Reaching Out with Love

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To the Editor, Midland Daily News:

Dear friends, I am deeply troubled.  The doors of the first Unitarian church in Midland had barely opened in 1885 before letters to the editor slammed them for heresy.  And now, more than 125 years later, recent letters again condemn people in our community with different religious beliefs (see third letter and here).

Every prophet throughout history has taught one lesson in common…Love. Love of mother and father.  Love of our children.  Love of our enemies.  Love of all our neighbors, be they rich or poor, White or Black, man or woman, gay or straight, believer or nonbeliever.  Why do you preach hate and intolerance when your own scriptures teach gentleness, kindness, and hospitality?

You have neighbors who love you. Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Agnostic – and yes even Atheist – neighbors who love you.  And I love you.

We ask nothing but to be allowed to live our lives freely, with respect and dignity.  We do not ask you to change your beliefs, merely to permit us to have our own.  People of faiths different from yours are not evil.  Atheists are not evil.  Evil is the void in a heart where Love should reside.

If you share this Love, I invite you to visit http://www.standingonthesideoflove.org/.  Standing on the Side of Love is a public advocacy campaign that seeks to harness Love’s power to stop oppression.  It is sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Association and people of all faiths and beliefs are welcomed to join.

Rev. Jeff Liebmann
Midland

The Larger War

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After attending the Michigan Women’s Power Assembly event today in Lansing, I have reached a conclusion. The “War on Women” is just one campaign of an even larger, and if possible, even scarier war.

While standing in the House gallery speaking to a young woman, a man came by and shoved her aside as he walked by (there was plenty of room to pass us without any contact). She rebuked him for putting his hands on her to which his companion replied that she should get out of the way. When I challenged them about their rudeness, these two brave patriots keep walking away.
Later, I spoke to a woman in a wheel chair from a group called Mothers of Lost Children. Her abusive ex-husband had broken her back and then somehow managed to convince a judge to obtain custody of the children. Another woman told me that her ex-husband artificially inseminated her against her will when she threatened to divorce him, in an attempt to trap her in the marriage.
The more stories I hear, the more incredulous I become about the state of our nation. I cannot even begin to fathom how women today keep their sanity living in this hostile and misogynistic society. And yet, I have decided that the War on Women is, in fact, just one large campaign that is part of an even larger, more insidious war against the soul of the American people.
  • Government officials routinely raid undocumented immigrants’ homes, whisking parents away from children in the dead of night. They receive no due process, and are treated like animals for years before eventually being deported. 
  • Loving adults who happen to be of the same sex still cannot marry in most places, and face thousands of disciminatory and often heartless laws. 
  • Millions of hard-working Americans cannot find work that pay a living wage, while the 1% continue to export jobs overseas with inpugnity. 
  • The Emergency Management Law in Michigan has single-handledly wiped out representative democracy for most African Americans in the state. Across the nation, voter restriction efforts target the poor, the elderly, and other oppressed minorities. 
  • Politicians are hell-bent to ensure that tens of millions of Americans receive no health care insurance. 
  • The obsession over fetal life consumes the majority of legislative agendas, while these same politicians cut public school funding, work to wipe out family planning resources, and continue to support capital punishment, the American war machine, torture, and unlimited access to guns. 
We are facing a war against decency, a war against dignity, a war against our core liberty. In summary, we are defending ourselves from a War Against Love.

The antagonists in the War Against Love lie without shame, abuse without remorse, rationalize any moral indiscretion, and steal in the name of justice. Their agenda is the total submission of the American population, using the full might of our increasingly paramilitary police forces to crush even the most peaceful and law-abiding opposition with tactics of humiliation and violence. These forces have unlimited funds because our highest court has given corporations the rights of people without any of the responsibilities. And like unruly children with absentee parents, they are taking full advantage of the situation.

This blitzkrieg seeks to pick us off one at a time, just like every other brute horde throughout history. Immigrants, gays and lesbians, the poor, labor unions, racial minorities, religious minorities, women, the elderly – one by one, they seek to isolate us, set us against each other, and conquer us. And with each battle, America loses one more shred of civility, of compassion, of its vision as the land of the free and the home of the brave.

America, please wake up! If you are sitting at your computer reading this in the comfort of your home thinking these issues don’t affect you, then you are deluding yourself. You are your brother’s and sister’s keeper. As Jacob Marley said in Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” 

“The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”

Frogs Redux

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The morning after the frog serenade found me on the path once more. I felt somehow compelled to return to the site to experience the amphibious aria again.

