Ever since I was young, I always felt inclined to be the boss. I didn’t want to play mommy, or teacher, or bake cookies on a fake little oven. Instead, I wanted to be the store owner or the president. I always found creative ways to make money by making, selling or trading things. Whenever one of my sources of money ran dry, it took me no time at all to find another. Needless to say I didn’t really fit in well with most of the girls in the neighborhood who ran around crushing on boys. Little did I know that many of the girls would grow up to hate me for my success or the boys would find me to be a threat to their success.

No one ever taught me what classes I needed to take to graduate from school or college. My high school counselor was worthless, urging and suggesting that I go into retail as opposed to attend college. I was always expected to attend the university, but when I would verbalize my big dreams to my family, they would shoot me down and tell me that I thought I was better than them. I learned quickly that no one was going to propel me forward except myself.

Growing up, I grew accustomed to searching for answers, constantly looking in books and guides to figure out which classes I needed to take or whatever problem I confronted. I never took no, can’t or shouldn’t for an answer. Instead of going out to clubs to get picked up on by losers, I spent my time at happy hours in bars with little old businessmen who bent over backwards to tell me all about their investments and careers. I constantly looked for mentors everywhere that I went.

But then one day it seemed like I outgrew all of my mentors. Many of the older businessmen retired and disappeared, and what was left was cocky business types who were less successful than me and didn’t know a stock certificate from a poker chip. I tripled my income while listening to my friends complain that they couldn’t pay their bills. Even people who made more money than me couldn’t pay their bills.

One day people figured out that I had money. First my family started coming around with their hands out, asking to borrow money. For years I lost money until I started lying that I had too many bills to pay and that I had no money. Then one day one of my greatest mentors, who actually makes double what I make, started asking to borrow money. Every month she borrowed and payed back $100 and then $200 and then $500. For the past three months she has been asking for $5,000. I finally began to lie and say that I had no money, but it still hasn’t stopped her from asking every month.

I’ve never been the type of person who feels that discussion about money or finance is taboo. I am eternally grateful to all of the little old men who talked to me in bars for hours about business and finance. I’d love to spread the knowledge with people, but it seems that far too few people want to really learn. Instead they turn down my offers to help them create a budget or get out of debt, constantly reminding me that we can’t take money to the afterworld with us. My perspective is that when I’m dead my future children sure could benefit from a trust fund for a college education.

I’m a natural mentor who wants to teach and help other people. I’m also often excited about a business proposition or something that I have managed to complete, and I wish I could share it with others. But lately I feel like I can’t tell anything to my broke ass friends or family, including some people who make over 100k and apparently don’t have a dime to show for it. I’ve had it happen far too many times that someone will congratulate me on my success while holding out their hand to borrow money. I never thought that I would turn into one of those people who acts as if they don’t have any money. But apparently I am.

What does it mean to be Latino? What does the term mean? What are the implications of this label? Many have brought up that  it is an imposed term and we should reject it, while others have cited the historical ‘Latinos’ and ‘Latins’, noting that people from Latin America are not accurately Latinos. All of the above are valid but in the modern context of the ethnic descriptor there is a lot to grapple with what comes with one’s own personal identity. The social construct of race makes the lives of individuals vastly different. Ethnicity seems to complicate it even more. America is such a racialized society, one that relies on stereotypes and boxes because it is easy. Within Latinidad it is just not that simple. Identity is a personal decision. No one can tell you how to identify.

Negro means black in Spanish and the name was intentional. I created this docu-series to explore how color works within ethnicity, and the history that set the tone for present day social dynamics. I have observed race and color are not spoken about in an open, safe space but it is common to use color to describe people in everyday situations. Color and race are used so frequently that it’s surprising that there isn’t more open dialogue. Oftentimes the nuances of our roots and color make for negative social interactions and I felt it deserved a thorough examination.

Throughout my travels and interviews I was blown away at how many people thanked me for giving them that arena to express their opinions on topics that they said are ‘kept quiet about’, discussions that are ‘secret’ or that are ‘forced.’ I had the opposite experience in that my family made it a point to talk about anything and everything because they grew up in a ‘topic taboo environment’ in Latin America.

I wanted to extend that in this series. I left my job, used my savings, received donations from family, friends and supporters and went to the Dominican Republic and Colombia. Armed with my camera, passion and a purpose, I had 2 scheduled interviews and ended up with 32 by trip’s end. The interviews were candid, the experience was unreal and I am thrilled to continue on with this project.

