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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 2003)
TO THE EDITOR BY JONATHAN SEIDEL Bound Together Love, justice and the awakening of collective spirit: a Jewish perspective. I n Hebrew the word for love, ahava, is related to the root for “binding to- gether” much like the Latin word re-ligio (to re-bind, or tie together). Love and religion, in this way, are both playing a critical role in ele- vating the collective soul of the planet, harmonizing the sa- cred and the secular (a rather artificial distinction that is a holdover from the European middle ages). This eleva- tion is manifest in a new spirituality or global ensouling that is affecting the entire planet. I believe that the forces emerging that are fighting against fundamental- ist intolerance and religiously sponsored violence are a hint of the awakening to the divine love and to the eternal life planted within us. In our Jewish language: messianic consciousness without the person of messiah. To utter the cliché that what the world needs now is sweet love is my very point, but it’s not just about love, it’s about making spirit the “bottom line.” Developing an emancipatory spirituality will bring us into a new world where everyone speaks different tongues, while all hearing the same message: “I hear you, I appreciate you, I respect you, and I want you to experience both justice and love in your life.” In the symbolic language of Jewish mysticism, the kabbalistic tradition, there’s a planetary imbalance: too much unrestricted hesed (permission and no-bound- aried chaos) and too little restriction of violence, greed and degraded behavior. There’s also still too much gevurah — harsh regimes characterized by intolerance and totalitarianism. There are still many countries that long for freedom, while others cannot tolerate the freedom that post-modern society and true democracy provide. Many corporations are unhindered by government and environmental re- sponsibility and remain accountable to no one. That needs to change, even as businesses provide new jobs globally. As religious people, whether working in or out of institutional religious life, we need learn to balance freedom with responsi- bility. So, even during this season of great uncertainty, when things seem to be in painful ebb and flow, a great planetary flux, I remain hopeful of the manifestation of global spiritualization. How might this spiritual globalization manifest in a desir- able way? It speaks in a multi-vocal way — deepening historical and communal roots, while getting beyond the notion of “mixing” and dumbing down cultures into a bland col- orless soup. It works unceasingly toward loving the neighbor, accompanied by jus- tice for all working people of the planet (and that includes a just distribution of food and resources). It uses power justly to end war and give local communities the ability to reconstruct war-torn areas. It enlists a new corps of volunteers to heal these areas, giving people in first world countries new jobs and roles in healing. T he global spirit of love helps create meaningful communities, not around making profits, but around prophets: those who speak forth for justice, for love and heartfelt compassionate respect for the Other. It defeats the media’s manipulation of the crasser aspects of human nature and overcomes the marketing of things the world does not need that simply uses up resources that are actually limited. It defeats the cynicism that is found operating in the capitalist marketplace, yet does not demonize business. This global spirit builds love into a new eco-economic system, which will evolve and is already creating new means of creating and distributing wealth. It catalyzes a new means of just giving while rec- ognizing that God also gave us beautiful things to enjoy and experience (People are entitled to more than a life of bare subsistence and wealth is not a bad thing!) This is a time of sprouting consciousness of the interdependence of all life, an awakening of all sentient creatures that seek to go beyond the brutality of dog-eat- dog (a cruel and unfair image). May we realize this love that God has placed within us. May we all, in our recognition of the unity of creation, work to respect diversity and yet to overcome the divisive aspects of duality and separation in this world. As our “view” of the universe becomes more sophisticated through space science and travel, we might learn to “think intergalactically and act locally.” S o, dear friends of compassion and justice, let us work to bring sanctity and holiness into every action, every moment, every awakening of the great