Bolivian Streets (La Paz) - About the track and latest on upcoming album
Category: Music

Track: Bolivian Streets (La Paz)
Album: Son of Slaves and Lords

This was the first piece of music I wrote in 2005 when I returned from South America. It was a tough time in my life and it was finally through writing this track that I began to come to terms with everything. It was almost like the music was a form of therapy and that by writing this I was finally able to understand what I was feeling. Needless to say, it means something to me.

Parts of this track are from the original writing, while I have changed other parts of it. The whole track brings me back to La Paz and I'm sure it will mean different things to different people.

Lyrics:
Bolivian Streets (La Paz)
-------------------------

("And hardened in the furnace fires of Bolivian streets")

We descended from kings/
Immortal lineage the indian brings/
When the blood of his body is deeper than the source of a spring/
We're rooted to the earth/
More specifically to the path/
from Tierra del Fuego down to Canada on the map/
...The winds, of change, have come/
But my people have still remained strong in the face of adversity/
I'm mixed blood, almost every color occurs in me/
The culmination of the genetic set of diversity/
Inside the Mayan university, where they taught theories of math, engineering structural city plans/
To the mound-builders of Cahokia/
Long as Andean millenia and the history of Bolivia/
To the city-states of Nasca/
Part of a free-trade pact, spanning Patagonia to Alaska/
To the Caribbean, Blackfoot and through Nebraska/
For Centuries, before anybody conceived of NAFTA/
..This land was densely populated in fact/
With more peoples in the Americas than Europe at that/
With greater population density than India packed/
Until the epidemics attacked on first contact/
Like in...

Chorus:
-------

(x2)

I admit, it's easier to preach than live it/
I almost lost my life as a Christian/
Lying on my back in derision/
Hardening my heart in my condition/
You never knew it/
Because you never listen/
Hate given over the fate that people were given/
..And the faith that I wasn't living/
But I refused to remain calm/
..Thought of myself as strong/
Your mind'll play tricks on you when the devil's got your arm/
And you're alone in a world of harm/
With nothing to lean on but a knife and an ice grill like bronze/
...I thought I understood the church's past/
Till I was face forward in the reality of brutality/
Seeing indigenous people in poverty/
Because of a colony/
Consecrated by religious authority/
Now I understand the hurt/
And why the people of earth will curse the church/
As if it were dirt/

(chorus)

Walking the streets of La Paz/
Giving pause to every thought of Western progression you've ever had/
Inside societies that were ravaged hundreds of years/
You can see another side of humanity that appears/
And another side of yourself when you look in the mirror/
It's enough to make you want to repent/
When you see a grown man cover his face as he's working for rent/
To try to hide the shame of shining your shoes for tweleve cents/
But/
When that's the option you got, gotta take it/
Immigration laws, gotta break it/
Especially when your kids are barely able to sleep from hunger pains/
And you know it stays the same the longer that you remain/
..You'll become an easy target for blame/
But surviving, you gotta break the rules playing in this unfair game/
Know there's more to life than driving a car with a fancy name/
So I spit a flame to create change.

Son of Slaves and Lords Update:

The album is now one track away from completion! This track is the second to the last to be completed for the album. I need your prayers, though. I have to get sample clearance for some of the tracks and one of them in particular wants 500 Euro to clear a track, which I don't have. Plus, since I am giving away the album (not putting it up for sale) it doesn't make sense to spend $1000+ on sample clearances. I want to do this right, however, so I'm trying to get all the samples cleared. Just pray that G-d moves the hearts of these people so that they'll grant permission.

After the sample clearances and the last track being finished, I'll post the whole album on my website (atomthaimmortal.com) for free. Read the interview (my previous blog entry) if you want to know the rationale behind that choice.

