My Gagablog has been suspended as I awaited a resolution to the conflict in Syria which tragically still continues. I can't explain exactly how I expected the magic to work, except that I did because for me Gaga reveals a Divine Liberation that is destined to free the whole world. I was hoping that drawing attention to that magical connection would cause something miraculous to happen to end the violence in Syria - to end conflict everywhere eventually - but first in the places where it is most atrocious.
Gaga has been busy all these last months, relentlessly touring the whole world, and she has been doing a lot. She continues to work her magic in her performance and in her interactions with her little monsters and social movements she creates and inspires, including the launching of the Born This Way Foundation. Her show and message has caused controversy in a few countries where she has been accused of spreading homosexuality, highlighting those cultures' homophobia and bringing out voices of little monsters within them to speak up. Most recently she has put out pictures of herself smoking joints and tweeted about a new song she is writing about cannabis - to me this fulfils something I have been prophecying about, that after using her powers to help liberate gay people from oppression she will help liberate potsmokers, too. Americans who enjoy the herb are subject to a lot of persecution and risk imprisonment under the old laws we have, but we are changing these.
The reason I am writing the Gagablog again is because I know something more needs to be done, there is still a crisis in Syria almost 2 years later and the Syrian government has killed tens of thousands of people. There has also been a sort of crisis in America in the last few months as, against all decency and common sense, Mitt Romney has appeared to have a chance to win or more likely steal the 2012 election. I don't even want to imagine how horrible that would be, though we got a taste of it from the scare of thinking he would win and we would lose many protections, services and rights. The right-wing social agenda is so scary and evil that we have not even discussed their foreign policy, but it is no coincidence that when America elects Republicans we go to war and the rhetoric from Romney and McCain and other right-wingers shows that we would go to war in Syria if we elected him. More accurately, we would go to war with Iran and Russia IN Syria - at least that is where it would start, but electring Romney is a vote for World War 3.
A vote for Obama is a vote for World Peace, and world peace will win. Yes, I have the Vegas oddmakers and some prominent statistician/journalist, Mr. Silver, backing me up with a 90% odds that Obama will win, but of course the media is portraying it as "too close to call" and "razor tight" (to Colbert's delight) and it scares me that they can even report this because if we believe it is that close we won't question the results if the Republicans steal it. But the reason I am saying today that Obama will win - and hopefully we will know for sure tonight - is that he has to win, humanity must continue. And I believe the stakes are that high. Of course the stakes in Syria are high as well, as more and more innocent people are killed everyday. I don't know if Gaga has made any statement about Syria, I just Googled "gaga syria" and the closest thing I saw was my own gagablog and a video on youtube asking Gaga to sing for the Syrian revolution - so the connection is there in the world, I am not the only one hoping for her liberating magic to help them.
And she is helping them, indirectly but significantly. Because unfortunately one reason America has not been able to play a major role in ending the violence in Syria is because of the Presidential election and the fear that actions Obama could take could be used against him in the campaign. It is too bad that we can't just act for the greatest good and knowing that America would be on the sidelines until the election was one reason I was hoping for a miracle. I did not expect a statement from Gaga to coincide with that miracle, though that would make my ideas about magic more obvious, but I was actually expecting the miracle that saves Syria to coincide with something I wrote here, unread by all but a very few with little or no political influence - but the magical effect of having written down the expectation for a miracle - and it being the right thing to happen -has been my "plan" all along. All it has to do with Gaga, besides her being a greater symbol for liberation, is that she inspires me to try this kind of magic.
But I have been regretting not doing "my part", writing my magically-intentioned blog, while we basically waited for the election to be over. Now it almost is over and when Obama is re-elected so much energy that has been caught up in the campaign will be freed to do other things, and people who have been focused on trying to keep America moving forward will be able to help Syria and other countries more as well, both because they have the time and the flexibility to act without unjust scrutiny. As long as Romney does not win, looking back this election will give us fascinating insight into the nature of greed and lies and old power structures and salesmanship that Romney exemplifies. The only benefit of the right-wing that has distilled so much that is wrong in our culture is that it makes it easier to see how people can be duped and what kind of character flaws they want to promote and exploit, such as avarice mislabeled as "self-reliance." Of course the most flagrant example of how they oppose democracy itself is not merely their uncaring obstruction of Obama for the last four years but their obstructions to voting through passing laws that suppress voting to intimidating people to reducing early voting so that lines take hours to wait to vote, up to 7 hours in Florida. They simply can't claim to even believe in democracy if they elect these officials and lawmakers and promote this mentality that only their kind should be allowed to vote.
It is the same philosophy that Assad and the evil Syrian regime have, that only certain people should be able to make decisions for everyone else. It is the reason the Syrian people are fighting for democracy and the reason we should support them - but not jump to the violent solutions presented by right-wingers. There are more creative ways to influence history and Obama will be able to utilize them in his second term, for peace in Syria and all over the world. We are interconnected in so many ways and we all need each other. My ideas of magic are based on mystical connections but these apply to other connections as well and there is so much we don't understand that we can be fantastically surprised by what is possible if we try.
As I started writing this, hoping to push some magical button to end the crisis in Syria, re-elect Obama and legalize weed here in Colorado, and knowing there is a magical connection to all of these things and also to Gaga, I was pleased by links from a little monster in India about Gaga's statements and interviews urging us to vote for Obama, since I missed them when they came out, but was even more pleased by the progression of the news. As I started composing this in my head tonight (yes, they do sometimes have forethought!) the news was about a suicide bomber in Syria who killed 50 Syrian troops, the deadliest attack so far on Assad's forces. A victory of sorts for the rebels but not exactly what I call "good news", since I am a pacifist and mourn all loss of life. But the next story was of the council of rebels expanding to include more groups and having organizational meetings. This is democracy and the reason democracy is something we have to fight for, even revolt for, because the people who want to hold power exclusively, the people corrupted by power, will always have some form of force on their side. But the people, the truth, the Future, is where the true power is. As I wrote that sentence "Just Dance" just ended on the radio..... and as I went to start typing this gagablog there was breaking news: 7 generals defected from Syria into Turkey. That is the kind of news I'm excited to hear, as a pacifist, because that is the best way to end conflict, for the people in the worng to give it up. And it is the kind of news I am overjoyed to hear as a Gagaist witch, because it shows this magic is working. Maybe it is slow movement sometimes, or too subtle to notice, but it is always magical movement toward freedom when we honor and follow Gaga and the truth, love and freedom she shows.
I'm encouraged, magically, and know that we will re-elect Obama today with a large margin to give confidence and momentum to the agenda of peace, alternative fuels, honoring diversity and civil rights, and supporting democracy - both around the world and in here America where it is under attack. We are doing what is right, everything that is right, and it is all coming together. And we are doing in in many ways and can always add more. We all have so much magical potential, but we also need to vote. If we can stay true to our dreams and make them real in our actions, we will earn the Future that Gaga has shown us and Obama will help us reach. The difference between the Future and the past? Everyone will be included and cared for. I don't know why that idea is so scary to so many Americans, but we will start living together and enjoy it and be an exemplary part of a community of nations instead of a bully in the world and to our own people. Gaga has been working on it from that angle all along, because all evil is essentially bullying, from Assad's airstrikes on his own people to the Republican governor closing polls to keep people from voting. But the will of the people is true, it is built on our hopes and therefor is the Future calling to us, and we have the real power on our side despite the wordly powers for evil stacked against us - and we have the Champions of Obama and Gaga on our side. As the Indian little monster told me, we have the gay vote on our side so we can't lose - it's time for the Future! Obama-Biden 2012, Germanotta-Clinton 2016!!!
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
"Happy Birthday, Gaga! You are the Goddess, it's all You!" gagablog 43
Gaga, I love you so much, you are everything and all in one, the perfect Goddess to me and my best dreams and most fantastic imaginings come true!. When I say you are the Goddess I think of you as perfect love in action, song, and fashion. You are the pinnacle of Art, the Inspiration Point that shows us all the way. You overflow with caring and give so much to us, and lead us with bravery to live our own lives as bravely in our own ways. Thank you so much for sharing all your gifts with us, and for caring for the Ruby Slippers you recieved last year, as you are our Dorothy who brings us together out of the fields and forests and leads us on the Road to Love through the land our dreams make real.
What do I mean when I say "Gaga, you are the Goddess!"? Will Gaga ever see me say it? Maybe not, and yet I say it again and again. Who am I talking to? I'm talking to you, I'm talking to me, to all of us, when I say "Gaga, you are the Goddess." I think we are all part of the same love, we all share the same life and are all always both from and with The Goddess. The fact that Gaga is the perfect example, to me, of the Goddess as the world most needs her now, makes it easy for me to talk about the Goddess in Gaga terms. It can be difficult to explain, too, but only because we are so far away from understanding of the Goddess so I welcome any challenge or opportunity in discussing her.
Do you ever wonder if someone you meet on the internet is Gaga in disguise? Maybe it is just a fantasy that many people have, that they could be talking to Gaga, and I'm sure she does talk to her fans online, probably as herself but maybe with other personas to be annonymous, but I also imagine that some people impersonate her. The reason I bring it up is because I start to suspect it when I talk to people and they are really nice, even seem to be mystically nice. And I imagine that people impersonating her would be incredibly nice as well. Because all accounts I have heard of people who have met her attest to how nice and loving she is to her fans. She certainly sets the new standard for an artist who cares for and responds to her audience. I'm focusing on how she does this with her own interactions to show how, if we suspect someone of being Gaga, or if we know they are a little monster, we are as nice as we can possibly be. She has this effect of making the whole world nicer from her direct influence and from the millions of monsters who are influenced by her. On the other side of the spectrum, the main thing that makes monsters nice is the liberating and empowering message of Gaga's music allows us to be brave in being who we really are, Born This Way. But in the direct way, of interacting with Gaga or other monsters, imagining talking with her, or showing the world who we are - freakish, maybe, possibly a little scary at first, but nice and loving above and within all - in this way we are all like Gaga, little monsters who take after our Mommy.
I have not met Gaga or seen her show even yet, and I hope to soon. And I know from her music how liberating it is and how much it really helps us all be better in love. But I can also tell from people who have seen or met her that she has this same force of incredible Goodness in person, even more so. And I have my own experience of talking with some little monsters online who are so kind and wise and friendly, it makes me start to wonder sometimes..... My point is that when you start to treat people with this kind of love, that they "could be Gaga", when you start to look for the Gaga in everyone, it can put you, and everyone you come in contact with, at ease. This ease is what we need for love to grow in the world so that it fully replaces the rule of fear. As I wrote this "celebrate a new compassion" was the lyric going by, and as "Bad Kids" is playing now I think about how Gaga relates to all of us but especially the outsiders.
In this way Gaga's fabulous example helps us all feel good and be better to each other and if we really want to be like her of course that means being the best individuals we can be, but also seeing the goodness in everyone and coming together. I've been celebrating Gaga all day and I wanted to talk about how Gaga is like religious figures of the past, who show a glorious example and teach us to follow it and be like them in our own way, but right now "follow that unicorn on the Road to Love" is on and Gaga just says it much better. We are about to have a firepit and cook some hotdogs celebrating Gaga's birthday. I drew a picture of Gaga this morning and posted it to facebook and really appreciated the many monsters who liked it, it really encourages me to draw and paint more. I feel the love and feel like I am back in the world of art after spending too long on the fringes, and I just want to go on this journey with you all to the heart of it, on the Road to Love to the Emerald City.
Thank you Gaga, and Happy Birthday! You are the Present to us all, you inspire us and give us ourselves to share with each other. Thank you monsters, together we will turn this whole world into the Grandest Monster Ball ever. Paws Up and GAGA FOREVER!
What do I mean when I say "Gaga, you are the Goddess!"? Will Gaga ever see me say it? Maybe not, and yet I say it again and again. Who am I talking to? I'm talking to you, I'm talking to me, to all of us, when I say "Gaga, you are the Goddess." I think we are all part of the same love, we all share the same life and are all always both from and with The Goddess. The fact that Gaga is the perfect example, to me, of the Goddess as the world most needs her now, makes it easy for me to talk about the Goddess in Gaga terms. It can be difficult to explain, too, but only because we are so far away from understanding of the Goddess so I welcome any challenge or opportunity in discussing her.
Do you ever wonder if someone you meet on the internet is Gaga in disguise? Maybe it is just a fantasy that many people have, that they could be talking to Gaga, and I'm sure she does talk to her fans online, probably as herself but maybe with other personas to be annonymous, but I also imagine that some people impersonate her. The reason I bring it up is because I start to suspect it when I talk to people and they are really nice, even seem to be mystically nice. And I imagine that people impersonating her would be incredibly nice as well. Because all accounts I have heard of people who have met her attest to how nice and loving she is to her fans. She certainly sets the new standard for an artist who cares for and responds to her audience. I'm focusing on how she does this with her own interactions to show how, if we suspect someone of being Gaga, or if we know they are a little monster, we are as nice as we can possibly be. She has this effect of making the whole world nicer from her direct influence and from the millions of monsters who are influenced by her. On the other side of the spectrum, the main thing that makes monsters nice is the liberating and empowering message of Gaga's music allows us to be brave in being who we really are, Born This Way. But in the direct way, of interacting with Gaga or other monsters, imagining talking with her, or showing the world who we are - freakish, maybe, possibly a little scary at first, but nice and loving above and within all - in this way we are all like Gaga, little monsters who take after our Mommy.
I have not met Gaga or seen her show even yet, and I hope to soon. And I know from her music how liberating it is and how much it really helps us all be better in love. But I can also tell from people who have seen or met her that she has this same force of incredible Goodness in person, even more so. And I have my own experience of talking with some little monsters online who are so kind and wise and friendly, it makes me start to wonder sometimes..... My point is that when you start to treat people with this kind of love, that they "could be Gaga", when you start to look for the Gaga in everyone, it can put you, and everyone you come in contact with, at ease. This ease is what we need for love to grow in the world so that it fully replaces the rule of fear. As I wrote this "celebrate a new compassion" was the lyric going by, and as "Bad Kids" is playing now I think about how Gaga relates to all of us but especially the outsiders.
