Nei-ei-ei-eigh !

We have entered an age of religious warfare once more.

Or should we maybe say, the political war between the former colonizers and the colonized has moved from dirty politics to mighty religion. 

Even if the West is not fighting in these terms (yet), it has been engaged in battle.  The God of the West (is it God or Capital?) has become the declared enemy.

And indeed what a sad culture it is where capital erodes community and the losers are many. 

But I have yet to see a culture where community is not sacrificed to the questionable short term benefit of a few. 

So, off your stumbling horse!!

Baah-aaah!

It is a sad time, when trust in well established institutions has to be revisited.  

The Catholic church has probably done some of the worst damage to its own reputation and in many places now only a few die-hards and other desperados continue to fill the pews week after week.  

As for those who have shown the courage to sacrifice old certitudes for moral rectitude, the trust in that institution has eroded, especially since those who committed the crimes were protected by the church's hierarchy.  

A closing of ranks against a bleeding flock hardly stirs feelings of renewed belief.  

It is a well-know and keenly repressed fact, that sexual abuse cripples many institutions.  

Mostly it is men at the top who commit the crimes and it is mostly women and children who suffer.  Whether within the revered institutions such as the BBC or schools, orphanages, and care institutions where children supposedly are to feel save from harm, male abuse (and all too often female complicity) has a history of corrupting what has taken long to establish.

The strange thing is that these scandals often become material of denial or simply dissipate with passing of time.  Interest in the deeply troubling matters of human interaction is usually short lived, probably because it would be too disturbing.  

And so these events are eventually swept under the carpet in the hopes that everyone will forget - too absorbed by the upcoming Olympics or discount event - and with time will return to the trough.  

Generally they do.  Like a flock of dull-eyed sheep.  Whether it is the way we consume, worship, or live...old habits die hard.

Baaah! 

No God like Mine

Capitalism is a mundane God.  

It wrenched the higher might out of heavens and placed it into our sweaty hands. 

Each of us has thus become the captain of our own happiness.  Now there is no redemption other than the pursuit of that happiness on earth.  

As we know capitalism was born from a religious impulse, Calvinism.  But that wasn´t the first or last time that spirituality atrophied to stupidity and greed.  

Collective Blindspots

Every country, every nation has them, collective blindspots.  Those aspects of a given culture that just like with your best friend who holds on to his ponytail although he is going bald, are unflattering but somehow unchangeable.

Gun ownership and the obsession with private property are the top of my list when I think of the US. 

Elitism and classism are the obvious ones in the case of the UK.

In Germany, it is the fascination with efficiency that has  allowed asphalt wielding maniacs to turn landscapes into transit routes.

  

France, uh where shall I begin?  Vive la France!!

But this phenomenon of collective amnesia can be applied to all kinds of groups from families to institutions and from religions to men and women.

Similar to individuals, groups of people like to believe that they have figured it all out when, really, we all are but scattered ants on a forest floor.

No wait.  Not even that.

About that Apple

Zoe just left to go to bed. For the last two hours we have sat on the sofa by the window, watching the Midsummer sky change from an orangy pink to a many layered purple, and talked.

The topic eventually shifted to religion. Surprisingly, while deeply agnostic, I suddenly heard myself praise the power of images from the Old Testament. Images like that of the Tree of Knowledge continue to give me goosebumps. It neatly anchors our perpetual and yet futile search for truth.

Small-time Prophets

I am sure she would object to the term “prophet,” or rather she would laugh at me and say, “You are so funny, sweetie!” As if! She really is that, or at least one of them: a small-time prophet.

Leading a quiet life, by example. No big words, no crowds of followers, no fame to be gained. They just do it, because they know it’s the right thing to do. Many of them are mothers. And if they survive the hardships of childbirth and financial dependency, of sleep deprivation and subjugation of some degree or other without much complaint, it is so because they see the bigger picture.

And that’s what it’s ultimately about. The big picture! Of course, you know that it’s not about winning a war, founding the next multinational cooperation, or even becoming head principal. But what are you doing about it?

Well step one would be to adopt the golden rule and to live by it - without any ifs or buts. And believe me, children are good at holding you to it.

It takes a lot of work, most of all on yourself. And over the years, I have seen these women outgrow their partners and consequently being punished by them. A sad thing, but often inevitable in the world we still live in.

Luckily, most of my friends live in societies that embrace at least some basic principles of human (i.e., women’s) rights, so they weren’t burnt or mutilated for having become more self-reliant and independently happy over the years.

But a good life, and most certainly a deserved one, it is not. After having been deserted, betrayed and disparaged like other more notable ones before them, their lives are filled with daily hurdles. But as true captains of their souls, they manage.

Now, that’s an example to follow: Self-reliance and moral rectitude in the face of average human baseness. It’s all that matters.

The good news: These women are everywhere and those smart enough in this world will silently follow their example. Yes, I mean you guys!

She Said...

Some of the more obvious problems with organized religion is that, for one, the big three and most of the others all have male deities reigning over the lofty heavens. From Allah to Zarathustra, there is not that much gender variety (if we neglect, for a moment, the bare- bellied sidekicks of Shiva et al.).

But beyond that, the great prophets, those claiming to carry on the divine message on earth, were all male - or so we are told. Of course, we know better, but then that’s probably not something to be discussed over turkey and stuffings.

The backlash against women who have tried to impact this world with their thoughts has always been horrendous and continues to be so even today. Death and defamation hit them faster than they would have imagined. And so today, Mary Magdalene remains in the memory of the religious mob nothing but a lucky whore. Her teachings tossed into the Red Sea (...or was it the Black?).

Men are capable of that kind of thing. Nothing new.

And when some women bloggers in Germany today are told by investigators to tone down their messages and make their posts less ‘provocative’ to the sensitive ears of male supremacist, or else to expect their wrath in the shape of profanities and death threats, then it is nothing other than that:

Un-called for male posturing.

Just look at the world on the eve of 2011: Over-population, warfare, religious strive, sexual exploitation, torture, totalitarianism, nuclear proliferation, and melting poles...Not so great, guys! But thanks for flushing toilets and penicillin anyway!