To contrast our view of development that we were exposed to with the Road to Hell (see post below), we had to read two books for today- Walking with the Poor and The Soul of Development. The former argues that transformational development (ie. transformation as physical, social and spiritual) is the best route to developing a nation. The second book was a case study about the correlation between evangelicalism and the more developed in Guatemala-- the author finds that the more nationals are committed to either evangelicalism or orthodox Catholicism, the more likely they are to experience some kind of economic stability. This is because they are more likely to give up alcohol, leave the fiesta system (which keeps people from acquiring wealth (an entire post on this system is brewing!!!) and other various factors.
Okay, so reading was fun...but today it led to discussion in class...
Walking with the Poor argues that poverty is the marring of identity and distorted sense of vocation and as such- anyone who experiences this distorted identity is truly poverty stricken. Since I've been thinking about poverty in this sense for a while-- I asked this question: aren't most people poverty stricken then??? This question was preceded in my mind with a question about liberation theology (which says that God has a preferential love for any person who is subjected to any system (political or social) that is oppressive and keeps them from freedom-- it also says that these systems should be destroyed- ie. stick it to the man!...except they aren't joking). It was also preceded by a question that simply asks-- who are the poor? are they people who don't have stuff?
So essentially I was wondering if-- when the prophets talk about the poor or when Jesus talks about the poor if he speaks in terms of 'marring of identity and distorted sense of vocation' or in terms of a people who are oppressed because of social/political systems that keep them from certain freedoms or opportunities (ie. poor are poor because they lack the freedom to choose differently). Or are they people who don't have stuff?
Okay, so that was long.
But seriously... what does it mean to be poor? I think the answer might be complicated... but that seems like a cop-out and I am not in the mood for copping out. If you have any thoughts I'd like to hear them...
In other news...the road trip home starts in 17 hours... and with 7 hours of sleep in there...its only 10 more! I've got a book on audio cd and some patty griffin to keep me company... hopefully I can avoid the state troopers this time and stick it to the man! (and that is a joke)
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Sunday, January 28, 2007
name change
After nearly two years of Chris.Jackson.Lewis as the title of this blog I have decided that most people who read this might already know my name...and so I changed it to The Wonder Years- mostly because I always had a crush on Winnie- but also...that Fred Savage... didn't everyone want to be his friend? His Dad was kind of rough but caring, his sister was a hippie, he fought with his brother nonstop, his Mom always loving and then there was Paul-- we all have a Paul like that in our lives..don't we?
Besides the title of the show I just think it's a fitting title...the wonder years...
Besides the title of the show I just think it's a fitting title...the wonder years...
Saturday, January 27, 2007
discoveries
Things that I have discovered since being here:
Living in the United States is almost like living in Canada except for the following things that I've noticed:
1) driving is ridiculous- anyone and everyone pushes the limits....yellow lights are treated like green lights and the first 5 seconds of red lights are yellows...
1a) I've seen someone pulled over by the coppers at least once a day...sometimes twice.
2) the gas stations make you pay first...this is annoying.
3) the pizza is generally better.
4) the location of all signs and stop lights make no sense- (a problem Jay and I encountered on our Minneapolis to Winnipeg trip).
5) not everyone owns a gun.... but my roommate does own one for hunting purposes... not for 'git off ma land' purposes.
More things I have discovered:
6) the musical stylings of: Patty Griffin, Aaron Espe and Josh Radin...all excellent additions to anyones collection.
7) that international development is more complicated than I ever imagined...
8) Americans think I know everything about curling.
Living in the United States is almost like living in Canada except for the following things that I've noticed:
1) driving is ridiculous- anyone and everyone pushes the limits....yellow lights are treated like green lights and the first 5 seconds of red lights are yellows...
1a) I've seen someone pulled over by the coppers at least once a day...sometimes twice.
2) the gas stations make you pay first...this is annoying.
3) the pizza is generally better.
