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giving a description of the boy, the shooting victim said things like he "used to be one of us" and that he had become withdrawn or isolated himself in the last few years.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.  

"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.   (''')

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.

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.

Gagafesto "Lady Gaga Goes to Washington" gagablog 36

On December 7th, 2011 Lady Gaga visited the White House to promote her anti-bullying message. President Obama was not there and neither was Hillary because both were giving important speaches of their own. Gaga's message was well-recieved, though, and I just read an article about her visit that had this quote from Valerie Jarrett, Obama's senior advisor, from her blog:

“Lady Gaga has described this cause as a personal one — she has said that as a child, she was often picked on for being different,” Jarrett wrote in a blog post on the White House website. “I am deeply moved by the way she has used her story, and her success, to inspire young people, and shine the spotlight on important issues.”

( Read more: http://globalgrind.com/music/lady-gaga-goes-washington-details#ixzz1gcZa2Iga   )

I love seeing Gaga working with the White House, both because I am excited about her continued influence on our politics regarding her own principles and agenda and I am also glad that she supports Obama and is working with him. I look forward to her work making his campaign and second term stronger.

My special role here is to point out the things I notice from viewing Gaga as the embodiment of the Goddess and expecting the most fantastic results and connections with her actions. Depending on your view of this belief, you might not say this is an example of Gagamagic, and can call it mere coincidence. I am not suggesting that Gaga literally caused the two other important events of this day, Obama and Hillary's speeches, or that she wrote the speeches herself  - unless you like to believe that She did like some people believe "God" wrote the Bible, through other people - I am just saying it is "more than coincidence" that all of these things happened on the same day, or that coincidence is more important than we sometimes think.

This is what happened while Gaga was at the White House: Obama gave a speech in Kansas and Hillary gave one to some gathering of international diplomats, maybe the UN. Obama's speech was on politics and economics, and the sound bite that made the news was something like "the republicans' approach of 'everybody fend for yourself and play by your own rules' has been proven to be wrong." To me this is obvious and has been obvious for decades - for some I am sure it has been obvious for much longer, and my understanding of religious teaching is that "we are all in this together" has been a central message for thousands of years. Sure, it has required some refining, and we definitely did not "get it" before, but after the recent financial crisis we may be ready to get the message now. Since republicans and seemingly large portions of society believe in these disasterous policies we certainly need to get the message - it can't be everyman for himself. And it is so important for our presiedent to put it so bluntly. He is talking tough to the greedy, which just needs to happen, they need to be put in place. My last gagablog explores how the greedy rich and right wing are just bullies and how this all falls under Gaga's anti-bullying campaig - , the occupy movement and political and economic reforms we need.
The anti-bullying campaign covers many issues, because what we really need is a shift to more love  - to much more love  - and this is what Gaga is doing. In researching for this entry I read a review of Gaga playing a show in DC in 2010 in which she stopped the show because of a fight in the audience and said "only fake monster fighting allowed". She has always been about love, and while love is the key to stopping bullying, it applies to kids in school, adults, and systems of power in politics, economics, and government.
(the show review, from 2010 in DC - http://www.washingtonblade.com/2010/09/08/d-c-gays-ready-to-go-gaga-for-gaga/ )
Hillary addressed a larger scale, oppressive bullying in her speech on this day. I heard a report on NPR about an African country, I think it was Gambia, that had passed even more laws against gay and lesbian people. So many countries already have laws to oppress, punish and even kill people for their sexuality. This new law was going to make it illegal to even live together, making gays and lesbians refugees. While this law was just being considered, there are so many countries with similar laws, and of course even in America people are descriminated against and treated unequally because of their sexuality. Gaga does so much to end this, and Hillary's speech was a huge step as well. She announced that American foreign aid will be based on countries recognizing basic human rights, including the right to ones' sexuality. This means countries that pass laws like this will lose money that we give them. I think about how long we supported regimes in the Middle East and how they fell when we supported the people instead, as happened (and is still happening) in Egypt. It can make all the difference in the world whether or not America supports these regimes, because if they don't change their oppressive ways and lose the funding they could collapse. Indeed, one way or another they are on the wrong side of history and people will be free, so the systems that stand in the way will fall.
Conan had a great piece of news the other night and a good joke that makes me glad I was a week late writing this. He said that Gaga has become an ordained minister so that she can perform marriages. His joke was "so get ready America, gay marriage just got a whole lot gayer." This cracked me up, he even did a visual with his hands raising the level, but it is such a perfect image for what I am talking about - a shift from this less loving society we currently exist in to one of much greater love. I mean, getting married is great for everyone who wants to do it - only a few decades ago it was illegal in most states for biracial couples to marry and it must have been wonderful, though difficult, for those who managed to do it. In America today, it is hard to get married as a gay or lesbian couple, but it must feel great to work it out. Still, as great as some people feel just to get married, how much more fabulous could it get, for little monsters anyway, than to be married by Gaga? Hillary's speech may have been in response to the new laws under consideration, could have been part of Obama's longstanding agenda for more freedom and equality in the world, or could have even had a little something to do, coincidentally of course, with Gaga visiting the White House. Either way, its great news on a great day. 70 years ago Dec 7th was made famous as a "day of Infamy" for the attck on Pearl Harbor. I hope that now it will become "famous" as another kind of turning point, a "day of Fame" from Gaga's visit to the White House and these two speeches showing the true use of money to help make people happier and relieve suffering, since it is only misuse of power and greed - bullying - that keeps us from greater security and love.
It's like we all live in love, but while the love we have been in was at the level of flat stale cookies or even dry flavorless wafers, Gaga envisons a love that is like a grand cake.We are all baking it together but she is showing us how many fancy ornaments and artistic icing we can put on top. She is saving the world by encouraging us to greater love, and we can love each other better and make it.

