holy roller

For some of us, the ex-Cat Stevens represents a bit of nostalgia, or at the very least, something from the past. The guy wrote and sang a lot of music in the 60′s and since then. But he’s largely viewed as one of those from days past. This is partly because of his conversion to Islam, and partly because he walked away from the public light.

He’s found his place. In watching some newer videos of him performing and speaking, he emanates an aura of peacefulness. This is what I think about when I think about Islam. Not all that terrorist garble. That’s not about Islam, it’s about Islamism in the same way that Christianity is not about Christianism. Or the other way around. But it seems to me that Americans view themselves through the sort of “Christian” lens and we view the Arab world through an Islamist lens. But that isn’t fair is it? Let’s set aside the fact that we shouldn’t even be viewing ourselves through a religious or pseudo-religious lens and focus on the root of the problem: we see the best in ourselves, but the worst in others.

It’s my opinion that this phenomena is merely a part of the exceptionalist agenda, and most of us are mere sheep in the ideological crossfire. And by ideological, of course I mean economic. To the powers that be on ‘our’ side, anyhow, the only reason to have values and beliefs is to shore up our dominance and wealth.

Like lambs to the slaughter.

i pledge

Andrew and Ta-Nehisi both dislike it.

My favorite pledge: “I pledge to integrate into my heart, what I already know in my head, which is that we are all in this together.”

Me? I pledge to offer my hand, my help, and my heart to those I encounter who humanity has failed.

the boards

Now that the show is over and we have jointly exercised our constitutional rights, we would like to leave you with one very important thought, sometime in the future you may have the opportunity to serve as a juror in a censorship case or a so called obscenity case. it would be wise to remember that the same people who would stop you from listening to boards of canada may be back next year to complain about a book or even a tv program. if you could be told what you can see or read then it follows that you could be told what to see or think. defend your constitutionally protected rights, no one else will do it for you. thank you.

From Answers.com:

A saying from the Bible’s story of Cain and Abel. After Cain had murdered his brother Abel, God asked him where his brother was. Cain answered, “I know not; am I my brother’s keeper?”

Cain’s words have come to symbolize people’s unwillingness to accept responsibility for the welfare of their fellows — their “brothers” in the extended sense of the term. The tradition of Judaism and Christianity is that people do have this responsibility.

Ah, Youtube. Not much inspires me to think so late at night/so early in the morning. My relationship with religion and spirituality has been, if nothing else, in transit. My first personal declaration was that of the rebellious atheist. Then came the concerned agnostic–concerned that us humans were trite for thinking we could figure out the workings of the universe. And now, my third personal declaration is that of a supposedly erudite pantheism. We’re all god, aren’t we? All existence is god. Thou art god.

As a resident of a Christianist nation, I must also define to others my view of their religion. Either way, it makes people uncomfortable–and most won’t understand either way. But it was Mahatma Gandhi who opined, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Long since my days as a peevish 12 year old, I have realized that the values of Christianity are not all that bad–the fundamental values that is. This song, if you could call it a song (which is performed by Boards of Canada), reminded me of the link between my beliefs and those of the Judeo-Christian religions: “I am my brother’s keeper,” the line recently espoused by now president-elect Barack Obama during his campaign.

It’s the belief that at the end of the day, we are much better together than the sum of our parts. It is that belief that I think Christianity has lost sight of, which in my opinion is inevitable in any doctrinal/dogmatic institution thoughmost institutions are doctrinal and dogmatic. But I digress.

the ship has sailed

My feeling is that the question of file-sharing (i.e. pirating) is largely a generational one, similar to same-sex marriage and marijuana usage. But it’s more viral than both–because it’s less of a fringe among the under-40 age group.

Personally, I understand both sides of the argument, but the hard truth is that supporters of file-sharing are (a) fed up with the corporate dominance of creativity, and (b) wouldn’t be able to afford or purchase those products if it weren’t for file-sharing, which would starve artists and others of my business.

I go to concerts of bands I enjoy, purchase hard copies of quality movies and television shows, etc. There’s no way to really stop file-sharing and furthermore, the industry has really hurt their cause by filing arbitrary lawsuits against teenagers for hundreds of thousands of dollars. They thought it would “scare” kids. But it has just emboldened file-sharers.