Over the past weekend I had
the misfortune to see the movie, “The Hunger Games”. The movie was
preceded by 7 coming attractions. One was an animated film and the rest
appeared to be trying to outdo each other in gore, brutality, and
stupidity. How staggering that our evolutionary process has culminated in
an artistic endeavor about Abraham Lincoln as a vampire hunter.
“The
Hunger Games” was deeply troubling for me. The thought of an elite ruling
class that entertains itself on the suffering and death of the “little people”
is no longer really science fiction. The elimination of the draft in the
U. S. has terminated any threat that the wealthy will ever have to dirty their
hands. With no threat to their own children they can so easily send “our
volunteers” to do their bidding. We appear to have all the money we need
for bombs but none for social programs.
I
watch the Republican debates in horror. Except for Ron Paul I have seen a
bunch of old men trying to convince the universe that their genitals are so
much bigger than Obama’s. (I’d just love to see them all naked on stage.)
They scream for the destruction of Iran and talk so loudly about how Obama is
an appeasing Muslim wimp. Their rhetoric is very effectively picking up
where Carl Rove left off. There are now more militia groups in American
than ever. There are now more guns in circulation than ever. This
process of dividing and conquering is working. Workers rights and unions
are under direct and very clear attack in the states with Republican
governors. Women’s rights are under attack. The ability of the poor
and elderly to vote is under attack. Medicare is under attack. The
lie is that the rich need their money so that they can create jobs. It’s
unbelievable to me that the masses have not noticed that the rich have gotten
staggeringly richer over the past few years while the rest of us have lost our
jobs.
For
me the thing that really sticks in my craw (wherever that is) is how all of
this is also guised under the pretense of “Christian values”. The beauty
of Christ was his love and compassion. In Matthew 25:40 we are clearly
told that, “… whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and
sisters of mine, you did for me.” Somehow this has now been repackaged as
“Socialism” and really bad. In my photography and in the Daily Dose my intent is to share a moment of beauty, a sense of connection between ourselves and others or our environment. It is my belief that the more we know about others the more we can see ourselves in them and feel a sense of compassion. For me this is a central core of my spiritual belief. I don't understand a spiritual pursuit that results in separation and disdain.
One
of my friends has told me that “The Hunger Games” is a trilogy and there is a
revolt in the second book. I wonder how much worse it will have to get
before the revolt is on CNN.
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