my own
Monday, August 27, 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Most Well Received Photoshop to Date
Patting myself on the back for this time sensative satire on Hurricane Isaac, the GOP National Convention, and Todd Akin's incredibly bad timing for making his devastating remark. I understand Todd Akin is now trailing his opponent for the U.S. Senate by 10 points when the race was pretty much even before. While this powerful shift in local numbers does not translate into national numbers for the GOP in general or for Romney-Ryan in particular, it is still quite a shift in a local race where people have made up their minds and usually don't let national stories cloud their focus.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Welcome to the Machine
I lke to think of myself as fairly well educated but when I was informed by someone at work that Paul Ryan likes the musical group "Rage Against the Machine," I admit I had no idea about the group but looked it up in Wikipedia. I was dumbfounded:
Critics have noted Rage Against the Machine for its "fiercely polemical music, which brewed sloganeering leftist rants against corporate America, cultural imperialism, and government oppression into a Molotov cocktail of punk, hip-hop, and thrash."[1]Further: Morello spoke of wage slavery in America:
Integral to their identity as a band, Rage Against the Machine voice viewpoints highly critical of the domestic and foreign policies of current and previous US governments. Throughout its existence, RATM and its individual members participated in political protests and other activism to advocate these beliefs. The band primarily saw its music as a vehicle for social activism; De la Rocha explained that "I'm interested in spreading those ideas through art, because music has the power to cross borders, to break military sieges and to establish real dialogue."
“ | America touts itself as the land of the free, but the number one freedom that you and I have is the freedom to enter into a subservient role in the workplace. Once you exercise this freedom you've lost all control over what you do, what is produced, and how it is produced. And in the end, the product doesn't belong to you. The only way you can avoid bosses and jobs is if you don't care about making a living. Which leads to the second freedom: the freedom to starve. |
I first heard about Ayn Rand from someone, when I was in my early teens, and formed an opinion, without reading her books, that she must be cool. She was described as anti-society and that was enough for me. Look at how thick those books are. I did not want to read them.
With the "Rage Against the Machine" debacle....and, oh it got worse than just his fandom being picked apart by a few other fans or so...I sort of got a glimpse of myself as a younger man. Had someone mentioned Ayn Rand in a conversation back then, I would have pretty much acted pompous and lied, "Oh, I know all about her. She's the coolest," without ever truly reading a word. But I wasn't running for public office at the age of 14.
Paul Ryan was inspired to go into public service by Ayn Rand who did not believe in public service, or God, or any other moral values. It would seem to be an author one might want to stay away from with a ten-foot pole regardless of which party one was in. But even more certainly it was an anathema to someone running for office in the GOP. While the voters may not understand the term "obectivism" I'm sure they have a handle on "atheist."
And then the followup to this in revealing more of his taste in art, was "Rage against the Machine." I'll let Frank Morello one of the band members whome I quoted earlier describe this:
“Paul Ryan’s love of Rage Against the Machine is amusing, because he is the embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades.”
The group actually burned an American flag at the Woodstock '99
concert.
Ryan falls back on the fact that he liked the music rather than the lyrics. It's not really his fault. I mean how was he to know Ayn Rand was an atheist? The answer is in the wisdom factor. If you can't understand the themes your favorite author is writing about, don't bother to research a person that inspires you to go into public service. and don't bother to consider the lyrics or even titles of the songs you are listening to (or even ponder what the name of the group means) then I would say you are a bit shallow. I take that back, you are idiotically shallow.
Or a pretender: "Yeah, Ayn Rand, she's the coolest." :)
More on Ayn Rand: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_rand
More on which side is winning in defining Paul Ryan: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/President/2012/0816/Which-side-is-winning-the-battle-to-define-Paul-Ryan
Do Republicans really read anything other than Glen Beck, or a host of other right wing stuff they can use as argumentative material? Is Moby Dick on their reading list?
