Election Fun

Hey all again,

We've sure been lax with this thing.

Oh well, so it goes.  

After a double header midterm this morning I (Ryan) am ready to do nothing.  Except write a post about our musings in the upcoming election.  For beginners, know that both Leah and I are flaming liberals, though I perhaps a bit more than her.  As far as the election goes, we've been talking about some of our most important issues - and they are...

The War in Iraq

Universal Health Care

Homosexual Rights

Aid for the Homeless and Poverty-stricken

Out of control Government Spending

Not Having another Republican President for a Very Long time.

So, all those being said - we are opposed to the war in Iraq, though Leah supports the troops more than I.  The war in Iraq tends to spill into other areas, most notably the out of control government spending.  What many people supporting our current president seem to forget is that our previous one, his sexual escapades aside:

- could actually speak off the cuff without pausing every few seconds

- left the economy with a surplus

- probably believed in God, but didn't use God to justify his own bullshit fantasies

So, stop complaining and worrying about heavy taxation under a democrat president - most people have no idea how much tax gets taken out, and the complaint really issues from the increasing cost of goods and services.  I think our current president has done just about the greatest job of any at spiking the costs of the goods and services that many need. So, heed the lesson, and don't vote republican.

Further, for all the ballast and crosshairs that have been leveled on  homosexual marriage - come off of it already.  The family is a myth, it has not been ordained by God, and sure it is important for all of us, but stop legislating what a family needs to look like.  Many on the right seem to think that there is some preponderance of traditional family structure in America - well, open your eyes or wise seers - the divorce rate hangs at about fifty percent - how's that for the upkeep of the traditional family structure?   The family isn't weakened by homosexual couples getting married - it is weakened by people sitting in front of the television instead of eating a meal together.  It is weakened by corporations and companies that would love to see you forget your family if it will mean that they make money.  So allow your fellow human beings some dignity and allow them to get married, even if you personally think it might be wrong.  The U.S. was never meant to be a theocracy.

As far as health care, let's go universal we say!  Yes, universal health care costs more in taxes, yes, if you want plastic surgery you have to wait ten months on a long line.  I think more taxation is ok, especially if it is benefitting others.  I think a good deal of the crime, violence, and hatred that goes on in certain neighborhoods has a lot to do with the deprivation of human rights - one of the biggest of which is health care, second only to healthy food (which often compounds the problem of healthcare).  I would rather pay a bit more in taxes, and know that maybe some people are exploiting the system to be able to also know that people's children, husbands, wives, grandparents, and friends aren't dying and being denied coverage because we have a healthcare system racked by the scourge of capitalism.  And for the bible-thumpers "love thy neighbor" - let them have some of that wonderful, juicy health-care goodness that you enjoy with your 50,000 dollar a year salary.  As for the long lines - don't listen to the naysayers, I know many people from both Canada and England and when it comes to a life-threatening or urgent situation, you do not have to wait on any longer line than you would in America.  Which is to act as though we have some well-oiled, smoothly moving healthcare system here, which we don't.  Last time that I had to go the Emergency Room, granted it was not life threatening, but I had to wait for about two hours.  So enough about the long lines.  As for better care?  Maybe, maybe not - if I have a broken arm, I would like it set and casted - I do not care how it is done.  One more thing, this also assumes that America has some sleek, state-of-the-art healthcare system, which outpaces all others, I think Sweden claims those titles - and don't look now, but...universal health care in Sweden!

So all of this said - vote for who you want, but if it is McCain, don't tell us about it.  Though neither of us are big fans of Hillary - I would much rather see her in office instead of good ol' John.  As CT always goes Democrat, Ryan will be voting Socialist Workers Party - to make his flaming left-wingedness all the more  apparent.  Leah will most likely go for the Democratic Candidate, who she and Ryan both hope goes to Mr. Obama.

An Update...not ranting

So as this blog is supposed to be more updating than my rants - I'll do just that.

The Holidays (I refuse to put Christ back into Christmas, because I don't think most who want to do this give a shit about changing the capitalist hegemony surrounding the holiday, ok, sorry, ranting) were really nice for us.  We had a short Christmas celebration, just Leah and I prior to actual Christmas, in which we exchanged our gifts, talked, and relaxed before our traveling started.  Also, Blackberry the bunny was present, she drank the water out of the tree, licked the carpet, and hated her Christmas outfit.  We had a little vest for her, but she was really not a fan and did everything she could to pull it off - making for very cute pictures.

After our little celebration, we took a long trip up to Rochester, NY the next morning and stayed for a few days with Leah's friends Jess and Darren.  They have a nice little apartment in Rochester (or a suburb of it?) and have cute cats, which I liked until they started to have a cat battle on our bed in the middle of the night.  Well, we both still liked them, but at the time were a bit startled.   On the Eve, we went to Brockport for a tradition of Leah and her high school friends, a breakfast at a good restaurant called The Millhouse.  It was nice to talk and meet some of her friends from her pre-Ryan life.  We spent the rest of the day with her cousins and friends from when she lived in Rochester whilst I finished at Houghton, and eventually went to a simple Eve service, ending up at Leah's grandparents for another traditional celebration with family.  Late that night we proceeded to Leah's parents house in Holley and slept over, to awake on the 25th for the gift exchanging and cinnamon buns.  After all this we played the newly acquired (by Leah's younger brother and sister) Nintendo Wii and had a dinner celebration.  We left the next day for CT.

