Every Wednesday I post a handful of articles, blog posts, videos, columns, books or anything I find interesting and worth your time. Ranging from thought-provoking to funny to ridiculous, most are things I stumbled upon in the past week. Hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading along!
"Short Read" = 10 minutes or less. "Long Read" = 10 Minutes or longer.
#1 - Inside Detroit's Failing Public School - The Atlantic (4:26 Minutes)
There is no shortage of reporting on the current plight of Detroit's financial crisis. This short video briefly details the crisis of the public school system. With dropout rates at twice the national average and a district more than 3.5 billion in debt, crisis seems too soft a description.
#2 - The Urgency of Wisdom - Walter Brueggeman - sojo.net (Long Read)
"Wisdom is not a moral code," writes Brueggeman, "but a force that is creative and willing creation to its true fulfillment. 'Being wise' is bringing one's life, conduct, and policy into coherence with that generative resolve for shalom." After elaborating on the working of wisdom and the devastation of foolishness, Brueggemann argues the present political season, "in many ways [is] an exhibit of foolishness that mocks wisdom."
#3 - Why is the Catholic Church Moving Away from Just War Theory? - Terrence Ryne - ncronline.org (Long Read)
Briefly detailing the Catholic Church's move away from Just War Theory toward Peacemaking, Terrence Ryne writes, "It is a positive vision of peace, not just the absence of war. It is a call to do as Jesus did - work to relieve peoples' suffering, and remove underlying causes of violence and war. And, most importantly, introduce the power of nonviolent action to the world." Ryne calls the church to a revived understanding of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount as the Church's central guiding ethic. In a world filled with weapons of mass destruction, it is time for the church to innovate in the waging of peace through embracing a thicker ethic of Jesus' teachings.
#4 - We Need to Talk About an Injustice - Bryan Stevenson - Ted Talk (23 Minutes)
Lawyer, activist, and founder of Equal Justice Initiative, Bryan Stevenson has a vision for ending racial injustices within our penal systems; focusing on issues ranging from death penalty, race and poverty, prisons and sentencing reform, and children in adult prisons. In this Ted Talk from 2012, Stevenson highlights his passion for justice in broken places and speaks of the power of identity.
#5 - Up & Up - Coldplay (Music Video - 4 Minutes)
Coldplay's newest music video for their single "Up & Up," is absolutely stunning. Seriously, it is a visual experience; artistic imagery mixed with imaginative landscapes. Seriously, spend the 4 minutes watching and enjoy!