Latinidad does not have one look, one face, one color and our indigenous, African and European influences account for that. It is important to acknowledge, learn and celebrate everything that comprises us and do so with an open and curious mind. Everything starts with education. Educating yourself on your roots and where you come from is the first step in appreciating and loving everything you and we are.

Check out part one of the docu-series:

Cinema has become a medium of artistic expression through various different genres, and prison movies are among the most deliberate types of films to examine the human struggle, most specifically, the struggle against institutionalization. Rather than divulging another catalogue of best prison movies, these are instead a selection of a few movies that examine life in prison as it relates to criminal justice and that convey a clear message through unique cinematic and artistic techniques.

1. Hunger (2008)
   Steve McQueen, already an acclaimed artist, made his directorial debut with Hunger, a film that depicts the protesting of Irish Republican inmates who demanded that the government acknowledge them as political prisoners rather than convicted criminals. Fed up with the failure of an ongoing no-wash protest, Bobby Sands leads a hunger strike, which he is fairly certain will result in some deaths before getting recognition from the government.

The depiction of criminal justice is very deliberate in this movie, revealing the extreme lengths these prisoners have gone to, in order to bring attention to their inhumane conditions and to attain respect. While it might be hard to imagine an artistic portrayal of prisoners painting their rooms with feces and flooding the cellblock corridor with urine, one cannot deny the success of this film’s unique, visceral experience.

2. A Prophet (2009)
   More of a good foreign action movie than anything else, A Prophet is a straightforward story of a small time crook, Franco, who is sent to a prison filled with hardcore criminals.  Franco is faced with an option: join a gang and be protected, or be killed.  Of course, in order to join a gang, Franco must first kill someone else.  Though Franco just wanted to serve his time quietly and in peace, he is instead forced to commit acts of violence in, and outside of, the prison.
   

   The message here about criminal justice is that prison life begets more crime.  Someone like Franco, who messed up in his youth, is sent to Juvenile hall, but when he leaves there, he goes out and commits another crime – not an unfamiliar story – and ultimately, in prison, he commits the most heinous crimes of all.

3. Bronson (2008)
   Nicolas Winding Refn made something very special with Bronson.  This is a unique movie about a unique man that implements artistically stylized images and a mesmerizing soundtrack.  The film is a biographical account of Britain’s most notoriously violent criminal, Michael Gordon Peterson, who goes by the name Charles Bronson.  With a drive for violence, it was only a matter of time before he was into enough trouble to be sentenced to prison: seven years for armed robbery.  In prison, Charles Bronson discovers a unique talent for art.  Ultimately, Bronson holds an art teacher hostage to create his masterpiece.
   

   Going in and out of prison, and even into a mental institution for a brief stint, Charles Bronson spends more than thirty years of his life in prison, many of those years in solitary confinement.  Despite the fact that his sentence was for armed robbery, and he never killed anyone, something seems off about his unending condemnation.  It may very well be the case that Michael Peterson is just incapable of rehabilitation, but what seems certain is that prison has not brought him any closer to freedom.

4. The Green Mile (1999)
   The Green Mile, directed by Frank Darabont, combines elements of fantasy and mysticism in a story of an innocent man who faces a capital punishment sentence.  John Coffey is a big African American man who is feared by most, but as the prison guards get to know him they discover that he is a gentle giant, and they even begin to suspect that he may indeed be innocent.  By exhibiting his powers to heal a prison guard, as well as a dying woman, the prison administration finally understands that Coffey is not a killer, but a true healer.
   

   Where we see a lack of criminal justice in this film is in the story’s outcome.  Taking place in Louisiana during the American depression, it is unlikely that any court would be willing to hear out claims that a man, convicted of raping and murdering a little girl, was actually found at the scene of the crime by chance, and was actually trying to help the little girl.  Is Justice blind? Very unlikely.

5. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
   The Shawshank Redemption, another excellent prison film directed by Frank Darabont, which was also adapted from a Stephen King novel, may very well be the greatest prison film of all time.  The innocent Andy Dufresne is plunged into a maximum-security prison where the demons are not in the convicts, but in the prison guards.  Andy establishes an entourage in the prison, and along with them, Andy does what he can to introduce a decent library to the prison, and he even educates a prisoner with no help from the prison guards or warden at all.
   