4) the location of all signs and stop lights make no sense- (a problem Jay and I encountered on our Minneapolis to Winnipeg trip).
5) not everyone owns a gun.... but my roommate does own one for hunting purposes... not for 'git off ma land' purposes.
More things I have discovered:
6) the musical stylings of: Patty Griffin, Aaron Espe and Josh Radin...all excellent additions to anyones collection.
7) that international development is more complicated than I ever imagined...
8) Americans think I know everything about curling.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
On the Road to Hell...
The very first book I read as part of the program here is called "The Road to Hell: The Ravaging Effects of Foreign Aid and International Charity". I know from the title that you might be expecting some kind of feel good story, however this book was, in every sense of the word- sobering. It is 300 pages of the money driven industry disguised as 'foreign aid' which, as Maren argues is really a billion dollar industry used to strengthen Western footholds in other countries to extend their reaches of power. It describes NGOs (non government organizations) in like manner and paints a shocking picture of mis-managed funds, child sponsorship scandals and UN apathy. I think that if I ever am in the position where a young 20 something comes to me and says 'I want to change the world through NGOs and the UN-- I'll say, that's great son...but first, why don't you read this book..."
After reading Maren's book it is tempting to throw the baby out with the bath water and say "well, if the governments are corrupt, the NGOs and specifically USAID and the UN are more interested in million dollar contracts than helping people... then should we actually be trying to help people? aren't we doing more harm then good?
His argument is an interesting one and goes something like this: Foreign aid (food for example) does not help to develop a people in crisis. Instead what he found (specifically in Somalia in the 80's and 90's) was that
1) refugees had no desire to move from the camp and begin to 'farm' or whatever it is that NGOs try to teach them to do to regain some kind of stability because, after all, why work when you get fed for free. (related to this is the fact that foreign suppliers (read: USA) supply specific kinds of foods and, over time- try to acclimate the culture to American food, so that they'll buy from them when/if the foreign aid is gone)
2) The number of refugees is always exaggerated by NGOs because it will mean more dollars, bigger contracts and longer work... it also means more food is shipped than necessary--
which leads to 3...
3) Foreign Aid is power to local militia because since there is so much extra food, the corrupt government (Somalia, 80's - 90's) gives it to the the makeshift military who end up making a bundle off of it by selling it on the black market. In this way the corrupt government keep the corrupt military on their side because they are getting rich off the deal. They then use the money to buy weapons...as Maren says “It's like a mini arms race fueled with food.”
However.... this means that the extra food ends up being sold for dirt cheap which drives down the prices that honest farmers can get for their crops-- they go bankrupt-- so even if someone tried to earn a living by farming, they couldn't because food is so cheap.
There are some good quotes...here's some favorites:
There's also some interesting chapters on Save the Childrens child sponsorship scandal and the ways in which the media creates wars... fascinating stuff...
.
After reading Maren's book it is tempting to throw the baby out with the bath water and say "well, if the governments are corrupt, the NGOs and specifically USAID and the UN are more interested in million dollar contracts than helping people... then should we actually be trying to help people? aren't we doing more harm then good?
His argument is an interesting one and goes something like this: Foreign aid (food for example) does not help to develop a people in crisis. Instead what he found (specifically in Somalia in the 80's and 90's) was that
1) refugees had no desire to move from the camp and begin to 'farm' or whatever it is that NGOs try to teach them to do to regain some kind of stability because, after all, why work when you get fed for free. (related to this is the fact that foreign suppliers (read: USA) supply specific kinds of foods and, over time- try to acclimate the culture to American food, so that they'll buy from them when/if the foreign aid is gone)
2) The number of refugees is always exaggerated by NGOs because it will mean more dollars, bigger contracts and longer work... it also means more food is shipped than necessary--
which leads to 3...
3) Foreign Aid is power to local militia because since there is so much extra food, the corrupt government (Somalia, 80's - 90's) gives it to the the makeshift military who end up making a bundle off of it by selling it on the black market. In this way the corrupt government keep the corrupt military on their side because they are getting rich off the deal. They then use the money to buy weapons...as Maren says “It's like a mini arms race fueled with food.”
