A UU Minister on SPEAKING of FAITH!

Have a "Lockdown" Holiday?? No, thanks.

I just saw a TV commercial letting me know that there will be a "Lockdown" marathon all day long on Thanksgiving.... what? I can't think of anything that would be worse on Thanksgiving than watching hard-core criminals in jail for hours on end.

I honestly don't get these jail reality shows. Other reality shows, I don't like, I don't watch, but I get  how people could get fascinated with them. Curiosity, fascination with human nature, etc. But.. prison? How can anyone be fascinated with prison? Do they know anyone who has actually gone to jail or prison? Have they been inside a prison, talked with inmates, taken part in a program that serves women in jail? I have. It's boring, unpleasant, and subhuman. Yes, the people in jail and prison are still human beings, but they are there because they have done seriously wrong things, hurt other people, or because they themselves are seriously mentally ill or struggling with addiction. In other words, they are bad people, or they are hurting people.... All of these things are sad, not cool. They are tedious, ugly, painful, cruel, and nasty... not sexy and exciting. I guess it makes me angry. I really do feel as if these shows glorify the whole prison/jail thing, almost making it seem glamorous and thrilling in a sick way.

At the very least, they acquaint people, and that includes young people,  with the interior of a prison. They create a sense of familiarty which always diminishes fear. I know that when I was a kid, just the word "jail" or "prison" was horrifying. Now, I wonder whether it would deter a young person at all?

There are major problems with the whole system of incarceration in this country. It's racially skewed, it houses way too many people who ought to be in treatment for addiction, and it is an industry in itself. Others have written with much more credibility than I on these matters.

But I have experience and I know what I know. This week, I sat and talked with a young man who is serving time in jail for a DUI. His crime is his addiction. He's getting no help for that.. instead, he is housed in a locked unit with some of the most violent men in the jail. Maybe there is a way in which these shows could expose the unfair, absurd, and dehumanizing way we try to solve crime... but I doubt it.

Oh, Happy Thanksgiving! Here's a prayer:

Spirit of Justice and Peace, let us remember with hope and empathy every soul who is imprisoned this holiday season. Especially we send prayers for healing to those who are young and whose addictions have sent them into jail. May they find the guidance and the courage they need to recover and avoid criminal behavior. May they feel the love of their families and friends. Let our citizens and our lawmakers awaken to the vast injustice we call our "justice" system. And let us keep in our hearts every person who is imprisoned behind walls of their own making, made from fear, judgment, separation, envy, and self-loathing. May all beings be free.

Breast-eria.. Worried about BC? Try nursing.

The debate over new guidelines for mammograms is growing. I don't think the folks who issued those findings were in touch with what an emotional issue this is. Even for someone who has not had breast cancer, or ever had a family member with cancer, it's easy to get the drift. Just walk through retail stores, read women's magazines, watch TV. Breast cancer and its omnipresent pink ribbons are far and away the most popular cause among illnesses. I think that's fine, unless, as some contend, it takes resources away from other, less well-advertised causes that need funding and research more.

What bothers me is that we only ever talk and argue and fundraise and run in 10K races for the disease, and rarely do we consider the causes. So few people know that breastfeeding prevents some breast cancers, and that the longer one breastfeeds, the more protected one is. There are numerous studies showing that even women who give birth after age 25 ( early births also prevent some cancers) get greatly reduced risk if they breastfeed long enough. This appears to be due to the length of time that estrogen is suppressed, although more needs to be learned.

Granted, there are millions of women who did not breastfeed, for any number of reasons, and those women can not change that! But for young women who have not yet given birth, or are still in childbearing years, it would be so fabulous if there were as huge a campaign to get them to breastfeed as there is to raise money through pink ribbon campaigns. I'm not against self-exams or even mammograms, and I know that women who breastfeed can still get cancer! I just wish the emphasis on ways to lower risk were as great as the emphasis on detection and treatment.

The coolest thing of all is that breastfeeding is so beneficial to babies, and to mothers in so many other ways (including helping to prevent heart disease, osteoporosis, and ovarian cancer!) that it's a win-win situation. In fact, unless the mother is on drugs that pass through the breastmilk, there is almost no reason not  to breastfeed. You won't hear this over and over on the evening news. Why? Because you can't make money from breastfeeding, but you can from formula, paraphernalia, and all the other stuff parents buy for their babies when they could just hold them, keep them close, feed them as nature intended, and make life healthier for all concerned.

Here are a few links to information on these topics:

http://www.breastfeeding.com/all_about/all_about_breast_cancer.html

http://www.llli.org/NB/NBJulAug01p124.html