Guatemala | Tim Høiland

13Apr/12Off

Repaso: The reawakening of Bob Dylan; politics of evangelicalism; common good & virtue; religion & race; IMF in 33 A.D.

1. The reawakening of Bob Dylan
Stephen Deusner writes for American Songwriter about Bob Dylan’s “reawakening”:

What Dylan has experienced, then, is not exactly a comeback, but something more akin to Johnny Cash’s nearly simultaneous resurgence: it’s a reawakening, a redefinition of how a legendary figure can age and grow and become more human without sacrificing quality or mystery. How has Dylan been able to reach this comfortable point in his career, when he remains relevant enough to play with younger bands at the Grammys and feisty enough to leave them in his wake?

2. The politics of evangelicalism
Chris Seiple, president of the Institute for Global Engagement, has a piece in Foreign Affairs in response to an earlier article titled “God and Caesar in America,” in which the authors suggest that mixing religion and politics is unavoidably bad for both. Seiple disagrees, writing,

At any rate, contrary to what Putnam and Campbell claim, it has been my experience that Americans want faith-formed values to play a role in discussions about domestic and foreign policies. And they want a leader with a strong sense of faith and convicted humility. They do not want, as Putnam and Campbell themselves confirm, to adhere to religious ideologies with political checklists about how to think, act, and vote. Toward this end, the United States needs to reclaim and strengthen that safe space in which those of opposite, but not necessarily opposing, theological and political views can work together. Americans are a faithful and respectful people. Our capacity to listen to each other's narratives and cooperate without rancor is what made us great. More than ever, such capacity is the key to future greatness in a globalized world.

3. Common good, sphere sovereignty and virtue
Clay Cooke, a PhD candidate in ethics at Fuller Seminary, writes for Capital Commentary that for those who pursue public justice, the cultivation of virtue is essential:

If we take the symphony as a metaphor for our public lives, and the musically trained individual as a metaphor for the cruci-formed Christian, then it becomes evident why cruciformity is indispensable for seeking justice. For although we inhabit the same world as everyone else, when we imitate Christ our inhabitation of the world becomes exceedingly different. We see political hot topics such as tax rates, immigration, and educational reform not through the polarized lens of conservative or liberal ideologies, but through the lens of creating space for others in the pursuit of public justice. Thus, the point of moral formation in the Way of the Cross is ultimately about creating this space for others. It is about counter-formation away from the dominant ideologies that surround us, and formation toward the cruciform restoration of creation. As we imagine what this restoration might look like as we go about each day, we can remember Micah’s call to action—do justice and love mercy.

4. Race and the Christian
If you missed the recent livestream of the discussion on Christianity and race featuring John Piper, Tim Keller and Anthony Bradley, the video of each of the three presentations and another with the Q&A that followed has been posted at Desiring God. It’s an important conversation.

5. Comparing possibilities for change in Guatemala and Honduras
Duncan Green, head of research for Oxfam GB, recently traveled in Central America, and compares the prospects for positive change in neighboring Guatemala and Honduras on his From Poverty to Power blog, including what’s better in Guatemala, what’s worse, and what’s similar. Here’s some of the (comparatively) good news from Guatemala:

Compared to Honduras, the legal and institutional panorama feels much more promising – the Peace Accords of 1996 that brought an end to Guatemala’s bloody civil war have left a legacy of institutions such as local ‘development committees’ bringing together civil society and local government, with some access to (or at least influence over) spending decisions.

6. The IMF’s mission to Judea
NYU development economist Bill Easterly often pokes fun at the World Bank, IMF and others, as he does here, imagining what an IMF report would look like around Easter, two thousand years ago:

Repaso is intended as a thought-provoking compilation of news and commentary from the past week related to the intersections of faith, development, justice and peace. As always, I welcome your thoughts on any of the links and ideas in this roundup!

[Photo credit: americansongwriter.com]

3Apr/12Off

Four years in the life of NPR’s Latin America correspondent

There are a handful of podcasts I listen to, though one of my very favorites isn’t even a podcast per se. Rather, NPR allows you to subscribe to Latin America news stories -- three to five minutes each, more or less -- and then listen to them without interruption. Because I don’t listen to them every day or even every week, they tend to add up, so sometimes while cleaning up the kitchen or doing something else around the apartment I’ll just listen to a string of them. Last year in Pennsylvania, when Katie and I lived 45 minutes apart, I’d often listen to these snippets on the drive back and forth between Reading and Lancaster.

And invariably I’d wonder what the life of an NPR Latin America correspondent must be like.

Then I came across Gerry Hadden’s Never The Hope Itself: Love and Ghosts in Latin America and Haiti (Harper), and I got my answer. Though he’s since moved to Europe and has switched over to PRI , Hadden was based in Mexico City from 2000 to 2004, covering stories for NPR in Mexico, Haiti and Central America.

First off, Hadden’s a great writer, so even if you’re not up on all the ins and outs of Latin American politics, economics and social issues, it’s lively and fast-paced and reads like a novel. Except, of course, unlike a novel it’s true. Well, most of it is anyway.

The “love” and “ghosts” in the subtitle refer to his personal life during that chapter of his life. There’s a love story woven throughout, and the house where Hadden lives -- which doubles as NPR’s Mexico City bureau -- is also apparently haunted by ghosts. These storylines add personal, humorous and at times downright odd aspects to the book, but that’s part of what keeps it so interesting and enjoyable.

The story begins when Hadden, who had been all set to go off and become a Buddhist monk, received a call from NPR and accepted this dream job. He arrived in Latin America the year before 9/11, and the story of how that fateful September day changed the course of events south of the border is fascinating in its own right, as it’s a story that has too seldom been told.

From covering Haiti’s tumultuous presidential elections, to interviewing some of the few coffee farmers who remain in El Salvador, to following others north, into Guatemala, through Mexico and on up across the Rio Grande, we learn that the life of an NPR correspondent is at times precarious, and certainly not nearly as glamorous as one might think while listening to the radio in the kitchen or on the freeway. But for Hadden, for a time at least, it was a dream job. And with this book, we’re given some great stories, as well as some difficult, frustrating, saddening ones. And, of course, we have the ghosts.

[Photo credit: Allianz.com]

Tagged as: el salvador, Gerry Hadden, ghosts, Guatemala, Haiti, Latin America, love, Mexico, Never The Hope Itself, NPR, PRI, public radio No Comments

29Mar/12Off

A video update from La Limonada, Guatemala

You may remember that for our wedding, Katie and I helped raise some money for the work of Lemonade International in La Limonada, a large slum community in Guatemala City, not far from where I was born. I think we've personally thanked each of you who contributed, but once again we want to thank you for pitching in. Together we exceeded our $1,000 goal and actually raised $1,090 for Lemonade's work.

Katie and I plan to stay connected to this organization for a long time because we're so excited about the work they're doing.

Bill Cummings, Lemonade's fearless leader based in North Carolina, and Tita Evertsz, A Guatemalan woman whose ministry in La Limonada began long before Lemonade International was incorporated, spoke via Skype to give the rest of us a glimpse into the crossroads the organization currently faces and what it might mean for the children in the community they serve.

I appreciate their sincerity, their transparency, and their commitment to serving the people of La Limonada with open hands. I hope you'll consider walking with them however you can.