True Religion

We spent the last few days in New York soaking up all that New York has to offer. At least my idea of what it has to offer. Incredible restaurants, wonderful jazz, a great and fascinating history which I find more fascinating than any concocted up by Cecil B. DeMille. After spending a lovely morning touring historic Harlem, my wife and I decided to retreat to our apartment to rest up before going out for our nightly culinary extravaganza. As we ascended from our subway stop, we were greeted by the throaty cheers emanating from maybe 10,000 screaming Hasids dressed in their finest Shabbat attire. They were festooned in black satin top cloaks, sumptuous mink hats and some wearing knickers. They were whipped up in an absolute frenzy. A religious frenzy that sounded like what must have been the sound of crazed Nazis at a Nuremburg rally! What were they protesting? A leaflet was thrust into my hands which explained why they were there. They believe that the state of Israel should be "dismantled" because it is a secular state that conflicts with the teachings of the Torah. They were also demonstrating against the "desecration" of ancient Jewish graves by Israeli archaeologists. We safely maneuvered around the throng and as I turned to her said something like, "What crazy Motherf*****s! Religion! The opiate of the masses!" All evening we discussed how our "secular" America has been hijacked. Is this what it means to live in America today in the 21st century? Politicians who know they can twist the truth and sell a war to us on a premise that we are bringing our democracy to a nation that doesn't want it?. Politicians that can call into question the patriotism and "faith" of those who oppose the judicial nominees who favor setting public policy based on a book of stories of magic and miracles? What is the nature of religion in America today? How has religion and politics, an unlikely pair of bedfellows I thought, been able to transform this country of ours? The weirdness continued when we had to bring a pair of jeans back to Barney's on Madison Avenue. As my wife was returning the jeans, I saw a display for a rack of women's jeans. The name of the jeans?... "True Religion"! And they cost $190 a pair! What is the true religion of America? Maybe being able to buy a pair of jeans for $190 a pop. Ya gotta love it. How silly. But then I thought about my own bit of good fortune. Am I not every bit as economically gluttinous as the next guy? How far do I go to insure that the rest of my fellow Earthlings have their own piece of the pie? If being able to own a pair of $190 jeans is the "True Religion" of America, then am I a congregant? Does my own cynacism about our material/religious society smack of a bit of hypocracy on my part? .....I wondered to myself, "Do they make men's jeans? How would they look on me?"

Contemplative Thought # 6

Rudolph Guliani - Some people are saying Rudy wants to be Governor or maybe even President. He kinda took a hit for the Bernie Kerik debacle. Poor Rudy!!! I have absolutely no sympathy for him. Not because of his political grandstanding, but...who the hell ever heard of a kid from Brooklyn rooting for the Yankees? That tells a lot about Rudy's character. A real ..."Schmendrake"! (If you're unsure of this word's meaning...go look it up. It's French...(LOL).

When Status Quo is Weird Enough.

It seems my last comment about the selection of Pope Benedict XVI drew some criticism from "True Believers" who countered saying that the Pope's selection wasn't weird at all. It was a natural progression of the way things have been in the church for 2000 years.(Precisely!) I am however amazed or not amazed to find out that "Good ole W" on his last trip to Rome before the election, sought help from the Vatican to lure "Wayward Catholics" back into the fold. The good Cardinal obliged "W" by composing a letter to American Bishops stating that any and all Catholics who espouse ideas contrary to church mandate ( favoring a woman's right to choose) should not be afforded the right of Holy communion. His letter seemed to have done the trick. The percentage of American Catholics who voted for "Bushie" the second time increased by 6 points. Arthur Schlesinger's article entitled, "Holy War: It's Easy to Recognize Extremism Abroad, But Can We Recognize It at Home?" examines the role of Evangelical Protestantism in the Bush White House. It goes on to describe daily bible meetings and to say that it is not unusual to see White House aides scurrying here and there carrying bibles in their hands. So much for separation of church and state.

Contemplative Idea

Tired of the same old dogma and theocratically inspired take on national events? Log onto the American Humanist Association at www.americanhumanist.org for a refreshing interpretation of what's really going on, and where we are headed.

Could Events Get Any Weirder?