Stay tuned and stay blessed,

Atom

Currently listening : Musica Andina By Illapu Release date: 2003-10-14

8:34 AM - 3 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Interview with ICEPowered.com - 7/21/2008
Category: Music

Currently watching : The Twilight Zone: Vol. 2 Release date: 2001-04-03

10:55 AM - 3 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Trickle-Up Economics
Category: News and Politics

"Trickle-Down Economics", "Reganomics" or "Voodoo Economics" were names given to the Regan Administration's theory on how tax cuts given to the rich could boost the economy. Motivated by the Laffer Curve in economic theory, the idea is that if you give the rich more money (by cutting their taxes) they would in turn have more money to invest - creating new jobs and more taxable income in the process. This theory was tested by the Regan Administration and is also a favorite theory of our current US administration.

Although the Laffer Curve does have some application in extreme cases (if the government is taxing you 99% it would take away your motivation to work at all), it does not hold in the way "Voodoo Economists" want to believe. Money, in general, trickles upward - from the consumer (the masses) to the producer (the elite). Common sense would tell us that if we wanted to infuse money into the ecomony that will affect all levels, we should give it to those at the bottom - it will end up in the hands of the rich anyway, because that is the normal flow of money. A new study confirms this:

Food stamps offer best stimulus - study

Apparently, we should just give the poor more food stamps in order to help everybody.

As for the actual documented impact of tax cuts, alas, they do not work as advertised (further confirming our common sense intuition.) From Wikipedia's article on the Laffer Curve:

Currently reading : 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus By Charles C. Mann Release date: 10 October, 2006

9:24 AM - 6 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

Smart Fiction - The Days of Peleg

I am not a big reader of fiction; almost all of what I read is either science, history, philosophy, or economics. So for me to recommend, or even read, a non-fiction book is unusual. Which means that the book must be something worth reading, both fun and able to keep my attention.

Currently reading : The Days of Peleg By Jon Saboe Release date: 31 March, 2007

7:21 AM - 5 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

The message of Christmas

The message of Christmas is the meaning of Messiah.

-Atom
 
The Meaning of Messiah

If I had only one opportunity to speak with you about anything and have you listen with an open mind, I would use that opportunity to tell you about Messiah. While other issues are important to me, no other is as important.

Messiah literally means "Anointed One", which is another way of saying "Chosen One." I'll get to that in a minute, because before I introduce the hero of the story, I must explain the need for a hero.

Man was designed and formed by G-d. If you have not come to this realization or think it is nonsense, then stop reading here. You will be held responsible for all truth revealed to you, and it will condemn you to know more truth than you're ready for. Instead, get a better understanding of the situation here, here, and here. Come back when you're ready.

If you're reading this, I'll assume you recognize the truth that human beings were created by G-d. When humans were made, they were designed perfectly, but with the ability to choose and change. In addition to the capacity for voluntary choices they were given the dignity to see their choices carried out. As perfect beings, any choice or change would lead to either an equally perfect state or one that was less than perfect. Through a series of choices, man choose to become less than perfect. And from that early history mankind began to rebel against his creator.

As the designer of the system, G-d was free to choose the proper function and goals of the system. So he made laws for the elements to obey (physics) and for man to obey (ethics and morals). Each of these provided the framework in which the system could function properly to carry out its designed purpose. While the elements were given no freedom in their ability to obey the rules, man was different. As mentioned before, he was allowed the freedom to either submit to the rules of not; when he chose not to, the system would not function as designed and inevitably destruction and chaos would follow.

This is why adultery (a moral prohibition) leads to destroyed families; why lying leads to broken relationships. Murder destroys lives as well as communities. Children disobeying their parents allows them to make poor choices, which often ruin lives. All these moral laws were designed to protect us. When we don't follow them, we must endure the consequences.

G-d does not want his system destroyed nor does he want to see his beings within the system destroyed. Furthermore, as a perfect being, G-d embodies perfect justice. So to counter the destruction wrought by the breaking of moral laws, G-d acted. He declared that he would carry out justice on earth and judge every human being according to whether or not they had brought destruction into his system. The punishment for the crime would be equal, life for life. Since law-breaking would bring destruction into the the system of G-d, destroying the life within, G-d would bring destruction into the life of those who committed such acts. This is what justice requires and what Hell is.

