Common Good Collective

Imagination: The Prophetic Act of Living an Alternative Narrative, Reader, Structure Of Belonging Permalink

The Journalist and the Movement

Journalism is a powerful tool in the American Experiment. When used for ill, there are catastrophic consequences. Yet, many times, our fiercest liberators reside in the newsroom. Louis Lomax is one such man that writer Thomas Aiello has brought out of obscurity to shed light on the trials and tribulations of those who wielded the power of the pen for the common good.

The Journalist and the Movement: On The Life and Times of Louis Lomax
By Elias Rodriques

There was a time when journalists played some of the most consequential supporting roles in histories of the Civil Rights Movement. Consider the often-told story of the Voting Rights Act: On March 7, 1965, six hundred protesters demonstrated for the right to vote in Selma, Alabama. Local and state police assaulted them. Journalists photographed and videotaped the cops’ attacks, broadcasting their brutality to the nation. After seeing the footage, then President Lyndon B. Johnson convened a special session of Congress to urge the representatives to pass the Voting Rights Act, which they did that summer. In this canonical narrative, the protestors may be the protagonist, but journalists play a pivotal role. Their heroic documenting, the story goes, made possible the federal government’s intervention in defending the right to vote.

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Covenant: Moving from Contract to Commitment, Imagination: The Prophetic Act of Living an Alternative Narrative, Reader, Structure Of Belonging Permalink

Constitution of Compromise

As we explore the work of liberation in American and throughout the world, it is only right that we start with one of the earliest American liberators: President Abraham Lincoln. In this thoughtful post, friend and theologian Walter Brueggemann looks to the accomplishments of Lincoln to illuminate Psalm 72:1-4 and 12-14 and this important question: what is the role of the government?

The Role of Government
By Walter Brueggemann

Give the king our justice, O God,
and righteousness to a king’s son.
May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.
May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor…
For he delivers the needy when they call,
the poor and those who have no helper.
He has pity on the weak and needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
From oppression and violence he redeems their life;
and precious is their blood in his sight (Psalm 72:1-4, 12-14).

If you, dear reader, skipped over the biblical text cited above in order to get to this exposition, please go back and pay close attention to those verses. These remarkable verses are a part of a Psalm that was likely read (or performed) at high occasions of royal liturgy. It is an articulation of the deepest claims of neighborly covenant to which the king (the government!) was answerable. If we notice the other verses of this Psalm, it becomes clear that the prosperity, abundance, and wellbeing of the regime depended upon attentiveness to the most vulnerable neighbors. This claim intends to contradict any illusion the king might entertain that his prosperity and wellbeing depended otherwise upon the amassing of wealth, power, arms, or wisdom.

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Reader, Significance Of Place, Structure Of Belonging Permalink

Housing — Home and Exile

This week, we hear from an introvert who finds support and happiness through multi-generational living. We hear a song from a property manager who awaken to the cruelty of his industry. And we hear from many poets about the experience of homesickness, isolation, exile, and the words that bring them closer to home. We hope these pieces do the same for you.

By Devin Bustin

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Poetry for Building Community, Reader, Structure Of Belonging Permalink

Welcome

When the Reader highlighted “Madam and the Rent Man” by Langston Hughes, Common Good contributor Devin Bustin was compelled to write a song from the perspective a rent man, a worker who catches a glimpse of the system that pays him. A flash of empathy leaves him asking what he can repair, what human debt he owes as a kind of debt collector. Hear the demo here.

Click the image to hear the “Welcome (Demo)” on Devin’s Soundcloud!

Welcome (Demo)
by Devin Bustin

The mat said, Welcome
without discretion
to me, the rent man at the door

My note said, Notice
in bold italics
I halfway hid it ‘neath the rug

Because I just worked there
Don’t shoot the messenger

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Reader Permalink

Multigenerational Living is Human Culture

When North America began its experiment with suburban living, we lost touch with who we were as interdependent human beings. The structure of the suburbs divided us in so many ways, including old from young and very young.

If our country returns to multigenerational living like the rest of the world and human history, we can leave our cult of independence. We can return to the togetherness and support that everyone needs, even those have become numb to it. Shina Shayesteh tells her found-family’s story.

Multigenerational Living Isn’t Immigrant Culture, It’s Human Culture
By Shina Shayesteh

When I was learning Russian, I had a professor who once asked us to relate a time (in Russian, of course) when we took a vacation with just our dads. A weird prompt, right? I certainly thought so. At least, until my other classmates started telling stories about going on fishing trips and whatnot with their fathers, and I was left wondering if I was the crazy one.

When it was my turn, I ended up blurting out (with a measure of panic, as this professor was, frankly, a real hardass sometimes), “I don’t know. I’ve never taken a trip with just my dad; my family’s always together.”

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