The Beloved Community vs. the Beloved Economy

Brian McLaren recently blogged about the difference between the two American dreams.  Great stuff:

The Beloved Community vs. the Beloved Economy

My Own Personal Oscar Buzz

I’m in full blown Oscar mode anticipating both the nominations that will come out next week and the party that will follow co-hosted by Sara Cobb.  Granted, I have not seen nearly as many movies as those who actually vote on these things (still on my list to see in the next couple weeks: The Ides of March, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Artist, and Young Adult). 

Having given that disclaimer, here are the films that I did see this year and that I hope do well at the Oscars in a few weeks:

1.      The Descendants – I loved this movie because of how human it was.  Like the film 50/50, I was amazed at how much I laughed during a film about a woman dying.  The characters were complicated and interesting. Sid, for example, at first seems like a buffoon but ends up being not nearly as simple minded as he seems.  There are complicated moral dilemmas in the film and because you care about the characters, you care about the decisions they make.  George Clooney is brilliant and made the whole story line believable. 

2.      Moneyball – This was my favorite film of the year.  Yes, it is about baseball (to quote Billy Bean, “How can you not get romantic about baseball?”) but it is really about life.  It is a story about finding our place in the world, about succeeding while feeling like you belong on, “an Island of misfit toys”, about how money is not everything, about defining what success is, about the fleeting moments of life, about what it means to be a parent, about risking everything on what you believe in, about finishing well (“winning the last game of the season”), about what we use to ascribe value to human beings, about perseverance, and about how some things you just can’t measure. 

At the end of the film when Billy Bean interviews for the general manager job for the Red Sox, John Henry tells him, “I know you are taking it in the teeth, but the first guy through the wall... he always gets bloody... always. This is threatening not just a way of doing business... but in their minds, it's threatening the game. Really what it's threatening is their livelihood, their jobs. It's threatening the way they do things... and every time that happens, whether it's the government, a way of doing business, whatever, the people who are holding the reins - they have their hands on the switch - they go ____crazy.”  -- I love that life view.  Pioneers get shot it but they also change the world.   

The closing scene of the movie was probably my favorite movie scene of the year. As Billy Bean wrestles with whether or not to take the Red Sox job, he places a CD in his car stereo that his daughter recorded.  And Billy Bean has an epiphany that brings to closure all of the issues of this movie. 

3.      50/50 – I was surprised that this film did not get more Oscar buzz. The film is inspired by a true story of a 27 year old’s struggle with cancer and the news that his chances of survival are 50/50.  (As Seth Rogan’s character says, “It’s not that bad.  It’s better than I thought…If you were a casino game, you would have the best odds.”)

 Like The Descendants, I felt guilty for laughing so much at a movie that was about cancer. But overall, the film was warm, genuine, and human.  There is something about looking the reality of death in the eye that is both sobering and reflective. It brings out the best and worst in people. Some, like the surgeon and medical professionals in the film, are detached.  Some, like Adam’s girlfriend and coworkers, are self-centered and insensitive.  While others, like Katherine the therapist and Adam’s mother, are a bit enmeshed and not sure how to deal with the weight of Adam’s reality.

 Joseph Gordan-Levitt was amazing in this movie as Adam, “That's what everyone has been telling me since the beginning. ‘Oh, you're gonna be okay,’ and ‘Oh, everything's fine,’ and like, it's not... It makes it worse... that no one will just come out and say it. Like, ‘hey man, you're gonna die.’” 

As the film hits its climax, Adam goes in to surgery and delivers what I think is an amazing Oscar moment.  Adam’s father has Alzheimer’s and is clueless to what is going on around him (a great metaphor of how many people deal with difficult situations) and Adam’s mother is compassionate but doesn’t know how to nurture her adult son.  But somehow the weight of Adam’s odds (50/50) break through, his fear comes out, and they have an authentic moment.

It is a story about friendship, about loving people through difficult situations, and facing reality no matter how frightening it is.

4.       Midnight in Paris – I thought this was good film but was surprised it got as much Oscar buzz as it did.  Having been to Paris for the first time this last year, I was able to understand what Adrianna meant when she said, “That Paris exists and anyone could choose to live anywhere else in the world will always be a mystery to me.”  Like most Woody Allen films, it was full of irony and a little pretentious (it is an American Literature Major’s dream).  But the film was fun and playful – like this exchange between the protagonist Gil and Ernest Hemingway:

Gil: I would like you to read my novel and get your opinion.
Ernest Hemingway: I hate it.
Gil: You haven't even read it yet.
Ernest Hemingway: If it's bad, I'll hate it. If it's good, then I'll be envious and hate it even more. You don't want the opinion of another writer.

5.      Hugo – this was a beautiful movie that I don’t imagine made a lot of money but it is a must see.  Hugo lives in 1930’s Paris which makes it all the more fun.  The best line of the film was delivered by Hugo Cabret, “[I] imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured, if the entire world was one big machine, I couldn't be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason.” 

It’s a story about the power of hope, second chances, courage, the lure of a great adventure, and the power of a story well told (in and out of the movie theater). 