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Blitzkrieg Campaigning
I’m wondering if the problem with Fox News for the
Republicans is that they rely on this network and its viewers so much that they
fail to reach anyone outside the sphere of the nonsensical, which might
include middle of the road voters. They can lie here and no one calls them on it but is that good for them in the long run? The big Ryan/Medicare problem is a case in
point. Romney said something to the effect that they have Ryan in line now...
about his plan to lay Medicare to waste. This being said the more powerful Fox
News approach was just around the corner-- just make up a story. You see, Obama
cut Medicare with his health care program. You remember that, right? Yeah, that’s the ticket.
It’s a great Fox News type story but after the curtain is
pulled aside does it do much for Romney? I’m not sure.
Obama made Medicare stronger not weaker, pushing the date out further that other action would be required, as I remember, and also
giving additional benefits to seniors as well. Saying the opposite of what is true
in a huge way is like a statue of liberty play in football. It might be generously called misdirection
but this misdirection depends on a propaganda technique called “The Big Lie”
developed in WWII:
[The Big Lie is defined as the] use of a lie so "colossal" that
no one would believe that someone "could have the impudence to distort the
truth so infamously." - Wikipedia,
from “The Big Lie”
In a way, this seems to be the overall format of Fox News
itself. The label “News” adds
credibility to what we might otherwise expect to come across in a supermarket
tabloid or dirty trick campaign literature. How could they distort the truth so consistantly? So surely they are speaking the truth. This “news” is of the veracity of
what you might expect to hear in a robocall. This channel has always reminded
me of the late night infomercial format but more particularly it reminds me of a
radio commercial for a penis enlargement medication that stated “This has to be true,
or we couldn’t say it on the radio.”
Romney’s “Big Lie” about Obama and Medicare follows this
time honored formula. It plays to a Fox News audience and just might enlarge
your willy-wacky as well if you believe it; seriously, anything is possible. Admittedly, a number of seniors may
be in the Fox News audience, and their meanderings in life with word of mouth
news, may well turn the tide somehow, maybe, I guess. But I'm still not sure relying on the Fox News format will work.
Obama’s campaign
strategy has been to very quickly respond to what it deems to be
misrepresentations and lies. Perhaps Romney can lie quicker than can be corrected
as seems to be the case lately. Perhaps there is a new twist on the Big Lie strategy, a modified Big Lie strategy, the RFBL, if you will: Rapid
Fire Big Lies.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
An Unaccountable Obliquity in my Manner*
After spreading the calamine lotion, that were the words from my last essay, and spreading it on thick over the effects of the poison ivy that society often has been to me, I am comfortable and ready to move on as if I had disposed of that swelling itch and it's purveyor, by the roots, well and surely. As if only...
It came to my attention the other night that my mother would have loved me no matter the disagreeable nature of what I had become. No matter the ache, no matter the change to her customary way of thinking, she would have loved me and have been as proud, no, way more proud, of what I had done than I. Putting aside all the social media computer high definition blogging obliquity as if it were as inscrutable as a cassette tape recorder, she would focus on whom and what she loved.
I wish I had carried my mother's superpower with me throughout my life, but there are times when simple events of coincidence assure me that once in a while I do embrace her and her love, and she is there as if never gone, but only away for a short while. In these small moments, I rejoice.
*phrasing of title from Tristram Shandy (I think I am happy to put forth all the knowledge I have as if 'twere my own except that of this master who coincidentally was not ill disposed himself in putting forth all the knowledge he had as if 'twere his own)
It came to my attention the other night that my mother would have loved me no matter the disagreeable nature of what I had become. No matter the ache, no matter the change to her customary way of thinking, she would have loved me and have been as proud, no, way more proud, of what I had done than I. Putting aside all the social media computer high definition blogging obliquity as if it were as inscrutable as a cassette tape recorder, she would focus on whom and what she loved.
