More Entanglements

I am left scratching my head again . . . I got myself in trouble once more. Just like the characters in many of my stories . . . saying things that offend the masses, while speaking truth for the sake of truth.

I think that I need to purge my computer of any Facebook connections.  I only joined when my grandson was born and it was the best way to see his photos, which my daughter-in-law were posting each day.

I don't understand the magic of Facebook . . . and it is Pixie Dust . .  50 billion dollars of pure magic.  But somehow, long lost friends were asking to be my friend. Now you don't have to go back very far until you enter the Evangelical Epoch of my life. But suddenly old college friends were appearing from 30 years ago.

It amazes me that as much as I have changed, my old Evangelical friends are were I was at that time, but they have not changed . . . maybe become more hardened in their views.

I had this bad feeling about this. I knew it would only be a matter of time that I would have my foot in my mouth.  The last time I tried to re-connect with this group of college evangelicals, it was a mess.  When one of them, a pastor now, started a very crafty manipulation of getting the people on that forum to buy worthless nutrition supplements from him, because this was what God wanted, I kept my anger to myself. But when he suggested that a breast cancer sufferer stop her chemotherapy and take his supplements (MLM program) instead, I became verbally livid.  I demanded that he come clean.  Then he started this process of sending me letters of how I had grieved God. Then what the hell was he doing to God?

Anyway, that was a long time ago.  During this recent "Facebook epoch," I've sat quietly as people did their posts about Jesus saving the day and how many wonderful works they and their children did for Jesus today. I just ignored those.  I also ignored that boundless postings of conservative political shit, you know, proof that Obama was born in Kenya stuff.

Now that Romney is the Republican nominee the pages are covered with pro-Romney crap. The other one is the Chicken-fil-a issue. One of the owners recently made a statement that he supports the Biblical model for family, one man married to one woman. It would have gone un-noticed but the Gay community went berserk first. Then the Evangelicals followed after.  The Gays are wanting to boycott the restaurants, the Evangelicals want to eat every meal there from now on. So, I just ignored those postings.  After all, weren't the culture wars fought in the 90s . . . and didn't the evangelicals loose that war?

So this is how I got myself in trouble. We each have our issues of priority. One of mine is human rights, especially when it comes to Arabs.  I have a strong connection with Arab people. I've shared many, many, glasses of tea with them. Many are dear friends. I've spend a day with a Palestinian in Israel and witnessed how he was abused over and over.  I know their history.

I know that this can't be everyone's issue. But my starting point is simply all people are created in God's image. It seems elementary to me that you do not judge a whole people group based on your stereotypes.

So this week, Romney said the most unforgivable thing (in my eyes).  While on his fakey publicity tour overseas, he spoke to a group of Jewish people and told them that they had more income than the Palestinians next door because of their good culture (vs the bad Arab culture).  If you know how much the Palestinians are discriminated against, this is an outrageous statement.  I posted on Facebook that I would not vote for Romney because of his racism . . . and when you judge any people by their culture or color of their skin . . . it can be nothing but racism.  My point isn't that Arab blood is better than Jewish or Christian blood. But that blood is blood. People are people . . . all, each and every one, created in God's wonderful image.  I'm also not a big Obama fan and that's not my point either.

So now all my evangelical friends have circled their wagons and seem to agree that Arabs are part of dark, evil culture and we and the Jews are "life-affirming" cultures.  I could go ballistic at this point. None of my evangelical friends see the great sin of bigotry in this kind of talk. They don't see that this is the same attitude that allowed all the good-ole-boys in the churches of the south, during the Civil War, who believed that God wanted them to have slaves because it was "good for the Negro."  NUTS!!!

So, here I am again, alone and in hot water.  I must find a way to rid myself of all my dear evangelical friends because it is like trying to mix water and gasoline. I think of myself as the water.  So the world in the post-evangelical wildernerss is lonely. But again, I could stay as the lone voice and fight it out.