Our only hope is that in his passing, Falwell is remembered for his words. Nothing we could possibly say would do a better job of exposing this man for the ignorant, misogynistic, hateful, fraud he was.
If you’re in the Los Angeles area, tickets are still available for tonight’s discussion on “Religion, Politics, and the End of the World.” It is framed as a debate between our friend Sam Harris, and former New York Times Middle East bureau chief and Harvard Divinity School graduate Chris Hedges, but we’re hopeful the result will more closely resemble informed discussion.
The salient and vital fact to remember is that after the events of 9/11, it is clear that belief means something, and if we don’t understand what and why people believe what they believe, it will come back to haunt us. In a world full of differing and opposing opinions about how one finds meaning in life, the only certainty is that we must seek to at least understand, if not respect, the beliefs and opinions of others. Hopefully tonights dialogue will help.
Sure, we usually keep pretty busy taking pot shots at Jesus around here…I mean, with a president chosen by god himself, and the forthcoming Rapture, it seems almost impossible to avoid the subject these days. But you might be thinking to yourself: What about all the lesser known religions? What are they doing, and what celebrity spokesman is ticked off by some sort of well researched and substantiated attack on their beliefs today?
Thankfully, just like in the movies, it’s John Travolta to the rescue. He’s slightly irked about a BBC reporter who’s put together a documentary critical of Scientology. Now we’ve not seen this documentary, which apparently refers to Scientology as a “brainwashing cult”, so we can’t speak to the specifics of his claims. However, based on even cursory reads of the glut of information pieced together by our friends at Operation Clambake, we think any such assertions deserve a wide audience. And frankly, anything that ticks off John Travolta seems like kind of a bonus to us as well.
After seven years of suffering with George W., and almost six years since the tragedy of 9/11, we finally have the gift of retrospect. Despite all promises regarding our invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq, it’s clear we are mired in an un-winnable war which poses no benefit to the United States, nor, it seems, to the people of Iraq. On top of that, we’ve now spent enough money on our efforts there to have actually done a great deal of real good right here at home.
We’ve heard way too much lately about the seemingly insurmountable environmental problems to which we all contribute every day. It’s enough to make you downright defeatist. It’s enough to make you think we’re all just fucked and there’s nothing to be done.
All we can say is that the more we hear about all of this, and the more we hear politicians bicker about whether the problem really even exists, the more our antennae are drawn to potential solutions. So go check out this list of 20 ways to reduce your carbon footprint (at least 10 of which are pretty easy to do). Perhaps you remember when recycling wasn’t a part of your daily life….that ought to be evidence that changes sometimes come from a groundswell of efforts.
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