The Irresistible Revolution, Ch. 11a (p 289-305)

The Irresistible Revolution, Ch. 11a (p 289-305)
Making Revolution Irresistible

(a) "I got this [burn scar] making stuff for you" (p 292).

Though not Claiborne's main point in this chapter, still you can find fair trade businesses in this pdf (published by the Fair Trade Federation) or at this site (Fair Trade Certified). These related sites may also guide you: Corporate Critic, Ethical Consumer, EthiScore, Ethical Shopping and Get Ethical. Or learn to sew like Shane.

Production and trade aren't necessarily bad, whether local or (maybe even) international. They just need to be done in a fair manner with respect to all parties and the planet. Once every four years, (some) U.S. citizens vote in the presidential election. But we vote for the world of tomorrow with every dollar spent. Will it be fair trade or indifferent? Organic or carcinogenic? Win-win or win-lose?

(b) "There are times when injustice will take us to the streets and might land us in jail, but it is our love for God and our neighbor--not our rage or our arrogance--that counts" (p 293).

What issues take you to the streets? In the midst of protest, are you able to embody love and peace, or do rage and arrogance take over?

From a different perspective, Rob Bell talks about what we do with our anger in Store. Do I use it to make the world a better place like Jesus did (Mark 3:5)? Or do I get destructive?

The words of Kaj Munk on pages 294/5 fit this concept brilliantly.

(c) "Just as 'believers' are a dime a dozen in the church, so are 'activists' in social justice circles nowadays. But lovers are hard to come by. And I think that's what our world is desperately in need of--lovers, people who are building deep, genuine relationships with fellow strugglers along the way, and who actually know the faces of the people behind the issues..." (p 295).

Am I a believer? What do I believe about God and justice? Am I an activist? What actions and what attitudes will achieve the results God desires? Am I a lover? Of whom? Why? Who else needs my love today? How do healthy boundaries help me love more completely?

(d) View the life of Immokalee Workers (p 298-300). That cheap produce in the grocery store suddenly doesn't look so appealing. The answer isn't to stop eating it, but to help those harvesting it for us to get what they need. Our wage scales (both in the U.S. and for multinational corporations) may be legal, but God has a different perspective.

Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. (James 5:4-5)

(e) "Degrees of separation allow us to destroy human beings we do not know except as the enemy" (p 304).

Smart bombs keep war de-personalized. "We have guided missiles and misguided men" (Chris Blake, Swimming against the Current, p 109).