Danielle Levy

In a Fort Worth hospital Marlise Munoz lies brain dead and on life support while her husband and parents argue with the state of Texas about letting her go. Because she is pregnant, the hospital refuses on the ground that the law in Texas keeps them from it in order to protect the unborn. Critics says the hospital is misinterpreting the law, but the fact is there is a law in Texas as in about 12 other states, preventing medical personnel from cutting off life support to pregnant women. As any observer of the culture can attest, such laws represent the Christian beliefs and Christian values of those we sometimes call the Christian right. Miles away in Los Angeles the county board of supervisors just voted to re-include the cross on the city’s seal. The seal represents the San Gabriel mission and its advocates say that the cross is part of the mission, a truer historical representation. But Zev Yaroslavsky , a supervisor who voted against the inclusion says “It’s not just about history, it’s about the cross and to say anything else is disingenuous.” In 2004 the cross had been removed when the ACLU threatened to sue the city over it. While critics of the cross maintain it is unconstitutional and does violate the separation of church and state, its supporters believe that as part of the mission reinstating the cross will pass the test should it be challenged in court. The values of one religion, whether or not that religion is that of a majority, ought not to inform the laws applying to other Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and non-believers.

In Brazil the definition of slavery does not necessarily include coercion or force. Degrading or humiliating conditions alone can be enough to close down a quarry or whatever place is involved. Anti Slavery Mobile Units respond to tips and go investigate working conditions. They find no water, no sanitation facilities, workers living in bare soil shacks with little protection from the elements, little if any food. They may or may not get paid and when they are, it is minimal. Some may be free to leave theoretically but can’t if they’re not paid and have no money to get out of the jungle where they find themselves. They may work in flip flops, have no protective gear even if they work with dangerous substances, and explosives can be found hanging in plastic bags with no special precautions. The investigators must decide if what they find is enough to meet conditions of slavery, if it is the quarry is closed down. Often employers don’t agree thinking they offer more than some of their cohorts. An activist priest says that “to subjugate somebody you don’t have to deny them formal freedom… if you isolate someone and he has no means to leave, he is a prisoner.” Some would like to widen the definition of slavery, and be able to better prosecute offenders. Like anywhere else it may be a trade off, a better system of enforcement for a narrower definition. Still narrow or not Brazil is setting a standard widening what is acceptable and what it not.

Refugees anywhere anytime tug at my heart, and lately it’s been difficult to forget those from Syria seeking asylum in Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, even Bulgaria where they’re been badly treated and anywhere else they can get to. There now number 2.4 million and the UN estimates the number will grow to 4.1 million by the end of 2014. They live in ways no one should live in, brave conditions that would test saints. Many had homes, careers, jobs and were displaced by “33 months of ever increasing savagery” as one article in The Guardian put it. Internally it is very difficult to reach those displaced by war, because if not the government, one of the rebel groups makes it difficult for aid coming from what is seen as the West to reach those in need. In the host countries they are usually not welcomed. They go without food, water, shelter, medical attention, without basic necessities for days on end. They have left everything behind, and can’t go back, they face uncertainty and hardship. Most of us feel safe that such a fate would befall us, but all it takes is one natural disaster and we could join their rank, at least for a while. It’s beyond a question of gratitude, it’s a question of showing our solidarity to these and every other group of refugees in every way that we can.