Chadron Hazelbaker

“There is no way we’ll see leadership call in the military to restore order and fight against American citizens,” I thought. People are wise enough to see through the propaganda,” I believed. I was naïve and blinded by my own American hubris.

I am buoyed by the amazing scenes of Spokane police officers kneeling with protesters, and the amazing video of Chris Swanson, Sherriff In Genessee County Michigan, where the marginalized people of Flint still live with the consequences of trusting the governmental power structures.

Do we need to sacrifice and be uncomfortable to understand an incredibly small piece of the suffering that Jesus took upon himself on Good Friday? I was struck. While part of my brain’s immediate response was “that’s not it – or at least not the whole story.”

Over the past few months this question of “am I my body” has been impossible to escape.

"Bare" builds on the Shakespearian framework of the forbidden love, and explores the seven deadly sins, as they occur in a private Catholic high school. The limited dialog is stark and raw (mirroring conversations I’ve overheard in Spokane public school hallways – where no words or topics appear to be taboo), while the lyrics and music pull emotions along a full continuum.

The western idea of a scapegoat comes from Leviticus 16: 8-10.

While I know that the new year will be similar to the last – full of incredible highs and deep lows, I have decided to be more intentional in my gratitude and appreciation in 2019.