whereisjodi.

A number of years ago I was having one of those awkward first-date chats when our conversation veered, as is often the case with me, into fiction. Our budding relationship took a decided turn for the worse when he said he didn't read fiction because "I prefer truth." Oooh, that steamed me. :p

I'm not in the mood to wax eloquent about the benefits and impact of fiction just now <I defended it here not long ago>, but yesterday I was deeply moved by my current read: Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. The book is about South African race relations, published in 1948. One of the characters is writing about his love for his country, but disgust with the injustice he sees in its treatment of blacks:

Therefore I shall devote myself, my time, my energy, my talents, to the service of South Africa. I shall no longer ask myself if this or that is expedient, but only if it is right. I shall do this, not because I am noble or unselfish, but because life slips away, and because I need for the rest of my journey a star that will not play false to me, a compass that will not lie. I shall do this, not because I am a negrophile and a hater of my own, but because I cannot find it in me to do anything else. I am lost when I balance this against that, I am lost when I ask if this is safe, I am lost when I ask if men, white men or black men, Englishmen or Afrikaners, Gentiles or Jews, will approve.

Therefore I shall try to do what is right, and to speak what is true. I do this not because I am courageous and honest, but because it is the only way to end the conflict of my deepest soul. I do it because I am no longer able to aspire to the highest with one part of myself, and to deny it with another. I do not wish to live like that, I would rather die than live like that. I understand better those who have died for their convictions, and have not thought it was wonderful or brave or noble to die. They died rather than live, that was all.

To me, that passage is as moving as some of the great calls to action in Scripture. It reminds me of Joshua, of David, of Shadrach and the boys going into the fire because they would not bow, of Daniel praying his way into the lion's den. Sometimes I feel that the country I have loved with fierce devotion is disintegrating around me, ashes falling from the sky of a once great nation. There is a conflict in my deepest soul when I think of the battle that lies ahead, the lines already being drawn, neutral territory shrinking by the day -- and yet at the same time, a soul-deep yearning within to follow with unswerving devotion that One and Only Star that will not play false. Life does indeed slip away.

Posted by authorjodi at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up."
-Martin Niemoeller

Ok, I know it's a little over the top, but this is the quote I was thinking of when I saw a news item Saturday showing children of the Texas polygamist sect being bussed to foster care. Yes, there are absolutely problems with the group. Some of the adults were actively breaking the law -- but according to this article, only half the marriages are polygamous. The charge is child abuse, yet authorities concede the boys were not being abused, nor were the 130ish children under five. The divorced single mother wasn't breaking any law, nor were those living in traditional families, yet their children have been resettled into foster care during the investigation rather than being returned to them.

And maybe, as I said, this is an overreactive comparison. But the question I have for you is this: if you see a tidal wave coming, when do you warn people? If you see the winds changing, when do you batten down the hatches? I'm just a little bit floored by the government's reasoning that I've read in several different places -- basically, that the girls are being groomed for marriage to older men. Now I certainly don't believe forcing underage girls <or any age girls for that matter> to marry is protected Constitutionally, nor is it morally defensible. But setting that aside for a moment, what gives the government the right to say that the traditional families don't deserve to keep their children? Why are they lumped into the same category simply for choosing to live apart from modern life?

Let me tell you a story. It's about a small religious group who deliberately chose to live outside the cultural norms of their fellow citizens. They educated their children in a privately set-up school so that they could exert more control about what was being taught. One day the local government decided the children were being abused by not receiving public education; they were not being taught more traditional subjects like evolution and respect for the lifestyle choices of others. That same local government ruled that the religious group needed to change their curriculum, enroll their children in public schools...or face losing them to foster care. The community refused the three options the government gave them, instead pulling up stakes and moving to another jurisdiction.

Those were Mennonites living in Canada, and that is a true story.

It seems to me that there's a deeper agenda at work in Texas, something just a touch more sinister along the lines of viewpoint discrimination. And the biggest problem is that this is a difficult issue; that there are good logical and moral reasons for preemptively removing some of those children from their homes. After all, those 14-year-old girls could be married off at any time so the usual legal standard of an imminent threat of harm is met. The boys aren't being abused, but they're being trained to believe wrong things so maybe we should go ahead and remove them too, get them into foster care where their minds can be retrained. And, well, gosh while we're at it, we might as well take the toddlers because if we don't they'll grow up to believe wrong things, but if we get them right now we can educate them to fit in with the real world. If we take the children away, the sect we all agree is not quite right will fold in one generation.

Let me tell you another story. It's about a small religious group who deliberately chose to live outside the cultural norms of their fellow citizens. They educated their children in their homes and in groups with their neighbors so that they could exert more control over what was being taught. One day the local government decided that the children were being abused by not receiving standardized public instruction. They weren't being taught traditional subjects like evolution and respect for the lifestyle choices of others by certified professionals, and therefore, would not be able to mix with society once they left the homes of their close-minded parents. Lawsuits were filed, subpoenas were issued, and suddenly an entire community of homeschoolers in small town California had their homes raided. The government acting preemptively, removing the children for their own safety.

