Response to "Harvard’s Crisis of Faith"

Response to "Harvard’s Crisis of Faith" by Lisa Miller, Newsweek Feb 22, 2010

http://www.newsweek.com/id/233413

As a graduate of Harvard with a Masters in Religion, I feel compelled to respond to this article. I am also an atheist who is against the organized practice of religion. I study religion because I find it fascinating from a phenomenological standpoint, and view it as another expression of human culture and identity. However, I also see it as the main force for hatred and ignorance in the world, and know that I must, in Ms. Miller’s words, “understand how religious belief and practice influence our world.” Part of what Ms. Miller describes is not consternation at Harvard over whether religion courses per se should be required or not, but rather stems from an overhaul of the entire Harvard Core Curriculum. Harvard has one of the oldest and most prestigious divinity schools in America, with groundbreaking centers for Women and Religion and World Religions, as well as professors who incorporate religious history into their own department (art, music, literature, cultural studies, etc). The Committee on the Study of Religion is not a freestanding department, but neither is Women’s Studies or Medieval Studies – by Ms. Miller’s own logic, that would mean Harvard is also sexist and anti-Middle Ages. It may surprise you to learn that there are many atheists, agnostics, and non-practicing students studying religion all over the world; while I am in the minority, I certainly am not the only one.

At HDS, I had the best professors in the world who challenged and expanded my mind in ways for which I will forever be grateful, even as I found most of the faculty there (and at College X, too) to be practicing or devout in their own religions. I studied the mystical experiences of Medieval women, and it never mattered to me whether their visions were ‘real’ or not (I suspect they were not) – I take their religious worldview as a given, as my personal belief did not need to conflict with academic and intellectual inquiry. I have found the same of every religion professor I have ever known, whatever side of the belief divide they are on. The tone of Ms. Miller’s writing is tired and unoriginal, rehashing sloppy debates about “faith versus reason” at a level a Dan Brown fan would understand, with some facile Harvard-bashing thrown in for good measure. Perhaps it’s just possible that faith can be part of academic discourse, while both respecting and keeping distance from personal faith practice.

As for the Harvard bashing - just about everyone who implies Harvard isn't "all that" has a tear-stained rejection letter in the back of a drawer somewhere. Also, Ms. Miller totally does NOT understand how the system works there. There is NO bureaucratic division between the Divinity school and the rest of the University. All HDS students can take up to 50% of their classes anywhere in the University, which allowed me to study, work and teach in the Music department. Furthermore, HDS is part of the Boston Theological Institute, a consortium of about 10 schools throughout the Boston area, which also has porous cross registration, and a vigorous, diverse membership.

If the Catholic student mentioned in the article is whining that he couldn't bring up god in his classes, why did he not avail himself of HDS or BTU courses?!

Not sure how to feel...

I just read a posting on Michael Moore's website (the political instigator, not the fabulous London chef!) entitled "An Open Letter to President Obama from Michael Moore" which extolls the President not to swell troops numbers in Afghanistan. Since he wrote this letter, of course Pres. Obama did decide to increase troops in Afghanistan. I do not entirely agree with MM. First (and I would not say this in public because Americans go apeshit) I do not "support our troops" as the mantra goes as a matter of course. I do feel great compassion for individual soldiers and for their families, but I do not support the troops as a rule. You cannot be against war and for warriors as the same time. All these wars are sad shams and it's a shame that predominately poor, underprivileged young kids have no other option for money and education that to join the armed forces. I don't find that admirable.

But, more to the point - I think we're in the shit in Afghanistan and pulling out might make it worse. I will admit I don't know enough about the situation to really make good predictions, which is why the Pres and the Generals should be in the decision-making process. I don't think we should be fighting wars in the first place, but since we're there, we should finish the job. I am a HUGE fan of MM, but he really is given to unfounded histrionics sometimes. Iraq was the War of Mistakes, but that does not mean Afghanistan necessarily is... I am not entirely sure about any of this though, what do you all think?

Petland is evil! Do not shop there...

... but in good news, petitions do work!