Gagafesto "Ups and Downs of Ego: Gaga Serenades Billary and the Syrian People Revolt" gagablog 35

The President of Yemen just resigned. Let's hope to Gaga that this is my last time to talk about President Assad of Syria, just as I only had one last comment on the ex-dictator of Lybia. I heard a story a few weeks ago about the Syrian people protesting, how they did not want foreign aid because they wanted it to be their own movement, yet they were being non-violent while Assad's miltary killed them by the hundreds and thousands. I was touched, it made me cry, to think of their bravery to die as martyrs for the cause of freedom, but it also made me angry, it made me say "the Ego! Why must they be so proud, why can't they acccept foreign aid and ask more powerful countries to kill or chase off their bully president?"
Truly, it is the Ego of President Assad that is to blame - he could resign, stop murdering people, but he won't because he thinks he is so important. That is his claim to scare the rest of the world away from intervening, that his role is so crucial to prevent chaos and that only he can do it. It is delusional, egotistical thinking, and does it sound familiar? First of all, every evil dictator seems to have this complex, but on a deeper level every human being has this complex, this ego, that refuses to get out of the way sometimes and at these times can do the most harm.
Thank Gaga our egos are not leading us to be directly responsible for thousands of people dying, like Assad and other dictators are. But we are all related, and we can't say how evil he is without seeing how we end up doing the same thing, on the level of our personal lives. When we should give up and stop fighting those we love, and don't, is when we do the most damage. In an indirect sense, if we elect a bad person, and they end up killing tens or hundreds of thousands of people in needless, avoidable wars, we have that responsibility as well. We can be so clouded with our own egos, our own personal concerns, that we don't see the effect on other people, the outer world. Gaga encourages us to be tolerant and embrace each others differences, and we must be prepared to discover and appreciate those differences in people - people we don't see in our own countries and people all over the world. Our compassion increases as we consider others, whether it is putting our loved ones' needs before our own, or considering people who are foreign or previously unknown to us. Our egos would like to convince us that they should be the central focus and that only the one we have can do the job correctly - like little evil dictators. And they aren't always evil but when they refuse to get out of the way for the greater good they are. Gaga reminds us to be "reborn every day" and just make the most of the best parts of our egos while letting go of the bad.
I loved Gaga's performance for the celebration to honor the Bill Clinton Foundation. She changed the lyrics for "You and I" to honor 'Billary', and dedicated it especially to their love, but also especially to Hillary. When she got to the "sit right down where you belong" part she said "in the Oval Office with your high heels on" - and this part made the news. What did not make it into the news story was when she said, in between those lines "Hillary....or Bill". She said something about feeling safe with a Clinton in the White House - a refrence of the safety and good feeling of the Clinton years but also a criticism of the fear-mongering of the Bush presidency. We have another taste of it now, as Romney promises that re-electing Obama will give Iran the bomb while electing him would prevent it. This is the same bullying and rule-by fear that Assad is employing in Syria. Its not killing our own people yet, but how would Romney, or any Republican candidate besides maybe Ron Paul, handle the Occupy Protests? Once a violent person is allowed power and uses that violence badly it's hard or impossible to go back. It would be saving Assad's life to encourage him to resign or flee, since at first that is what the protestors demanded but now that he has killed so many of them they will insist on his death is he stays. I really think Obama will be able to make important changes that the protestors demand, or at least set the tone to treat them respectfully.
I am still a fan and supporter of Obama, but I guess I came to expect more change to come from the cultural leaders like Gaga. I do appreciate how much he does make possible by being a good president versus a bad one, and I appreciate all the help the cultural stars can give him, including the NBA players who are putting on an "Obama Classic" basketball game as a fundraiser for him. And I truly hope that Gaga will be active in re-electing him. So I was taken aback somewhat by Gaga basically choosing Hillary for our next president, or Bill in high heels. I am so enamoured of her powers, at first I was a little offended "The Ego! Not even giving Obama a chance at another term, but saying Hillary should be the President in 2012" but then I realized that it was my own ego getting in the way, this first time I have found myself questioning Gaga. But I was wrong to question her and it was from my ego and belief that I was right to support Obama over Clinton in 2006-2008. I don't think she was criticising Obama, and its really not possible that Hillary would run next year. So I think she was saying Hillary will be our next president, after Obama's second term, and I am totally fine with that. I do think Gaga can have a huge impact on our culture and democracy - I have a number of friends on face book who "work for 'Gaga for President'" for example. I hope we can all get the best out of our egos and take action for the best results, whether it be making art, campaigning, or protesting. And I hope we can leave the fear and selfishness behind, as individuals and as a country, and choose a course for ourselves, and a leader, that enables the most freedom to blossom both here and all over the world. And thank Gaga for always being on the side of the Good, and being so fabulous at it!