love that the creator has showered upon us. Let us work to do it together, beyond any particular faith or religious denomination or ethnic restriction. We can, while affirming diversity and pluralism, actively build on the common wealth. Let us concern ourselves with strengthening the beautiful tapestry of human expres- sion, which along with the other creatures of this planet (whose health we must protect), is so splendid. Let us unblock the channels and get the love moving, soon, and in our day. Jonathan Seidel of Eugene serves on the steering committee of Two Rivers Interfaith Ministries, teaches religious studies at UO and PSU and is directing a new interfaith arts and education project for Lane County. 6 DECEMBER 11, 2003 music is drowned out by the obnoxious bab- bling of these morning show jocks who think that their sophomoric humor is actually funny. I mean look around, guys, we are now being fed a show from another state. What gives? Can’t we find someone in the popula- tion who actually has a sense of humor and not just a skill to punch CD music into a su- percomputer? I realize that I have to be force-fed all this crap over and over. Why do I need another helping of commercial DJ’s feeding me stu- pid jokes that I heard the night before on TV. Dazzle us. Get some original humor. Letterman can do it. And you only need to do it between commercials and songs. I am not NRQ! And I challenge any of these rock jocks to a wit-off. Let’s make the propaganda box a bit funnier. God knows Eugene is full of punch lines! Eric Miller Eugene and lesbians. Of course, Greens could vote for a real winner, George Bush, the Real Republican. Greens wouldn’t want to vote for the can- didate with an Iraq exit strategy, an anti-death penalty, pro-universal health care, pro-equal rights, pro-union, environmentalist ethnic with a funny name — Dennis Kucinich (www.kucinich.us). Nor would they want to vote for a candidate of the non-white persua- sion — the pro-peace Rev. Al Sharpton or former Congresswoman Carol Moseley- Braun. Those are all losers, because they look like losers. Americans don’t support people who look like losers. Greens want to be winners, don’t they? Better vote for the Rich White Guy, Mean Doctor Dean! He looks like a winner, and he’s sure to win (the primary)! Ann Tattersall Eugene COMMUNITY SERVICE MEAN DEAN Green Party members should vote for Republican candidate Mean Howard Dean. He’s obviously exactly what they’re looking for: a pro-war, pro-Star Wars, pro-death penalty, anti-union fan of the police state, who seeks the support of fans of the Confederacy but ignores black and Latino workers, who is pro-polluter, pro-extraction industry, pro-insurance industry (premiums and co-pays for all), pro-NAFTA, pro-GATT, pro-WTO, pro-privatization (private water, private air, private forests), and a proud sup- porter of second class civil unions for gays David Caruso (11/26) states that he wishes to avoid moralizing yet that’s just what he does with his assertion that pornogra- phy might be a tolerable one-time experiment but anything further bespeaks of a deeper pathology. No study has ever shown a causal link between porn and destructive behavior. Indeed, research like that of Diamond & Uchiyama has shown an attendant decrease in sexual offenses in places where porn is more freely available. It’s not unlikely that porn, far from caus- ing crime, may act as a safety valve or, just as likely, merely comprises one form of legiti- 1251 Lincoln St Eugene, OR 97402 541.484.0519 • (fax) 541.484.4044 on the web @ www..eugeneweekly.com EDITORIAL Editor Ted Taylor Executive/Arts Editor Lois Wadsworth Associate Editor Aria Seligmann Contributing Editor Anita Johnson Staff Writers Alan Pittman, Bobbie Willis Calendar Editor Jacquelyn Lewis Contributing Writers Brett Campbell, Rachel Foster, Kate Rogers Gessert, James Johnston, Mary O’Brien, Vanessa Salvia, Sally Sheklow, Lance Sparks, Martha Ulman West Interns Koki Smith, Sylvie Pederson, Karman Ratliff y ART DEPARTMENT Art Director/Production Manager Kevin Dougherty Graphic Artist/Webmaster James Bateman Graphic Artists Todd Cooper Contributing Photographers Kurt Jensen, Paul Neevel ADVERTISING National Sales Manager Mark Frisbee Senior Marketing Consultant Bill Shreve Display Marketing Consultant Rob Weiss Advertising Traffic Coordinator Geneva Miller Classified Manager Jennifer D’Angelo Classified Marketing Consultant Jeffrey Stout BUSINESS General Manager John Herron Circulation Manager Deena Miller Controller Paula Hoemann Customer Care Specialist Marah Busey Distributors Kasi Clausen, Dorothy England, Yona C. 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