As dark as the story has become, it gets somewhat darker. We become the villians of the story because we have all have broken the moral laws. In the language of G-d, we have all sinned. G-d laws are simple and easy to understand:

Do not worship anything on heaven or earth other than G-d.
Do not make any physical representations of G-d for worship.
Do not speak lightly of your creator or mention his name without reverence.
Set aside the seventh day to rest from work.
Obey your parents and honor them.
Do not murder.
Join with only one person during life and stay with that person until death.
Do not steal.
Do not lie.
Do not covet what belongs to someone else or have greedy desire.

Yet we have all broken those laws, most of us repeatedly. If you were judged according to that standard would you be judged innocent or a law-breaker?

As law-breakers, a sentence of punishment hangs over our heads. We are guilty of the same crimes our ancestors were guilty of, each bringing chaos and destruction into G-d's perfect system by our choices. We have all earned punishment and could be left here without hope, to die and receive our own destruction.

But G-d did not abandon us.

Much as an angered parent still loves the child that is ruining their own life, G-d, even in his anger, took pity on fallen man. G-d's love for us was so great that he sent us a savior, a hero, to rescue us from our self-caused destruction. This savior's name was Yeshua (Jesus) and he was born roughly 4 BC in Judea, under Roman rule. His birth is what we remember in Christmas and what we celebrate. This man was unique, sharing in G-d's essence and being one with him in a way we do not fully understand. G-d called him his only begotten son. This Messiah, chosen by G-d, was sent to lead mankind and to save us. We, the sheep without a shepherd, were given someone to watch over us at last.

Yeshua openly confronted the religious and political authorities of his day, speaking truth. Because of this, he was sentenced to death by crucifixtion around 32 AD. Though he was innocent and could muster forces to fight on his behalf, he went silently to his death; because only through his death could he pay the price for our sins.

Yeshua willingly offered himself as a sacrifice on our behalf, taking the punishment we deserved, because of his pity and his great mercy for us. The destruction of his life fulfilled the demands of justice for the destruction we had caused by our actions. He took our place in G-d's courtroom to save us from the destruction that awaited us.

After his death, he came back from death three days later, startling and completely shocking his downcast followers. He had one message, that they were to go into the world and repeat to them what had happened and what they had seen firsthand. They were to teach people from all races and nations who Messiah was and what he had done on their behalf. This small group of followers, emboldened by Messiah's apparent power over death itself, quickly spread the good news to all the known world. It cost almost every one of them their lives, as men hate to be confronted with truth, but those left continued to spread the message. The message has been passed down faithfully even to our day, when someone many years ago shared the message with me. And I now pass it on to you.

Through Messiah, you can have forgiveness. Your sins can be wiped away and G-d will not remember any of the former evil deeds you have done. Yeshua came to bring life and provide a path back to G-d.

In his words: "I am The Way, The Truth and The Life. No one comes to the Father except by me."

To this day, man still has the ability to choose. The penalty for sin is real and judgment is coming. If you identify with Yeshua, and become one with Messiah through confession of your sins to him and asking him to enter in your life, becoming baptized as one of his followers, then his death becomes yours and your sins will become forgiven. If not, then you must pay for your own sins at the cost of your destruction.

May you come to know the same Messiah I have known. There is much, much more to say about him, about Resurrection, his Coming Kingdom, prophecy, the spiritual reality, and many more things concerning the life he brings, but until you make that decision, I can only leave you here.

"Go in through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in through it. But narrow is the gate and constricted is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."
(Mat 7:13-14)

I've shown you the gate; where you go from here is your own choice.

-Atom

PS If you decide you want to follow Messiah, contact me and I'll tell you what to do next.

PSS Now you know why the birth of Messiah is worth celebrating each year.