I wish I had carried my mother's superpower with me throughout my life, but there are times when simple events of coincidence assure me that once in a while I do embrace her and her love, and she is there as if never gone, but only away for a short while. In these small moments, I rejoice.
*phrasing of title from Tristram Shandy (I think I am happy to put forth all the knowledge I have as if 'twere my own except that of this master who coincidentally was not ill disposed himself in putting forth all the knowledge he had as if 'twere his own)
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Ridgecrest Baptist Church of Montgomery Alabama (circa early 70’s) and the Southern Baptists of Today
(The current Ridgecrest Church in Montgomery
Alabama had an earlier version. The older church building is now occupied by a
church of a different name.)
Let me begin with the thought that statements
of absolute certainty have always bothered me. I know I have made my share
of them over my lifetime and most all of those I have usually regretted later.
However my very belief in God is based upon my understanding that God can never
be truly known. He must be ineffable, too great to be described by mere words
invented and reworked over time by limited humans. I have had this belief in a wondrous and yet
unknowable God for quite some time. Throughout my life, it ebbed and waned in
importance, but at many important junctures it was the only important thing
that mattered. When I think enough about it, I think it might have always been
the one thing that truly mattered.
I studied many books on religion throughout my life. First on the list was the Holy Bible which was on my parents’ bed stand. I remember the tactile feel of that old copy very well. My parents would, through the short time I had with them, never interfere in my religious development and for this I am grateful and happy. Some Good Samaritan, I'm not sure who, enrolled me in vacation Bible school. However I learned very little. It was all pretty much above my head or at least did not make it across to a young child of about 7, I guess. Maybe it influenced me but I cannot remember it. However, at the end of the summer, I received a gift - my very own Bible. It was all wrapped up like a birthday present. I remember being disappointed when unwrapping it because it was just a book, and without pictures. The print was small and it looked very unappealing.
However, later in my life as a young teenager, I took this Bible every week to Ridgecrest Baptist Church which a few kids my age and I had begun to attend. Again my parents did not influence me one way or the other. The church was always a nice place to hang out. People were friendly and often there was food from various events. We were always welcome. We often sat in the back and enjoyed "revivals" that would last an entire week. One of the small group of us was baptized in the glass case filled with water that was located high above where the pastor preached. I remember a microphone for the pastor to say the ceremonial words with the sounds of water sloshing when he was up there. Those to be baptized were dunked backwards completely into the water and brought up. This was always a highlight because the whole production was rather difficult and often led to interesting moments of odd sounds or exclamations echoing loudly out of the church sound system. It was entertaining for the kids, like us.
The Bible was my first written objective resource. There was consistent encouragement in the church services to read it. Later, I received a "Living Bible" which I never quite trusted. But it certainly did help with my understanding of difficult passages. This was given to me by my sister as a Christmas present. I have kept both of these meaningful copies of the Bible, of course.
I studied many books on religion throughout my life. First on the list was the Holy Bible which was on my parents’ bed stand. I remember the tactile feel of that old copy very well. My parents would, through the short time I had with them, never interfere in my religious development and for this I am grateful and happy. Some Good Samaritan, I'm not sure who, enrolled me in vacation Bible school. However I learned very little. It was all pretty much above my head or at least did not make it across to a young child of about 7, I guess. Maybe it influenced me but I cannot remember it. However, at the end of the summer, I received a gift - my very own Bible. It was all wrapped up like a birthday present. I remember being disappointed when unwrapping it because it was just a book, and without pictures. The print was small and it looked very unappealing.
However, later in my life as a young teenager, I took this Bible every week to Ridgecrest Baptist Church which a few kids my age and I had begun to attend. Again my parents did not influence me one way or the other. The church was always a nice place to hang out. People were friendly and often there was food from various events. We were always welcome. We often sat in the back and enjoyed "revivals" that would last an entire week. One of the small group of us was baptized in the glass case filled with water that was located high above where the pastor preached. I remember a microphone for the pastor to say the ceremonial words with the sounds of water sloshing when he was up there. Those to be baptized were dunked backwards completely into the water and brought up. This was always a highlight because the whole production was rather difficult and often led to interesting moments of odd sounds or exclamations echoing loudly out of the church sound system. It was entertaining for the kids, like us.
