Comments due: 11:59pm Sunday, 4/17, 2016.
In class we will consider remarks Peter Singer offered in his recent TED talk
in addition to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s powerful sermon "On Being a
Good Neighbor". We will wonder together how these reflections might
bear upon our lives, our ultimate pursuits. We'll wonder together
what our lives (individual and corporate) might look like if we followed MLK, Jr. in making concern
for others the first law of our lives, in adopting altruism as urged by
both Singer and MLK, Jr.
Here I would like you to read very carefully MLK, Jr.'s sermon.
Allow it to speak to you, your circumstances, and the tragic global situation today.
Respond.
What stood out to you? What claims did MLK, Jr. make that you would you like
to think more about? Does this serve as a challenge to the status quo
consumerism that runs rampant here in the US? If so, how so? In what
ways?
In addition, family and community activist and organizer Mia Birdsong, in her recent TED talk
entitled "The Story We Tell about Poverty Isn't True", gestures toward
what she takes to be the best resource for addressing poverty: namely,
poor people. She tells stories and challenges the popular narrative that
hard work leads to success and, by implication, those that don't enjoy
material success aren't hardworking.
Again, what stood out to you? How did Birdsong challenge you? Is she on to something here?
Moreover, here's Gary Haugen offering a TED talk
entitled "The Hidden Reason for Poverty". Haugen is a human rights
attorney, he worked for the UN investigating war crimes in Rwanda, and
he is the founder of International Justice Mission. Haugen connects
poverty with the topic of our last unity: violence.
How
does Haugen challenge your views? How does Haugen challenge some views
dominant in the US and elsewhere? What are the implications, if any, of
what we should do as individuals and collectively? How does his talk
intersect with our previous unit on war and violence?
Finally, here is a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution given by Peter Edelman,
law professor at Georgetown Law and faculty director of the Georgetown
Center on Poverty and Inequality. The lecture is entitled "So Rich, So
Poor: Why It's So Hard to End Poverty in America." Edelman addresses the
so-called war on poverty here in the US and the various policy issues
surrounding poverty.
As with the others, did
Edelman offer anything that stood out to you? How did he challenge your
views about poverty in the US and the ways of looking at poverty that
prevail in the public square?
Take the time to
reflect carefully upon these lectures. Be willing to learn from each of
them. As always, when commenting and interacting, be gracious and
humble. Strive to listen to each other and learn from each other. In all
things, love and courage.
