A day of ... rest

So I got up and went to church. This is my spiritual discipline. Getting up, on a day off, and going to church. If I can calm my mind, and if I can transcend, then the time has been well-spent. Today was a partial success. First, at AMC, I listened to the presentation by Esther Epp-Thiessen of MCC Canada, re their new initiative to raise awareness about the damage Canadian mining companies do in Latin American countries like Guatemala and Honduras.

There was no surprise reveal here. If you've been to a mine, of whatever sort, you know they are pernicious, Orcian, things run by the Saruman's of this Earth. Whether you're digging 300 metres deep in an open pit mine, and then spraying the ore with a cyanide-solution, in the open-air mind you, to leach out the gold, or whether you're tunnelling in for kilometres and then sending in the men, like drones after the queen's booty, you don't have to think too hard to see the parallels to rape. It is forced entry for personal profit, plain and simple. There's no gentle way to put it. And the lubricant is money (in addition to the perfectly good water they use up and ruin in the process). And the money comes from you and me, when we buy the stuff that these minerals make possible.

Here's the really disappointing part of the presentation. I asked Esther whether MCC could compile a list of the metals and minerals being mined, and say how each would be used - in electronics? in cars? what? Then I asked if MCC could identify the mining companies that follow the (optional) ethical guidelines provided by the Canadian government (of course the boys and girls in Ottawa wouldn't want to unnecessarily impede our digger entrepreneurs) and those that don't. Further, if we could get a list of the products that contain metals obtained in pernicious ways, we could become better informed consumers. She seemed to indicate that she was not sure whether she or MCC could meet this request.

This leaves me to wonder what good an organization like MCC can do for us in North America, trying to live more ethically. If you've ever tried to find information about where the materials in your harddrive or your Birkenstocks actually come from, it's virtually impossible. So it's my sense that a well-intentioned, tenacious group like MCC might be able to spend some time and energy, using money I've donated, to find answers to some of these practical questions. With a little bit of good information (which is hard to find, even with the internetsss) a consumer can make better decisions, and with better decisions might come a modicum of influence, and some change. If I know there's coltan that's mined in the DRC (and that this mining causes conflict and strengthens warlords) in my Lenovo laptop, maybe next time I'll look for a brand that is more careful about where it gets the metals and materials it gets to build the widget I think I need to buy.

I'm frustrated when organizations like MCC tell me to care (and to pray, always to pray) but they don't tell me how to care. I care for my family in a thousand practical ways. I care when I do my job, by doing real things (more than just showing up for work). For me to truly care about unethical and destructive mining practice in Latin America, I need some guidance and advice as to what to do - and don't tell me to write a letter to my MP, because I thought we anabaptists decided a long time ago that that's lame and actually indirectly supports the system that's sucking the spiritual life out of us anyway. All I want from an organization like MCC, in exchange for the money I donate to help them do what I can't do, is some specific advice as to what I CAN DO HERE. Give me something, please! Tell me what not to buy. Tell me to use less. Whatever. But don't tell me to care without telling me how.

On the up side, the baptism service I attended at ABC, made me feel good. I met some good people and supported Renae in this important step. Woot! (as they say)