V

Note : This post was originally done over a year ago but never posted

This post isn't so much about what pisses me off as it is about what has me more than a little concerned. My wife and I went to see "V for Vendetta" this past weekend and I have to say that I loved the movie. It got a "B" ranking by the critics on Yahoo and and "B+" by viewers. It is the most intelligent movie I've seen in a long time with real dialogue and actors and stuff. It didn't seem as there was much in the way of CGI effects even thought it is set in the future(the near future but the future, nonetheless). After seeing it I would love to find out the other movies that were ranked as high or higher because I honestly didn't find much fault with it at all.
What disturbed me was how close the screenplay hit home. To make a long story short, a fascist, self-righteous, Christian government has taken over Britain after the US has all but collapsed under the weight of fighting a war, racial problems, etc. and a spate of biological terrorist attacks on British citizens. Some of the government's controls include approved (and unapproved) music and media, news organizations that believe everything they're told by the government, curfews with bully enforcers, etc. Remind you of anything? I'm not saying that the US is being run by a fascist government but there are enough little things in place to make me concerned. The Patriot act, for instance, in the wrong hands, could result in American citizens being jailed with no hope of speaking to an attorney and no guarantee of a free trial. I can definitely see a situation where a president, not necessarily Bush, could take advantage of a crisis situation to institute martial law and suspend the constitution. Then all that is required is military and police force to maintain the situation. People think it can't happen but I'm a firm believer that not only can we not predict the future but that it is more terrific (look up the definition) than we can imagine.
I may be a bit more interested and knowledgeable about my religion than most people but I would have to honestly say that I am definitely not more religious. In fact, most religious organizations really scare me because they don't have any accountability. You let a fundamentalist who thinks he knows the Bible into power and we're in big trouble. They don't have logical explanations for what they believe, they just believe it. They've been told something and they haven't challenged it intelligently. God tells them this and that but I've got news for them - God doesn't talk to anyone. We must put ourselves in the proper state of mind with the proper motives to discover the will of God. Anyway, my point is that their are enough people out there that are willing to be led around by the nose by the right person at the right time that we could see something happen in our lifetimes. As much as I hate listening to their whining, I'm glad the PC crowd is out there. As long as there is some dissent, there is always a chance that someone will listen enough to challenge their own beliefs.

Rapture, Smapture

I was just reading this article by Joe Bageant in which he accurately portrays born-agains as self-righteous, fear-mongering idiots in the context of the "Left Behind" series. He makes the point that if Muslems had produced something similar, the Christians would be in an uproar. I think he's right on. I was going to include this in a previous post but I'm glad I waited. It seems as though there are two Jesus' and Lord Almightys(Oh,yeah I almost forgot the Holy Ghost/Spirit). There's the fundamentalist/evangelical versions who are vengeful and who will send you to Hades for one sin and then there's the God is love and Jesus loves me, etc (Sorry, Holy Spirit, there's no I love the Spirit stuff out there). Everytime a stripclub opens, there are a bunch of the fundamentalists protesting. I don't think that helps much as there seem to be more gentlemen's clubs than ever. What I don't understand is that if all the true Christians are going to be "Raptured"( which is biblical BS) why are they bothering to save the rest of us. Don't they realize it's going to get awfully crowded up there? Anyway, when they "save" someone it's only so they can say "I saved someone". It's not about the other person. Everyone has to go down that road by themselves and when they're ready they'll go. Anyway, I really think if there were strip clubs in Jesus' time, instead of protesting he would probably bring some of his apostles in, order a drink then tactfully try to persuade the women there that they were being objectified and convince the patrons that they needed to examine their own consciences to determine why they were there. This is entirely consistent with his behaviour with the tax collectors, prostitutes, and other untouchables of that time. He would invite them to his dwelling for drink and food. Then while he had a captive audience, he would pull out the parables and have deep discussions about the nature of God. Look at how he handled the adulterous woman that was about to be stoned. His care and concern for her was incredible. He said "Let those of you without sin cast the first stone". I read that as if you haven't walked a mile in someone else's shoes, you don't have any place to criticize them. The fundamentalists don't realize that Jesus' response when people challenged his authority for going into the temple and turning over the money changers tables meant that not only would he destroy his temple(life) and rebuild it in three days, He was also destroying the temple(what had preceded him religiously) and it would be rebuilt as the Christian faith(The Holy Roman Catholic Church). That means that all the nonsense the fundamentalists quote from the Old Testament has no relevance. It was included so that the history and culture of the faith could be preserved as well as the prophecies regarding Jesus. It's not meant to be taken literally and definately wasn't back then. People knew when the Old and New Testament writers were being figurative or literal. A little common sense and research will confirm this. Jesus doesn't kill, nor does God the Father or the Holy Spirit. God/Jesus/Holy Spirit is about life and love. I firmly believe that a person's concept of what God is or isn't is directly proportional to their intelligence and/or willingness to learn. Lazy people just want to be told, they don't want to find out for themselves. Intelligence is static - you've either got it or you don't. So I guess what I'm saying is the the fundamentalist/evangelicals are either stupid or ignorant or both.