Splashes accompanied me as I walked along the pond. Unlike other local wetland areas, the turtles here seem skittish and retreat to the water as I come near. The area laid still and quiet. The morning was more humid than I had expected and the mugginess seemed to repress activity.

I passed the place where I had picked up a handful of molted Canada Goose feathers the day before. Then up a rise and I heard it begin – the distant tones blurted in rapid succession from hundreds of throats. Unlike yesterday, I did not just smile – I actually laughed out loud at the sound.

As the volume increased, so did the activity around the pond. This morning, frogs were hopping around unconcerned and it was now the turtles’ turn to sit still in observation. Unlike before, I could see little green heads popped up all over the surface of the water, the sun picking out each singer clearly in the algae-laden pond.

Motion drew my eyes upward. I saw a Loon swoop past, and just seconds later a graceful white Egret flew in the opposite direction. I hardly had the chance to appreciate those views before an even larger figure attracted my attention yet higher. Overhead, there it was, the B-52 of birds – a Bald Eagle. I had seen examples at the Pittsburgh Aviary, but never in flight. The massive wingspan seemed to dwarf the surroundings.

Once the majestic bird left my sight, I returned my attention toward the never ending din from my frog friends. I saw movement in the leaves just a few feet below where I stood. I moved carefully around, but could not pinpoint the cause of the unnatural shaking. I moved to the other side of the tree trunk before me and stooped to see a muskrat busily munching away, clearly oblivious to my presence.

All the while, the frogs continued their racket. They sounded like a crowd of old men laughing at a dirty joke that I could not understand. I began to wonder if these other animals were attracted to the site just as I had been. Could this gigantic noise coming from such tiny creatures actually lure other animals?

I suppose the answer lies in whether or not one believes that animals do things for reasons beyond satisfying basic needs – food, shelter, procreation. Of course, that raises the question, “What qualifies as a basic need?”

I know that laughter qualifies for me. No matter how good things get, I must have fun. Is it so unreasonable to imagine that animals find each other funny? When you think about it, if anything, the frog orchestra should chase other animals away. Predators could sneak up more easily under cover of the croaking. And the noise would certainly attract attention from far around.

I believe that dogs and cats clearly show pleasure when scratched just right, or when snuggling with us on the sofa (especially if they are not supposed to be there). So, why can’t other mammals, birds, and turtles have the same emotions? Humanity certainly does not own a monopoly on feelings.

Concert on a Summer Morning

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After many days of sweltering heat, the morning was glorious. I veered off the main trail onto a side loop past Wood Duck Pond. As I walked past smaller inlets toward the larger body of water, I heard occasional movement through the trees. The sound resembled something larger moving through the dense brush, like a deer. So, I stopped frequently, peering through the leaves.

Seeing nothing, I suddenly heard a remarkably loud noise ahead on the trail. I walked toward the sound, growing ever louder. Honking? I had heard a similar cacophony when geese were fighting over ownership of a particular spot. The volume increased with each step.

I crested a small rise and could now see the pond stretching into the distance. I realized that the voices I now heard were not birds, but a vast chorus of frogs. Their range was somewhat limited, but I could still pick out dozens of croaks ranging from second alto to perhaps baritone in pitch.

I walked carefully, not wanting to interrupt the performance. But, my presence seemed to affect the singers little. I approached the edge of the path, which then dropped a dozen feet or so quickly into the water. The overgrowth, however, kept me from seeing my crooners.

In my mind, these frogs could only be massive. The local acoustics were certainly not conducive, and yet they belted out their notes clearly. I envisioned soccer ball-sized amphibians crouched along the shore, with perhaps a conductor perched on a convenient lily pad.

A splash. Then another. Finally, I managed to follow one into the water and spotted his head. Why, these creatures were surprisingly small, no larger than the palm of my hand. Once I got the knack of spotting them, I saw them everywhere. Heads popping up out the water all around, with bellowing cheeks puffing up. Absolutely amazing how so much sound can come from such a tiny body.

I don’t know why, but I felt giddily joyous and could not repress a smile. Listening to this ensemble brought me true glee as I listened. The sound overwhelmed everything and I become lost in the music. The sound dominated the area, almost assuming a physical presence.

In the last years of his far too short life, jazz musician John Coltrane worked on a concept called a “wall of sound.” The intent was for the music to come together literally into a solid wall, so that the listener no longer distinguished individual notes. Some of the best examples seem, to ears unaccustomed to this music, almost noise. But, Coltrane had experienced a spiritual awakening and was pursuing what he considered cosmic music.

