Welcome to the professional website and personal weblog of Jeremy Del Rio. Whether you're a client, friend, or curious onlooker, please don't stay a spectator. Engage the conversation. Your contributions matter here.
« Notes from the Road | Home | In case you were wondering »
Monday Miscellany
By Jeremy | October 1, 2007
As an observer of politics, I've seen the way issues of poverty are dealt with todayâ€â€everything from Reagan welfare reform of the '80s, to Clinton welfare reform of the '90s, and then coming forward to the present and events like Hurricane Katrina. I've discovered that there is a poverty industry. People keep pouring money in, and there are certain people who stand up and proclaim themselves to be the representatives and advocates of the poor. But they never seem to truly help people get out of poverty. There's a poverty spirit that takes hold. In the book, I call it a "culture of failure," where people get caught up in dysfunctional behavior. They blame racism and other external forces. They make excuses, and then point fingers at everybody but themselves when things go obviously wrong. That's why the title of the book is Enough. I'm saying, "Come on, give me a break here!" It's time to stop making excuses and, like Cosby suggested, take responsibility.+ A Wrinkle in Time. Beautiful post from Peter Ong about how an author's conviction and personal touch penetrated his "reluctant atheism."
She shows me a photo of an ancient medieval depiction of Christ. She looks at my face carefully and asks, “what do you think of when you see this picture.†I was a reluctant atheist at the time and I muttered something to the effect, “I don’t know, Mrs. L’Engle…he is someone who I don’t have much to feel about.†She pushes me, “do you think him kind?†I am stunned by the question, “yes, very much so, almost too kind.†She smiles. She tells me that my view of Christ is something that I should continue to explore. She tells me that pictures are really good gateways for me to encounter God…sometimes, it is those pictures that move us most.+ Chris Brooks is beating the adopt-a-school drum on behalf of EverySchool.com. + Another blow for conventional wisdom. There are not more college-aged black men in prison than in colleges. In fact, the opposite is true, with a 4:1 ratio in favor of college. HT: Rudy + Scot McKnight a/k/a Jesus Creed reviews Brian McLaren's latest, Everything Must Change
while also examining the ex-gay? phenomenon.
Topics: adopt-a-school, books, poverty, race, random | No Comments »
Comments are closed.