Love

I watched Fahrenheit 9-11 the other day. It was kind of frustrating. I'm not a big fan of George Bush, but it's clear that Michael Moore has no interest in presenting an unbiased story. Basically, he's just the left-wing propaganda alternative to all the right-wing propaganda out there. It's irritating because I think there's some important information in there, like the election scam and the Iraq/WMD scam, but it's all sensationalized into near-obscurity. It seems that Moore's primary goal is not to expose conspiracy and injustice, but to make Bush look like a buffoon. It's not about being the voice of justice or compassion or whatever, it's about providing a flavor of closed-minded, wild-eyed, slogan-shouting dogma for those with liberal tastes. It's about fighting propaganda with propaganda.

That being said, the movie did have some compelling content. The part that really struck me was a clip of a distraught Iraqi woman outside her demolished home, weeping and crying out to Allah to avenge her. I found myself agreeing with her - hating these people and these powers and this hypocritical, superficially compassionate culture we live in that commits such injustices, and hoping that God will hear her prayers and kick someone's ass.

Remember, O LORD , what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. "Tear it down," they cried, "tear it down to its foundations!" O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us - he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

(ten points to anyone who spotted the inconsistency in me wishing God will pour out wrath on "Edom" in this case.)

We recently had a civic election. I've always thought civic elections are the dumbest of all elections, because no one really knows who has what opinion on what issue, and the issues themselves really don't matter. I didn't pay much attention, but I'm pretty sure one of the top issues for most of the city council candidates in my ward was sidewalks. "Vote for Bob, he'll fix your sidewalk." This strikes me as stupid. We're also supposed to vote for school-board trustees, but I didn't know the name of a single person who was running until I read the official list a half-hour before going to vote. (There were only two candidates. I voted for the guy, because my mom knew him once, and she said he was nice.) Even the mayoral election is a bit of a joke. It seems like half the atricles I read in the paper were about who's signs were better, or who's wife throws better parties, or whether so-and-so should have been a bit more diplomatic about a certain issue. My voting it's self is largely based on appearances. What's-his-name is well dressed. This guy's too cocky. That guy's got a dumb slogan. If anyone hasn't figured this out yet, elections are popularity contests. We talk about freedom and democracy but we really care mostly about being impressed, flattered, or entertained.

The day after the election I was walking downtown and came across a news crew who were asking people what they thought of the election. I wanted to tell them that I thought it was a joke because we are so uninformed, that I thought it was hypocritical, because we really only care about a person's appearance and charisma and the design of their yard signs, that I thought it was overblown, because the issues are sidewalk cracks and potholes, that I thought it was shameful because we care more about whether we cheered for the winning guy in our little contest than famine and genocide and injustice throughout the world.

I read an article on Michael Moore a while ago in which he said that politics has become popular (in the States). Everyone has an opinion now, and it's uncool to be politically apathetic. This can be good, but what we seem to have now is a lot of people with uninformed opinions, which is quite dangerous. What I see happening is basically politics as a sport. Pick a guy and cheer for him. Be passionate and dogmatic about it. Believe that the opposing candidates are evil. Perhaps it's uncool not to vote, but it's still not uncool to be uninformed. It's funny how much I can form passionate opinions based on a half-hour discussion with a friend about who's doing a better PR job. It's funny how my feeling that I should care about politics can turn me into some kind of zealot, and it hardly matters for what or for whom. Pick a team. Because I live in Alberta, I cheer for the Conservatives. Liberals are scum. If I lived in Ontario, it is likely that I would be a Liberal fan. If I was a French Quebecer, I would almost certainly support the Bloc. And it's not just politics - we do this in all kinds of areas. I figure it's cool to be pro-peace, socialist, anti-America, Christian, religiously tolerant... and an Oilers fan. But I've said all this before.

I've decided to sponsor a child through Compassion Canada. Some people think you should keep this type of thing secret - don't let your right hand know what you're left is doing-type thing - but I figured "what the hell, you guys already know most of what I do - good and bad." I've decided to sponsor a child because I am filthy rich, and people are living in squalor. I'm going to put at least $35 a month of my money where my mouth is, because it doesn't matter that I feel bad for people if I don't help them. You might say I'm "buying a pennyworth of paradise", but it's a start. Quick Bible story, from the Jacob Heretical Version.

Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' "They also will answer, 'Ok Lord, let's skip the "when did we see you hungry and so forth and did not help you?" bit because we just went through that with the other group, and the dilalogue will seem a lot more realistic if we don't all repeat each other. (Seriously God, fire your editor.) But let us say in our defense, God, that we really did care when we saw those street people, and when we heard about disasters and famines and war on the TV. We really cared God, we felt just awful about it, and we meant to do something about it. You know, we talked to our friends about it. We wrote about it in our blogs. God, we hated multi-national corporations with the best of them. We just never got to the... you know... the feeding and the sheltering and the clothing and the visiting.' He will reply, 'To be fair then, I should think about letting you into heaven.'

I think this is a bit of a "problem passage" (free translation notwithstanding). Seems pretty clear that those who don't show love to other people will burn in Hell. (As a point of interest, can anyone refute this interpretation?) The Bible's pretty clear that Love is something you do, not something you feel. The following verses on the importance of love (from a more widely accepted translation.)

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love... he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth.

This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

Love is not a feeling; it is a decision. It is not simply action, (1 Cor 13) but it requires action. Love is an attitude that is acted on. Love is a process. Love is not about trying to like everyone, in fact, love is greatest when it is directed toward those we really don't like. ("Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven... If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?")

This whole post seems a bit disjointed to me. I'm not sure how to tie it all together. I guess the gist of it is that I'm thinking that our western culture is hugely hypocritical. We like to think that we care about justice and freedom and equal opportunity, but we don't. We care about ourselves - our comfort, our convenience and our wealth. I'm still working this through, and if it I'm speaking in generalities, it's because I'm still uninformed about what's happening in our world. I want to become informed about injustice and inequality, but more than that I want to do something about it. I want to love.