EcoFaith Intern Matt Cumings shares the following spoken word lyrics and song with us. His inspiration was the intersection of ecological justice, structural racism, and our dependence on capitalism that numbs us to being human. For his internship Matt is exploring the intersection of environmental justice, permaculture, theology, and social justice. Listen to the spoken word below:
Capital Punishment
Paradise wasn’t lost by Eve or by Milton.
It’s being lost today
By the dualistic structure we are built on.
Arrogantly we assume we are the pinnacle of creation,
Our entire spirituality is predicated on personal salvation
Western individualists with no pause for thought
On what our lack of community has destructively wrought
Not just community with our fellow species
But equality with plants, animals, and trees
The reward for the job you do
Is proportionate to the value society places on you
Entertainers and sports stars help us ignore reality
So we pay them large
CEOs get the most because they’re in charge
But life’s not about monetary rewards
It’s about changing how society moves forward
Placate ourselves and search for satisfaction
The church has become another marketplace transaction
Resources consumed and what’s the payoff
We all become little Bernie Madoffs
Buyin and sellin our own version of the pyramid crime
Still slaves to Egypt and empire- Moses wasted his time
The system by which society has operated
Is the same that keeps church segregated
Following Jesus isn’t about being more ethical or frugal,
It’s not an answer we can sit at home and google.
It has to be experienced, a dream made real
A future corporations can’t own or steal
We are set to give it away unless we change it up
If we’re gonna overflow we got to change the size of the cup
I’m a recovering addict stuck on step one
Join me, if consumerism has taught us anything:
It’s two is better none.
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Read more about Matt and the EcoFaith Recovery Internship program here.
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