The transparent nature of Facebook, the rapidity of internet social action, and the magic of petitions have worked to close down an animal torture house in Akron, Ohio called 'Petland.' Here is the story in the Examiner. Basically, animals are not fed or cleaned at all, so they resort to cannibalism to live, and then they are drowned, frozen or beaten to death. In this case, a wonderful young lady named Elizabeth Carlisle gleefully drowned two rabbits, who were already dying from malnutrition and fighting, before urging her colleague to take a picture, which she then posted on Facebook. Petland employees themselves have been sickened by this evil, selfish, inhuman and depraved corporate policy. Read about their experiences here as this is not an isolated incident by any means.

If you know Elizabeth Carlisle, seen above, be sure to give her a piece of your mind! I hope her parents are so proud, they did a wonderful job raising her.

Now Petland officials claim that this is in outright opposition to their policy: "Petland will in no way, shape or form tolerate any abuse of animals in its care. We are outraged of this gross violation of Petland's animal care standards," according a written statement issued by the company. "Petland policy demands that medical treatment and protocol is to be provided and determined by the store's consulting veterinarian and not be undertaken by an employee. Petland policy also dictates that no animal be euthanized in ANY manner by any staff member."

But that is only policy on paper. If employees are being threatened with termination for merely CLEANING CAGES then clearly Petland itself is guilty of gross abuse. And even if the company has the best intentions, they clearly cannot control their employees and should still be banned from selling live animals.

Please click here to sign a petition to get Petland to stop selling rabbits in all their stores. When this story broke, the public outcry was so strong and immediate that the Akron location was permanently closed down! Petland has been in hot water the past year for buying dogs from puppy mills, but of course their policy of greed and cruelty continues unabated. PETA and Care2.com have spearheaded the petition movement.

So what can you do? Sign the petition. Write to the county judicial system in Akron and demand that Elizabeth Carlisle be prosecuted to the very fullest extent of the law -- she was indeed brought up on charges of animal cruelty, and will appear in Akron Municipal Court on August 17th. But most important, DO NOT EVER BUY ANIMALS FROM PET STORES. Ever! There are millions and millions of healthy and lovely dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, birds etc etc in the SPCA, shelters and farms across the country. If you do shop at stores like Petland, you are personally responsible for things like this happening. Those lovely animals are then euthanized because they cannot find owners, when you guys buy pets instead from stores that in effect are gulags or prison camps. Does that make sense?!? Once again, err on the side of compassion.

Paint a vulgar picture

I was just futzing around on Facebook and as I belong to PETA’s group, I read one of their update articles. I am SO sickened, disgusted and upset, I cannot do anything else but think about what I just read; and I guess the best way to work through it in my mind is to blog it. So off we go, time for more Goddess ranting… PETA has a new campaign called “McCruelty: I’m Hatin’ It” to expose the insane and cruel methods McDonalds still uses in their ‘meat production.’ Be warned – the video is quite disturbing but REAL and true and based on undercover cameras from real chicken slaughter houses. You know, the kind you patronize every week when you buy their evil.
McCruelty: I'm Hatin' It--Learn More.

PETA has put together an UNHappy Meal which teaches children that not only will the contents of their McDonald’s Happy Meal damage their own health, but is a big ol’ box of animal suffering and human cruelty. Read more about this UNHappy Meal here. I saw this bit of text on the website “PETA's spoof of a McDonald's chicken sandwich box features the image of a knife-wielding Ronald McDonald, along with pictures of birds who have been mutilated and scalded alive and information about controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK), the less cruel method of slaughter that PETA is asking McDonalds to adopt.” and decided to follow the link to CAK. That is when I became glad I haven’t had breakfast yet, because surely I would have vomited.

So, kind friends, let us explore what does happen in the vast majority of poultry slaughter houses in the USA (all following quotes taken directly from the PETA website):

- Electric immobilization, the conventional method of slaughter in North American poultry slaughterhouses, causes an array of animal welfare, economic, and worker-safety problems. The process involves dumping and shackling live birds, running them through an electrically charged bath of water to immobilize them, slitting their throats with a machine, and defeathering them in tanks of scalding-hot water.

- Birds endure bruised and broken wings and legs and can suffocate when they are dumped and shackled.