Currently watching : Seven Samurai (Criterion Collection Spine 2)

4:34 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Our marriage and Yucatan Adventure
Current mood: content
Category: Life

On friday Sept 7th I made Luz Maria my wife. We had a private ceremony on the beach and the pastor from our church, Matt Brown of Sandals, married us. I had always wanted an outdoor wedding, kinda one of those things you envision. I always imagined myself getting married at the beach somewhere. And lucky for me, Luz liked the idea as well.

Since it had been kinda rainy, we were a little worried about the weather. I mean, an outdoor wedding is good and fine, unless of course it rains. But G-d provided a perfectly clear day for us. It was perfect, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the water was crystal blue, like I've never seen it in CA.

Luz looked as beautiful as I've ever seen anyone. Like she could have walked off the pages of a bridal magazine.

Our ceremony was short, with a lot of prayer and just our immediate family present. Luz and I wrote our own vows, her's were especially sweet.

Then we took a bunch of pictures (done by Leah and Rob Vis, as well as by my brother Eric). And we went home to prepare for the reception later that night.

(During the interim, we edited together a video of our ceremony, to show the guests at the reception.)

The reception started off a little rocky...there was no sound equipment and because there was no ice, there were no drinks. So guests began arriving, and there was no music or drinks...uh... 

But a couple people went to go get ice and Shaun finally brought the DJ equipment, which we set up in a hurry after repeated attempts, and we were set to go. Luz was at that point already super stressed by it all, and it was beginning to get to me as well, since when she's stressed that stresses me. But we prayed together, and just decided to enjoy everything.

After that initial rockiness, things were cool. My family and friends (and Luz's mom and friends) helped a TON. They helped set everything up, serve food (which was delicious! fajitas, beans, salsa, tortillas....mmmm...) and get the show on the road. We had a live performance by Luz Maria herself, where she sung me a sweet song with her American Idol voice. That blew people away. Then we danced our first dance to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (the hawaiian style version from 50 First Dates) and did the garter throw and bouquet toss.

Luz had also prepared a sweet photo collage video (set to the Cure's "Love Song") and we showed the video of our ceremony, with music from Pachelbel's Canon in D.

After all that was taken care of, and people ate their wedding cupcakes (we had a cake made of 100 little cupcakes, it actually looked pretty nice! Creative as well, Luz picked it out.) we then started the music, which was a dance mix prepared by me the day before. We ran it from a laptop with Winamp, which also provided a cool full screen visualization setting, so we had a projection light show to accompany the music. That last idea was spur of the moment, I just thought of it, and it worked so well...it looked like we had a light show.

(Thanks to the real life homies who helped a ton with everything. 2nd Sense, Giancarlo, Jovie, Dee (especially you!), Eric, Rachel, Mami, Keyannah, Mickey, Cindy, Rob, Leah, Mama Isabel, and everyone else for the gifts and the love.)

The following week we left for the Yucatan for our honeymoon. Luz had never really been traveling before, except for a few trips as a kid to Mexico. We landed in Cancun and enjoyed the beach for a couple of days. From there we went to Tulum (the most gorgeous stretch of beach I've personally been too, and the Maya ruins there are cool as well.) then to Valladolid (to see Chichen Itza). From Valladolid, we made our way to Campeche, which was a cute little colonial city that reminded me of Old San Juan. Very similar in the layout and feel. While at Campeche we also found a way to get to Edzna, the ancient Maya city. It was a difficult task! It literally took us two days of effort to finally make it there...and then we almost didn't make it back! lol. Man, close calls.

After Campeche, we went to Merida. Merida was too cool. I have been before, but this time the experience was so different. Everything seemed nicer somehow. We even found an Andean band playing outside a restaurant and they played Illapu's "El Cascabel" for me! They did it well, too! While in Merida, we took a quick trip to Uxmal, another Maya city, and Luz's favorite of the trip. Oh yeah, we almost got left in the jungle there as well.