Gagafesto "Wall Street/Tahrir Square, Gaga Tells Obama to End Bullying" gagablog 34

I will soon talk about how Gaga is transforming the church/religion, I'm not putting it off, I have been too busy and recent events make this the topic of the moment. You know how I think, magically, and there will be a major event that represents Gaga's "cultural baptism" - which will have this intervention/transformation of Christianity/Catholicism/religion in general as one effect - and I will go ahead and predict this event will take place around Halloween, or by 11-11-11. So I will be writing that Gagablog soon.
This week, however, there were some major events that are magically connected and I feel it is my duty to point it out. One is the protests on Wall Street that have grown and spread to other cities, which have been compared to the protests in Tahrir Square in Egypt at the start of the movement that just overthrew the Egyptian government. The other is a dinner where Lady Gaga met President Obama and asked him to put a stop to bullying. To those "with ears to hear" (Oh Gaga, just wait!) you already know what I mean, but let me explain in case anyone else reads this.
The protests on Wall Street could be the beginning of a movement that overthrows the American Government and starts a new way of life - for us but ultimately for the whole world, the way they have always talked about America leading by example only they were lying and wanted to use force. This could be an American Fall to match the Arab Spring. I know I was predicting a European Summer then World Fall, but the American Fall would effectively be a transformation for the whole world, both because we would cease our negative influence on the world that is holding everyone back and we would really be a good positive example to follow. And it has to do with overcoming "bullying". The protesters are currently criticized for lack of focus, but when I was asked what they are protesting I said "economic disparity" and a few other things like oppression that I feel are synonymous with that. The fact that there are so many issues that have this at their root, that there are so many different people with different causes joining this protest, speaks to the power of it and the depth of the problem. The protest is growing because economic disparity is such a  big problem, because people are being bullied by the rich and powerful. It will continue to grow, with more people realizing their stake in it, and when it gets to the point that people realize it will not only effect change, but take over if enough change is not enacted - well, at that point we have won the government back for the people, we have overcome the bullies. I heard one of the protesters on NPR saying "we represent the 99% who aren't going to take the abuses of the 1% anymore" and "we are on the ground calling out to them 'you are cutting the limb out from under yourself' and they can either listen or the tree will go on growing without them." One of these may have been a quote from the Arab Spring, the interviewer asked him about parallels, and he said someone told him they were in Tahrir Square at the start of the Egyptian Revolution and that the protests on Wall Street looked like the exact same thing.
I won't lie, I have long believed our current system needed serious change, or collapse, to fix it. I hoped, and still hope, that Obama has us going in that direction. He could deal justly with the protests, enact the changes people need, and stop Wall Street and corporations from bullying people. He may get a chance to do that before the election, if the protests grow that quickly. And he might make the mistake of dealing with them unjustly. Or if the protest simmers and does not come to that for a year, then we somehow are stupid enough to elect a Republican, just asking for it - well, if any president deals unjustly or harshly with the protesters, as this develops, it would escalate quickly. I'm afraid that's what would happen with a republican in office, or if Obama sells out too much, and it would be Revolution. The people would win, I'm not worried about that, but I think there is a more peaceful path.
Lady Gaga presented the peaceful path when she met Obama at a fundraiser dinner last week. Much has been said of how she towered over him, he referred to it as "intimidating" and this was widely reported. Why was it widely reported, "Obama says meeting Gaga was 'intimidating'"? Its the very nature of this topic: bullying. While he was referring to her outfit, since with her 18-inch heels and high hair she was reportedly two feet taller than him, the headline implied he was intimidated by her, because that feeds the bully mentality to make fun of him for being intimidated by a woman or by a pop star. This Tea Party mentality reveals it, and the right in general, as a bullying clique. I'm glad the headline read that way to show this, but it was not Gaga's intention to intimidate the President, but to deliver a message. There are two types of bullies. There are powerful/rich people who instead of sharing their fortune lord it over others. They feel guilty for having more and need to sustain their position and deny that guilt by trying to make others feel bad and pointing out why