- Frustrated workers often commit gratuitous acts of abuse and have been documented tearing live birds apart, spitting tobacco in their eyes, spray-painting their faces, stomping on them, punching them, kicking them, and even sexually assaulting them.

- Electric current levels are too low to render birds insensible to pain, and all birds are conscious as their throats are slit.

- Those who miss the blades—and millions do each year—are scalded to death in defeathering tanks.

- This abuse is permitted because the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, the only federal law designed to protect animals from abuse at slaughter, doesn’t protect chickens or turkeys. Chickens and turkeys make up more than 95 percent of the animals slaughtered in the U.S.—9.5 billion chickens and turkeys are slaughtered each year, compared to about 100 million pigs and 45 million cattle and sheep.

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!!! They sexually abuse the birds?!? I cannot even fathom or wrap my mind around this one. The people who work in these factories have no souls, no brains and no consciences – I shudder to think what their karma must be like. I do applaud PETA, however, for pointing out how the typical methods outlined above are also dangerous for the workers themselves.

Now, I know some of you think of PETA as a radical, leftist terrorist organization who wants to take your fur coats, hotdogs and good ol’ American fun away from you. I will say you’re wrong, we do not want to spoil anyone’s fun – least of all, the animals'. Selfishness and absolute gratification are not good American values that need any defending.

I am somewhat pleased to report that more humane methods of killing, such as CAK advocated above, are the norm in Europe and in my home, the UK. While I am still categorically against the taking of animal life for any reason, at least if they are still to be slaughtered, the method of death should be less evil.

Whenever I post a little blurb on Facebook about the cruelty of eating meat or the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle, I ALWAYS get little self-conscious, defensive (but friendly) replies from my friends, nervously defending their own meat-eating choices. 99% of the time it reads something like this – ‘well, we really don’t eat meat all that often, only once a day/ week/ month, but I try to be environmental otherwise…” In other words, they know I'm right deep down, but want me to think highly of them anyways. I love my friends a ton and I know they are generally good people, but…

I am sick of dicking around. IF YOU EAT MEAT YOU ARE A BAD PERSON. IMMORAL, CRUEL AND SELFISH TO THE MAX. No more hand-holding, ethical relativism or ass-kissing. You just cannot eat animals and retain any degree of conscience today. And if you feed it to your children, you’re a double shit. And please do not accuse me of crude self-righteousness here. That is not what this is about, and as I still eat fish once in a while, I'm in the same unethical shithead boat as the rest of you. Plus, I have thought deeply about all these issues, and think about them every day. I’m too smart to merely be up on my ethical high horse here. And so what if I am?!? You’re the shithead who practices cruelty on a daily basis, then licks the delicious BBQ sauce right off your fingers.

PLEASE please please chose compassion and humanity over cruelty and selfishness. It won't cost you anything! Thanks for reading and listening and thinking...

Recession hits pets hard too

I just read the most thoroughly heartbreaking article today on msn.com: Recession takes its toll on man’s best friend. "As more families are forced to sell their homes, an increasing number of pets are being left behind in shelters or, worse, empty houses. Though it is difficult to put an exact figure on the number of abandoned pets, shelters across the country say they are seeing double-digit percentage increases in the number of animals left in their care. The Humane Society estimates that more than 3 million animals will be euthanized this year... Shelters across the country are taking steps to stop the influx of abandoned animals. In Richmond, Va., the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals offers to board pets until families get back on their feet. They also have pantries and clinics that provide free pet food and veterinary care to pet owners who don't want to give up their animals, but can't afford to care for them at the moment. During the past several months, the Richmond SPCA has seen a 15% to 25% increase in the number of pet owners who come in and qualify for its free services."

Isn't this just devastating? Part of me wants to go find those families and severely beat the shit of them hourly, and part of me feels so badly for them. I cannot imagine what it would take for me and my husband to give up our dog and cats; basically I never would, but as much as we are hurting in this economy, I probably will never have to face that decision. I would like to wag my finger about being a responsible pet owner -- I mean, really, these witless fuckheads are just leaving pets in the houses they abandon! would they leave their own children behind if they got too expensive?!? -- but this economy (our very own parting gift from the incompetent Bush administration) has bitten all of us in the butt.