In this way Gaga's fabulous example helps us all feel good and be better to each other and if we really want to be like her of course that means being the best individuals we can be, but also seeing the goodness in everyone and coming together. I've been celebrating Gaga all day and I wanted to talk about how Gaga is like religious figures of the past, who show a glorious example and teach us to follow it and be like them in our own way, but right now "follow that unicorn on the Road to Love" is on and Gaga just says it much better. We are about to have a firepit and cook some hotdogs celebrating Gaga's birthday. I drew a picture of Gaga this morning and posted it to facebook and really appreciated the many monsters who liked it, it really encourages me to draw and paint more. I feel the love and feel like I am back in the world of art after spending too long on the fringes, and I just want to go on this journey with you all to the heart of it, on the Road to Love to the Emerald City.
Thank you Gaga, and Happy Birthday! You are the Present to us all, you inspire us and give us ourselves to share with each other. Thank you monsters, together we will turn this whole world into the Grandest Monster Ball ever. Paws Up and GAGA FOREVER!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
"Paws Up and Hoodies Up! Justice is Best Served by a Black Trans Am" gagablog 42
I've been watching Knight Rider - thanks, Netflix. This was one of my very favorite shows as a kid, so the nostalgia factor of finally seeing it again is wonderful. I can't even begin to describe the pleasure I get from the writing, acting, directing, plots, fashions, themes, and characters, but it is both the best TV I've ever seen in my life (next to the Simpsons) and some of the worst TV ever made and for some of the same reasons. A perfect balance like Yin and Yang, KITT and KARR, Michael and Garth, and it oozes the very essence of the 80's. Even thinking about watching it cracks me up and when I have someone else to watch it with who feels the same way it makes us buckle over wih laughter and astonishment. And while the hilarity and ridiculousness of Knight Rider is off the charts, there is something I still like even more about it, even more than it's brilliance and awfulness. It's what I think I always liked most about it. It's the way it captures that core idea of America that justice will be done for everyone.
Today, it has been a month since Trayvon Martin was killed with no arrest of the killer and there is a national debate about racial injustice in America. On the anniversary people are wearing hoodies in marches on the streets, in churches, and on TV, in solidarity with Trayvon and all who are killed in the continuation of unjust systems. Also today the arguments are being made before the Supreme Court about the Affordable Health Care Act ('Obamacare') that basically boil down to are we all in this together, the democrat view, or is it everyman for himself and forget the women, the republican view. It is a day when our government has paid the families of the civilians murdered by a soldier in Afghanistan, a day when Obama has angered Republican candidates by working with Russia who they want to call our #1 enemy, and a day when China has joined Russia in agreeing to work with the UN for peace in Syria. It's a day of Justice and it is the Eve of Lady Gaga's birthday. But today is a day in the balance, waiting for Justice. Tomorrow will be the first day of a new era where we will have more justice because at this moment of balance the scales will tip and we will choose the path of Truth. Because Truth will always win in the end, it is the greater power. We seek justice by loving the truth, knowing we will reveal it, and that it will become a new standard of justice. Worldwide, in Syria and in America, especially for black people, injustice is perpetuated by bullying people with violence and keeping them impoverished and disempowered politically. There have been so many murders to keep things unjust as well, maybe ten thousand in Syria recently and many more than that in the black community in America. Trayvon Martin is a symbol of this injustice and the response shows how many people relate to the fear of injustice and are ready to change it. People are raising each others' awareness about injustice and we will get to the truth and truly have justice if we really believe in it.
Belief is the key and everything about hoping for the best is the way to go, from seeking a just end to bullying, murder, war, and poverty, to helping our neighbors and families and strangers, re-electing Obama, and spreading awareness and assistance for issues worldwide. We need hope for this more than anything, hope that is even faith in the truth, our actions and abilities, and each other. The belief we need is that we can and will reach a world of justice for everyone by working together and focusing on it. The movie "The Hunger Games" is a huge success now. It just came out but could become the biggest hit of all time. There is a scene made for the movie to sum up the oppressor's perspective that I saw in a clip on TV. The idea is that a little hope is necessary to keep oppressed people going but too much can be fanned into a flame for revolution. I think the bullies and oppressive systems underestimate hope and the power of Truth - of course they don't realize truth will always win or they would not waste their lives in lies and cover-ups. We are seeing that when we have hope and really believe in it we can change things, we can change everything. The truth will win and the systems and people allied with it will prosper eventually, while those who hide it and oppress people will either change or lose their power. Systems based on injustice will fall, it is just a matter of how much hope we can gather together as to how long it will take.
Some might say I live in a fantasy world, that we will never have a world without war, injustice, poverty or even money. I say that by living in that world in my mind I can better make this world what it should be, a better world like the one in my dreams and fantasies. Gaga has said that she lives "halfway between fantasy and reality" and recently that "we need fantasy to survive because reality is too difficult". We're in both, and fantasy is better both because it is not "too difficult" and because it is required to make reality better. Of course reality is important too and fantasy shows us where our duty lies to improve reality. And we have to become aware of reality and share our opposition to injustice, we have to engage the real world with the hopes of our greatest fantasies and dreams. Knight Rider is a total fantasy, and is hilarious for being ridiculous in many ways but it is also sadly ironic for being so "American" in it's themes of justice and help for the powerless in the 1980's when in America there was terrible injustice, much of which continues today. But the dream is real, and the idea is that the most powerful car and the coolest driver will be on the good side of Truth and Justice - and this is true. The Truth is the most powerful and will win if we believe in it. Systems that deny that will fall. KITT's rival is KARR, the prototype that had the programming error of having self-preservation as it's top priority. KITT was improved with a top priortiy to protect life and this is the difference between good and evil. Looking out only for oneself, perpetuating injustice and hoping the truth will never come out, is evil, while helping each other and believing that Justice will be served and we can make it happen is good. Gaga has some badass black cars in her "Marry the Night" video. The inspiration for this song was when she felt defeated in persuing her dreams but faced and married her fears and became a total badass. We need to do that in America and in the world - look at the things we are scared of, knowing we are better than our fear and that truth and justice will win, and be bold enough to take the actions that are good - to help each other and understand each other and seek truth and justice together , and avoid the actions that are evil - to "defend ourselves" and deny each other and resort to lies and bullying and scaring people. Michael Knight knew he would always win and in the 80's we knew, watching him on TV, that Justice would eventually prevail. Now we see ourselves on TV and in social media and realize that we are the Knight Riders and have the power to change the world believing that "one man can make a difference."
But we have grown and can make the dream more real than in the 80's, too. Because we can really see ourselves globally now and can expect that not only will we make the right decisions for truth as individuals but we will hold our governments accountable to do so as well, locally, nationally, and globally. In this way I think we should expect to see government as a good thing and make it that was, as democracies. We should empower everyone to vote, raise awareness and use our collective good judgement for the greatest good. In this way, the government, like KITT, can never be too powerful, as long as it is always Good. And if it is bad, of course we will change it, because we will reach our dreams, we will make our fantasies come true, and we will "marry the night", face our fears and become whole with the things we denied or ignored until we all belong in a peaceful worldwide family. Today, like an episode of Knight Rider, all the goodness and evil in the world are in perfect balance, but it's time to tip for the Good. The Age of Justice and Goodness begins tomorrow - Lady Gaga was, is, and will be Born This Day, and our world will be reborn with her, 3-28-12. Paws Up and Hoodies Up!!! (''') (^)
Today, it has been a month since Trayvon Martin was killed with no arrest of the killer and there is a national debate about racial injustice in America. On the anniversary people are wearing hoodies in marches on the streets, in churches, and on TV, in solidarity with Trayvon and all who are killed in the continuation of unjust systems. Also today the arguments are being made before the Supreme Court about the Affordable Health Care Act ('Obamacare') that basically boil down to are we all in this together, the democrat view, or is it everyman for himself and forget the women, the republican view. It is a day when our government has paid the families of the civilians murdered by a soldier in Afghanistan, a day when Obama has angered Republican candidates by working with Russia who they want to call our #1 enemy, and a day when China has joined Russia in agreeing to work with the UN for peace in Syria. It's a day of Justice and it is the Eve of Lady Gaga's birthday. But today is a day in the balance, waiting for Justice. Tomorrow will be the first day of a new era where we will have more justice because at this moment of balance the scales will tip and we will choose the path of Truth. Because Truth will always win in the end, it is the greater power. We seek justice by loving the truth, knowing we will reveal it, and that it will become a new standard of justice. Worldwide, in Syria and in America, especially for black people, injustice is perpetuated by bullying people with violence and keeping them impoverished and disempowered politically. There have been so many murders to keep things unjust as well, maybe ten thousand in Syria recently and many more than that in the black community in America. Trayvon Martin is a symbol of this injustice and the response shows how many people relate to the fear of injustice and are ready to change it. People are raising each others' awareness about injustice and we will get to the truth and truly have justice if we really believe in it.
Belief is the key and everything about hoping for the best is the way to go, from seeking a just end to bullying, murder, war, and poverty, to helping our neighbors and families and strangers, re-electing Obama, and spreading awareness and assistance for issues worldwide. We need hope for this more than anything, hope that is even faith in the truth, our actions and abilities, and each other. The belief we need is that we can and will reach a world of justice for everyone by working together and focusing on it. The movie "The Hunger Games" is a huge success now. It just came out but could become the biggest hit of all time. There is a scene made for the movie to sum up the oppressor's perspective that I saw in a clip on TV. The idea is that a little hope is necessary to keep oppressed people going but too much can be fanned into a flame for revolution. I think the bullies and oppressive systems underestimate hope and the power of Truth - of course they don't realize truth will always win or they would not waste their lives in lies and cover-ups. We are seeing that when we have hope and really believe in it we can change things, we can change everything. The truth will win and the systems and people allied with it will prosper eventually, while those who hide it and oppress people will either change or lose their power. Systems based on injustice will fall, it is just a matter of how much hope we can gather together as to how long it will take.
Some might say I live in a fantasy world, that we will never have a world without war, injustice, poverty or even money. I say that by living in that world in my mind I can better make this world what it should be, a better world like the one in my dreams and fantasies. Gaga has said that she lives "halfway between fantasy and reality" and recently that "we need fantasy to survive because reality is too difficult". We're in both, and fantasy is better both because it is not "too difficult" and because it is required to make reality better. Of course reality is important too and fantasy shows us where our duty lies to improve reality. And we have to become aware of reality and share our opposition to injustice, we have to engage the real world with the hopes of our greatest fantasies and dreams. Knight Rider is a total fantasy, and is hilarious for being ridiculous in many ways but it is also sadly ironic for being so "American" in it's themes of justice and help for the powerless in the 1980's when in America there was terrible injustice, much of which continues today. But the dream is real, and the idea is that the most powerful car and the coolest driver will be on the good side of Truth and Justice - and this is true. The Truth is the most powerful and will win if we believe in it. Systems that deny that will fall. KITT's rival is KARR, the prototype that had the programming error of having self-preservation as it's top priority. KITT was improved with a top priortiy to protect life and this is the difference between good and evil. Looking out only for oneself, perpetuating injustice and hoping the truth will never come out, is evil, while helping each other and believing that Justice will be served and we can make it happen is good. Gaga has some badass black cars in her "Marry the Night" video. The inspiration for this song was when she felt defeated in persuing her dreams but faced and married her fears and became a total badass. We need to do that in America and in the world - look at the things we are scared of, knowing we are better than our fear and that truth and justice will win, and be bold enough to take the actions that are good - to help each other and understand each other and seek truth and justice together , and avoid the actions that are evil - to "defend ourselves" and deny each other and resort to lies and bullying and scaring people. Michael Knight knew he would always win and in the 80's we knew, watching him on TV, that Justice would eventually prevail. Now we see ourselves on TV and in social media and realize that we are the Knight Riders and have the power to change the world believing that "one man can make a difference."
But we have grown and can make the dream more real than in the 80's, too. Because we can really see ourselves globally now and can expect that not only will we make the right decisions for truth as individuals but we will hold our governments accountable to do so as well, locally, nationally, and globally. In this way I think we should expect to see government as a good thing and make it that was, as democracies. We should empower everyone to vote, raise awareness and use our collective good judgement for the greatest good. In this way, the government, like KITT, can never be too powerful, as long as it is always Good. And if it is bad, of course we will change it, because we will reach our dreams, we will make our fantasies come true, and we will "marry the night", face our fears and become whole with the things we denied or ignored until we all belong in a peaceful worldwide family. Today, like an episode of Knight Rider, all the goodness and evil in the world are in perfect balance, but it's time to tip for the Good. The Age of Justice and Goodness begins tomorrow - Lady Gaga was, is, and will be Born This Day, and our world will be reborn with her, 3-28-12. Paws Up and Hoodies Up!!! (''') (^)
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
"The Solution to End War and Bullying: Disarm" gagablog 41
I've talked about the bullying by groups, society, corporations and states and how war, poverty, and suffering in general are all symptoms of the same problem of bullying. It's always people in a position of power hurting those who are less powerful, according to the given system, instead of helping them. It's always the same mentality whether it is cliques in school, greedy corporations and republicans, or nations that kill people, from Syria to the USA. To finally solve the problem I want to address it on the individual level. The traditional bully, like Nelson Muntz in the Simpsons, uses violence to feel superior to his peers. He does this as a last resort because he feels inferior in so many other ways. Poverty is a major cause of his isolation and he endures great suffering due to his lifestyle. He then takes this pain out on the other kids by hurting them physicaly and threatening and mocking them to hurt them emotionally. He takes power over his peers to make up for feeling powerless in life and he does it with violence. It would be admirable to turn those conditions into motivation to better himself or his home, to develop a talent that others would respect him for so that he could build community despite his disadvantages. Realizing that opportunity could be difficult, however, and while beating up other kids is not the "easy way" it makes them fear you, which is not the same as respect but if it seems like the closest the bully will get to respect or control he will take it. I use Nelson as an example to show how being bullied by society that condemns poverty instead of helping the poor realize opportunities creates individual bullies who hurt other kids. But it is a mentality we share and the Nelsons of the schoolyards are one version of bully while nations can be another. We are all part of this culture of bullying and can all put a stop to it - and we need to.