Africa Blog, Part 7

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is unlike any other place I have ever been on earth.  Burundi is just as poor but the level of chaos here in Goma is hard to describe.  The DRC is, geographically speaking, the largest country in Africa.  There are about 71 million people living here.  

The last fifteen years or so have been brutal to this country.  After the Rwandan genocide, many of the Hutu militia forces fled to Burundi and the DRC where they stared two civil wars (killing about a million people in Burundi and 5.4 million people in the DRC). 

The social problem here are hard for me to wrap my mind around – it wasn’t until last year that the DRC had much of a functioning central government.  Infrastructure is virtually non-existent – there are less than 200 km of paved roads outside of the major cities of the DRC making travel by car virtually impossible.  The UN has the largest deployment of troops in the world here in Goma to try and keep things stable. But by some estimates, civilians are still dying by the thousands every month.  Goma, where we are staying, has become known as the rape capital of the world. 

The DRC’s blessing has also become its curse.  The DRC may be the most naturally rich country in the world – gold, silver, copper, and rare woods are in abundance here.  The land is lush and prime for farming.  But the biggest jackpot of them all is the presence of coltan – a rare mineral that is used to manufacture consumer electronic products like cell phones, DVD players, computers, and video games.  Estimates are that the DRC contains between 70 and 80% of the world’s coltan reserves.    
Forget blood diamonds, Coltan mining in the DRC is, according to UN reports, what has funded the militias and prolonged the civil war here.  Over 125 companies have been accused of the UN of breaching international business standards with coltan exports from the DRC.  The companies come from all over the world: China, the US, Australia, and the EU.

The irony of the sick and twisted systems here are hard to stomach.  The people here have so much in natural resources but are so very, very poor.  It is a living lesson of how corporate greed, easy money, and unrestrained markets can work together to unleash a perfect storm of evil. (The death toll is 5.4 million or 7.6% of the population and counting).  It turns out that “the invisible hand of the market” can form a powerful fist. 

We spent the day today visiting sites of churches that had been destroyed by the war and are now wrestling with issues like clean water, war orphans, and HIV/AIDS. I had to remind myself that I can’t do everything but I can do something for someone.  Our team is hoping to take a few weeks to process all that we are seeing and come up with some kind of plan to help somebody.  

Africa Blog, Part 6

This morning we made a beautiful drive from Bujumbura South to Mugerama and Nyabutare .  The drive took us along Lake Tanganyika – the second longest lake in the world.  It really looks more like the ocean than a lake. 

We stopped along the way at the place where the famous missionary Dr. David Livingstone met up with the New York journalist H.M. Staley and Stanley famously said, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”  They carved their names in to a rock south of Bujumbura. 

We worshiped at Mugerama in a church with brick and mud walls and a dirt floor.  I don’t think they had indoor plumbing or electricity for many, many miles.  It was awesome.  These Africans love to sing.  And dance.  And they are very good at it. 

After church we visited some potential sites for future projects for Gate 117 and met some amazingly gracious people.  On the way home we stopped at a “resort” type thing next to the lake and Debbie put her feet in the water.  Tim went all out and swam like a fish for about 20 minutes. They said the water was perfect.    

Tomorrow we get up early for a ten hour drive to Goma in the Democratic Republic of The Congo. 

Africa Blog, Part 5

Our plan to travel from Gisenyi, Rwanda to Bujumbura, Burundi was to rent a car and make the 10 hour trek on mostly paved roads.  Needless to say, car rentals in Rwanda are not like car rentals in the US.  We talked to a guy who knew a guy who was willing to rent his Land Rover for $150/day.  So we woke up at 4:30 this morning so that we could make the journey to Bujumbura before dark.  About two and a half hours in to our trip, the 1997 Land Rover that we rented suddenly quick working.  In the middle of nowhere.  Turns out there was a small leak in the radiator that grew to a larger leak until the car had overheated.  We emptied all of our drinking water in to the radiator but it quickly burned off.  Since we were at the top of a hill we decided to coast down the hill to a small village.  Five Muzungus (white people) rolling in to a place that has probably not seen a white person in decades in a Land Rover was, to say the least, the biggest freak show in years.  The whole town came out to watch. 

Blake Berry was able to negotiate the purchase of about a four gallon plastic water jug with his broken Kenneyrwandan.  They threw the water in for free.  For the next 20 km we would drive about two km (less than a mile), stop, pour more water in to the radiator, wait for the engine to cool down, and drive another couple of kilometers.  We stopped about fifteen times, limping the car to Gitarama – one of the larger cities in Rwanda. 

Since we were not able to rent from Avis or Enterprise, we had to call the owner of the car and give him the great news.  Since relationships are of such value here, making sure everyone was OK with the deal was of higher value that actually getting our money back. 

We ate breakfast at a small restaurant (coffee, scrambled eggs, and French fries) and tried to figure out what to do next.  We were still six hours from Bujumbura and it was almost noon.  We called some friends who knew people in Gitarama and through a long series of events were able to rent was is the African equivalent of a Toyota Corolla.

