Virginity Pledges Don't Work Either

Another study shows that the best thing we can do for our kids is provide comprehensive sex education:

According to a study released earlier today, teenagers who have taken a "virginity pledge" are still just as likely to engage in premarital sex than those who have not pledged their abstinence. But worse than that, the study found that those same abstinence-swearing teenagers are far less likely to use a form of birth control - condoms, etc - when they do become sexually active.

As I have opined in the past, attempts to achieve a certain outcome through misinformation, censorship of information, or pressure from authority figures simply does not work. We need to be honest and open with our youth, give them the information they need about sexuality, and most importantly, teach them the values of respect for the earth and its creatures, for other human beings, and themselves. If they learn this ethic, things will be okay for them (even if the actual behavior differs from what was desired).

Pixar, Dreamworks, and the Spiritual Evolution of Humankind

My wife and I have been to a number of animated movies from Pixar and Dreamworks lately: WALL-E, Bolt, and The Tale of Despereaux. We really enjoy movies from these studios--partly because they're wholesome and fun, but mostly because they reflect some positive spiritual progress that we're beginning to see in humankind, especially among the younger generations.

The Tale of Despereaux is an especially striking example. Never in the past would such a non-conformist "child" have been praised so highly in a children's movie. Yes, there have been non-conformist children in children's cinema for a few decades, but they're typically presented in a slapstick comedy style, which blunts any sense that a young viewer might want to emulate them.

Desperaux is a mouse who defies his cultural convention of living in fear to bring salvation to a community. Even at the human level, this community had reverted to living in fear due to a tragic event, and the result had been no sunshine, no rain, and general despair in the kingdom. (I think the story's creators aere right on target, by the way, when they attributed changes in weather, the success of crops, etc., to the spiritual condition of the community.) The change agent turned out to be a mouse who was shunned by his community because he had courage.

Of course, an easy parallel can be drawn to the outgoing Bush administration. Ever since the tragic events of 9/11, the administration's only tool for achieving critical mass for its policies has been to stoke fear, and fear of terrorism has been its excuse for maintaining its fascist policies even after that critical mass evaporated. The McCain campaign made a long list of political mistakes in a year that was already bad for Republicans, but arguably its worst mistake was its "fear and smear" campaign tactics, which began early and intensified as the campaign got desperate.

A look at the election results shows that McCain won the "fear" vote by a landslide, but that the percentage of the electorate who voted out of fear declined tremendously. People began to realize that, as in Despereaux's community, living in fear has produced dreadful results--less freedom, less prosperity, a less fulfilling society--and a more dangerous world, despite claims to the contrary. People began to seek out hope over fear.

Our younger generation is leading the charge in this regard. Despereaux is an excellent rendition of what aura readers are calling "indigo children," and sociologists are using the term
"Millennial Generation" to describe the generational group that most of the indigos belong to. A large body of data--from the woo-woo community and the scientific community alike--indicates that the next few years will be very difficult and that this generation will make a significant contribution to leading us on a path to recovery. That path will be environmentally sustainable, more oriented to peace than to war, and geared toward local communities over globalization.

My wife has been reading a study on spiritual messages in cinema, and it's very revealing. I do believe that global consciousness is on the rise, and creative types are catching the wave and putting out some very good cinema. I'm glad to see that "children's movies" are included in this trend, and indeed are leading the charge in some ways. That's the generation that will most benefit from an "expanded spiritual toolbox."

And this is a whole 'nother post, but there are a number of very interesting parallels between WALL-E and City of Ember.

Happy Holidays

Happy holidays. In corporate America, that's the proper way to convey wishes for peace and joy at this time of the year. And it's appropriate in our global and pluralistic society. At work, I have a team member who has already celebrated her "holiday season" with observance of Ramadān and Eid ul-Fitr. I work daily with people who emphasize Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Pancha Ganapati, or Chinese New Year above Christmas.

For many others in Western countries, December 25 is, for cultural reasons, the default date for a secular observance of giving and family togetherness--and "Christmas" is the default name even though the individuals involved might not be practicing Christians. This is actually quite appropriate in a way, since Christmas began as a Christian alternative to a cultural festival occurring on the same date.