I think the most important part of the brief study of Nelson I've just done is the idea that violence is his last resort after feeling inferior in every other category. When the whole sad situation arises from being disadvantaged it is all the more important to remember that there is always another option. The whole idea of owning firearms for self-defense presumes and even creates the kill-or-be-killed mentality. I agree with Dr. Who that we don't need to carry weapons because we don't expect to use them, To think otherwise is acting savagely and continuing a savage mentality that we should have outgrown as a species long ago. But who can blame individuals who think this way when the nations we live in think and act like this? In the 2012 election season when republican challengers are trying to show how much more warmongering they are than Obama, war with Iran over their potential nuclear program seems more and more likely. When I hear that the American and Isreali governments are telling Iran they cannot have a nuclear weapon, when "we" have many nuclear weapons, I feel like a bully. For an analogy I think about a gunfighter in a showdown who already has a gun drawn on someone. What's the best way to avoid someone getting shot? If he says "throw down your gun" it might sound hostile and provoke a violent response - telling someone what to do from a position of power is bullying and can make the other person act on what they think is a last resort by being put in that position, being disadvantaged. He could say "you don't need that gun" which is ultimately the truth if no one really wants to get shot. If the only reason to carry a gun is as a deterrent then all you need to know is that the other person is not going to use theirs, either as a bully or a crazy person. If both parties can agree that they don't really need a gun they can get rid of them. But even telling someone they don't need a gun, while holding a gun, could be unclear, confusing, or even seem untrue. The best way for the gunfighter to communicate that the other person does not need his gun is to throw down his own gun. It may be a brave thing to do but it really isn't that risky, it just presumes that people aren't crazy and don't want to kill each other, and it sends the clear, important message that "I don't want to kill you." Building on that presumption is what lets us feel more civilized but we still have weapons. As nations an individuals we should trust each other and find more ways to relate so we never feel like we need weapons. We can break the cycle of fear and violence by building on goodwill and trust between each other so that we can get rid of all weapons and all the fear that goes with them..
I think we should expect this of our own governments and change our military industries to more beneficial ends just as the energy companies that will survive will be the ones that leave oil and coal and nuclear and transform to harnessing renewable energy. I'm heartened by the fact that Russia has called for a cease-fire in Syria and was encouraged by the call from American legislators to halt arms purchases from the Russian company that is supplying Syria with arms. This was a step towards the idea that we should seek non-violent solutions, that military is not necessary - but just a small step. I hope the various forms of pressure will be enough to halt the violence in Syria but the solution may ultimately come from within as the people have often insisted. I think the nonviolent solution they will find will be surprising but will also be the model for how we all adress conflcit in the future and become the standard, mainly because it will come from a commitment to finding a peaceful solution which will be the expectation in the coming age. And it may come from rising awareness withing Syria of the crimes going on so that people abandon Assad's regime. I wanted to write this a few weeks ago when the news was of a prominent businessman defecting from Assad and encouraging others to follow. The emptying of support for a murderous regime will cause it to collapse and even though it has not happened yet it may come soon and that man will have set the example. But it may also take the influence of other countries to enforce a cease-fire. The one year anniversary of the protests there was just the other day and while such events can gather energy I think it is a magical principle that the most powerful changes come from something subtle within that and not at the expected time, but maybe made possible by that collection of energy around a milestone. I can only assume that when the extent and details of the terrible things the regime has done there are made known to the world the response will end the bullying regime, and it may rely on people's decisions inside Syria but could be provoked by stronger outrage from outside.
It may in fact be a matter of currency and whether enough flows in to support the bully. In this way it reminds me of the outcry when Rush Limbaugh called that lady bad names, bullying her as he is always bullying people with his immense radio power. But the response from the public and effect on advertisers may take that power away and rightfully so, even though some predict he is "too big" for this to happen. I think that on the contrary it will be an example to people of how they can end bullying with their choices of how they spend their money. Buying from companies who support things you believe in will ultimately allow the better ones to thrive and do the most good in the world. Becoming aware of which companies support bullies and war will drive them out of business and their influence out of society. They didn't think Limbaugh would ever fall but when he does it will be an example to people of what their conscience and decisions can achieve.
In our own lives we can only try to take care of people and prevent bullying and the conditions that lead to it. If we could understand that the crazy people who shoot other people need to be cured before they kill and that they are symptoms of sickness in a society that we are all part of, when we take responsibilty to take care of each other, then we won't blame the lone crazy killer in the sense that we want to kill him. We won't focus on who to blame and shoot because it won't go that far, because instead we will focus on identifying who needs help and what he needs to feel he has another option, to be a part of society again. We have to be able to change society to take responsibility for everyone in it. I'm thinking of the soldier who so horrifically abused his power and access to weapons and killed all those civilians in Afghanistan. Now they are talking about the factors that led to him doing this and I hope they can prevent similar things, though the sad truth is that similar things have been happening and the nature of the conflict is like being a bullying aggressor. If we are a more advanced country we should be that much better at finding a peaceful solution. If we could always be looking for ways to creatively address the problems that lead to bullying and violence we can stop it and stop feeling like we need to fear one another. We can do this as nations, in our own communities small and large, and in our daily interactions. It's only by opposing bullying in all its forms, at all levels, that we can end it but when we do have that focus we can end it forever. All it takes is accepting that we are all better than that and deciding that we won't consider violence an option anymore. When we act in this way and care for each other we will lift ourselves out of the lives where we feel the stress to be violent or where anyone is so disadvantaged, or that some people are so empowered, that they feel that violence is the solution to their problems.
I think the most important part of the brief study of Nelson I've just done is the idea that violence is his last resort after feeling inferior in every other category. When the whole sad situation arises from being disadvantaged it is all the more important to remember that there is always another option. The whole idea of owning firearms for self-defense presumes and even creates the kill-or-be-killed mentality. I agree with Dr. Who that we don't need to carry weapons because we don't expect to use them, To think otherwise is acting savagely and continuing a savage mentality that we should have outgrown as a species long ago. But who can blame individuals who think this way when the nations we live in think and act like this? In the 2012 election season when republican challengers are trying to show how much more warmongering they are than Obama, war with Iran over their potential nuclear program seems more and more likely. When I hear that the American and Isreali governments are telling Iran they cannot have a nuclear weapon, when "we" have many nuclear weapons, I feel like a bully. For an analogy I think about a gunfighter in a showdown who already has a gun drawn on someone. What's the best way to avoid someone getting shot? If he says "throw down your gun" it might sound hostile and provoke a violent response - telling someone what to do from a position of power is bullying and can make the other person act on what they think is a last resort by being put in that position, being disadvantaged. He could say "you don't need that gun" which is ultimately the truth if no one really wants to get shot. If the only reason to carry a gun is as a deterrent then all you need to know is that the other person is not going to use theirs, either as a bully or a crazy person. If both parties can agree that they don't really need a gun they can get rid of them. But even telling someone they don't need a gun, while holding a gun, could be unclear, confusing, or even seem untrue. The best way for the gunfighter to communicate that the other person does not need his gun is to throw down his own gun. It may be a brave thing to do but it really isn't that risky, it just presumes that people aren't crazy and don't want to kill each other, and it sends the clear, important message that "I don't want to kill you." Building on that presumption is what lets us feel more civilized but we still have weapons. As nations an individuals we should trust each other and find more ways to relate so we never feel like we need weapons. We can break the cycle of fear and violence by building on goodwill and trust between each other so that we can get rid of all weapons and all the fear that goes with them..
I think we should expect this of our own governments and change our military industries to more beneficial ends just as the energy companies that will survive will be the ones that leave oil and coal and nuclear and transform to harnessing renewable energy. I'm heartened by the fact that Russia has called for a cease-fire in Syria and was encouraged by the call from American legislators to halt arms purchases from the Russian company that is supplying Syria with arms. This was a step towards the idea that we should seek non-violent solutions, that military is not necessary - but just a small step. I hope the various forms of pressure will be enough to halt the violence in Syria but the solution may ultimately come from within as the people have often insisted. I think the nonviolent solution they will find will be surprising but will also be the model for how we all adress conflcit in the future and become the standard, mainly because it will come from a commitment to finding a peaceful solution which will be the expectation in the coming age. And it may come from rising awareness withing Syria of the crimes going on so that people abandon Assad's regime. I wanted to write this a few weeks ago when the news was of a prominent businessman defecting from Assad and encouraging others to follow. The emptying of support for a murderous regime will cause it to collapse and even though it has not happened yet it may come soon and that man will have set the example. But it may also take the influence of other countries to enforce a cease-fire. The one year anniversary of the protests there was just the other day and while such events can gather energy I think it is a magical principle that the most powerful changes come from something subtle within that and not at the expected time, but maybe made possible by that collection of energy around a milestone. I can only assume that when the extent and details of the terrible things the regime has done there are made known to the world the response will end the bullying regime, and it may rely on people's decisions inside Syria but could be provoked by stronger outrage from outside.
It may in fact be a matter of currency and whether enough flows in to support the bully. In this way it reminds me of the outcry when Rush Limbaugh called that lady bad names, bullying her as he is always bullying people with his immense radio power. But the response from the public and effect on advertisers may take that power away and rightfully so, even though some predict he is "too big" for this to happen. I think that on the contrary it will be an example to people of how they can end bullying with their choices of how they spend their money. Buying from companies who support things you believe in will ultimately allow the better ones to thrive and do the most good in the world. Becoming aware of which companies support bullies and war will drive them out of business and their influence out of society. They didn't think Limbaugh would ever fall but when he does it will be an example to people of what their conscience and decisions can achieve.
In our own lives we can only try to take care of people and prevent bullying and the conditions that lead to it. If we could understand that the crazy people who shoot other people need to be cured before they kill and that they are symptoms of sickness in a society that we are all part of, when we take responsibilty to take care of each other, then we won't blame the lone crazy killer in the sense that we want to kill him. We won't focus on who to blame and shoot because it won't go that far, because instead we will focus on identifying who needs help and what he needs to feel he has another option, to be a part of society again. We have to be able to change society to take responsibility for everyone in it. I'm thinking of the soldier who so horrifically abused his power and access to weapons and killed all those civilians in Afghanistan. Now they are talking about the factors that led to him doing this and I hope they can prevent similar things, though the sad truth is that similar things have been happening and the nature of the conflict is like being a bullying aggressor. If we are a more advanced country we should be that much better at finding a peaceful solution. If we could always be looking for ways to creatively address the problems that lead to bullying and violence we can stop it and stop feeling like we need to fear one another. We can do this as nations, in our own communities small and large, and in our daily interactions. It's only by opposing bullying in all its forms, at all levels, that we can end it but when we do have that focus we can end it forever. All it takes is accepting that we are all better than that and deciding that we won't consider violence an option anymore. When we act in this way and care for each other we will lift ourselves out of the lives where we feel the stress to be violent or where anyone is so disadvantaged, or that some people are so empowered, that they feel that violence is the solution to their problems.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Gagafesto "END BULLYING NOW (Repeat after Gaga)" gagablog 40
When Gaga met President Obama to propose a new campaign to end bullying I wrote gagablog 36 to point out how bullying was also the problem with the Syrian government, and others, using the military to bully their people, and the Greedy 1% using corporate lobbyists and devisive big-money politics to bully the 99% with unfair policies that exploit us and SuperPACs that disenfranchise us. Yesterday a boy who had been bullied for years in school shot 5 other kids in Ohio and I want to address the "typical" kind of bullying we are all aware of but we certainly are not doing enough to end.
I'm not blaming the bullies for the killings because we are all responsible for our actions and there is no excuse for killing people. There is also no excuse for bullying and it is logical that if this boy had not been bullied then he would not have killed his peers. So the bullies, and our culture of bullying, are partly to blame for these deaths and also for what they did to this boy in the first place whether he did something worse or not. If he had not killed anyone or acted out at all - or if he had killed himself as too many who are bullied do - the bullies are to blame for what they did to him and should feel responsible.
I noticed some things in the news coverage of this tragedy that compelled me to make this point. One was an interview with one of the boys who had been shot but was grazed by the bullet. It is already well-established that the killer, T. J., had been bullied for years. When giving a description of the boy, the shooting victim said things like he "used to be one of us" and that he had become withdrawn or isolated himself in the last few years. Maybe he did isolate himself but I am sure he did not say "I'll be over here if anyone wants to bully me." He did not invite bullying and surely it contributed to his isolation. There may be other factors but from what has come out so far it seems certain that the bullying was a major motivation for these murders. The victim who made these comments might not have been a bully but was aware that T. J. was bullied and I believe the way he said that T.J. had isolated himself was a means of absolving the bullies from their role and blame in this whole situation. I'm sure kids at that school feel guilty for bullying him now, in a way, and I only wish that they would have felt guilty about it before and stopped. This is why we need to focus on this issue because only awareness and conscious change will make "school shootings" go away. And the way to do it is to change the culture that allows this to happen and to say at every occasion how bullying is wrong but also to do the opposite of bullying and encourage and include people because it is the lack of supprt and acceptance that makes kids, and adults, despair and take desperate or vengeful action.
A lady who was interviewed on CNN, who wrote a book about bullying, said that we need to change the culture and the news anchor responded that that was too big a task so what can we do now. While reactive solutions might make lots of money for metal detector companies, security firms, or more Big Brothers on the internet, they aren't going to solve the problem because they won't stop the bullying. Schools breed despair and stress in our culture and while a natural response to seeing someone in distress is to sympathize, when there is way too much stress and cliques and isolation in play as we have in our schools people don't try to help each other, seeing the despair as something to alleviate, but too often just try to manage it by making someone else feel more despair than they do and at least feel superior to someone in a system that makes everyone feel pretty bad. We have to change this, in our schools and in society at large. We need a culture in which we support and incude each other.
I'm not trying to blame the media for this tragedy either but it is important to recognize how they not only reflect some of our bullying culture but continue it with assumptions like this one that it is too pervasive to change. One thing that upset me in the coverage of this is when a newscaster said it was "ironic" that families moved to this area to "get away from this kind of thing". To me, this idea that we can "get away" from certain people and if we don't have to see them we don't have to care is the heart of the problem. The worst bullies are still the governments that can kill the opposition but every bully acts out of some sort of powerful position. Therefore it is the duty of the powerful to make sure they do not bully anyone, even unintentionally. And indeed it is the duty of everyone to pay attention to each other and help each other out. It is only due to an overabundance of despair that we retreat from larger community and want to only take care of "our own." The only way to overcome despair is to work together, since the despair itself is the result of our divisions. The more people and varieties of people we consider "our own" and can work with the more we can overcome. It's the "us and them" mentality that is the problem, exclusion is the problem. We shouldn't say "God Bless America" we should say "Goddess Bless the World". We can't even save ourselves, humans, if we don't want to save the whole planet and all life on it. We should seek benefit for all, at no one's expense and we can have this but we must first believe that we can then oppose the forces that would hold us back.