After that, we took an 8 hour bus ride back to Tulum (which would have taken 3 hours, had the bus not taken the longest way on earth and stopped at every little pueblo in Yucatan and Quintana Roo.) It rained while we were in Tulum (so no beach), but the next day we went to Cancun again and to Isla Mujeres to snorkel. That was another good time, Isla Mujeres is beautiful. We got to go to the clear water beach there as well.

Then we bid Cancun good bye and made it back home safely, with all our luggage. It was a great trip.

Of course, the whole time we were on busses I kept thinking about and analyzing the economic situation of Mexico. I get a feeling of hope from the people there, however; I wouldn't be surprised if things continue to improve for them. They have a fire to fight for what they know is right and are some of the hardest working people you will ever see. Much harder working than the people here. It sucks to see the level of poverty there in some of the smaller towns, but even then, the feeling isn't one of desperation. (I've been plenty of impoverished places where the feeling is definitely one of hopelessness.) There, it is different. It is hard to put your finger on, but I know Mexico is beautiful, and the people know it as well.

Atom

(Ruins at Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico)

(A view of the ocean at Tulum)

(Ruins at Tulum)

(My beauty on the Malecon of Campeche city, enjoying the summer night)

(Streets of Campeche)

(Edzna, in the jungle near Campeche.)

(carvings at Chichen Itza)

(Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal, Yucatan, Mexico)

(My gorgeous wife, back at home, safe and sound.)

Currently reading : Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science By Charles Wheelan Release date: September, 2003

2:29 PM - 28 Comments - 37 Kudos - Add Comment

When bogus stats attack...(true impact Undocumented Immigrants)
Category: News and Politics

I get a lot of these messages, and I try to help when I can:

Original message:
=============

my dad sent me this. thought of you and wondered what you would say about it.

(A list of questionable statistics follow, with no source other than "From the Los Angeles Times", with no date or issue number)


My quick response:
==============

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=881584

That's a peer-reviewed 2006 study done on the economic effects of undocumented workers. (A little more rigorous than an unknown "LA Times" issue of the local newspaper)

From Yahoo! Finance:

http://finance.yahoo.com/retirement/article/103024/good-life-of-boomers-tied-to-better-life-for-immigrants

That deals with why this country needs even more foreign workers. Note, Yahoo Finance is usually a very conservative economics site, capitalistic to the core. This isn't some Marxist propaganda.

As for the crime stats, I'd have to see the actual study they came from before I could decide. I have a feeling they're either: A) made up (since they don't provide references to the actual study), or B) grossly exaggerated, by leaving out relevant data.

I already spotted some bogus claims on there:

Less than 2% of illegal aliens are picking our crops, but 29% are on welfare.

Illegal Immigrants cannot qualify for welfare. (See the 2006 study I linked to for details)

-Atom

UPDATE: (Undocumented Immigrants and Crime)

Here a summary of some more peer-reviewed work, this time related to crime and undocumented immigrants:

Summary Source: http://www.eriposte.com/civil_rights/non-citizens/illegalimmigration.htm (Links to actual study contained in linked article)

Findings:

Based on the excellent data analysis done by Smith et al. above, I make the following inferences by extension, in the context of illegal immigrants:

(i) There is at best weak evidence, and at worst no evidence that the majority of immigrants are MORE predisposed to crime than Americans of comparable age and gender. An optimistic reading of the data might extend the same conclusion to illegal immigrants - but even a non-optimistic interpretation suggests that the majority of illegal immigrants (largely Mexicans) are probably associated with imprisonment rates not significantly higher than that of American citizens of their same age and gender. 

(ii) Imprisonment rates for illegal immigrants are biased unfavorably in their direction because of lower likelihood of "bailouts", and greater probability of tougher sentencing - quite possibly exacerbated by prejudicial notions regarding crime rates associated with them.

