Zeitgeist

I was totally verklempt, dahlink...

A friend asked me to watch Zeitgeist, the viral YouTube documentary of sorts; I did and here's my response.

Well, I watched most of it while cooking yesterday...

Now, first a bit more background on moi, since it has bearing on my comments that follow: I have to say that, more than being "Churched" or having "Religion" as folks seem to like to say, I'd define myself as being a spiritual person with a fairly active spiritual life. I chose the Episcopal Church, FYI, not because my family has been Episcopal since the 17th Century, but because in my life it has been a bastion of acceptance - We acknowledge almost all baptized Christians, acknowledge that Buddhism, or Islam or most anything else likely has merit as a theology, and the faith has been tolerant if not downright progressive on women's ordination, non-white ordination, and acceptance of gay and lesbian folk - Until recently, that is - I don't know that you're aware of the watershed split the church is experiencing right now, but it's pretty nasty and very discouraging - While our parish stays true to the national church, the acrimony and politics has almost driven me away a few times now..

Anyway, I say all that because I am an open minded spiritual being before I am a Christian: If that sounds odd, it simply means to me that I don't claim to know answers and am open to other interpretations and beliefs... The so called legs of Episcopalianism are tradition, reason, and scripture; this implies a need for an individual to interpret their own faith, rather than letting someone else do it for them. My take on it says we are called to study, reason, and acknowledge the past for what it was to the best of our ability. As to whether or not there is a higher power, I just can't even fathom how there could not be - To much complexity, too amazing, too wow for there not to be, for my heart and mind...

Now, all that said, here's where the flick struck me: Over all, this was done by folks with a burning agenda who fundamentally believe in conspiracy theories: That's not to say that there aren't conspiracies, but it does say to me that the persons who produced this is VERY convinced of such in many facets of life today, to the point of being somewhat paranoid about 'em, for my mind... Personally, I think we're always called on to be healthy skeptics and to say no to what shouldn't be allowed - I think you and everyone else knows what I think of government and big business - Frankly, many churches could be lumped in the same vein there - Many of them are here to line their pockets, exert control and maintain their existences, just like the worst of the former entities I just mentioned...

Now, first to the faith shredding section and the contention of the film that all modern religions are basically just derivations of astrologically based mythology from earlier days, well... Yes and no - Let's face it, the heavens are powerful, and as long as man has been about to ponder what's there, the perceived vastness and majesty of space has held quite a sway over us. Secondly, I might go so far as to say that if there are other beings out there, (I find it quite arrogant and unlikely to assume that there are not, frankly), if we've gotten anything right, mathematics might just be the universal language, the tower of babel if you will. To posit that all this stuff comes about simply because of base astrological predilections among the majority of humans, and specifically among those who founded modern religion is not only arrogant, it's as obfuscatory a point as the one they're trying to make about religion: I mean, yeah, I'm aware of all the parallels that are laid out equating Christianity with earlier religions, and frankly, my response is, "No shit, Sherlock?" Of course our current organized faith has roots in what came before; good lord, if it didn't, I'd question whether anyone has any of it right or ever did! I mean, duh, guys...

As for the Jesus 'myth', well, here's my take: I believe there was indeed a prophet who said and did some amazing things back when. I don't think anybody can "prove" much more than that, or disprove it convincingly either, frankly. Now Jesus may indeed have been the Son of God; for all I know he may not have been - But the guy had something going for him, big time, and the fact that it survives to this day speaks loudly to that; to be able to instill in folks for thousands of years the basic tenet of, "Love one another as I have loved you," and for caring for those least fortunate, that';s powerful and a good thing, regardless of the source. If more folks took to heart such a message and acted on it, where would the world be now? What'd Ronnie Rayguns say back in '80, "Are you better off now than you were?" Honestly, with the dogma stripped away and the words taken to heart, I can't fathom how anyone could find fault in the beauty of that advise... Bottom line to me is this; myth or reality and no matter who and what he was, his message has survived pretty well, despite the ministrations of the Catholic church and tens of thousands of other posers over the millennium: Oh, and remember, he warned us about that shit too, ya know...

The flick's summary quote in this regard; "Christianity, along with all other theistic belief systems empowers those who know the truth, but uses the myth to manipulate and control societies. It reduces human responsibility to the effect that "God" controls everything, and in turn awful crimes can be justified in the name of Divine Pursuit. The religious myth is the most powerful device ever created, and serves as the psychological soil upon which other myths can flourish." Again, yes and no - As for the first line, I would contend that good faiths, (And yes, there are some whether these guys like it or not), seek for everyone to know the truth, and to use it for the good of humankind and our planet; by the same token, there are also undoubtedly those who steer as this quote suggests and they are without question rotten. Ok, second point; have horrid things been done and continue to be done in the name of faith? yes, no doubt, but I'd tell ya that is the fault of the weakness of humans and our shitty predilections whenever we incorporate to any significant degree, more so than it is the fault of faith itself. Fact is, the more I am around even a good church day to day, and see how much politics and subterfuge and ego and arrogance and greed and power seeking rear their ugly heads, the less I like churches, too! My Senior Warden told me about her Uncle, who was a Senior Warden before her, in her home town: He went to his Doc who examined him and said "Frank, you're stressed, what's stressing you?" Her uncle told the doc it was his job as Senior Warden. The doc's response was classic; "First off, change churches, and secondly, don't get there until Sunday service, and when that's done, don't go back until the next Sunday." Sage advice, that... In all fairness, and in direct response to that statement, though, my church has never said that God controls everything and that we are helpless; on the contrary, it has always spoken of the need for people to develop a personal relationship with God, and that we are in fact called to perceive God's will in our lives and act accordingly - We must help ourselves and one another and our planet, or nothing will get done... Doesn't sound way manipulative to me... As for that third quote, well, that line may be true, but in the context in which it is delivered, it is presumptuous, derivative and quite simply out of context...

Part 2, dealing with 9-11, ahhh, OK... Well, I am not a conspiracy theorist, but I have read and thought about this quite a bit, and I have to tell you that I would not be surprised in the least if the majority of assertions herein were not true to some degree. In fact, I've read quite a bit more of the technical, tactical and strategic considerations of that day, and it stinks, to be honest - Something was rotten in Denmark, I just don't know what...

Part III, sheesh - Well, these targets are some of my favorites, but I gotta tell ya, if you held a Conspiracy Whack-o-Meter up to the film makers, it would peg its needle way out there in left field... I've read more military history than anything, and more 20th century than any other age - To the majority of contentions made therein, I say Bullshit with a capital B! Thins happen and folks respond to take advantage, no doubt about it, but anyone trying to build a case showing that the U.S. wanted in to WW II saw three other conspirators on the grassy knoll in Dallas... Now the SPP does indeed stink to high heaven, but it reeks of profit making;, the whole third section tries to make something exist that doesn't, for my mind - The fact is, government and big business have always been in it to make huge profits for themselves and have always been whores in that regard; they care not where and how their dough comes as long as it keeps coming, this we know. But to try and make a National Treasure style Grand Conspiracy plan outta the whole thing strikes me like the hunt for a Unified Field Theory; yes, it would be cool, and maybe it does exist, but don't hold your breath or the next generation's waitin' for it to come to light, OK?

So overall, I gotta say this - The flick strikes me like a Michael Moore work; some good stuff, thought provoking, interesting, coupled with great silliness and off the deep end supposition.

In the end run, zealots of any stripe make me nervous, 'cause they's still first and foremost zealots, ya know?