One newscaster suggested their was a problem with having the "troubled school" kids change busses with the "regular school kids". More separation is not the solution, it is the problem. If the kids in this "idyllic" community had been exposed to more diversity they might not have felt guilty for seeing someone worse off then they and decided to bully him to justify why their lives seemed better, trying to make it like he deserved pain by heaping more on. This is the heart of our culture of bullying, the idea that if something makes me feel bad the solution is to make you feel worse. We have great wealth in America yet instead of great altruism many rich people resent the poor and just want to keep them poor and out of mind. It is because they feel guilty for having so much more and they should, and should do something about it. We always try to focus on what is wrong with the "bad kid" like it is all his fault. It isn't only the bullies who share the blame or the media for perpetuating this paradigm. We are all part of a culture that accepts bullying in many forms and focuses on division instead of common good. It is all connected to bullying by the wealthy and by abusive government and the question goes both ways: if we can't teach kids to stop bullying in schools, how can we get governments to stop bullying? And if we can't set an example by ending bullying as a nation, as a culture, or in whatver groups we belong, how can we be an example to kids? We have to oppose bullying in all its forms, from kids who feel despair and seek to control it by weilding it over others instead of alleviating it, to politicians and their mobs who believe education is only for those who can afford it, like Rick Santorum says, since they believe in a vengeful God who punishes people by making them poor, the same argument that the bullied kid deserves it because he is worse off to start with. We have to see ourselves as part of a larger group and take the "outsiders" into account. This is why I love Gaga's song "Bad Kids" so much because takes the perpective of the "bad kid" and points out that we are products of our environments but our hearts are naturally good and therefore there is good in everyone and the way to be the best is to recognize everyone's essential goodness and honor it. If we do that, we won't be able to bully other kids anymore, we will care about them. And we won't be able to bully other countries anymore if we remember that people are really good.
We have to evolve past this fear of each other that leads people to think they need guns in the first place. The same mentality that makes an individual think he needs a gun is what makes us think we need the strongest and most weapons as a country. The way to avoid getting shot is not to have the biggest gun, it is to remove people's fears that make them want guns at all. The greedy rich and their right-wing political stooges traffic in arms and fear and we need to put them out of business entirely in both markets. In the future we will have no fearmongering, warmongering or arms dealing. The people who like that sort of thing can play the video game versions where the only casualties are ego. But we have to get there, to the future, and the only way to go is all together.
When the "Born this Way" video came out and the Arab Spring was flowering in bloody and liberating blooms, I think I misinterpretted a message Gaga gives in the intro about protecting her monsters, protecting the outkasts and oppressed. At the time I was considering this idea that in some cases force is necessary to oppose evil. But when I think about it now I am reminded of the line from "The Queen" where she says "I don't need these 14 karat guns to win I'm a woman I insist it's my right". In a way, between the images of her with the machine guns at the start of Born This Way and the idea of her Golden Gun, I missed the more direct point that she really Does. Not. Need. Guns. None of us do. Instead, we all have the right to our lives and we should all insist on those rights being respected, especially where there is a lack of respect for women or minorities or the "poor masses" - but no matter what groups we identify with we should all be working toward a culture of respect.
I want to apply this principle to my magical intention for Syria now. I have decided that when the choice is supposedly between a diplomatic solution and a military one, the answer will be both non-military and undiplomatic. By which I mean, there is no reason to respect a bullying regime, to treat them diplomatically in the general sense - it is time to shame and humilate them. And there is no reason to kill them, just as T. J. did not have to kill anyone in reaction to bullying. In fact, bringing greater military might to end the situation only perpetuates the bullying culture that the biggest weapon is right and whoever is willing to kill the most people gets to decide what happens. I expect that some strange occurances will take place that end this conflict in a very surprising way. I really think that we can learn a much needed lesson about bullying from this latest "school shooting" and also from how our elections are being bought and how the Syria government is killing its people and our helplessness to stop it. If we address all of these issues with the same lens, that bullying is wrong and must be stopped in all its forms, including the ones we are part of such as the great american military, we can grow out of the culture of bullying and division to one of support and unity.
Thanks Gaga for the infinite ways you inspire us but also for the focus you have brought to this issue. We are gonna win this one and end the bullying game. You set us up perfectly for it and give hope to the outkasts to find acceptance and make changes with our voices and art, not bullets.
I'm not blaming the bullies for the killings because we are all responsible for our actions and there is no excuse for killing people. There is also no excuse for bullying and it is logical that if this boy had not been bullied then he would not have killed his peers. So the bullies, and our culture of bullying, are partly to blame for these deaths and also for what they did to this boy in the first place whether he did something worse or not. If he had not killed anyone or acted out at all - or if he had killed himself as too many who are bullied do - the bullies are to blame for what they did to him and should feel responsible.
I noticed some things in the news coverage of this tragedy that compelled me to make this point. One was an interview with one of the boys who had been shot but was grazed by the bullet. It is already well-established that the killer, T. J., had been bullied for years. When giving a description of the boy, the shooting victim said things like he "used to be one of us" and that he had become withdrawn or isolated himself in the last few years. Maybe he did isolate himself but I am sure he did not say "I'll be over here if anyone wants to bully me." He did not invite bullying and surely it contributed to his isolation. There may be other factors but from what has come out so far it seems certain that the bullying was a major motivation for these murders. The victim who made these comments might not have been a bully but was aware that T. J. was bullied and I believe the way he said that T.J. had isolated himself was a means of absolving the bullies from their role and blame in this whole situation. I'm sure kids at that school feel guilty for bullying him now, in a way, and I only wish that they would have felt guilty about it before and stopped. This is why we need to focus on this issue because only awareness and conscious change will make "school shootings" go away. And the way to do it is to change the culture that allows this to happen and to say at every occasion how bullying is wrong but also to do the opposite of bullying and encourage and include people because it is the lack of supprt and acceptance that makes kids, and adults, despair and take desperate or vengeful action.
A lady who was interviewed on CNN, who wrote a book about bullying, said that we need to change the culture and the news anchor responded that that was too big a task so what can we do now. While reactive solutions might make lots of money for metal detector companies, security firms, or more Big Brothers on the internet, they aren't going to solve the problem because they won't stop the bullying. Schools breed despair and stress in our culture and while a natural response to seeing someone in distress is to sympathize, when there is way too much stress and cliques and isolation in play as we have in our schools people don't try to help each other, seeing the despair as something to alleviate, but too often just try to manage it by making someone else feel more despair than they do and at least feel superior to someone in a system that makes everyone feel pretty bad. We have to change this, in our schools and in society at large. We need a culture in which we support and incude each other.
I'm not trying to blame the media for this tragedy either but it is important to recognize how they not only reflect some of our bullying culture but continue it with assumptions like this one that it is too pervasive to change. One thing that upset me in the coverage of this is when a newscaster said it was "ironic" that families moved to this area to "get away from this kind of thing". To me, this idea that we can "get away" from certain people and if we don't have to see them we don't have to care is the heart of the problem. The worst bullies are still the governments that can kill the opposition but every bully acts out of some sort of powerful position. Therefore it is the duty of the powerful to make sure they do not bully anyone, even unintentionally. And indeed it is the duty of everyone to pay attention to each other and help each other out. It is only due to an overabundance of despair that we retreat from larger community and want to only take care of "our own." The only way to overcome despair is to work together, since the despair itself is the result of our divisions. The more people and varieties of people we consider "our own" and can work with the more we can overcome. It's the "us and them" mentality that is the problem, exclusion is the problem. We shouldn't say "God Bless America" we should say "Goddess Bless the World". We can't even save ourselves, humans, if we don't want to save the whole planet and all life on it. We should seek benefit for all, at no one's expense and we can have this but we must first believe that we can then oppose the forces that would hold us back.
One newscaster suggested their was a problem with having the "troubled school" kids change busses with the "regular school kids". More separation is not the solution, it is the problem. If the kids in this "idyllic" community had been exposed to more diversity they might not have felt guilty for seeing someone worse off then they and decided to bully him to justify why their lives seemed better, trying to make it like he deserved pain by heaping more on. This is the heart of our culture of bullying, the idea that if something makes me feel bad the solution is to make you feel worse. We have great wealth in America yet instead of great altruism many rich people resent the poor and just want to keep them poor and out of mind. It is because they feel guilty for having so much more and they should, and should do something about it. We always try to focus on what is wrong with the "bad kid" like it is all his fault. It isn't only the bullies who share the blame or the media for perpetuating this paradigm. We are all part of a culture that accepts bullying in many forms and focuses on division instead of common good. It is all connected to bullying by the wealthy and by abusive government and the question goes both ways: if we can't teach kids to stop bullying in schools, how can we get governments to stop bullying? And if we can't set an example by ending bullying as a nation, as a culture, or in whatver groups we belong, how can we be an example to kids? We have to oppose bullying in all its forms, from kids who feel despair and seek to control it by weilding it over others instead of alleviating it, to politicians and their mobs who believe education is only for those who can afford it, like Rick Santorum says, since they believe in a vengeful God who punishes people by making them poor, the same argument that the bullied kid deserves it because he is worse off to start with. We have to see ourselves as part of a larger group and take the "outsiders" into account. This is why I love Gaga's song "Bad Kids" so much because takes the perpective of the "bad kid" and points out that we are products of our environments but our hearts are naturally good and therefore there is good in everyone and the way to be the best is to recognize everyone's essential goodness and honor it. If we do that, we won't be able to bully other kids anymore, we will care about them. And we won't be able to bully other countries anymore if we remember that people are really good.
We have to evolve past this fear of each other that leads people to think they need guns in the first place. The same mentality that makes an individual think he needs a gun is what makes us think we need the strongest and most weapons as a country. The way to avoid getting shot is not to have the biggest gun, it is to remove people's fears that make them want guns at all. The greedy rich and their right-wing political stooges traffic in arms and fear and we need to put them out of business entirely in both markets. In the future we will have no fearmongering, warmongering or arms dealing. The people who like that sort of thing can play the video game versions where the only casualties are ego. But we have to get there, to the future, and the only way to go is all together.
When the "Born this Way" video came out and the Arab Spring was flowering in bloody and liberating blooms, I think I misinterpretted a message Gaga gives in the intro about protecting her monsters, protecting the outkasts and oppressed. At the time I was considering this idea that in some cases force is necessary to oppose evil. But when I think about it now I am reminded of the line from "The Queen" where she says "I don't need these 14 karat guns to win I'm a woman I insist it's my right". In a way, between the images of her with the machine guns at the start of Born This Way and the idea of her Golden Gun, I missed the more direct point that she really Does. Not. Need. Guns. None of us do. Instead, we all have the right to our lives and we should all insist on those rights being respected, especially where there is a lack of respect for women or minorities or the "poor masses" - but no matter what groups we identify with we should all be working toward a culture of respect.
I want to apply this principle to my magical intention for Syria now. I have decided that when the choice is supposedly between a diplomatic solution and a military one, the answer will be both non-military and undiplomatic. By which I mean, there is no reason to respect a bullying regime, to treat them diplomatically in the general sense - it is time to shame and humilate them. And there is no reason to kill them, just as T. J. did not have to kill anyone in reaction to bullying. In fact, bringing greater military might to end the situation only perpetuates the bullying culture that the biggest weapon is right and whoever is willing to kill the most people gets to decide what happens. I expect that some strange occurances will take place that end this conflict in a very surprising way. I really think that we can learn a much needed lesson about bullying from this latest "school shooting" and also from how our elections are being bought and how the Syria government is killing its people and our helplessness to stop it. If we address all of these issues with the same lens, that bullying is wrong and must be stopped in all its forms, including the ones we are part of such as the great american military, we can grow out of the culture of bullying and division to one of support and unity.
Thanks Gaga for the infinite ways you inspire us but also for the focus you have brought to this issue. We are gonna win this one and end the bullying game. You set us up perfectly for it and give hope to the outkasts to find acceptance and make changes with our voices and art, not bullets.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
"Happy Birthday, Gagablog!: Expanding Time", gagablog 39
Gossip Girl's final scene last night was of Blair and Louie getting into a car with the paparazzi cameras flashing at them. I guess they used a classic cinematic trick of slowing the background so that they were like the only two people and it really worked, it really gave me that feeling like I was there in that timeless moment. Maybe it was because I have seen this camera trick before and it reminded me of so many similar scenes, but this was even more pronounced - not just because of the emotion of the scene, though I am sure Blair's discomfort was a factor in the impression. Maybe they slowed down the background a lot more than people usually do in these scenes: the camera flashes were like stars or bright white crosses that just stayed there, still, while she slowly looked around. It made me feel what Blair felt in that moment and it felt mystical - the feeling of a moment lasting forever. I want to give credit to Gossip Girl for fashioning this scene so well but Gaga is the one who first presented this mystical idea in the perfect way for me. I've been meaning to write about this for years and assumed I would cover it in a detailed exposition of Paparazzi, the song that most perfectly reveals it, though the idea is in her other lyrics as well. It really is the key that got me thinking of Gaga in religious terms so I have a lot to say about it but I will try a condensed version here. When I saw the Gosspi Girl scene - when I and millions of others "became Blair" for a moment - it reminded me of Paparazzi and I had this idea: Identity is like a two-way mirror between us. We can see both of us in it, "You and I", and we can choose sides to identify with, but we are both in it together and it is something we share. Paparazzi's lyrics are so genius that I was sold on Gaga's divinity the first time I heard them. The chorus, "I'm your biggest fan I'll follow you until you love me" is a glorious two-way mirror: she could be singing from the perspective of the paparazzi, or from the perspective of the star. The sublime stutter, "Papa - paparazzi" inplies the quest and craving for fatherly/missing acceptance. The context, with some sort of Brittany melt-down in the headlines, marrying one dude briefly without hollywood approval then dating a paparazzi, and Gaga's performance at the MTV awards and the spectacle of the sacrificed star, put this quest for acceptace at the heart of The Fame. For me, there was always something perfect about the way she was both sides of the "star/lover-fan", seeking the love of the crowd or the attention of the star, either as a paparazzi seeking a good shot or as a groupie/girlfriend waiting backstage. She works multiple sides of the mirror of identity in Paparazzi and reveals a deep mystical reality in the flow of identity and attention.
