While you were sleeping...

...or allowing yourself to be boondoggled, hornswaggled, bullshitted or just scared by the U.S. media and the government after 9-11, things were festering and growing and you let them.


You allowed yourself to give up your civil and personal rights, believing the b.s. spewing from your radio and television or splashed across print and internet headlines.  "You're all gonna die if you don't support illegal acts of violence against a foreign nation (Iraq), allow us to illegally incarcerate a whole lot of people in Cuba, set up "watch" lists for air travel (sadly they're still missing all the bad guys coming into the country), and watch your activity at your local library.  And there's a whole plethora of other rights you gave up because "It's unAmerican to question such things".  HORSESHIT!

To question and call out is the most American thing you can do.  And you should do it.  The government is a bunch of fallible humans just like you.  Because you voted for them does not make them experts on running your life.  Thomas Jefferson said, when he helped pen the structuring of the Republic, it would need a good revolution every generation to keep it on its toes.  Boy are we long overdue or what?

http://www.naturalnews.com/029153_British_Petroleum_Police_State.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

The link above shows what happens to freedom of the press when they get scared and allow themselves to be puppets of big business and the government.  They backed off (slacked off).  Sure they got a little bit of nitty-gritty into the public eye about FEMA and the whole hurricane debacle.  Every so often we hear about some governmental indiscretion but for the most part, major media has been publishing what the publicist tell them to.  Wow, wonder how long the fed has had a PR department or at least one that has strong-armed the press the way they do now?  But the point is that now that media has a real piece of meat to sink its teeth into with the Gulf/BP mess, they're seeing the error of their ways for not sticking up for the first amendment both for freedom of the press and the right to petition for redress of grievances.

Starting in the first days after 9-11 I started preaching my mantra of "Retaining the Republic for which we stand before we become the United Police State of America".  Obviously I was a voice crying in the wilderness.  I tried to find a quote this morning but failed.  Something to the effect of not becoming the empire we sought to free ourselves from.  I remember it was from a member of the first continental congress and had to do with the establishment of the new Republic.  But at the end of the day it all boils down to this.  We allowed ourselves to be beat into submission with the constant admonition of our president about being "UnAmerican".  Nary a one spoke up loudly enough in a public forum, myself included, to say "Hey W!  Speaking out is the most American thing about America and questioning our government is the second most American thing to do!"

At the time I did start reading the free press more to learn what was really going on but I did nothing with what I was learning.  I bitched and complained to friends and people around me who would listen and sometimes agree but did we form any kind of protest group?  No.  Did I write letters to my representatives?  Not enough to count and not about the really gritty issues.  I did not call out the passing of the "Patriot" Act or the establishment of Homeland Security.  I have not questions the sending of the National Guard abroad while the regular Army stays here.  I have not demanded at stop to lobbyists or term limitations.  I am just as guilty as the next guy for being "unAmerican"

So here we are.  Government and big business goons muzzling the press.  CNN rages "How dare they?".  Well at least they're finally raging and seeing that if the small media guy gets busted, they're next.  Is it too little too late?  Or will it light enough of a spark under American journalists and their employers to finally say "STOP! Freedom of the press!" and start speaking out?  Will we find out what is really going on in the Gulf and on Capitol Hill regarding BP and when they are going to fix this disaster?  And once the big gash in Mother Earth's belly is sutured and bandaged, will the press continue to stick up for itself?  Will they call out big business for the laundry list of crap they have gotten away with mostly with congress' blessing?  We can only hope. 

