Ends...and beginnings

I saw a great bumper sticker the other day: "January 22, 2009, The End of an Error."

Whatever you believe about the outgoing administration, or the incoming for that matter, let's hope that there's truth in that bumper sticker...that this becomes a real turning-point, and things do start to get better. Anything else is unthinkable.

What's the point?

I've often been stymied by the futility of life. I mean, what's the point? You go through all this and in the end you die.

Yeah, yeah...I've heard lots of the religious takes on it...the afterlife, and karma, and heaven and all...but in the end, at least from this end of the telescope, someone tosses you in a hole or sprinkles what's left of you in a (hopefully!) favorite spot.

But then I got to thinking more about futility today, particularly since it's almost Thanksgiving, and I realized that there is an upside to futility. If I were to be totally mired in the futility of things, I wouldn't even bother EATING, because, after all, what would be the point? In a few hours I'd just be hungry again! But in this case, futility is a good thing...because it means there will be room for dessert.

And that's a metaphor I can really sink my teeth into.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Morning Coffee

This morning I sat at a different table at the coffee shop. I sat at a different table because the last time I sat at my "usual" table there were a couple of older guys who sat nearby and salivated over that table the whole time I was there: it was clear that I was at their favorite table...they seemed really glad when I got up and left.

This morning I sat at a different table. Not long after I got my coffee and copy of the LA Times, a man came into the coffee shop, got himself a cup of coffee and sat down at my "usual" table. He sat there, quietly, introspective (or asleep), dirty and forlorn-looking. Of course, in came those old guys, once again thwarted in their hope of occupying that table...

...and I just smiled.

Stupid is as stupid does

Let's get this right: first we're manipulated by the so-called "financial industry" to the point where the economy is in a shambles, and now these captains of finance are begging for the government to save them for the sake of the average citizen.

So, the rich get richer, and then the rich get richer again...all on the backs of the lower classes.

And we're supposed to believe it's all in our best interest!

Logic

What change?

It's too bad I'm not a betting man, because I could have won a bundle betting that it wouldn't take long for the critics to start in on Obama. A few cabinet choices (good ones, it seems to me) and he's taking it for recreating the Clinton White House.

Well, first of all, just because someone has had previous experience with the Clintons doesn't mean there's something wrong with them, or that they don't come with valuable experience. It also doesn't follow that choosing people with experience to be part of his leadership team means that Obama is going back on his promise of change. In fact, the ONLY thing it shows is the wisdom to know that you can't navigate the complexities of Washington for the sake of change without engaging people who know the system.

But we should have expected it, really...the naysaying. Sore losers have nothing better to do than start throwing barbs at someone who clearly wants to make a difference not only for one country, but for the world. Gee whiz...give the guy a chance! Stay home and lick your wounds and SHUT UP!

That's not to say that criticism for Obama is off limits...on the contrary, if he is really going to be true to his word, he will carry through with his self-portrayal as "not perfect" and recognize that there will be times when "mea culpa" will be the wisest thing he can say.

And who better to have nearby than those who have the experience to recognize a mistake when they see one, mostly because they've made one or two themselves, and learned something in the process.

But then again, some people never learn.

Turnaround is fair play

This from an editorial in the LA Times on November 18, 2008:

"I am a Bible-believing Christian, and I am here to tell you that the wildfires are a judgment on the bigots of California who passed Proposition 8 in order to deny a minority of Californians their human rights."

In theory...

This morning I was thinking about people. In theory, I don't like them much. Maybe that's because I tend to notice when they're being selfish, hurtful and stingy. When I think about people, I tend to remember the times when they weren't being very nice.

In theory, I'm probably even a little afraid of people. I think they are probably using whatever power they may have toward their own self-interest and not for the common good. And if it's powerless people I'm thinking of, well, I'm probably a little afraid of them too--it's hard to know WHAT folks will say and do.

Or maybe I'm just thinking about myself.

I like people a lot better in person. When I meet them, talk with them, share time with them--when people move from that theoretical place in my mind into that very real place right in front of me, I generally think the best of them.

And, come to think of it, I like myself a lot better too.

Returning

I think I understand why some survivors want to return to the scene and others want to steer clear. When I go to church I feel like I'm, in some way, returning to the scene of years of abuse. Those words, those images, they are at odds with themselves these days: holders of history and harbingers of some kind of spirituality that is, as yet, undetermined.

Framework...

I suppose it could be possible to blame just about anyone for a disaster. Heaven knows the gay community has been blamed before: you know, it was the gay people in New Orleans that brought God's wrath (aka "Katrina") on the city, it was the gay people in the World Trade Center that brought God's wrath (or was that Allah's wrath?) upon the people there....and on and on. People struggling to find meaning in life often look for a scapegoat.

So I'm preparing myself for what's sure to come: you know, all those anti-Prop.8 folks out today must have caused all these devastating wildfires.

But, once again, it seems God has a bad aim. A lot of these homes that are burning, especially in Orange County, might just belong to folks more likely to have voted "YES" on 8.

Then again, maybe it IS a sign of God's disfavor on gay people: seems the demonstrations have been eclipsed in the news by smoke and ash. God is, well, stealing our fire.

See, that's the problem: if you choose to frame historical events in terms of divine intervention, you have to be selective, or sooner or later you will find yourself the victim of a wrathful God--and who wants to believe THAT?

The danger, of course, is not that we live under the wrath of an angry God (sorry, JE!) whose rage is hair-trigger, as unpredictable as a shifting wildfire. The danger lies in that we want to make the judgment our own, for the sake of convenience, depending on our own p.o.v.--and in doing so we send a very clear message: that we believe that God's will and our own are the same.

Our thoughts, these days, are with those who have experienced loss...be it of house, home, or basic human rights.

Grass is Growing!

After the bitter disappointment of last week, it seems that hope is growing. More and more people are catching on to the injustice of Proposition 8.

Will even more people get it? Will they begin to understand that this isn't some frivolous demand from a ridiculous fringe group. This is an issue of civil rights. Enshrining bigotry in the constitution is neither fair nor is it prudent. Who will be next?

Momentum is building, and the fairness express is on its way. The winds of change are blowing. It's a new day.

My Hero!

More queer bedfellows....

African-Americans and Mormons? Catholics and Evangelicals?

It's amazing what alliances fear will create.

For many of us, it's difficult to understand how any group that has been subjected to oppression and discrimination could then turn around and do that same thing to another marginalized group. But that's what fear will do.

The question is: of what are these people afraid? Of WHOM?

Is it their god whom they fear? Do they live their lives under the magnifying glass of a scrutinizing deity, moving in the shadows for fear that living in the light will result in their burning? Are they bugs under the watch of a playful god who will soon tire of them and squash them or pull off their legs and watch them squirm?