I see this morning where Ray Nagin doesn't really care where people rebuild in the Big Easy even if it's in a flood prone area. He is about to squander an opportunity of a lifetime, maybe several lifetimes, to reshape the geography, culture, and politics of a city that has been rife with race problems and poverty just for political gain. I'm sure it because he feels if he doesn't hurt anyone's feelings, the road to re-election will be paved with gold with everyone coming back to New Orleans in droves. Ray, Ray, Ray. Don't you realize that New Orleans probably won't have another black mayor for at least the next 50 years or so? His constituency is scattered all over the country and most of them aren't going back. The city is not prepared, nor will it be for sometime, to deal with all the social service issues that will come with people coming back. She's just trying to keep her head out of the water for as long as it takes to get the economy of the city functional. Most of what made New Orleans what it is today was the single proprietor businesses. Those guys are gone. McDonald's won't sell any hamburgers if the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker aren't there anymore. Being from Louisiana, I know the areas that were hit the hardest. They are still finding bodies 6 months after the water receded. Most areas still look like Katrina came ashore last week. Refuse is still piled on the street curb awaiting pickup. My daughter went to a show at the House of Blues there a couple of weeks ago and she said it was eerie that the streets were so quiet downtown. America just doesn't get it and Nagin is trying to shine a turd. That city may take the rest of this century to get back to what it was before Katrina. That's provided the Corp of Engineers can fix the levees before the next Katrina hits. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.

Land of the Free and Home Of the Brave ?

While visiting my daughter this past weekend, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law got in a quite heated discussion. It wasn't about one thing in particular - it never is. Some how or another the subject turned to politics, as it usually does as some point, and I made the statement that I feel anyone that gets into politics is a bit screwed up. I don't believe that someone that wants to get into politics is emotionally or mentally stable because it's all about feeding their ego and maintaining their power. They all have varying degrees on megalomaniacism. My mother-in-law was just about apoplectic. She couldn't believe that I felt that way and that the future of the country was in jeopardy. My contention is that it's always been like that. The Roman Senate was just a bunch of back-stabbing guys in togas and the forefathers of our nation went to great lengths to discredit each other for their own agrandisement. Thomas Jefferson, for instance, while in George Washington's administration as Secretary of State, used public money to finance a newspaper that did nothing but constantly publish article about Washington's ineptness. Washington even went to Jefferson and asked him if he knew anything about what was being written in this newspaper and Jefferson denied it. I'm not saying that politicians don't have great vision when it comes to public policy. What I am saying is that the great visions are simply a tool to maintain their power. If you don't have something the American public can sink their teeth into, they don't have much patience. I don't lose sleep at night because of this because I recognize them for what they are - self-serving.

True representative government is just around the corner. The Internet gives us the possibility of being able to vote on individual bills. We would still have representatives at the federal, state and local level but our votes would determine the way they voted. This would be a huge change from the poll-based system we have now which is, for all practical purposes, just wetting your finger and sticking in the air to see which way the wind is blowing. We have the technology for it. We just don't have one key ingredient - an educated and interested populous. Nothing scares me more than the thought of every American having one vote when it came to determining the policy of this country. Many couldn't tell you who the Secretary of Defense was much less the Secretary of the Interior. They rely on traditional media to give them the new instead of searching it out themselves. The sad part is that the very people that should be making sure people are informed don't really want them to be. The more ignorant their constituency, the easier their lives are. There's less explaining to do and they can sneak things into bills to help out the lobbyists that take them on trips, out to dinner, etc. I can envision a future not too far down the road where this country is going to collapse under the weight of all the regulations, laws and legal interpretations that have being foisted on Americans over the last 50 years or so. We aren't even enforcing the laws we have now and yet the Congress is continuing to pass more laws and the agencies created by those law are making more regulations.

What ever happened to the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. I would have to say that I don't think the average American is free or brave. Yes, I'm free to write this but I still have to wear a seatbelt when I drive my car or a helmet if I had a motorcycle. If I still smoked, I couldn't partake of that selfish pleasure in half the restaurants and clubs in the US. If a restaurant allows smoking, you don't have to go in there. The restaurant would be able to tell really quickly if they could turn a profit with just people that were smokers. If there is something on television you don't like, you don't have to watch it. And the government is not responsible for making sure your children don't see it either - you are. Trying to make sure that no-one gets hurt takes away from everybody's liberty. You can't legislate intelligence any more than you can legislate morality. Stupid people are going to continue to be stupid. We should, however, make every attempt to make ignorance extinct. There's no excuse for this country with all the technology and opportunity to continue to have as many people that are as clueless about the workings of government as we do. I'll bet there aren't 2 people out of 10 that know how a bill becomes law or how the judicial system works. That might be a bit low but I do tend toward hyperbole occasionally.

