Monday, July 5
“Interdependence Day”
We are free…and we are lonely.We have everything we could want…and we are depressed.
Below is a recent blog post from Shane Claiborne…it’s just part of the post, for the whole thing go here.
Dr. Martin Luther King spoke of us all being bound up in an "inescapable web of mutuality." He talked of how we have encountered half the world by the time we have put on our clothes, brushed our teeth, drunk our coffee and eaten our breakfast, as there are invisible faces that make our lives possible every day. That's why I've always struggled with "Independence Day."
Patriotism can be a dangerous thing if it leads to amnesia about the dark patches of our nation's history. And it can leave us shortsighted if our nationalism prevents us from seeing pain or hope beyond our borders. As an American, and especially as a Christian, I am convinced that a love for our own people is not a bad thing, but love doesn't stop at borders. Love is infinitely boundless and all about holy trespassing and offensive friendships.
We are taught to celebrate independence. But independence and individualism have come at a great price. In the wealthy and industrialized countries we have become the richest people in the world, but we also have some of the highest rates of loneliness, depression, and suicide. We are rich, sad, and lonely. We are living into patterns that not only leave much of the world hungry for bread and starved for justice but also leave us longing for the good life and for meaning and purpose beyond ourselves.
The good news is that we are not alone in the world.
This year, let's celebrate Interdependence Day -- recognizing the fact that we are part of a global neighborhood. Let's appreciate all the invisible people in our lives, and let's lament the fact that the human family is terribly dysfunctional.
It's not about being anti-American but about being pro-world. It's a beautiful thing to realize that we need each other and that we are not alone in the world.
Mark Nelson at 7:21 AM 2comments
2 Comments
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at 2:38 PM
said... So I'm guessing another year went by without Bill and the band putting their unique spin on my favorite Lee Greenwood song. That's a real shame.
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at 1:28 PM
Mark Nelson said... You guess correctly...