Daniel Farrell – Guest Blogger for the Community Book Review of Jesus for President.
Be sure to check out part 1 as well.
God’s Streets
Crime is the next topic on our agenda. They used the example of a church in Chicago that started their own nonviolent security team. I feel like there is a lot of room for something like this here. Crime is less of an issue in Richmond than it was just a few years ago, but the answers that people come up with(block captains programs that work with the police and neighborhood watch) just funnel people into the prison system instead of trying to help them recover.
My only thought here on resources would be the Richmond Peace Education Center which does conflict resolution training and other helpful things. Again, if you know of other resources please leave them in the comments.
Living with Old People
This is a topic I’m less than familiar with. They used the example of a couple they know who adopted an elderly woman with Alzheimer. We have a penchant for just pushing the elderly away into retirement communities and nursing homes. These can be some of the lonely places around. Does anyone know of groups that visit shut-ins and nursing homes?
Give to Uncle Sam what is Uncle Sam’s
Taxes. They say there are 2 guarantees in life, death and taxes. But what do we do when nearly 50% of our taxes go to fund war and war related activities? They give some examples of groups who have chosen to live completely simple lives and stay below the poverty and tax line. While I don’t think that an easy transition to make it is something to consider. Beyond that they offer some creative options but nothing that I really found practical.
Make Stuff
And the final stop in our rapid fire things to make the world better is in making our own stuff. Expressing your creativity is a way to show that you are made in the image of a creative God. It’s also a way to avoid being a part of exploitation. Much of our clothing was made in sweatshops around the world by workers forced into awful situations. Making your own clothes means that there will be less demand for clothes made in sweatshops. Beyond sweatshops it’s also a way to practice resurrection by creatively reusing things and also a way to demonstrate that we can be sufficient without being fully dependent on the global economy.
I would have liked to see some more thought given to fair trade and local economies around this section. But I guess that means I should write about that some myself. But this rapid fire look at alternative ways of living was helpful to inspire me some and I hope it helps inspire you as well.
Daniel Farrell is a follower of Jesus, a husband to Alicia and owner/operator of Farrell IT. He lives, works and plays in Richmond, VA. You can follow along the Pilgrimage that Daniel finds himself on here
Filed under: books, Christian Nonviolence, church, economy, empire, Jesus, Jesus For President, Politics, Richmond, Shane Claiborne |
hope like mad 
On Taxes – It is actually suprisingly easy to live below the poverty line. Even though it is pretty low. I have done so all my life, and my brother and his family (3 kids) do so as well.
On clothes – some friends and I made a commitment to buy as much as possable, clothes that are already used (there are tones of consignment stores here). Purchasing at these stores not only benifits me (price wise) but many of these shops give the money they make to charity, and the clothing can go back into these stores for someone else, when I’m done with them.
The living below the poverty idea is extremely challenging when you have kids.
I was just at a gathering of Catholic Workers and went to a workshop on raising a family in a Catholic Worker home- most of which live below the poverty line. It is possible, though you are right that it’s extremely challenging.
In my neighborhood, there are thousands of people who raise families while living below the poverty line.
And my pastor in college raised a family of 4 on one pastor’s salary, which put him below the poverty line.
Just to say- challenging, yes. Impossible, no.