Magazine
Sojourners Magazine: March-April 1996
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Cover Story
Feature
Perhaps I can best explain why I knowingly chose to break the law by recalling a conversation I had with my 7-year-old daughter before she left for school on the morning of December 7.
The story of poverty must be told again and again until we all recognize a responsibility to search for solutions and develop a passion to work toward their implementation.
In many ways I feel like a hypocrite in regards to my actions
at the Capitol.
The Bible gives very clear instructions that Christians should
be subject to government authorities (Romans 13:1-4).
The law is our mutually created instrument to protect impartially the common good and individual rights from abuses by individuals, groups, or the state.
The rule of law in a free society is an expression of the social
contract between the governed and government and between the people
and each other.
As a social worker at Bread for the City and Zacchaeus Free Clinic,
I have had many experiences with those who are suffering.
THE OLD TESTAMENT prophets claimed, and the New Testament witnesses affirmed, that a society will be judged (by God) most fundamentally by the way it has treated the poorest and most marginalized in its midst.
The democratic tradition at its best has always had those who
act on conscience in such ways that knowingly defy the immediacy
of legal regulation.
Why would I, a peaceful, usually law-abiding grandmother of four (not even a parking ticket) break the habit of a lifetime and become the "little old lady in tennis shoes"...
Jesus made it clear that we must love our brothers and sisters
as he loved us.
The political leaders in place at this time are constructing social policy and vision that is fundamentally destructive of human life and well-being, particularly of those most marginalized by our governmental system.
Commentary
[Demi] Moore's strong flair for taking risks for jumbo-sized payouts showed up clearly when she dared to pose nude and pregnant on the cover of Vanity Fair....
Columns
Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller once criticized Little League baseball for its interference in children's spontaneous play.
When we heard the weather report predicting another snow storm
on its way to Washington, D.C., our hearts sank.
After finally digging out from the 27 inches of snow that fell on the nation's capital-a city founded on a simple democratic principle: "What's a snowplow?"
Nights are the worst. I toss and turn, seeking a blessed relief from consciousness that seems to come only at dawn.
A cook is a chemist. All manner of wizardry and wondrous reactions occur in the oven and the mixing bowl.
I did not expect a great blue heron to visit my neighborhood in
northeast Atlanta.
Culture Watch
Richard Nixon got his 15 minutes of media redemption last year...from the grave.
For many in the Christian tradition, it's a common Lenten discipline
to think about confession and complicity.
Departments
AS A 16-YEAR-OLD Christian, I found the commentary on Magic: The Gathering very refreshing
AS THE AUTHOR of Sojourners' "Life in Community" column, I must take exception to Ed Spivey's remarks about my lifestyle in his January-February 1996 "H'rumphs."
Troubled by the scarcity of material from the nonviolent peace
movement on the World Wide Web, three individuals are dedicating
their skills to "help bring the powerful message of nonviolence
on
The Inland Northwest, which includes eastern Washington and northern Idaho, is known more because of stories about Ruby Ridge and the Neo-Nazi headquarters in Hayden Lake, Idaho, than for its wooded tranquility.
THANK YOU FOR focusing on the role of money in the American political system ("To the Highest Bidder: Stopping the Sellout of Democracy Before It's Too Late," November-December 1995).
MANY THANKS FOR the uplifting and amusing articles celebrating
Daniel Berrigan's life.
On January 5, a firebomb destroyed the car of José Pertierra
in Washington, D.C.
ROSEMARY RADFORD Ruether's analysis of the power, particularly
social power, that traditional, non-inclusive names of God have
on us in our perceptions of gender and our inclination toward
sexis
Photojournalist Mev Puleo, whose work focused on the lives and struggles of the poor, died January 12, 1996, of a brain tumor. Puleo, who was 32 years old, received the 1995 U.S.
OUR COVER ARTICLE, "Is Marriage Obsolete?" has its origins in one of those "highway" conversations, where you dig into the stuff of life while rolling over the interstate.
I READ MICHAEL Smith's article ("Whose Kingdom?") in the November-December 1995 Sojourners with interest, but found it to be flavored with considerable unchristian rancor.
I HAD JUST recently renewed my subscription to Sojourners
when I picked up a copy of the January-February 1996 issue.
I CAN'T REMEMBER if I have ever read a magazine literally from cover to cover, but your November-December 1995 issue took the prize.
I FOUND JIM RICE'S commentary, "Into Bosnia: Mixed motives and good fruit," in the January-February 1996 issue, to be unbalanced in its presentation of the facts.
OUR COVER ARTICLE, "Is Marriage Obsolete?," by Elizabeth McAlister, has its origins in one of those "highway" conversations, where you dig into the stuff of life while rolling over the interstate.