Born again, again

Greetings friends and foes. I'm writing from an apartment overlooking a lake in Queenstown, New Zealand, having spent the past two weeks on a grand South Island adventure. The highlight of my trip so far happened yesterday, when I had a chance to fill my water bottle from a stream without fear of ingesting poisons, pesticides, fertilizer, or sewage. As I savored that fresh, natural water, I found myself being born again, again.

To set the record straight, I was born again the first time in 1960 at the Second Baptist Church in Cumberland, Maryland. In 1965, I was born again the second time at Newmarket Baptist Church in Hampton, Virginia. (This second experience was officially described as a rededication, but it came with baptism nonetheless. Newmarket Baptist was nothing if not keen on opportunities for full immersion.) And though yesterday's experience at the stream was a different kind of born again, it had all the personal impact of my very first religious experience. In a simple sip of water, I tasted the possibility of restoring North Carolina to its most holy state, unblemished by the toxic culture of corruption and greed that has contaminated almost every aspect of our government and society.

How to get there, I can't yet say. But I do know this: Republicans in Raleigh, like so many corporate Democrats before them, have fully embraced that toxic culture of corruption and greed.

Somewhere along the way, our systems of government and politics have gotten twisted around. Instead of being used to serve human beings, these systems are now being used to serve capital markets. Companies today have more rights and privileges than people. Every day, our tax dollars are being subverted to line the pockets of corporate shareholders. And the right to drink fresh water is quickly being trumped by MBAs with business plans.

What do I believe? I believe we all could benefit from being born again, again.