[PeacePolitical] A Message from Rev. Dr. Mel White -- "SOULFORCE"

After the catastrophic tsunamis struck on Dec. 26, most religious leaders of every faith rushed to their pulpits and urged their members to support the victims of this natural tragedy with prayers, food, clothing, medicine and money.

Most churches, synagogues, mosques and temples were too busy organizing waves of aid to play the blame game, a favorite pastime that media-savvy extremists take part in when nature or humankind wreaks havoc on the planet.

Still, some extremists couldn't resist. Just days after the Sumatra quake sent tsunamis surging, Muslim cleric Sheik Fawzan Al-Fawzan declared the disaster was caused in part by homosexuals. According to http://planetout.com/news/article.html?2005/01/06/2 -- a Jan. 6 story on the PlanetOut Network, the sheik included people who took part in "fornication, homosexuality, usury" and "corruption" in his damning diatribe, calling on people across the world to "atone for their sins."

The incident reminded me of the words of my favorite extremist, Jerry Falwell, just days after terrorists brought down the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. On a broadcast with Pat Robertson
http://planetout.com/news/article.html?2001/09/14/1 (my second-favorite extremist), Falwell said:

"I really believe that the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way, all of them who try to secularize America. [Seconds later he labels these groups as 'Christ Haters'] ... I point the thing in their face and say you helped this happen."

Anyone with the most basic education in geology knows the real cause of the nine-point earthquake in Sumatra and the tidal waves that followed. And it doesn't take a genius to understand that terrorists hijacking and crashing freshly fueled aircraft into the World Trade Center towers caused their collapse.

Fundamentalists, however, understand natural and human catastrophe as signs from God or Allah. Giving God at least indirect credit for the World Trade Center collapse, Falwell explained, "What we saw on Tuesday [9/11], as terrible as it is, could be miniscule if, in fact, God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve."

Fundamentalist Sheik Fawzan Al-Fawzan was even more direct in blaming Allah for the earthquake and tsunami. He said that the timing of the disaster -- just a day after Christmas -- was a "sign from Allah ...

It happened at Christmas when fornicators and corrupt people from all over the world come to commit fornication and sexual perversion."

The fundamentalist Christian preacher and the fundamentalist Muslim sheik both see themselves as instruments of God sent to purge their nations (if not the world) from anyone whose behavior causes God's wrath. Fundamentalists of both faith communities are convinced that homosexual behavior is at the top of the long list of vices that brings God's judgment on the nations.

This hatred of homosexuality and fear of homosexuals is not just a fundamentalist phenomenon. Homophobia permeates the wider culture of the Roman Catholic Church and most mainstream Protestant churches as well.

... On Jan. 13, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (with its roots in justice and reformation) announced its decision to support the ban http://planetout.com/news/article.html?2005/01/13/6 against the ordination and marriage of lesbian and gay Lutherans.

The sheik sounds exactly like Jerry Falwell when he says, "We must atone for our sins, and for the acts of the stupid people among us. ... We must fight fornication, homosexuality, usury, fight the corruption on the face of the earth."

Christian fundamentalists believe sincerely that God "will not bless America," that God in fact will punish this nation if homosexuality is not condemned and homosexual practice eliminated. We dare not ignore the warnings of these false prophets. Fundamentalist Christians are no longer at the fringe. They have taken power over the executive, legislative, and soon, the judicial branches of our government.

Muslim and Christian fundamentalists have millions of followers who hear their words and take them seriously. Like the earthquake that sent tsunamis surging, their words send waves of anger, fear and suspicion in our direction.

We can believe that we are safe from the storm and lie in the sun until the waves tower over us. Or we can move to higher ground. I don't know what that means practically, but I do know that we cannot remain silent and passive while false prophets turn the nations against us.

The best guidelines I have found for defending our rights and protecting our freedom are the "soul force" principles of relentless nonviolent resistance as taught and lived in the past century by M.K. Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

If we ever needed to come together to form a movement that resists oppression, it is now. I don't know what our Salt March will look like. I don't know where our Birmingham will take place. But I do know that we must demand justice in ways that will win hearts and change the minds of our fellow Americans who are now victims of the false prophets. If we don't take a stand, our rights and protections could be swept away.

One last word to Rev. Falwell and Sheik Fawzan Al-Fawzan. Just eight weeks before the earthquake off Sumatra's Aceh Province, I was in Indonesia with my friend Dr. Kerry Sieh, the proud-to-be-gay geologist from Cal Tech who is known around the world for his skill at reading earthquakes. Kerry was the man who predicted this devastating quake and just weeks before it hit was installing a rudimentary warning system on Sumantra, 300 kilometers south of the quake's epicenter. Consider this a warning, friends. Your lies about homosexuality and homosexuals waste lives, destroy families and break the heart of God/Allah. Struggling to defend ourselves against those lies is such a waste of time when in fact we were created to help heal our broken world and are eager to get on with it.

[The Rev. Dr. Mel White is the executive director of Soulforce, http://www.soulforce.org/, a national interfaith organization committed to ending spiritual violence perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Soulforce teaches and employs the nonviolent principles of Gandhi and King in its efforts to gain liberation for sexual and gender minorities.]

Take These Steps to Healthy Aging

by Marilynn C. Preston

Some Good, Simple Advice on Aging
[Thanks to John Simmons for forwarding.]

1. EXPECT SUCCESS: THINK POSITIVELY
Optimism can be learned. Start giving yourself lessons today! Make up a story you can believe about the joys of growing older. Reframe the negative; accentuate the
positive.

2. EXERCISE: WEAR A PEDOMETER
This action step involves lots of little steps. Use a pedometer to keep track of the steps you take in a day. Strive for 5,000, then 7,000, then to 10,000 steps a day.

3. NOURISH YOUR BODY: DO AN EXTREME MAKEOVER IN YOUR KITCHEN
Ask a friend to help you do an extreme makeover in your own kitchen. Go through the fridge, the shelves, the pantry, eliminating the bags and boxes of junk food you've accumulated. If you need a nutritionist to help you, hire one.

4. ACCEPT WHAT IS: BE MINDFUL OF THE MOMENT.
Try this several times a day. Tune into your Self in the midst of whatever you are thinking about and ask: Am I dwelling on something that happened in the past or thinking about something that might happen in the future? Neither choice is as desirable as focusing on the present and making the most of it.

5. RELY ON YOURSELF: BE INVOLVED WITH YOUR OWN HEALTH
Assemble a medical team that respects and encourages your active participation. Ask questions. Read books. Subscribe to at least one health and wellness magazine or newsletter. Connect how you eat and how you feel. Know what drugs you are taking and what the non-drug alternatives are.

6. VENT IN HEALTHY WAYS. USE YOU'RE BREATH.
This is about dealing with stress and anger. Next time you feel your anger rising, pause long enough to inhale-exhale, inhale-exhale. Deep breathing is the pause that
refreshes.

7. TAKE RISKS. ENJOY THE EDGE
Boredom and stagnation make aging a drag. To help yourself feel young and vital, get out of your rut and try something new, something that feels a little risky (though not unsafe). To live is to grow. Keep your appetite for adventure going as long as you can.

8. DO UNTO OTHERS: BE KIND AND GENEROUS
Make time to help other people. Visit a friend in need. Give money to a poor person. Clean your closet and donate the excess. In the end, what matters most is whom you loved and who loved you.

9. UNDERSTAND DEATH AND DYING: FIND YOUR FAITH.
We're all going to die, and studies have shown that those people who approach it with some degree of faith and knowledge have an easier time of it than those who don't. The details will depend on your beliefs, but at the very least, read one good book on dying.