Excellent forum on Civility at the National Cathedral - with Os Guinness

This is a forum at the National Cathedral from yesterday on ways to build Civility in Diversity in the U.S. and elsewhere.

http://www.nationalcathedral.org/events/SF20100124.shtml

Haiti and the Pat Robertson Paradox -- Politics Daily

Haiti and the Pat Robertson Paradox -- Politics Daily

This is an insightful piece by Jeffrey Weiss formerly of the Dallas Morning News.

News from Fr. Bruno in Haiti

Please see the letter from Fr. Jean-Monique Bruno about his visit to Port-au-Prince, under Articles and Other Writings.

Haiti, disaster, and New Orleans: Same song - Second Verse.

In November I had the opportunity to visit Haiti. I was somewhat reluctant to go (my third trip abroad in one year), but am now so glad to have gone there and connected with some wonderful people. It happened that my friends, Berry and Peter Rice (who work with a mission in northern Haiti: www.bethlehemministry.org) would be down there, as well as Fr. Richard and Barbara Banks (Richard my former housemate and colleague at Grace Church and wife Barbara who was stationed with USAID in Haiti) . We all spent Thanksgiving together. I was able to see Port au Prince before it was destroyed. I will especially cherish my time in the national museum and in the Episcopal Cathedral with its distinctive murals. They were destroyed. Yes, there was great poverty there; yes, there was much corruption; yes, there were great and unjust disparities among different classes of Haitians. Yet, it was also a society that was proud of its heritage, and there was a complex and rich social fabric, and many very positive things which give me hope for the future. Having spent time in a small town in northern Haiti observing rural poverty, in the urban slums of Port au Prince and Cap Haitian, and in wealthy enclaves such as the Pétionville section of Port au Prince (where my embassy friends lived), I feel I saw a significant cross-section of the country. It appears that all the people whom I met there have survived the earthquake.

Of the several Caribbean countries that I have visited in the last 10 years, I felt, oddly, the most at home in Haiti. This was more so than even the neighboring Dominican Republic or Honduras (New Orleans is the third largest Honduran city in the world - and I had a lot of Hondurans in my congregation at Grace Church). I had a similar feeling in Havana, when I was there two years ago. There is, of course, an ancient and well-known connection between Haiti, Cuba, and New Orleans - but also there is a commonality in the present.

New Orleans, like Haiti and (to some extent) Cuba, are social pariahs in the mainstream Western (American-dominated) culture. Race plays a significant role in this. But also culture and religion. Haiti is an outcast in Latin America partly due to speaking French (and Creole) in the midst of a Spanish-speaking world, but at a more primal level, it was is a republic of black former slaves - the lowest end of the socio-racial spectrum in the Americas. New Orleans is an outsider in the North American context, and though French is hardly heard here, the French/Latin influence in the culture of both the White and Black communities, and in our laws and practices is still very palpable. Cuba, although a very proud and successful country - even today, is a pariah state from an US-American point of view. The criticisms and prejudices which New Orleans endures in the US-American context are also endured by Haiti. We even share some of the same critics and friends.

Among the critics is the Rev. Pat Robertson, who has done it again. The poor man appears congenitally incapable of understanding suffering, and the theological concept of theodicy. Robertson makes the idiotic "Kurzschluß" that a natural disaster such as this earthquake in Port au Prince is God's judgment for the Haitian revolution of the 1790s. The attack on Sept. 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina were also interpreted as God's judgement for past wrongs. I highly recommend a sermon published by Bishop Dan Edwards of the Diocese of Nevada on Robertson's chronic misuses of theological concepts such as providence, judgement, and theodicy. http://bdsermons.blogspot.com/2010/01/pat-robertson-dietrich-bonhoeffer-god.html

Among the friends is General Russel Honoré (sometimes called the man who saved New Orleans) on CNN (on Friday, Jan. 15) regarding repeating the mistake of having fearful security people running the recovery operation and the resultant slow pace of starting relief operations: "Same thing they said about New Orleans - just because the people are poor, doesn't mean they are dangerous." Just as in New Orleans, the relief operations were hampered and delayed (and people died) because of the perception that it was a dangerous place. In New Orleans, this notion was fostered by the media who continually looped a few examples of looting and what looked like violence, and made it look as if the entire city were rioting, pillaging and raping. Nothing was further from the truth, even in horrible places such as the Superdome and the Convention Center. There were just poor people - many of them Black - caught in a horrible situation, awaiting rescue. Relief waited days, even weeks, because of this misperception. General Honoré recognized this and knew that the purported dangers were completely overblown. He notes the same thing is happening in Port au Prince. Just because people are poor, Black, and desperate does not make them dangerous. Yet, that same perception is there. Thank you Gen. Honoré for raising the issue.

In New Orleans, some significant systemic changes have come about as a result of the disaster. Vast resources and much goodwill have poured into our region. Many new and enduring relationships have been formed. For this we are very grateful. May the same happen with the good people of Haiti - and may things eventually be "mo-betta" as we have learned to say about our experience here. This will be a long way off. It is four-and-a-half years since our disaster occurred and much remains to be done.

New Orleans in a Fog

This photo was taken with my iPhone on Wednesday (30 December) on Chartres St. in the Quarter. It captures visually some of what, to me, New Orleans is about. On the right is the historic and beautifully restored Louisiana Supreme Court building, on the left is a former local court and police building which is now the Williams Collection of the Historic New Orleans Collection. One of my favorite hang-outs in the city is the reading room there on the 2nd floor. Next to it on the right is another building which "The Collection" (which has minimal public funding - but huge endowments) is restoring for conference space. On the other side of the courthouse, in the block ahead on the right is Brennan's Restaurant, on the cross street immediately behind me (St. Louis Street) is Antoine's Restaurant - both ancient institutions bespeaking our continuing culinary excellence. Scores of other excellent eateries are within blocks. In the foreground are two dear friends who were visiting in New Orleans, one a priest from Long Island, the other a deacon (and fellow blogger) from Monroe. People from all over come and visit here, and love it.

The old and cultural anchors of the city are firmly in place, unmoved, and prospering. Yet not far ahead in the photo, one sees two tall buildings (the Marriott and Sheraton hotels on opposite sides of Canal St.) and some other tall buildings in the CBD (Central Business District - on the other side of Canal St. from the French Quarter). The tops of these buildings are obscured by fog. In these buildings the other businesses of the city - commercial, government, convention, some retail - take place. These "engines" of life in a city are very much in a fog in New Orleans. This is nothing new. It is a piece of the dichotomy which is New Orleans. Culturally rich and thriving, dysfunctional and impoverished. Will the fog lift one day? Will the upcoming elections help? Wherein lies this malaise?

Blogging

A Happy and Blessed New Year to all. May each of you be in good health, and grow in grace and love, and prosper throughout the coming year.

Well I have jumped into the blogging world. For years I have had the attitude that blogging was somehow narcissistic and indecorously self-revelatory. I seem to have gotten over that. Having been on Facebook for the last 18 months or so has helped. So here goes!

Of course, I would welcome and solicit any and all comments.