Philosophy Phriday

Here are a few random, only slightly connected, tidbits of information that I both want to pass on and to talk about. What are your thoughts?

International Justice Mission: Global Prayer Gathering
I just posted a bit over on I2A about IJM's Global Prayer Gathering, going on this weekend in the D.C. area. I wish I could be there - it sounds phenomenal! In any case, if you're like me and interested in IJM's work but cannot go to the GPG, you can geek out and follow the live blogging from the event. I'll be checking in all weekend.

Sara blogs
Well, she's gonna give it the old college try. Sara Groves, as many of you know, is one of my all time favorite artists. I love her music, and the thoughts she shares in interviews have always made me wish that she blogged. Well, she didn't want to, but to really share her experiences in Rwanda Sara has decided to start her own blog. Go check it out. With a little encouragement, maybe she'll get the hang of it and blog even more.

Cowboy tactics?
Speaking of IJM . . . I mentioned (on I2A and I think here as well) a nice article that was published in the New Yorker about IJM and their work. One of the big problems that some people have with IJM is the way they organize and work with local authorities to raid brothels and businesses that hold people (children and adults) in slavery. The critics label these as cowboy tactics (and directly or indirectly relate them to the Bush administration and their initiation of the war in Iraq) and allege that such strong-arm tactics terrorize the "rescued" prostitutes and slaves and open them to abuses from the local authorities. And, to be fair, there is some truth in that. Gary Haugen (IJM's founder and president) likes to describe the law systems of most developing nations as remnants of colonial legal systems that were designed to keep the local population in check and under the authority of the colonial power. IJM works to change this, but many places the police are seen as at least as bad an option as the brothel owners who enslave and torture the women and children they sell.

The question remains, though: what are they (IJM) and we to do? America is currently demonized for our perceived cowboy tactics (rightly or wrongly, we can debate about for years to come). My experience with the people at IJM (albeit limited) is that then are people of peace and of prayer. They cannot simply stand by and watch as people live in slavery (no more than some people could in the U.S. 150 years ago, or in England 200 years ago). They seek out men of peace in troubled areas, to effect change in corrupt and misapplied legal systems. Every person who works for IJM probably spends more time in prayer every day than most Christians do in a month. And, to be fair, some of their critics will never be happy unless IJM concedes to their thesis that the violence and abuse inherent in the sex slavery they fight stems mainly from the criminalization of prostitution itself. In other words, as long as IJM wishes to remain a Christian-based organization, they will also have detractors.

What are your thoughts on this?

So what?
I heard this interview on NPR a couple of weeks ago, and it has really stuck with me. They are talking with author Thomas Ricks, whose new book finds little to like about the ability of the U.S. to withdraw from Iraq, no matter what political party is in control of the White House. His big point is that, from his analysis, withdrawal in the near future (at least the next few years) will almost inevitably lead to genocide in Iraq. A debatable point, but one worthy of discussion.

He mentions, though, that as he recently talked about this to a group of people one person in the audience interjected "So what?" and another chimed in "Genocide happens all the time" (you can here this at about the 5:20 mark in the interview). The audacity, the selfishness, the carelessness of those remarks struck me and sticks with me. Several who commented online took the view that genocide is simply a way of life in some cultures, something that Western culture does not understand, and that Westerners should not try to force change on these other cultures.

Okay, honestly, I cannot express the anger that burns in me when I think of this callous attitude. It happens? So what? Nonsense! Yes, it does happen - in fact, there are multiple places (Darfur, parts of DRC, etc.) where it is happening today, and is being ignored by the global community. And their response is let it!?!? It's too much for us to handle, so let's just ignore it? Maybe it will die off on its own, eventually? I wonder how their thoughts might run if, for example, extreme racial violence broke out in LA or New York, with one group purposefully and indiscriminately inflicting terror and killing off another group? Would their blasé attitude change if it affected them, their families, or their friends?

Okay, so I've been ranting a little bit in this post. Maybe my thinking is off-base in some way on these topics. Maybe there are some things I just don't understand? I know that to be true. Does anyone have any thoughts on these topics? I'd love to hear them.

Tags: Sara Groves, Gary Haugen, Global Prayer Gathering, Genocide, Prostitution, Slavery, Brothels

I talked to the guy behind the president

So, here I am looking at a photo of a guy I interviewed, and he's standing behind George W. Bush at a signing ceremony at the White House. I'm thinking "that's pretty cool". I know it's not as if I was the one standing behind the president, but still pretty cool.

For those who don't recognize the man I'm referring to, that's Gary Haugen - president and CEO of International Justice Mission. And he was there, with others from various human rights groups, for the signing of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (originally passed in 2000, this reauthorization will increase funding and institute several policy reforms). A pretty big occasion, if you ask me. Sure, laws are passed all the time, but they all mean something and we should all have an interest in them.

