I think that all of us are like eagles who have forgotten that we know how to fly. The teachings are reminding us who we are and what we can do. They help us notice that we’re in a nest with a lot of old food and old diaries, excrement and stale air. From when we were very young we’ve had this longing to see those mountains in the distance and experience that big sky and the vast ocean, but somehow we got trapped in that nest, just because we forgot that we know how to fly. We are like eagles, but we have on underwear and pants and shirt and socks and shoes and a hat and coat and boots and mittens and a Walkman and dark glasses, and it occurs to us that we could experience that vast sky, but we’d better start taking off some of this stuff.–Pema Chodron, Start Where You Are (Shambhala, 1994), 141
Dear Mr. President
Powerful video from Pink. No words can describe what you are about to see and hear.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DEh0eSpNvY]
War pigs
I’ve seen this video in the last six months and it is powerful as we prepare for yet another war. We are the War pigs. We love war. We talk of Jesus and the Ten Commandments, but we condemn anyone who stands in the way of our wars. Continue reading “War pigs”
We like war
Now that we’re getting ready to bomb Iran I thought it would be useful and entertaining to hear from one of my favorite comedians who doesn’t pull any punches. I read today that Senators Kyl and Lieberman are ratcheting up the rhetoric for attacking Iran. We love war here in America. We celebrate it. It’s part of our national anthem. Listen to the anthems of other countries and then listen to ours. We have more weapons of mass destruction than any other country on the planet but we’re going to disarm Iran. We’re the only country on the planet that has ever dropped an A-bomb. We have over seven hundred military bases worldwide. War is big business for us. War means jobs and so you parents whose kids will be coming home in a box or on a gurney, you just buck up.
The Holocaust
Everytime I read about the Holocaust or see pictures of it I am reminded of how brutal men and women can be to their brothers and sisters. This presentation from the New York Times brings that to light once again. Our current misadventures in Iraq and elsewhere provide ample evidence that we Americans too can dehumanize our enemies and look at them not as fellow men but merely as subhumans who can be easily killed.
Cutting through the spin
A few days ago I mentioned to a colleague at work that I enjoyed Bill Maher. The young man said to me, “he’s pretty liberal isn’t he?” Continue reading “Cutting through the spin”
Rogue president
I came across a well written piece tonight on a WordPress blog. I think it speaks for itself and I link it in the hope that some will read and react to it. Read more here..
I am human because I belong
I have just finished reading a book I purchased at Barnes & Noble in Pittsford, New York last night. It is titled, Peace: The Words and Inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi. It is a very good and short book. There is a lovely forward written by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. One of the more meaningful passages in the forward is the following passage. Continue reading “I am human because I belong”
Verse of the day
For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted to their death. He loved to curse; let curses come on him. He did not like blessing; may it be far from him. He clothed himself with cursing as his coat, may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones.
– Psalms 109:16-18
Maybe there is payback for neglecting the needy. I believe that there is a yin and yang. There is a balance in the universe.
Christian of the 21st century
“The Christian of the future will be a mystic or he will not exist at all.”–Karl Rahner.
Fr. Bob Struzynski, OFM told me that a couple of years ago during one of my visits to Mt. Irenaeus. It resonated for me then and continues to more and more each day and week. I am drawn more and more to the mystical Christ. I always was. There was always something much deeper than words for me. Continue reading “Christian of the 21st century”