In the meantime, I've found my guts.  Sure, I'm just a measly little blogger who only a few people read, but at least I will flex my right to speak freely and demand answers and air my grievances.  President Obama, I voted for you and you have let me down at every turn.  I know you don't run the show but you can get into the House and the Senate and demand that they get their collective heads out of their collective asses.  You can tell the United States what is REALLY going on.  You told me that you wanted to "green up America".  Well you know what?  There's a lot of brown sludge on her beaches that is killing the green and the animals and eventually the people.  How about you start showing me how "green" you are by demanding BP get their asses in gear and fix this shit?  How about you call off the cops, Homeland Security and BP employees who are blocking the press and doing illegal search and seizures?  How about you stick up for THIS country and stop protecting the empire we declared our independence from?  How about you start sticking up for all of our first amendment rights?  How about it Prez?  And press?  How about you join me and grow a pair?  And anyone who reads this blog, how about becoming a true American again and speaking out?

Hey America! When did you forget how to laugh at yourself?

Dear America,

It hit me today the biggest thing wrong with this country right now...we've lost our ability to laugh at ourselves.  As a nation, not myself personally or most of my friends, we've gotten really holier-than-thou.  We think we are the shit as far as countries and governments go and that everyone should want to be like us.  Really? I mean really?

As I have stated before and will go to my grave feeling, the hippies let me down.  Unless the part of the under 40 crowd that has a sense of humor, conviction and open minds prevails we are doomed to have the time from 1964ish to the very early 80's go down in American history as a blip on the radar screen.  I pray hard every day that the loud-mouthed, rainbow colored folks twenty years my junior are successful in not allowing things like Woodstock, Stonewall and Dr. King be forgotten.

Yes, there were a lot of very serious things that happened in the 60's and 70's...Vietnam, WATTS, the Mason murders, the gas squeeze, Watergate and the Kennedy assassinations.  But those things drew us close and we poured out tons of new art like the whole rock music shift, Andy Warhol, Peter Maxx, Hair, Clockwork Orange, Kurt Vaunagut, etc.  We also birthed amazing comedy inspired by our neighbors to the north (SCTV) and the Brits (Monty Python and Benny Hill).  Saturday Night Live hit NBC and shocked us up but had us laughing insanely at our own stupidity.  We saw the rise of people like Billy Crystal, Robin Williams and Whoopi.  Political humor was biting and deep but Washington took it and for awhile still seemed to be fighting for us, just a little.  

Things have become so incredibly boring and lack-luster in the country that owns half the world's wealth.  Art is black and white photography and earth-mother pottery.  Etsy and Ebay wreak of more of the same feathered barrettes and beaded jewelry.  Books and screenplays are just rehash after re-hash.  With the death of Crichton we are left with Dan Brown as far as exciting, well-researched adventure fiction.  Tim Burton and Tarentino about the only current directors with an out-of-the-box vision.  Scorsasi is amazing but how many more years will we have him?  Besides he was a product of that 70's art explosion too.  Fortunately he's been able to hold on despite the Academy's continuing snubs.  Even some of the good ones eroded into cookie cutter bullshit, like Speilberg.  Comedy has become nothing but a conglomeration of stupid site gags.  People, Will Farrell is not clever.  And the few great satirsts have to deal with five-year old politicians who go "You're picking on me.  Say you're sorry."  Really?  That's why it's call political satire.  You chose to be a legislator, you knew what came with the job and besides its only a bit more sarcastic way of the public demanding you to do the job you were elected to do. 

As far as modern rock?  The only American old regime that stays true to their tight black jeans, eye make-up and big hair is The Crue.  Jon and Richie, Sebastian and Brett have left their spandex and Adorn behind for boring flannel and blue denim.  :::yawn:::  Yeah, Kiss still does their thing but Gene has gotten so arrogantly, irrelevant.  Even he stopped laughing at himself. 

So today I put a face on the majority of my own country.  This face has furrows in its brow, scowl lines at the corners of its mouth, and cold eyes.  I don't know what to do to bring back you sense of mirth.  You really need to get over yourself.  You're not that wonderful.  You're far from perfect but that's ok.  You're human.  You don't have all the answers but you don't seem to be open to learning any new ones.  You need to recoup your free spirits and stop with all these rules.  The government and the church are not responsible for you, you are.  There really is only one rule...treat people the way you want to be treated.  If you don't like what's on TV...shut it off.  If you don't like what's on the newstand...don't buy it.  If you don't want your kids exposed to crap...throw out the computer or put passwords on it.  Oh and while we're at it...be a PARENT!!  But in that parenting...teach your kids to laugh...not at others who are different than them but at themselves.  When they face their own frailties, suddenly others are something to become the butt of a joke. 