So one thing I can ask you to do is PLEASE donate whatever funds you can manage to your local SPCA, Humane Society, rescue organization or shelter. Also, you can donate for free, with just a simple click a day, on the following internet sites; the Animal Rescue site and the Care2 site. And if you are interested in adopting a pet for your own house, the shelters are full to bursting with wonderful, healthy animals who need a home. Buying an expensive purebred from a pet store, or an evil abhorrent puppy mill, is socially irresponsible at best. I have a HUGE issue with buying purebred dogs and cats, when there are millions of beautiful mixed breed animals that are all but free in your local SPCA or shelter. And have your pet spayed/ neutered too, please. You can look in your local papers and CraigsList as well for pets who need a good home.

Here are photos of my own gorgeous pets

Donderdag – Veggie Dag

Well I have to say, Europe rocks! The lovely city of Ghent, Belgium, has made every Thursday a vegetarian day for city officials, schools and other organizations. What a wonderful idea! Over a million people in Taiwan also pledged to start a meat-free diet last year. 

Please read more about this special initiative here, but in the meantime, here are some snippets from the article...

"The Belgian city of Ghent is 30 miles west of Brussels, with a population of around 200,000. Just over a week ago, this small city committed to taking a major step forward in environmental responsibility, setting an example for the rest of the world to follow... City officials have declared that meat intake is a major contributor to pollution, and say that making one day a week meat-free 'is good for the climate, your health and your taste buds.' Tom Balthazar, a Ghent city councilor who is backing the initiative, quotes the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), when he says that meat production is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gases. Ghent's officials are teaming up with Belgium's national vegetarian organization, EVA (Ethical Vegetarian Alternative), and adopting Thursday as a vegetarian day for officials. From September, the city's schools will be making a meat-free meal the "default" option every Thursday. At least one hospital wants to join in....'If everyone in Flanders does not eat meat one day a week, we will save as much CO2 in a year as taking half a million cars off the road, said the EVA..."

National Vegetarian Week/ Happy Birthday Morrissey!

It is National Vegetarian Week! 18 – 24 May, 2009

“National Vegetarian Week (NVW) is the annual awareness-raising campaign promoting inspirational vegetarian food and the benefits of a meat-free lifestyle.” http://www.vegsoc.org/nvw/

Since I am seeing Morrissey next weekend (first-time concert goer, life-long fan!!!) who is one of the most visible advocates for the vegetarian/ vegan lifestyle, I think it’s time for another blog. Lots of vegetarian events this week… it’s National Vegetarian week in the UK and all sorts of stores, cafes and restaurants are offering expanded vegetarian options. Also, Morrissey’s 50th birthday (Friday 22nd May) is today and there are vegetarian-inspired celebrations going on in the UK. Morrissey has also been named the UK’s Favorite Vegetarian in a nationwide poll, beating Sir Paul McCartney for the very first time.

A dear friend of mine recently told me that not only does she read my blog, she is strongly considering going vegetarian, in large part because of my blog. YAY! That is so gratifying and I am really proud of her. There are many reasons to embrace a cruelty-free lifestyle, and you will find of range of these answers if you query individual vegetarians; ethics, environmental concerns, religious dicta, compassion, health and weight loss, a protest of the meat industry and its practices, solidarity with the poor, and just plain “I don’t like meat.”

I have one main reason I do not eat meat, and that is ethics. I personally think it is categorically WRONG, especially in the developed ‘First World’ to raise, pen, torture and slaughter other living, sentient beings just for a tasty morsel. How unbelievably selfish is that, to think an entity exists just for my taco salad? I believe all sentient beings have the same right to life that I have, and that human animals are not better in any way than non-human animals. I deeply consider the horrendous lifestyle which “farm” animals must suffer, before they are brutally killed, as a grave error of the human race – a terrible accretion of ‘bad’ karma. The word compassion comes from the Latin for "to suffer with" and I really put myself in the place of these poor animals. But I do know how hard it is, I myself can be a hypocrite -- I do eat fish sometimes.

