move by those mystery men. I got to remember that, though, next time I'm in a diner, to put on a sad face and see if I can finagle a free meal. ( : But this songwriter touches on the richness of diners: that you encounter community even when you're looking for isolation. You're not there to see and be seen and stand out; you're there to blend in and join in, find common ground. And get a greasy meal you can no longer get from the fast-food restaurants scrambling to avoid the next Big Tobacco: Big Fat. Makes some of those weird orange "hots" at the T Room sound appetizing again.

A diner is about the only place where you can see "night-crawling hipsters, post-rehearsal musicians and coffee-addled high school kids alike," as well as "rumpled hipsters [who] sit with punks in hoodies while miniskirted club kids chatter near couples in their 40s from the neighborhood." Another place might be -- or at least should be -- a well-mixed church. In this suburban age where every congregant or parishioner is wearing the same wardrobe from Banana Republic or Urban Outfitters, that would be refreshing.

(This post first appeared at The Point.)

'Like an unchecked cancer'

Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man’s sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.
-- Martin Luther King Jr.

(courtesy Sojourners 'Verse and Voice of the Day')

Just Pop Art?

"He created the biggest series of religious works of any American artist,” said Professor Jane Daggett Dillenberger of the Graduate Theological Union of Berkeley. “To my certain knowledge,” said one friend of this artist, “he was responsible for at least one conversion. He took considerable pride in financing his nephew’s studies for the priesthood. And he regularly helped out at a shelter serving meals to the homeless and hungry.” This artist attended church almost daily, kept a devotional by his bedside, and prayed everyday with his mother, a devout Byzantine Catholic.

So, who was this artist? Probably not the late Andy Warhol with whom you’re familiar.

This isn’t news, actually. In the late nineties Dr. Dillenger discovered Warhol’s more than one hundred renditions of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper. And references to his faith have been mentioned under the radar. But when we think of Warhol today, we remember his “pop art”—like the Coke bottles and Campbell’s soup cans—not to mention his open homosexuality and his workshop that attracted celebrities and misfits in the 1960s.

Some have said his soup can paintings are just a comment on a consumer culture or that Warhol was saying there are no special standards of what art is.

And that may be, but art historian James Romaine offers another perspective. Though Dillenger referred to Warhol’s Last Supper pieces when she referred to his prolific religious works, those soup cans also fit into the category. “Warhol admitted,” Romaine writes, “that one reason he was attracted to the imagery of Campbell’s soup was that he had eaten Campbell’s soup nearly every day as a boy … growing up in a poor immigrant family. … Campbell’s soup probably offered a reassuring sense of belonging.” And he ate that soup under a reproduction of Last Supper on his kitchen wall.

And the Coca-Cola bottles? “Coke is Coke,” said Warhol, “and no matter how rich you are you can’t get a better one than the one the homeless woman on the corner is drinking”—the equality of all humanity.

This imagery reminds us of the import of the material. After all, Christ used the most common of items—bread and wine—to express a holy and eternal truth: His redemption of mankind.

In his work Last Supper (Dove), Warhol used everyday supermarket items in the scene with Jesus. Romaine says this demonstrated that modern life and faith are neither separate nor contradictory.

So while Warhol privatized his faith, his art betrayed a possible secret.

Again, it goes to show, you never know.

(original post appeared at The Point)

The world is one man poorer

We have too few 'real' men as it is. . . . RIP Paul Newman.

Exactly

From Reuters:

"It is extraordinary to me that you can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can't find $25 billion to save 25,000 children who die every day of preventable treatable disease and hunger," the U2 lead singer told Clinton's fourth annual philanthropic summit in New York.
"That's mad, that is mad."

"This crisis is not an excuse to walk away from the world's challenges, but a compelling reason to intensify our efforts to meet them, around the corner and around the world," said Clinton, who has focused on humanitarian work since leaving the White House in 2001.

(HT Thunderstruck)

Grace

Thanks to a good friend for reminding me of this.

