how far I've come

Greetings from the whirlwind we call General Assembly! I'd hoped to update more during the week, but I have kept incredibly busy as a Presbyterian Peace Fellowship intern. Also I fell ill with a viral throat infection, so the vast majority of my free time is spent unconscious, drinking tea, or... no. I haven't had free time yet. But I have been loving this (minus the abscesses on my throat).

First, let me say, I adore PPF and feel so honored and excited to be one of their interns. This is a group of wonderful people who are open minded and ready to be challenged, responding with grace (no seriously, read that link, that letter and the press conference we put together in under 3 hours to support it were really amazing). An organization started to support conscientious objectors in WWII, PPF is celebrating 70 years of peacemaking through justice of all kinds-- social, food, environmental... we have talked about drones, about BDS (boycotting, divestment and sanctions), about gender and marriage equality, about fossil fuels...

I am loving this.

I have probably a hundred thousand million billion more things to say, but I wanted to talk about two horrible ironies in my life this week: the oil slick experience I had a few weeks ago, and the laptop on which I am writing this.

I testified before Committee 15 regarding fossil fuel divestment, in partnership with PPF as well as Fossil Free PC(USA), Presbyterians for Earth Care, the Covenant Network, and other great people and groups. We heard many, many testimonies in favor of divestment, mostly focused on climate change. I talked about the irony of swimming through oil while planting bullrushes to restore the banks of a river badly eroded by the oil industry. Investing in fossil fuels undermines this work I've been doing, that the church has told me is important. Supporting environmental damages is inconsistent with preaching that the earth is precious and worth caring for.
 
Another big topic PPF is focusing on this General Assembly, is that of divesting from three companies that have supported Israeli occupation of Palestinian places, bulldozing homes and trees. Those companies are Caterpiller, Motorola, and... HP. Hewlitt Packard.

I am writing this from an HP laptop.

I bought it six years ago when I started teaching at Rutgers, because moving a desktop around might have become a bit tedious. It was a good price, had a reputation for being a good machine, and plus I really liked the commercials that were on at the time:



I am learning a great deal about Middle East issues this week, not just through the eyes of the Peace Fellowship, but many other organizations and individuals weighing in.We're mostly discussing Israel/Palestine, an issue that the great Desmond Tutu has spoken about. Wearing a PPF shirt and carrying an HP computer felt a little ironic and inconsistent.

I'm human. I'm not perfect, even at the stuff I believe in. I am passionate about conservation, but I still drive a car all over the place. I lose my patience and speak violently even though I believe in peace. I'm not perfect, because I'm human, but I'm trying. I'm learning. I'm doing my best to share what I learn in productive, peaceful ways.

So, is it a little strange to serve PPF and use an HP? Yes. But I can't know everything. So maybe the HP isn't so awful, but is a sign of how far I've come. When I do learn things, I will do my best to live it out-- I'm learning a lot this year about voting with my dollars (and/or future computer choices). In the meantime, the environmentalist in me will use this laptop until it is dead, and as an associate of the Peace Fellowship I will keep my mind and heart open. I think that's ok.