Faithful Philly Forum

It was reported today that the Sunni residents in Azamiyah are resisting US efforts to build a 12 foot concrete wall around them to keep them safe from Shiite militants. (They are calling it “a big prison.”) Such a “defense” strategy echos the Bush regime’s plan for 400 miles of fence along the US/Mexico border to prevent “contamination” by job-seeking immigrants. And of course, it reflects the current concrete wall built through the heart of Jerusalem by Israel to “protect” the Jews from Palestinian terrorists. 

After the massacre last week in Blacksburg VA or in South Philly over the weekend(11 deaths this week), I suppose it is tempting to think about building walls to provide personal safety. In fact, I remember several years ago there was a suggestion to put a wall around UPenn to keep out the “bad elements” in West Philadelphia. Does anyone remember the Berlin Wall and how elated we were when it fell? Is there ever a success story in building walls? Where are the bridgebuilders when we need them?

Lets not forget, in the wake of the events in Blacksburg, pray for the shooter. Work through the God in you to see the God in him. A lesson we might learn could be in that act. After all the Nancy Grace and Paula Zahn and Wolf BLitzer (yes, I looked too)–Pray for Cho and his family.

I just discovered that both Newsweek and Time have put out different cover stories (that are lighter and more frivolous) for the US reading public than for everybody else in the entire world. While others are reading about the the jihadists in Afghanistan we are reading about Annie Leibovitz (Newsweek). And while the rest of the world reads about Talibanistan we in the US are treated to a cover story of thepros and cons of teaching the Bible in the classroom (Time). What’s wrong with this picture? Is it that we as citizens are naturally not globally interested or resist such difficult and unpleasant information? Or, is that there is a need to keep us unaware of what the rest of the world can easily observe about our foreign policies? As people of faith, how can we be as wise as serpents in staying aware of and critiquing the ways of the world if there is a concerted effort to keep us, not only harmless as doves, but as blind as bats!

One of the bright lights of social science in the past half century is also one of the most criticized. Phil Zimbardo conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment, where mentally and physically healthy college student were randomized to be guards or prisoners. Its common material in the ‘research ethics’ unit for Psych 101 or masters level research methods courses. I think he is a bright light because he has learned from his most notorious work what the rest of us need to learn–that we are inextricably shaped by our surroundings, and that while we are accountable for our individual behavior, that leaders are also to be held accountable for the environment in which individuals make behavior choices. Continue Reading »