We arrived in Bujumbura around 6:00 PM as the sun was setting.  Bujumbura is the largest city and capital city of The Republic of Burundi.  According to the UN, Burundi and The Congo are the two poorest countries in the world.  Tonight we had dinner with a wonderful pastor named Luc and his family.  I imagine it cost them what would be a small fortune to host the five of us.  But they loved it.   Tomorrow they have hooked me up to preach at some church that is a two hour drive from here.

Africa Blog, Part 4

It is hard to complain about food in the developing world.  Only in the first world do we think of food as entertainment and not a part of survival.  During our pastor’s conference, we would eat every day with the pastors a very traditional meal – rice, beans, some kind of cabbage dish, bananas, French fries, some kind of way overcooked beef chunks that resembled very thick beef jerky, and a coke.  Tim told us that he has carb-loaded enough to run at least two marathons this week. 

As near as I can tell, this mostly what the Rwandans and the Congolese eat every meal.  What adds variety to their diet is the different sauces that they add to the food.  (No, the sauces are not particularly good.) 

Debbie and I brought candy from home to give to the pastors which has been a HUGE hit.  We started each session by giving them a small piece of hard candy.  You would think we were passing out $100 bills.  When we ran out of hard candy we began to give them some of the candy we got from Costco – kids’ candy like lemonheads, red vines, nerds, and smarties.  The pastors would argue over the candy because some people got two pieces and others, like the receipts of the nerds, would get dozens of pieces.  It was funny to see grown men act like kids.  

So, last night we decided to splurge and go to the nicest restaurant in Gisenyi for our last night in Gisenyi.  The Serena Hotel is a place where lots of expatriates and vacationing professionals like to hang out.  We decided to have the buffet. It was amazing – pork ribs, cheese, fresh fruit and vegetables, skewers (that I thought were beef but later learned were goat), and a variety of traditional African dishes.  Ron, Debbie, and I gave the “Ox Tongue” a whirl (when in Rome…) but I could not get over the texture.  It was like biting your tongue except it didn’t hurt.  The best part of the meal was  a tie between glasses full of ice for Diet Coke, chocolate cake, and the best pineapple I have ever had.

Blog from Africa, Part 3

Different cultures express friendship in different ways.  In Rwanda it takes some getting used to seeing men holding hands walking down the road.  It is a sign here of (very platonic) affection.  The first time an African man grabbed my hand and led me somewhere, I had a hard time not crawling out of my skin.  African men like to sit close and will often put their hand on your leg as a sign of friendship. 

While waiting on a bench at the bus station a few days ago, a woman came and sat down next to me.  So close that I wanted to say, “Shouldn’t I buy you dinner or something?”  But of courses I didn’t say anything and just tried to pretend like it was no big deal to me. 

In spite of their close personal space, the Africans are very homophobic.  I’m told that in The Congo, it is not just culturally inappropriate but illegal for two men to share a hotel room. 

Blog from Africa, Part 2

The realization of how different my world is from the world of the Africans that I am interacting with arrives at unexpected moments.  This afternoon I was lecturing to a group of pastors and I briefly mentioned the Eucharist (“communion” or the “Lord’s Supper”).  It led to a discussion on how often a church leader should administer the Eucharist.  I told them that we administer the Eucharist every week at Real Life.  One pastor raised his hand and said, “Bread is very expensive.  And we cannot get wine here in Rwanda.  We could never afford to take the Eucharist that often.” 

Another pastor asked, “Would it be OK if we used other things for the communion elements that are less expensive?  What about potatoes and milk?”  I can honestly say I have never thought about that question.  I wished that I could call my friend Brent Peterson at that moment – he would have some great insights.  After I thought about it I told him – the mystery of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist is not related to any magical properties in bread and wine.  Jesus also lived in poverty and took the common food elements of his day – bread and wine – and taught us to see the divine in the ordinary.  Therefore, common elements like potatoes and milk can also become a means to the grace of God.  Like Moses in the Old Testament, we can find ourselves on “holy ground” without even knowing it. 

The next question threw me for another loop.  The pastor asked, “If you have a common loaf of bread during the Eucharist, how do you keep people who are hungry from taking too much of the loaf?”  Suddenly, I realized that how much living in the wealthiest country in the world has biased my view of the scripture.  This question was an issue that arose in the New Testament among the impoverished Early Christians.  The whole love passage of 1 Corinthians 13 came out the context of the Eucharist gone bad in Corinth in the First Century.   1 Corinthians 11 specifically addresses the issue of impoverished people who are eating too much during the Eucharist. These pastors probably intuitively grasp much more of the cultural dynamics at work in First Century Palestine that I could ever hope to.  

The final question was kind of funny.  A pastor asked, “At the end of the Eucharist, who gets to eat what is left over?”  A debate then raged among the pastors as to whether or not the food should go to the poor OR since it was “blessed” if it should remain in a more sacred place – namely, in the stomachs of the pastor’s family. 

Same planet, different world.