I would say environmental concerns are a very close second for why I do not eat animals. You have heard all the statistics, but here they are again: A Smithsonian report says that  The United States imports roughly 200 million pounds of beef from Latin America every year. Aside from the fuel used in transport, grazing land is needed for all of these animals. Where does all that land come from in a densely forested region? The answer: from clear-cutting forests and rainforest. The necessity for more grazing land means that every minute of every day, a land area equivalent to seven football fields is destroyed in the Amazon basin. For each hamburger that originated from animals raised on rainforest land, approximately 55 square feet of forest have been destroyed. And its not just the rainforest. In the United States, more than 260 million acres of forest have been clear-cut for animal agriculture. With increased per capita meat consumption, and an ever growing population, we can only expect to see more deforestation in the future.

And the global effects of meat consumption don’t stop on land. Animal production consumes an amount of water roughly equivalent to all other uses of water in the United States combined. Besides grains, animals need water to survive and grow until they are slaughtered. One pound of beef requires an input of approximately 2500 gallons of water, whereas a pound of soy requires 250 gallons of water and a pound of wheat only 25 gallons. And this is to say nothing of the poisonous runoff of agricultural farming into the oceans.

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances of survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." - Albert Einstein

And more than 1/3 of all fossil fuels produced in the United States go towards animal agriculture. Did you know that the production of one calorie of animal protein requires more than ten times the fossil fuel input as a calorie of plant protein?!? This means that ten times the amount of carbon dioxide is emitted as well. Considering how many people are starving on a daily basis in our world – billions – it is unconscionable to eat meat. You cannot justify this massive waste of land, water and resources, and the terrible carbon footprint meat consumption leaves. You just cannot. The only reason I have been proffered as to why someone eats meat is, simply, because “I like it, it tastes good.” That is NOT good enough. So what if you like it?!? What makes you so special? What makes your privilege of eating meat more important than another being’s right to life?  Rapists love to rape, but that doesn’t make it acceptable. I love to lay in bed all day and eat cheese curls, but that doesn’t mean I will or can or should.

But there are many other reasons to stop eating meat. My husband, for example, became vegetarian a few years ago, on his own accord, and I could not be prouder of him, even though his reasons are different than mine. In the US, we were watching a documentary on PBS about mammal cognition, intelligence and emotion, and he suddenly realized he could not, in good faith, eat them. His protest, however, is a boycott of the meat industry itself. For example, if he ordered a dish in a restaurant that turned out to have meat in it, he would eat it, because the animal is already dead and he sees no point in wasting it. I, however, would refuse it (and I always ask about ingredients to avoid this, but slips happen) because I will NOT have animals particles in my body. And the sin upon the restaurant’s head for falsely representing their menu items.

It is much easier to be vegetarian in the UK than in many parts of America, in my experience, it should be said – this may very well come from the great numbers of Indians/ Hindus here, not to mention a concern for Halal & Kosher practices. All restaurants have multiple vegetarian offerings, and even the local sandwich shops have more interesting and inventive ideas about meat-free cuisine than one would expect. That being said, it is all but impossible to be vegan here. ALL vegetarian foods here are loaded with cheese, butter and mayonnaise, which is so frustrating for those of us fighting the battle of the bulge, not to mention for our vegan friends. There is a great respect for local, organic, humane farming practices here, which is a small step in the right direction. But don’t be fooled by this, the UK still engages in brutal, inhumane, mass-market meat “production” that puts those diabolical pork farmers in the American South to shame.

Ah, and now pork – SWINE FLU IS A RESULT OF THE MEAT INDUSTRY! If you eat pork and other farmed meat, you are, yourself, contributing to swine flu! Of course you cannot get such influenzas from eating meat, but they come from the meat production industry, via humans (pig farmers) who work with the animals. Are you proud of yourself? I should also point out that pigs are highly intelligent and have evolved great social skills.

“People should not be eating animals… Every so often Mother Nature takes an opportunity to remind us that eating animals and/or factory farming eventually bites us back.” - Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.

To find out more about the daily ‘life’ of factory farm animals, please read http://www.hsus.org/farm/

To see quotes from all major world religions that support vegetarianism, please see

http://www.nansealove.com/Quotes.html

“The eating of flesh extinguishes the seed of great compassion.” 

The Mahaparinirvana Sutra