The Human Agenda

Crazy Horse

Morning Prayer Crazy Horse – 1840-September 5, 1877 September 4, 2021

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I am a beloved child of God.
Your mercies are new every morning.

“When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light. Give thanks for your life and your strength. Give thanks for your food and give thanks for the joy of living. And if you see no reason for giving thanks, rest assured the fault is in yourself.” Native American Sioux Indian

A Psalm by Ed Hays
O Divine Gift-giver, I stand beneath the endless waterfall
of your abundant gifts to me.
I thank you especially for the blessings of life,
the most precious of all your gifts to me.
I thank you, Ever-generous One,
for clothing to wear,
for food and drink to nourish my body,
for all the talents and skills
that you have bestowed upon me.
I thank you for the many joys of my life,
for family and friends,
for work that gives to me a sense of purpose
and invests my life with meaning.
I thank you as well
for the sufferings and trails of my life,
which are also gifts
and which together with my mistakes
are among my most important teachers.
Grant that I may never greet a new day
without the awareness of some gift
for which to give thanks.
And may constant thanksgiving
be my song of perpetual praise to you.

“Ten Learnings From Crazy Horse” – Written and Shared by David Nelson
Silence for three minutes
Reflective conversation

Then pray these intercessions:
A brief silence.

God of grace and God of glory, for all houses of worship; sustain all volunteers during these autumn months; inspire our worship; and teach us how to pray.
Our hope is in you, O God:
O Lord, hear my prayer.
Creator of the stars of night, for the earth we pray: lower global temperatures; provide a healthy harvest; protect the habitats of wild animals; and train us to care for your creation.
Our hope is in you, O God:
O Lord, hear my prayer.
Mighty Fortress, for the nations we pray: protect the world from tyranny and violence; guide our elected officials; look with mercy on the people of Afghanistan; lead our nation toward the right use of our military; and bring peace to all.
Our hope is in you, O God:
O Lord, hear my prayer.
Hope of the world, in this time of pervasive adversity we pray: preserve us from storms and wildfires; protect us from terrorists; and wean us from the ways of prejudice.
Our hope is in you, O God:
O Lord, hear my prayer.
Rock of ages, for laborers we pray: grant a just wage to the employed and meaningful jobs to the unemployed; and shape our society to honor all residents of our land.
Our hope is in you, O God:
O Lord, hear my prayer.
O God of love, for those who are poor, we pray: feed the hungry; house all without homes; assist the powerless; and form us into habits of generosity.
Our hope is in you, O God:
O Lord, hear my prayer.
Healer of our every ill, for those who are suffering we pray: heal those who have contracted COVID-19; embrace those with mental illness; open up opportunities for persons who are deaf; and hear our cries for those we name here:
Our hope is in you, O God:
O Lord, hear my prayer.
Mothering God, for ourselves we pray: take away our fears; and come to save us.
Our hope is in you, O God:
O Lord, hear my prayer.
Eternal Father, strong to save, for the grace shown to our ancestors in the faith, we praise you. For life at the end of time in your presence with all the saints, we pray.
Our hope is in you, O God:
O Lord, hear my prayer.
Receive our prayers, O God, for the sake of our beautiful Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever.
Amen.

Then speak the Blessing:
Almighty God bless us,
defend us from all evil,
and bring us to everlasting life.

Generosity: An Enhancement by Richard Powers

Vital Conversations August 11 at 1 pm Central Time.
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“Happiness, the scientist says, is not a reward for virtue. Happiness is the virtue.” (321)
August 11, 2021. Generosity: An Enhancement by Richard Powers
What will happen to life when science identifies the genetic basis of happiness? Who will own the patent? Do we dare revise our own temperaments? Funny, fast, and magical, Generosity celebrates both science and the freed imagination. Richard Powers asks us to consider the big questions facing humankind as we begin to rewrite our own existence. Generosity tells the story of Thassadit “Thassa” Amzwer, an Algerian refugee who seemingly has overwhelming happiness (hyperthymia) written in her genes, and the confounding effects she has on those around her, both sincere and exploitive. Characters in the novel include Russell Stone, a minor magazine editor, moonlighting as a writing instructor, Thomas Kurton, a charismatic entrepreneur behind Truecyte, a genetics lab, Candace Weld, a school psychologist and Tonia Schiff, the host of a popular science show called “Over The Limit”.
Plot summary: Thassa is taking a class in creative non-fiction writing taught by Russell Stone. Her boundless happiness leads the class to dub her “Miss Generosity”, but puzzles and disturbs Stone, who discusses Thassa with a college counselor Candace Weld.