The Bible was my first written objective resource. There was consistent encouragement in the church services to read it. Later, I received a "Living Bible" which I never quite trusted. But it certainly did help with my understanding of difficult passages. This was given to me by my sister as a Christmas present. I have kept both of these meaningful copies of the Bible, of course.
But by and by, Ridgecrest Baptist Church of
Montgomery, Alabama had started struggling with a problem. School rezoning was
occurring in order to help the goal of integration. Many church members’ houses were being
sold to “Negroes” as the zones changed for their children, who would go to
predominately black schools. White people just fled instead of sending their
kids to schools that were purposely built and staffed to be inferior. White
people without kids eventually sold their houses as well. After all, their
property values seemed to be decreasing as homes went on the market everywhere by homeowners
desperate to sell. Might I also say this revolution in thought was to the
delight of the local real estate moguls? Real estate folks in Montgomery
Alabama seem to always have something to be delighted about no matter what the
problem.
At the time it defied my imagination as to why the church had problems with allowing certain human beings to come into the church. For one, there was unlikely to be a mass flood of African Americans into this hostile land. To think of this active discrimination happening today would pretty much defy everyone's imagination. Even at the young age I was back then, I was a relatively deep thinker (not correct just obsessive). In my naivety I pondered exactly what the problem was. Why was this question being asked? Apparently, in plain view to everyone, Ridgecrest Baptist Church was holding a vote to decide how the Word of God came down on whether to allow people of a particular race to come inside their church.
At the time it defied my imagination as to why the church had problems with allowing certain human beings to come into the church. For one, there was unlikely to be a mass flood of African Americans into this hostile land. To think of this active discrimination happening today would pretty much defy everyone's imagination. Even at the young age I was back then, I was a relatively deep thinker (not correct just obsessive). In my naivety I pondered exactly what the problem was. Why was this question being asked? Apparently, in plain view to everyone, Ridgecrest Baptist Church was holding a vote to decide how the Word of God came down on whether to allow people of a particular race to come inside their church.
As instructed by the church, I had been
reading, studying, and thinking about these bibles given to me as presents.
Using what I had already learned, some of it in sermons, I had already reasoned
that the Vietnam War was immoral. It did however seem to be a question of
significance and doubt. Yet this simple question, of whether to open the church
to everyone who wanted to come inside and worship, had not occurred to me as worthy
of pondering. The group of us young kids, attending the church from our own
choice, argued the point as we walked to and from church like it was a debate.
I was of the opinion that a few would vote for exclusion of black people and
the vast majority would vote for inclusion. I remember kids with opposing views
pointing out that racists attended the church, including a Ku Klux Klan member
that we knew well, but I remained convinced that the choice of inclusion would
obviously be the majority opinion.
I was wrong. I quit attending church.
I was wrong. I quit attending church.
Much of my later theological development
stemmed from the complete disconnect organized religion had made with my personal
understanding of what I had read in the Bible. One incident of intolerance by a
majority of church goers had ruined the whole organized movement for me. As I
learned world history and the full story of the development of mankind in
school, despite one college instructor's rabid bias against Catholicism and
probably religion itself, I came to realize that the world was larger and
encompassed many more ideas than I previously had an understanding of. My first
years of college were consumed by my increasing awareness of learning for the
sake of learning. There were no classes in religion so I studied the 4 gospels
on my own with commentaries from every possible source that seemed to be
scholarly. I focused on Jesus Christ and his teachings.
What I found was nothing like what I had been taught in church and was much more involved than my previous rudimentary readings as a child. When I look back I can see I was a bit obsessed with trying to come to an absolute understanding of an ineffable subject. I am none the worse for it now, I believe, but I was still very naive at the time. Somehow something very deep stuck with me, however, for the rest of my life.