LAUGH AMERICA...IT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER!!!

Your argument is invalid - The NOH8 trial

The past few days I have been following The Advocate's live tweets from the NOH8 trials.  Today the testimony just completely blew my mind as far as it's total lack of intelligent thought processes and conclusions.  I know, I do not have a college degree.  I took a half year of Sociology my Senior year in high school and zero Psych courses but still I know that all I kept hearing today was "1+1 = fish".

Why are churches getting involved in the politics of civil rights?  Gay "marriage" is a fight for government and legal recognition not a church ceremony.  The LGBT community wants nothing more than the same tax breaks a heterosexual couple gets for having a "marriage license" on file at the local town hall along with job protection, health benefits and legal protection of their estates for their partners and children.  There a millions of Americans who are "married" in civil ceremonies by justices of the peace.  There is no religious value at all, just the sealing of the document they just signed that gives them governmental and legal sanction of their couplehood.  Just like having an affidavit witnessed by an officer of the court.  They ask all the requisite questions and you both sign the document and the notary seals it.

No branch of the U.S. government nor any state or local agency can mandate that a church perform a religious ceremony of any kind including weddings.  They only require that clergy also be certified as Justices of the Peace so they can legally witness the marriage license. (see comment below-this is not necessarily a true fact. CT does not require JP status for clergy.  Feel free to post your state's statutes on this.  Thank you) It's very frustrating that Christians and Jews can not seem to differentiate between "marriage" and "wedding".  I'm not sure what Muslims call their coupling ritual so I apologize for not including it. 

Then to take it a step further.  Religious groups want to bring this into a "family" realm by stating that same sex marriage destroys the American family.  Really?  If a child is raised in a loving household, has parents who make sure they are safely housed and sent to school every day and living within the law, what's the issue?  How about deadbeat dads and men who have just abdicated as parents/bread winners?  From personal experience I think they do more damage to families.  And while we're casting stones, there are numerous Catholic organizations fighting gay "marriage" who are sitting back saying nothing about the pedophiles within their clergy.  Don't you think that puts a far bigger strain on a family and children if parents protect the person who is molesting their kids?  Just sayin' people.  And as a single-parent I beg the court's indulgence by asking how is my situation any stronger family unit than a same-sex pair raising kids?  Hey!  They have the advantage of two incomes and the probability of one of them being physically and emotionally available to their children more often that I do.

So lets go back to same-sex marriage having a negative affect on heterosexual marriages.  How?  Because less LGBT's will hide in a straight marriage because of the social and psychological strain of living out?  Or because they will show straight couples up with the longevity of their relationships.  They don't have to wait for a major family issue to stress their relationship because they have a huge stress-factor going in...being LGBT people.  They've already lived their lives before they were a couple with all the problems and stigma that come the fact of realizing they're not "normal".  Then to make it a non-traditional coupling.  Twice the stress.  So they tend to do very good with the bumps and bruises that come with keeping a relationship vibrant and healthy.  Many same-sex couples stay together for life and have a better track record of doing so than straights.  And if they do split that is no reason for self-righteous straights to go "Oh look.  See they are promiscuous"  Bull shit!! What about your 14-year-old slut daughter you let out of the house in a mini-skirt and tank top that has more than one condom in her purse or your spouse whose had a mistress for the past ten years?

