CNN (that's right, the leading cable news channel in the country) has been chattering on for fifteen minutes now on the topic of Armageddon and its apparently imminent coming.
You read that right. Wolf Blitzer, on what could be considered prime time (it's 5:30 in the evening) is holding serious discussion about the Biblical ramifications of the most recent "spate" of natural disasters. No less an intellectual giant than Jerry Falwell himself was on, telling us that the two Gulf Coast hurricanes and the earthquake in Pakistan represent but a few of the many "birth pangs" foretold in the Book of Revelation, signaling the imminent return of Jesus. The 72-year old preacher, looking more porcine than ever, happily proclaimed that he thought it probable that Jesus would return in his lifetime.
Moments prior, in the same segment, Franklin Graham (son and heir of the famous Billy) seemed to imply that it was no accident that New Orleans was destroyed by hurricanes, since the city has a long history of sinful activities like Mardi Gras and voodoo. (Never mind that the tradition of Mardi Gras is much older than New Orleans, it being an unofficial celebration among Catholics on the day before Ash Wednesday, one last hurrah before the self-imposed hardship and sacrifice of Lent.)
So New Orleans is the Sodom of our times, and its destruction was a signal from God that he doesn't like jazz, wild parades, or college students getting crunked and topless in exchange for plastic beads. But if God destroyed N'awlins as a lesson to the rest of us sinners, then why are we bothering to save anyone, or even talking about this as a tragedy? Wake up, America. GOD. IS. PISSED.
Oh, wait. Here's why: The vast majority of us aren't so completely unhinged as to believe this claptrap about divine retribution. A hurricane hit New Orleans. They form out in the Atlantic from the swirling winds of a tropical depression. This phenomenon is just a freak of the weather in that region of the world. It may be incredibly complicated, but it's just physics. These storms tend to move with the prevailing winds, and unfortunately, the 11th storm of the season, "Katrina," ended up making landfall right smack into New Orleans. For a variety of reasons (that can be summed up by "BushCo fucked up"), a whole lot of people couldn't get out in time and died when the levees broke. It was a horrific event. All natural disasters are. In fact, as human beings, we tend to want there to be some greater meaning because we can't really fathom so much death and destruction.
That's why we created religion in the first place - to supply these explanations. It doesn't make them any less inadequate. Realistically, there is no cosmic reason these disasters happened. A lot of people just happened to be living in the way of some nasty stuff Nature threw at them. But it's emotionally easier to bear for a whole lot of people, and if you feel better being a believer, go for it. Just don't go mistaking the belief for truth. More importantly, don't ever try force-feeding it to anyone else.
I'm sure that we'll soon be treated to some more excrement about the significance of the Pakistani earthquake - God's punishment for being poor, Muslim, and within 500 miles of Osama.
A few final thoughts - why the hell are these wackjobs even given airtime? Do they really represent that significant a portion of our population? If not, then when did our news media lose the balls to call these people ridiculous, and instead feel the need to have a dedicated "faith and values" correspondent? (And, I won't start because this rant is too long, faith and values are not always the same thing. In fact they seem to rarely go hand-in-hand, at least among the people who hoot the loudest about having deeply held "faith and values.") On the other hand, if a bunch of America really does agree with these bastards, then my only question is this: Can I get a few bucks from you to help pay my application fee for Canadian citizenship?
Monday, October 10, 2005
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1 comment:
You're right God didn't do that. I mean who needs a concept of cosmic good and evil if good manifests itself in death and destruction? Thats a rethorical question. God didn't do this... something evil did. I wonder what... or who.
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