1. “I want you to think and feel, not sell. Your writing should be an intimate meal not dinner theater.” (10) Do you write your down your thoughts and feelings? What journal techniques have you discovered to be helpful in your life? I wrote a “Top Ten Reasons I Journal” and it is posted on my blog under “journal resources” in “categories”, if you are interested.

2. “Happiness is probably the most highly heritable component of personality. From 50-80 percent of the variation in people’s average happiness may be accounted for by genes. People display an affective set point in infancy that doesn’t change much over a lifetime. For true contentment, the trick is to choose your parents wisely.” (49). How did you do in the birth lottery? Did you have a happy childhood?

3. “Yet the conflicted book insists on a role for nurture. Joyousness, it says, is like perfect pitch: a little early training in elation can bring out a trait that might otherwise wither.” (49). What is the difference between happiness and joy? Can you share a story of one or the other?

4. “The book says happiness is a moving target, a trick of evolution, a bait and switch to keep us running. The doses must keep increasing, just to break even. True contentment demands that we wean ourselves from all desire. The pursuit of happiness will make us miserable. Our only hope is to break the habit.” (71) Buddhism teaches that the pursuit of happiness adds to our unhappiness. Would you agree? Why was “the pursuit of happiness” included in our nation’s founding documents?

5. “Hyperthymia, a rare condition that programs a person for unusual levels of elation.” (117). Do you anyone who has this condition? What is it like to be around this person?

6. “The novelist’s argument is clear enough: a genetic enhancement represents the end of human nature. Take control of fate, and you destroy everything that joins us to one another and dignifies life.” (149). Do you agree that without an unknown future life would be lessened? Is mystery and the unknown part of what makes human life exciting and an adventure?

7. “The Alzheimer’s gene, that alcoholism gene, the homosexuality gene, the aggressive gene, the novelty gene, the fear gene, the stress gene, the xenophobia gene, the criminal-impulse gene, and the fidelity gene have all come and gone. Bu the time the happiness gene rolls around, even journalists should have long ago learned to hedge their bets. But traits are hard to shake, and writers have been waiting for this particular secret to come to market since Sumer.” (197). Would you be open to the idea of selecting and rejecting certain genes for your offspring? How would you make the choice?

8. “In the last lines of the profile, the scientist says, ‘I don’t believe in God, but I do believe that it’s humanity’s job to bring God about.’” (206) What does that mean to you?

9. “If Jen truly is without sadness, then she’s missing out on something profound, mysterious, and essentially human.” (212) Share your thoughts about sadness as profound, mysterious, and essentially human. Can you share a time of sadness that is important to you?

10. “The day may come when we will choose our children as carefully as we now choose our mates. We may select our natures the way we screen for a career. All the larger, qualifying, problematical follow-up had been clipped away.” (279) We now have lots of dating sites on the web. Can you imagine the day we can pick and choose the traits we want in our children? Create in your imagination the child you would like to parent.

Waking Up White by Debby Irving

“Racism demands an artificial and divisive construction of humanity,
in terms of how I make sense of others and also how I envision myself” (246)

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July 14, 2021. Waking Up White And Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debbie Irvin. This is the book Irving wishes someone had handed her decades ago. By sharing her sometimes cringe-worthy struggle to understand racism and racial tensions, she offers a fresh perspective on bias, stereotypes, manners, and tolerance.

1. “No one alive today created this mess, but everyone alive today has the power to work on undoing it. Four hundred years since its inception, American racism is all twisted up in our cultural fabric. But there’s a loophole; people are not born racist. Racism is taught, and racism is learned. Understanding how and why our beliefs developed along racial line holds the promise of healing, liberation, and the unleashing of America’s vast human potential.” (xviii). Do you agree? Are you ready to study, ponder, discuss, and be open to ways of making this a better country?

2. “Racism wasn’t about this person or that, this upset or that, this community or that; racism is, and always has been, the way America has sorted and ranked its people in a bitterly divisive, humanity-robbing system.” (31) Share illustrations that reinforce this point.

3. “I’ve learned that the chances are high that I have more in common genetically with a darker-skinned person on the others side of the world than I do with the white woman who lives next door. Whiteness, it turns out, is but a pigment of the imagination.” (44). Why has color placed such a divisive role in the United States? What can we do to liberate us from such distortion?