I hope he wins it

From the Guardian (London):

This year's Nobel peace prize could be awarded to a Chinese dissident to
highlight China's human rights record in the wake of the Olympic Games,
according to experts who closely follow the workings of the award.

A likely candidate to receive the prize, the winner of which will be
announced on October 10 in Oslo, is Hu Jia, a Chinese activist who has
campaigned on democracy, the environment and the rights of HIV/Aids patients. Hu
is serving three-and-a-half years in jail for "inciting to subvert state
power".

'The World's 27 Million Most Terrifying Secrets'

What’s the most lucrative business in the world? Who are the most successful money-makers? Google? Nike? Starbucks? Oprah? No, not even Oprah.

Slave traders rake in the biggest bucks in the world: $32 billion a year.

In a packed theater inside the Beltway in northern Virginia, a most motley audience gathered. With a man in a sharp suit to my left and young girls in t-shirts and track pants to my right, we sat down to watch a rockumentary about an issue that has brought together a distinctively varied group of people. This was not your typical group of policy wonks—and that was the point, to get outside policy circles and inside groups not yet tapped for activism. After all, the fight against slavery has brought together activists from Chuck Colson to journalist Nicholas Kristof, from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to Rep. Chris Smith and Ambassador John Miller. It’s a beautiful collage.

But it’s really not a surprise to find us all on the same platform.

The issue of human slavery cuts to the essence of who we all are as humans. The truth of who we are transcends ideology and political party. We all yearn for dignity and freedom, significance and acknowledgment. The value of our personhood is something we all “get,” and desire to defend and preserve. And when we see that dignity violated—in the vilest way, in this case—we naturally recoil, and demand justice, regardless of our politics or religion, nationality or race.

And so in this film, Call + Response, attended by a diverse gathering of those who care, we heard the voices of Gary Haugen of International Justice Mission and Ambassador John Miller married with those of Dr. Cornel West, Kristof, and Albright. They all spoke the same message. And while they spoke, musicians -- from the Christian singers of Switchfoot, to Jewish reggae singer Matisyahu, to child-soldier-turned-hip-hop-artist Emmanuel Jal -- sang to give voice to the oppressed.

Yes, the group was definitely an eclectic mix. Kudos to musician Justin Dillon for bringing them all together to deliver a singular message, calling for justice in the issue of human trafficking. And the message needs to be told. Twenty-seven million souls caught in the horror of human trafficking are calling out and waiting for our response.

“In music,” according to Wikipedia, “a call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first.” The entry continues,

In Sub-Saharan African cultures, call and response is a pervasive pattern of democratic participation—in public gatherings in the discussion of civic affairs, in religious rituals, as well as in vocal and instrumental musical expression. It is this tradition that African bondsmen and women brought with them to the New World and which has been transmitted over the centuries in various forms of cultural expression—in religious observance; public gatherings; sporting events; even in children’s rhymes; and, most notably, in African-American music in its myriad forms and descendants including: gospel, blues, rhythm and blues, jazz and jazz extensions. . . .

Call and response is likewise widely present in other parts of the Americas touched by the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Known under the Spanish term coro-pregon, it can be found in Afro-Latin music based on religious chants.

I wish I could remember the exact words that Dr. West used in Call + Response to describe the practice of call and response in music among slaves of nineteenth-century America. He said something to the effect that by answering the call and continuing the exchange—by responding—you acknowledged the one who began the call. So with its tie to music and to slavery, Call + Response is the perfect title for this film.

A little background: Fair Trade Pictures, Different Drummer, and International Justice Mission, or IJM, are presenting this film. Also involved in the film are Free the Slaves and Shared Hope. The film was funded completely by donations, and 100 percent of profits will go back to global field projects and charities involved in fighting slavery.

In the film, actors like Julia Ormond, Ashley Judd, and Daryl Hannah were point-blank in their description of the horror of trafficking. And the footage is stark—jarring even. Yes, you could take your high-schooler to this documentary, but realize they don’t sugar-coat the issue. Like Wilberforce taking the aristocracy on a nice little boat ride past a slave ship, allowing them to linger among the stench of death emanating from the ship, this film focuses your attention on the very real evil happening to people—happening to children—around the world right at this moment as you’re reading this blog.

