(a) good friday

this is one day of the year when shutdown is possible
generally i find easter a good time to not go away
i like the 4 day weekend that given due respect
means some valuable time-out time can be taken
and generally partake in some serious self-indulgence
but only after giving some thought process to the day's significance
this morning i took the time to do the usual scan of online news and blogs
democracy now had a special broadcast marking a significant anniversary
5 years since the shock and awe attacks on the innocent people of baghdad
that were the start of a war that was only supposed to last months
john mccain back then was the dumbass claiming that was all it would take
today they also included an article about mccain in iraq this week
again placing his foot firmly in his mouth re terrorists training in iran
and this guy is now close to running for president of the u s of a
to quote another commenter - is he a liar, stupid or both?
what was truely rivetting and compelling on today's broadcast though
was a long piece covering what is called the winter soldier hearings
whereby returned soldiers are providing accounts of their time in iraq
i could not believe what i was hearing - literally brought tears to my eyes
stories of brutality, stories of families losing children to war and suicide
stories of the insensitive handling of raped women in the armed forces
and george double-yuh continues to claims the war is all but won
all in all a quite depressing and sobering subject to dwell on this day
from there i moved onto my favourite blog called the time being
a daily posting by the lead singer of the church mr steven kilbey
every day he posts some interesting story, anecdote or brain-dump
today he also chose to dwell on the meaning of good friday
i hope he doesn't mind but i have cut and pasted his thoughts here
probably against all known rules of internet or blog etiquette
but he says things that need to be kept in mind
certainly got me thinking about where to from here
and kept my mind engaged for most of the rest of this day
which largely involved an unusual activity for me called gardening
followed by a 2 hour walk including a tai chi session in the local domain
all the time with the mp3 player filling my head with some favourite music
now there's something with a much underrated power to heal and unite
i know this for real - i been there - i done that - got to spread the word
which all followed on from mr kilbeys words of wisdom herein
it has been quite a good friday really for me
non-harmful self-indulgence is ok

jesus
its good friday
the day a bunch of ignorant villains
nailed up a guy to a wooden cross
and left him to die in agony
how many good men have come n gone
their words of emancipation and connection
disregarded, misinterpreted?
the meek aint inherited the earth...yet
its still being run by loads of proud idiots
using her up
killing us off
most so called christians who never read
the fucking new testament with both their ears open
or even read it at all
the heroes among us
they show us the way
(my brave friend in hospital)
humanity
yeah be proud of yerself
dreaming up your rationalisations
you have butchered tortured and ruined
because of them
we told ourselves lies
and we found em easy to believe
and we brutalised n behaved inhumanely
inhumane n inhuman
jesus
i dont need to catalogue it all again
have a look at hiroshima n nagasaki
have a look at belsen
have a look at whaling
have a look at inquisitions
have a look at crusades
have a look at vlad the impaler
n nero n caligula
the israelites n babylonians
jesus
are we capable of cruelty and unimaginable horror
on gigantic scales or what?
jesus, did we listen?
jesus, does an idiot like georgie bush
really think he is somehow born again in your name?
how can one violent thing be done in your name
and the irony of it not blast em sprawling?
how is there so much wilful ignorance
concocted and laid at your feet?
the catholic church with their dark secrets
their midnight mass and the countless
bent priests playing with boys
their ritual n palaver n self aggrandizement
the very opposite of christs simplicity n humility
he would despise it
he would despise bush
he would despise the southern fundamentalist tv evangelists
in some sick nightmare of a world
the sages n seers words n prophecies
are twisted into self serving bullshit sermons
exhorting all the most superstitious claptrap
christ would hate assault weapons
christ would weep at biological warfare
christ would sob at guantanomo fucking bay(or whatever is called)
christ would rail against deforestation n renditioning
and persecutions n executions
and our unbelievably INHUMAN treatment of the beasts
christ would not believe that we rip their claws n horns n teeth
n tails n feathers n fins off in a bloodthirsty dimmed haze..
could christ believe that weve even finally buggered up the weather
(boys n girls the fun is just starting)
i urge you
today
to read the four gospels
read them with an open heart
dont fucking quibble with this or that
or even me
let that message sink in
dont look for the contradictions
dont mis quote or partially quote
a phrase or 2 which is seemingly at odds
why?
you aint gonna change my mind
was he the son of god?
aint we all?
was he the son of man?
yes
he was a hero
he did things like a real man
he preached love n got himself crucified
well aint that just like this earth...?
what gives, fiendss?
hey
i aint no christian preacher
hey you sophisticated smartass
sitting at yer computer
saying oh no killer
dont try n sell me jesus again
hey you dull n unimaginative knuckleheads
cant see the woods for the trees
hey gunslinger
hey war presidents
hey fascists
hey popes
hey bishops n field marshalls
hey adolf n cheney n queen victoria
hey tobacco n oil companies
hey mcdonalds n the fuckin" colonel
hey ku klux klan (oooh your costumes are so "bad")
hey taliban n al-queda
hey idi amin hey slobbydan milosovich
you guys had yer chance
look where we are
weve almost fucked up our own dear planet
the amazon almost gone
for what
big macs?
american n australian native peoples...almost gone
theres like 50 snow leopards left
the islands in the pacific going under
in 10 years.. (10 years...!!!!)
no more fish in sea
no more ozone
no compassion
no love
no respect
cmon
people now
smile on your brother
everybody get together
try to love one another right now...
todd said
i'd rather die by a dream
than live by a lie...
lets be courageous
lets change ourselves
look at me
it can be done
evolve
evolve now
into what we all could have been
start today
start here
lets change this world
for the better
whatever that means
stop thinking
just
do it!

link to steve kilbey's blog here