the less fortunate are less deserving. There are rich people, and rich kids, who don't do this, but too many are snobs and bullies because of this mentality. The other bully mentality is the powerless people who envy that power instead of seeing through it, seeing it for the sickness that it is. These are the minions of the snobs, and all the "normal" people who don't reject this social order. In the political world, the rich and right-wing are the first group and the Tea Party is the second group.The people who do reject this social order, the outkasts and freaks, are abused by the people in power or who crave that power. People of minority groups might want to be part of the status quo but are likely to be subject to bullying and ostracism just because of how they were born. And the truth is there are more of us, the outkasts, poor, disadvantaged and minorities. We will survive and we will ultimately rise up and create a society that is just to all people. This was part of Gaga's message to Obama by towering over him. She was not trying to intimidate or bully him herself, just visually showing a mystical truth that she is more powerful than he is as long as she is the one who is doing more to help the people who need it most. The main message of her outfit, a long black dress and black veil/train on her hair, was that it was a costume of mourning for Jamey, the little monster who committed suicide after incessant bullying, to whom she dedicated her performance of "Hair" at the Las Vegas show recently. She wants an end to bullying and has taken it up as a cause to seek a political solution to a social evil, with a focus on the well-being of kids. I have so much to say about how important it is that Gaga focuses on kids, how if we can always do right by kids we will grow into a just and good society naturally. This is of paramount importance, because while kids have become immensely powerful as a demographic to be marketed to, they still have very little power in our society. We end up pandering to the negative cravings of childhood, like bullying, to the point that we have this whole political movement of adult bullies, the Tea Party are in fashion now but represent that same bullying mentality the right has always had of being rich snobs or honoring that. It's just that our focus has become so infantile that we aren't ashamed promoting that behavior in adults. But we don't listen to the kids, or respect that what they really want to do is not to exclude each other but to play together. One effect of the protests on Wall Street is that many Tea Partiers, libertarians or other right-wing sympathizers will join the protest because it coincides with their causes as well, and they will find that it is more fun and effective to protest with a large group of diverse people that with a clique, whether they are in the drunk Tea Party or the dry Tea Party. It's just more fun to hang out with everyone than it is to make an insular group to try and feel better than everybody else.
Some would say that a law against bullying would make the government a bully over the bullies, or that bullying is natural, a part of growing up. But the truth is it should not be and does not have to be, and having specific consequences to address it can both prevent it more and make people more aware of it, just as hate crime laws have done. It might not stop someone from committing a hate crime to know it will be called that, but if such a terrible thing happens and it is reported that way, it can change peoples' minds and get people to think about things more deeply so they don't hate others or tolerate it. The same is true for abolishing DADT. Yes, many peoples' lives are directly effected by this, but so are the lives of people who have no interest in the military. It is such a big institution, and pervades into every part of the country and much of the world, that a change in military culture has far-reaching effects. States may become more likely to recognize gay marriage if the military does, for example. The same will be true of bullying. By bringing more public awareness to the problem of bullying, we can stop more kids from ding it and spare more kids from suffering it. But while we are thinking about it, we can also see how the bullies in our society are acting, the adults, and even how our country has acted and still acts like a bully around the world. By becoming aware of something that has bothered kids forever and actually doing something about it, we can literally save the world. We will free kids to be who they really are, we will appreciate their ideas and listen to them and benefit greatly in so many ways to hearing their voices. We won't ever lose another child because they did not fit in - this should never have happened but should certainly never happen again. When we all become aware we will all be responsible. And we will become responsible for ourselves as adults, too, and for our country. We have to stop bullying people who are different or less well-off. We have to stop insisting that there is One American Way that is right for everyone here and the world, when America's greatness is in our diversity. There are many American ways, and if we can realize how they all go together towards the brightest future, how we are the best by including the most of us, we will be an example for the rest of the world to follow - and we will come to appreciate other cultures for their examples for us to follow. We will realize that we are all kids learning from each other, both big and small.