I honestly dislike the word "faith" for it seems to imply a blind faith. I prefer the word "belief" as I have spent some time forming my beliefs. Had I ever experienced that one moment in my life in which I would become "baptized" and "saved" from that day on, I would have missed out on the most important of learning processes: doubting. It is the questioning that life poses that has led to such fulfilling moments of clarity as I get older and hopefully wiser. I have been through years of belief and disbelief. Until I tired of it, I have held argumentative discussions with anyone who wanted to "save" me. I pointed out the problems of interpreting the Bible as the literal truth, and many times along the way I found myself lost. The constant barrage of fundamentalism coming from living in the south had at times caused me to pivot into a pretty much atheistic stance. Was this the best God could do with His followers? Were these the best arguments for faith? Did things really depend upon the theory that the world was only thousands of years old when I knew without much thought needed that it was at least millions of years old? I have come to realize that those who sought out arguments with me were not always on top of their game, and the discussion, unfortunately, is far from a game.
What I found was nothing like what I had been taught in church and was much more involved than my previous rudimentary readings as a child. When I look back I can see I was a bit obsessed with trying to come to an absolute understanding of an ineffable subject. I am none the worse for it now, I believe, but I was still very naive at the time. Somehow something very deep stuck with me, however, for the rest of my life.
I honestly dislike the word "faith" for it seems to imply a blind faith. I prefer the word "belief" as I have spent some time forming my beliefs. Had I ever experienced that one moment in my life in which I would become "baptized" and "saved" from that day on, I would have missed out on the most important of learning processes: doubting. It is the questioning that life poses that has led to such fulfilling moments of clarity as I get older and hopefully wiser. I have been through years of belief and disbelief. Until I tired of it, I have held argumentative discussions with anyone who wanted to "save" me. I pointed out the problems of interpreting the Bible as the literal truth, and many times along the way I found myself lost. The constant barrage of fundamentalism coming from living in the south had at times caused me to pivot into a pretty much atheistic stance. Was this the best God could do with His followers? Were these the best arguments for faith? Did things really depend upon the theory that the world was only thousands of years old when I knew without much thought needed that it was at least millions of years old? I have come to realize that those who sought out arguments with me were not always on top of their game, and the discussion, unfortunately, is far from a game.
Just recently someone showed me a historical
geological timeline which showed the history of the Earth with all the various
Christian events and personalities carefully lined up below. He showed it as if
it was proof of God and the truthfulness of the Bible. I said "The Bible
really shouldn't be limited by this idea." As the necessary disagreement
ensued, this person asked me why I could not see that the chart proved the
Bible was correct. At this point I realized that the act itself of putting
things in a chart meant that something was proven to this person, but I went on
anyway. "It is just that you limit God with human knowledge. I personally
believe the world is millions of years old and I am fairly certain that the
star light we see is millions of years old. Don't you see? God is beyond
science. Our knowledge is limited and God is infinite. You can lose people you wish to 'save' just
because they do not believe your chart."
I had almost been led astray by the failure
of Ridgecrest Baptist Church, which eventually moved to the new white section of town where it now resides. I had almost given up because of the
disappointment I had felt with small minded Christians. While I understood this
chart person's desire to battle science and prove his religion, I kept worrying about
the people who would choose science over God when confronted like this with such
shoddy evidence. As I have learned just recently from the book by Karen Armstrong which I have been
incessantly reading and mentioning, science has no business in criticizing God
because science deals with only things that are not supernatural. It is one of
Science's original postulates. Things are not supernatural, superstitious, or
magical so the scientific method begins with the postulate that there is no God.
Because some (over the centuries) have been attempting to use science or knowledge to "prove" God
exists, to prove the ineffable, Christianity seems on a precarious ledge easily
"proved" wrong when one makes the assumptions that science makes. It
is not an effective battle to fight. Proof for a human being must necessarily
limit God who we suppose to be limitless.
