One of the videos was "The Revolution Will Not be Televised", by Gil Scott-Heron. It is an angry slam poem from the Black Panther days in the early 1970's. I had not heard it in years. It caused the few remaining counter culture hairs on my body to stand up straight. Like some Dr Strangelove parody, I had to resist throwing my fist in the air. Blast from my past for sure.
The tune is as relevant today as it was in 1971. The World stage may have shifted and the actors may have changed, but the message is the same. America is not, nor has it ever been, the perfect sanctum of Democratic ideals. We are all equal, only some of us are more equal then others. (My apologies to Orwell and Animal Farm)
The other music video posted was "Killing in the Name....", by Rage Against the Machine. It is a very political in your face "Fuck You" aimed at contemporary White America. They pound their point home with a sledge hammer. Great tune if you like head bangin. If you do, turn it up to WOW before you punch it up.
And though both tunes are really racial in tone and aimed at White America, I had to twist their meaning to fit my own chosen narrative and a favorite go to target, Evangelical Christianity.
The softer kinder face Christianity likes to portray in recent times is the same Christianity that was responsible for the Crusades, the Inquisition and the KKK. The edge hugging edition, Evangelical Christianity, is the modern throwback version. Call it Old Testament, version 1.2. Evangelical Christianity is not a gentle religion. It is not a kind religion. It is unforgiving and vengeful to those who are seen as threats, no matter whether they are or not. There is no give in their doctrine. It's their way or the highway.
The militant Evangelical branch recently crawled out into the light, invited by Donald Trump in his quest to find as many adoring fans as possible. The hypocrisy and stupidity of the Evangelical extremists is now in full view for everyone to see. Problem is, will anyone really care?
We should care, for the Evangelical Fundies have declared war on anyone not within their prayer circle. We are their enemies now if we do not look through the same lenses as they do. We are their enemies if we are not the same color as they. And in a ridiculous show of extreme intolerance, we are their enemies based on who we sleep with.
Though their inflexibility is their weakness, that does not make them less dangerous. They are focused and armed with the incontrovertible proof of the Old Testament. We best be watchful.
Later ...................................................
7 comments:
Haven't we always been their enemies?
BBC - Yes we have been. Only now they have a national platform to spread their evil twist on how Life should be. They are more dangerous now than I would say, since the 1920's when the KKK was in its glory.
I started worrying about bible-bangers and guns years ago when I learned about the push for them to buy guns.
Head banging sound to painful for me. I will stick to paganism...
I think we could include the Catholic Church as fundamentalism. The Vatican is one of the richest country in the world. Their trappings and archives are worth billions, if not trillions. There was an article years ago about the Catholic church in New York owning a majority of funeral homes. They have been on the leading edge of homophobia; and even during the African Ebola pandemic the church forbid the use of condoms and contraceptives. They are a a cult practicing a bronze age religion that has a history even more destructive than Protestant fundamentalist.
However, Protestant fundamentalism poses a special threat in the United States, as they would legislate a Christian form of sharia law.
the Ol'Buzzard
I think all religions are evil. Especially Protestant fundamentalism because I live near Charlotte, NC and have to deal with them and their willful ignorance almost daily.
Kulkiri - They have been on my radar since my Black Republican parents warned me of their evil when I was young. I only wrote this because I feel that nevr in my lifetime has their influence been so damaging and alarming.
peppylady - Pagans and Head bangers are kindred spirits. You don't need one without the other. Its the attitude that counts.
Ol'Buzzard - You are right of course. I have long determined that the Catholic Church is mostly responsible for the death, mayhem, and exploitation of White Humanity since the first Pope. And as you point out, I think the Evangelicals are the current threat we need to watch.
Hatch - Our dependence on organized religion is not about faith. It is about segregation.
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