InSpiritry

Our Sacred Role in Democracy

September 26th, 2008 by Anne McCrady

Politicians and Financial Leaders Bicker over Wall Street Bailout

Presidential Candidate Suspends Campaign

Congressional Talks on Credit Crisis Breakdown

As recent headlines suggest– this fall, what was to be our rapt attention to America’s quadrennial electoral season has been totally derailed. The usual political banter in urban coffee shops and small town restaurants has almost completely shifted away from evaluation of the candidates (except regarding their media-hyped personalities) and discussions of the party platforms (most people don’t even know what these documents contain). Instead, wealthy investors as well as those living paycheck-to-paycheck are transfixed by the hour-to-hour coverage of our national financial crisis. Money and the curse of its power have consumed us. With unpredictable posturing, media-generated suspense and continuing financial bad news, the whole country has become obsessed with the Reality TV programming of Washington and New York as they reconsider their mortgages and their 401(k) allocation.

Hellooo, America! In just five weeks, as part of the most successful democracy in the world, we will be asked to select the party and individuals to lead our country for the next four years! My informal survey of likely voters reveals that most people don’t even know what core values the Republican and Democratic platforms present nor do they know how each candidate will interpret and manifest those values. Instead, folks know what outfit Sarah Palin wore yesterday, what John McCain’s people say about Barak Obama and whether Congressional staffers smiled or frowned leaving a meeting with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. As of this post, the big news is whether or not the first Presidential debate is on or off or on again.

While I am certainly among those who grieve the results of our recent culture of greed and corruption (the military-industrial profit taking, ridiculous CEO salaries, unbridled risk-taking by financial institutions, manipulation of the markets, sliding standard of living), I also recognize that whatever the reasons for our current crisis, a timely solution rather than finger-pointing is needed. This is certainly not a situation that can be ignored.

Even so, it is also not a situation that should interrupt our Presidential election! First of all, whatever Paulson and Congress decide, in just three and half months, everything could change when a new administration takes over. The Presidency, Vice-Presidency, the Cabinet and many positions in the House and Senate will host new office holders with their own ideas about how to lead this country, and we are the ones to choose who those people will be! Secondly, there are other near crisis issues on our collective table; namely, universal healthcare, environmental and energy solutions, global conflicts, public education, infrastructure reinvestment, science and technology, race and religion and the list goes on.

So, as those committed to the Greater Good, as those who want this nation to be a blessing to its people and as citizens of the world, what should we be doing? Here are some InSpiritry suggestions:

Get involved. Make your opinions known to your Congressmen and Senators. Call, write, email…and then stop fretting and let the process work.
Check your own financial situation. Be wise. Be frugal. Make adjustments, then have faith in our leaders.
Recommit to being an informed voter. Explore the Republican and Democratic platforms. Candidates believe in these documents dealing with a wide range of issues. Compare them to your own values.
View the media with a grain of salt. Drama makes good programming and advertising dollars. It does not always make rational information.
Watch the presidential debates (if we have one!) and explore all candidate websites. Be investigative. What do these people stand for politically, spiritually, personally, socially, globally?
Listen to your heart and examine your own beliefs. Step away from making personality judgments or deciding which candidate is “like” you. Think about who you can trust with your family’s future, who can offer visionary, ethical, open-hearted care of our country and the world.
V-O-T-E!! Yes, vote. Take that sacred step for freedom. You still have about a week to register, if you are not registered. If you are, make sure you know where to vote and make plans for Election Day.

Around the world, the U.S. agenda is to spread democracy and the values of freedom. Among those essential values is the right to choose our own leaders. Let us speak to each other with the same fervor that we speak abroad. Let’s remind each other that everything we do as a nation pales in comparison to the free and fair election of our leaders. Don’t be distracted. Don’t be dismayed. Don’t be discouraged.

When We Choose Great Leaders, America Can Be a Blessing!

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Watching for Inspiration

August 26th, 2008 by Anne McCrady

Gold! Silver! Bronze!

Weren’t the Olympics in China amazing? Can we ever forget watching Michael Phelps finish race after race, breaking records and winning gold? And what about the amazing performances of American and international athletes in women’s gymnastics, track and field and the many team sports? In front of our televisions and in Bejing, we rooted for predestined heroes and little known underdogs. Across the country and around the world, for two weeks, young and old, rich and poor, Western and Eastern, women and men and children gathered to share in the triumphs and tragedies of sports at the highest level. Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted in Events & News, America, Anne McCrady, InSpiritry, Politics of Possibility, InSpiration | 3 Comments »

Rocket Boys

July 29th, 2008 by Anne McCrady

It’s quite something, isn’t it? I am terribly excited!

Sir Richard Branson, upon unveiling his new shuttle Spaceship

It flew! It flew!

Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickam

This week, as so often magically happens, several events in my life converged to offer a bright message. For me, the result was a reminder of the importance of wonder, of celebration, of exploration and of science. Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted in Anne McCrady, Social Entrepreneurship, InSpiritry, Books, Science, Events | 1 Comment »

A Hero Lost in the Battle with PTSD

July 9th, 2008 by Anne McCrady

“He was certainly a hero…

He did have some difficulty dealing with it,”

Jean Offutt, a Fort Bliss spokesperson

News came today that we lost another hero, not on a bloody battlefield in Iraq, although he had served there, but instead back home in Texas where he should have been safe. No, after all he had been through, it was not gunfire or an IED or even friendly fire that killed former Army Spc. Joseph Dwyer. Instead, he died late last month of a drug overdose. Dwyer’s friends say he, like thousands of other veterans, suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted in Anne McCrady, War, InSpiritry, Greater Good, Politics of Possibility, Peacework | No Comments »

Peace and Love

July 4th, 2008 by Anne McCrady

Peace and Love! Peace and Love! Peace and Love!

Ringo Starr

For some of us, these words are a familiar slogan from the 1960s. For others they are exactly the message the world needs to hear. For a few, Peace and Love is a tired cliche’. Whatever your first impression is, these simple words speak of what so many of us hope for in our lives: safety, harmony, nonviolence, compassion and acceptance. Peace. Our religions seek to instill it, our governments try to provide it, our politicians orate about it…and still is seems like a distant dream. Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted in War, World, Music, Anne McCrady, InSpiritry, Peacework, InSpiration, Greater Good, Events | No Comments »

Loving Day

June 5th, 2008 by Anne McCrady

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Bigger than We Can Imagine

May 31st, 2008 by Anne McCrady

The God that we serve is so big

that we don’t have to be limited

by the world that we now see.

This quote by Mariama White-Hammond was part of a recent post on the always insightful and encouraging blog, God’s Politics.

Ms. White-Hammond is the inspiring young executive director of Project Hip-Hop (Highways Into the Past—History, Organizing and Power), a youth-led, secular, nonprofit organization that provides a space where predominantly young people of color from traditionally low-income communities in Boston can develop and exercise their individual and collective leadership. The blog entry is excerpted from an interview with her that appears in this month’s issue of Sojourner magazine in a feature about young Christians who are making a difference in the world.

This particular quote came in answer to the question, What would you like to tell other Christians? While I think it is a great statement of faith, for me it is more than a Christian guidepost. Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted in Anne McCrady, Community, InSpiritry, Greater Good, Christianity, Spiritual | 2 Comments »

Science Without Borders

May 14th, 2008 by Anne McCrady

The first day or so we all pointed to our countries.

The third or fourth day we were pointing to our continents.

By the fifth day, we were aware of only one Earth.

Sultan bin Salman Al-Saud, astronaut

This perspective from space offers wisdom for us here back on earth. Unity sounds simple, but when we are distracted by family issues, social concerns and our national interests, it can be hard to remember there is “only one Earth.” In fact, there may be no more important thing for us to remember than this: all of us on the planet are neighbors.

Thankfully, there have been positive moves toward that recognition. Read the rest of this entry »

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Poetry: An Invitation

May 6th, 2008 by Anne McCrady

April was National Poetry Month, and what a heart-warming celebration the past few weeks have been for me:

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Posted in InSpiritry, Anne McCrady, Greater Good, Writing, InSpiration, Texas, Poetry | 3 Comments »

The New Generation Gap

April 16th, 2008 by Anne McCrady

Be the change you wish to see in the world. Gandhi

With the Republican nominee decided and the Democratics yet to find consensus on a candidate, the Presidential primaries have offered some interesting revelations:

Women are not all voting for the only woman running.
Blacks are not all lined up behind the one Black candidate.
Experienced Senators are having trouble getting credit for long careers of hard-fought accomplishments.
New young voters have turned out in record numbers for a candidate who seems young.
The buzzword has been “change.”

What is going on?

I would suggest that we are experiencing the early pangs of a syndrome we, Baby Boomers, should recognize:

A Generation Gap!

Yes, there is growing evidence that the country is divided along generational lines with a disconnect between old and young. Think about it:

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Posted in Anne McCrady, Aging, Social Entrepreneurship, InSpiritry, Greater Good, Peacework, Women, Politics of Possibility, Social Issues | 5 Comments »

InSpiritry

Our Sacred Role in Democracy

Watching for Inspiration

Rocket Boys

A Hero Lost in the Battle with PTSD

Peace and Love

Loving Day

Bigger than We Can Imagine

Science Without Borders

Poetry: An Invitation

The New Generation Gap

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