The Chasm

I went to see a couple of films today, 'Guess Who' and 'Beauty Shop', both worried me greatly - there seems to be a chasm between the people of the americas, and it appears to be getting worse. Just look at the message boards for these films to see what I mean.

racism n.

1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
   
   
2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.

Whether it be white to black, black to white, mauve to lavender, or culture to culture - racism is discrimination, believing that you can somehow decide on a person's character or abilities via their race. It is ignorant and shameful, regardless of whom it comes from.

In particular, the belief that just because one is subject to racism, they can give it back and expect to retain any respect is unfathomable. People gain respect by being decent and upstanding, not by dropping down to the level of those they hate.

You know you've truly lost the battle if you've become your enemy.

In a soldier's stance, I aimed my hand
At the mongrel dogs who teach.
Fearing not that I'd become my enemy
In the instant that I preach.

-- My Back Pages; Bob Dylan

Can I just say I believe in Unity, Harmony and Love - and I really do pray that people lay down their hate and join me in that belief.

Every child smiles in the same language.

Karol Jozef Wojtyla 1920-2005

A good man died tonight...



I am not a Catholic. I am not even Christian, or indeed a theist of any kind. But I know a good person when I see one, and I mourn the loss of such a soul tonight.

The Catholic church is not my favourite organisation. Many of the official lines conflict with my own moral and ethical positions; particularly on areas surrounding sex, birth and death. However, these are old and effectively unchangable tenets of the Catholic dogma, and I don't truly hold John Paul II in contempt for espousing these views.

"Science can purify religion from error and superstition. Religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes." 1987

He was often said to be a conservative traditionalist; rigidly sticking to the ancient ways and reversing much modernisation within the church. On a few select areas this could be deemed accurate, but not overall, certainly not.

Outspoken, passionate, and often practically incendiary in his views; conservative he was not.

The great respect that I hold for this man, who on the face of it stands for something I dislike, organised religion, is born out of his life's work, which I think could be boiled down to - human rights and human responsibilities, a passion that I truly share.



Throughout his 58 years as a priest (he was ordained on November 1st, 1946), he has constantly fought against social injustice, greed, hatred, violence and humanity's disregard for the greater good.

"Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought." 1995

As most people know, my main love is for the environment; something he felt very strongly on too. Often he used his voice to carry weight with new environmental initiatives, supporting ecological conservation and the protection of nature from the excesses of man.

On August 25th, 2002, he said the following about human responsibilities, particularly with respect to what I would call our 'guardianship' of the planet...

The human creature feels very little before the wonder of divine Providence, manifested in creation and history... At the same time, he realizes that he is the recipient of a message of love that calls him to responsibility.

People, indeed, are appointed by God as administrators of the earth, to cultivate and protect it. From here stems that which we might call our 'ecological vocation', which in our time has become more urgent than ever.

In a world that is increasingly interdependent, peace, justice and the protection of creation must be the fruit of the common effort of all in pursuing the common good together.

'ecological vocation' - what a wonderful way to phrase it. In the past, most knew we had to till the soil to survive; but our guardianship runs deeper than that, we have put lifekind in peril and it is our responsibility to bring it back from the brink. He knew that and struggled to let others know - something I feel indebted to him for.



On January 17th, 2001, he said the following about the destructon humanity has caused...

Unfortunately, if one casts a gaze over the regions of our planet, one notices immediately that humanity has not fulfilled the divine expectation.

Especially in our times, man has devastated without hesitation plains and forested valleys, polluted the waters, deformed the earth's habitats, made the air unbreathable, disturbed the hydro-geological and atmospheric systems, and turned green spaces into deserts.

One must therefore, promote and support the ecological conversion, which in the last few decades has made humanity more sensitive to the catastrophies we are moving toward.

Conversion must go beyond protecting the physical environment, aiming instead at creating a human ecology which makes the existence of every creature more dignified, protecting the radical good of life in all its manifestations and preparing for future generations an environment closer to that which God planned.

Whilst I may not speak of the environment in terms of the divine intentions, the phrase 'the radical good of life' strikes a chord deep within me. All life is a wonder, a miracle, a gift. To see it as divine does not surprise me. As anyone that has held a newborn in their arms, or witnessed the green mist of the trees in spring will know - life is beautiful.

Most of the truly beautiful people are born, like the phoenix, out of fire. Karol's early life must have contained much pain, by the age of 21 he has lost his brother, his father and his mother - such lost will colour you. He trained secretly as a priest throughout the second world war and aimed to do something good with his life.

He did.



I will finish by saying thank you to a man who understood the word love better than most, and tried to live his life by the golden law that we all fail to achieve: "to thine ownself be true" - uphold your morals, stand by your beliefs, do as you would be done by, and be a good person.



With luck and some good will, hopefully his following wish will be reality one day...

Men and women will once again walk in the garden of creation, working to ensure that the goods of the earth are available to all, and not just to a privileged few.