American Stupidity

I saw an article on Fark.com that said that the official sign that Hollywood had run out of ideas was that a movie version of "Dallas" was being cast with John Travolta, Jennifer Lopez and Shirley McClain. That may very well be true but the real issue is that Hollywood is doing these movies because stupid Americans have no problem plunking down their $7 plus popcorn and drink to see a terrible movie based on a terrible TV show. "Dukes of Hazzard" was laughable in it's day but when I saw that they were going to make a movie of it, I just couldn't believe it. What's next - Different Strokes? , Alf? , The Jeffersons?. Don't blame Hollywood for making bad movies. Place the blame where it lies - American Stupidity. What happened to the great music of the '90's like The Gin Blossoms or Live? It's been replaced by music programmed by record company executives and radio station conglomerates. Why? - because the insipid American public will buy it. If you want to hear good music or see good movies, you've really got to work to find it. "Garden State" didn't even play in the town I live in (population - 350,000) and the only acts that come to play here are Nickleback, Kid Rock, etc. I'm tired of being discriminated culturally just because I don't live in a more cosmopolitan area.

Hamas

Hamas has stated that terrorism is legal and they will continue to use it as part of their political platform. How much more do we need to hear from these insane Palestinians? I'm so surprised Israel has not bombed the crap out of them. I am so tired of putting up with people whose whole existence is for the express purpose of terrorizing another group of people. Any organization who publicly states that should be exterminated. It's been difficult with Al-Qaida because they are not a political entity. You can't bomb or lay siege to their capital because they don't have one. We were very successful in taking care of the Taliban because they were a political organization with headquarters, etc. Perhaps the worst thing Hamas could have done is to legitimize themselves by getting elected. Israel knows exactly where their seat of power is and I'm pretty sure if Hamas takes another step toward actually doing something, Israel will show them the business end of some missiles, tanks, you name it. Here in the states, we have Zero-tolerance policies in our schools for drugs, guns, etc. Maybe what we need to do with foreign diplomacy is to have a Zero-tolerance policy for terrorist assholes like Hamas and those stupid Iranian f..kers. The minute they say anything of an incendiary nature, the cruise missiles ought to start flying. They'll get the message soon enough.

Sensibility at last

Is it just my imagination or is the creationism vs evolution debate starting to swing towards the side of logic and common sense? Over the last month or so, creationism proponents have been dealt a blow in several school systems across the country. My feeling on this whole situation is that evolution and the Big Bang, etc are immutable facts even though they are called theories in the scientific community. The evidence is overwhelming. National Geographic had a very good treatment of this situation in one of their issues last year. The same people that argue against evolution will breed cows for more milk, leaner meat, etc. yet they can't understand how nature could influence one particular genetic disposition to be better suited to it's environment than another. Through our God-given intellect and reasoning, we've been able to turn back the clock to determine the conditions of the early universe just nano-seconds before it was created. If people realized that the best explanation scientists have for the beginning of the universe is that a singularity (think of a infinitely small point with infinite mass) was dropped into an absolute nothingness (not a vacuum, it means no space or time) and the singularity expanded rapidly (Big Bang, maybe?) to fill the void. If that doesn't say "Hand of God", I don't know what does.
I think the biggest problem that most people have with reconciling their religion with modern science is that they can't open their minds enough to understand that God, by definition, is all powerful, all knowing, etc. They want a god that fits in their experience and doesn't challenge their belief system. I don't know how many times I've seen these preachers on TV saying that God wouldn't create another intelligent species in the universe because we are his greatest creation. If that's as good as he can do, I'm terribly disappointed. I have always looked to science as a demonstration of how amazing God's creation is and it has bolstered my faith rather than challenging it.

A Joke?

The recent church burnings in Alabama have turned out to be some sick joke by a couple of college students that got out of hand. At least that's their story and they're sticking to it. In exactly what screwed up universe would anyone consider a church burning, much less nine, a knee-slapper? Are college kids these days so bored that they have to commit federal offenses in order to get their kicks? According to a federal source, they just liked to start fires and watch them burn. It wasn't enough to burn 5 churches. They had to burn 4 more on the opposite side of the state to try to throw the authorities off the trail.
What we're talking about here is anarchistic and amoral behaviour not unlike "A Clockwork Orange". While it's one of my favorite movies, and in my opinion, Kubrik's finest film, I'm afraid that Stanley has done it again. He gave us a view of the future(our present) that no one really thought would come to pass. Well folks, welcome to the future. A great number of the kids who are in college today were pampered in grade school and taught that the important thing was that no one got their feelings hurt and that everyone's a winner are facing the reality that people with better educations and work ethics usually end up with better jobs, lives etc. I'm not saying that you can't get there by scheming and underhandedness but you're not going to like yourself or anyone else very much. Malcom McDowell's character in "A Clockwork Orange" was never challenged to be anything other than a spoiled brat who got everything he wanted and I would hazard a guess that these kids are probably the same way.