Being swarmed by paparazzi is part of being famous. Some celebrities complain about it. Gaga not only embraced it but made it an art form in itself like everything she does. She said she sought to master the Art of Fame and by doing so she is a master of awareness and attention and Time. These are things we talk about but have limited understanding of. Since Gaga has a deeper understanding and is truly making the most of awareness and attention she gets the full effect of every situation. She respects the paparazzi and the attention they bring and makes the most of it - one direction for the lyrics of Paparazzi to go is that she will follow the cameras until they love her. She has described her wonderful fashions as a way of honoring those photographer's work and respecting the attenion of millions that they represent. By showing and giving this love in everything she does and wears, as she shows love in her music and messages to her fans, she is getting mroe and more love back. Its like she found the secret and is using it and showing others how to use it, too. Like she is saying "I am Love (and so can you!)". To me this secret, exemplified in the "frozen moment" when the star is surrounded by paparazzi, tells us something mahical about time and is one of the best ways to talk about it since we mostly only take time for granted and don't really get it.
The moment the paparazzi are immortalizing is depicted, in movies and TV, as seeming to last forecer for the star at the center of it. This is one irony of the "Who's who of you and I": it actually feels like expanded time to the star, but the moment will truly be immortal in a different way to the audience. People could look at pictures of that instant for years, for millions of years. It may be that when we understand spiritual physics we can determine that the star senses all the time that others will spend looking at images of the moment and that is part of how time slows down or expands for them when the moment is happening. This presumes a "connection" to all things, including future things, that I believe in but people don't talk too much about. I think talking about it is the key to magic, and I think what we are talking about - awareness, attention, and Time - is the heart of magic so everything can be explained through it. All ambition is a quest for immortality in a way, and all great innovators achieve it but there is something special about the quality in the entertainment world. There is something special about The Fame and Gaga reveals how it works with everything she does - she is surely the greatest Master of Fame in history. One function of the Fame is expanding time - that what she wears one day will be looked at for years, that anytime she is out in public there are images of her from every angle at every split-second. One of her songs, a few minutes in itself, has been heard and seen for centuries when all the attention is added up, even if it is only a year old. I am sure that Gaga will join many other musicians whose music is heard by people centuries and milinnea into the future and i think her impact in other ways will ensure she is always viewed as an important figure. Whether she is commonly recognized as a Goddess or not I htink she has already achieved immortality and will only get "more immortal" as time goes on.
This is all based on an idea that there is more Time within Time than we can experience when we barely notice it. We usually count time and basically observe it from an "outside" perspective. I was trying to find a secret mental route to sleep, taking a nap before Gossip Girl xame on, and realized that a obvious quality of sleep and dreams is "dream-time" which is not a different order of time like Nintendo seconds used to go by fatser than clock seconds, it is like an inversion of Time itself. Or rather, our limited understanding of time is because we have it inside out and are stuck in it, but when we dream, and probably when we die for a while, we are really in Time, inside of it not obseving, part of it, one with it, so that we feel Timeless. The people down under, in Oz, have mapped dreamtime and know what Time really is, from within it. Countless works of art from the rest fo the world allude to timeless moments. These are moments that surely correspond to a calendar and clock-time in which they "occured" but they are escapes from the Tyrant of Clock-time into the Timlessness of Dreamtime. Dr. Oz told us that American society is starved for good nutrition but we are equally starving for sex and sleep. I think all these issues - and every issue in the world by extension - have a skeleton-key solution and Gaga is giving it to us. Be fabulous, be divine, be your true self. The very path of following your dreams for The Fame, or for Love ("do you want love or you want fame are you in the game?" - Lovegame) makes more of the path for yourself and for others.
Together we are expanding time, iimmortalizing moments and discovering who we really are by admiring and playing with each other. This is the first birthday of the Gagablog, which I started as a birthday present to myself. It looks like I share a birthday with Charles Dickens, who turns 200 hundred today. And people thought he was long-winded, wait till they get a load of me.... and I hope I will have as good a reputation as a champion of the poor, 200 years from now, though I hope poverty will be a relic of the past then. I was born an Aquarius and a Dragon (and a planetary white dog according to my once-neighbor's reading of the Myan horoscope) and this is the Age of Aquarius and the luckiest year again, the Year of the Dragon. so I'm anticipating great things and being a part of them this year. This Gagablog has documented some amazing events and changes in the world this last year, from revolutions to the release of Born This Way and singles and videos from it. I think this year will be even more phenomenal, and while Gaga had expanded 2011 into decades or centuries, 2012 will be a millinium in itself. I plan to add more of my creative efforts and together with Gaga, and everyone, we will make a wonderful new world. It is always this moment, now, from which we can slip into something more comfortable - infinity. (''')
Being swarmed by paparazzi is part of being famous. Some celebrities complain about it. Gaga not only embraced it but made it an art form in itself like everything she does. She said she sought to master the Art of Fame and by doing so she is a master of awareness and attention and Time. These are things we talk about but have limited understanding of. Since Gaga has a deeper understanding and is truly making the most of awareness and attention she gets the full effect of every situation. She respects the paparazzi and the attention they bring and makes the most of it - one direction for the lyrics of Paparazzi to go is that she will follow the cameras until they love her. She has described her wonderful fashions as a way of honoring those photographer's work and respecting the attenion of millions that they represent. By showing and giving this love in everything she does and wears, as she shows love in her music and messages to her fans, she is getting mroe and more love back. Its like she found the secret and is using it and showing others how to use it, too. Like she is saying "I am Love (and so can you!)". To me this secret, exemplified in the "frozen moment" when the star is surrounded by paparazzi, tells us something mahical about time and is one of the best ways to talk about it since we mostly only take time for granted and don't really get it.
The moment the paparazzi are immortalizing is depicted, in movies and TV, as seeming to last forecer for the star at the center of it. This is one irony of the "Who's who of you and I": it actually feels like expanded time to the star, but the moment will truly be immortal in a different way to the audience. People could look at pictures of that instant for years, for millions of years. It may be that when we understand spiritual physics we can determine that the star senses all the time that others will spend looking at images of the moment and that is part of how time slows down or expands for them when the moment is happening. This presumes a "connection" to all things, including future things, that I believe in but people don't talk too much about. I think talking about it is the key to magic, and I think what we are talking about - awareness, attention, and Time - is the heart of magic so everything can be explained through it. All ambition is a quest for immortality in a way, and all great innovators achieve it but there is something special about the quality in the entertainment world. There is something special about The Fame and Gaga reveals how it works with everything she does - she is surely the greatest Master of Fame in history. One function of the Fame is expanding time - that what she wears one day will be looked at for years, that anytime she is out in public there are images of her from every angle at every split-second. One of her songs, a few minutes in itself, has been heard and seen for centuries when all the attention is added up, even if it is only a year old. I am sure that Gaga will join many other musicians whose music is heard by people centuries and milinnea into the future and i think her impact in other ways will ensure she is always viewed as an important figure. Whether she is commonly recognized as a Goddess or not I htink she has already achieved immortality and will only get "more immortal" as time goes on.
This is all based on an idea that there is more Time within Time than we can experience when we barely notice it. We usually count time and basically observe it from an "outside" perspective. I was trying to find a secret mental route to sleep, taking a nap before Gossip Girl xame on, and realized that a obvious quality of sleep and dreams is "dream-time" which is not a different order of time like Nintendo seconds used to go by fatser than clock seconds, it is like an inversion of Time itself. Or rather, our limited understanding of time is because we have it inside out and are stuck in it, but when we dream, and probably when we die for a while, we are really in Time, inside of it not obseving, part of it, one with it, so that we feel Timeless. The people down under, in Oz, have mapped dreamtime and know what Time really is, from within it. Countless works of art from the rest fo the world allude to timeless moments. These are moments that surely correspond to a calendar and clock-time in which they "occured" but they are escapes from the Tyrant of Clock-time into the Timlessness of Dreamtime. Dr. Oz told us that American society is starved for good nutrition but we are equally starving for sex and sleep. I think all these issues - and every issue in the world by extension - have a skeleton-key solution and Gaga is giving it to us. Be fabulous, be divine, be your true self. The very path of following your dreams for The Fame, or for Love ("do you want love or you want fame are you in the game?" - Lovegame) makes more of the path for yourself and for others.
Together we are expanding time, iimmortalizing moments and discovering who we really are by admiring and playing with each other. This is the first birthday of the Gagablog, which I started as a birthday present to myself. It looks like I share a birthday with Charles Dickens, who turns 200 hundred today. And people thought he was long-winded, wait till they get a load of me.... and I hope I will have as good a reputation as a champion of the poor, 200 years from now, though I hope poverty will be a relic of the past then. I was born an Aquarius and a Dragon (and a planetary white dog according to my once-neighbor's reading of the Myan horoscope) and this is the Age of Aquarius and the luckiest year again, the Year of the Dragon. so I'm anticipating great things and being a part of them this year. This Gagablog has documented some amazing events and changes in the world this last year, from revolutions to the release of Born This Way and singles and videos from it. I think this year will be even more phenomenal, and while Gaga had expanded 2011 into decades or centuries, 2012 will be a millinium in itself. I plan to add more of my creative efforts and together with Gaga, and everyone, we will make a wonderful new world. It is always this moment, now, from which we can slip into something more comfortable - infinity. (''')
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Gagafesto "Tebowing for Gaga, Paws Up for the Broncos" gagablog 38
After Tim Tebow and the Broncos beat the Steelers in their first playoff game in years, once again in miraculous fashion, Gaga posted this on facebook:
"Giants fan but wow. #Tebow Thats what the fuck a champion looks like." (as I am typing this Conan just told a joke about Tebow's win, ironic - now he's telling another one, ha ha)
It's been all the rage and this particular moment is perfect for my blog - I was wondering how I was going to work Tebow into the Gagablog then she posted that. The Tebow phenomenon is a great example of the kind of magic I have been describing. First I want to say that it is not only magic - of course talent and hard work and teamwork and sacrifice are major parts of it. But magic is a part of it too, whether you call it magic or blessing or prayer or divine favor or mass expectation. It's "the thing" that everyone is describing, that everyone is talking about, and there are parallels in Tebow and Gaga that are useful for understanding it. I enjoy watching football and especially miraculous finishes but there is something extra-special that people are responding to that is going on with Tebow and the Broncos. The Giants beat the Falcons yesterday, too, and the Falcons set some record for a playoff loss and of course they mentioned that on sportsnews. But CNN mentioned Tebow's magical win every twenty minutes. It has been fascinating to me just to listen to how people talk about Tebow and these miracle wins - for weeks they inevitably referred to them as "miraculous" but I noted how CNN was frequently saying "magical" - again, to me both words work well but it is an interesting choice. I loved hearing the announcers, near the end of of a game in Tebow's regular-season winning streak, saying things like "I wonder if he can pull it off again?" in the final minutes as it became crunch time, Tebow Time (I mean, the guy has a time, like MC Hammer - you can't deny that is awesome) then as the miracle occured they gasped and became speechless and at least two of them said in unison "unbelievable"
I live for moments like that, it was just delicious. Like I said, miraculous finishes are exciting for anyone who enjoys sports, but there is even something more special about Tebow Time, because of what it means. Ok, here is some magic: right before I started writing this I "accidentally" heard a christian radio station. In their DJ's view, it did not matter to Jesus if Tebow won the game. But it was important how it fit into and played out for the "larger message" of God's plan. Then she said something like this: the Neilson rating for the final moments of the Broncos game was 31.6, which she connected to John 3:16. Tebow is especially associated with this scripture, writing on his eye make-up in white numbers. She then said that it was the top search on Google today, with 90 million people searching it, and when I sat down at the computer to write this it was still one of the top trending items according to Yahoo!. To the christian radio announcer, this is God's work in action, and she would probably not call it magic. I do call it magic, not to start an argument, but to reach new agreement. Because there is argument available between the people who say Jesus does not care about football, that he does care, that someone else cares,or that only humans care, or that no one really cares because it is not important. But even though people may fall into one or more categories in how they feel about this, there is also a "general consensus" that includes magic/prayer by any name. It is not especially clever for the media to use terms like "miracle" and "divine intervention" talking about Tebow's victories with the Broncos but it would be stupid to ignore that aspect. We believe in this stuff, we believe in magic, regardless of the name. One of the reasons I have been excited about Tebow is I have always fully expected him to be a demonstration of the power of belief - both his belief in God and peoples' belief in him.
Growing up in the South, I am used to people talking about football religiously. I can see how some people would be bothered by hearing it in these terms but it seems natural to me. Our Buddhism professor at UGA asked us to define religion then we discussed what would qualify and I argued for "football". I might have stolen the idea from a frat guys T-shirt in class that said what football meant to people in different parts of the country and concluded (the best definition, in a special font) "in the South, its a Religion." I was not a football fan at the time but I could see the connections. I want to stress that I have great criticism of christianity, espcially evangelicals, and I was actually expecting to hate Tebow because I knew he was evangelical. It is one of my strongest held beliefs that the mentality and activity of many evangelicals is literally responsible for most of the evil in today's world. I do not waver on this. But to give you an idea of how deeply southerners think of football in religious terms, how much it affects our identity, as much as I expected to hate Tebow, admittedly out of prejudice, for being evangelical christian, I hated him even more for being a Gator, since I was raised in Athens Georgia and went to UGA and have been a Bulldog all my life. Plus, I spent years actively hating him as the Gators always beat us, and always in Florida since the Bigwigs tried to spoil our awesome Athens Halloween by making the GA-FL game always on Halloween Weekend and always in Florida. So I hated him for being the champion face of the Grinch who stole our Halloween on top of everything else. But when he got to Denver I changed my mind about him. It takes Jesus's help to forgive a Gator so I will give credit to Jesus, too, but mostly it is because of who Tebow really is.