4. “Skin color symbolism+favoritism+power = systemic racism.” (p.54) “The racially divisive belief barrier shows up in all American institutions: in medical policy, in emergency rooms, in education reform, in classrooms, in federal policies, and in municipal policies. Racism lives in individuals’ hearts and minds; those in power embed it into institutional policies and practices. System racism touches every aspect of every American life, and skin color determines how.” Discuss the chart and meaning as it applies in your community.

5. “The story of race is at the center of racism’s entanglement. The very idea that the world’s many peoples could be categorized by something called ‘race’ is a story, one that created a system of dominance for its storytellers.” (84) Can we start telling a different story? What could be some of the parts of a new narrative about the human family?
6. “Color-blindness, a philosophy that denies the way lives play out differently along racial lines, actually maintains the very cycle of silence, ignorance, and denial that needs to be broken for racism to be dismantled.” (102) How can we see another person if we are “color-blind”?

7. Q Have you tried to form relationships across racial lines? How have they worked out? If they didn’t get very far, how did you explain that to yourself? (123)

8. “The phrase ‘INTENT VERSES IMPACT’ had been stressed at nearly every conference and conversation about racism I’d been a part of.” (159) Can you share an illustration from your own life experience?

9. “I think about the angry-black-man stereotype and my old thought, if only they weren’t so angry! What an ignorant and inhuman mindset that was. People aren’t born angry. People don’t choose arbitrarily to be angry. People become angry for a reason, and they deserve to be heard.” (175) Tell about a time you were angry. How did you discharge and/or process your anger? Can you listen to an angry person with love and not judgement?

10. “Understanding my internal tendencies as a white person is just a start. The ultimate goal is to interrupt, advocate, and educate without doing more harm than good --- something I am in danger of doing every day. As a racial justice advocate, I need to become aware of my own racialized tendencies as well as find ways to interrupt racism when I see it in the world around me. I’ve learned that when it comes to race, there’s no such thing as neutral: either I’m intentionally and strategically working against it, or I’m aiding and abetting the system. As historian and activist Howard Zinn said, ‘You can’t be neutral on a moving train.’” (219) “The white ally role is a supporting one, not a leading one.” (221) What steps have you taken in the past and what steps will you take now to move from a bystander to an ally?

Why America Needs Socialism by G.S.Griffin

2021 Vital Conversations A Program of the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council, CRES, And Mid-Continent Public Library - The Antioch Branch Quotes and Questions selected by David Nelson ZOOM #816 896 3836

May 12, 2021 Why America Needs Socialism: The Argument from Martin Luther King, Helen Keller, Albert Einstein, and Other Great Thinkers by G.S. Griffin
This book presents a contemporary case for socialism built on the words and ideas of history’s greatest leaders, thinkers, and artists. Exploring their views and connecting them to present day struggles, Griffin is crucial reading for anyone seeking to learn from the past to change today’s world in revolutionary ways. G.S. Griffin is an activist writer in Kansas City, cofounder of the Kansas City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, co-founder of a cooperative to support progressive causes and candidates and works in political advocacy at Communities Creating Opportunity. He will be with us for this Vital Conversation.

1. “Capitalism is an economic system characterized by the private ownership of business and industry, where earning a profit by selling a good or service is each owner’s basic and necessary goal.” (p. 16)
“Socialism is a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.” (New Oxford American Dictionary)
What would you add to these two definitions to enhance a conversation about socialism in America?

2. “Many readers of faith believe that higher powers created humanity to be sinful by nature. Thus, it makes sense to many that capitalism is natural, and the way things must remain.” (p. 15) Do you agree that humanity is sinful by nature? How do you defend your opinion?

3.“Not only is it possible, but Einstein saw it as the true purpose of socialism; to keep growing, to keep bettering ourselves. Likewise, Mahatma Gandhi disbelieved in the supposed ‘essential selfishness of human nature’ because man can ‘rise superior to the passions that he owns in common with the brute and, therefore, superior to selfishness and violence.’” (p. 19). Do you see hope for change in human behavior? What is your suggestion for bettering ourselves?

4.“For near 200,000 years – most of human existence – people survived on cooperative economics and a more classless society, where the life, wealth, and work of the ruler or leader was not significantly different than any other member of the group.” (p.20). “Studies indicate that modern adults are not instinctively selfish—our first impulse is typically to cooperate and care for others.” (p. 21). What happened to us to change and tolerate the divided and oppressive system we have today?