Just when you think things have gotten as bad or weird as they're going to get, things get crazier. Not being of the Catholic persuasion myself, who the Vatican conclave of cardinals pick as the new pontiff should mean absolutely nothing to me. Some would think that a non-Catholic has no business commenting on who is selected as the leader of the largest Christian faith in the world. I disagree. The Pope is an international as well as political leader who is quite influential in the affairs of the world. So, why in light of the huge scandal recently plaguing the Roman Catholic Church, and the hot button issues of abortion, celibacy, women's role in the church, gay marriage, would they pick this guy??? Called by vatican insiders as "God's Rottweiler" and a former member of the "Hitler Youth" and "Luftwaffer" (although he says he was forced to join) you have to wonder, wasn't there anyone else fit for the job? Boy, the world is nuts and getting nuttier!

A Small Sandy Microcosm of the World

What a beautiful Saturday morning it was. A lovely sunny day in Washington Square Park. My companion and I selected a sun drenched bench bordering an area set aside for dogs to romp and play. And so they did until things got a little out of hand. You see some sort of genetically altered or engineered Pit Bull decided to attack a sweet little terrier. A woman's screams broke the peaceful morning calm and for seven or eight horrifying minutes, a violent canine battle took place. Humans decided to jump into the fray, trying desperately to separate the two animals. One chap standing next to our bench screamed, "Has anyone got a knife? Stab that goddammed dog!" He was immediately challenged by an equally enraged dog lover to "Shut your F***** mouth!" With that, I turned to my companion and stated, "Out of all the benches in the damn park, you had to pick this one!" The small drama that was played out last Saturday, echoed a lot of the angst that is happening in the world as we speak.We're all Just a bunch of mutts trying to have the bone all to ourselves. Social conventions and politics are supposed to make things go smoothly, but inevitably, things start to go haywire and someone attempts to bite off anothers ear.

Contemplative Thought # 5

We as Americans are living in a world which is incredibly critical of Americans in general and our current government in particular. Why is it then, that wherever we happen to travel in the world, we inevitably run into our fellow countrymen who insist on donning "Disneyland" and "Disneyworld" attire. Just imagine what kind of impact the typical overweight american wearing a "Mickey Mouse Club" denim jacket has on the average European. I think we need required "Make Overs" before issuing passports, or at least requiring perspective travelers to view episodes of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy".

Will The Real Governor Of California Please Stand Up!

Am I the only one who cringes when my friends and fellow democrats fall over themselves to praise Ahhnold Schwarzenegger as a democratic hope for the future? I've heard people say that Ahhnold is, after all, married to a Kennedy and that "all those liberal hollywood types" are really quite smitten with this body-building actor (and a poor actor at that) . Recently, Ahhnold is trying to fix the woeful economic situation in California by attacking working people, public employees, and of course the teachers' union. He is taking up the standard mantra that republicans have used many times before by calling working people "Special Interest Groups". Most frightening is his desire to change the public employees' pension system by making it "less expensive". It seems to me that the Governor is attemping to "terminate" working people's retirement money and refuses to ask his rich hollywood friends to dip into their own pockets and contribute. He also wants to extend to 10 years the period of probation before a teacher is granted tenure.
I really fear the possibility of someone proposing legislation to allow naturalized citizens the right to seek the presidency. If that happens, we may in our lifetimes, see this body-building, cigar smoking, groper, President of the United States! What do you think?

Contemplative Thought # 4

All this hullaballoo about when life begins. I really could care less about when my life began. I'm more concerned about when it will end and how I can push that inevitability as far away as possible.

Contemplative "Question"

How old is Barbie Benton? Is she ready to retire? What does she look like now? Does anyone remember her days on "Hee Haw"? If anyone out there in cyberspace has any answers to these questions,please respond. Thanks!

Ironic Isn't it?

It seems ironic to me that just after 9/11 we as a country were aware of the horrors of religious fundamentalism. We watched as religious fanatics were taped walking on board planes, heard of them spending their last night in"this world" visiting a Boston strip club. We were horrifed at the way the Taliban treated women and turned a soccer stadium into a venue of death. Now, we have a fundamentalist "born again" President who states that the most important person in his life is Christ and if you or I don't understand that... well, we just won't ever understand it, so there's no need for him to explain it to us. We have a man leading our country who is an alcoholic who never went through a 12 step program. A aristocratic "blueblood" who speaks with more of a Texas drawl than people who have lived in Texas their entire life. A "C" student who because of "Daddy" attended Yale. (Shame on Yale!) This "Fundamentalist" represents the "New American Taliban" If there is a God ... Then God help us!!!!