Oh, and speaking of IJM, I'm not the only one speaking of IJM. They've been in the news a lot lately. The New Yorker just ran an article on IJM and Gary Haugen, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Samantha Power. You can read the article here, which I recommend. In fact, I'm not the only one who recommends the article. You can read some comments about it from The Wall Street Journal Law blog, who were quite impressed both with the article and the subject.

Oh, and I've a new post up on Inspired to Action. It's about Nicholas Kristof, an editor at the New York Times, and some of his recent articles on modern slavery and the sex trade. Not about IJM, but closely related to their work. Check it out and tell me what you think, okay?

Tags: Modern Slavery, Gary Haugen, New Yorker Magazine, Nicholas Kristof

So, what did you do on Wednesday?

Let's see. On Wednesday, I woke up, got showered and ready for work, work up the kids and Mrs. E, then headed out to my third day on a new job. After that I spent most of the day sorting through a bunch of new information at my new job and started to do some real work instead of just getting to know the place. Then I left work, picked up Mrs. E and the kids, ate dinner with them and attended a mid-week bible class at our church. Tucking the kids in and going to bed rounded it out.

Pretty average and boring day, wouldn't you say?

But the people at IJM in South Asia were a little more busy than me. They stayed up for the better part of 24 hours as they raided a business and rescued 19 people from slavery! One man was held there with his children and grandchildren. A little girl, nine years old, has pneumonia - I can only imagine how her disease would have progressed under the slave owners, and pray that she can recover in the hands of people who care for her, now.

Now, that's an exciting day! Kinda makes me feel like a slacker. But, I do what I can in this process - and so can you. Prayer is the first step, and considering some kind of monetary support. But there really is more that we can do, without ever leaving our living rooms. Go read some of what Gary Haugen had to say to me last week when I asked him some questions about this. Or go read Anne's post - she took better notes and has some great quotes from the chat.

Honestly, I am throwing this out as a challenge. I know that a lot of people (at least three or four!) read this blog. No one wants to talk about modern slavery, or women and children (even under five) being sold for sex. It's uncomfortable, and frankly a bit repulsive. But as long as speaking the truth is taboo, this disease will fester and grow. We know the Great Physician; so let's implore Him to heal this rot.

Tags: Modern slavery, Gary Haugen, Challenge

Extemporaneous response

FYI, I've posted this both here and on Inspired to Action.

I had an interesting conversation with Gary Haugen this afternoon about IJM and talking about justice (also chatting were Anne Jackson and Bethany Hoang (blogger for the IJM Institute)). I'm still processing some thoughts, and will write more in the next few days. But, as I was driving in my car shortly afterwords, I picked up the mini-recorder I have and started talking to work through some of the thoughts. In an unusual move for me, I'm posting that as a one-time podcast here. You can listen below - it's about seven minutes, and please pardon my sniffles.

Notes: village of brothels - see page two of the story
Slavery in the U.S.
girl and vulture photo

Six Questions

1. How do we talk about ideas of social justice in an American Christian culture that has begun associating such concepts and actions so strongly with their political/ideological opposites (enemies)?
2. How do we talk about talk about social justice without people perceiving it as a fad or cause de jour?
3. What is justice, and what does it entail (both ideal and working definitions)? How do we integrate these definitions in what we commonly call justice (law making and enforcement, punishment of those breaking the laws)?
4. How do you broach a subject in conversation that, at times, ranges between uncomfortable and horrifically tragic?
5. What can we do as bloggers to encourage our readers to take action beyond encouraging donations and requests to pray? What should that action look like? (What can we do on a local level to make an impact on the problems of human trafficking and justice?)
6. How do you see IJM's role continuing/changing over the next few years? Do you foresee IJM remaining a primarily "front lines" organization, or do you see an expanded role in areas such as domestic issues or education and providing information?

These are a few of the questions me and a couple of other bloggers are going to be posing for Gary Haugen (President and CEO of International Justice Mission in about ten minutes. Pray that I don't look like a fool or complete imbecile while talking to this man - I feel so out of my league.

Oh, and what are your answers?

Sara Groves and Charlie Peacock on International Justice Mission

I have posted over on Inspired to Action the interview I did last week with Sara Groves and Charlie Peacock. Read it here.

Here's a little teaser, from Sara, on dealing with the hugeness of these problems:

. . . when she landed on the ground the very first thing she saw in South Africa was a little girl who had just been abused, had just been raped, and she was crying. Not because she had just been abused but because she’d been paid a dime by her abuser and some older boys had taken her dime. So this little girl, her perspective, her whole world – that she had been violated in that way – wasn’t even really . . . the point of her pain was that she had lost the dime. And I asked my aunt how do you not cry every single day?

Go read the interview and find out more about International Justice Mission. Once you do, tell me what you think about their work - what impacts you most, or what questions are you left with. I may be able to get some more answers from my contacts at IJM.