a girl's best friend
i just finished listening to a January Series speaker at Calvin, Gerard Thomas Straub. He creates documentaries highlighting the plight of the poor. During his presentation he said,
"i don't show these films to bring out feelings of guilt but TO BRING OUT THE REALITY OF THE POOR."
isn't it weird that he felt like he had to explain himself? he knew that people might have feelings of guilt b/c of the content of his films. and he felt like he had to explain that that was not his intent. why did he feel that way? is our guilt his problem? do you ever feel like you have to explain yourself in this way? i do...
to celebrate my birthday brett and i decided to take in a light-hearted, easy-on-the-eyes flick. we saw blood diamond. needless to say we both left the theatre emotionally exhausted. i'm not going to give a run-down on this film b/c i think the title explains it all: BLOOD.DIAMOND.
everyone should see this movie. to say the least, it puts up on the big screen a hard to swallow REALITY. i know that many of you are probably sighing and saying, "here it comes..." but i'm not going to preach. i just want to share something that i often struggle with.
i choose not to wear diamonds. before brett asked me to marry him i asked him to please not buy me a diamond ring. and he got a lot of slack for it. not by me, of course, but by others who didn't understand what we understand. you know, i too can appreciate the beauty of a diamond. and i can even value the tradition and symbolism that surrounds this, the strongest, longest-lasting stone. but, you see, people have died b/c of diamonds. diamonds have a bloody history. and what drove that history forward was just the greed of a few. the weight of that history is just too heavy for me to ignore or, in this case, wear on my finger.
but, here's my struggle: honestly, sometimes i have a hard time not wearing a diamond. not b/c i want one but b/c i think that other people think that i judge them for having one. so, i feel guilty about maybe making them feel uncomfortable. isn't that weird? i find that i explain and excuse just like Straub did before sharing his very powerful film. but, like Straub, it is not my intent to make people feel guilty. rather, i feel like this is one small way that i can, "BRING OUT THE REALITY OF THE POOR."
there is a scene in the film, blood diamond, where one of the characters hunches down to describe the african soil beneath his feet. he takes it into his hand and lets it drip through his fingers. he says its colour is red b/c of man's blood, shed.
i've been to africa. i've walked her land. i've met some of her people. i've held her soil and let it drip through my own fingers. i feel like i can, in a small way, honour this land by not wearing a diamond.
i don't know why, but God entrusted me with a very important gift. over the years i have spent time with some of the poorest of the poor. poor physically, mentally, and spiritually. i have shared meals with them, sharing the same bowl, hands sometimes grabbing for the same piece of food. i have slept in beds with them, once seven of us sharing just three beds. i have prayed with them lifting up the same requests in different tongues. i have exchanged smiles and tears with them. and i have learned from them.
since taking my first step onto foreign soil my life has changed dramatically. i've seen these things, and i've met these people, and God has given me opportunities to change and now i just want my life to be a testament to the people i have met. i want to say, "hey, i haven't forgotten." i'm sorry if this makes you feel guilty.
i've found that when i come face to face with poverty i have two choices. i can feel guilty and wait until the feeling fades. or i can change, out of duty to my fellow man. out of duty to jesus, God become flesh. yes, i fail. sometimes i fail miserably. but i try. and i'm going to keep trying. b/c wasn't it jesus who said, "i tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me?"
i realize that my battles are not your battles. there are many "causes" in this world and we cannot single handedly fight them all. many of us fight the good fight in many different ways, and all together we cover many different issues. some of us buy locally, some of us buy used, some of us buy fair-trade, and still others of us try not to buy at all. some of us save water, others of us recycle. some of us are bicycle riders while others of us use our own two feet. there are those of us who stand on corners with signs in protest and those of us who spend time creating relationships with the lost in our communities. all noble causes. if none of this sounds familiar to you then perhaps its time to suit up and choose your weapon.
i didn't want this post to be about diamonds. the truth is, i could care less if you wear a diamond or not. i just choose not to. the point is, there are numerous ways to BRING OUT THE REALITY OF THE POOR. it's a matter of being conscious about our choices and not making excuses for our behaviour. -sn
gerard thomas straub
blood diamond
an obvious choice
ps - on my 29th birthday i got carded before entering blood diamond. you have to be 17 to see R-rated movies. on one hand, this made me feel quite good about myself. heh. but, after watching the movie i found it very ironic that in some countries children as young as six are soldiers, toting guns, killing people. but, in our country you have to be at least 17 to even watch such atrocity on a screen. i'm not saying we should bring our children to such violent movies. but perhaps there are other ways to introduce them to the REALITY of our world. if we start them young, who knows what change we might see in the future.
