Two years ago, if someone was to suggest to me that it would be a good idea to suit up in this grim attire and march out in public, I probably would have thought that person was a bit crazy. In fact, I remember the questions that flew through my head when this idea was first brought to me. “What’s the point?” “Will anybody understand?” “Isn’t this a bit over the top?”

A couple of years worth of study later and those questions no longer surface in my mind. Everything becomes much clearer when the invisible suffering of real, innocent families is revealed. As I learned, there is a reason this suffering doesn’t take place in the same broad daylight our taxes are collected. It is instead sequestered away in prisons thousands of miles away from Iowa, far out of sight because it is so blatantly awful. The point then, if I were to address my younger self, is to pull this abominable, systematic horror out of the darkness and into the light. That’s what I also told CNN, who thankfully telecast clips from the morbid vigil all across the US, reminding people that yes, indefinite detention without fair trial is still happening.

Did people understand it? Yes, though probably in varying degrees. The “Shut Down Guantánamo” sign is easy enough to comprehend, but the suspicion cast upon the detainees by the US government was likely responsible for the tidal wave of venom that came pouring out of many people’s mouths. Whether it was 42 people being dragged off to jail by the DC police for unlawful assembly, or simply a handful of people hauling a massive cross down the street in a detainee suit, passersby yelled insults, including “Fuck those sand n*ggers”, and, as one man yelled beside his wife and daughter, “Torture the fuck out of them.” It’s almost as if the thought had never crossed their minds that these people could be quite relatable, and yes, innocent.

Many people are indeed reluctant to question the US military, believing that if these guys are locked up, it must be for a very good reason. I was certainly hesitant to believe otherwise at first. After all, I have friends in the army who have told me themselves about the awful things Al-Qaeda does and as far as I knew, all of those guys in Guantánamo were from Al-Qaeda, ready to slit my throat without a second thought. But “supporting the troops” with a blind patriotism seemed nearly as unwise as killing and torturing on-call for a paycheck regardless of circumstances. Thankfully I realized that nobody has to do either, and it is that bright relief that I now wish to reveal through these seemingly extreme actions.

Organized by Witness Against Torture, around sixty people marched in orange jumpsuits and black hoods from the White House to the Supreme Court, and from there to the Capitol building. Many of us had the names of cleared-for-release prisoners pinned to our backs. Once there, a portion of the group ascended the stairs and dropped banners which read, “Broken Promises, Broken Laws, Broken Lives.” Inside, a group of participants who had arranged a tour stopped in the rotunda to hold a memorial service for Salah Ahmed Al Salami, Mani Shaman Al Utaybi, and Yaser Talal Al Zahrani – three men who were recently revealed by a US marine to have more than likely been murdered, though the United States military originally declared them suicides.

While the people dropped to their knees to pray, the police came and, unfortunately, arrested them. Simultaneously, outside we sang the names of Guantánamo prisoners who have been cleared for release but remain captive. The police arrested 42 of us, and threatened the rest of the singing group before we fell silent. I was not among those arrested, though several friends of mine were. Those arrested gave the names of cleared-for-release detainees instead of their own names, bringing them at last into a United States courtroom. DC prisoners were taken to one of two jails, one of which did not provide good access to water and both of which brought them into court chained hand and foot. After five hours of sitting before a judge, everyone was released and we made the 18-hour trip back to Iowa.

It would all have sounded a bit extreme to my 24-year-old self. But that was before I knew about Binyam Mohammed being deported by the US to Morocco where they cut his penis with a scalpel on a regular basis. It was before I knew about Dilawar, a 22-year-old peanut farmer who was tortured to death over the course of five days in Bagram, leaving his young child fatherless. It was before I knew about Ahmed Errachidi, a London chef who was held in solitary confinement for four of his five years in prison, before being released to his wife and kids who had grown up while he was being broken down.

But now I know, and I have found it is worth every hating remark, and every hour of my time to reveal to other people what I once did not know.

This last week marked the eighth year of the Guantánamo detention center’s existence, a sad event which I am remembering by giving a presentation at a local church, and writing letters of encouragement to detainees.

This is a grim topic to say the least, but a very important one.

Just before Christmas, Danny and I were interviewed by Jonathan Ahl on Iowa Public Radio’s national award-winning program, “The Exchange” along with others who help the Iowa homeless population. Those other guests included Ken Dohmen, Operations Manager of Central Iowa Shelter & Services; David Tucker, a client of Ken’s organization; Joe Stevens, the executive director of Joppa Outreach; and Ashley Jared, Assistant Communications Director at Iowa Finance Authority. It was really wonderful to be in the company of these people, and of course a thrill to get to talk about this important problem on a program with such a large audience. Have a listen below, or download the MP3 here.

Danny Heggen and Justin Norman interviewed on “The Exchange.”

“Since coming to our community, she’s made a significant impact on the lives of many individuals,” Lester said. “Her professional commitment for testing and treating sexually transmitted diseases and preventing teen pregnancies deserves recognition,” Lester said. “It’s because of medical professionals such as Dr. McIntire that the Teen Clinic is making a positive difference in improving the health of Boone County teens.”

The full article can be found at the Ames Tribune site.

Photo courtesy of the Ames Tribune.

Photo courtesy of the Times-Republican.

We are now just a few books away from selling our first 1,000 copies of From a Growing Community, Iowa’s Homeless Youth in just the first five months of its release. Your response has been quite impressive, and this book certainly could not have done so well without your support of our efforts throughout. So first, thank you for that. We’re about to hit a milestone!

Now, however, we are wrestling with this question: shall we print another thousand books? While it might seem from the outset that the answer is “yes”, it is not quite so clear to us. Let us briefly explain why.

Selling the first 1,000 books has required us to treat the book as a full-time job, racking up nearly 2,800 volunteer hours. While this has been awesome for the shelters and homeless youth, it has become exhausting for the both of us, as neither of us have taken a penny of pay from the books.This, obviously, has been by choice, because we want to give more money to the shelters, to benefit the at-risk youth they loyally serve.

It was clear to us from the beginning that we would not be able to continuously live in this way because – unfortunately – we have to make some money to live. Thus, we are slowly working our way back into part time jobs to support ourselves, which means our attention for the book is being focused elsewhere.

As only a few copies of the first print sit in our possession, we are faced with a financial dilemma. We have a limited amount of money in our account, which leaves us with an “either or” decision: Either we spend the vast majority of it on a second print of books, or we give it all to the shelters now and close this project where it is. Sadly, we do not have enough money to both print more books and donate to the shelters, as our expenses were higher than we initially thought they would be.*

So we have started to ask ourselves: can we print a second round of this book? If so, how can we gain this energy from our community and how can it help this book become more sustainable than it currently is?

As we ask these questions, we are remembering that the success of this project has been greatly in part due to its grass roots foundation, and word about the book and about what is being done in our local shelters only spreads through all of our efforts.

So, we are calling for your input and help once again. Books are currently in books stores and coffee shops around Des Moines. Would you direct others who might be interested in this book to these stores? Books are also for sale on our website,www.SowSomethingMeaningful.com. But this is our most important proposition for you: if we can get 300 orders online by the new year, we will have $6,000, which is enough to print the next round of books!

If you want this project to continue, buy up some copies for Christmas presents! But, if we can’t get those 300 orders, don’t worry! We think this project has all been very worthwhile even if it stops at 1,000 books. Both awareness and funds have been raised thanks in great part to you, and we definitely appreciate it.

So we leave you with this: should we print a second round?

Sincere thanks,
Justin Norman and Danny Heggen

* Obviously, 1,000 books x $20 is $20,000. But when you factor in a couple hundred discounted pre-orders, promotional copies given away, poster printing costs, and checks from Borders that we have yet to receive, this is where our bank account lies. Though we have said in the past that we make 50 cents per copy, none of that has been withdrawn.

Click here to read the full article, and smack the “Recommended” button at the top of their site if you like it!

It’s that time of year again – the time when our ears begin to flood with cliché reminders about the “real meaning” of Christmas.  “Jesus is the reason for the season,” countless churches will proclaim in what appears to be an attempt to trigger a different approach to Christmas.

About five years ago, these sorts of slogans became particularly bothersome to me, because despite Advent traditions at church, or scripture readings with my family, Christmas looked pretty much the same in the end.  Since the days when I was a slobbering tyke I was routinely told, “Christmas is not about gifts,” yet there was always a hefty pile of shiny stuff for me to consume under the elaborately decorated tree.

As I grew older, my frostbitten mind sought for some way to bridge the gap between the birth of the impoverished Christ and my family’s lights-clad, sparkling suburban home.  Yet I felt odd for even thinking about this when those around me seemed to accept this strange pairing without question as if the connection was obvious: God gave us Christ, so I should buy my family gifts, right?

As I parked in a lot dotted with Lexuses and Hummers for a Christmas church service, that once-convincing premise fell apart in more obvious ways than before.  Inside, tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment worked to put on the best Christmas service in Las Vegas: dramatic lighting and giant screens projecting Christmas carol lyrics.

It wasn’t difficult to see that not only were the usual corporations capitalizing on literally everything they possibly could during the holiday season, but the church was also functioning this way, even if genuinely oblivious to it.  Christmas is the time of year when more people than usual attend church services, and what better way to reel in new customers than by attracting them with a flashy show that ostensibly has God’s stamp of approval on it?

Indeed, Christ – the gift – has ironically become a profitable commodity.  This is the “real meaning” of Christmas our local Christian bookstores successfully sell to many each year.  Why buy that new Xbox at Best Buy when you can purchase Noah’s Ark brand jewelry, Jesus-covered t-shirts, ‘Christian’ music, and even the now-jewel-encrusted instrument of torture on which Christ died right across the street at Barnes & Moses?  (Answer: the Xbox is way more fun, but you can still buy Guitar Praise for your console if you want some God-approved entertainment.)

