Every Friday we’ll leave the topic oriented post, and instead post some personal comments.
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A Cuppa Joe – Random Ramblings from a Fellow Struggler
Rev. Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who notoriously burned a copy of the Quran last March after releasing his book Islam is the Devil (subtitled “How to Witness To and Love On Your Islamic Friends and Neighbors”) was in my neighborhood this week. Briefly. University of California at Irvine officials had to close off sections of the campus after receiving unspecified threats related to Jones’ scheduled on-campus speech. Like all extremists, he has some good points. Radical Islamic beliefs are dangerous to any free society; the rash of “honor killings” and similar atrocities we’ve witness in America and abroad should keep us vigilant; 9/11 is no joke. But the contemptuous destruction of another religion’s scripture, combined with the arrogance and theatricality going along with it, is a joke, albeit a bad one. It’s also yet another link in the long chain of embarrassments forged by a few publicity craving Clerics who say the outrageous, do the idiotic, and leave the rest of us cringing while we plead, yet again, “Shut up and preach.”
Supporters of the Occupy Movement have cause for embarrassment as well, considering the aftermath of this week’s evacuation of Occupy protestors in LA. While OWS’s goals may be unclear, the level of respect its’ participants have for the cities they hope to convert is unmistakable, as noted by the trash they left scattered throughout the public park and streets they felt entitled to illegally squat in. Cleaning up after them will cost LA upwards of a million dollars, or so says the Mayor. Their list of demands so far have addressed tuition, immigration, and finance, but none have been so eloquent as the one they just sent us here in So Cal: “Clean up our mess. We’re busy planning the next one.”
Some messes are more serious, immeasurably, and cleaning them up will take more than a million. President Obama boldly announced his goal of ending the AIDS epidemic, funding research and education programs with additional millions. God grant that it helps, though by now it should be clear that in most cases the individual decision in the moment of truth has more impact on the spreading or ceasing of HIV than any program. May a cure come quickly, along with a vaccine and any tool that will save lives. Meanwhile, noble as its’ intentions are, nothing a government does will override the immutability of free will.
Completely off topic, but I’m weary of the Twilight kids peering at me from billboards everywhere I turn. Good looking youngsters, but good grief, they’re so sanctimonious! Their expressions seem to say “We Are Vampires. And We Mean It.”
A better bet for holiday viewing, and my favorite Fall/Winter movie so far, is Brad Pitt’s Moneyball. It combines the excitement of a truly great sports film with the backstory politics of a thriller. Too bad it’s not more family friendly in its language – PG-13 crudeness displayed in a couple F-bombs – because otherwise it’s pretty terrific stuff.
Which I hope is what your weekend is full of. God bless. Thanks for being here.
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