"i don't show these films to bring out feelings of guilt but TO BRING OUT THE REALITY OF THE POOR."
isn't it weird that he felt like he had to explain himself? he knew that people might have feelings of guilt b/c of the content of his films. and he felt like he had to explain that that was not his intent. why did he feel that way? is our guilt his problem? do you ever feel like you have to explain yourself in this way? i do...
to celebrate my birthday brett and i decided to take in a light-hearted, easy-on-the-eyes flick. we saw blood diamond. needless to say we both left the theatre emotionally exhausted. i'm not going to give a run-down on this film b/c i think the title explains it all: BLOOD.DIAMOND.
everyone should see this movie. to say the least, it puts up on the big screen a hard to swallow REALITY. i know that many of you are probably sighing and saying, "here it comes..." but i'm not going to preach. i just want to share something that i often struggle with.
i choose not to wear diamonds. before brett asked me to marry him i asked him to please not buy me a diamond ring. and he got a lot of slack for it. not by me, of course, but by others who didn't understand what we understand. you know, i too can appreciate the beauty of a diamond. and i can even value the tradition and symbolism that surrounds this, the strongest, longest-lasting stone. but, you see, people have died b/c of diamonds. diamonds have a bloody history. and what drove that history forward was just the greed of a few. the weight of that history is just too heavy for me to ignore or, in this case, wear on my finger.
but, here's my struggle: honestly, sometimes i have a hard time not wearing a diamond. not b/c i want one but b/c i think that other people think that i judge them for having one. so, i feel guilty about maybe making them feel uncomfortable. isn't that weird? i find that i explain and excuse just like Straub did before sharing his very powerful film. but, like Straub, it is not my intent to make people feel guilty. rather, i feel like this is one small way that i can, "BRING OUT THE REALITY OF THE POOR."
there is a scene in the film, blood diamond, where one of the characters hunches down to describe the african soil beneath his feet. he takes it into his hand and lets it drip through his fingers. he says its colour is red b/c of man's blood, shed.
i've been to africa. i've walked her land. i've met some of her people. i've held her soil and let it drip through my own fingers. i feel like i can, in a small way, honour this land by not wearing a diamond.
i don't know why, but God entrusted me with a very important gift. over the years i have spent time with some of the poorest of the poor. poor physically, mentally, and spiritually. i have shared meals with them, sharing the same bowl, hands sometimes grabbing for the same piece of food. i have slept in beds with them, once seven of us sharing just three beds. i have prayed with them lifting up the same requests in different tongues. i have exchanged smiles and tears with them. and i have learned from them.
since taking my first step onto foreign soil my life has changed dramatically. i've seen these things, and i've met these people, and God has given me opportunities to change and now i just want my life to be a testament to the people i have met. i want to say, "hey, i haven't forgotten." i'm sorry if this makes you feel guilty.
i've found that when i come face to face with poverty i have two choices. i can feel guilty and wait until the feeling fades. or i can change, out of duty to my fellow man. out of duty to jesus, God become flesh. yes, i fail. sometimes i fail miserably. but i try. and i'm going to keep trying. b/c wasn't it jesus who said, "i tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me?"
i realize that my battles are not your battles. there are many "causes" in this world and we cannot single handedly fight them all. many of us fight the good fight in many different ways, and all together we cover many different issues. some of us buy locally, some of us buy used, some of us buy fair-trade, and still others of us try not to buy at all. some of us save water, others of us recycle. some of us are bicycle riders while others of us use our own two feet. there are those of us who stand on corners with signs in protest and those of us who spend time creating relationships with the lost in our communities. all noble causes. if none of this sounds familiar to you then perhaps its time to suit up and choose your weapon.
i didn't want this post to be about diamonds. the truth is, i could care less if you wear a diamond or not. i just choose not to. the point is, there are numerous ways to BRING OUT THE REALITY OF THE POOR. it's a matter of being conscious about our choices and not making excuses for our behaviour. -sn
gerard thomas straub
blood diamond
an obvious choice
ps - on my 29th birthday i got carded before entering blood diamond. you have to be 17 to see R-rated movies. on one hand, this made me feel quite good about myself. heh. but, after watching the movie i found it very ironic that in some countries children as young as six are soldiers, toting guns, killing people. but, in our country you have to be at least 17 to even watch such atrocity on a screen. i'm not saying we should bring our children to such violent movies. but perhaps there are other ways to introduce them to the REALITY of our world. if we start them young, who knows what change we might see in the future.
posted by SN at 5:56 AM
5 Comments:
I missed you the other night, but Brett and Shannon and I discussed Blood Diamond at your house on Monday. I thought some of the emotionalism of the movie was a bit overdone, but the message definately needs to get out there. As someone who has also chosen not to go the traditional diamond ring engagement, I dig what you're saying about getting slack from other people. It's like Christmas, isn't it? It's weird how in our culture people guilt trip you for not buying stuff. If only we could reverse those values.
the only thing i'd like to guilt trip you about is using the word "slack" innapropriately. it's "flak" isn't it?
incidentally, i went into a jewelry store recently and asked them if they could guarantee their diamonds "not conflict" and he kind of made it sound like that was an overhyped concern and that no diamonds made it into major stores without being certified "clean" somehow. obviously this is the guy's livelihood so he would want to say that, so i didn't know what to believe... anyway. :) nice post.
let me rephrase that last post. "overhyped" was the wrong word to use. the jeweler didn't handle my question carelessly, nor am i suggesting that YOU overhyped the concern. just wanted to make that clear. i guess what i meant to say was that he sort of made it sound like a "non-issue" since the kimberly act forced the major diamond retailers to start accounting for where their diamonds came from. anyway... it just made me wonder...
More and more people are quietly taking a stand against consumerism-- both economical and environmental. Armed with knowledge from a basic search on the web and films like Blood Diamond, many will be content to avoid diamonds altogether. . . no sweat, no guilt, and no slack/flak.
well it seems to me that avoiding diamonds altogether might not be the best solution in the long run since they're awfully valuable. and people in Africa have the potential to strengthen their economy significantly if they started receiving fair trade for them. solution = start getting American people to demand more of our businesses and American businesspeople to give a crap. :)
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