Thursday 28 May 2009
Barbarism on youtube
I received a link to a youtube video today which is about the threat posed by the Muslim world and the Nation of Islam (www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU). I received it 5 times - from friends and colleagues worldwide. I sent everyone the same response.
"My opinion .... Sorry folks - but this is ugly shit and amounts to hate speech. Not every Muslim or member of the Nation of Islam is a terrorist. Not every Arab wants to destroy the world. Christianity has it's own share of ugly, murderous behaviours going back thousands of years. It all starts off rather well - we create beliefs which we use to define a scary and unpredictable world. Then we get pissed with someone who doesn't agree with us so we subvert them, rewrite them and corrupt them to suit. I was brought up Catholic - I think we can look to Rome for some of the most outrageous acts of greed and barbarism ever perpetrated in the interests of 'the holy word'. Yet it's somehow more acceptable because these wars, these rules and these abuses are dressed up real nice and live in the Vatican rather than in caves in freezing deserts.
Sometimes I wonder if God wakes up screaming at what we've become."
I'm posting this because I believe we need to start shaking hands with the person next to us. Whether they are wearing a taqiyah, a tiara or a yarmulke. A 'hello' and a smile wouldn't hurt either.
Sunday 24 May 2009
Bringing in the Harvest
The past couple of weeks I've woken humming a Neil Young song:
"Out in the fields they've been turning the soil
I've been sitting here hoping this water will boil."
It's from Harvest, it's not a favourite, yet there it is day after day.
I've had bone harvested in my mouth but that seemed an easy answer and a long reach. My sister is furious with the family right now. And the whole episode has been sitting heavily on my fair-play sensibilities. I have been wondering if I have done right by her, by my parents and by myself. I believe I have.
So what then?
I realised what as I watched a man running down a road, towards a stadium. He was about to win a marathon. Yet he kept turning around to see who was behind him. And no-one was.
Despite the delighted cheers, despite the outriders flanking him on his way to victory, despite the young men galloping alongside him, just otherside the barriers. Grins splitting their faces as they paced him - delighted that this man, this Zimbabwean man, this non-favourite, this Stephen Muzhingi: was ahead of the pro-field.
Still, he couldn't believe. He turned around again and then again and almost tripped. As tired as he was, if he went down, he was unlikely to be able to get back up. As I was yelling at him to stop worrying and look forward I thought - that's what it is: you've been waiting for something to happen. Boil your own damn water. It's that simple.
No more fear.
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