In Better News
Madison was wonderfully warm today and I collected many sympathies for my computational challenge. I am shopping nerds to excavate data from my shiny new, washed (as in tortured until assenting to falsehood) hard drive.It was the kind of smiling day during which Madisonians coaxed their loved ones, guests, and dates out onto the ice to experience what is usually a March bound paradox: delicious warmth on top of frozen water.
Hamas now runs the unborn Palestinian state much to the chagrin of freedom loving rightists everywhere. Perpetually ignorant freedom lovers are faced with yet another example of democracy at work. As liberal political society marches on around the world it will become more obvious that just because some folks voted, doesn't mean they aren't going to elect a party that is pissed off.
It is a bit upsetting, actually, that some find it surprising that democratic elections are not going to distill common distaste for being bombed, isolated, demonized, and colonized. Are seventy percent of Palestinians angry enough to elect a political party with a history of armed resistance to seventy percent of assembly seats? Isn't that representation? Would you re-elect a government that caved to US and Israeli interests (namely the systematic destruction/genocide of Palestinian culture?) and stood by while 10 meter concrete "fences" were erected around Palestinian towns?
Jeez.
On my way to the office tonight, I walked by a chorus of Christians singing "Jesus loves me" songs in Library Mall. Their orbit of solicitors (young, beautiful women) asked me, "do you need something to read tonight?" I replied, "Uh...I have plenty to read tonight, thanks." I walked by. Then, I turned around and went back to sit for a few of their 2 minute songs. I like choir music. I like people who believe something enough to stand in the middle of the city of sin and sing about it. I like that there were 30+ of them, men and women. I like the idea of trusting Jesus's words. Many evangelists seem cynical. They come to Madison knowing it is a hateful place already with satanists, UUs, and (gasp) Buddhists. These kids, though, they seemed to be happier, calmer. They seemed to have purer intentions. I like that. Even if their purity is only skin deep, if they embody purity even for an hour of singing, I want to be there for that.
Peace.
posted by Breathing at 8:20 PM
2 Comments:
if you haven't already seen it, check out the back pages of the _Lungta_ issue dealing with Christianity and Buddhism.. a Robbie Barnett special, if ever i saw one.
otherwise, a slightly belated comment: it's true, more and more - especially in america, and uber-especially republicans in america - people are presuming that democracy means that people will agree with them. i don't approve of violence, or Hamas' ethical structures, but i do approve of Palestine slapping the world in the face like that, to be honest. because being (in) a democracy means that if your side loses, you fucking deal with it, because it's the will of the people. and when you fight, you fight to change that will, not shoot down people who you presume are wrong because you don't like what they have to say. our gov't's near-total inability to deal with that is a clear sign that our Bastion of Democracy really has become utterly un-democratic. i don't like Bush, but i do genuinely hope that he was fairly elected. because at least the people will have gotten what they asked for. i also don't trust him, or Hamas for that matter, but i feel a call to be the bigger person for the sake of democracy in these matters (and, that said, fight his policies tooth and nail). i posit that democracy rests on a collective maturity that america, ironically, seems to have lost, if indeed it ever had it.
i had another comment, maybe a dumb joke re: how it's all the Buddhists' fault, but i lost it in political fervor, there. ;)
Jesus loves your hard drive Chris.
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