This predatory profiting seems rather obvious to me now, but when I was younger I completely bought into it, filling my shelves with loads of ‘Christian’ rock CDs.  I think this was at least partially due to the fact that this sort of ‘Christian’ consumerism went hand in hand with a popular interpretation I was repeatedly given of Jesus’ interaction with the rich young ruler:  Jesus told him to give all of his stuff away not for the benefit of the poor, but because the rich young ruler had turned his possessions into a god.  Moral of the story:  buy as much stuff as you want, just don’t bow down and worship it.  Easy enough, I thought.  Until I figured out that buying a ton of excess stuff in and of itself is an act of worship to the god of overconsumption.

Drawing a line to denote where “enough” crosses into “excess” is tricky, but I’ve often found it useful to think about it in the same way that one might think about drawing a line between drinking alcohol safely, and becoming mind-numbingly drunk.  Pinning down the exact point someone crosses into the land of “too much” is difficult…until you see a naked guy plowing his moped into a lamp post at 60 mph.  Then it is clear: he has had too much to drink.   This is the same clarity I gained amongst all those Lexuses and Hummers at church: they have consumed too much in a world where people are starving to death.

It seemed that many, including myself, had been in the habit of subconsciously asking the question, “How much can I consume before crossing the line into excess?”  I realized this, and began to move toward asking the question, “How much can I live without so that I can give more to others?”

Thankfully, I was not alone in asking this question.  Eventually, my dad decided to alter years of Christmas tradition by opting out of the madness himself.  “From now on,” he told my brothers and I, “I don’t want you to buy me gifts for my birthday or for Christmas.  I have everything I need.”  Instead, he suggested that we give the money we would have spent on him to people who are impoverished and starving across the globe.

So we did.  Then we asked him to do the same for us.  And suddenly, the gap between the impoverished Christ and our Christmas celebration seemed to shrink a little bit.  Sure, we missed the excitement of unwrapping mysterious boxes each year, but eventually that was offset by the knowledge that someone in greater need than us was able to eat.

Last year, some friends and I decided we would share this idea of an altered Christmas with the rabid shoppers at our local malls on Black Friday – the biggest shopping day of the year.  I suppose you could say it was a protest, but it was a different kind of protest than the ones to which I’d been accustomed.  Instead of the usual justified anger, it was almost gleeful.  We dressed in Santa and elf suits and handed out “Buy Nothing Day”* flyers to people, offering them an alternative:  instead of piling up more stuff for yourself and your family, give to Action Against Hunger, and provide help to people who are starving.

Of course, I didn’t expect an immediate about-face.  I simply hoped to plant a seed that would gradually grow.  It is not easy to make such a drastic transition, as many of us have had it ingrained in us through years of repetition that buying purchased gifts is the primary way of showing love to family members at Christmas time.  Gathering around the tree creates a sense of family community that rarely comes elsewhere in the year.  But this sense of community doesn’t have to go away in an altered Christmas – we just have to shift the focus from communing around the Christmas tree to communing around those in greater need than ourselves.

This will take time.  But I’ve found a few great ways to start moving that direction.  One is by making sure that the companies I do buy from are not contributing to the misery of impoverished people.  For instance, with a bit of research I found that Coca-Cola has hired paramilitary troops to kill union workers in Colombia (amongst other atrocities), so I no longer purchase anything from that company.  A little book called The Better World Shopping Guide has been particularly helpful in sorting out purchase decisions as it gives companies a letter grade based on their treatment of humans and the environment.

Another way I have been able to shift the focus of Christmas throughout the year is by living in a house with nine other people, similar to the tenant-to-room ratio at the Catholic Worker houses.  While this is not an option for many, for those with large houses, it may be a feasible way to move in the right direction.  Through my experience at this house, I’ve discovered that the less space I have, the less stuff I’m likely to buy.  The more people I have living around me, the less likely I am to think I need material goods.  The less rent I pay, the less money I have to make, the more time I have available to spend serving others at places like the Catholic Worker.

This Christmas, the Catholic Worker will serve a meal to the homeless on Christmas day, joyfully celebrating the birth of the impoverished Christ with the sharing of a meal with impoverished people.  “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me…”

Not all of those lines we’ve heard a million times about the “real meaning” of Christmas are worthless.  Many of them have simply been misinterpreted or ignored.  Jesus truly can be the “reason for the season” if we shift our focus to Him. After all, Christ really does offer the ultimate gift – the gift to experience a transforming life lived for the transcendent good of loving God through loving our neighbors as ourselves.

* Buy Nothing Day is an international campaign initiated by Adbusters Media Foundation.

* Justin spoke at “The Economics of Christ the King” – an event featuring a screening of the film, What Would Jesus Buy? and a discussion about resisting the forces of overconsumption at First Christian Church, November 22^nd, 6:00pm.  This event was sponsored by Christ Community Church and Two Rivers Church, partnering with The Best Place Ever, who donated the film.

Article by Lori Linder.