Anyway, the story is basically this:
It's the not-too-distant future, and the country has been politically polarized even further. The current president is an evangelical Christian who wants to restore the nation to its prior glory before the liberals and secularists went and ruined it.
As a result of the constant Islamic terrorist threat and the ongoing moral decay within the country, Congress decides to suspend the 1st Amendment indefinitely, until the country can get back on its feet. This move is met with astonishing approval from the religious right. Gradually, the country becomes a fundamentalist Christian's paradise.
The 21st Amendment is repealed, abortion and birth control outlawed, laws are passed that prohibit the worship of false gods, evolution is stricken from the schoolbooks, and homosexuality is a felony. Essentially, the 10 commandments are now law. This is, of course, all done to protect the good, Christian people of this great nation and to restore it to the Biblical fundamentals the country was founded on.
Naturally, people get swept up in this national rejuvenation, and the transition goes pretty quickly. Unfortunately, the Jewish, Islamic, and secularist minorities have a problem with all this, and they revolt. Over time, they start to just go away, either to leave the country or to attend reeducation seminars sponsored by the government.
The story is told from the point of view of a regular guy, a Christian who supports the new regime and who gets caught up in all the excitement. Essentially, the Christians are the heroes and the nons are the villains. In the end, the one true god wins.
I've been trying to find a way to approach this without making it look too suspect. Obviously, the idea is to illustrate the tyranny of the majority, the flaws in a theocracy, and the sacrifices that others have to make for one nation under God to exist.
My biggest problem, though, is that every time I try to come up with a feasible scenario for the crumbling of civil liberties, it comes off as cliche, or a thinly veiled attempt to portray the current political and religious climate, or it just seems like something everyone would see through.
But that's not what I came here to talk about.
I came to talk about the pope. Again.
I recently read through Julia Sweeney's blog. You may remember her as part of the cast of SNL back in the day. She also had a semi-famous monologue called God Said Ha! Anyway, a bit before the last pope died, she posted about how much she hates Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI). She referred to him as "the Vatican's Karl Rove".
It's an apt description.
Anyway, Emperor Popeatine recently continued his campaign of viral ignorance by telling German audience to stop relying on science so much.
It seems, judging by the limited amount of information in this article, that he was referring to the AIDS epidemic in Africa. In fact, he went so far as to say that "Faith is also needed to combat diseases such as AIDS".
Wait, what?
I assume he's referring to Catholic faith, and if I'm following what he's saying (i.e. that we rely too much on science and that faith is needed to combat AIDS), he's basically setting modern medicine back centuries. It's a pretty firmly established fact that the pope isn't a fan of evolution, so it should come as no surprise that he would favor superstition over reason.
The thing is faith doesn't combat diseases. Prayer doesn't cure heart conditions. No one has ever overcome malaria, diphtheria, SARS, avian flu, or AIDS just by asking Jesus. I'm sure there are plenty of FOAF stories that say otherwise, but a guy who your cousin's boyfriend used to work with is hardly a reliable source.
Furthermore, the Catholic church's no condom policy is doing no one any good. Do they honestly expect such a large number of people, most of whom probably aren't Catholic, let alone Christian, and who don't recognize the authority of the church in matters of marriage and sex, do they actually expect them to remain abstinent? Isn't that basically saying, "if you get AIDS from sex, you deserve to die"?
The whole thing is sickening.
Several years ago, when I subscribed to Wire, a daily U2 newsletter forum-type dealie, a discussion came up over what the song Daddy's Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car was about.
Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car
You're a precious stone, you're out on your own.
You know everyone in the world, but you feel alone.
Daddy won't let you weep, Daddy won't let you ache
Daddy gives you as much as you can take.
Aha, sha-la. Aha sha-la.
Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car.
A little uptight, you're a baby's fist
Butterfly kisses up an' down your wrist.
When you see Daddy comin', you're lickin' your lips
Nails bitten down to the quick.
Aha, sha-la. Aha sha-la.
Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car.
Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car.
You've got a head full of traffic, you're a siren's song.
You cry for Mama, and Daddy's right along.
He gives you the keys to a flamin' car.
Daddy's with you wherever you are.
Daddy's a comfort, Daddy's your best friend
Daddy'll hold your hand right up to the end.
Aha, sha-la. Aha sha-la.
Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car.
Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car.
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday's alright.
The general consensus was that the song is basically about addiction, probably to heroin, told from the perspective of a drug-addled mind. One person, however, chimed in saying that Daddy refers to God and the "flamin' car" refers to the Kingdom of Heaven.
For some reason, that always stuck with me, because the two interpretations were so diametrically opposed. Over time, I came to take my life back from God (he didn't seem to be using it, and I was miserable) and I realized that the two interpretations aren't really that different. In fact, they're the same thing.
Now, in case you're wondering if I'm saying what you think I'm saying, let me clarify: Karl Marx was right. Religion is an opiate. God is a drug.
Not that drugs are necessarily a bad thing, mind you.
- No Gods Left
2 comments:
Right on, Hunny! Religion is sooo a drug. And that is not such a bad thing.
Your fiction piece you want to write just reeks of The Handmaid's Tale.
No, I don't know exactly where it is, it's packed away somewhere. When I find it, I'll get it back to you.
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