______________________________
Much of the previous comprised a longish essay I had written with a different ending. I am tossing the ending. It was unfinished, so I am not throwing away all that much. I explained in the original essay (as if I were some kind of expert) how the next mistake made was organized religion’s foray into politics. Thus, if one disagreed politically with the church, one might as well not attend the church. This strategy seemed to be less than effective in gaining followers for Christ. Speaking out on a national stage and basically saying that close to half of Americans had political views of which God did not approve seems a little uninviting. Yet, I jumped too fast to this next problem. In my humble opinion, organized religion is further down the scale of understanding than this. Additionally, the original essay began not about the church and my weak knowledge of it, but of my own experiences. Politics only plays tangentially into my recent experience. This intolerably ugly moment, the second I personally beheld, has prompted me to finish this essay and add this rewritten ending:
Much of the previous comprised a longish essay I had written with a different ending. I am tossing the ending. It was unfinished, so I am not throwing away all that much. I explained in the original essay (as if I were some kind of expert) how the next mistake made was organized religion’s foray into politics. Thus, if one disagreed politically with the church, one might as well not attend the church. This strategy seemed to be less than effective in gaining followers for Christ. Speaking out on a national stage and basically saying that close to half of Americans had political views of which God did not approve seems a little uninviting. Yet, I jumped too fast to this next problem. In my humble opinion, organized religion is further down the scale of understanding than this. Additionally, the original essay began not about the church and my weak knowledge of it, but of my own experiences. Politics only plays tangentially into my recent experience. This intolerably ugly moment, the second I personally beheld, has prompted me to finish this essay and add this rewritten ending:
_______________________________
My wife has been going to church for quite
some time. Again, I had pretty much given up on organized religion but I am
very happy my wife rekindled the issue. it is not easily dismissed that I do not study the Bible anymore and do not take the time to contemplate God. The part of the Bible that said to
gather together in His name had seemed a weakened concept when the reality was
that gathering together might only result in people being pushed irretrievably away
from a personal relationship with God as a result of their disagreeable political
views, one’s politics now being a strongly exclusionary factor on the national
stage. Worse, this sudden exclusion of seekers is during a period of history
when America has less respect for the concept of community and a great deal
more for individualism. The concept of community is branded by the “Christian Right”
(the word “Christian” is now part of a political term) as socialist. Receiving
help from charity is un-American. The idea of a bit more tax on the rich to
help our floundering economy is unacceptable. Christianity will not abide
socialism in America. It will not abide more of a burden on the rich man. In my opinion, it will also not abide community. The whole thing is kind of mind
boggling to one who read and studied the Gospels so deeply without church
interference. I mean. Jesus said things which I believe.
I tried for a while to go to church with my
wife but found the local pastor not really communicating with me. He was from a
different background, I guess. It is surely not his fault as he tries very hard
and he does communicate with others in his church and apparently my wife. As
far as I know from the few times I went and from my wife’s description, he has stayed
away from politics and all forms of discrimination. All this and he is a self-labeled
“country preacher.” My admiration is strong but I was not quite happy because
frankly I wanted a deeper discussion of God and not a discussion upon the act of becoming a
Christian.
I don’t doubt that there are those who need
to discover the Word but once done, they need to live it. And if they are
living it, they do not really need a lion tamer with a chair to constantly
force them into renewing their belief. Please do not interpret this to mean
that I think that I understand more than others. I just know what I would find
personally fulfilling in a church.
