Homemade Social Justice

You don't need a radio to sing a song

Children's singer Raffi sings a song about thinking you need things you don't really need. "I can't find a lumberjack to pour my milk," he sings mournfully. Then he realizes, with relief,"But I know what, and so do you, I don't need a lumberjack to pour my milk." In the final line of the song he delivers the clincher: "I don't need a radio to sing a song."

More of the same: I read recently about a young author and speaker who encourages teenagers to find activities other than dating. Among his suggestions for "Four other ways to spend a Saturday night" was the following: "Start a band in your garage instead of buying another CD. In other words, 'produce before you consume.' " (Just another way of saying, you don't need a radio to sing a song.)

"Produce before you consume" might be one suggestion that would help us to examine our lives as families this Lent. Why? The world of advertising tries its mightiest to turn us all into consumers from our earliest days. Companies pay a fortune for commercials to train us to want certain cereals, toys, clothes, or cars. But God has more in mind for us.

When my son was 6 or 7, I tried to explain to him why it was that no matter how many Batman action figures he received, he always wanted more. "We're all hungry for something that only God can fill up," I told him. "We think we can fill it up with things, like Batman figures or lots of other stuff. In the end, though, we end up still hungry. That's because what we're hungry for is God. And Batman's never going to fill that up."

Saint Augustine said it much more elegantly: "Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee."

Resting in God, though, doesn't mean just praying or other "holy" activities. Drawing closer to God can be as simple as taking time to make our own fun, our own food, or our own hospitality. These experiences open our eyes to see the Lord in each other.

Last year our family "fasted" from TV (and videos) for two days a week during Lent and all during Holy Week. This gave us the chance to read aloud to each other and to play games during the time we might have been staring at the tube. We read a great book together (The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis), which I'm sure we will remember longer than any TV show.

We might use Lent as a time to fast from "fast food" and try slow food instead. I heard a chef on the radio the other day worrying that whole traditions of cooking are being lost because parents themselves don't cook and certainly don't have time to teach their children how to cook anymore. Teach your kids how to make your great chili or bake a loaf of bread. Make some extra and invite some guests. If Chef Boyardee is as close as you ever come to cooking, you and the kids can always learn together. Jesus, after all, knew the value of a good meal. Rather than grabbing a dozen Dunkin' Donuts, he cooked breakfast on the shore for his disciples when they returned from a long night of fishing.

Try the "performing arts" for great ways to produce, not consume:

• Invite some friends or family over to do a dramatic reading of a favorite play or short story. Let everyone take a role.
• Encourage the kids (who are natural hams anyway) to put on a play or a puppet show. Help with costumes and clap wildly.
• Stage your own "poetry slam" and read poems to each other.
• Do you or the kids play an instrument? Whether you do or don't, singing together isn't just for Christmastime.

Just remember what Raffi had to say about that radio.

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