The Church of Simonology

Scarborough Fair, Mrs. Robinson, Bridge Over Troubled Water. The list goes on. The Beatles, prolific song-writers go down in history. Longevity. Sustaining the test of time. Art. What Paul Simon said last night on television capsulized a sentiment of what must be millions of Americans. Never before in the short history of the United States have we had to fight a religious war. A Civil War for civil actions toward humanity. A Revolutionary War for a rebellious group of Puritans looking for Religious freedom. A couple of World Wars, a Korean War, and Viet Nam. Now we are faced with a foe that is angry about Desert Storm. The infidels invaded the home territory, and we have been paying. This regime, this militant, sectarian, extreme religious faction has succeeded in doing what no other country has ever done, inflicting a major war strike against the United States on our native land. Even Pearl Harbor was an ocean away, but with that event the US broke all war precedent and bombed two major cities in Japan, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Two whole cities of civilians were destroyed, but we won the war. What seems to be different now? Who are the allies of Iraq? The Russians? The Cold War is over. India or France. Yes they have been conducting underwater nuclear testing, but would they retaliate against the United States for a nuclear attack on Afghanistan? I just wonder why we implemented a Rumsfeldian, stealth, minimal troop assault on Iraq and expected to come out clean. It worked in Desert Storm, but the Iraqi army saw a swarm of US military drop down from the sky. Now we are battling an insurgency rather than an army. The enemy has become stealth, and like Viet Nam we are having trouble defeating the enemy and liberating the country. Are the insurgents living in tunnels? Are they militants disguised as civilians, women, or children? Who is to know? That is why it seems it would be easy to kill "the wrong" people in Iraq. Civilians die, and as in Viet Nam rape, drug use, and mutiny occur. We are finding these things out. I have one question. How can we subject our youth to violent video games, violent movies, and violence in their schools, and then expect them to make the correct moral judgment when they are under fire in enemy territory? When is the morality supposed to kick in? When and where was it supposed to be learned? Not the public schools, because this government has done everything possible to pull morality our of the public schools. Mention God? Say the Pledge of allegiance? The Lord's Prayer? These must be demonic words that would in some way will harm our children. But we have allowed the entertainment industry to invade the consciousness of our youth population like never before. Kids are not hanging out at the drive in, eating burgers, and talking about romance. Most cities have ordinances against skateboarding. What is next? Bicycle riding? There are "Absolutely No Loitering" signs in arcades. What is an arcade after all but a place to hang out and have fun? If we continue to try to legislate the behavior of our culture, there will be a revolution. Eventually the needs of man will overwhelm any monetary needs of the rich and like the French will stage a coup. In my dreams maybe, but it is better to think about than our immediate future. Harking back to a previous time in history is not necessarily the answer, but trying to remember what we are as a people is. The Puritan roots of the US have always been a mystery to me. Luckily today those religious factions make up on a minute percentage of our population. Protestants are the most prevalent followed by Roman Catholics and the smaller groups. I have never been at odds with the direction of our country, our so-called agenda, and what we represent. It seems like a far right conservative movement infiltrated and has led the country on a wild goose chase we are finally becoming aware of. I don't even try to understand it. I just know those pale, grim, suited faces I see on television seem incapable of solving any of our problems. I can't help but laugh at them. How is that three piece suit going to stand up when we are fighting Arabs hand to hand. How are they going to help plant food, clean our water, or instill faith in something government will not allow to exist in public spaces? We tried to destroy the teaching methods of our morality, and yet now we are holding poor, uneducated soldiers accountable for our mistakes. Not every citizen grew up attending church. Not every citizen grew up in a family unit. The whole strata of the population has changed, and we need morality. We need the teachings of God and the church, and they shouldn't necessarily be held out of our schools and judicial systems. How was the judicial system formed anyway, by man? Did man just suddenly become enlightened in himself and make the laws with no reason? It seems church and state are tied and we are wallowing in the uncertainty of a confused, hypocritical far right constituency. Ralph Reed? Christian Coalition? Christianism, or Christianity. I am reassured the creator of our world was the bringer of Christianity. It tells me it is right. Murder, war, hatred and violence are not. However we do it, we need to solve these problems. Leave the Da Vinci Commode sitting on the crapper for now.