Today(29 JUL 11) while in downtown Pittsburgh i saw an outspoken catholic gentleman w/ a life-size crucifix hanging across his chest; holding a huge sign that read something to the effect " America Kills Babies" in huge print. Conjuring images of Wesboro Baptist Church I could only smile as I tried my best to shroud my discomfort with the confrontation unreaveling around me. A woman stopped at a traffic light begins to scream and rent back at this man who was addressing the general public; informing us of the ills of planned parenthood and how it was the single cause of our country's decline. At one point the woman in the car is screaming at him "you're not a Christian!" Now you maybe asking yourself so what is the take away here Bikim? Well for one this was a first for me; being a Philadelphia native a heretic like this would've been ignored on the streets or in any other public place. But put quite simply it was pure culture shock to me. I was kind of glad to see someone challenging this man who was bullying everyone within ear shoot of him.
I don't have really have anything to offer in the way of biblical commentary other than the architects of the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights were indeed men of God but at a bare minimum I would call them deist. And that abortion and the life of an unborn fetus aren't issues that were at the forefront of their minds and i do not think that it should be at the forefront of ours either. I will offer you this in the true spirit of those premature lives crushed before their existence could even began.....
"How can there be too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers." —Mother Teresa
Now I am neither pro-life or pro- choice but I takes these sorts of things on a case by case basis; it just so happens that my government has an open policy on this specific procedure. I can't imagine to know what it is like to carry a life inside of me, but I know what irresponsibility looks like. And I can say that those who engage in acts that have the potential to produce life and snuff out the natural repercussions of their union should consciously reconsider their options, and where what they have done has left them.
With all the financial decline occurring here in America, and the rash financial markets are leaving across Europe, I feel like the most dilapidated unit in the whole of america as far as I can see is the family unit. I can almost guarantee I am not in agreement with my demented brother on that Pittsburgh corner, I will offer you that tears in the 'so called american fabric' can be linked to fractures that exist in the modern american family. To illustrate the staggering number of single mothers and divorce rate. Obviously single mothers aren't running to abortion clinics- and I have always said that single mothers are my personal heroes because they do it all alone, and play the role of two parents while (somehow) maintaining their sanity. In summation let me be clear, I have nothing against a woman's right to choose.
Just stopping in to say hello, I guess this is one of those rare occiasions where I feel like my spirit is dancing in heaven, yet my body is anchored to earth still allowed to frolic among creation. My tea tastes better than it did the day before, and the sun; well the sun is shining a bit brighter than it did yesterday as well. The music sounds more beutiful, and I feel like a true child of God whose inherited treasures that my immature mind can't quite phathom. I could kiss the sky, if I haven't already done so. For those of you not in teh know I am officially claiming the 'Burgh as my permanent place of residency. After reviewing teh tapes, and looking over all the pro's and cons, it only make sense. The art scene is bustling the skyline is divine (to see in plain view of the rivers that weave in and out of the city). The way that the water and metal dance throughout the urban backdrop sends my heart swooning on and off the Pennsylvana turnpike to recover what I left in Philadelphia; and at the summits of the Pocono mountians. Keep me in your high thoughts and prayers, and I'll do the same for you brothers and sisters....I promise :-)
So the other day (12JUL11) an old army buddy of mine posted to his facebook; a query on the meaning of life. Mind you it's about 10 a.m. in the morning, and I am just getting up and have barley been dressed for 2 minutes before I see this. So 'off the cuff' I answer with the best response that i have, which was no answer at all. And after I put my shoes on I went back to my laptop and responded with " to live out our dharma the best way possible." Our exchanges went back and forth at least til mid afternoon; with him responding in tune with his usual strain of military type sarcasm, dousing my 'theological intellect' with his sharp tone and coarse wit that he wielded during our service days. But he told me that if he was hindu that would have made sense, then asked what do you say to someone who isn't hindu or who refuted the entire argument in general. Which I can only surmise that he was alluding to atheiest, but an these arent the kind of questions atheist routinely ask, and besides I known that my friend wasn't an atheist already. But I could empathize with his concern for the otherside of the equation.
