My husband's book group is reading something with an intriguing title: Jesus Wants to Save Christians, a not-recent book by a guy whose viewpoint I always find intriguing. (Rob Bell). I stole the book from my husband on a recent business trip. Poor guy thought he lost it.
The trip was a national conference about ending poverty. One of the keynote speakers was Jeanette Pai-Espinosa, president of the Crittenton Foundation. One of the most inspiring speakers I have heard in awhile. Her organization seeks to reach young girls who have been hurt, usually sexually, and set them on the path to thriving. I was so intrigued by Jeanette's work that I browsed the website at lunch, also casually searching for any Crittenton agencies in oh, say, Philadelphia....
In my browsing, I came across this article.
When the Super Bowl rolled around this year, there was a lot of chatter about the half-time show and commercials that I chose to stay away from. The above article felt like something that was just not a choice to ignore. It may be unpopular to say, but our culture has a deadly side and we are subtly poisoned in so many ways. The Super Bowl is so fun, so All-American - the party of the year! As an American, I continue to unexpectedly find myself connected to things that are oppressing others in propogation of my fun/comfort/etc. And as a Christian, feminist - whatever - whoever I am is not comfortable with that. I don't always know what to do with what I find. Is it because I don't want to know what to do? (Because it might mean looking like a stick-in-the-mud, or being uncomfortable...)
The link between all of the above is that my mind and heart have been radically challenged. Which means, blog readers, that I dump all of this challenging material out for you to help me sort through as well;) Maybe it's because I will be making fresh starts in many ways very soon that causes me to explore. You do not have to explore with me or help me sort anything out. If you find this conversation interesting, I welcome your thoughts.
I read that article a few weeks ago. There's a lot of buzz around work with events like the World Cup and Super Bowl, as both attract a lot of sex trafficking.
ReplyDeleteI had heard the buzz around the World Cup, but I think our minds still sort of categorize that information as "happening in other countries." When we are confronted with the realization that it happens in our very own land of the free and home of the brave, and not just at large-scale events as the article mentioned, but as a part of the everyday, we see our society in a different light.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking about a new post to this effect - things might be really good for women of my class. College educated, middle class (or higher), white: I have a lot of options. But for the majority of women in my country, that's just not true yet. They probably earn 50% less than I can. Which contributes to the sex worker discussion....
By the way, I think you and your co-workers are rockstars, Kristy:)
I don't know about rockstar status for me. There are certainly rockstars at IJM, but I don't think I'm one of them. Sometimes it's a balance of not losing my whole life there, as worthy as the cause is.
ReplyDeleteEither way, it can be really easy to forget what happens here in the U.S. I'm totally guilty of it. And it's because it's not in my own world. The stuff I think about is so much more trivial. Like how my fashion does or doesn't match the latest styles, how I can't go out to eat as often as I would like, how big or small my next vacation may or may not be. Ugh. What happened to me? How can I be consumed by the trivial when I'm faced with the work I do every day?
The trivial might be the balance. To keep you from plunging into Traumaland.
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