Which brings us to the family thing.  First, I'll pick up from the last paragraph...straight does not equal good parents.  Done!  Second, straight parents can produce gay children.  In fact most LGBT kids come out of heterosexual homes.  As for same-sex couples only producing LGBT kids?  Really?  Come on.  Really?  If sexuality is genetic (which I do believe) any child of a gay or lesbian couple, has a parent of the opposite sex. Lesbians will have a sperm donor or will adopt.  Gay men will have a surrogate mother or will adopt.  The conceived children will have the genes of both its parents and their family history so even if the sperm donor or surrogate are also genetically identified as non-heterosexual that parent's parents and the member of the same-sex couple providing the sperm or egg may carry the heterosexual gene and based on historic figures, the resulting child is more apt to be bisexually or heterosexually identified than homosexually.

As far as socialization, just because a child is raised in a gay home doesn't mean they'll be gay.  More likely just more healthily tolerant.  Kids go to school.  They know there are more kids from straight households or single-parent households than from homes like theirs with two moms or two dads.  Of course with the current social climate they will be made to feel different, weird, etc. by fellow students, faculty and administration even though they shouldn't be.  As for the two moms or two dads raising their kids to be LGBT?  Trust me, not even gay parents wish that on their kids and the kids will experience it first hand before they go to school in the way that other people treat their parents.  So for me...if anything a same-sex parented family is stronger, more tolerant, and has a better grasp on how the Divine wishes this world would work.  Wanna play the "God card" religious people?  Gay/Lesbian households are living closer to your scriptures than you are because they are not teaching their kids to build walls or barriers or create labels for other people.  They're teaching them to forgive and understand and love people even in those people's ignorance. 

To the witnesses in this trial...your argument is invalid.  If run through simple tests of validity or just common sense, they don't hold water.  So just stop wasting taxpayers money.  Taxpayers?  Leave your religious crap at the door when voting for legislatures.  Providing any minority with the same freedoms you enjoy in "the land of the free" is just the right thing to do no matter what Higher Power you subscribe to.  The LGBT community is not harming you.  They are not robbing your house or burning it down.  They are not stealing your stuff.  They are not physically harming you or your children.  Validating them and their rights does not mean they're going to try to "turn" your kids.  Your children are in far more danger from pedophiles, rapists and kidnappers.  No!  Your kids are far more apt to get hit by a car or succumb to alcohol poisoning in an evening of underage drinking you sanctioned in your basement.  Your children are more susceptible to  STD's from playing at unprotected sex with a member of the opposite gender.  Your daughters are at a higher risk of becoming pregnant before they turn 18 than discovering they are lesbians.  Your sons have a higher probability of going to jail for possession of illegal drugs, dui, or causing a major accident by driving recklessly than facing that he gender-identifies as female and starts the agonizing journey of a transsexual.  Your arguments are invalid.

The face (and heart) of my friend Rev. Matt

I've asked my friend Rev. Matt McCaffrey to guest blog for me today.  Knowing that the congregation he is currently shepherding has taken "Open & Affirming" to a new level, I know he is someone who can give you some real life insight into agape...unconditional love.  

MamaKath asked me to meditate on what it’s like to be part of a Christian church that “goes beyond doing just the LGBT thing.” This guest entry reflects my meditations.

About me: I am an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ (here in New England, mostly the white-steeple churches on every town green), and have been since 1988. I specialize in transitional ministry, serving churches where the settled pastor has left for a new call or retired (or sometimes worse), and helping them reclaim who they are while they seek new leadership. Since 1993 I’ve served nine congregations in different roles, and my state “conference” as minister of communication.

Being with a church during change is sometimes challenging, but it’s also cool because people know I’m not staying. That gives us freedom to try out new things and push some boundaries where they need to be pushed. I’ve found that, above all, people in the churches I serve are looking for love and reassurance that God accepts them. It’s my job to remember that.