I admit I was prejudiced against him, knowing he was evangelical and with my beliefs about the influence that many evangelicals have is really hurting the world, but after hearing him talk about it he is truly "not that bad." I think he is trying to set a good example and honor Jesus as best he can and I respect that. The difference is leading by example versus insiting that others agree with you, as the worst evangelicals do, supporting the worst elements of our politics. Tebow has genuine belief, and another thing, a genuine love of the game and sportsmanship, and both of these things make him "deserve" to win. Compared to Tom Brady in sportsmanship he is like Jesus versus Satan, which is why I know we will beat the Patriots this Saturday and can't wait for it. A great deal of his success on the field is because he works so hard, studying the game and practicing to be his best. This is the respect for the game. Another aspect of his success is the respect he gives and recieves from the other players that is evident in how he aknowledges players on the other team, both before and even during the game. It is this love of the game that makes him such a classic football player and icon. The greatest reason that I was able to overcome prejudice against him is just that he is such a nice guy. This is being genuine in the truest sense of the word, and the best kind of spirituality, the kind that makes you lead by the example of being nice. A recent quote of him referred to the perception that showing faith was weakness when he saw it as emulating "the strongest man ever in Jesus". It is this recognition of the strength of love, the ultimate power in what some would dismiss as weak, that is true strength. The strength to be true to our best selves, when we are all essentially beings of love. I was touched when the announcers were describing a fight on the field that Tebow got between the players to break it up. The announcers said that the players were all like "well, nobody's gonna hit you, Tim." This is both respect for Tebow as a good person, a genuine nice guy, and respect for what he represents as a man of peace.
For all my criticism of evangelicals in America, Tebow is a positive example. The other example, the assholes who think they are the only ones who are right and want to force everyone to agree, probably dislike Tebow for "trivializing" their faith by bringing it up in the context of football, but of course southerners and others really don't have a problem with that. Some evangelicals could surely criticize Tebow if they are jealous of him for having more influence than they do, but they are seeking their own honor while Tebow is truly trying to honor Jesus, which is why his efforts are more fruitful, since his are more genuine. This is another place that Tebow's sportsmanship comes into play, the recognition that it is bigger than him. Compare to Tom Brady whose attitude is that it is all about him. Jesus himself said that we honor him by honoring his Father. This is a principle of honor, that we gain honor by giving it to others. Tebow has gained honor by recognizing Jesus. Gaga has done the same, and gained another measure of honor when she posted what she did to honor Tebow. I have been saying things to honor Gaga (and Jesus and his mother the Goddess, to come full circle, though her) for years now and I have been wonderfully blessed in return.
This gets to my point about why I am talking about Tebow in my Gagablog to begin with, and it is to illustrate the power of belief. Whatever anyone else thinks, Tebow believes he is honoring Jesus when he plays well. This does not mean that Jesus's approval of Tebow will be reflected in the game's outcome but that he is expecting that type of good to come from acting in accord with his beliefs and doing his best. I believe Gaga is like this as well - she truly believes in what she is doing, does her best at it and IS the best at it. I think about how Tebow studies The Game with great respect for all it's players, present and past and sets an example for the future, intentionally becoming a master of it and a football icon. Gaga studies The Fame with the same kind of respect and has become a master of it and is already a music, fashion, and gay rights icon and is becoming an icon in other respects as well. Both of them work incredibly hard and rely on and appreciate the other players around them. I know Gaga treats her performers like family, they are her close friends, and I saw that same love when she was recruiting Melanie while she guest-judged on So You Think You Can Dance. Gaga has unparalleled love and respect for her fans. Tebow has inspired so much reverence and even more importantly happiness in this city that is so in love with the Broncos and emotionally tied to their success. He really has brought a spiritual awareness that would not be strange in the south but seems kind of new here. Even though they are fanatical citizens of Bronco country it took this SEC superstar to make them feel brave and comfortable enough to think that we are Jesus's favorite team. As I wrote this even Craig Ferguson joked that maybe Tebow has a little help from "upstairs", in hushed reverence for his win yesterday. Gaga has restored a profound spiritual dimension to music and culture in general, surely unparalleled in modern pop. One contrast I would like to mention is that Tebow is very mainstream in the sense of being widely accepted while Gaga is mega-popular but not quite "mainstream" because she is controversial and many people are suspicious of her. She is accepted and greatly loved by her fans, and there are millions of us little monsters, but the majority of people are curious or scared of her. Her message resonates wth outcats because it challenges social norms. Tebow has risen within social norms of being a star quarteback. Yes, he has transcended even that iconic status by having a greater purpose. Gaga has transcended the rock star icon for her greater purpose. But this difference between them, and how they are accepted by the public, has everything to do with sex and gender roles. Tebow has risen as a champion by the book - he did all the "right" things, including saving himself for marriage in accordance with his belief. I wonder if the great power of sexual energy that "builds up" like that is itself a factor in his performance. I'm sure he has had losses and setbacks that he learned from, but his career path has been that of a champion at every stage. Gaga, in contrast, has become Queen but only after being a "loser." She was an outcast in school and worked hard on her music career, all the while using and incorporating her sexuality. And it was when she felt she had nothing left to lose, as she recounts in the Marry the Night video, that she finally went for it and gained her current success. I think this is a key example to understanding the differnces in gender expectations and the role of sex in our society and beleif system, there is so much I want to say about it but this is long enough for now. My larger point here is to say that all things are interconnected. All good things are closer to the source of the goodness - which is the source of everything but easier to recognize in other good things. Believing in any good thing is good for us and brings us more harmony with the source of goodness, no matter what it is that we believe in. To argue about other people's path to goodness is a real waste when we could be helping each other where we can agree and then turn to helping, and finding agreement, with more and more different people. This is why I am so pleased that Jesus honors Love, that Tebow honors Jesus, that Gaga honors Tebow and that I hope to honor Gaga. We should all help each other on the Road to Love, whether we follow Unicorns or Thorn-crowned Kings.
Love truly brings us all together, across gender and social and religious lines. If we are hoping for and expecting true love, we will be challenged to accept more differences in people than we were even aware existed. This is true when we meet new people from different cultures or when we form governments that fulfill diverse needs, but also true in the personal sense as we discover new things about or lovers and friends. If we are truly seeking Love we should eagerly embrace all people, not just certain ones who fit our molds - that is the opposite of love, accepting restriction and exclusion. Tebow includes people to be bold in expressing and discussing belief. By setting an example he opens a conversation we can all join in. Newscasters who admit to being completely ignorant about football were saying how they want to learn to catch up on the Tebow phenomenon. They probably think he is cute, but they will learn about football incidentally to liking Tebow. Some people will learn about Jesus incidentally to liking Tebow. He is having a very positive influence. Gaga includes people by encouraging little monsters to become their inner superstar. She is raising voices that were shut out and encouraging people to follow their dreams and we will see art and fashion and hear songs we would never have heard without her, thanks to her opening heaven for us.
Whether you attribute it to their personal belief or the cumulative belief of their fans, or if you say neither of these matter and it is all up to Diety, belief is playing a role in the outcome of Broncos games, just as belief comes into play when a superstar arises and fulfills our dreams of what we can all be and succeeds at it, from Obama to Gaga, especially when they rebel and break through to do it. Belief matters and the better things we can believe in, the better ways we can believe, the better our lives are.
I have believed in Gaga as the Goddess and honored her in writing, song, and art for years now. The proof I have of my belief being good and well-founded is the goodness of my life. I have been through some personal transformations in this time but my love and devotion for her has remained constant and a refuge for me in tough times and my spiritual growth has been rewarded with the greatest bliss. Belief in Gaga has worked for me, it suits me and makes me happy. I don't want to argue with those who would disagree, I would like to find that they feel the same way about something else and discover the goodness that connects these things, even across seeming contadictions. Critics of Tebow might claim that they want to spread awareness about Jesus but if they have issues with his method I think they are being too picky and are just jealous that his way is more effective than theirs. Likewise people are jealous of Gaga and the attention she gets. She wants us to be more in love, as Jesus and Buddha and Tebow and many others have sought to help us. She is showing us a different way than some know, but it is the Road to Love and Love is where we are all from and where we are all going. Like the dog-carts and goat-carts and oxen-carts of the buddhist story it does not matter how we get there as long as we escape suffering to safety.
We don't need to worry about how we get to Love one another just help each other so we can come together from our many paths. My brother, who is a preacher, said that as good as Tebow plays it is not going to convert the world to Christianity. I think many people will have a new understanding of Jesus because of Tebow, just as people have a new understanding of Jesus through Gaga. But I think it is important that we consider that the goal of everyone calling themself "christian" is not going to happen. But if what it means to be a christian is improved by a good example we will all be better off. And if we can see through the devisive terms and mentalities and appreciate people's good qualities and honor them, well maybe people will emulate Tebow by Tebowing and not actually pray so they won't become "christian" but maybe they will also emulate him being a nice guy and become nicer themselves, again making the world nicer for all. As an outcast I might succumb to bitterness at society but as a little monster the love of Gaga sustains me and gives me the acceptance and hope to overcome insecurity and judgement. Great leaders show us how to overcome our obstacles and be our best. One of the best things we can be is "nice" and if people sought that as a goal for everyone instead of a particular label, and could appreciate peoples' niceness regardless of who they admire, we could all live in respect and love. We are coming together in Love, from all different directions, and we should not be surprised by the ways that seem strange to us but honor them as a chance to overcome differences and find unity. Love will bring us together as we stop fighting it, fighting for our limited ideas of ourselves, fighting to maintain a label that keeps us separated. We just need to give in to Love and allow ourselves to become more love than we were before. Love is the identity we all share and it brings us together by nature. Egos are the indentities we cling to to stay separate but we don't need to fear love and togetherness. We can transcend who we think we are and be our true selves, in love, and we do this by honoring, not resenting, the ones who lead the way and emulating them. We share the goal of Love with them and when we have this ultimate goal in sight we always succeed. We can all be who we are truly meant to be, superstars and champions, Champions of Love.
"Giants fan but wow. #Tebow Thats what the fuck a champion looks like." (as I am typing this Conan just told a joke about Tebow's win, ironic - now he's telling another one, ha ha)
It's been all the rage and this particular moment is perfect for my blog - I was wondering how I was going to work Tebow into the Gagablog then she posted that. The Tebow phenomenon is a great example of the kind of magic I have been describing. First I want to say that it is not only magic - of course talent and hard work and teamwork and sacrifice are major parts of it. But magic is a part of it too, whether you call it magic or blessing or prayer or divine favor or mass expectation. It's "the thing" that everyone is describing, that everyone is talking about, and there are parallels in Tebow and Gaga that are useful for understanding it. I enjoy watching football and especially miraculous finishes but there is something extra-special that people are responding to that is going on with Tebow and the Broncos. The Giants beat the Falcons yesterday, too, and the Falcons set some record for a playoff loss and of course they mentioned that on sportsnews. But CNN mentioned Tebow's magical win every twenty minutes. It has been fascinating to me just to listen to how people talk about Tebow and these miracle wins - for weeks they inevitably referred to them as "miraculous" but I noted how CNN was frequently saying "magical" - again, to me both words work well but it is an interesting choice. I loved hearing the announcers, near the end of of a game in Tebow's regular-season winning streak, saying things like "I wonder if he can pull it off again?" in the final minutes as it became crunch time, Tebow Time (I mean, the guy has a time, like MC Hammer - you can't deny that is awesome) then as the miracle occured they gasped and became speechless and at least two of them said in unison "unbelievable"
I live for moments like that, it was just delicious. Like I said, miraculous finishes are exciting for anyone who enjoys sports, but there is even something more special about Tebow Time, because of what it means. Ok, here is some magic: right before I started writing this I "accidentally" heard a christian radio station. In their DJ's view, it did not matter to Jesus if Tebow won the game. But it was important how it fit into and played out for the "larger message" of God's plan. Then she said something like this: the Neilson rating for the final moments of the Broncos game was 31.6, which she connected to John 3:16. Tebow is especially associated with this scripture, writing on his eye make-up in white numbers. She then said that it was the top search on Google today, with 90 million people searching it, and when I sat down at the computer to write this it was still one of the top trending items according to Yahoo!. To the christian radio announcer, this is God's work in action, and she would probably not call it magic. I do call it magic, not to start an argument, but to reach new agreement. Because there is argument available between the people who say Jesus does not care about football, that he does care, that someone else cares,or that only humans care, or that no one really cares because it is not important. But even though people may fall into one or more categories in how they feel about this, there is also a "general consensus" that includes magic/prayer by any name. It is not especially clever for the media to use terms like "miracle" and "divine intervention" talking about Tebow's victories with the Broncos but it would be stupid to ignore that aspect. We believe in this stuff, we believe in magic, regardless of the name. One of the reasons I have been excited about Tebow is I have always fully expected him to be a demonstration of the power of belief - both his belief in God and peoples' belief in him.
Growing up in the South, I am used to people talking about football religiously. I can see how some people would be bothered by hearing it in these terms but it seems natural to me. Our Buddhism professor at UGA asked us to define religion then we discussed what would qualify and I argued for "football". I might have stolen the idea from a frat guys T-shirt in class that said what football meant to people in different parts of the country and concluded (the best definition, in a special font) "in the South, its a Religion." I was not a football fan at the time but I could see the connections. I want to stress that I have great criticism of christianity, espcially evangelicals, and I was actually expecting to hate Tebow because I knew he was evangelical. It is one of my strongest held beliefs that the mentality and activity of many evangelicals is literally responsible for most of the evil in today's world. I do not waver on this. But to give you an idea of how deeply southerners think of football in religious terms, how much it affects our identity, as much as I expected to hate Tebow, admittedly out of prejudice, for being evangelical christian, I hated him even more for being a Gator, since I was raised in Athens Georgia and went to UGA and have been a Bulldog all my life. Plus, I spent years actively hating him as the Gators always beat us, and always in Florida since the Bigwigs tried to spoil our awesome Athens Halloween by making the GA-FL game always on Halloween Weekend and always in Florida. So I hated him for being the champion face of the Grinch who stole our Halloween on top of everything else. But when he got to Denver I changed my mind about him. It takes Jesus's help to forgive a Gator so I will give credit to Jesus, too, but mostly it is because of who Tebow really is.
