The curious thing is that M, MM’s son, attends the school. He has dropped by a few times. I was courteous and chatted with him. He came by to say hello, a decent thing to do. I am not going to let any flack from the ending of my relationship with his mother spill over to him. That would be unconscionably rude. He is a student in this school; for me to let my personal life spill into work would be to do harm to the emotional safety of the students in this place.
I am concerned about some of the behaviors that I have seen in the kids: ridicule is high on their agenda, as is profane commentary. These kids all have special needs. There is some irony in hearing them call each other “retard” or seeing the pecking order of the kids that are decidedly on the outside of the pack.
We read a watered down version of one of my favorite books: Don Quixote de la Mancha. This was a telling of the story that took five pages. Cervantes took that much to describe a scene. Needless to say, this was an abridgement of the Reader’s Digest Version. What did stand out was Quijada’s ability to see beyond sight. We talked about that. They all thought that he was nuts; I asked if it was possible that he was seeing people for what they were on the inside, seeing the nobility that the context of their lives concealed. I think that some of them may have gotten that.
Disturbing News
My favorite tele-evangelist, cum Neo-Nazi, is at it again. Brother Pat Robertson suggested that we should save the time and effort of a war and just assassinate Hugo Chavez. However, Pat did apologize, so I guess it’s all just fine now. He did observe that he never used the word “assassinate” demurring instead to the employment of covert operatives to “take him out”. What a guy. Thank God that Pat is praying for those who curse him and lifting the name of his enemies before the Lord God in love and concern for his soul. Maybe Pat just thought that the covert ops should take Hugo out for a night on the town, you know, let your hair down and party down with the Christian right. Show him a good time... yeah, right.
So whatever became of pacificism and the fifth commandment in the Christian faith: Thou shalt not kill? I have some passing familiarity with the history of Christianity. It began as a religion that espoused non-violence and eschewed politics as concerns of the flesh and perseveration with this world. This says nothing of Pat’s confusion of the Reign of God with a right-wing theocracy that is peopled by others that share his warped understanding of the biblical faith. If Pat is going to talk about Chavez, then perhaps he may want to read that troublesome book that we Lutherans consider our own territory in the Bible: Romans. I refer to the 13th chapter of that magisterial document:
13: 1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval; 4 for it is God's servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience. 6 For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, busy with this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is due them — taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. (NRSV)
So… If the bible is the literal word of God and the bible here clearly states that all authority is from God then God must have, as part of a divine purpose, the authority vested in Hugo Chavez. To do harm to that rule is to do harm to God’s purpose… sticky wicket that for Pat. Sucks to be President Bush, too, with his war against Saddam Hussein.
Clearly I do not believe in this literalist understanding of St. Paul’s apocalypticism. Pat Robertson and the rest of his lying cohorts claim that they do. Harsh words there for they make him into a liar or an idiot, a fool or a knave. Both are dishonorable. Neither is to be trusted.
Protestations
Speaking of protests, Cindy Sheehan continues to be a threat to Bush’s popularity. Would it not have made sense to have met with her for five or so minutes and make it into a photo-op? Seems that they dropped the ball on that one. Imagine the power that a 48-year old woman has by asking a question about the causes of a war that cost her son his life. No covert ops here. Just a citizen asking for truth… and the lions tremble in their lairs.
Maybe Ms. Sheehan is a bit like Don Quixote? She sees something that is evident only to those that are willing to see. Mr. Bush shows every sign of becoming a tyrant. It does no good to threaten a tyrant with force. He has more force than we can ever muster. Besides, we lose the moral high ground if we sink to the level of the tyrant. It seems more beautiful and more effective to ask for truth. So Sheehan may be jousting with a windmill or two, she still sees more clearly than those whose self imposed blinders have narrowed their vision to see only what our handlers want us to see.