However.... this means that the extra food ends up being sold for dirt cheap which drives down the prices that honest farmers can get for their crops-- they go bankrupt-- so even if someone tried to earn a living by farming, they couldn't because food is so cheap.
There are some good quotes...here's some favorites:
"Chris and hundreds of others, he had realized that charity and development work are political, that doing relief and development work in the context of oppression is counterproductive. Any real commitment to development requires political action, speaking out against the powers that keep populations from developing themselves” 88
“It wasn't just the former state-owned farms that were being snapped up by Siyaad's inner circle. Traditional farmers were forced out of business by low prices and were either driven off their land or forced to sell it cheaply. In essence, the West's surplus grains were subsidizing the production of bananas and other crops that did not compete with Western agricultural interests” 170.
“There was something poetic about the way he and others stole from the UN and NGOs, used the money to build houses, and then rented those same houses back to the UN and NGOs.” 176.
“Somalia had become addicted to aid, its political system so accustomed to ingesting large amounts of foreign cash, that, like any redundant junkie, it had reached a point where withdrawing the aid would do more damage to the system than keeping it flowing” 180.
“The real beneficiaries of the aid program were, and are, the American equivalent of Siyaad Barre's inner circle. They are a small group of men with connections and money and influence. They are America's merchants of grain” 197.
There's also some interesting chapters on Save the Childrens child sponsorship scandal and the ways in which the media creates wars... fascinating stuff...
.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
students
If you can find yourself an American address to ship books to.... www.half.com is gold!
GOLD.
I haven't totaled everything yet but a ballpark guess would be that I saved probably between $300-$400 thanks to this site.
GOLD.
I haven't totaled everything yet but a ballpark guess would be that I saved probably between $300-$400 thanks to this site.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
I get to read this...
Among other readings the homework for "Biblical Faith and Economics" includes two chapters from Ron Sider's "Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger"... for homework.... woot woot.
“Is creating wealth bad? No. The Bible says exactly the opposite. Is God engaged in class warfare? Not at all. Scripture never says that God loves the poor more than the rich. But it does regularly assert that God lifts up the poor and disadvantaged. And it frequently teaches that God casts down the wealthy and powerful in two specific situations: 1) when they become wealthy by oppressing the poor; or 2) when they fail to share with the needy” 53.
“God's Word teaches a very hard, disturbing truth. Those who neglect the poor and oppressed are really not God's people at all- no matter how frequently they practice their religious rituals nor how orthodox are their creeds and confessions” 59.
“In evangelical circles today it is much easier to insist on an orthodox Christology than to insist that God has a special concern for the poor. We have allowed our theology to be shaped by the economic preferences of our materialistic contemporaries than by Scripture. And that is to fall into theological liberalism. We are not nearly as orthodox as we claim to be.” 65.
Incidentally Ron Sider sat behind me in church the other day.... and he's a keynote at the conference
“Is creating wealth bad? No. The Bible says exactly the opposite. Is God engaged in class warfare? Not at all. Scripture never says that God loves the poor more than the rich. But it does regularly assert that God lifts up the poor and disadvantaged. And it frequently teaches that God casts down the wealthy and powerful in two specific situations: 1) when they become wealthy by oppressing the poor; or 2) when they fail to share with the needy” 53.
“God's Word teaches a very hard, disturbing truth. Those who neglect the poor and oppressed are really not God's people at all- no matter how frequently they practice their religious rituals nor how orthodox are their creeds and confessions” 59.
“In evangelical circles today it is much easier to insist on an orthodox Christology than to insist that God has a special concern for the poor. We have allowed our theology to be shaped by the economic preferences of our materialistic contemporaries than by Scripture. And that is to fall into theological liberalism. We are not nearly as orthodox as we claim to be.” 65.