   The film examines criminal justice by showing how the prison system has absolutely no expectation of the inmates, except to make them serve time, and it does not even encourage rehabilitation.  It is up to the prisoners to save themselves, but who can help you be saved when your peers are convicted felons?  Those pursuing a criminal justice degree may be inspired to seek their own answers to this question in order to uphold the system with integrity. This film shows how one innocent man can bring hope to those who have been forsaken.

Rhys Raiskin graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a B.A. in Anthropology, and he is now pursuing a career in film.

January is the month of resolutions and a particularly common type of resolution relates to finances. Have you resolved to manage your money better or leave your bank balance looking healthier at the end of the month?

Well, here are ten splendid quotes about money that might just encourage you to keep going with your financial resolutions for 2012 – and failing encouragement, they may well just give you a much needed chuckle!

1.     “Never spend your money before you have earned it.”  Sound advice from Thomas Jefferson.

2.     “When I was young, I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old, I know that it is.” That’s the opinion of the fabulous Oscar Wilde.

3.     “Rule number 1: never lose money. Rule number 2: never forget rule number 1.” Warren Buffett’s sound advice ought to be on display in casinos!

4.     “Money is not the only answer. But it makes a difference.” Barack Obama’s thoughts will ring true whether you’re balancing the books of a Government, business or a home!

5.     “Money won’t make success. The freedom to make it will.” Nelson Mandela can always be counted on for a thought provoking quote!

6.     “Money without brains is always dangerous.” Media stories about some wealthy celebs can probably vouch for this quote by Napoleon Hill.

7.     “The price we have to pay for money is sometimes liberty.” Deep thoughts from Robert Louis Stevenson.

8.     “A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove you don’t need it.” Never a truer quote given, Bob Hope.

9.     “No man’s credit is as good as his money.” John Dewey’s quote might make us think twice about buying on plastic!

10.  “A penny saved is a penny earned.” Benjamin Franklin’s quote is perhaps one of the best known quotes about money and an honest one at that. 

So as 2012 sets in and the resolutions get tougher to stick with, remind yourself of what others have said! Whether for a bit of inspiration or a quiet little giggle, you can always count on quotes to pick you up!

Whether your resolution is save more, spend less, increase your income or get better value for money, we wish you the very best of luck! Don’t forget to take advantage of the copious online resources to help you out with your financial goals.

Leave us a comment here and let us know what your financial resolution is and how you’re getting on with it!

These inspirational quotes were compiled for us by Aaron Hewitt, a personal finance blogger from the UK, specialising in money saving and debt management.

All week long I have had an endless debate with friends over our views about the new U.S. version of the movie The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Over the years I’ve heard a lot of hype from friends about the book, the original Swedish movie and other books in the crime trilogy written by Stieg Larsson. I eventually caved in and went to see the movie last weekend when my girlfriends convinced me that I would love the smart, strong, and badass female protagonist, Lizbeth Salander.

I have to admit that I feel duped after watching it. I don’t feel duped with the story line, which I found to be highly engaging and mysterious-minus a slow beginning and end. Which feminist wouldn’t enjoy a good old “who-done-it” type of movie with a female character solving atrocious crimes that have been committed against women? But after watching it I feel that I have been duped into believing that a movie might actually feature a strong female lead. Instead, it’s just another movie where the “strong” female character is victimized and hypersexualized.

When the movie started, I was intrigued with the female character, Lizbeth Salander. She is an edgy investigator with a mohawk, face piercings, and tattoos. She has been classified as a ward of the state and lives an unconventional, underground type of life. She rides a motorcycle, hacks computers and is one of the best investigators out there. For twenty minutes I was in heaven thinking that I was going to watch her kick ass and take names throughout the movie.

And then came the sexual assault scenes. The first episode featured her social worker forcing her to give him a blow job if she wanted money. The next scene vividly featured a brutal rape scene where she was forced into her social worker’s bedroom, tied face down on the bed and forcibly raped by him. We all have to sit and watch a woman who is tied up, gagged, and is screaming and trying to break loose while a man is raping her from behind. We even get to watch the rapist’s face as he is pleasured.

During the forced blow job scene, I literally waited in anticipation for her to bite his penis off, but it never happened. Instead, she washed her mouth out, threw up, went to his apartment to get more money and was brutally raped. Her entire rape was videotaped by a secret camera that she had on her bag. She later returned to beat him up, raped him with some type of instrument and tattooed on his chest that he is a filthy rapist.