5.“Now that we know society largely determines human nature, rather than the reverse, there is only one logical question to ask: what kind of society should we create? (p. 23) What kind of a society would you like to create? What do you need to move in that direction?

6.“Harriet Beecher Stowe, in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, wrote that ‘capitalists’ and slave owners alike were ‘appropriating’ the lower class, ‘body and bone, soul and spirit, to their use and convenience’. The rich man believed ‘there can be no high civilization without enslavement of the masses, either nominal or real.” (p. 30). Do you agree that racism and capitalism work together? Can we eliminate racism without addressing capitalism?

7. “Over ninety percent of our nation’s existence has been marked by war, and surveys indicate people around the world view the United States as the single greatest threat to world peace.” (p. 111). Do you agree? Make that case for or against the US being the greatest threat to world peace. Talk about Vietnam, Mexico, Guatemala, Philippines. (see p. 111)

8. “Socialism also eliminates capitalism from the bottom-up…Under socialism, the exploitation of labor and authoritarian power are consigned to the dustbin of history, replaced by cooperation, equity, and democracy…In the socialist model, work cooperatives are the humane alternative to capitalist businesses. In a cooperative, all workers share equal ownership of the firm. This translates to equality in power and in wealth…Elizabeth Blackwell wrote that Christian socialism would mean labor receiving a fair and increasing share in the profits it helps to create.” (p. 120-122) Can you imagine our country with cooperation, equity, and democracy? How would that be different from the country you experience today?

9. “In truth, the mechanisms and incentives that drive technological, systematic, and other forms of change remain in place in co-ops. Outside inventors can still sell or license their creations to cooperative businesses; start-up founders, while sacrificing total power and wealth hoarding, can still bring their creations to the world, doing what they love and making money off it…Co-ops are also more stable that capitalist firms, even during economic crisis.” (p. 125-126). Have you invested in or participated in a co-op of some form? Describe the experience. What worked for you and what did not work for you?

10. “Imagine living in an America like this…Might we grow, collectively, less greedy and more caring? Less individualistic and more attuned to the needs of all, the common good? (p. 129). When have you experienced life in a less greedy and more caring way? Describe the situation and the benefits of such an arrangement. What can you do to make this happen more often in your life and in your community?
Some examples of this are:
• UBI (Universal Basic Income) p. 145f.
• Guaranteed work through public works projects - p. 149f. “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.” Nelson Mandela said. (p.155)
• Universal Health Care p 156f. “This does not mean the State will own the hospitals and employ the doctors. Instead, the reverse would be true –the doctors, nurses, receptions, and janitors (the workers) would own the clinics and hospitals.” (p. 156)
• Universal Education p. 164f “A socialist society would include free K through 12 education, pre-school and college…democracy would enter education. Teachers, paraprofessionals, librarians, janitors, and other workers would own their schools…Public schools will remain ta-funded and neighborhood-based, following a democratically determined national curriculum.” (p. 164-165)

June 9, 2021 Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief, David Kessler
In 1969, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross first identified the stages of dying in her transformative book On Dead and Dying, and decades later, she and David Kessler wrote the classic On Grief and Grieving, introducing the stages of grief.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair - Vital Conversations April 14, 2021

April 14, 2021 The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.
This 1906 novel by the American journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair (1878–1968). The novel portrays the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the United States in Chicago and similar industrialized cities. Sinclair's primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to advance socialism in the United States.

Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for Governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in several genres. Sinclair's work was well known and popular in the first half of the 20th century, and he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1943. Very few works of literature have actually changed the course of history, but The Jungle is just such a work. It touched this nation and the world, and it contributed enormously to the landmark passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. This book is said to have decreased America’s meat consumption for decades.

1. Have you ever been in a meat packing plant? What was it like? The Jungle is considered “agitation rather than art”, according to Morris Dickstein. Sinclair himself insisted that his book was intended not as an expose of the meat industry but as an argument for socialism, to which he had recently been converted. Much socialist activity was happening in the US. Upton Sinclair was sent in 1904, by the publisher of “Appeal to Reason” in Girard, Kansas to examine conditions in the stockyards of Chicago. The resulting novel, based on seven weeks of intensive research, was serialized and achieved great notoriety even before it came out as a book.
The book begins with a Lithuanian wedding of Jurgis Rudkis and Ona Likoszaite, who become characters in the novel. They spend more than a year’s income on the wedding day feast (the veselija). “The veselija has come down to them from a far-off time; and the meaning of it was that one might dwell within the cave and gaze upon shadows, provided only that once in his lifetime he could break his chains, and feel his wings, and behold the sun…Thus having known himself for the master of things, a man could go back to his toil and live upon the memory all his days.” (p. 12).
2. Why would people spend so much on a wedding? Why do you think the author begins the story with a wedding?