The din of my little green frog concerto brought me close to that sound. And when you hear that cosmic wall of sound, only joy results.

(please forgive the poor quality of the video – I didn’t even realize my phone took videos until I tried this morning)

//www.youtube.com/get_player

If You Can’t Say It, Don’t Legislate It

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So now Ari Adler, spokesperson for Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger, has this to say about the muzzling of Representative Lisa Brown.  “It has nothing to do with her using the word ‘vagina.’  It was judgement at the time that when she finished her statement by referencing her vagina, and then saying ‘no means no,’ that was drawing a rape reference and he felt that crossed the line.”

Then, Adler said Brown was punished because she “threw a temper tantrum on the House floor.”  If you support Rep. Bolger and Stamas’s censoring of Rep. Lisa Brown, then consider this.  The sure outcome (if not the intent) of this omnibus of bills will be to make obtaining an abortion in Michigan next to impossible.  Now imagine that your 12-year-old daughter is raped and as a result of this traumatic assault becomes pregnant.  If you as her parent think it is in her best interest to get an abortion, and you tell her so, you have just committed a crime.  Whatever your reasoning as her parent, you are guilty of coercing a woman to get an abortion.

By banning accepted telemedicine practices for medical abortions, these bills make obtaining an abortion to victims of rape in rural area much more difficult and expensive, if not impossible.  And, even if the women can obtain an abortion, she now has to treat the remains of this violence against her as a human corpse – she must obtain a death certificate and obtain either burial, cremation or interment.  I cannot even begin to imagine inflicting such agony on a victim of rape.

Even if you consider yourself “pro-life,” Rep Brown’s comments are completely relevant and important.  HB 5711, 5712 and 5713 punish the victims of rape and incest in cruel and inhumane ways.  And the blatant ignoring of the voices of women in the process of forwarding these bills from the Committee on Health Policy is yet another form of rape – men’s abuse of their power in order to take away the voices and freedoms of women.

In her speech on the capitol steps last night, playwright Eve Ensler offered a list of things she is “over.”  I agree and add my own.

  • I am over hypocrites who pretend to care about the welfare of the unborn, whose only real interest is overcompensating for their feelings of inadequacy when facing women’s sexuality and power.
  • I am over people who claim to be “pro-life,” but support war and capital punishment, fail to support family planning and comprehensive sex education, and actively work against funding for public schools, poverty, gun control and all of the most important threats to quality human life.
  • I am over our collectively ignoring the important and powerful stories of women affected by this debate.  Men should feel privileged simply to be allowed to be part of the discussion.
  • I am over men failing to take responsibility for their actions, and instead forcing women to bear the burden of our uncontrolled search for gratification through power, control, violence, and sexual release.
  • And I am over rape.

Mr. Adler and Reps. Bolger and Stamas, if you think Lisa’s calm and impassioned statement was a temper tantrum, wait until you hear the voices of millions of women and the men who love them at the polls.

Being a Father

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I owe so much to my father.  My Dad taught me to think for myself and to stand up for what I believe in.  My Dad showed me how to work hard, serve the community, and respect others.  He listened when I needed to rant, and advised when I wanted help.  He may not have been a perfect human being (who is?) but he was a perfect father.

Most of all, my father was the one person in my life I wanted most to honor.  When I look at what I have accomplished and the work I am doing and have yet to do, I know that he would be proud.  He would be looking at me with that small grin, and wordlessly approving of the man I have become.

My father lives on in me most when I am truest to my core essence.  My father lives on when I fight for justice and human rights for all.  My father lives on when I help children and youth learn how to be themselves and find joy in the world.  My father lives on when I work as an ally to all oppressed groups, from GLBTQ folk and women to immigrants and religious minorities.  My father lives on when I let my muse guide me through the world of art and creativity, and when I saunter through the world seeking meaning in the infinite synchronicities around us.

My greatest hope in life is that my son will be a man who sees me that same way and will become that kind of father to his children; that my daughter will be a powerful and fearless woman; that my grandchildren will to learn to respect everyone, to love everyone, and to care about everyone over money, power, and status; and that through my life and deeds, I help strong and loving fatherhood endure.

The Coming Theocracy

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I have worried about the state of this nation for a long time now.  Today, we took another step toward eroding the separation of church and state as the Michigan House of Representatives passed the first of several anti-abortion bills clearly aimed at forcing a narrow religious interpretation of personhood on all citizens.

House Bill 5711 is primarily concerned with how abortion providers are regulated and with the disposition of organic material following fetal death, whether by abortion, or natural causes.  Both initiative make abortion tremendously more expensive, which will in effect chase OB/GYN’s out of the state and place an undue burden on women across the state seeking abortions.