What do you suppose your average German was thinking when the government started rounding up the Communists?

Posted by authorjodi at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A few weeks ago Janet Folger's producer called to tell me the time had finally come for an interview. She <the producer> read the book over a year ago and has apparently been lobbying Janet all this time to get me on the show. I know this because I had the interview this afternoon, and at the beginning of each segment Janet said she doesn't have time to read fiction, she couldn't think of the last time she'd featured a fiction book on her show, etc., etc., but her producer had bugged her for a year about it. :p

I felt like I'd run a race by the time I hung up the phone and I have no idea how it turned out, but it was fun talking to someone so knowledgeable about a variety of difficult political issues facing Christians in America. I'd mention some plot line or other and Janet would have two or three related true stories on the tip of her tongue. I read her book, The Criminalization of Christianity, at the beginning of my book tour and it sounds like she's got enough material for a second edition if she has time to write one.

Hopefully I was able to convince her just a teeny little bit that fiction reaches a different segment of the population than her book or radio program, and is therefore a valid strategy for inspiring action and change...

The interview was taped, but I'll be sure to post when I know the date it will air.

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Posted by authorjodi at 09:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ben Stein's Expelled did better than expected this weekend, earning over $3 million dollars in limited release <check out how little Where is Osama made by comparison>. I can report that the screening I attended Sunday afternoon contained a packed house in one of the largest theaters in Boise. Quirky, I believe, would be a good adjective to describe the documentary. Definitely interesting, challenging and not just a bit courageous, but surely quirky.

Mr. Stein runs around the world talking to scientists on both sides of "the wall" he labors to convince us exists. Basically his premise is that mainstream science worldwide will not allow anyone to jump out of lockstep with Darwinism. He interviews a number of people "expelled" for something as small as mentioning Intelligent Design exists as an alternative theory in the classroom <a professor> or refusing to show bias in an article written about ID <a journalist>.

For such serious and possibly boring material as you might guess a bunch of interviews with scientists would be, the movie whips along at a fast clip and is quite entertaining. Mr. Stein's monologues are often interlaced with over-the-top black and white footage, such as a gang of boys pushing around another for not fitting in, or a teacher showing how her class can play the silent game. Like I said...quirky.

The most disturbing part of the documentary comes when we journey to Germany to delve into the connections between Darwinist theory and Nazi policies. I've never heard anything like it, but in my opinion at least, Mr. Stein made a very good case for the logical extension of the theory of Natural Selection.

Overall, Expelled is a documentary worth seeing. But don't take my word for it: our local paper gave it a half-star this weekend, along with a sarcastic, spite-filled rant masquerading as a review. Could they be just a little more obvious? As a friend who went with me said -- even the latest blood and guts filled teenage sex romp gets one star... ;)

Posted by authorjodi at 09:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Over the past week I've been following stories about the polygamous sect in Texas where Children's Protective Services removed 400+ children from their homes. I think what bothers me most about the story is the scale, and what seems to me the troubling implications.

If I understand correctly, a girl called a police hotline and reported being abused by her much older husband. A terrible accusation, and very much worthy of investigatory action by an agency charged with protecting children. But the broad scope of the action is what's amazing to me.

In the wake of previous compound breeches gone terribly wrong, I'm not bothered by photos of the armed police and personnel carriers that accompanied the raid -- but what I keep rolling over and over in my mind is the fact that they removed all those children on such scant evidence.

I'm not saying I agree with marrying off 14-year-olds by any means, and certainly if abuse is taking place children need to be protected. But it seems to me the governmental action in this case went incredibly overboard, especially if, as I read somewhere, they had a spy in the compound for four years and were unable to collect enough evidence to bring charges.

So now 400+ children are camping in a stadium, many separated from their mothers, as they await the long, arduous legal process that will decide their fates. And from the looks of this article, it will be even more long and arduous than usual.

Of course I would have no way of knowing if any abuse was actually taking place, it just strikes me as incredibly over-the-top, painting all those families with a broad stroke if you will.

To me, the bottom line is this: a government agency was suspicious enough of a group of people choosing to live out their beliefs in a non-standard way <I'm talking about removing from modern life, not marrying off children!> that they put a spy in their midst. That didn't work so they took the first break they got, a possibly prank phone call, to swoop in and remove all the children.

Why is this troubling? Let me give you a brief bullet point list of stories I've read over the past year:

• Richard Dawkins' much-beloved book The God Delusion saying that raising your children with a Biblically-centric worldview is child abuse.
• Rosie O'Donnell <among others> saying conservative Christians are as dangerous as Jihadists.
• A woman who left her partner and the lesbian lifestyle to become a Christian forced into a legal battle to determine whether being a Christian and teaching her child those values makes her unfit.
• A couple in California has their parental rights challenged because they want to homeschool their children with Christian values rather than enroll them in a public school they find morally distasteful.

