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CVA Weekly Newsletter
September 19, 2013
- Response to Rabbi Heschel’s Quotation
- Upcoming Activist Opportunities
- Review Essay: The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen by Anthony Appiah
- This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman
1. Response to Rabbi Heschel’s Quotation
In regards to the quotation from Rabbi Heschel I think religion becomes irrelevant if does not compel us to speak and act to address the pressing social, moral and ecological issues of our times. As Allen Boesak said: "We will go before God to be judged, and God will ask us: 'Where are your wounds?' and we will say, 'We have no wounds.' And God will ask, 'Was nothing worth fighting for?'"
Stephen Augustine
2. Upcoming Activist Opportunities
09/28 DC Washington DC Veg Fest
09/28 VA Charlottesville Cville Vegetarian Festival
09/21 IL Chicago VeganMania
09/20-21 VA Middleburg Awakening Festival 2013
09/15 GA Athens The Only Name Tour
09/20 MO Kansas City The Only Name Tour
09/14 TX Waco Manic Drive – Small Town America Tour 2013
09/27 NC Charlotte Plumb
09/28 SC Columbia Plumb
09/29 GA Macon Plumb
09/29 PA Philadelphia Mercy Me
10/04 NY NYC Hillsong United ( Radio City Music Hall) United
10/18 CA Los Angeles Hillsong United
10/29 PA Pittsburgh JCTV Tour
10/19 FL Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Veg Fest
10/10–10 AL Fort Payne The Courage
10/09 FL Tampa Tampa Veg 2013
10/18-19 ON Mississauga ATF
10/11 OH Cincinnati Newboys Tour
10/06 MA Pittsfield Kings and Queens Tour 2013
11/01 Blakely PA Third Day
11/01-02 OH Cleveland ATF
11/08-09 CA Anaheim ATF
11/08 CA Ontario Winter Jam Tour
11/09 GA Atlanta Atlanta Veg Fest
11/09 NV Las Vegas Winter jam Tour
11/10 AZ Glendale Winter Jam Tour
11/12 CA Ontario Hillsong United
11/14 NJ Newark Hillsong United
11/14 ID Boise Winter Jam Tour
11/15 OR Portland Winter Jam Tour
11/15 MA Boston Hillsong United
11/16 PA Pittsburgh Hillsong United
11/16 CA Sacramento Winter Jam Tour
11/17 CA Fresno Winter Jam Tour
11/18 NC Greensboro Hillsong United
11/19 SC Greenville Hillsong United
11/21 NM Rio Rancho Winter Jam Tour
11/22 CO Colorado Springs Winter Jam Tour
11/22 FL Tampa Hillsong United
11/23 FL Miami Hillsong United
11/24 TX Ft. Worth Winter Jam Tour
11/24 TN Nashville National Youth Convention
11/26 TX Houston Hillsong United
12/07 NY NYC Toby Mac Hits Deep Tour
3. Review Essay: The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen by Anthony Appiah
In The Honor Code, Anthony Appiah insightfully addresses an interesting question: Why do moral revolutions happen after – often long after – the arguments in favor of such moral revolutions have been fully articulated and are widely disseminated? Looking in detail at English dueling, the English slave trade, and foot binding in China, Appiah notes that the moral bases for rejecting these practices were well known, yet they persisted, sometimes for many centuries. How, then, did change eventually happen?
In short, Appiah asserts that codes of honor perpetuated these practices, and changing honor codes were instrument in their cessation. For example, an effective and important argument against slavery was that it treated labor as a dishonorable activity that people do only when compelled by force. This was insulting to the working class and was instrumental in galvanizing the working class in England against slavery. Similarly, an important reason that foot binding lost its appeal in China was that, Chinese critics observed, the rest of the world mocked the Chinese for the practice.
Crucially, Appiah notes that alternatives to a practice supported by the honor code must be found in order for the practice to abate and, eventually, be abolished. In the case of foot binding in China, a growing number of parents refused to marry their sons to women with tiny feet, generating a marriage market for unbound girls and thereby eliminating the perceive necessity of this immensely painful practice.
How does this apply to animal issues? Animal advocates have been using rational arguments against mistreatment of nonhuman persons for years, and indeed most people now agree that cruelty to nonhumans is wrong and should cease. Yet, there is little pressure from the general public to reduce mistreatment of nonhumans on farms, and much less interest in reducing or eliminating the products of animal agribusiness. If Appiah’s analysis is valid, then we need 1) to demonstrate that participating directly or indirectly in the abuse of nonhuman persons is dishonorable and 2) to have readily available foods, clothing, etc. that do not involve the exploitation and abuse of nonhuman persons. I will explore these topics next week.
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.
4. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman
Worldly Acceptable Ungodliness
Your question and comments are welcome
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