“The stench was almost overpowering, but to Jurgis it was nothing. His whole soul dancing with joy – he was at work at last. He was at work and earning money!” (p. 44)
3. Have you experienced joy in a job? When and where? Did it last?

This is a story of human challenge and tragedy. Jurgis buys and loses a house, his wife and children die, he confronts injustice in a variety of places and yet he presses on, even before discovering hope in politics. “Marija, who takes to prostitution to support the family and educate children, shows considerable growth, and our respect for her is enhanced. Elzbieta is the picture of the all-suffering, all-sacrificing, all-forgiving mother who, undaunted by the heavy odds against her, fights back.” (p. 83 Mookerjee)
4. Where does courage and persistence come from? How do you hang in there when the world seems against you?

“He went on, tearing up all the flowers from the garden of his soul, and setting his heel upon them. The train thundered deafeningly, and a storm of dust blew in his face; but though it stopped now and then through the night, he clung where he was – he would cling there until he was driven off, for every mile that he got from Packingtown meant another load from his mind.” (p. 214)
5. Did Jurgis find a better life in the country? Why did he return to Chicago? How did you discover “your place” in the world?

“The voice of the poor, demanding that poverty shall cease! The voice of the oppressed, pronouncing the doom of oppression! The voice of power, wrought out of suffering – of resolution, crushed out of weakness – of joy and courage, born in the bottomless pit of anguish and despair! The voice of Labor, despised and outraged; a mighty giant, lying prostrate – mountainous, colossal, but blinded, bound and ignorant of his strength. And now a dream of resistance haunts him, hope battling with fear; until suddenly he stirs, and a fetter snaps – and a thrill shoots through him, to the farthest ends of his huge body, and the banks are shattered, the burdens roll off him – he rises – towering, gigantic; he springs to his feet, he shouts in his newborn exultation---". (p. 307)
6. Have you experienced a “discovery” of such magnitude? Is this a “born again” experience?

“The Socialist movement was a world movement, an organization of all mankind to establish liberty and fraternity. It was the new religion of humanity – or you might say it was the fulfillment of the old religion, since it implied but the literal application of all the teachings of Christ.” (p. 315) “A Socialist believes in the common ownership and democratic management of the means of producing the necessities of life and a Socialist believes that the means by which this is to be brought about is the class-conscious political organizations of the wage-earners.” (p. 336-337). “I would seriously maintain that all the medical and surgical discoveries that science can make in the future will be of less importance than the application of the knowledge we already possess, when the disinherited of the earth have established their right to a human existence.” (p. 3440
7. How convincing is this novel and especially the speeches of the final chapters on your thinking about socialism?

May 12, 2021 Why America Needs Socialism: The Argument from Martin Luther King, Helen Keller, Albert Einstein, and Other Great Thinkers by G.S. Griffin
This book presents a contemporary case for socialism built on the words and ideas of history’s greatest leaders, thinkers, and artists. Exploring their views and connecting them to present day struggles, Griffin is crucial reading for anyone seeking to learn from the past in order to change today’s world in revolutionary ways.

Vital Conversation March 10, 2021

2021 Vital Conversations A Program of the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council, CRES, And Mid-Continent Public Library - The Antioch Branch ZOOM #816 896 3836

March 10, 2021 Siddhartha by Herman Hess
In the novel, Siddhartha, a young man, leaves his family for a contemplative life, then, restless, discards it for one of the flesh. He conceives a son, but bored and sickened by lust and greed, moves on again. Near despair, Siddhartha comes to a river where he hears a unique sound. This sound signals the true beginning of his life -- the beginning of suffering, rejection, peace, and, finally, wisdom. To add to our conversation, we will have present a friend of a friend who is a lifelong Buddhist and spent part of his childhood in a Japanese American internment camp during World War II. He will share how his Buddhist Faith has been important throughout his long life. Thanks to Temp Sparkman for writing comments and questions.

Some questions on “Siddhartha.” I’ve listed pages so you can see the context of each question. I’ve listed pages so you can see the context of each question. Surely group members will be pleased to read passages out load.