All was well with our world with my wife
going to church while I stayed at home. Then my schedule changed at work and
Sunday became my first off day. This seems like a large change to me. I love my
wife very much. I want to spend my Sunday morning with her now. Consequently we
decided to branch out to try other churches. The first one that seemed fairly
easy for various reasons was the First Baptist Church of Opelika, Alabama. The music was better if
a bit too majestic for my tastes. Then, the pastor came up to give a sermon
that was on the subject of the history of racism in the Southern Baptist
church. I was amazed as he taught a passage from the Bible that I never knew
existed which seemed to outline the responsibilities of masters and slaves as
if the institution were completely acceptable. The pastor told us the passage
had been used long ago to justify slavery. He then read and displayed the
Southern Baptist Church’s apology for the period of time it supported slavery, which was from the very beginning as the Southern Baptists had made a split just for the sake of condoning slavery. But more importantly to me (as slavery is a done deal) the Southern Baptists were foursquare against all forms of racism.
I was overjoyed that by pure chance (or
something else possibly) this was the topic of the day and I was receiving an apology for having my faith ripped
from me in my youth by bigots. I felt so wonderful. Things had changed, even in
the First Baptist Church of Opelika, Alabama. My wife and I were both thinking
the same thing, as it turned out—this might be our church. The pastor was well
educated and I was on the edge of my seat listening to every word. “We were
wrong,” he said.
Honestly, I am so gullible. To
me there is nothing worse than taking advantage of my gullibility.
In the sermon, the passage on the Christian
duties of slaves and owners changed into a passage outlining the duties of
employees and their employers. I considered this not a bad message to continue
with. After all, there must be some way to interpret the acceptance of slavery
in the Bible as a positive message for today. He explained that the slaves at
that time were more like what we later called “indentured servants” in early American
history. They too could save money and buy their freedom. He admitted
that some could never really purchase their freedom because of the vast amount they owed but it still was a vastly
different concept from the slavery of the Civil War era. I was mulling over this concept of
the slaves signing a sort of contract because I thought I had learned from world
history classes that slaves were conquered peoples. Their problem was in living
in a territory that was conquered, no contract involved.
Yet, I’m still hanging in there at this
point. I mean, this guy understood the term “indentured servant” and got the
metaphor reasonably correct (there were surely a few problems with indentured
servitude that made it less than savory) and better, he thought his audience
would not look at each other in mystification as to what the heck this guy was
saying. In other words, he was not speaking down to me. Even though his concept
of a Roman slave was a bit spotty, I was hanging on until….as the discussion of
good employers progressed…. the big example was the wholesome Christianity of
Chick Fil A and particularly Dan Cathy.
I was stunned.
In thirty minutes my emotions had been sent
through the wringer. Earlier, he had shown a picture of a man (with no name) to illustrate the evils of
slavery. It is a classic picture of a slave’s scarred back. This image, still
in my mind at that moment, just melted into the background as a metaphor for the
hatred he was subtly whipping up for those who did not have the proper Southern
Baptist approved sexual orientation. How could he not know about bullying in
our schools? How could he not know about the current uptick in seriously violent
gay bashing? He must know. Then how could he not mention it? How could he not
know the reasonable argument that spending money at Chick Fil A was giving a
portion of one’s dollar to hate groups? (Hate groups given money by Don Cathy were
clearly identified as such by the fairly objective Southern Poverty Law Center
based in nearby Montgomery, Alabama.) The man who stood before me had simply made a
choice not to address these issues while praising Chick Fil A. I was not
absolutely certain, but I thought that the man who stood before me would someday
be apologized for himself and “forgotten.” He would someday be as “forgotten” in the future using the
same kind of sermon he just gave. He would be swept under the rug as neatly as the
Southern Baptist church’s members who condoned, or looked the other way for, the
violence this scarred slave and countless others received. It was so disheartening to
feel this strong emotion akin to hatred inside myself in a church service, even
if my hate was really only a strong visceral reaction to this pitiable bigot of
a man chosen here as a leader.
I had been correct in my youth. That much was clear. There had been at some point in time, a public apology made for their past bigotry.