“Humankind cannot bear very much reality,” said Dr. West, quoting T. S. Eliot. Facing this awful reality—hearing that call by the oppressed—viewers of this film cannot help but respond.

Around the venue Thursday evening you could see some of the posters and t-shirts that I believe were from IJM. Black shirts were emblazoned with the missive “Seek Justice”—one of those requirements the Lord has of us. Recently, blogger Catherine Larson raised the question on her mind lately resulting from her writing on Rwanda: What is the end goal of justice? On this issue, I think it was Kevin Bales of Free the Slaves who said in the film: the eradication of human trafficking in our lifetime. After all, Wilberforce and the Clapham Circle achieved the abolition of slavery in 20 years some 200 years ago.

It can be done. But it requires commitment. After all, the slavers are committed to what they’re doing—and they’re succeeding. But as Haugen noted, traffickers know that the commitment of abolitionists doesn’t match theirs. We must prove them wrong.

But why musicians? Producer Justin Dillon was hit by this issue after a trip to Russia opened his eyes to the evil of sex trafficking happening under everyone’s nose. And he thought about what he could do—he can play a guitar and sing. But does that do anything to combat this darkness? Much. "Music is the only thing,” said Emmanuel Jal, that can “speak into your mind, your heart, and your soul without your permission.” It causes you to linger on this issue, to contemplate it more deeply, and to let it prick your heart and elicit action.

So, no, I wouldn’t say this is just an “awareness bubble” for this particular decade, or the social justice issue of the day taken on by artists to win brownie points with fans. As this film was presented, what I saw was the beginning of the 21st-century abolitionist movement, as Ambassador Miller put it, with today’s abolitionist songs. Justin thanked those in the State Department and other government agencies “for letting some freaky artists get through security.” In that same vein, he called on the audience to use what talent and abilities they have to join the new abolitionist movement. Justin played the guitar and sang (well!).

Well, I’m a single mom with a limited income—and limited time, as you can imagine. What can I do? I’m starting with these posts on Call + Response, and I’ve joined the Facebook page. I do so in hopes of an echo effect—that someone will read this and use what they have to join and further the movement, and continue the chain of call and response. I’m hearing the call and responding in my way—and perhaps someone will hear my call and respond in their way. And if we’re all doing this, the exponential effect will be deafening.

But regarding Call + Response, here are five specific things you can do:

1. Click on “Act” at Call + Response’s website and register your participation (lots of ideas are there).


2. Place a trailer and/or web banner on your blog or website (see the downloads).


3. Join the film’s Facebook “causes” and MySpace page—then invite your friends.


4. Invite 5 friends to join you at the theater on opening weekend (October 10).


5. Post 10 flyers at your work, school, coffee shop, and/or church or community gathering.

You’ve heard the call. Now—what will your response be?

(My post originally appeared at The Point.)

'Call + Response'

"This is the sound of the 21st century abolitionist movement." Or, this may not be Wilberforce's music, but I think it's his spirit.

Call + Response is a rockumentary about the modern-day slave trade -- opening in theaters October 10. (Thanks to Erik Lokkesmoe for the tip.) Today's anti-slavery movement has brought together an amazing variety of individuals -- from Nicholas Kristof to John Miller -- all united to end this horrific practice. Here we are 200 years after the great work of William Wilberforce and the Clapham Circle, and we're still battling this evil. In fact, it's bigger than ever.

Call + Response, as the movie's website describes it, "weaves individual stories with rare hidden camera footage, inspired musical performances, and interviews with luminaries like Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Ashley Judd, Julia Ormond, Daryl Hannah, Nicholas Kristof, and Dr. Cornel West. The result is an unflinching dissection of the modern day slave trade and an exploration of the role of music in the lives of oppressed people." One hundred percent of the profits will go to "global field projects on the front lines of this issue."

Watch the video below, and join the cause on Facebook and MySpace.

I like how West puts it at the end of this trailer: " . . . justice is what love looks like in public."



(The original post appeared at The Point.)