During the debate on the House floor, Representative Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield) made several eloquent points.  One in particular dealt with her Jewish faith.  She pointed out that Jewish law mandates that therapeutic abortions needed to protect the life of the mother are not only recommended, but mandated.  Therefore, the bills under consideration would criminalize women obeying the dictates of their faith.
Of course, this only one specific example. What about the thousands of women out there who do not belong to an organized religion, or whose personal spirituality does not consider the fertilized egg as a person, with all of the rights of a fully formed human being? According to these bills, too bad.  Michigan legislators have declared that they possess the absolute truth on when human personhood begins.  These legislators not only feel that they know better than doctors or women themselves what is medically best for women, but they feel that they know better than clergy of all faiths what the law of the land should be regarding the unborn.
I try not to throw the word “Fascist” around lightly.  But this is how totalitarianism begins.  When the State can establish laws beyond its bounds unchecked, without even following its own rules of discourse and public input, then you are already on the road to tyranny.
Ironically, there is no scriptural support for this view of human personhood.  If anything, the Bible gives little regard to the fetus.  Jesus did teach us, however, to be merciful in a number of ways.  Feed the hungry; give drink to the thirsty; shelter the homeless; clothe the naked; visit and ransom the captive, (prisoners); instruct the uninformed; bear wrongs patiently; forgive offenses willingly; and comfort the afflicted, among others.  If you consider yourself a Christian, how about if we work on these?  Where are the bills to reduce poverty, create jobs, reform our criminal justice system, support public schools (especially comprehensive sex education), and provide family planning and support services for women who are victims of male violence?  House Bills 5711, 5712, and 5713 are anything but merciful, and they pave the way for the coming theocracy unless we stand up in united opposition to this intrusion into our freedoms and democracy.

A Joyful Noise

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I’m just back from Lansing, where I joined several hundred people sending the message to the Michigan House of Representatives that government should not regulate our bodies and our medical choices.  When the time came to enter the legislative chamber, the stairs were clogged with pink-shirted advocates anxious to watch the proceedings as the representatives considered House bills 5711, 5712, and 5713, the omnibus package of anti-abortion laws.

The gallery must have filled, and many of us could not get in.  After 20 minutes or so, many people wandered around in the rotunda area on the second and third floors.  Soon, at least one hundred people, mostly young women, ringed the circular railings looking out into the open space.

Soon, clapping began and a rhythmic pounding of the handrails.  Then, with vibrant energy and the persistent pounding, the voices sprang into a unison chant of “This is My House,” which carried on for at least five minutes without letting up.  Then another chant began, “My Body, My Choice.”  The relentless pounding continued and people emerged from offices to snap pictures with cell phones. 

Ten minutes passed and another chant, “We’ll Remember in November.”  The noise continued, never abating in intensity or volume.  Fifteen. then twenty minutes.  At first, I stood back watching the police to make sure that the disruption was not going to cause a violent reaction by security personnel.  But, it soon became clear that they had no intention of stopping the force of these voices.

Twenty-five minutes, then thirty and no let up.  By now I had joined in with “This is What Democracy Looks Like.”  I imagined that peoples’ hands must be getting numb by now, but they just kept going.

I found myself unable to stop smiling.  Feeling the amazing energy and passion of all these folk was a spiritual experience.

Whatever the politicians eventually end up doing, I hope so strongly that this joyful noise spreads across the state and across the country so that no amount of money and power can drown it out.

Are Good Intentions Enough?

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Yesterday, I conducted my first Blessing of the Animals worship service.  The weather graciously cooperated, so we held the service in a pine grove behind the Fellowship.  We had many two-legged and four-legged attendees, including dogs, cats, birds, one gecko and two monarch butterfly cocoons. 

The day began interestingly.  When I arrived and walked toward the Fellowship, I noticed a bird sitting on the pavement.  I was already fairly close when I noticed him and was surprised he had not already flown off.  It occurred to me that the bird was perhaps injured, so I slowly approached, speaking calmly.  He made no effort to flee and I gently stroked his feathers.

I couldn’t discern what had happened, so I went inside and got a basket, lined it with a dishcloth and returned to bring the bird in to safety.  Since it was a rather large bird (perhaps six inches long), I assumed it was not a baby, but had either been hit by a car or flown into a window and injured a wing.  I cut out the bottom of a paper cup and gave him some water and then began preparing for the service.  I posted a picture of the little fellow on Facebook and encouraged anyone experienced to offer assistance.