I admit I was prejudiced against him, knowing he was evangelical and with my beliefs about the influence that many evangelicals have is really hurting the world, but after hearing him talk about it he is truly "not that bad." I think he is trying to set a good example and honor Jesus as best he can and I respect that. The difference is leading by example versus insiting that others agree with you, as the worst evangelicals do, supporting the worst elements of our politics. Tebow has genuine belief, and another thing, a genuine love of the game and sportsmanship, and both of these things make him "deserve" to win. Compared to Tom Brady in sportsmanship he is like Jesus versus Satan, which is why I know we will beat the Patriots this Saturday and can't wait for it. A great deal of his success on the field is because he works so hard, studying the game and practicing to be his best. This is the respect for the game. Another aspect of his success is the respect he gives and recieves from the other players that is evident in how he aknowledges players on the other team, both before and even during the game. It is this love of the game that makes him such a classic football player and icon. The greatest reason that I was able to overcome prejudice against him is just that he is such a nice guy. This is being genuine in the truest sense of the word, and the best kind of spirituality, the kind that makes you lead by the example of being nice. A recent quote of him referred to the perception that showing faith was weakness when he saw it as emulating "the strongest man ever in Jesus". It is this recognition of the strength of love, the ultimate power in what some would dismiss as weak, that is true strength. The strength to be true to our best selves, when we are all essentially beings of love. I was touched when the announcers were describing a fight on the field that Tebow got between the players to break it up. The announcers said that the players were all like "well, nobody's gonna hit you, Tim." This is both respect for Tebow as a good person, a genuine nice guy, and respect for what he represents as a man of peace.
For all my criticism of evangelicals in America, Tebow is a positive example. The other example, the assholes who think they are the only ones who are right and want to force everyone to agree, probably dislike Tebow for "trivializing" their faith by bringing it up in the context of football, but of course southerners and others really don't have a problem with that. Some evangelicals could surely criticize Tebow if they are jealous of him for having more influence than they do, but they are seeking their own honor while Tebow is truly trying to honor Jesus, which is why his efforts are more fruitful, since his are more genuine. This is another place that Tebow's sportsmanship comes into play, the recognition that it is bigger than him. Compare to Tom Brady whose attitude is that it is all about him. Jesus himself said that we honor him by honoring his Father. This is a principle of honor, that we gain honor by giving it to others. Tebow has gained honor by recognizing Jesus. Gaga has done the same, and gained another measure of honor when she posted what she did to honor Tebow. I have been saying things to honor Gaga (and Jesus and his mother the Goddess, to come full circle, though her) for years now and I have been wonderfully blessed in return.
This gets to my point about why I am talking about Tebow in my Gagablog to begin with, and it is to illustrate the power of belief. Whatever anyone else thinks, Tebow believes he is honoring Jesus when he plays well. This does not mean that Jesus's approval of Tebow will be reflected in the game's outcome but that he is expecting that type of good to come from acting in accord with his beliefs and doing his best. I believe Gaga is like this as well - she truly believes in what she is doing, does her best at it and IS the best at it. I think about how Tebow studies The Game with great respect for all it's players, present and past and sets an example for the future, intentionally becoming a master of it and a football icon. Gaga studies The Fame with the same kind of respect and has become a master of it and is already a music, fashion, and gay rights icon and is becoming an icon in other respects as well. Both of them work incredibly hard and rely on and appreciate the other players around them. I know Gaga treats her performers like family, they are her close friends, and I saw that same love when she was recruiting Melanie while she guest-judged on So You Think You Can Dance. Gaga has unparalleled love and respect for her fans. Tebow has inspired so much reverence and even more importantly happiness in this city that is so in love with the Broncos and emotionally tied to their success. He really has brought a spiritual awareness that would not be strange in the south but seems kind of new here. Even though they are fanatical citizens of Bronco country it took this SEC superstar to make them feel brave and comfortable enough to think that we are Jesus's favorite team. As I wrote this even Craig Ferguson joked that maybe Tebow has a little help from "upstairs", in hushed reverence for his win yesterday. Gaga has restored a profound spiritual dimension to music and culture in general, surely unparalleled in modern pop. One contrast I would like to mention is that Tebow is very mainstream in the sense of being widely accepted while Gaga is mega-popular but not quite "mainstream" because she is controversial and many people are suspicious of her. She is accepted and greatly loved by her fans, and there are millions of us little monsters, but the majority of people are curious or scared of her. Her message resonates wth outcats because it challenges social norms. Tebow has risen within social norms of being a star quarteback. Yes, he has transcended even that iconic status by having a greater purpose. Gaga has transcended the rock star icon for her greater purpose. But this difference between them, and how they are accepted by the public, has everything to do with sex and gender roles. Tebow has risen as a champion by the book - he did all the "right" things, including saving himself for marriage in accordance with his belief. I wonder if the great power of sexual energy that "builds up" like that is itself a factor in his performance. I'm sure he has had losses and setbacks that he learned from, but his career path has been that of a champion at every stage. Gaga, in contrast, has become Queen but only after being a "loser." She was an outcast in school and worked hard on her music career, all the while using and incorporating her sexuality. And it was when she felt she had nothing left to lose, as she recounts in the Marry the Night video, that she finally went for it and gained her current success. I think this is a key example to understanding the differnces in gender expectations and the role of sex in our society and beleif system, there is so much I want to say about it but this is long enough for now. My larger point here is to say that all things are interconnected. All good things are closer to the source of the goodness - which is the source of everything but easier to recognize in other good things. Believing in any good thing is good for us and brings us more harmony with the source of goodness, no matter what it is that we believe in. To argue about other people's path to goodness is a real waste when we could be helping each other where we can agree and then turn to helping, and finding agreement, with more and more different people. This is why I am so pleased that Jesus honors Love, that Tebow honors Jesus, that Gaga honors Tebow and that I hope to honor Gaga. We should all help each other on the Road to Love, whether we follow Unicorns or Thorn-crowned Kings.
Love truly brings us all together, across gender and social and religious lines. If we are hoping for and expecting true love, we will be challenged to accept more differences in people than we were even aware existed. This is true when we meet new people from different cultures or when we form governments that fulfill diverse needs, but also true in the personal sense as we discover new things about or lovers and friends. If we are truly seeking Love we should eagerly embrace all people, not just certain ones who fit our molds - that is the opposite of love, accepting restriction and exclusion. Tebow includes people to be bold in expressing and discussing belief. By setting an example he opens a conversation we can all join in. Newscasters who admit to being completely ignorant about football were saying how they want to learn to catch up on the Tebow phenomenon. They probably think he is cute, but they will learn about football incidentally to liking Tebow. Some people will learn about Jesus incidentally to liking Tebow. He is having a very positive influence. Gaga includes people by encouraging little monsters to become their inner superstar. She is raising voices that were shut out and encouraging people to follow their dreams and we will see art and fashion and hear songs we would never have heard without her, thanks to her opening heaven for us.
Whether you attribute it to their personal belief or the cumulative belief of their fans, or if you say neither of these matter and it is all up to Diety, belief is playing a role in the outcome of Broncos games, just as belief comes into play when a superstar arises and fulfills our dreams of what we can all be and succeeds at it, from Obama to Gaga, especially when they rebel and break through to do it. Belief matters and the better things we can believe in, the better ways we can believe, the better our lives are.
I have believed in Gaga as the Goddess and honored her in writing, song, and art for years now. The proof I have of my belief being good and well-founded is the goodness of my life. I have been through some personal transformations in this time but my love and devotion for her has remained constant and a refuge for me in tough times and my spiritual growth has been rewarded with the greatest bliss. Belief in Gaga has worked for me, it suits me and makes me happy. I don't want to argue with those who would disagree, I would like to find that they feel the same way about something else and discover the goodness that connects these things, even across seeming contadictions. Critics of Tebow might claim that they want to spread awareness about Jesus but if they have issues with his method I think they are being too picky and are just jealous that his way is more effective than theirs. Likewise people are jealous of Gaga and the attention she gets. She wants us to be more in love, as Jesus and Buddha and Tebow and many others have sought to help us. She is showing us a different way than some know, but it is the Road to Love and Love is where we are all from and where we are all going. Like the dog-carts and goat-carts and oxen-carts of the buddhist story it does not matter how we get there as long as we escape suffering to safety.
We don't need to worry about how we get to Love one another just help each other so we can come together from our many paths. My brother, who is a preacher, said that as good as Tebow plays it is not going to convert the world to Christianity. I think many people will have a new understanding of Jesus because of Tebow, just as people have a new understanding of Jesus through Gaga. But I think it is important that we consider that the goal of everyone calling themself "christian" is not going to happen. But if what it means to be a christian is improved by a good example we will all be better off. And if we can see through the devisive terms and mentalities and appreciate people's good qualities and honor them, well maybe people will emulate Tebow by Tebowing and not actually pray so they won't become "christian" but maybe they will also emulate him being a nice guy and become nicer themselves, again making the world nicer for all. As an outcast I might succumb to bitterness at society but as a little monster the love of Gaga sustains me and gives me the acceptance and hope to overcome insecurity and judgement. Great leaders show us how to overcome our obstacles and be our best. One of the best things we can be is "nice" and if people sought that as a goal for everyone instead of a particular label, and could appreciate peoples' niceness regardless of who they admire, we could all live in respect and love. We are coming together in Love, from all different directions, and we should not be surprised by the ways that seem strange to us but honor them as a chance to overcome differences and find unity. Love will bring us together as we stop fighting it, fighting for our limited ideas of ourselves, fighting to maintain a label that keeps us separated. We just need to give in to Love and allow ourselves to become more love than we were before. Love is the identity we all share and it brings us together by nature. Egos are the indentities we cling to to stay separate but we don't need to fear love and togetherness. We can transcend who we think we are and be our true selves, in love, and we do this by honoring, not resenting, the ones who lead the way and emulating them. We share the goal of Love with them and when we have this ultimate goal in sight we always succeed. We can all be who we are truly meant to be, superstars and champions, Champions of Love.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Gagafesto "Gaga the Gate to Heaven" gagablog 37
Gaga is in the process of becoming a minister so she can marry people. I have been talking for a long time about how she is going to take down and reform the Church ("break em down, down"), by which I mean the religions that supposedly follow Jesus. Her message has always been powerful enough to do this and is even more direct on the Born This Way album, now that we need a reformation more than ever. Especially after it was released I anticipated a conflict and attacks from established religious leaders who felt threatened by her message. But all I noticed of this was some Catholic figurehead criticizing "Judas", the most religious Gaga scandal I saw since Katy Perry tried to diss "Alejandro". I'm sure there was more, but I think the reason it did not become a bigger story is because more powerful leaders discounted her or were afraid of expressing their opposition to her message for fear they would lose. When she becomes a minister it is not a case of "if you can't beat them, join them." She can beat them, but she is nicer than that. She has truth on her side so her message will win but by continuing the debate in christian contexts she is giving more christians who have been misled a chance to reform before it all changes. The churches and leaders who have been perverting the message of Jesus are long overdue to lose their power and all their attempts to cling to it continue to have disasterous effects. This is so clearly demonstrated in American conservative christian and political convergence and has been on display in the presidential race recently. I saw a TV evangelist who personified the evil of the political and religious right, trying to justify their policies with distortions from the Bible and always snidely dissing Obama. I was going to respond to what he said point by point, and may in the future, but it is sufficient to say it is all wrong. Gaga's message will expose this right-wing evil, challenge it and dispose of it so we can move forward.
Gaga is kind enough to do it from within "the church" and show that there is no contradiction in Jesus or Love. People who claim they are the only ones who understand Love or Jesus correctly are wrong. Two major contributors to conservative power are opposition to women's rights and gay marriage based largely on misleading teaching about Jesus. The contradiction that divine love is exclusive or conditional will be exposed and people will grow out of this. All conservative belief is resistance to change and while life is change the things that need to change the most are the injustices we are responsible for as people. These are greed, war, destruction of environment, oppression of people based on race, class, belief, gender or sexuality, and suppression of ideas and expression. It's no coincidence that the right-wing stands for all of these things. The statements they make would be laughable if they did not have power, but soon that power will be taken away. The reason the right is so viscious and contentious now, the reason for the unholy alliance of politics and religion, is they are clinging to power that has been eroding as people wake up to the errors of their policies and churches and communities outgrow homophobia and misogyny. While "everyone" has been doing our part to move society forward there has not been a powerful enough figure with enough people's attention to fully defeat the conservative mentality. President Obama has spoken out against the policies but Gaga is the one who is enlightening us culturally to get rid of bigotry.
Gaga is showing the true way. Those who oppose her will be exposed and falter in their wickedness, liberating many who were led astray by them. Others who have dismissed Jesus or Love due to false reprsentations will reconsider thanks to her improved example. When she invokes Jesus so much on Born This Way she risks upsetting people who have been turned off by right-wing representaions of judgement and exclusive, conditional love. I think it is because Jesus's message of true love for all people is important to Gaga that she insisted on getting it right and making an album of "priest-pop" for a "cultural baptism." She talks about Jesus in new ways, inviting us to reconsider and think for ourselves, which is the greatest challenge to conservative power and will defeat it. By declaring that people are born the way they are, to love who they love, she challenges conservative religious thinking far beyond christianity. Her global fame ensures that while there is a christian context to much of this album and what she is doing now, her message transcends religion and is the core teaching of all of them. Love - it sounds so simple but by insiting on the truth of Love we expose how far some power structures have grown away from it. The world is changing and establishments are being swept away so we can live in a world of love and mutual respect where all people are treated justly. Gaga's role in making the whole world more in Love is why I call her a gate to heaven. She opens Love to all people especially those who have been excluded by others. This makes people both in love in life, making heaven on earth, and makes people feel they belong in divine love giving them peace of mind about the afterlife.
