There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.Ernest Hemingway (via asterisk-)
(via theatlantic)
![theatlantic:
The Bravest, Craziest, Most Ironic Voter in Iran’s Election Today
In the mass theater piece that is today’s parliamentary election in Iran, one of the players showed up with an unwelcome prop. A young man voted in Tehran this morning, as shown in the above photo, while wearing a t-shirt that would be considered ironic in the U.S. but seems downright rebellious in Iran. In case you can’t make it out, the shirt reads, “God Bless America / Toby Keith / Pre-Concert Party / October 8, 2004.” There’s an American flag on the shirt, which is a bold fashion choice any day in Iran, but especially on a day when the state-run media are out and the security services are likely to be even touchier than usual.The photo is funny — this kid’s got chutzpah — but it’s also a reminder of the challenges of protesting Iran’s political system, and even of the complex and sometimes contradictory nature of cultural tension between Iran and the West.
Read more. [Image: Mehr News Agency]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0a3elOsua1qcokc4o1_500.jpg)
The Bravest, Craziest, Most Ironic Voter in Iran’s Election Today
In the mass theater piece that is today’s parliamentary election in Iran, one of the players showed up with an unwelcome prop. A young man voted in Tehran this morning, as shown in the above photo, while wearing a t-shirt that would be considered ironic in the U.S. but seems downright rebellious in Iran. In case you can’t make it out, the shirt reads, “God Bless America / Toby Keith / Pre-Concert Party / October 8, 2004.” There’s an American flag on the shirt, which is a bold fashion choice any day in Iran, but especially on a day when the state-run media are out and the security services are likely to be even touchier than usual.
The photo is funny — this kid’s got chutzpah — but it’s also a reminder of the challenges of protesting Iran’s political system, and even of the complex and sometimes contradictory nature of cultural tension between Iran and the West.Read more. [Image: Mehr News Agency]
James 2:1-91 My brothers, do not let class distinction enter into your faith in Jesus Christ, our glorified Lord.
2 Now suppose a man comes into your synagogue, well-dressed and with a gold ring on, and at the same time a poor man comes in, in shabby clothes,
3 and you take notice of the well-dressed man, and say, ‘Come this way to the best seats’; then you tell the poor man, ‘Stand over there’ or ‘You can sit on the floor by my foot-rest.’
4 In making this distinction among yourselves have you not used a corrupt standard?
5 Listen, my dear brothers: it was those who were poor according to the world that God chose, to be rich in faith and to be the heirs to the kingdom which he promised to those who love him.
6 You, on the other hand, have dishonoured the poor. Is it not the rich who lord it over you?
7 Are not they the ones who drag you into court, who insult the honourable name which has been pronounced over you?
8 Well, the right thing to do is to keep the supreme Law of scripture: you will love your neighbour as yourself;
9 but as soon as you make class distinctions, you are committing sin and under condemnation for breaking the Law.
I shudder to think what would have happened if the civil rights gains, heroically established by courageous lawmakers in the 1960s, were instead conveniently left up to popular votes in our 50 states.
…Equal protection under the law – for race, religion, gender or sexual orientation – should not be subject to the most popular sentiments of the day. Marriage equality is not a choice. It is a legal right. I hope our leaders in Trenton will affirm and defend it.
Newark, NJ mayor CORY BOOKER, calling out governor Chris Christie for proposing that marriage equality in the Garden State be decided by referendum instead of by legislation, on Jan. 24.
Worth re-posting.
