Dear Spiritual Friend

I do believe in prayer. But I hate the arrogance of the “in the name of our father” that callously and purposely excludes from grace the formative young Jews at a graduation or a football game.

And I fear the negative agression of a prayer circle or seminar full of control freaks. Group goodness is a very tricky thing, like when the group focus is achievement--power for good, hopefully--but still power.

I do not believe that prayer brings us good fortune, or cures illness, or makes our wishes come true, or brings us pleasant surprises, or keeps us from doing drugs, or changes anything external in the world.

I do believe that prayer brings strength and focus and peace, when done in private as Jesus wished--not in well-dressed congregations or chain letters.

This is the grace that gives us heart, and that's quite enough of a miracle. Jesus and me. Mano a mano. He was right about so many things. Our Father, indeed.

Those Damn Foreigners Again

Many of our leaders would have us believe that we should fear the illegal immigrants. But if the demonstrations continue to reflect King and Ghandi, the fear mongers will be proven wrong.

They say amnesty would dishonor those poor saps who wait patiently, year after year, playing the game and losing it because those honorable and less desperate folks are playing by the rules of the INS.

Just when you think bureaucracy could not become more cynical and heartless and cavalier and ineffectual, the neocons push the envelope once again.

Ever you ever dealt with the INS? What a horrible joke. Like the Cuban embargo and the fact that we took much of Texas and California away from Mexico in the first place, just like we took the rest of the continent away from the Indians.

We could have open and secure borders, and and fix the INS, and validate the rights and responsibilities of residents through full citizenship training for all. Whoever doesn't pass the citizenship test doesn't get a good citzen lapel pin or a college diploma.

Citizens would be required to speak two languages fluently. One of these must be Standard Polite Good English and the other can be whatever--Spanish, Cuban, Street, Spanglish, Cracker, Esperanto, Latin.

Public schools couldn't do it, of course. They are as broken as FEMA and the INS. But with a level playing field, private schools, non-profit community organizations and “faith-based” groups could compete for the citizens’ education dollars.

Conservatives say we should play by the rules, liberals say we should put the rules aside and be compassionate and realistic. I say we should change the rules so that they are compassionate and realistic.

Buenos dias.

They’re All Dorks

I am not optimistic about finding worthy candidates.

Hillary and Nancy are so cold and humorless it's scary. Yes, male chauvinism may play a part here--women are supposed to be warm and gentle and nurturing.

It's OK for men to be cold and humorless. Think Gore, Kucinich and Kennedy--with Leiberman setting the curve.

No, the Democrats are no cup of cafe con leche either, not if you want Yin and Yang. But at least many of them are smart, and many of them really do seem to care.

If they just weren't such equivocating, double-talking, game-playing lawyers. If only they could be moderate synthesizers, with spirit and heart--like Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.

We may want leaders with intelligence and winning but real personalities, but would glady settle for leaders with courage and conviction.

Modern Boy Scout

I am all for states rights. If Texas wants to lock up sodomites and execute abortion doctors and Kansas wants to teach intelligent design in the science classroom, I say, let 'em.

But then I’m getting ready to move to a safer and saner place if necessary. Smart people with enough money and other resources did this in pre-war Germany.

Unless self-delusion is operating here, it's positive and motivating to be prepared, and determined, and long-sighted--financially and spiritually.

I’m planning to make a big stink on my way out--out of the state, the job or the institution where good people are forced to hurt other people instead of help them.

I’m convinced that this stink will be my duty, and that it's possible to achieve without burning bridges or cutting off my nose to spite my face.

Wherever the system is being manipulated to oppress others, be prepared to vote with your suitcase. That's a boycott I can get behind.

Jesus Loves Tiger Woods

Have you seen pictures of the Tiger Woods mansion?

At first I didn't know what to make of it. Tacky, certainly--as in overdone, excessive, pretentious, sybaritic, flashy, self-indulgent...

Also, yes, fabulous. If I had his money, it's really close to what I'd want for my mansion...if I wanted a mansion...which I don't.

Without the facts on Tiger's philanthropic activities, I'm going to assume that he gives an enormous amount of money to the needy.

Aside from that, what would Jesus say?

"Well at least he didn't get his money screwing stockholders and customers and employees and the environment. He got it by hitting a ball into a hole with a stick, so more power to him. And by the way, I'm building several more perfect golf courses in Heaven."

Scientology

Scientologists are scary because they are so sneaky. It is this that sets them apart from the Southern Baptists.

Unlike those most loud-mouthed of Bible thumpers--who are with too few exceptions the mean, the scared, the simple-minded, or the ignorant--this church is run by yuppies with the mentality of politicians.

In fact, Scientology may be the most American of all religions, reflecting as it does the prime American value: life is a game played by sneaks and dodges.

Pros on steroids. Corporate ass kissers. Play the game as close as possible to the edge without falling off (getting caught).

Have a secret game plan, an ace in the hole, hidden assets (and agendas), a network of other amoralists, a no-bid contract, a good tax lawyer.

The point of the game is the attainment of money and power, but it's not about the money and the power as much as it is about the game--in the case of Scientology, the game of religion.

M.Y.O.B.

What is it that makes some people think they can stick their noses into other people’s business?

One reason why they get away with it is that ours is a culture of busybodies. Journalists, teachers, parents and cops at every level all feel entitled to our secrets--for our own goods, of course.

Also, too many of us want others to know our private business. Besides the catharsis of the confessional, there are the beliefs that openness is a virtue, and that honesty is defined by it.

Be it Mondale admitting he needs drugs to get it up or Clinton answering inappropriate questions about his underwear, the standards of good taste, respect and propriety have fallen.

The mind recoils from the lurid fascination many people have for other people’s private lives, but it is their repressive response to the scenes they imagine that are dangerous to liberty.

They may continue to ask, but you don’t have to tell.

Isms

To a certain extent we can sympathize with a young man recently arrested for vandalism. He said hate for religion drove him to desecrate two local churches. We can sympathize because he appears to be mentally ill and miserably unhappy, and because these days religion is an easy thing to hate.

It is more difficult to sympathize with Paul Hill, the man who killed over abortion, although he, too, appeared to be mentally ill. Possibly our powers of sympathy were taxed by the fact that he was older, and because he did not seem to be suffering – from either remorse or doubt. In fact, he seemed maniacally happy.

Looking back through history it is difficult to see how the good done in the name of organized religion outweighs, or even balances, the harm done. Sufficient examples of the latter can be found in Ireland and the Middle East.

Beyond the chilling smile of someone on a bad drug – in this case, religion – it is the unwarranted self-assurance of the fundamentalist that frightens us; professing to know what God wants is arrogant at least and delusional at worst.

It is possible that Hill was right in calling his act justifiable homicide; it is also possible that Moslems are right in calling the U.S. an evil empire to be destroyed at any cost. The point is, truly spiritual people do no harm, whatever their convictions.

The problem with isms is that they are too often the refuge of the weak spirited as well as the weak minded. Those who practice an ism must remember that comfort breeds complacency, which can lead to complicity. When we allow extremists into our fellowships we have a responsibility to monitor their actions, to confront them, and to report them to authorities when they pose a danger to others.