I’ve been at Mansfield Center for about a year. UCC churches decide individually on…well, just about everything…but particularly on the kinds of faith stances they will take. This church declared itself “Open and Affirming” in 1991. Then and now, the ONA stance is understood by UCC churches to mean that LGBT folks are welcomed equally with everyone else who walks through the doors and participates in the church’s life and ministry. Churches who go through the ONA process and vote on it are very conscious about that meaning; maybe even self-conscious.  Things change over time, though. At some point Mansfield Center had a “Duh” moment, realizing that “Open and Affirming” meant something bigger than sexual orientation. Without detracting from the huge “chromosome barrier” that has kept so many loving people down, hidden, or away from church altogether, there are other barriers that are swept away by this statement: poverty, politics, physical ability, mental health, language.

When I started journeying with this church last October, I found that old and young were welcome. So were people with autism whose behavior would get them quietly excluded from many congregations. So is a family from Iraq, whose patriarch served as a translator for U.S. troops and therefore was living in constant danger along with his wife and seven children. This summer, the congregation agreed to sponsor them and they now worship with us regularly—bringing an Muslim flavor to our practice even as they take on a Christian flavor in theirs.

The ONA idea, still feared by some as “political,” has evolved into an agape practice in this church—and it fits well with my own outlook about what Jesus was trying to teach. God so loved the world that in ultimate generosity we were given the most precious thing God had. The rules and fences that humanity erected around that gift would have frustrated Jesus himself! They reflect our own fears and need for control, not the spirit of the gift of love God gave us.

I asked MamaKath to ask me five questions, and I’d do my best to answer them. So, here’s her interview:

MK:  When & how did you feel the call to at least attempt "agape" love?

MM: Probably before I’d heard the word or knew what it meant. Like many members of the United Church of Christ, I grew up in that other big brand-name hierarchical faith expression, and felt the call to be a priest when I was maybe 12 years old. A year or so later, hormones kicked in and I figured out why that call would be such a problem for me. (Hint: celibacy seems pretty unnatural to me.) It was my first experience of the conflict between God’s all-encompassing love and human attempts to “improve” it by putting restrictions on it.

MK:  Do you see your ministry as an effort to lead others to practicing unconditional love?

MM:  Without question. Many of the places where I’ve been called to transitional work have little tensions and resentments bubbling just under the surface. There are folks who would figuratively lay down their lives for the pastor who just left, and others who are saying under their breath (and sometimes out loud) “Good-bye, and don’t let the door hit your butt on the way out.” They hope the interim pastor (me) is going to do a “clean sweep” and get the “right people” into positions of influence. Hah! The kind of clean sweep I try to model is an inclusive one: clearing out the relationship clutter to make it possible for the right people and the other right people to be at the same table and talking again. I have taken my lumps from antagonistic people who are mad because I don’t feel particularly called to kiss their butts, but I also find that naming things for what they are tends to make room for love, respect, and healing.

MK:  What does the following mean to you: "Life isn't easy but it should be simple."

MM:  Ah, the essay!
Fewer meetings and more encounters. Fewer agendas and more action. Fewer rules and more good behavior.

Look, we could spend the next hundred years (or until Hartford becomes a beachfront community, whichever comes first) culling the Bible and looking for proof that God is for or against “the queers,” “the cripples,” “the illegals,” or whoever else we choose to name. This is how the prejudices of ancient societies get carried forward into our day, and there are some people who say that “because you’re a minister, you have to uphold these things.”

Guess what? I don’t. I was ordained a minister of the Gospel, not a minister of the Bible. My vows do hold me to rigorous study of scripture, but that word “Gospel” is not synonymous with “Bible.” It means “Good News,” and that’s what it’s all about.

I’m not here to make life even more complicated for people whose lives are already fearsomely complicated by circumstances. I’m here to say that God loves each of us, no matter who we are, no matter where we are. I think that’s a pretty simple message. Pretty profound, too.

MK:  What are some of the things your current congregation is doing to open eyes & hearts to God and each other?