Incidentally Ron Sider sat behind me in church the other day.... and he's a keynote at the conference
Sunday, January 14, 2007
thoughts about being here.
The previous post was a poem by Wendell Berry who is an American author that I've been meaning to get into for quite some time. I was glancing at some books that my new roommate has and there it was- a collection of poems by the big W.B.
Essentially things are different here. I wouldn't say they are bad or that my experience has been negative in the least but it's obviously not familiar and familiarity has been my life for almost 6 years. Everyone is pretty nice at the seminary I'm staying at but I wouldn't say that I've necessarily 'connected' with anyone just yet, in that way where you just know you can make a joke (eg. paul eats cereal loudly and it drives me nuts!) or when you can be unconscious of the amount of
noise your making or the manner in which you prepare your dinner, or the amount of time you take to shower...or the way you drive with strangers in the car or the music you're listening to... right now it's so 'tip-toey' all the time. From past experiences I'm guessing this will probably take about 2-3 weeks to change for the better but time moves slowly when there's not much going on.
There are a couple redeeming factors to all of this though. The first is that I'm excited about the classes I get to take- they are: Applied Research and Evaluation (which I'm more nervous about than excited), Research and Issues in International Development, Economic Development for Developing Countries and Biblical Faith and Economics. It's a bit heavy on the economics front but the assignments I've seen from the syllabi sound interesting (ie. evaluate the developing methods of the documentary 'born into brothels' or 'discuss the relationship of economics and the kingdom of God') So, I am excited to start classes on Tuesday.
The other factor of goodness that I'm holding to is that I'm convinced that there's something divine about being here. Leading up to the big move I became suddenly aware of how much I loved my life in Toronto- how much I loved my friends, my job...even the city of Toronto. I became increasingly sad at the prospect of moving because it meant leaving all of these things behind. I was sharing all of this with a trusted friend when he suggested something that I think will shape my time here. The thought..epiphany as I experienced it...was something like- God has given me so much, much more than I ever dreamed of or imagined for myself- and its like God might be saying that for a time it's going to be gone... I'll be removed from the familiarity, the friendships, the family, the networks, the jobs... and that it's going to be just me and God and we're going to figure this out together- apart from all of the influences of home and the busyness that comes with being there. That in this year away I'm going to slow things down in a sense and figure out who I am and where I'm supposed to be and all that jazz.
"In having known fully the
goodness of that, it will be
good also to melt."
So, in short- it sucks to be away but I'm content to be here.
Essentially things are different here. I wouldn't say they are bad or that my experience has been negative in the least but it's obviously not familiar and familiarity has been my life for almost 6 years. Everyone is pretty nice at the seminary I'm staying at but I wouldn't say that I've necessarily 'connected' with anyone just yet, in that way where you just know you can make a joke (eg. paul eats cereal loudly and it drives me nuts!) or when you can be unconscious of the amount of
noise your making or the manner in which you prepare your dinner, or the amount of time you take to shower...or the way you drive with strangers in the car or the music you're listening to... right now it's so 'tip-toey' all the time. From past experiences I'm guessing this will probably take about 2-3 weeks to change for the better but time moves slowly when there's not much going on.
There are a couple redeeming factors to all of this though. The first is that I'm excited about the classes I get to take- they are: Applied Research and Evaluation (which I'm more nervous about than excited), Research and Issues in International Development, Economic Development for Developing Countries and Biblical Faith and Economics. It's a bit heavy on the economics front but the assignments I've seen from the syllabi sound interesting (ie. evaluate the developing methods of the documentary 'born into brothels' or 'discuss the relationship of economics and the kingdom of God') So, I am excited to start classes on Tuesday.
