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Enrichment
First, some random stuff:
1) For some unknown reason I've had the soundtrack to Kiss Me, Kate running through my head all day. I spent most of the afternoon in the conference room assembling meeting materials for the Board of Trustees and quietly singing "Brush up Your Shakespeare" and "Always True to You" to myself.
2) I am not angry at anyone today. This is good.
3) I have a headache, but I kind of just have to suck it up because I gotta try to write Will, Moses, and Whitney this afternoon.
4) Here is the best thing I overheard while waiting for the bus this morning - "Do you know when the nine o'clock bus leaves?"
Now for the real entry:
I watched a documentary on the Biography Channel last night called Jesus Camp. It followed three young Evangelical Christian children who go away to an Evangelical Christian summer camp. It was the best horror film I have seen in years. The adults in these children's lives - their parents, family members, pastors - were terrifying, and what's more, they knew they were terrifying and were happy about it. These "radical christians" openly admitted they were raising their kids to be "soldiers of God" and to "reclaim" America for God. Most of the kids were home schooled. Complete devotion to God in every facet of theirs lives was all they'd ever known. Kids as young as 8 and 9 spoke about their "decision" to be born-again, and all I could think was, how can this be considered a decision when these kids weren't offered any other options? When they were rolling around on the floor and speaking in tongues you could tell they were only doing it because the adults around them were doing it. There was no fire in their eyes. They all kept talking about the power of God's love but...most of the time there was an underlying note of hate and disgust at those who did not understand them or did not accept Jesus Christ as their lord and savior. These kids live in an us-against-them world where they are encouraged to bring God's love to as many people as possible while simultaneously rejecting everyone who does not agree to do so. They are taught that abortion is wrong, Harry Potter is evil, music that glorifies God is the only kind worth listening to and everything else is the Devil's music, creationism is the only "logical" explanation for our existence, and worst of all, they are taught that all of this rubbish is inherently true and anyone who says otherwise is wrong and must change their way of thinking. One of the camp pastors actually said, and this is a direct quote, "I think that Democracy is the greatest political system on Earth but that's the problem, it's Earth. It is ultimately designed to destroy itself because we have to give everyone equal freedom and ultimately that is going to destroy us."
I may not have many good things to say about my upbringing, but I will say I am extraordinarily grateful that I grew up in a home completely void of religion. It gave me to opportunity to figure out my own personal religious beliefs for myself, and that is so rare. It is so rare for a child to receive absolutely no religious guidance from any member of their family. My Mom is a lapsed Episcopalian and my Dad is a lapsed Catholic. I've never seen either of them go to church for anything other than marriages and funerals. I know they both believe in God, but they also believe that religious beliefs are a personal thing that should not be discussed with others. Your relationship with God is between the two of you and is not anyone else's business. I have never discussed religion with any member of my family. I'm probably the most religiously and spiritually vocal of the whole brood and I never even bothered to tell them I went all atheist six years ago. They still don't know, and it's not because I'm ashamed of it, it's because we just don't talk about religion.
And I'm so happy about that! I'm happy that I really got to choose my religious beliefs. I got to read and experiment and find spiritual models that worked for me. No one nudged me in any particular direction, no one interfered with my seeking or asked me what the hell I was up to. They just let me find my own way, and because of that my spiritual and religious life is something that I can honestly say is all mine.
1) For some unknown reason I've had the soundtrack to Kiss Me, Kate running through my head all day. I spent most of the afternoon in the conference room assembling meeting materials for the Board of Trustees and quietly singing "Brush up Your Shakespeare" and "Always True to You" to myself.
2) I am not angry at anyone today. This is good.
3) I have a headache, but I kind of just have to suck it up because I gotta try to write Will, Moses, and Whitney this afternoon.
4) Here is the best thing I overheard while waiting for the bus this morning - "Do you know when the nine o'clock bus leaves?"
Now for the real entry:
I watched a documentary on the Biography Channel last night called Jesus Camp. It followed three young Evangelical Christian children who go away to an Evangelical Christian summer camp. It was the best horror film I have seen in years. The adults in these children's lives - their parents, family members, pastors - were terrifying, and what's more, they knew they were terrifying and were happy about it. These "radical christians" openly admitted they were raising their kids to be "soldiers of God" and to "reclaim" America for God. Most of the kids were home schooled. Complete devotion to God in every facet of theirs lives was all they'd ever known. Kids as young as 8 and 9 spoke about their "decision" to be born-again, and all I could think was, how can this be considered a decision when these kids weren't offered any other options? When they were rolling around on the floor and speaking in tongues you could tell they were only doing it because the adults around them were doing it. There was no fire in their eyes. They all kept talking about the power of God's love but...most of the time there was an underlying note of hate and disgust at those who did not understand them or did not accept Jesus Christ as their lord and savior. These kids live in an us-against-them world where they are encouraged to bring God's love to as many people as possible while simultaneously rejecting everyone who does not agree to do so. They are taught that abortion is wrong, Harry Potter is evil, music that glorifies God is the only kind worth listening to and everything else is the Devil's music, creationism is the only "logical" explanation for our existence, and worst of all, they are taught that all of this rubbish is inherently true and anyone who says otherwise is wrong and must change their way of thinking. One of the camp pastors actually said, and this is a direct quote, "I think that Democracy is the greatest political system on Earth but that's the problem, it's Earth. It is ultimately designed to destroy itself because we have to give everyone equal freedom and ultimately that is going to destroy us."
I may not have many good things to say about my upbringing, but I will say I am extraordinarily grateful that I grew up in a home completely void of religion. It gave me to opportunity to figure out my own personal religious beliefs for myself, and that is so rare. It is so rare for a child to receive absolutely no religious guidance from any member of their family. My Mom is a lapsed Episcopalian and my Dad is a lapsed Catholic. I've never seen either of them go to church for anything other than marriages and funerals. I know they both believe in God, but they also believe that religious beliefs are a personal thing that should not be discussed with others. Your relationship with God is between the two of you and is not anyone else's business. I have never discussed religion with any member of my family. I'm probably the most religiously and spiritually vocal of the whole brood and I never even bothered to tell them I went all atheist six years ago. They still don't know, and it's not because I'm ashamed of it, it's because we just don't talk about religion.
And I'm so happy about that! I'm happy that I really got to choose my religious beliefs. I got to read and experiment and find spiritual models that worked for me. No one nudged me in any particular direction, no one interfered with my seeking or asked me what the hell I was up to. They just let me find my own way, and because of that my spiritual and religious life is something that I can honestly say is all mine.
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And I'm so glad you were given room to find your beliefs; it's a shame not everyone gets that privilege.
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You are too cute.
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By the way... when does the nine o'clock bus leave?
*laughs* sounds like something I'd say ;)