Immediately after watching the movie, I made a comment on twitter about my disappointment with the rape scenes. I received countless tweets from men about how they thought that it was “so hot and sexy” that she retaliated and “got back at him” in such a way. Most men expressed that they were not bothered by the original rape scene. I asked the men if they would like to watch a video of a rapist crawling in their mother’s window and brutally raping their mother. And then suddenly many of the men began to change their tune.

For days I have been debating with a friend about the rape scenes and other scenes where they feature the main character as naked and having passionate sex with a co-worker. I argue that even the strongest female characters always wind up being hypersexualized or victimized in movies-which to me in a strange way results in the weakening of strong female characters. In contrast, there is an abundance of male characters who manage to run around and solve crimes while not being super-sexified. When do women ever have the chance to watch a strong female character without also watching her nakedly rolling around in bed with someone or being raped or abused?

My friend argues that the movie is based on reality-a reality where women are victimized, but rise above the atrocities that are committed against us. She claims that she feels enlightened and proud that the main character didn’t let the sexual assaults break her spirit. “Men victimize women,” she believes, “but the Lizbeth character shows us that we can still rise above hardship”.

I understand and partly agree with my friend’s perspective, but I think that the larger issue of how women are portrayed in media is much more complex. It’s true-women are victimized and placed in subservient positions in society. We can’t control being the victim of rape. However, a life of constant images of women being victimized and brutalized by men ensures that the cycle of other forms of victimization continue. Over the years we are taught that abuse against women is inevitable and natural.

Imagine a world where young women are given constant messages that they should speak up and protect themselves against their abusers. Imagine a world where it’s unacceptable to show constant images of brutality against women in movies and music. Imagine a world where we would be able to watch a strong, smart, genius female character in a movie whose body is not on display for the pleasure and entertainment of men.

Perhaps I (and many other women) would have saved ourselves a hell of a lot of grief if we were taught to punch and report little boys the minute they started snapping our bras or grabbing our butts at an early age. Perhaps men would be much more respectful toward women if they weren’t desensitized by constant images of degradation and abuse towards women. Perhaps one day the story of female strength will not revolve around men.

Have you seen the 2011 version of the movie The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo? What are your thoughts about it?

It takes a lot of guts and bravado to step out of your comfort zone and into possible danger. But that is exactly what a woman did back in February 2011. She also became a worldwide hit on the internet after her brave action.

The Scene

There she was walking along in her red coat minding her own business with her black handbag swinging by her side. Suddenly, she sees men in balaclavas raiding a shop that sells silver jewellery. Well, she is not going to stand for it. How dare they think they can just smash their way in there and take what is not theirs?

The Action

Without a thought for her safety, the elderly woman starts running over. She probably did not have an idea of what she was going to do but she just knew she had to do something to stop these thugs trying to make off with as much silver jewellery as they could.

What could she do? Instinctively, with her handbag by her side, she started swinging it and clouting the robbers over the head, on the body, anywhere she could aim to stop them doing what they were doing.

One of the drivers of the moped getaway vehicles panics as the woman lashes out and he accelerates away, leaving his accomplice standing there, stranded. Members of staff have called for help but the woman in red is winning.

She has single handedly changed the course of things and made sure the robbers have not got away with as much gold and silver jewellery as they would have liked. Her heart is beating nine to the dozen and adrenaline is coursing through her body.

Soon, police arrive to take control and the woman has done her job and she really had because it was confirmed later that four out of the six-member gang had been caught and put in custody. What a great achievement.

Please Remember…

Do remember though that people do have to be careful when they take matters into their own hands because the consequences can be dire. But this was instinct playing a part that cannot be ignored and it is clear the woman acted without a thought for her safety.

It is so cheering to see that there is still community spirit alive and well in this country. Too often, people walk by, not wanting to get involved but if it was not for plucky people like this woman in red, everything would be ignored and how sad would that be.

She is what puts the great into Great Britain by reminding us that we are all human and we should work as one to make this country a better place, to stick up for each other and pull together in times of adversity.

Let us just hope that the woman in the red coat was rewarded with a nice piece of silver jewellery to remind her of her bravery.

Hi my name is Sally Rowland a keen blogger who has a range of different interests. I am currently writing for Pearl and Butler who specialise in costume jewellery. 

