The Raven Foundation

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Are you getting all worked up over an issue? Angry, annoyed, feeling a tiny bit self-righteous? Suzanne asks where it leads and if anything good can come of it.

On November 4, 2008, Californians passed Proposition 8 to amend their state Constitution to recognize only male-female marriages. Opposed by the gay-lesbian community, Prop 8 was supported by, among other groups, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Saints (the Mormon Church). This is not another opinion piece about who is right and who is wrong on this issue, or who is the victim and who is the bigot. I am as equally compassionate towards Mormons as I am towards gays and lesbians. I am friends with and have deep admiration for members on all sides. So please don’t read this trying to figure out my hidden position because there is none. What this article is about, though, is how two people found a way to admit to themselves that even though they were convinced they were right, they were also terribly wrong. They were able to dwell in the morally ambiguous state of being right/wrong and they did so in the midst of the finger-pointing, blaming and recriminations that cannot abide that existential unity.

A response to a New York Times op-ed article by William Kristol on December 1, 2008

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/opinion/01kristol.html?_r=1&scp=10&sq=december+01+2008&st=nyt

Can someone be both guilty and a scapegoat? It is a question raised by the unanimous vote for a panel to investigate impeachment proceedings against Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Caught on tape discussing how to reap personal benefit from his constitutional power to fill President-elect Obama’s vacant senate seat, Governor Blagojevich is universally condemned, tried and sentenced. Indeed, it is difficult to find any defenders of his conduct and you will not find one here. Any public servant who engages in a pattern of behavior that elevates personal gain over the public good is at the very least guilty of ethical violations and a breach of trust. In this case, it seems as if the governor’s actions have risen to criminal behavior and such accusations, though yet unproven, have deprived him of the consent of the governed. The fact that he has not resigned is being read as a signal that he is in a state of denial about his situation. Governor Blagojevich has lost his ability to govern, is ethically at fault and potentially criminally guilty, but is he being scapegoated?

Listening to CNN the day before the inauguration of Barack Obama as our 44^th president, I heard a commentator observe that in Europe Obama is viewed as a cultural icon along the lines of Nelson Mandela. Really – Nelson Mandela? The man who endured 27 years in prison and who, as president, inspired a nation and the world to reject the evils of apartheid without resentment or revenge? Obama’s life accomplishments, even if you count becoming president of the United States, pale in comparison. Forty-three men before him have done that, but only a few have risen to icon status. And alongside Mandela’s years of suffering, Obama’s life experiences seem privileged and undemanding. What exactly has this man done to warrant being mentioned in the same breath as Nelson Mandela?

The Showtime series, Dexter, pushes the notion of the anti-hero to its limits. Dexter is hunky, lonely and a dedicated serial killer. Luckily he has an ethical code to guide his passion for murder: he only kills other at-large serial killers. This weird premise makes the audience squirm as we find ourselves rooting for a murderer who never doubts that his violence is both good and manageable. Join the discussion as we ask the questions raised by this provocative series: Under what conditions is violence good? Are we the masters of our own violence, or its self-deluded servants?

Is Dexter right to kill serial killers?

Have you heard the term snark? If you’ve ever been part of the insulting, catty put-downs that are the stuff of high school lunch rooms, either dishing it out or trying to dodge the bullets, then you know what it’s all about. Snark is angry, vindictive, language that aims for the jugular. Its goal is to wound, maybe kill, with words. Despite the claims of snarkers to be seeking justice, snarking cares nothing for the truth. Snarkers are on the prowl for banquets of self-satisfaction and group unity formed munching with their pals on the carcasses of the glamorous, high and mighty, or some unlucky dweeb. Think of kicking George W. Bush off the island – or would it be more fun for you if it were Nancy Pelosi getting the boot? Either way, are you in touch with that palpable pleasure warming your gut like a snort of good scotch? That’s the snark effect and it’s addictive.

As the keynote speaker at the Illinois Church Women United annual conference (April 28-29 in Granite City), I was honored to address an assembly of dynamic, can-do women who tirelessly put their faith into action. They give voice to the voiceless, working for immigration reform and farm workers rights, and serving the needs of women in prison, especially those who give birth while incarcerated. On behalf of farm workers rights, they offered an action we all can do today that can have a huge impact to end suffering and death: sign this letter and mail it to the chairman of Reynolds American Inc., the tobacco company, asking that she speak with a union representative about conditions in the field – “indentured servitude, sub-minimum wages, corrupt crew leaders, extreme poverty, bootleg labor camps and heat stroke deaths.” Act now and if you are a church woman, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Illinois CWU president today about how you can become a member of this movement of talented, inspiring women.

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Mainstream media reports coming out of Afghanistan and Gaza are as one sided as home town sports reporting. Your local paper or radio reporter will tell you everything about your own team while offering barely a glancing account of the opposition. If you live in Chicago and want to follow the Seattle Seahawks, for example, you know the Sun-Times will not be much help. You need to find a Seattle news source to get the Seahawk’s side of the story.