Siddhartha had a happy life in a vibrate family. He grew up around learned men and a mother that sang to him. His Brahmin father “saw him growing up to be a prince among the Brahmins.” But Siddhartha began to question his rearing. p 3-5
1. When did you begin questioning the teachings you grew up with?

2. Siddhartha was determined to “Let the self die.” p 11
Have you or anyone you know attempt this kind of inward journey? Is it possible to empty the self?

When a group of Samanas passed through his town Siddhartha and his friend Gaventa decided to join them the in their simple life styles. Then they met the Buddha “Gotama.” p25
3. Is anyone in our group ‘Buddhist’ or has at least read about the Buddha?

After leaving the Buddha, Siddhartha awakens fully present to himself and to the world. (Have someone read p 33, paragraph 2)
4. Has anyone had a similar moment with a devout religious person?

The book gives a long passage on Siddhartha euphoria of the world around him. (Read p 37.)
5. Has anyone experienced this kind of moment of awareness?
Did this turn in Siddhartha pilgrimage surprise anyone? Do you see a connection between this and his early rearing?

Siddhartha has a strange dream, (Read p 40)
6. Anyone here want to interpret the dream?
In a moment or euphoria S. becomes fully present to himself and the world. (Have read p 37, 38.)
7. What were you thinking as this was being read? What does it say about his state of mind? Is this going to set the tone for the rest of his life?

Siddhartha comes upon a beautiful woman Kamal. p 41-43. He wants to please her by reading one of his poems. (Read on p 47.) She likes it enough to give a kiss, but tells him that to get him out of poverty’s grip he should visit the merchant Kamaswami which he did.)
8. Were you surprised that Siddhartha succeeded as a merchant?
Then that he eventually rejects it? (Read last paragraph p 80-81.)

Siddhartha meets a Ferryman at the river and recounts his rejection of riches to give him meaning. Then he meets Kamala, on her way to a pilgrimage to Gotama. with her son named Siddhartha. She is dying from a snake bite.
9. How did you react to Siddhartha attempts to reach his son? (Read p 95, paragraph 2, p 96, paragraph 2, p 100, paragraphs 2 & 3.

Siddhartha has become the Ferryman and is telling the now old ferryman his altered consciousness of the river as summarizing his life.
Read 107 paragraph 2, second paragraph and page 111 first paragraph.)
10. As a group, pronounce ‘Om’ 5 times.

Siddhartha’s oldest friend Gaventa appears and asks Siddhartha “Have you a doctrine, belief or knowledge which you uphold, which helps you to act and feel and right?” (Read p 120, paragraph 3.)
11. If you read the pages of this reunion, what did you make of them?

12. Reviewers have tagged “Siddhartha’ as a search for meaning.
As you read about him, did you reflect on whether you can characterize your own life? Do you remember when you began thinking intentionally about your life? (a teacher, in a business, in government, as housewife/house husband, religious ministry, counselor, et al.)

April 14, 2021 The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.
This 1906 novel by the American journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair (1878–1968). The novel portrays the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the United States in Chicago and similar industrialized cities. Sinclair's primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to advance socialism in the United States.

The Human Agenda
David E Nelson
humanagenda@gmail.com
816.896.3835

Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman

Quotes and questions selected by David Nelson.

Releasing Conversation: Do you believe human beings are inherently good (Planet A) or inherently bad (Planet B)? Why? What difference does it make which you believe? Did you watch the events January 6th in Washington D.C. while it was happening? Describe your feelings then. What are your feelings today about the United States? Who have you talked with about your feelings?

