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September 25, 2006
mel's bells
Mel Gibson, commenting at an early screening of his upcoming movie Apocalypto, drew a comparison between the morally horrific decline of the Mayans and present day American culture. "What's human sacrifice," he asked, "if not sending guys off to Iraq for no reason?"
As a writer/director who has tackled the subject of declining cultures, Mel Gibson shows surprisingly little insight on the matter. First off, the Mayans' form of human sacrifice is chiefly horrible because they sacrificed the imprisoned, the helpless, the innocent. Our military is all-volunteer, and they aren't standing in line to be slaughtered, they are highly-trained, active participants in the most effective fighting force in the history of the world. The Mayans' sacrifices were inspired by fear of the supernatural; they sought to appease their angry gods. Our soldiers are exemplars of courage daily engaged in fighting a lethal but human foe. Mayan leaders consolidated their power through a reign of terror. We have ended a reign of terror and now struggle to replace it with government elected by those it governs.
But most disappointing is the fact that Gibson, as a conservative Catholic, missed a more apt comparison which he should not have. If there is anything like human sacrifice of innocents happening in American culture today, it is the sacrifice of the unborn in the commonplace practice of abortion. If he is a Catholic, and believes what Catholics believe, then how can he, in a discussion of human sacrifice, raise the anti-war banner and keep silent about abortion? Perhaps if we knew everything about the Mayans, we'd find that their movie directors too, were sounding alarms about the wrong issues when their world ended.
Posted by joel at 11:32 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 19, 2006
say "shibboleth"
What do you call the gooey or dry matter that collects in the corners of your eyes, especially while you are sleeping? What do you say when you want to lay claim to the front seat of a car? What do you call paper that has already been used for something or is otherwise imperfect?
Are you in the dialectic mainstream? Who says root (rhymes with put) and who says root (rhymes with shoot)? What part of the country says "chill bugs" instead of "chilly bumps?"
All this and a lot more: Dialect Survey Maps and Results
Posted by joel at 08:38 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 18, 2006
he said, sharia said
I am just flabbergasted at the childish melodrama coming from prominent middle-eastern Muslim voices over this Benedict thing. for example, Ahmad Khatami, a prominent cleric in the city of Qom told his students:
[The] Pope should fall on his knees in front of a senior Muslim cleric and try to understand Islam.
This is a childish fantasy. Anjem Choudary, a London lawyer and demonstration organizer goes further:
The Muslims take their religion very seriously and non-Muslims must appreciate that and that must also understand that there may be serious consequences if you insult Islam and the prophet.Whoever insults the message of Mohammed is going to be subject to capital punishment.
How pompous. How can the West take Choudary seriously, except as an inciter of murder and instigator of mass hatred?
I suppose most of the things being said are engineered to get a rise out of us. They are spoiling for a fight which spills out of the lecture halls and onto the streets of the great cities of the West. Enough of this talking, talking, talking. Let's just convert the Pope by the sword.
Posted by joel at 04:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 16, 2006
the malediction of benedict xvi
Hey, father, what's the good word?
Pope Benedict XVI showed his stripes today in comments which stung and grievously wounded the hearts and souls of Muslims worldwide to the point that, with great reluctance, they whipped out their prepared effigies of the Pope and burned them.
Salih Kapusuz, a deputy leader of Turkey's ruling party, said, "[Benedict] has a dark mentality that comes from the darkness of the Middle Ages. He is a poor thing that has not benefited from the spirit of reform in the Christian world. It looks like an effort to revive the mentality of the Crusades. Benedict, the author of such unfortunate and insolent remarks, is going down in history for his words. He is going down in history in the same category as leaders such as Hitler and Mussolini."
Oh, the humanity. So unfortunate it is for Benedict to have quoted someone who said Islam was spread by the sword. What's especially painful is the fact that it just isn't true, it's never, ever happened that way. Islam's converts invariably do so of their own free will. Why, just ask Steve Centanni And Olaf Wiig if it ain't so.
Posted by joel at 12:41 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack