MORGAN'S MOMENT...
“Box Elders” they're called…
     a black beetle-like bug
     with red on its bottom side.
They afflict us like the plague
     usually in the spring-time
     but anytime the sun comes out.
I've spent zillions to discourage them…
     but nothing seems to work
     for any time at all.
They blacken the side of my house
     and explore every crack
     to gain entrance.
It tests a “reverence for life” guy…
     who lives by the principle
     of live and let live.
I've done the catch and release method…
     then the vacuum ‘em up method
     and finally the catch and flush method.
I sympathize with their plight…
     only so much time for sex and procreation
     before moving to Box Elder heaven.
My deal is this ─
     I’ll stay out of their living space
     if they'll stay out of mine.
My question is this:
     are Box Elders any less a wonder of nature
     than I am?
— Art Morgan 

BOOK CORNER
I get responses to the effect that some are reading books reported here as “recommended.”  Not necessarily so. I'm an eclectic reader which means that I read lots of books that I don't recommend for others. I try to note which books I liked and wished many might read. Others I report as books read that you may choose to read or not
At this point I have finished “Mayflower,” which is our current book club selection. I believe that I have recommended it. I've mentioned “The End of Faith,” by Sam Harris, but warned that it’s not for the faint-hearted or those whose faith is anchored lightly. It’s a challenging book.
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MOMENT MINISTRIES
Feb. 7, 2007
home address:  25921 SW Airport Ave.
Corvallis, OR 97333   541-753-3942
email at a-morgan@peak.org
ON BEING DANGEROUSLY MODERATE
I've told the story of being accused of sounding immoderate during a sermon at a Unitarian Church some years ago. I had said, “Fundamentalists will kill us!” (Before 9/11!) In the Q and A that usually follows a sermon there, a lady asked, “Why did you raise your voice when you said ‘fundamentalists will kill us.'?”
Those who have heard me speak know that I don't often raise my voice. I was unaware. I answered that if I raised my voice it was because I believed what I was saying. Her concern was not about the truth of my statement but about the fact that it sounded immoderate. A religious moderate is not supposed to be critical of other religion's ideas.
Reading Sam Harris’ “The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason,” I found an ally. He writes in a shock style that is not moderate. He sees fundamentalist zealots in most religions. They hold their special holy books as mandates from on high to be acted upon in literal obedience. He is an equal opportunity critic of the horrors perpetrated throughout history in the name of religious obedience.
He is openly critical of religious moderates. He says: “To speak plainly and truthfully about the state of the world ─ to say, for instance, that the Bible and the Koran both contain mountains of life-destroying gibberish ─ is antithetical to tolerance as moderates currently conceive it. We can no longer afford the luxury of such political correctness.” (p. 23)
Fundamentalist Muslims believe that blowing themselves and others to death offers a direct path to paradise with all its rewards. Fundamentalists want all aspects of society to be ruled by their understanding of what God says in scripture. It’s true in the Middle East. It’s true in the White House.
Harris is no friend of religion, but he appeals for religious moderates who reject fundamentalist ways, to become less moderate. Where is moderate outrage against imprisonment and torture more fitting of the dark ages or inquisition than of a modern, civilized “Christian” nation? Where is moderate outrage against those who use their holy books or religious faith as a guide to terror and bloodshed? Religious moderates are called to speak against those inhuman behaviors in one's own religion as well as in those of others. No religion can be allowed to slaughter people as if having a mandate from some God.
We can no longer afford the luxury of such political correctness, says Harris. We need less-moderate moderates

 
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MY ANNUAL CHECK-UP
       I'm not talking about physical health. I take care of that later. This is the check-up prompted by the IRS which requires me to go through my financial history of the past year in as truthful a manner as possible.
       With papers and records and 1099’s and all sorts of other forms I tried to understand from past years, I thought of what a biographer once said. He could learn more about people from their check stubs than anything else.
       It being a fine sunny morning, with the Super Bowl several hours away, I decided to give myself a sort of spiritual check-up. It was revealing.
       I decided to look at my contributions. I made a list. I only included those that IRS would recognize as charitable. That means I had to exclude all my taxes, which constitute involuntary contributions. I don't generally resent taxes since they support so many causes and institutions without which we don't have a society worth living in. We pay a lot of taxes that total twice our IRS recognized donations.
       It also means excluding gifts to children and grandchildren. As I totaled these they just about equaled our donations
        We gave to 50 organizations last year. Some year I'm going to try to keep track of all the appeal letters that amounts to! I didn't realize.
       I gathered them into categories. Here was where I began seeing where we matched our giving to our concerns. I created eight categories. I’ll report them in order of amount given.
1. Social Services. This includes quite a few local programs that serve the needs of the most marginalized and troubled people. We know most of these programs and what they do and the people they serve. A little less than 29% of our donations go into this category.
2. Cultural. This includes music, the arts, both locally and in Oregon. I was surprised but not displeased that we give about 23% to these causes.
3. World needs. Our giving is a drop in the bucket but we want to remember the wider world of needs beyond our town and country. This list totaled about 15%.
4. Education. We've graduated from too many schools. But we owe them a debt. We also support under-funded programs locally. A little over 11% for education.
5. Churches. We sometimes make special gifts to churches for needs we support. It came to 10% of our giving this year. (I did note when I put all “faith-based” organizations together that they comprised about 30% of our total contributions. Part of this is due to knowledge about effectiveness of some of these programs).
6. Environmental. We try to live our environmental commitment as much as we can. We give to a few causes, but for some reason the numbers don't match our concern. About 6%.
7. Health. This list included research foundations and support for health-supporting programs. Just about 5%.
8. Political. We gave very little last year, not because we didn't care. I guess we couldn't see how any of the races and issues we were concerned about would be helped much by our giving. It has been different in other years. 1.5%
       If these percentages don't add up, you can understand why doing my taxes is such a pain. But what I'm really trying to add up is whether I'm putting my money where my heart is.
       Luke's version of the “do not be anxious” saying of Jesus concludes with words admonishing spiritual treasures. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” I guess there's a connection worth paying attention to.
       I'm not sure that this is an accurate guide for a check-up, but it’s a good exercise. We might like to re-allocate some of our giving to better match our priorities. I think you can do a similar thing with the city and county and state budgets. Or your church budget. Our national budget tells a lot about American values, and it is not healthy.
       It has been shown that generosity contributes to physical, mental and spiritual health. It’s a somewhat selfish reason for giving, but what the heck. If it works, why not?
─ Art Morgan, February 6, 2007