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Sunday, January 09, 2005 - 05:52 PM
www.jesusdo.com?
By D.S. Meyers
Welcome. My column should be like a great neighborhood bar, good cheer, and great guests. Come on in. Grab a cocktail.
Now, that you are in, I would like to present you, the patron/reader, to the theme of this bar. My intention is to start a cultural movement--note, not a revolution--that would deliver us through these dark, dangerous times.
This is a movement, not a revolution, because I am not interested in scrapping what is left of the nation and starting completely over. However, this country has been begging for a challenge of thought for a few years now. As you may or may not be aware, we have the right to drink beer, get naked, and smear peanut butter all over ourselves in the privacy of our own homes. Now, it’s not that I advocate this type of behavior, nor can I vouch for the substance. But isn’t it refreshing to know you could do it? Sure it is, in some weird, nutty way. But don’t you sense the presence of those who want to make this kind of behavior seem immoral or (shudder) illegal?
Focus your attention to the bar’s television, as we are about to watch the big fight.
It seems that society, people are torn between two cultures in this country: in the near corner- wearing the red, white and blue trunks- weighing in with resolve and little else: conservative, fundamentalist, religious fervor; in the other corner, weighing in at less than 110 pounds, and showing no standards and even less creativity, the Mass Media Machine.
Yes folks, we’ve got unoriginal shock value in one corner, and narrow-minded, intolerant family values in the other. It’s the fight of the century, and we are the audience.
This fight roughly sums up where we are right now, socially. Two distant sides are staring each other down. Neither side really impresses me. The majority of people I have spoken with support neither corner 100%. When you remove the whack-jobs on both the far left and the ultra-right, you have the majority of people straddling the fence. And this is why the last two elections have been razor thin close. Most of us aren’t living in a red or blue state. We are in the gray zone.
So, what is this cultural movement I am talking about?
I suggest we should not blindly follow spiritual leaders with political ambitions. Instead of blindly following false prophets--which is warned against in “the Good Book”; “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24)-- Why not dig down deep for our own moral compasses? What would Jesus do? More importantly, ask yourself, “what would I do?” We shouldn’t use organized religion, or any religion, as an excuse to do harm or repress others from their own greatness. Religion should inspire us to do the good it was intended to do.
And instead of letting our frontal lobes get dragged about by the likes of “The Real Gilligan’s Island” or other reality-tripe, we should hold out for something to challenge us. Why give our minds and out time to some mass trash media? Do we not spend more time channel surfing than actually watching? How many channels do we need to find something original?
This cultural movement is about thinking with the heart. Many of us do already. Many of us found out our values didn’t fully follow one presidential candidate. That means the rest of us who did not find what we were looking for in the election are still standing around at the cocktail party trying to nervously make small talk.
Tell the server to bring more hors d’oeuvres and another beer. This party is about to get interesting. Those who choose not to be here will be the subject of our conversations.
That is what this cultural movement is all about. All are invited. Bring your heart, your mind and your spirit. Welcome to the grand event. Oh, and but the way, Democrats and Republicans are welcome too.
What a politically charged atmosphere we’re living in. This past presidential election was threatening to boil over into a full on civil war, or at least it felt that way. Why is that? Even the peace loving hippies were out for blood. Why is there such a divide?
Mr. Bush has said, as person of the year in this issue of Time Magazine, that he welcomes the critics. This is from the same man who claimed he would unite the country, but even if you voted for the man you have the right to be skeptical of some of his policies.
Privatizing social security, for one, should be one issue that every American under the age of 80 should be worried about. After all, this country has a hard time with health care and private HMOs. What makes Lil’ Shrub think a privatized social security program would be any better? After all, he’ll never need to rely on it.
Sit back, have a few, will continue this discussing next time.
Don’t forget to tip your bartender.
D.S. Meyers writes “Renaissanceinnati” as a man not laying down and screaming anti Bush rhetoric, but voice driven to action and optimism. His column is regularly featured in QCF Magazine.
Contact Information
· dsm@queencityforum.com
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