rebuilding the past

Katrina was/is huge. the storm itself was a large one, and the destruction it has caused is being deamed as "the worst natural disaster in US history." the wake of this storm will not pass for generations. no one knows what to do, no one should know what to do. but it is my dire hope and dearest wish that we do not treat the survivors (i use this term since "refugees" is now politically incorrect) the same way we have treated those who have lost their homes elsewhere in our country. i pray that these families who have fallen in misfortune's way do not get pushed into an alleyway or street corner like america tends to do, when we don't know what else to do.

the 600 thousand homeless americans we were ignoring before, have just blown into the millions. they are without food, without shelter, without family. they do not necessarily have an office to return to, much less a job once they get there. and this is, truly a catastrophe. but why is this so different than the situation we are already in? just because these people have been displaced by a force of nature, that makes them more worth our time and money?

the survivors of this awful tragedy are not only homeless...they are now Homeless. they are the ones we walk across the street to avoid. the source of our pity and the cause of our inner angst. it is as if our dripping faucet just sprung another leak....but instead of fixing the faucet we decide we can just seal the most recent leak.

in trying to figure out how jesus/god would deal with the poor and homeless in our land, i can't help but think he might see a little awkwardness in this situation. when the pharasees present this case to him, what will his clever answer be?

i have no answers. i am out of prayers. all i know is that this disaster didn't just strike on Aug 29th, this disaster has been knocking at our doors since before the time of my grandparents...and will continue to pound long after The Big Easy has been rebuilt.

Jesus is probably right

i have started mentally comparing "got jesus?" shirts to marilyn manson shirts. they are both statements about people who were very controversial, and one is just as likely as the other to convince on-lookers to join the band-wagon and get a jesus/manson of their own.
does this mean i don't love jesus, or that i think it is bad to wear an "I ♥ JC" shirt? no, of course not--it just means that if someone else tries to tell me that we should all wear shirts that only promote christian messages--i will likely call them marilyn manson, thus leaving them utterly confused and likely believing that i am a fan of the band. (MARILYN MANSON IS A BAND!) to be perfectly honest, i loved his cover of sweet dreams....even though annie lennox is like butter on ice to me (maybe it has something to do with my crazy attraction to older women, but her latest album makes me go good-crazy).

to be even more honest about my spiritual misgivings--i don't particularly care for it when people put "God" as one of their interests, or expertise or anything in the profile. i don't like it when people put scriptures as the sig at the end of an email and i don't like churches having crosses in their yard (hey, look--we killed jesus!). yes, this is a spiritual rant--i am tired of seeing emblems that are supposed to represent God. even when they are meant well. to me, and i think to others, they can come across as "holier-than-thou." i don't want to see jesu christo on a liscense plate---i want to see it in your life

A Changing Faith

things just move so fast right now. it seems like i can't keep up with how fast things change in all of my common environments: music, art, dance, church, school, friends...etc.
in studying the history of music, it has become painfully obvious that we are the most evolutionary period thus far. we quickly abandon all the form and function that "oppressed" the musicians of the classical and baroque periods and have figured out that really our music is all about us....people can take away from it what they please. somewhere, over the course of our lives, this has become a predominant theme in many of our expressions. many years ago most forms of art took a turn that changed the focus from the art itself to the artist. when you see a 22x19 canvas that contains a single black paint streak the first question you are supposed to ask yourself is "what was the artist feeling when he created this?"

i wonder if somewhere in this huge shift this didn't effect my spirit. when did i stop worrying about how i was being seen by the viewers, and more about how i felt when i did what i did? so i can justify to myself having a beer or smoking a blunt...does that mean it is art?
am i being displayed as the master piece i should...or merely as something to ponder?

First Posts Don't Get a Title

Basically i am opening a blogspot because i think it is time to. i have my beloved xanga, but i refuse to post things i really care about there. so this will be my "spiritual outlet." my place to be sappy and secretive. mostly just somewhere to save my thoughts. saving my thoughts...