Counterevidence to my theory that people basically stink -- Part 1 of a continuing series (hopefully)

In Garrison Keillor's dichotomy of the world into "Dark Lutherans" and "Light Lutherans," I am decidedly in the "Dark Lutheran" corner. My basic position is that people suck. We're selfish and nasty and mean, and when we occasionally do good things, that can usually be explained by the fact that we like to feel good about ourselves, not that we're actually good.

Nonetheless, I do like to find the rare example of ideas or people that make me the world better. Here are 4:

1) Rifle Falls State Park has 7 "walk-in campsites." They are all within a half-mile of the parking lot, so it's not a major backpacking expeditition. Nonetheless, it could be a challenge for a normal car-camper to lug her stuff from the car to a site. Lo and behold, somebody (presumably the Parks department, but maybe a Good Samaritan) has placed a garden cart at the trail entrance. What's amazing to me is that the cart seems to be well used -- which means it has been there for a while without being defaced or stolen. Hooray.

2) Salt Lake City has giant city blocks; I'm not sure, maybe it's a Mormon thing -- like the street naming conventions. At any rate, some crosswalks are in the middle of blocks, and there are no stoplights to provide cover for pedestrians. Someone had the good sense to place crossing-guard style flags at these crosswalks so that a pedestrian can at least make it obvious to drivers that she is there. Once again, the idea is great, but the fact that no one has stolen or defaced all the flags is also a minor miracle.

3) There's a restaurant in Salt Lake City called One World Everybody Eats http://www.oneworldeverybodyeats.com/ It's organic, local (when possible), and there are no set prices -- you pay what you think the meal is worth. Furthermore, they provide a daily staple -- when we visited it was rice and beans -- for which they expect no payment, so, truly, everybody can eat. If you want a full meal and have no scratch, an hour's worth of work gets you a plate. The food also happens to be quite tasty.

4) Workshop Houston http://www.workshophouston.org/ is a favorite nonprofit from our Lone Star days. We were first acquainted with their bike shop where anybody can come and use their array of specialty tools and get expert help on repair and maintenance -- for free. Better still, any kid or adult that doesn't have a bike can build their own (using donated components) after first repairing a donated bike for a nonprofit. The bike shop was cool enough but they've also expanded to include instruction in welding, fashion design, music production, and academics.

The thing that strikes me about all of these things is how replicable they could be. If we horded less and shared more, we would all be so much richer. But the instinct to own and control is strong; that's why these examples are all the exception rather than the rule. (Travis)

The Essence of Faith?

If you have a discussion about climate change among folks that believe there might be a problem (you know, like scientists or people that trust scientists) the conversation almost always turns to a variation of the tragedy of the commons. What's the point of the U.S. enacting policies to slow emissions if every cut we could possibly make would be more than offset by China, India, or some other country that had the bad fortune to develop AFTER we started to understand the impacts of burning fossil fuels?

At a personal level, the problem is the same. I know plenty of people (for instance, me) who intellectually understand that meat is an ecological and moral disaster -- turning grain into meat is biologically inefficient and it raises the price of grain for people who need rice, corn, and wheat to survive. But most of us go on our merry way eating Big Macs and ballpark brats or organic buffalo and wild salmon. The simple fact is that if I stop eating meat entirely or if I consume beef three times a day, it won't tip the scales in determining whether there are food riots in Haiti.

In discussing this with Elaine, she pointed out that doing the right thing, even if it won't matter and nobody notices, is at the heart of Christian faith (and ethical living in general). As is so often the case, she's right. If we lived our lives as if God (or our grandmother) were watching us, encouraging us to be our best, to think about the consequences of our actions, and to act out our convictions, we still might not save the planet, but we would nourish our souls.

Selfishness and distraction prevent us from recognizing opportunities to do the right thing, much less actually following through, but I have to believe that unseen kindness and personal sacrifice matter. I have to believe that.

You Know It's Flag Day When ...

So a few days before Memorial Day, a small hole appeared in our yard, which I thought was odd. Early that Saturday morning a large flag was placed in the hole; riddle solved. Same deal on Flag Day. I guess it's a City of Golden thing, since the flags fly up and down our street. Or maybe it's the flag fairies, as we've never actually seen anyone place or remove the flags.

On the subject of flags, Colorado's got a good one (though the Texas state flag might be the best in the Union). (Travis)

Picture of the Day ... Spring at Mt. Galbraith Open Space Park

Barack Obama

I am really surprised that Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee.

My favorite candidates usually get knocked out in the primaries -- Skinny Al Gore in 1988, Paul Tsongas in 1992, Bradley and Original McCain in 2000, Dean in 2004. (I did have the privilege of voting for Dole in 1996, but he ended up hocking viagra instead of being President.) So I'm thrilled that I'll get the opportunity to follow the Obama campaign over the summer and vote for him in the Fall.

Here are some things I like about Obama:

He seems comfortable in his own skin. He has a self-confidence that will allow him to seek input when he needs it and make hard decisions when necessary.

He's a fantastic orator. The U.S. is going to be up against some difficult issues in the next 4 years (climate change, peak oil, challenges to American hegemony); we're going to need a calm voice to soothe our fears and inspirational words to guide us towards action.

He's young and hip. McCain's so old he might break a hip.

He has experiences that broaden his world view. He's lived in Indonesia and visited relatives in Africa. These are profound, personal experiences that will allow him to take the widest possible view when evaluating the ramifications of U.S. policies.

I'm sure the guy has a lot of faults too. You have to be a bit ruthless and have an enormous ego to rise so far, so fast. His association with Reverend Wright does not bother me (I'm just glad Obama loves Jesus) -- the chuminess with Rezko and his vote for the farm bill are more troubling.

I have no idea what will happen in November. I fear that in the privacy of the voting booth a lot of white folks are going to have a hard time pulling the lever for a dark skinned-basketball playing-Harvard educated-erudite speaking- gutter-ball throwing Chicagoan. But then again, I didn't think he'd make it this far.

Gobama.

Early Impressions of Colorado (especially Golden)

The natural beauty is astonishing.

The state squirrel of Colorado is the rabbit; there are bunnies everywhere.

Some stereotypes hold quite a bit of truth. The people who live out here (the West) are friendly, but really independent. Sure, there's beer-league softball and community groups, but a very large percentage of recreational activity is of an individual nature -- skiing, cycling, climbing, kayaking, fishing. It makes me particularly wistful for the groups I have enjoyed being a part of (church groups and frisbee teams in Austin and Houston, in particular). I guess when you live in a place this majestic, a lot of folks make friends with nature.

The Denver Art Museum (free on the first Saturday of the month) is great. It's huge, non-pretentious, and there are lots of comfortable places to sit.

In a hotel lobby in Colorado Springs I heard a guy refer to James Dobson's "Focus on the Family," simply as "Focus," like it was so ingrained in society that you could shorten the name and still expect everyone to know what you were talking about. That little bit of eavesdropping made me happy that we live in Golden instead of Colorado Springs.