But my response to him at the time was that I was not a hindu, and I was telling him about the concept of dharma. Which he then retorted-by defining religion as taking another person's (minister/pastor) word for it when it comes to big cosmic questions or lofty theological issues. Which for me is a point that I can understand, having come from a Baptist background, or at least I think I know where he is coming from. But I also told him that even the Buddha told his followers on his death bed not to take his teachings strictly on face value, but to take the voyage for them selves, and to keep seeking.
It has always been my understanding that even though written words take on a life of their own; and the words written in holy books give lives to some people-people like me. Some of my people (religous and atheist alike) take the words all too seriously, when really I think that the ancients who wrote those words so long ago, had totally diffrent intentions when they etched those words on scrolls and lambskin so long ago. Imagine if you could, you were asked to write a story or leave a note behind for future generations, and all you had as a point of reference were the culture and the people of the time; and had no way to account for how the future would pan out. Well this is what the writers of all our ancient text were doing. I do not think if Moses knew that millions of people called 'gays' would be ostraizied in a place thousands of miles away called America he would have etched what he did in Leviticus (18:22). Or the Apostle Paul would've written about the relaltions between slaves and masters in his society, where slavery was a common practice in the society inwhich he lived, for a number of generations. I am almost positive that he had no clue a bunch of anglo human traficers would've used this verse to justify the rape and murder of countless generations of African slaves. Living in a dualistic universe only lends itself to the carnal will of humanity; and one must come to terms with the fact that man has the capacity for utter evil. Now I cannot be sure about this but I think that the divine counts on the inheritnt bravery and goodness that is native to the human spirit, which sets us all free eventually; even if that means waiting on the democracy of death.
So in the end I am not sure how to respond to questions that rock the foundation of what can be a mundane existence. Prayer is a good way for me to do this, I try to stay in contact with the divine in all that I do, even when I am doing things that I am not supposed to be doing. I won't confuse you with red herrings like 'does god allow evil' cause to me that implies that we don't possses any of teh divine qaualities of our creator. Which is what I was tryiny to convey to my old army buddy. And I do not subscribe to the school of thought that proports that 'father god' is all mighty and we are all teh helpless children waiting to be rescued. No -no Psams 82:6 tells us that: we are 'gods' we are all sons of the Most High. So you see free will is more than freedom, and the will to be ignorant; but let us use all the tools at our disposal. Let us practic our duh arm uh!
So in closing I leave you with a piecce from the late great comdeian Bill Hicks.
So guess what America, I GOT AN ANDROID!!!!!! Pretty cool huh? Now I pride myself on not being as materialistic as I want to be; and I reign in my materialistic instincts when ever possible, but this is some cool ass shit, you should see this thing. I mean it tweets, face books at 3G speeds, I can hit links you know the small micro ones that are created for twitter. Very cool shit if I must say so myself. You are definitely going to hear from me more often, and at least twice a month on the fly via android blogs. Hey and follow me on twitter (if you make sense I promise I'll reciprocate) why don’t you. Well its gonna be an awesome ride into the future, don’t be afraid to follow me.
What does this mean, well first of all that I'll be tweeting my little head off, and that I this makes our communication alot easier, like say for instance i get a flash of genuis, and I can stop long enough to record it, you get to read it, and we can bounce things off one another so that we can make this planet loads better for our children (mine as yet to be born, as I am still taking applications). What this means for the world, well WOW!!!! I love this tweeting thing, I finally have a device that allows me to tweet and do tons more via the internet, its like a computer in your pocket. A computer with a really crappy battery. But I am working on even that as we speak. So see you out there America, if you are even listening, and if you are see you out there tell your friends.
Note: This an weekly suppliment to the Whyte Elephant that I put out just to keep the "juices" going.It it now primarily in its second week (and if you would like older editions I can accomodate). For now my primary audeience is friends and family but all are welcome, I have been recieving grat feedback from it lately. Writing it certianly helps me get my throught out, and it's a great source of reflection. If you are interested just send an email to withe the subject head BLOG ME so that I know who you are and what I can do for you.