It’s really easy to live a frugal lifestyle, even in today’s obsessively consumer-driven society. That is, it’s easy as long as you are willing to think about and change some of the ways you spend money. The key is to budget like you don’t have the money to spend, and after awhile, being frugal will become second nature. I’ll be the first to admit that I learned the hard way how to be frugal. I went from having more money than I knew what to do with, to wondering how I’m paying the bills next month. As a result, I learned a lot of key factors in how to get by with very little – and still be happy!

1.  Think Like A Poor Person
Let’s face it, how many of us who have never lived in poverty have REALLY stopped to think about what it’s like? You don’t have to BE poor to be able to THINK poor when it comes to your spending habits. When you have little money to work with, you have no choice but to spend less. When you are making your budget for the month, think about letting go of things you don’t actually need, and find cheaper alternatives for the things you don’t want to let go of, if at all possible. For example, buy a reusable, insulated mug and brew your morning coffee at home instead of giving in to buying a cup of coffee at a coffee shop.

2. Make It Yourself!
As I mentioned above, making your own coffee can save you a LOT of money. It’s also better for the environment – you aren’t leaving a trail of used paper (or worse – Styrofoam) cups in your wake once or twice a day! This applies to many other things, such as your lunch, your kids’ lunch, and your spouse’s lunch. Your family is more likely to eat healthy if they are bringing a homemade lunch instead of picking up a dollar menu burger at a fast food joint! All this costs is a little extra time and effort on your part. The collective ingredients end up costing far less than buying a meal from a restaurant 5 days a week or more, and when you use washable containers, you are saving money that way as well!

3.  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Being green is a huge part of frugality. The two really do go hand in hand, so it becomes very easy to spend less money when you’re making an effort to decrease your negative impact on the environment, and live healthier, too. There are so many ways to be frugal and environmentally conscious at the same time, that you will really feel good about your decisions and want to continue living this kind of lifestyle. There are many ways to accomplish this, but one of the main things that will help you greatly in the long run is to utilize reusable containers for foods and beverages. Water bottles and sandwich bags, as well as insulated coffee mugs and lunch bags are all far more efficient, stylish, and earth friendly than any of their disposable counterparts that we’ve come to rely on. Sure, the initial investment for an insulated lunch bag is more than buying a package of brown paper bags, but you only have to buy it once if you take good care of it and choose a good quality bag.

There are so many ways to reduce your spending, and these three tips are merely the tip of the iceberg!

Kelsey Evans likes to write, exercise and visit websites like Homeownersinsurance.org.

Every year, millions of people make New Year’s resolutions, and unfortunately very few of them succeed in reaching their goals. Why is it that so many resolutions fail? Perhaps some people lack the motivation, or they make a resolution “just because.” If your New Year’s resolution truly means something to you, you’ll want to give yourself the best possible chance for success. And to do this, you need to start with the resolution itself. You will need to follow a popular model for making achievable goals, and make a “SMART” resolution. SMART is an acronym for all the features your resolution needs to have in order for it to be one you can keep, and here’s how to do it.

Specific

Rather than just resolving to get in shape, define what that truly means to you. Be as specific as possible with your New Year’s resolution. Getting in shape is a very vague concept. A more specific resolution is to lose five pounds or to work out three times a week.

Measurable

Vague concepts also fail because they cannot be measured. How will you know if you get in shape? If your resolution is quantifiable, you just might reach it. You can measure weight loss in tangible pounds. You can count how many times you’ve worked out this week. It’s measurable.

Adjustable

If you don’t leave any room for flexibility with your resolution, you could be doomed to fail. Something often happens that gets in our way, such as another responsibility comes up that suddenly doesn’t leave us anytime to work out as often as we want. Give yourself a resolution that is adjustable, and allow yourself to adjust it if something unexpected occurs.

Realistic

Your resolution must also be a realistic goal. For example, it is not realistic to resolve to lose one hundred pounds. Sure that may be possible, but a much more practical resolution is to lose ten pounds. Once you’ve reached that goal, you can set another if you like. Don’t set unrealistic expectations for yourself, or you’ll be setting yourself up for failure.

Time Based

It is also important to set a time limit in your resolution, or you will be able to procrastinate infinitely. Say you will lose ten pounds within three months. If make a time based resolution, you’ll have more accountability for it.

