Sound Wave by Jean Shin
Making observations, as I try to do daily in this Diary of the Worm, I have noticed there are some universal principles and truths. One I first observed when I was a youth minister was that youth learn from the structure just as much, if not more, than from what you teach them. For example, you can say to them over and over again how important religious education is, but if it is reduced just to a 1 ½ hour class every two weeks for a six months of the year, they learn from that structure that religious education is not very important.
This principle applies to politics. Politicians say a lot of things, but from what they do, or fail to do, we learn where they stand. For example, almost all Democratic politicians say they support the Regional Transit Authority bill that would Save Our Buses. Yet they have postponed bringing the bill to a vote until this last week of the session. If they do not vote on the bill in the next eight days the bill will die and will need to start over again next year in the legislature. There are a number of other bills like this one that Democrats say they support, but which will probably die for this legislature year.
A garden that is well organized and features sustainable growing gives out a loud and clear message. A society that glorifies violence and war in the media sends a clearer message about violence and war than anything someone says.
People are sometimes quick to see service as a value but slow to hear the message of the structures that make the service necessary. A Latin American religious leader commented some years ago: “When I give bread to the poor the call me a saint; when I ask why the poor are hungry they call me a communist.” Structure speaks.
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