Rita Brock on Soul Repair (Part Two)

Rita Brock on Soul Repair from Bruce Prescott on Vimeo.

Rita N. Brock speaks about Soul Repair: Recovering from Moral Injury after War at a conference sponsored by the Oklahoma Institute for Biblical Literacy on November 1-2, 2013.

Rita Brock on Soul Repair

Rita Brock on Soul Repair from Bruce Prescott on Vimeo.

Rita N. Brock speaks about Soul Repair: Recovering from Moral Injury after War at a conference sponsored by the Oklahoma Institute for Biblical Literacy on November 1-2, 2013.

EPA Statement

I spoke at the regional EPA hearing in Dallas on carbon limits Thursday. 

Before I spoke at the hearing, I spoke at the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal press conference shortly after noon.  That statement was basically identical to one I gave at OU last summer.

I did not give my prepared statement at the EPA hearing.  A lot more people wanted to speak than was expected.   Lines to speak were long.  Time to speak was being cut. Many of the speakers were well prepared and were providing a lot of technical scientific information.  Much of it was repetitive.

I followed a man who was speaking on behalf of a company that provided electricity to small municipalities in Texas.  He expressed sympathy for those concerned about the detrimental effects of coal but said he had a responsibility to provide energy at the most affordable price.

It was nearly 1:30 PM when it was my turn to speak.  The EPA staff was weary and hungry.  They were taking a break for lunch at 1:30.  I decided the most effective thing to do was to be brief and direct.  Here is something close to what I said:

"I have a prepared statement, but in the interests of time I am cutting my remarks to where the rubber hits the road at my house.  

My wife is a diabetic with a heart condition and asthma.  Every time pollutants rise and air quality deteriorates, she suffers.

I am concerned about the health of my wife and my children.   We hope you will close the coal fired power plants as soon as possible.  They are the source of most of the pollution.   We need them to switch to natural gas and renewable sources of energy.

Thank you.”

Libertarians, the Tea Party, and the Religious Right

PRRI has published information about the relationship between libertarians, the tea party, and the Christian right.

The graphic above makes the relationships visible.

The Rise of the Religious Right in Oklahoma (Part One)

Religion has had an important role in the history of Oklahoma from the beginning.  This series will trace the emergence of the religious right  that began with opposition to the ERA.

Congress voted to submit the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the states for ratification in March of 1972.  That year, 22 states ratified it. 

Oklahoma led the way in defeating the amendment.  It was the first state to refuse to ratify it.

Opposition to the amendment was led by Ann Patterson, an Episcopalian associated with Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum organization.  Most of Patterson’s support came from women involved in a Church of Christ women’s organization headed by Beverly Findley.

The anti-ERA forces apalled  women with warnings that their military husbands would be sleeping and showering in the barracks with women.  They also frightened religious conservatives with allegations that the National Organization of Women wanted to abolish the tax exemption  of all churches.

Pro-ERA forces had a more dialogical approach.  Methodists in Oklahoma hosted debates and invited advocates for both sides to participate.  The Oklahoma Conference of Churches, representing the position of most mainline denominations, offered open but muted support for the ERA.

Research indicated that only 17% of the Baptists, then under more moderate leadership than today, and a mere 5% of the Methodists in the state opposed the ERA.   Together they comprised 37.6% of the population of the state at that time.  Conservative Church of Christ  members comprised 5.2% of the population, but even in that denomination 57% were in favor of the ERA.

In the end, it appears that the squeaky conservative wheels in all these denominations came away with the most grease on this issue.  Their surprising success in stopping the ERA in Oklahoma energized political activity among conservatives and fundamentalists around the nation.

Ann Patterson and other Oklahomans went  on to assist in organizing anti-ERA efforts in other states. 

By 1982, the ERA was dead.  Three states short of the 38 needed for ratification.