If you make a SMART resolution this year, you’ll be in a much better position to achieve the results or change you desire. If your resolution is too general or impractical, you may end up being disappointed by your progress. Once you’ve set a SMART resolution, it’s a good idea to create a support system for yourself. Oftentimes the easiest way to reach our goals is with the help of others. Your support system could be as simple as a single friend or family member. Tell them about your resolution and your plan for how you will achieve it. Then, check in with them regularly and let them know about your progress. Sometimes just knowing another person will ask us about our resolution is a great motivation for us to achieve it. Just remember to make a New Year’s resolution you can keep by making it SMART.

Lisa Hann is resolved to deliver the best web content possible. She is able to achieve high quality by reviewing her work with Grammarly grammar checker.

Even this little girl knows that not all girls want princesses for Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

‘Tis the season—but for what, exactly? Last week, I decked my wall—on Facebook, that is—with some yuletide-inspired food for thought about the real meaning of Christmas and, in only a few hours’ time, had racked up nearly 100 responses from people of varying faiths, all vehemently defending their visions of Christmas against mine.

I started the debate when I shared a “feel good” link I found on my feed about anonymous donors paying off Kmart layaway accounts across the country. The original poster wrote that it was exactly this type of act that Jesus Christ himself, the man behind the ‘mas, would want us doing each December’s end. But I couldn’t help but quarrel.

The article details how layaway-paying secret Santas are making Christmas possible for the less fortunate, taking care of the toys that the recipient families wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford. A kind gesture? Sure. But is it worthy of the WWJD stamp of heavenly sponsorship? I’m not sold.

Jesus Christ, known by Christians as the “Prince of Peace,” spent his life advocating the rights of the poor and admonishing the idolatry of money and the oppression it produced. On the surface, one might construe a donation helping a poor family to buy Christmas presents as a JC-approved act of holiday cheer, but if you dig deeper—and this was my Facebook argument—wouldn’t it be quite the opposite?

Americans will spend over $100 billion dollars on Christmas presents this year, the majority of that money going to fatten the turkeys of multinational CEOs who generously pay their international labor force as much as a few dollars an hour (and as little as a few cents) to produce our gift-wrapped toys, clothing, and electronics. In fact, the toys that end up in one child’s hands on Christmas morning were likely assembled by another child’s hands, just a few weeks earlier, halfway around the world. Where is that child’s secret Santa?

In the 2001 book, Christmas Unwrapped: Consumerism, Christ, and Culture, biblical scholars, historians, and anthropologists examine how the evolution of the Christmas ritual from Christian to Hellenistic has bedazzled the story of Jesus Christ with the red and green glitter of consumerism. Exposing the economic and class-based roots of Christmas as we know it today—a private, family-centered ritual that uses a “thin veil of Christianity” to celebrate the “ethic of consumption”–Christmas Unwrapped essentially backs me up, arguing that there is nothing moral or Christlike about consumerism.

Stories of poor kids with empty trees on Christmas morning and the heroic donors who save them from their giftless fate only contribute to a culture that exalts presents instead of peace, consumerism instead of community. If we are to honor the Prince of Peace, shouldn’t we be working to dismantle the very system that creates and reinforces war and poverty, instead of seeking out shortcuts to numb the pain of our oppression?

Now, to be honest, of the dozens of commenters on my wall-decking Facebook post, not all were Black Friday backers. One friend, a pastor, came to Christ’s (and Christmas’) defense with an idea I’d like to share with you, whatever your faith may be: “As a Christian, I am called to care for the widows and the orphans. Does paying someone’s layaway bill do that? Probably not. Does building a relationship with a fatherless child and mentoring that child do more for him than buying him a toy? Yes. The question is this, what level of comfort are you willing to sacrifice so that others may be blessed?”

You don’t have to be a Christian (heck, I’m not) to study and appreciate the life and works of tomorrow’s famous birthday boy, who plainly was not a once-a-year type of guy. (And I doubt you’d ever find him in a Kmart, unless he was exorcising the cash registers.) But he was a big fan of peace, love, and community—three things I’d personally like to see more of, on and off Facebook. This Christmas, I encourage you to ask yourself—really ask yourself—what would Jesus do, today and every day? Close your checkbooks and open your heart. Do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. ‘Tis the season.

*For another activist’s take on the true meaning of Christmas, check out Reverend Billy’s documentary, “What Would Jesus Buy?”.

About the Author: Rachael Kay Albers is a freelance writer, English teacher, and theater facilitator working to educate and empower indigenous women in Central America. You can find Rachael blogging about art, action and adventure in Latin America on RKA in LA or about multilingualism on Multilingual Mania.