1. Veneer Theory – “The notion that civilization is nothing more than a thin veneer that will crack at the merest provocation. In actuality, the opposite is true. It’s when crisis hits - when the bombs fall or the floodwaters rise – that we humans become our best selves.” (p. 4). Share a story from your experience that illustrates this.
2. Placebo effect – “If your doctor gives you a fake pill and says it will cure what ails you, chances are you will feel better. The more dramatic the placebo, the bigger that chance…If you believe something enough, it can become real…We are what we believe. We find what we got looking for. And what we predict, comes to pass.” (p.8-9)
Nocebo effect – “Warn your patients a drug has serious side effects, and it probably will. If you believe something enough, it can become real.” (p.9) Ashil Babbitt died inside the Capital on January 6th. What do you think she believed? Why did she believe these things? What did the tens of thousands who participated in rally in Washington believe?
3. Compare the two stories; Lord of the Flies by William Golding and the real event told by Peter Warner.
4. “In one corner is Hobbes: The pessimist who would have us believe in the wickedness of human nature. The man who asserted that civil society alone could save us from our baser instincts. In the other corner, Rousseau: the man who declared that in our heart of hearts we’re all good. Far from being our salvation, Rousseau believed civilization is what ruins us.” (p. 43-44). Which corner do you stand in? Can you make the case with personal stories? “That’s how our sense of history get flipped upside down. Civilisation has become synonymous with peace and progress and wilderness with war and decline. In reality, for most of human existence, it was the other way around.” (p.110). What does the author mean by this?
5. What did you learn from the Easter Island story? The Stanford Prison Experiment? The Stanley Milgram’s Laboratory? “Hannah Arendt argued that our need for love and friendship is more human than any inclination towards hate and violence. And when we do choose the path of evil, we feel compelled to hide behind lies and cliches that give us a semblance of virtue.” (p. 173). Does your personal experience and observation agree with her? “Belief in humankind’s sinful nature also provides a tidy explanation for the existence of evil. When confronted with hatred or selfishness, you can tell yourself, ‘Oh, well, that’s just human nature. But if you believe that people are essentially good you have to question why evil exists at all. It implies that engagement and resistance are worthwhile, and it imposes an obligation to act.” (p. 174) When have you benefited by using communication and confrontation, compassion and resistance?
6. Had you heard about the death of Catherine Susan Genovese before readying Humankind? Why did this story get retold so often?
7. “Tactics, training, ideology – all are crucial for an army, Morris and his colleagues confirmed. But ultimately, an army is only as strong as the ties of fellowship among its soldiers. Camaraderie is the weapon that wins wars.” (p. 205-206) If you were in the military would you agree? If you know men or women in the military would you agree? “Terrorists don’t kill and die just for a cause…They kill and die for each other.” (p.208)
8. “Infants possess an innate sense of morality. Infants as young as six months old can not only distinguish right from wrong, but they also prefer the good over the bad.” (p.209) What does the author suggest has been done to train human beings to hurt and kill others? Military friends, is this your experience? What would it take for you to kill another person?
9. Power Paradox – “Scores of studies show that we pick the most modest and kind-hearted individuals to lead us. But once they arrive at the top, the power often goes straight to their heads – and good luck unseating they after that.” (p. 229) Why do you think 75 million Americans voted for Donald Trump in the recent election?
10. “Exchange suspicion for a more positive view of human nature. Just imagine, academics would burn the midnight out of a thirst for knowledge, teachers would teach because they feel responsible for their students, psychologists would treat only as long as their patients require, and bankers would derive satisfaction from the service they render…This question is neither conservative nor progressive, neither capitalist nor communist. It speaks to a new movement…a new realism. Because nothing is more powerful than people who do something because they want to do it.” (p. 277-278) What motivates you to do your very best?
11. “Play is not subject to fixed rules and regulations but is open-ended and unfettered. Unstructured play is also nature’s remedy against boredom…Dutch historian Johan Huizinga christened us HOMO LUDENS – ‘playing man’. Everything we call ‘culture’ originates in play.” (p. 282-283). How do you play? When was the last time you really played?
12. “Hatred and racism stem from a lack of contact. We generalize wildly about strangers because we don’t know them. So the remedy seemed obvious: more contact. After all, we can only love what we know” (p.352) In order to “stay human” who can you contact in the near future? What other ways can you “stay human.”

Maury Berggren - A Human Sighting

Maury Berggren (1938-2021)

For five years I had the honor to serve as Pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Manhattan, Kansas. There are several hundred people whose lives became interwoven with mine during those years. The relationship with Maury Berggren was one of the precious ones that will never end. He welcomed Ann and I to Peace and remained a partner in our personal and pastoral journey. He cemented a compassionate connection from the moment of our arrival. Thank you, Maury, for your friendship.

Maury as an artist gave his gifts to so many. Hundreds of students will never forget him. Dozens of churches continue to feature art made from a variety of wood, pottery, and other mediums that proclaimed the sacredness of all creation and the wonder of divine love. The statue of the “Boy with fishes and Loaves” and “Christus Rex” are two of my most prized works of art. Maury created a lasting memorial for our daughter Molly which remains on display at Andover Lutheran Church. The Peace Dove Window shines every night in our back yard. Thank you, Maury, for your art.

One year during Lent, Maury asked if we could create together a vision of the “Last Words From the Cross.” Each Wednesday Lenten evening I prayed and spoke, the congregation sang and listened and watched as Maury shaped with his hands the cross and the people around it. Watching the artist create was an act of worship that touched us deeply. Thank you, Maury, for your worship leadership.

