Another great post today by Sharon Astyk, possibly my favorite online writer. She's starting a new challenge: the challenge to take care of an acre of land that isn't your own. My husband has been talking about something like this for a while; we've been looking at buying a house, and he's been pushing for one near an empty lot. The house we found is not next to an empty lot, but there's plenty of uncared-for land in Atlanta. So I'd like to try to take the challenge, once we're settled.
The idea of taking care of land that doesn't belong to you strikes me as a very Christian thing to do--an act of stewardship in its truest sense.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
health care reform
Not sure I can add anything to this. Read to the end--especially the bit about peace. Please, everyone, let's remember that.
If you have time, the comments on this post are an interesting read, too. A quote from one: "What you [the blogger] are essentially saying is that you're happy your friends with pre-existing conditions can rip off the rest of us, enslave us to the government, and pay through the nose to support them, and thousands like them."
This commenter opposes the health care bill and is criticizing the blogger for her support of it on behalf of her "friends with pre-existing conditions." I identify a lot with the blogger's position--I was thrilled that the bill passed, not because I need health care (I have a great plan through my husband's employer), but because I have a lot of friends and family members who don't have health care. Some of them have pre-existing conditions. Some of them refuse to go to the doctor for fear or being diagnosed with pre-existing conditions. None of them can afford health care.
Do I want those friends and family members to "rip me off" and force me to "pay through the nose to support them"? Frankly--yes. I can't afford to pay for their health care out of pocket. But I hope that with this bill--or maybe with future, improved iterations of it--my increased taxes will help make health care affordable for them. And honestly, while it would probably be better for my spiritual growth if I were to donate money to them out of the goodness of my heart, most people will give more when they have to. Charities and the church are not meeting this need--if they were, my family members would be going to the doctor right now. I don't think this bill is perfect, not by a long shot, and it remains to be seen how much impact it will really have. I think it will have to be changed. But I also think it's a step in the right direction.
If you have time, the comments on this post are an interesting read, too. A quote from one: "What you [the blogger] are essentially saying is that you're happy your friends with pre-existing conditions can rip off the rest of us, enslave us to the government, and pay through the nose to support them, and thousands like them."
This commenter opposes the health care bill and is criticizing the blogger for her support of it on behalf of her "friends with pre-existing conditions." I identify a lot with the blogger's position--I was thrilled that the bill passed, not because I need health care (I have a great plan through my husband's employer), but because I have a lot of friends and family members who don't have health care. Some of them have pre-existing conditions. Some of them refuse to go to the doctor for fear or being diagnosed with pre-existing conditions. None of them can afford health care.
Do I want those friends and family members to "rip me off" and force me to "pay through the nose to support them"? Frankly--yes. I can't afford to pay for their health care out of pocket. But I hope that with this bill--or maybe with future, improved iterations of it--my increased taxes will help make health care affordable for them. And honestly, while it would probably be better for my spiritual growth if I were to donate money to them out of the goodness of my heart, most people will give more when they have to. Charities and the church are not meeting this need--if they were, my family members would be going to the doctor right now. I don't think this bill is perfect, not by a long shot, and it remains to be seen how much impact it will really have. I think it will have to be changed. But I also think it's a step in the right direction.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Christian coalition supports climate change bill
The Christian coalition has put out an ad in favor of climate legislation that supports energy alternatives! Which is further proof that you can come at the energy problem from a lot of different angles and still come up with the same solution. Something has got to change.
Listen to the ad here.
The article by Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat John Kerry that the ad references is here.
Listen to the ad here.
The article by Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat John Kerry that the ad references is here.
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