To me, spiritual diversity is a beautiful thing. Back in the Bible Belt, family members who tell me about a person I'm not acquainted with there will inevitably describe him/her as a "good Christian man" or "good Christian woman." For them, someone's identity as a member of a religious grouping or faction is the most important thing to know about that person.

For me, the spiritual and energetic qualities of a person have little to do with religious identity. Even though I am a Christian, I would not want my workplace to be exclusively Christian. I have known enough Christians who are incompetent, passive aggressive, needy, or judgmental that the odds are that my work life would be less pleasant if my colleagues were replaced by a subset of Christians. And I wouldn't want to work in an all-Muslim or all-Hindu or all-New Age workplace either--for the same reasons. Diversity is the best answer.

Maybe we can find a better way to express heartfelt, spiritual wishes to a fellow traveler than "happy holidays." My hope is that through a spiritual renaissance, spiritual people will honor one another without competition, without prejudice, without proselytism.

Rick Warren at the Inauguration

Progressives have raised a bit of ire about Obama's cabinet, but their real fury has been leveled at the person who will lead a 5-minute prayer at the inauguration. Chuck Currie, a spiritual progressive in Portland, was quoted nationally when he wrote a blog post about this, so I decided to respond with my point of view. Due to technical difficulties, I thought my first version of the post was lost in cyberspace, so I re-wrote it, and did a better job the second time. When I pressed "Submit" on the second post, the first one appeared on Chuck's blog. Oh, well. Below is the second version of what I wrote to Chuck:

Chuck,

First of all, I must be significantly more liberal than you if you think that Obama campaigned on a "progressive agenda." His healthcare plan is not single-payer but instead maintains large profits for insurance companies; he opposes gay marriage; he supports corporate personhood; he supports certain kinds of warfare and continued huge military spending; his tax increases on the wealthy are very small and now will likely be delayed; he supports so-called "clean coal"; he does not oppose capital punishment; etc. At best, his policy positions can be described as moderate.

Having said that, I was an enthusiastic Obama supporter because I believe that he has the rare personality and presence that will bring our nation together and move it in the direction of effective, compassionate, and yes, progressive government and society. His progressive Christian faith is a big part of who he is in this regard. I have never given money to a political cause before, but contributed significantly both to Obama AND to No on 8.

I have been very happy to watch Obama's cabinet come together--a "cabinet of adults," as one commentator put it. Bush rightly was criticized for surrounding himself with ideologues who were more interested in power and ideology than in competence and the good of the country. I do NOT want a liberal version of the same thing, as such would continue the same negative spiritual energy that has hurt our country so badly over the last eight years. Obama has signaled that he will be in charge, and his will not be a conservative administration even though there are some conservatives in the cabinet.

He's doing similar things with the religious ceremonies at the inauguration. He's reaching out to evangelicals AND spiritual progressives with his two selections. Warren has certain objectionable political views, but does not insist that others agree with them and, in fact, goes out of his way to give progressives an occasional voice in his church. I would not want him to "preach" at the inauguration, but having him deliver a prayer is a powerful way of saying to evangelicals, "I am not going to marginalize you and oppress you," as Bush did with spiritual progressives. It says nothing about the policies he will promote, but it says something about the spirit he will exude.

As an exile from an evangelical upbringing (I currently attend a liberal mainline church in Beaverton), I know that many evangelicals are weary of the Republican Party and the religious right's aging leadership. They will support a pro-choice, pro-gay politician if s/he connects with them on other values such as compassion for the
poor. If we're really to have a progressive future in this country, we need to unify the country around the core principles we agree on rather than continuing to polarize and marginalize. This is the real principle that Obama ran on.

It is vitally important that we make a clean break from the past eight years. Secular progressives tend to focus on policy positions, but spiritual progressives should recognize that the main problem during the past eight years has been the spiritual bankruptcy of the Bush administration. The ridiculous policies were just a symptom of this existential paralysis. If we are to really begin to heal and undo the damage, we are going to need to achieve critical mass at a spiritual level. Creating another members-only "club" and marginalizing everyone outside it is not the way to achieve this.

Shalom,
Mark Mullins