Several years Maury made presents which Ann and I gave to each other. He invested hours planning, creating, and completing these symbols of devotion that remain a part of our home. Our “Family Cup of Blessing” was used for celebrating our family and our hospitality shared with others. Thank you, Maury, for helping our family grow in love and compassion.

Maury Berggren completed his earthly life the first week of 2021. The relationship he made will last forever. Thank you, Maury, for being a wonderful child of God and one of the best human sightings I have ever witnessed.

Thanksgiving Blessing 2020

Blessing Prayer Thanksgiving 2020
Rams Horn Community

Blessed are you Creator and Lover of the Universe. You gift us with a beautiful world, wonderful human families, and the ability to hope even in times of chaos and sadness.

Give peace and strength to our nations leaders. May the values and vision on which our nation was founded guide all practices and decisions.
Protect the most vulnerable among us, especially all who are currently sick or in isolation.
Grant wisdom, patience, and clarity to health care workers, especially as their work caring for others puts them at great risk.
Give rest to first responders, firefighters, community leaders and others in our Estes Park community who have floods, fires; natural disasters, in addition to ongoing challenges
Guide us as we consider how best to prepare and respond in our families, workplaces, and communities. When we must be apart for reasons of safety, we trust that you embrace us all with your sheltering wings.
Give us courage to face these days not with fear but with compassion, concern, and acts of service.

Even as we live with daily disappointments we remain aware of the many blessings we celebrate this year.
We are grateful for the Rams Horn Staff who continue to make the words “Welcome Home” feel so good.
We celebrate Rocky Mountain Nation Park and the many non-human members of our family who remind us of the wonders of creation.
We remain aware of all those we know as members of our Rams Horn family. Separation is painful, but it does not end our appreciation.
We celebrate the sacred bond we share with all persons of faith around this fragile planet and know that no act of love is ever lost in the universe.

Blessed are you Creator and Lover of the Universe. You gift us with a beautiful world, wonderful human families, and the ability to hope even in times of chaos and sadness.

Amen

David E. Nelson, D.Min.
humanagenda@gmail.com
816.896.3835

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Never Caught by Erica Armstrong Dunbar

Never Caught: The Washington’s Relentless Pursuit of their Runaway Slave Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar. This is the story not only of the powerful lure of liberty but also of George Washington’s determination to recapture his property by whatever means necessary. Never Caught is an important new work on one of the world’s most celebrated families and is the only book that examines the life of an eighteenth-century fugitive woman in intricate detail. It is a must read for anyone interest in American history. At the end of the book are 11 Reading Group Questions. Possible releasing conversation: Share your name and say something about slavery.

“Was this not the time for Ona Judge to seize the day, leave the Washingtons, and never look back? Could she find the bravery, the grit, and the power to leave everyone and everything that she knew? Several factors influenced her decision and tipped the balance sheet in one direction over the other.” (p 93). What have you learned in recent months about the history of slavery in the USA? How is it different than other countries? How did it come to be so “normal” and acceptable for such a long time?

“Rape and forced breeding torturously enlarged the institution of slavery, reminding every enslaved woman that she was never safe from sexual attack.” (p. 97). Why does the author, Erica Armstrong Dunbar, prefer the term “enslavement” and “enslaved” over just the word “slave”? What is the impact of centuries of enslavement on both the Blacks who were slaves and the whites who were slave owners? Describe the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 and make the case for and against it.

“Ona Staines (Judge) looked the president’s nephew in his eyes. Righteous indignation and a belief in her right to be free prompted her final and fierce response to Bassett, telling him, ‘I am free now and choose to remain so.’” (p. 166). Where does such courage come from? What other examples of strength can you recall from the news or from your own life?

“With the death of George Washington, 123 slaves who lived and toiled at Mount Vernon learned that Washington’s final will would eventually emancipate them from bondage, an indication that the president had indeed struggles with the concept of slavery.” (p.173). Why do you think Washington was unable to emancipate his slaves while he was alive?

“It was her faith in God that carried Ona Staines through the most difficult times in her life. In her later years, Staines reminisced about her sojourn to Christianity and literacy, two silos that she encountered once she fled north.” (p. 184) What is it about Christianity and literacy that gives power and hope for formerly enslaved people and for you?

“On February 25, 1848, eleven days after the doctor’s visit, Ona Maria Staines was carried away not by slave catchers, but by her God.” (p. 186)