MM:  I have to start with their expanded view of what it means to be “open and affirming.” Not long after I arrived a couple of our Deacons (elected to help serve the congregation in worship) approached me and wanted to know how I felt about the autistic young adult whose random vocalizations are a big part of the atmosphere during worship. They were relieved when I said it was okay with me, as I figured he was expressing his appreciation of worship (and even the sermon!) in the best way available to him. They had made the decision some time ago that he was welcome, and had met with some resistance from members of the congregation who were afraid it would offend the pastor!

I would say it’s not so much specific things the congregation is doing, so much as the way in which the congregation approaches its work. When the Supreme Court of Connecticut announced its decision to affirm same-gender marriages last October, my first thought was to consult with the church leadership about whether changes in church policy were needed now to take the possibility of performing a same-gender marriage into account. Their response was: We adopted the open and affirming stance, so what’s the problem?
Exactly.

MK:  Is there a plan already in operation or on the drawing board to take this agape attitude beyond the congregation and into the surrounding communities? Do you feel that "putting a face on it" needs to part of the process?

MM:  Fareed and his family are the best example of that right now. While we have adopted the role of “church family” for them, resettling them in northeastern Connecticut has been a huge and expensive undertaking. We had a community fundraising festival for them this past summer that was intentionally put into the community’s lap. (Lots of great music, by the way!) We have brought other churches, community groups, and businesses into the mix. Yesterday we learned that a local auto dealer had donated a used and reconditioned minivan to the family, and one of the other churches in the area agreed to pay for insurance so the van could be registered and driven.  Fareed and his family brought a cake for fellowship time following worship; he told me that his wife called it a “birthday” cake. Why? For the “birth” of the minivan!
Another member of the church remarked on how pleasantly surprised he was that the family had been so well accepted into the church’s life and the community’s life. I’m not. Fareed, Fatima, and their beautiful children have put a compelling face on what it means to be Iraqi, and I think it has made an agape stance possible for people who would otherwise say “it’s impossible.”

[bio]
The Rev. Matt McCaffrey is an interim ministry specialist with the United Church of Christ, currently serving the First Church of Christ in Mansfield. He lives in Cheshire.

Difference must be set aside

I have to giggle. Earlier today I started considering my long time battle-cry of “If we don’t work together, this thing will not work”. The thought process rolled on in the vein of our differences and learning to get past them so that each of our unique talents and skills can come together to create a machine that runs, relatively, flawlessly. Some examples that came to mind made me laugh out loud in real life.

The first car of this train of that was super-heroes. Each has their own ability(ies). Even the ones with multiple powers don’t have all the ones necessary to save the world alone. They also each have some weakness so if that is discovered they need someone to jump in and keep fighting. Apparently these superheroes eventually recognized their inability to save the world as single handedly so we got things like The Justice League, the Fantastic 4, X-Men and The New Avengers.


Now consider the everyday personae of most of your favorite comic book heroes. They’re all kinda nerdy, not very pretty, probably with some annoying tick that makes other people uncomfortable to be around them. Seriously. Would you walk over and start up a conversation with Beast or the Thing if you didn’t know how cool they were? Ok, I know-Batman was the handsome Bruce Wayne with tons of money who rolled in all the high-brow circles but he was also a bit of drama-queeny, angsty emo guy. You definitely didn’t want to hang with him after a couple of drinks cuz he’d be crying in your glass and his.

Where the laughter came in was my memory of one of my favorite computer games…it was a little known title “Lost Vikings”. These three crazy little cartoon Scandahoovians had to work their way through various puzzles to get back home to their wives and girlfriends after being spirited away by some aliens with really warped senses of humor. Now the only way for them to get through each of these predicaments to move closer to the exit to the next dimension was to work together. One was very smart and could jump really far. One was a dumb lummox with a shield, which could protect them from lots of things or be used as a platform to reach higher things. The last one was the arrogant, obnoxious strong guy. He has a sword but other than that and his good looks he’s kinda useless. So each has one or two traits that would turn you off and got on each other’s nerves but the game was programmed that they couldn’t leave any of the others behind. All three had to reach the exit or they had to start over.