It troubles me that the government would take such a large action, even though when all is said and done -- I freely admit -- it may very well have been justified. But what is most troubling is that this raid in Texas against a group of religious folk whose beliefs are considered harmful might very well turn out to be precedent-setting.

Posted by authorjodi at 01:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I've always disdained forwarded e-mails. The $100 check personally signed by Bill Gates; the gift certificate from the Gap; the blessing chain that hasn't been broken in 20 years; the virus that will bring about the end of Western Civilization as we know it unless you delete a particular directory file; and my personal least favorite...the Jesus wasn't ashamed of you so you shouldn't be ashamed of Him and thus you'd better send this to everyone you've ever met and maybe even some you haven't. Of course I'm not speaking of personal forwards -- I get lots of lovely forwards from friends about different issues they know I'm interested in -- but the mass anonymous forward really gets to me.

However, over the years I will admit I've come close to hitting the button a time or two. The problem as I see it is one of the slippery slope: if I forward the cute kitten e-mail one day, the next I might be telling all my friends not to buy gas on May 1st <1987> to show the gas companies we mean business. ;)

This morning my dad forwarded me an e-mail entitled "Why Women Outlive Men" which contained a number of hilarious pictures of men and the stupid unusual solutions they sometimes come up with for various problems. I would love if some of my friends could get as much of a laugh as I did, but I'm unable to send it on as I'm sure it's been circulating for years. That's the problem with mass forwards in an age where almost everyone has a computer -- it's all been done before. Oh well...I'll just post one of my favorite pictures from the e-mail and retain my spotless anti-forwarding record. :p

Posted by authorjodi at 09:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Once, in an effort to help me understand myself better, my mother gave me a book on birth order. It wasn't called the curse of the firstborn...but it might as well have been. ;) Within, I discovered a fabulous label for myself: the frustrated perfectionist. We FP's like doing things perfectly, but recognizing the sheer impossibility, we often give up without even trying. I've used that label as an excuse for my messy room <house, car...> for over a decade. :p

However, we can all grow and stretch, right? I'm visiting family on Camano Island this week and every time I'm confronted by the majesty of the view out their window, unfailingly I find myself wishing I were a painter. I probably ought to mention before continuing that my artistic abilities were inherited from my maternal grandmother, who freely admits that every animal she creates looks exactly alike, save the elephant recognizable by his long trunk alone. Out of self-preservation I've figured out how to draw a house and can identically reproduce it whenever I'm asked to draw something <usually by a small child sketching something better than me in about 30 seconds>.

So...this morning I set aside my FP tendencies, knowing good and well my efforts would be in vain, and tromped outside to sketch a water fountain in the rose garden. The result was as I'd imagined -- my aunt thought the fountain was an owl, grandma thought it might be a frog -- but what a lovely half hour I passed sitting with the sound of bubbling water swirling around me, the wind blowing through the trees and birds chirping.

My abject failure as an artist reminded me of last week's sermon in Romans -- I may not be the next Monet, but Paul assures me that my gifts and talents are a unique and necessary part of the body of Christ. Some paint pictures of such beauty you want to cry, others sing in a way that gives you chills <another gift I do not possess>. I could go on and on, but it's comforting to know that the original Artist has uniquely gifted each one of us for the particular path He's selected. What'll be fun is when we get to see the tapestry He's weaving from the other side. Maybe I'll even get to draw something recognizable up there.

Posted by authorjodi at 04:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I worked a crossword puzzle on the plane yesterday that contained a wonderful quote from St. Augustine:

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page."

Maybe it resonated with me solely because I am a traveler, but nevertheless I found it to be powerfully true. There are so many things I can think of that I'd never have known had I not ventured from the borders of my home country, or even those of my home state. Of course the methods of travel now are so much better than those offered in Augustine's day -- I can't imagine travelling so much if I'd had to walk everywhere!

I must confess to a sense of euphoria yesterday when I arrived at the Seattle airport after a mere hour's flight and didn't have to rush to find the gate for the next leg of my journey. I guess that means I'm ready to let grass grow under my feet in Boise...at least for a few months. Within the past year I've seen a lot of our country from the window of an RV, with trips to Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Senegal and Spain thrown in for a little variety. And what a beautiful, complex, engaging and a little sad world it is. Definitely a book worth reading in as much detail as possible.

Which reminds me -- I realized while in Spain that my historical education about that part of the world was sadly lacking. I've read loads of history and biography about the United States and England, but next to nothing about Africa and Europe in general. I was fascinated by the brief history lessons I got from my Costa Rican hosts as we roared through thousands of acres of olive trees in Spain <Spain is the number one olive oil producer in the world, one of multitudinous facts I'd never heard about that country>. My interest was peaked and I'm getting ready to make an Amazon order...if you've got any suggestions about where to start, please let me know!

Posted by authorjodi at 03:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)