I love Gaga for speaking up for kids. I was always a smart kid who felt insulted that I could not vote. We at least learned about global warming when I was a kid in school in the 80's and 90's, yet put up with a decade of government denying it after that, and it's somehow currently a debate. 2010 was the year they said in the 80s that if we didn't change by then there would be no going back - they meant scientifically and hopefully were wrong, but could thay have imagined that we would go backwards in awareness even as it got worse, as predicted? I'm mentioning this because as a kid, we got it, but adults are keeping us from fixing it. Still, if we focus on doing right by kids we will have a better society as they grow up. Kids today already smoke less cigarettes and eat less meat than they used to. Maybe we can make the changes where they bully each other less too. And I still have hope for kids of all ages as we grow up retaining or rediscovering our love for animals and nature so we literally save this planet from the "grown-ups" who don't seem to care.
Hopefully this won't become a real issue, but while talking about bullying and economic protests, and the importance of honoring kids, I recall hearing someone say on the radio that in Greece their could become a civil war between the young and the old. The economic structure is bullying Greece to pay it's debts, instead of being cool about it as Bart Simpson would advise, not realizing that with an economy so bent on tourism Greece will be fine again when the economy picks up, or as more Chinese tourists go there - the Chinese alone will make Greece rich in coming years. And apparently, as in America, Greece has a social/political structure that favors the older generation at the expense of the youth. Because things are so bad there someone is suggesting there could be Civil War - between young and old. I hope not but it shows the way these issues come down to generational disparity as well. This should be all I have to say about this topic, because honestly Civil War between young and old should never be more than myth or an idea, even in Greece where their myths can be pretty intense.
I will soon write more about how significant it is that Gaga, the Goddess incarnate, has such an emphasis and care for kids. It's only natural, she is our Mommy Monster. And when kid's emerging power is on the internet, it is fitting that Gaga is Queen of Twitter and Empress (High Priestess?) of Facebook. Kids have a mastery of imagination that we lose as we grow up learning to master other things, unless we hold on to our youth. We need a society that values imagination, that values kids, and Mommy Monster is creating that in our monster family and as an example to the world. Let's support each other, monsters, and let's survive so that the world can survive. We owe it to each other, ourselves, the planet, and Gaga to live on and make the brighter future she is showing us.
And I will soon write the gagablog about how she is transforming the Christian religion, and religion in general, as there are monsters all over the world of every faith. But Christianity/Catholicism is long overdue, and the nature of the songs on Born this Way and Gaga's social messages will bring her in conflict with the old Jesus religions and reveal the new one that will replace them. It will transform other religions as well, ultimately, since it is a universal message of love that is already at the heart of all religion, and it will bring us all together. With the old-school Jesus churches, the conflict should come shortly, in the spiritual period between Halloween/Samhain/All Saint's Day and 11-11-11. It may coincide with the release of a new single. If she stays with a political message, it could be "Government Hooker", but this and all the Born This Way songs have strong enough sexual and empowerment messages to provoke an intervention for the Church. "Bloody Mary" or "Black Jesus t Amen Fashion" would be more on the nose, or "Marry the Night", but any of the songs could do it because they all have this radical message of universal love. It is liberation theology of Christianity, what I believe Jesus was truly all about, and while it upsets the established church it is the foundation of the new one - the stone the builder's rejected becomes the cornerstone of the new, in this case the feminine, sexual, and compassionate/tolerant. And it may be a news/media event that provokes this confrontation of Gaga vs. the Church, or just all the kids with Gaga-inspired Halloween costumes this year, representing her power. I saw a party supply store ad with their "Monster High" line of costumes, obviously going for the little monster appeal. But I will talk about the details of her spiritual message on these songs soon - I need to write a book about the theology of Gagaism and the messages of all her lyrics - and how she is improving the way people love Jesus and each other. Paws up, Monsters! Gaga, I love you!