(iii) Illegal immigrants are probably less likely to be associated with drug crimes than American citizens, but more likely to be associated with (petty) property crimes. The latter tendency may be exacerbated by the poor treatment and low wages they receive at the hands of employers within the U.S. (more on this below).

(iv) However, as the proportion of youth in illegal immigrant populations if often higher than in the general population, the overall crime levels attributable to illegal immigrants is likely higher. With higher fertility levels in Hispanic immigrants (also briefly addressed in my following article - Part II), the propensity for them to constitute an increasing proportion of the youth base will increase the probability that such immigrants are over-represented overall in crime and imprisonment statistics over time. Governments and citizens ignore this at their own long-term peril. Lack of extensive communities and/or social support networks for immigrants is likely to increase the probability of criminal acts. 

(Atom's Note: The youth base of immigrants is what the Yahoo! article linked above find will help fund social security for baby boomers, but since young males are the most likely demographic for commiting crimes in any population, this may lead to slightly higher crime rates for undocumented immigrant populations. But the differences are not that striking between rates of crime for undocumented immigrants and the general citizen population.)

Currently reading : A New Kind of Science By Stephen Wolfram Release date: 14 May, 2002

9:42 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Immigrants and Khristians Part II
Category: News and Politics

You shall not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not despise an Egyptian, for you were an alien (immigrant) in his land;
(Deu 23:7)

Building on what I wrote last time dealing with Immigrants and those who call themselves Christians (you can read it in my blog if you haven't), I wanted to extend the idea on the relationship. So far, I have only talked about it from the perspective of the duties of the society where Immigrants are coming into.

But Torah also tells us of the Immigrant's duty in the society which it finds itself.

First, let me explain about Egypt and the Israelites. The children of Israel sought refuge in Egypt after a famine wiped out the crops in Palestine, being welcomed by the Egyptian government at the time. After many years the Egyptians became frightened of an Israelite "Reconquista" plot (no joke!), and began enslaving Israelites. This lasted for 400 years. After this time, the Israelites were freed from their captors, taken back to Palestine, and on the way were told the instructions given above. To not hate those who had been enslaving and abusing them for 400 years.

This goes back to the general Torah based satyagraha (non-violent love) principle that we are to love those who hate us and do good to those who do evil to us. Even when that evil is slavery and oppression.

(BTW, this is something I really struggle doing!!!! I don't want to look like I'm pointing fingers.)

Does this mean we should remain in slavery? By no means! The Israelites did not and neither should you if you are oppressed. Seek freedom when you can, Messiah teaches as much.

So to apply this to America, we would translate:

"Do not hate the American, for you were an immigrant in his country"

Now how many of you just translated "American" as "White Person" or pictured that in your head? Raise you hand. Ok, wrong translation. You should have read "American" as "Native". This is their country. (This is not a European country, they have simply been colonizing it for the time being.) We (non-natives) are all aliens in their lands. Therefore, we should have no hatred towards Natives.

Or if you're Australian, for Aborigines. Or if you live in Hawaii, for actual Hawaiian Natives. Or if you're South African, for Blacks.

Ok, now that I got your thinking changed, let's ask, can we apply this to White Amerika and Immigrants? I think we can. If we think of White Amerika as a large immigrant society welcoming (or more often than not, not welcoming) immigrants into their community. It is one immigrant society taking in more immigrants, of a different country of origin. In this case, the general prinicple still applies: we are to not hate the same racists who hate us. We are not to hate White Amerika, though they oppress us. Even though these Latino "immigrants" have more of a right to be in America due to their ancestral heritage. For the time being, we are moving into a White Amerikan (illegal itself) community. Therefore, we are to practice love towards those who do evil to us.

(Hard to do! But it is what is required of us.)

So, let's think of another example that actually involves White Europeans as the rightful owners of a land, where it is not a colonial situation: England. That land belongs to Brits, and those of us who are non-Brits living there would be the immigrants spoken of. So if you are, for example, an Indian or African living in Britain, you are to not hate the Brits, even though they oppressed you in their land. What they did (oppression) is evil, but we are to love those who do evil to us, simply because this is what Messiah would do. And it is what he did.