My wife, anticipating my reaction to the praise of Chick Fil A, asked me if I wanted to leave early. No, I
wanted to be face to face with the man. I had never confronted the Southern
Baptists who thought themselves correct and of a superior race in my youth, who now have
their successors to wash their hands, those whose hatred poisoned my life (even though I am white) for
decades. After the service ended, I walked as quickly as possible to the front of the church accidentally
jostling a few in the aisle, leaving my wife behind, hoping this man would be
there at the front of the church. With as much civility as I could muster with
my emotions still on high, I confronted him on the front
steps of his church. While, again, I am never absolutely certain about anything,
there are moments when logic can help guide one from “thought A” to “thought B” and this one was very clear.
I was very strong in my confrontation but remained as polite as possible. “Praise God” was the
response he used to fill the vacuum of silence and of reason that followed.
I found my wife and we went home. I took a shower. Thankfully, I thought, as the water came down around me, I had never been baptized by bigots.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Official Dedication of my Blog
My Dedication Proper— [(OR, A Sterne-esque Moment Belabored
with Thought and Attention For and To an Important Subject, Though Neglected
Until Now-- Such Voluminous Neglect Befitting the Titular Nature of This Blog—Disguised
as If a Deed of Emulation to Honor the Dedicatee —and as it Appears The Cat Has
Strolled Easily Out of the Now Loosening Burlap Sack, an Entry Worth Only a
Perfunctory Skim and Nod--) OR, My Dedication Improper, in the Light of Current Parenthetical
Happenstance That is Bewildering Even to Me but Seems as I Say, "In Keeping...")] to
Laurence Sterne
Recent events have me reading Mr. Sterne’s Tristan Shandy (a
Cock and Bull Story) yet again, albeit this time in an electronic way hitherto
unimaginable or of which I had only some vague notions, not affecting as it does the
actual act of information dissemination but redefining it in some mysteriously dynamic
way. This book being truly among the most personally inspiring visions of
curmuffle ever penned, I bow in humility. In the memory of this great writer
and man responsible for leading me generously astray in life, of which I know
but piddlywads about personally or biographically, I have quite and
most intentionally put off until this very proper moment, as a parody of Mr. Sterne himself,
for my dedication of this blog. With all
the pomposity appropriate to any event
that needs such artificial gravitas to signify its own importance and singularity, I, Michael DeVore, Esq. hereby dedicate my blog:
“To a Distinguished Gentleman of
Mixed Humors Who Has Given Me Joy throughout the Years and to Whom I Owe an Excellent
Mark in My All But Ill-fated Choice of Literature Classes Entitled “Eighteenth
Century Novel” – a choice based hastily upon the word “novel” and a lack of
historical understanding of the century involved—Leading to an Inevitable Understanding
that a Literature Degree was Probably Not Worth the Bearing or Literary
Instructor Worth the Baring. Yes, I Toast You Sir Sterne, if the Toaster be of Excellent Condition because Perfectly Toasted is A Must, I am Sir Sterne, Forever in
your Debt though Not Literally for I Despise Many a Moneylender, Unless a
Family Member of the Reader’s be of Such Temperament”
--No, I say, Barclay's be Damned. Banks All be Damned For their Accursed Immoral Values Regardless of the Reader's Ancestors and or Current Relations, or Distant Relatives, or Even Acquaintances and Friends, nor Withstanding the Fact that My Ex-Wife Became a Broker--
My undying thanks to Laurence Sterne for changing me beyond the hope of being a victim of the society of those of ill gained wealth and for unsuccinctly teaching me the importance of books and the written word.
--No, I say, Barclay's be Damned. Banks All be Damned For their Accursed Immoral Values Regardless of the Reader's Ancestors and or Current Relations, or Distant Relatives, or Even Acquaintances and Friends, nor Withstanding the Fact that My Ex-Wife Became a Broker--
My undying thanks to Laurence Sterne for changing me beyond the hope of being a victim of the society of those of ill gained wealth and for unsuccinctly teaching me the importance of books and the written word.
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