Things are getting worse…

Addendum to CCTV post…yesterday on my way to work I spotted an article that just made me shake my head at the police state we’re living in. As you can see from the photo, the police are turning to the military now for ideas. It isn’t enough to just mount cameras on poles everywhere, now they can watch us from the SKY!! At least the “cyber cop” in the photo looks really funny.

Heroes

There are people in my life whom I deeply admire, and who serve as heroes for me as I strive to follow their footsteps. Generally, my heroes are people who believe, intelligently and passionately, in something greater than themselves and dedicate themselves to living out those beliefs. Last week, I heard some good news about two of my heroes: my cousin Perry and Sister Dorothy.

Perry is the oldest child of my mom’s sister, and a lawyer in Oklahoma, who strongly believes that the death penalty is wrong. Regardless of your personal beliefs about the death penalty, there is no question that it is often unfairly and wrongly applied, and that there are a number of innocent people on death row. Although Perry could be a financially successful lawyer of another type, he has dedicated himself to defending people on death row, and working to get them off (surely not a popular job in Oklahoma), first as a lawyer for the Oklahoma Indigent Defense Service, the last line of appeals, and now as a partner in a law firm. Last week, he successfully got a client who had been in jail for 22 years released! Congratulations, Perry!

The same day I heard news about Sister Dorothy Stang, a dear friend of my family’s, a nun from Dayton, OH who loved the people of Brazil and lived as a missionary there for decades. She particularly worked to defend the rights of native farmers against ranchers who were determined to steal their land. After receiving a number of death threats, she was murdered in February 2005 by gunmen who were hired by the ranchers. The gunmen were easily convicted, but it was questionable if a guilty verdict could be found against the ranchers, who have a large amount of money and influence. Amazingly, in a landmark decision, one of the ranchers was found guilty last week! It is so unfortunate to me to be writing mainly about her death, because she had a joyful spirit, love for life, and a profound influence on everyone she met. However, I am sure she is rejoicing at the way justice is working, in both of these cases.

All of this makes me feel inspired and challenged to again look at the way I’m living my life, and how I could be more selflessly giving myself to what I believe in.

It also makes me curious: who are your heroes?

- Lauren

LaserFutureTechnoGeorge

Here’s a story: April 23^rd was a fine, sunny day here in England, and we decided to venture out into the bustling streets of Birmingham to join in the nation pastime: shopping. However, we soon learned it was St. George’s Day, the national holiday of England, and we should be celebrating, not shopping! We headed to Victoria Square in the center of town to see what the English do to celebrate their national holiday. In America we have our wonderfully standard traditions of hanging flags, having parades, and shooting fireworks. We expected to learn something of the English traditions now too!

Well…if you could create the ultimate metaphor for the cultural identity confusion and generational schism in England today, St. Georges day might be it. We saw some sweet old ladies all dressed up in their England hats:

…but then turned the corner to hear loud, pulsing techno music and this going on!!

It was the most bizarre fashion show ever (and they’re pretty weird events to begin with). Some people were laughing and taking pictures, some people just stopped to watch curious for a minute, and the old people sat and muttered. What sort of holiday is this?

We thought the show was a riot, and just kept saying “this has GOT to go on the blog” as wave after wave of bizarrely-clad ladies of the future came out on stage. Not the sort of think to make your average bloke go home proud to be an Englishman, but highly entertaining. England may be culturally confused, but it sure is entertaining.