The other factor of goodness that I'm holding to is that I'm convinced that there's something divine about being here. Leading up to the big move I became suddenly aware of how much I loved my life in Toronto- how much I loved my friends, my job...even the city of Toronto. I became increasingly sad at the prospect of moving because it meant leaving all of these things behind. I was sharing all of this with a trusted friend when he suggested something that I think will shape my time here. The thought..epiphany as I experienced it...was something like- God has given me so much, much more than I ever dreamed of or imagined for myself- and its like God might be saying that for a time it's going to be gone... I'll be removed from the familiarity, the friendships, the family, the networks, the jobs... and that it's going to be just me and God and we're going to figure this out together- apart from all of the influences of home and the busyness that comes with being there. That in this year away I'm going to slow things down in a sense and figure out who I am and where I'm supposed to be and all that jazz.
"In having known fully the
goodness of that, it will be
good also to melt."
So, in short- it sucks to be away but I'm content to be here.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Wendell Berry
How exactly good it is
to know myself
in the solitude of winter,
my body containing its own
warmth, divided from all
by the cold; and to go
separate and sure
among the trees cleanly
divided, thinking of you
perfect too in your solitude
your life withdrawn into
your own keeping
-to be clear, poised
in perfect self suspension
toward you, as though frozen.
And having known fully the
goodness of that, it will be
good also to melt.
to know myself
in the solitude of winter,
my body containing its own
warmth, divided from all
by the cold; and to go
separate and sure
among the trees cleanly
divided, thinking of you
perfect too in your solitude
your life withdrawn into
your own keeping
-to be clear, poised
in perfect self suspension
toward you, as though frozen.
And having known fully the
goodness of that, it will be
good also to melt.
Friday, January 12, 2007
arrived.
It's Friday night and we just finished a long, long day of orientation at the building in Valley Forge, where most of our classes are going to be held. It's been a bit of a whirlwind week that began with the departure from 493 Cummer Ave. to the digs back in Smithville where I spent most of my time running around buying the necessities or finishing up some paperwork- or running around with the kiddies. Then came Thursday morning at 7:30am- time to go to Philadelphia.
I arrived at the Seminary where I'm staying at about 6:00pm- so the drive was a little longer than I expected but I did have to stop for about 30 minutes at the border- and I got pulled over by a state trooper for speeding (yikes!!!!), so that took some time...and is going to cost some money...
Last night was roommate introduction time (a good guy named Matt originally from Wisconsin), room set up, a viewing of the latest episode of "The Office" and just enough time to catch sports centre (athankyou Paul Randall for access to the sling box) and off to bed.
More thoughts to come about this whole experience but for tonight...c'est tout!
I arrived at the Seminary where I'm staying at about 6:00pm- so the drive was a little longer than I expected but I did have to stop for about 30 minutes at the border- and I got pulled over by a state trooper for speeding (yikes!!!!), so that took some time...and is going to cost some money...
Last night was roommate introduction time (a good guy named Matt originally from Wisconsin), room set up, a viewing of the latest episode of "The Office" and just enough time to catch sports centre (athankyou Paul Randall for access to the sling box) and off to bed.
More thoughts to come about this whole experience but for tonight...c'est tout!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
the time has come
After cramming way too many things into the last three days, the time has just about arrived to place a couple more things in the car and head out. I've got some posts brewing about this whole adventure so far but it looks like they'll have to hibernate for a few more days.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
the last day
Okay, so that video wasn't all that easy and on some computers you can barely see the picture-- so I've got some work to do.
I'm currently 1/3 of the way through my official last day at The Gateway. I love this place. I especially love Tyler Thrasher who I get to work with today. He is quite possibly the best gateway supervisor I've ever known.
I'm currently 1/3 of the way through my official last day at The Gateway. I love this place. I especially love Tyler Thrasher who I get to work with today. He is quite possibly the best gateway supervisor I've ever known.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
well that was easy...sort of.
I was just messing around and recorded Jay learning the cello- this is him after 30 minutes of practice (in his life).
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
2007
Okay, my goal for the rest of my life (or until I accomplish it) is to figure out how to make videos with my digital camera and post them on my blog. I think this will be better than just pictures of the trip. Let's call it- a documentary. How exciting.
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