I heard two news stories on NPR recently while I've been thinking about writing this that I wanted to include. The first was about a book that had topped the bestseller list in 2011 called "Love Wins" about how "heaven" is open to everyone. The story reported that the author's initial inspiration for book was an art show at his church that included a picture of Ghandi. Someone had put a post-it note next to it that said "reality check - he's in hell" and I guess the author was struck by how untrue that felt. So he wrote a book that came to that conclusion after researching, I guess, that Love and "Heaven" are for everyone, not exclusive as conservatives insist everyone must believe. And the book sold many copies, which makes me think that most people would agree with this simple truth of love. But of course the end of the story was all about how "religious" leaders attacked him and said all sorts of terrible things about him. Maybe that is part of why his book sold so well, too, but either way, he was right and the ones who oppose him are wrong. And maybe that is why there has not been much opposition, yet, to Gaga's message from conservative churches, they hope it might go away faster if they ignore it. But she is undeniable and has increasing attention world-wide and ulitmately they will either reform themselves or challenge her, but she will win because she is on the side of Love, who wins. And Love wins by any name, it does not have to be Gaga, or Jesus - that is what is so upsetting to the conservatives, the idea that love and Jesus can be anything other than what they think. They are wrong, and the ones who say love is for all are right, and this will be proven comclusively soon and we will all be better off.
The other radio item was an interview with Maurice Sendak the famous children's book author and illustrator. I jumped to a conclusion when he talked about recently coming out as a gay man and about being okay with the idea of death at age 83 in the context of being an athiest. My assumption might not apply to him but I'm sure there are many poeple for whom it is true. I just thought that if he was exposed to an idea of God who did not love him because he was gay and he both rejected the idea of God and heaven and felt ashamed of being gay that would be really sad. It makes me cry to type it because it is just not true but it is what so many people are taught. It makes me think how important it is for people to think of a Goddess or God who loves them, no matter what they call her. I believe in Jesus but could never call myself a christian while no one seemed to be standing up for the truth about Love enough in the face of all those people who were lying about it and in power. Gaga is doing this in a major way now and we are all part of making this change in the world to becoming more tolerant and just. The interviewer asked Mr. Sendak if times had been different and he had felt comfortable coming out at a younger age if he wanted a family and he said no but it seemed like he really did and had conflicted feelings imposed from prejudice in society. It would be ironic if part of the reason he became such an inspiration and influence on generations of kids was because he "could not have kids of his own". But it is sad that if times had been different, if justice had come sooner to the world, he would not have felt awkward at all about having a family and could enjoy that kind of heaven on earth. And it is very sad to me that in my intuition he rejected the idea God, and Heaven after life, all because people presented a false image of God. I guess on the bright side he will be pleasantly suprised. Still I wish he had that comfort in life of feeling like he really belongs and imagine that a false idea of God stood in the way of that.
It is terrible that some people, in the name of God, make other people feel bad about the way they were made in the divine image. We do have the imagination to overcome this, and hopefully find the love and support as well, but many people suffer greatly and needlessly as a result of social prejudices. The only "purpose" these prejudices serve is to give votes and power to people who want to maintain the other evils of society, war and greed, abuse of the environment and exploitation of people. And the only good thing about it is we can oppose it all at once, it's easy to figure out despite all the propoganda and lies if you follow your heart - the political and conservative right is all wrong. The principles they have that might sound good are all distorted and the extent to which they have twisted the message of Jesus is a perfect example. I've always known the truth would defeat the false forces of bigotry in religion and society and I envisioned the wrongs of economic dispartiy and injustice would be resolved at the same time. To me it seems simpler to teach people out of prejudice than to denounce greed when some people live so lavishly and so many others envy them. But in both cases it is a matter of overthrowing a tyrannical mentality that insists "there is not enough to share." When people have a false idea of love that it is only for certain people or there is not enough of it they want to cling to all they think they can get and exclude other people, "competition." For most of it's history so much of the church has been about excluding women and gays and that has been changing more lately but Gaga represents the time when the tables will really turn. And it is because so many have clung so strongly to misogyny and other bigotry that it will be a major transformation with world-changing results. When the religious base erodes from beneath the fear-mongering conservatives as people see the brighter future, not only will we be free to be more truly ourselves but we will free the world of the other evils as well. The whole tower will fall. You can see the world changing dramatically throughout last year and surely this year as well, in 2012. The old world is being swept away in favor of one without limitations that can be as good as we can imagine. The old power structures are based on disrespect of women, sexuality, nature and art and Gaga will lead the way to disposing of them by exemplifying all of these things. The same change that we need to accept each other and treat everyone justly is the change that we need to overcome greed, war, and pollution, It's a change of heart, accepting the abundance of divine love all around us and rejecting the mentality of fear and exclusion. Gaga is opening our hearts with love for everyone and teaching us to grow in the way of heaven. It can be called other things than heaven on earth but it will be perfectly wonderful when everyone feels love and a sense of belonging and no one is left out. That is our future and Gaga is here at the beginning of it, unlocking the world for us through herself, being love to everyone, the gate to heaven. She has focused on accepting the outcasts and loving us first, her little monsters. It reminds me of the Bible, the shepherd who left the 99 sheep to find the one who was lost, the way Jesus hung out with outcasts, and the stone that the builder's rejected upon which the true church would be built. Gaga will transform christianity and America but her influence goes beyond that. The change here will be enough in itself to free the world of the imperialist crusader mentality that has persisted with centuries of devestation. As wonderful as it will be to live in a world free of conservative evils of oppression and pollution, these habitat-saving and human rights advances are parts of a greater work, opening our hearts to love and inspiring us with love that is open to everyone. Many of the churches that claim to follow Jesus have denied the Goddess and misunderstood love and they may be some of the worst off for ir but are not the only religions that suffer from and perpetuate misogyny. Restoring the Goddess will set things right. For me, Gaga represents and realizes everything that comes with the return of the Missing Goddess. The whole change of heart we need is to realize that no one has a monopoly on Love or Jesus. It does not matter what you call Love. The people who insist heaven is exclusive or love can only be their way are wrong about this and everything else. When that influence is removed from power we will be free like we were born to be. It does not matter if other people recognize Gaga the way I do but for me she is the perfect way to talk about something that we are all experiencing that will renew the world: remembering our love for the Goddess, nature, and each other.
Gaga is kind enough to do it from within "the church" and show that there is no contradiction in Jesus or Love. People who claim they are the only ones who understand Love or Jesus correctly are wrong. Two major contributors to conservative power are opposition to women's rights and gay marriage based largely on misleading teaching about Jesus. The contradiction that divine love is exclusive or conditional will be exposed and people will grow out of this. All conservative belief is resistance to change and while life is change the things that need to change the most are the injustices we are responsible for as people. These are greed, war, destruction of environment, oppression of people based on race, class, belief, gender or sexuality, and suppression of ideas and expression. It's no coincidence that the right-wing stands for all of these things. The statements they make would be laughable if they did not have power, but soon that power will be taken away. The reason the right is so viscious and contentious now, the reason for the unholy alliance of politics and religion, is they are clinging to power that has been eroding as people wake up to the errors of their policies and churches and communities outgrow homophobia and misogyny. While "everyone" has been doing our part to move society forward there has not been a powerful enough figure with enough people's attention to fully defeat the conservative mentality. President Obama has spoken out against the policies but Gaga is the one who is enlightening us culturally to get rid of bigotry.
Gaga is showing the true way. Those who oppose her will be exposed and falter in their wickedness, liberating many who were led astray by them. Others who have dismissed Jesus or Love due to false reprsentations will reconsider thanks to her improved example. When she invokes Jesus so much on Born This Way she risks upsetting people who have been turned off by right-wing representaions of judgement and exclusive, conditional love. I think it is because Jesus's message of true love for all people is important to Gaga that she insisted on getting it right and making an album of "priest-pop" for a "cultural baptism." She talks about Jesus in new ways, inviting us to reconsider and think for ourselves, which is the greatest challenge to conservative power and will defeat it. By declaring that people are born the way they are, to love who they love, she challenges conservative religious thinking far beyond christianity. Her global fame ensures that while there is a christian context to much of this album and what she is doing now, her message transcends religion and is the core teaching of all of them. Love - it sounds so simple but by insiting on the truth of Love we expose how far some power structures have grown away from it. The world is changing and establishments are being swept away so we can live in a world of love and mutual respect where all people are treated justly. Gaga's role in making the whole world more in Love is why I call her a gate to heaven. She opens Love to all people especially those who have been excluded by others. This makes people both in love in life, making heaven on earth, and makes people feel they belong in divine love giving them peace of mind about the afterlife.
I heard two news stories on NPR recently while I've been thinking about writing this that I wanted to include. The first was about a book that had topped the bestseller list in 2011 called "Love Wins" about how "heaven" is open to everyone. The story reported that the author's initial inspiration for book was an art show at his church that included a picture of Ghandi. Someone had put a post-it note next to it that said "reality check - he's in hell" and I guess the author was struck by how untrue that felt. So he wrote a book that came to that conclusion after researching, I guess, that Love and "Heaven" are for everyone, not exclusive as conservatives insist everyone must believe. And the book sold many copies, which makes me think that most people would agree with this simple truth of love. But of course the end of the story was all about how "religious" leaders attacked him and said all sorts of terrible things about him. Maybe that is part of why his book sold so well, too, but either way, he was right and the ones who oppose him are wrong. And maybe that is why there has not been much opposition, yet, to Gaga's message from conservative churches, they hope it might go away faster if they ignore it. But she is undeniable and has increasing attention world-wide and ulitmately they will either reform themselves or challenge her, but she will win because she is on the side of Love, who wins. And Love wins by any name, it does not have to be Gaga, or Jesus - that is what is so upsetting to the conservatives, the idea that love and Jesus can be anything other than what they think. They are wrong, and the ones who say love is for all are right, and this will be proven comclusively soon and we will all be better off.
The other radio item was an interview with Maurice Sendak the famous children's book author and illustrator. I jumped to a conclusion when he talked about recently coming out as a gay man and about being okay with the idea of death at age 83 in the context of being an athiest. My assumption might not apply to him but I'm sure there are many poeple for whom it is true. I just thought that if he was exposed to an idea of God who did not love him because he was gay and he both rejected the idea of God and heaven and felt ashamed of being gay that would be really sad. It makes me cry to type it because it is just not true but it is what so many people are taught. It makes me think how important it is for people to think of a Goddess or God who loves them, no matter what they call her. I believe in Jesus but could never call myself a christian while no one seemed to be standing up for the truth about Love enough in the face of all those people who were lying about it and in power. Gaga is doing this in a major way now and we are all part of making this change in the world to becoming more tolerant and just. The interviewer asked Mr. Sendak if times had been different and he had felt comfortable coming out at a younger age if he wanted a family and he said no but it seemed like he really did and had conflicted feelings imposed from prejudice in society. It would be ironic if part of the reason he became such an inspiration and influence on generations of kids was because he "could not have kids of his own". But it is sad that if times had been different, if justice had come sooner to the world, he would not have felt awkward at all about having a family and could enjoy that kind of heaven on earth. And it is very sad to me that in my intuition he rejected the idea God, and Heaven after life, all because people presented a false image of God. I guess on the bright side he will be pleasantly suprised. Still I wish he had that comfort in life of feeling like he really belongs and imagine that a false idea of God stood in the way of that.
It is terrible that some people, in the name of God, make other people feel bad about the way they were made in the divine image. We do have the imagination to overcome this, and hopefully find the love and support as well, but many people suffer greatly and needlessly as a result of social prejudices. The only "purpose" these prejudices serve is to give votes and power to people who want to maintain the other evils of society, war and greed, abuse of the environment and exploitation of people. And the only good thing about it is we can oppose it all at once, it's easy to figure out despite all the propoganda and lies if you follow your heart - the political and conservative right is all wrong. The principles they have that might sound good are all distorted and the extent to which they have twisted the message of Jesus is a perfect example. I've always known the truth would defeat the false forces of bigotry in religion and society and I envisioned the wrongs of economic dispartiy and injustice would be resolved at the same time. To me it seems simpler to teach people out of prejudice than to denounce greed when some people live so lavishly and so many others envy them. But in both cases it is a matter of overthrowing a tyrannical mentality that insists "there is not enough to share." When people have a false idea of love that it is only for certain people or there is not enough of it they want to cling to all they think they can get and exclude other people, "competition." For most of it's history so much of the church has been about excluding women and gays and that has been changing more lately but Gaga represents the time when the tables will really turn. And it is because so many have clung so strongly to misogyny and other bigotry that it will be a major transformation with world-changing results. When the religious base erodes from beneath the fear-mongering conservatives as people see the brighter future, not only will we be free to be more truly ourselves but we will free the world of the other evils as well. The whole tower will fall. You can see the world changing dramatically throughout last year and surely this year as well, in 2012. The old world is being swept away in favor of one without limitations that can be as good as we can imagine. The old power structures are based on disrespect of women, sexuality, nature and art and Gaga will lead the way to disposing of them by exemplifying all of these things. The same change that we need to accept each other and treat everyone justly is the change that we need to overcome greed, war, and pollution, It's a change of heart, accepting the abundance of divine love all around us and rejecting the mentality of fear and exclusion. Gaga is opening our hearts with love for everyone and teaching us to grow in the way of heaven. It can be called other things than heaven on earth but it will be perfectly wonderful when everyone feels love and a sense of belonging and no one is left out. That is our future and Gaga is here at the beginning of it, unlocking the world for us through herself, being love to everyone, the gate to heaven. She has focused on accepting the outcasts and loving us first, her little monsters. It reminds me of the Bible, the shepherd who left the 99 sheep to find the one who was lost, the way Jesus hung out with outcasts, and the stone that the builder's rejected upon which the true church would be built. Gaga will transform christianity and America but her influence goes beyond that. The change here will be enough in itself to free the world of the imperialist crusader mentality that has persisted with centuries of devestation. As wonderful as it will be to live in a world free of conservative evils of oppression and pollution, these habitat-saving and human rights advances are parts of a greater work, opening our hearts to love and inspiring us with love that is open to everyone. Many of the churches that claim to follow Jesus have denied the Goddess and misunderstood love and they may be some of the worst off for ir but are not the only religions that suffer from and perpetuate misogyny. Restoring the Goddess will set things right. For me, Gaga represents and realizes everything that comes with the return of the Missing Goddess. The whole change of heart we need is to realize that no one has a monopoly on Love or Jesus. It does not matter what you call Love. The people who insist heaven is exclusive or love can only be their way are wrong about this and everything else. When that influence is removed from power we will be free like we were born to be. It does not matter if other people recognize Gaga the way I do but for me she is the perfect way to talk about something that we are all experiencing that will renew the world: remembering our love for the Goddess, nature, and each other.
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