From CWalton at uua.org  Wed Apr 16 16:43:00 2003
From: CWalton at uua.org (Chris Walton)
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2003 20:43:00 -0000
Subject: [UUWorld] What in the World? May/June 2003
Message-ID: <9B511FA7465ED411862700A0C9E1C51C030EF826@mail.uua.org>

> UU WORLD * May/June 2003 * Vol XVII No 3
> 
> ==============================
> 
> IN THIS MESSAGE:
> Newsletter Announcement -- for use in your congregation
> What in the World? -- discussion questions
> Instructions -- for these e-mail announcements
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> NEWSLETTER ANNOUNCEMENT:
> The May/June issue of "UU World" magazine should arrive shortly, offering
> an extended look at the strange-but-true story of how corporations came to
> be regarded as "persons" in U.S. law. Our political traditions and our
> Unitarian Universalist principles affirm the rights of individual human
> beings, but corporate "personhood" has given many of these same rights to
> corporations, undermining "government of the people, by the people, for
> the people."
> 
> In this special issue, Tom Stites, David Wolman, Heather Wax, and Jane
> Greer show how this legal tradition has evolved, how it threatens local
> communities and smaller businesses, and how people are finding new ways to
> promote democracy in spite of growing corporate power. And Kimberly French
> profiles Unitarian Universalist prodemocracy theorist Ward Morehouse, the
> visionary thinker behind today's anti-corporate personhood movement.
> 
> Also in this issue, Sarah Voss's essay "Mathematical Theology," Rosemary
> Bray McNatt's review of a major new biography of Theodore Parker (perhaps
> the most significant Unitarian of the nineteenth century), and Unitarian
> Universalist congregations' responses to war with Iraq.
> 
> See your copy of the magazine for more inspiring stories from the world of
> Unitarian Universalism. Many articles are also on-line; visit
> www.uuworld.org. Voting members of UUA congregations receive a
> subscription to the magazine as a benefit of membership. Talk to your
> congregation's minister or secretary if you are not receiving a copy. 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> WHAT IN THE WORLD?
> Citizens, corporations, and other matters
> by Jane Greer and Christopher L. Walton
> 
> The following questions, based on this issue's contents, are designed to
> stimulate spiritual reflection and adult education group discussions. 
> 
> CORPORATE CITIZENS? Tom Stites quotes Abraham Lincoln's famous definition
> of American government as "government of the people, by the people, for
> the people" ("How Corporations Became 'Persons,'" page 23).  But the
> feature stories in this issue relate the strange tale of how corporations
> became legal "persons" and gained many of the rights that the Constitution
> gives you and me. 
> 
> Question: Were you surprised to learn that corporations are considered
> "persons" under U.S. law? Do you see this as a threat to democratic
> government? What do you think about the power of giant corporations in
> light of the UUA's affirmation and promotion of "the right of conscience
> and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in
> society at large" (page 6)?
> 
> EMPLOYED TO WHAT END? Tom Stites observes that "tens of millions of good
> people draw their paychecks from amoral corporations" and that our
> economic and political systems have made it harder for people to be
> responsible citizens ("How Corporations Became 'Persons,'" page 23).
> 
> Question: What factors would make you regard one job as more ethical than
> another? When does an employer's corporate behavior implicate its
> employees? When does a corporation's behavior become a citizen's concern?
> What does it mean to be a responsible citizen? 
> 
> CORPORATE PURPOSE. In early American history, "charters specified the
> corporation's purpose and expired at the end of a set term," writes Tom
> Stites. "If corporations overstepped their boundaries, their charters
> could be -- and frequently were -- revoked."  A Wisconsin state law used
> to ban all forms of corporate involvement in the political process. But
> corporations today participate aggressively in the political process.
> ("How Corporations Became 'Persons,'" page 23.)
> 
> Question: When should a corporation lose its right to exist? A leak at a
> plant operated by chemical giant Union Carbide caused the deaths of more
> than 15,000 people in Bhopal, India, in 1984. Unitarian Universalist
> prodemocracy activist Ward Morehouse, profiled by Kimberly French, sees
> Union Carbide as only one example of gross corporate misconduct, and
> condemns "the enormous power of corporations to do as they like with no
> effective accountability" ("Taking on the System," page 38). How should
> corporations be treated when they cause grievous harm? 
> 
> CONFLICT OF INTEREST? In his commentary "Democracy and Religion" (page
> 14), Bernard Avishai wonders what to do when religiosity becomes so
> dogmatic that it threatens democracy. He defines "religion acceptable to
> democratic life" in terms of the questions it asks, not the answers it
> offers. He says, "truly religious people can never shake off their sense
> of uncertainty, contingency, or the loneliness of self-knowledge."
> 
> Question: Is Avishai saying that some religions are not acceptable to
> democratic life? If so, what would need to change for them to become
> acceptable? Is it a matter of the religion itself, or the practitioner? Is
> democracy tied to a certain kind of religious outlook?
> 
> DIVINE CALCULUS. Sarah Voss describes mathematics as an important, if
> unusual, way to approach the divine: "God seems to speak in mathematics in
> two basic ways. One is through the precision of numerical calculation,
> logical proof, and all the other blessings associated with mathematics in
> the 'hard' sciences. The other way is through metaphor" ("Mathematical
> Theology," page 20).
> 
> Question: If you are like many Americans, you may have grown up "math
> averse." Do you think that mathematics offers a useful avenue to
> understanding spiritual issues? If so, how? What did you find most
> interesting in Voss's description of "mathematical metaphors"? 
> 
> AGREEING TO DISAGREE. Unitarian Universalist congregations have been
> careful to allow room for a variety of opinions about the war with Iraq.
> The Rev. Danny Reed, minister at the Unitarian Church in Norfolk,
> Virginia, home to one of the world's largest naval bases, says, "When the
> war started, I talked about how just having soldiers and pacifists in the
> same pew is radical social witness and not to be underestimated"
> ("Congregations focus deeply on war," page 42).
> 
> Question: How does your congregation handle disagreement about the war?
> How do you reconcile a position that you passionately hold with the
> necessity of allowing for different viewpoints? How important is it to you
> that your viewpoint is shared? Do you feel distanced from those who do not
> share your opinion?
> 
> CONTEMPLATING DEATH. Richard Taylor reflects on learning that he will soon
> die: "My reaction to the bad news surprised me as much as the news itself.
> I was at first shattered, but this quickly gave way to something quite
> different" ("What Matters Now," page 19).
> 
> Question: If you learned that you had only a few months to live, how would
> you want to spend your time? If you could choose the time and place of
> your death, what would it be? Would you want others to be present? 
> 
> Jane Greer is managing editor and Christopher L. Walton is senior editor
> of UU World.
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
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> 
> 
> UU World - http://www.uuworld.org
> Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
> 25 Beacon Street, Boston MA 02108
> Phone 617.948.6518, Fax 617.742.7025
> 
> 
>