I stopped by my companion every 10 minutes or so, asking him how he was doing and trying to offer some calming energy.  He moved very little, and occasionally closed his eyes as if trying to rest.  Since I cannot own animals in my rental home, I thought that this might be the universe’s way of offering me a living friend to bring to the animal blessing, and not a puppet or stuffed animal.

About an hour before the service, I passed by the basket.  The bird’s eyes were open, but he did not seem to be breathing.  I stroked him and realized that he had died, as his little body already seemed to be stiffening.  I surmised that he must have suffered internal injuries and had succumbed to them.

I was disappointed that he could not be part of the blessing, saddened that I couldn’t do more to help him, and resigned to the reality that I had probably done all that could be done.  At the end of the animal blessing, I brought him into the worship, as a reminder that the circle of birth and death is an essential element of Life.  Ironically, I had read Gary Kowalski’s words before the sermon:

We give thanks for the animals
Who live close to nature,
Who remind us of the sanctities of birth and death,
Who do not trouble their lives with foreboding or grief,
Who let go each moment as it passes,
And accept each new one as it comes
With serenity and grace.

Holding the basket with his little body, I accepted his death with serenity and accepted his last hours of life as a gift as the grace of the cosmos.  I couldn’t prevent his death.  I can’t know if he understood my good intentions.  Maybe all that matters is that I did what I could to make his passing peaceful.  Sometimes good intentions aren’t enough, but they are all we can offer.  And maybe that thread of Love will linger on, strengthening our interdependent web of all existence.

Emotions

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I had a curious exchange after testifying before the House Health Policy Committee last Thursday.  A gentleman approached me (I believe one of the Congressmen who supported the anti-abortion omnibus of bills) and warned me about the anger I was expressing.  His tone was not reproachful but almost cautionary, as if he was more worried about me than others who might perceive my anger.

The conversation made me think about what emotions I was indeed feeling, and continue to feel days later.  I suppose he was right, that Rage is my primary emotion on this issue.  Rage at the disproportionate concern being expressed for the unformed unborn over the needs of existing children – hungry, homeless, undereducated, unwanted and unloved; over the physical, mental and spiritual health of pregnant women whose most private and personal selves are being violated largely by rich White men with a moral agenda; and over the ethical health of a society with no qualms about murdering innocent children overseas in our wars of conquest, murdering our environment for financial gain, and murdering the basic tenets of democracy and freedom through tyrannical law-making, fiscal slavery, hate and fear-mongering.

I also feel intense Sorrow.  I grieve for the countless women whose stories are going unheard, whose opinions are dismissed because they don’t support the narrow theology of conservative lawmakers.  I am deeply saddened that every woman in our world still lives in abject fear of the violence of men, and the imposed will of men over their bodies.  I mourn the broad lack of compassion among my fellow men for our sisters, our wives and partners, our mothers and daughters.  And yes, I do feel sorrow that abortion must exist as an option at all.  But, the fact is that abortion has always and will always exist for certain circumstances, and so long as governments try to legislate morality and religious belief.

Confusion.  I remain mystified by the so-called “pro-life” position.  Listening to their rhetoric, the only logical conclusion is that their first and foremost objective is not the preservation of life, but the control and regulation of women’s reproductive organs and their lives as sexual beings.  If you truly believe that human “life” begins at conception, then wouldn’t you want to eliminate all unwanted pregnancies?  Then why would you not support mandatory sex education, the widespread availability of affordable birth control, extreme penalties for sexual violence against women, and the elimination of objectifying stereotypes that portray women as merely sex objects for the gratification of men?  If you truly value all human “life” then you must certainly oppose capital punishment.  You must certainly want society to impose more controls on handguns, whose primary purpose is shooting people.  And you must be a pacifist.  Unfortunately, I have met few “pro-life” individuals who also hold these other positions.

I am Afraid.  Yes, I am a minister.  Being a public figure is part of the job and I accept that responsibility willingly.  That doesn’t make things any easier when a politician uses his position to berate me after misinterpreting my words and twisting their meaning.  That doesn’t make things any easier when I see how people justify violence against others by their selective application of religious creeds and the permission they feel divinely derived.  And while the many martyrs to the causes of freedom and justice are my heroes, that does not mean that I necessarily wish to join their ranks.

But I am also Hopeful.  I have a vision of a future society where reason and conscience prevails.  I see a time when the measure of a person’s success is not the acquisition of money and possessions, but the good deeds they perform.  I know that others share this vision and the desire to make it come about.  So I am not Lonely.  I am Committed.