What does this have to do with world peace? You mean you haven’t figured it out yet? Well you know what, I’m not going to explain it right now. I’m going to wait, let you digest it and see what comments get posted and if we can start an intelligent dialogue on the subject. Peace out, bitches.

The ritualistic intro post

So, besides music, MamaKath's brain and heart are full of a lot of other stuff.  I thought about it and decided that these things warranted a separate blogoshere so as not to detract from my music ramblings and to provide a haven for those who were only interested in my thoughts, feelings, inspirations and affections in the political and spiritual realms.

The slogan for this blog came to me in an email discussion I had with a clergy acquaintence the other day after "Equality for Maine" was thwarted by a mere three precent of the population.  He and I agreed that the church had failed where "the church" prevailed.  The church has this book that talks about putting your neighbor above yourself and looking out for each other.  It speaks of compassion, mercy, justice and humility.  It tells you you will get your hands dirty if you're doing it right.  "The Church" on the other hand preaches a tinier and tinier, selfish, bitchy, prejudice, dictator diety that is anything close to Divine, holy, sacred or benevolent.  Their "god" doesn't like any of us and would prefer that we lock ourselves in our houses and cut ourselves off from any one that doesn't follow its doctrine. Their version "god" has rules...lots of rules about who is good enough and who you should take care of and how you can be better than all the other sheep and the diety will give you lots of money and you will live fat, dumb and happy all the days of your life.  Now in this crazy faci-verse you can play up to a better ticket to the afterlife by supporting the impersonal annihilation of other humans while providing equally impersonal "help" to unknown faces across the seas in the form of checks.  Your hands are squeaky clean with a nice thick coat of Purell on them.

But see the thing is, if you really wanna claim that you "know" Jesus...you need to go back and READ that book again.  See he said "When I was naked you clothed me.  When I was hungry you fed me.  When I was sick you took care of me and when I was in prison your visited me.  AND WHAT YOU DID FOR THE LEAST OF THESE YOU DID FOR ME".  What the guy was saying; cuz back then there were no banks, no post offices and no PayPal, was that you had to get off your fat, lazy, fearful, arrogant ass and go help people.  Don't pass off a fiver in the collection plate for some kid in Central America....go over to the Subway, buy a sandwich and bring it back to that 17-year-old runaway streetwalker you just passed while you were out shopping.  Yeah, you're gonna have to look into those sad eyes and wonder what went down in her comfortable suburban home states away from where she ended up that caused her to run.  She will give you a sad smile and say thank you.  Your heart's gonna break a little more.  For even the briefest of moments you will feel a little bit of love.  You're not going to be afraid of her any more.  You're not going to judge her in that instant.  You're gonna see her as a fellow human who maybe had a dream, maybe still has that dream but right now she's just trying to stay alive.  Trying to turn enough tricks to keep her pimp from beating her up and maybe have some place a little warmer than the street to sleep tonight.  It's probably going to get to you enough that you're going to go home and say some real prayers starting with one for forgiveness for your laziness and stupidity.  Then you're gonna pray for real help for that girl.  And you never know...The Great Spirit's reply may be that you're the help.  You're going to wake up with a need to do something.  And if you listen carefully and watch the signs...that Truly Divine Being will point you to the sources of that girl's eventual "salvation" and I'm not talking getting her to some holy roller church where some guy who plays a preacher on TV lays hands on her and the congregation of hypocrits spends the rest of her life brain-washing and laying guilt trips on her.  No I'm talking finding safe shelter, employment which provides food & clothing.  Who knows, she might get her GED and even go to college.  She may just end up the checker in your local grocery store or she may be destined to be the next Golda Meir or Madaleine Albright.  But whether "peasant" or "noble" she will live not merely survive.

Put a face on it, people.