Ok, so hopefully I didn't lose you all in the application.

Another verse in the same chapter teaches:

You shall not hand over to his master a slave that has escaped from his master to you. He shall live with you, among you, in the place which he chooses inside one of your gates, wherever it is good to him. You shall not oppress him.
(Deu 23:15-16)

We are taught that we are not to return (deport) those who seek refuge in our land, even if they are breaking the law to do so. (A runaway slave would be at very least a civil-violator.)  This should speak to anyone who says "But Illegal Immigrants are breaking the law!" G-d would say to you: So what. The law was made for humans, humans were not made for the law. We are to give immigrants refuge and not return them to their masters (government and economic conditions responsible for their seeking refuge.) We are to let them settle among us and not oppress them.

Again, person claiming the title of "Christian", if you follow Messiah, listen to the teaching of how we are supposed to treat those who are aliens among us. We are to welcome them and help them; not oppress them, capture them and deport them. In the same way, if you are an immigrant yourself, you are to not hate those whom you dwell among, regardless of their treatment towards you.

Atom

Currently reading : Genetic Entropy & the Mystery of the Genome By John, C. Sanford Release date: 25 October, 2005

8:25 AM - 14 Comments - 10 Kudos - Add Comment

Immigrants and Khristians

"At the end of three years, even the same year, you shall bring forth all the tenth of your increase, and shall lay it up within your gates. And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the alien, and the fatherless, and the widow who are within your gates shall come and shall eat and be satisfied; so that YHWH your G-d may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do." (Deu 14:28-29)

This was from my daily reading this morning. I thought I'd share it with you because it highlights something that I feel many people who call themselves followers of Messiah miss: G-d is concerned with social issues. Many who call themselves "Christians" try to follow (most of) the Bible's spiritual teachings, but then turn around and simply ignore the social teachings in the same book. Can we obey one and not the other?

It angers me especially, since I feel compassion for immigrants. No, I am not an illegal immigrant, nor is anyone related to me. I'm not Mexican, Central American, or South American. That doesn't matter, but I don't want people to not listen because they think I am only saying this becuase it affects me. I care because people are involved and you Khristians are giving my Messiah a bad name.

If you read Torah, you will continually come across commands to watch after the fatherless (orphans), the widows (elderly) and aliens (immigrants). Khristians will set up orphanages and visit people in nursing homes, but how many of you help immigrants in your community? How many make them feel welcomed?

Or do you instead seek for harsher laws against them? Do you want to strip them of their language and identity? Notice, Torah does not say that they must first give up who they are before you accept them.

I am sick of Amerikan Churchianity, especially when it is mixed with racism. In the words of Tech, the voice of racism speaking the Gospel is devilish.

On a slightly related note, I was laughing at a news story I saw a preview for the other day, where local residents were getting outraged that a southern california pizzaria was accepting pesos as payment. WHO CARES!!! If it is not your pizzaria, what does it matter if they accpet pesos, dollars, yen or shekels? If a pizzaria near the Canadian border was accepting Canadian dollars as an alternative form of payment, Amerikans would not be bothered. But ah yes, racism still exists. When it is our other bordering country, Mexico, and it is Mexicans doing it, it suddenly becomes a cause for concern.

Where is all the talk about Amerika losing its culture to Canadian Culture (in the North)? I have yet to see a news story with that topic.

I guess it is because Canadians aren't busy planning a Reconquista every weekend like we Latinos are. (sarcasm)

Or maybe they just aren't as dark-skinned.

And if it is the Spanish language that bothers you, get over it. Go to Europe, see how many people are multi-lingual there. When you border a country, you usually have some language spillover. It isn't some Communist, balkanizing plot, it is simply the way the world works, stupid.

Atom

Currently reading : The Guide for the Perplexed By Moses Maimonides

9:09 AM - 19 Comments - 14 Kudos - Add Comment

Queretaro: Educating the next

What better way to spend Thanksgiving "holiday" than teaching children about equality and civil disobedience in Mexico? Well, I couldn't think of a better way. Which is why, when asked by the amazing Ms. Michelle (M on my top 24) to give a talk to her fourth grade class in Queretaro, Mexico, I just couldn't refuse.

Michelle teaches english at the International School at Queretaro and was asked by her school to give the children a traditional Thanksgiving celebration. Well, since Thanksgiving is, in Michelle's words, a "white man's propaganda" holiday, she had another idea. Why not teach the children the real story of the Americas?! This is what she did. She taught them about colonization, slavery, the Native nations, civil rights, civil disobedience, Ghandi, Rosa Parks, Dr MLK Jr, Sojourner Truth, and everything else you can think of. I was in turn invited to discuss my music, my participation in social justice, my travels, and my journey.

I accepted the invitation. Obviously.

I got to Juriquilla (the suburb in QRO where Michelle lives) and was given a gracious welcome by Michelle and her son, Andre. Her and I got along instantly, joking like old friends and she made the trip completely enjoyable, as well as 100% memorable.

She took me to her class the following day, where I met the kids. They had been expecting me, and started saying "AT-TOM" when I walked in. : ) They were adorable...attentive, bright and fun. I proceeded to teach them about economic self-sufficiency (swadeshi), racism, the present day effects of past discrimination and exploitation, civil unrest in Oaxaca, the grassroots resistance in Texcoco, some history of the Native peoples of the Americas, and about worldviews. I talked to them about how sometimes facts will collide with your worldview and leave it shattered, only to be rebuilt in a truer fashion.

The kids asked questions about jail and hypothetical situations. "If you were walking down the street and you saw a black man in slave clothes, and he was being forced to take out the trash, what would you do?" "If you went to jail, would people come and try to help you out?". Those were funny. But then they'd also ask deep questions: "Is there ever a time when it is ok to use violence?"

I explained to them how non-violence is superior, since it allows you to gain and maintain more popular support for your struggle and does not compromise your long-term goals of peace and inclusion. Violence may accomplish your short-term goal, but it usually only breeds more violence. It is sometimes necessary, but it is never preferable.

The kids kept asking me to "sing", so I had them make a beat on their desks which I spit a verse to. I also played a CD track for them and explained the lyrics. And Michelle made me play my zampoñas (andean pan flute) for them. I played "Cielito Lindo" and a part of "El Minero".

The whole trip was amazing. I thought I was going down there to minister to the kids, but they (and Michelle) ended up ministering to me.

One thing I forgot to mention, the children in this school are the kids of wealthy parents. It is an exclusive private school, the kind of school Felipe Calderon's children would probably be placed in. So more than likely, these kids represent the next generation of political conservatives in Mexico. What better way to make progress than by teaching these children about the world and hopefully affecting their views? I always say "Never let your enemy educate you." But I have no problem educating the children of my enemy. Michelle is a genius for thinking of this. Maybe these kids will grow up with compassion and understanding, able to use their money and privilege to bring about positive change.

When Michelle was asked by a friend "what do you even make at your job?" she wisely replied: "I make a difference." And a difference she does indeed make.

After that Friday, we traveled to Guanajuato state to San Miguel de Allende, a cute little colonial styled town. That was fun as well. The rest of the weekend was spent kicking it with Michelle, laughing and quoting lines from The Office. She was amazed that I actually had a sense of humor, and a pretty good one in her words. She was amazed that I wasn't short (lol!) or thin. (I guess I look skinny in my pictures?) I was amazed about everything concerning her. I have never felt G-d so real through a person.

Atom

Ms. Michelle in her class.

Currently reading : The Mark of a Man By Elisabeth Elliot Release date: August, 1983

9:40 AM - 31 Comments - 25 Kudos - Add Comment