We spent about one day back in CT and got some new coats with some of the gifts we received (surprisingly difficult to find companies that don't make their coats in sweatshops, or I should clarify - subcontract their production out to those who use sweatshops, the easy way to say "we don't use any sweatshops! What our contractors do is their business." From now on all rants will be in parentheses) all the previous was why I have never had a winter coat, but anyhow I found one made by a trade union in Mexico paid 150% of a living wage and given health benefits.  

The day after we returned, we made another trip to first my parent's house ad then to my grandparents in East Hampton, Long Island, NY.  I really like EH in the winter, all of the filthy rich robbers aren't there and the place takes on a bit more normal vibe.  We spent a nice time there, although my cousin Matthew, who is usually the life of the party was off in the Gulf of Mexico on an oil tanker (I'll reserve comment here).  We spent new years there and then returned home once again.  

Back at home in New Haven we wait to begin our jobs again, Leah at the Yale Repertory Theatre and as a family assistant locally and Ryan as a Video Tech for the Yale Instructional Technology Group.  I (Ryan) am also looking forward to my second semester at Yale Divinity School - and being halfway through my degree!  Our friends from Queens, Matt and Emily are coming in this weekend and we look forward to homemade sushi and drinks of the alcoholic persuasion (I still look over my shoulder for Houghton Student Life enforcers when I say it), Wooster st. pizza, adventures in eating, and general friend time.  Hope all of your Holidays went really well.

Ryan and Leah.

Ortho-doxy

Lots and lots about religious orthodoxy lately.  Usually makes me upset.  Kind of ties into the last post.  This terrible grammar will upset Leah.  

Most who talk to me about any and all things Christian accuse me of forming theology in my own image.  And I don't disagree.  Which usually pisses people off because they expect a long argument about how it is not, how it is based on the bible, etc.  And further, they expect to take all my biblical verses and overwhelm me with evidence to the contrary.  

Making God in your own image.  Let's get real here.  Every reflection of God from us as humans is making God in our own image.  No? Or rather, making God in the image of everything we are not.  Marx is often misquoted as being an atheist with the quote "Religion is the opiate of the masses."  I think when you read on (which most don't do) it becomes apparent that Marx was upset with the alienating effect that religion had on people.  The effect that is enacted when we somehow think that by "allowing contradiction" and "allowing God's sovereign will" to be unquestioned that we are truly coming to a mature understanding of God and theology.  Marx calls those who practice religion to break down the facade.  Sure, allow some mystery in your faith, faith is not rationalism.  However, usually, mystery tends to mask the illusion that religion enacts on followers.  The illusion is that we can somehow conceptualize a portrait of God outside of our own experience and that this is the ultimate sign of the mature Christian.  I call it what it is.  An illusion.  A facade that does not allow us to admit that God has to work through who we are and what we know.  And that is ourselves.  

I do not advocate a kind of cavalier subjectivism in the conception of God.  Instead, the understanding within communities of faith that the way they conceptualize God is not absolute, but rather a kind of idealized reflection of their own corporate self.  For example, I think that Calvinism and Arminianism and all of the other belief systems about God are fine.  There are huge collectivities that espouse these views.  The issue is that both assert their absolute portrait of God, that the other is somehow "immature" or "less-than-perfect" (for some reason, this usually comes from the Calvinists moreso than others).  So is one right and the other wrong?  Which one is making God in their own image?  How about both.  So what I advocate is unmasking the illusion and realizing that from group to group, maybe God allows this.  Maybe this sounds pluralistic and it is.  And it is making God in mine, and others who think in a similar way's.  At least we admit it.

What the bible says...

The last time that I heard a book speak, or say anything was when I watched a Harry Potter film a few weeks ago. And that book more or less roared and bit somebody. And also, it was in a film about magic and about a fictional book. So, the bible does not say anything because that would imply us hearing the words of the bible from the bible itself not from a person reading the bible. And this is far more than semantic wrangling and whining on my part. Usually I hear people, when speaking about something (especially a moral issue) that believe to be supported biblically, say:

"The bible says that..."

So here, that person has effectively eliminated debate, questioning, and the need for a defense on their part with that comment. Right?

I say wrong. I say that they have made the text of the bible into an idol. And I believe myriads of problems have been cause by a simple phrase.

So, what can we do instead? Refer to the bible as being written. If you believe and want to uphold the ideal that God had some hand in the text - add that in too - just do not confuse the text with God. Thus, I would pose that very little is "obvious" in the bible. Instead, interpretations are obvious - for as literal and objectivisitc we may think ourselves, everything we read is interpreted. Everything written must be interpreted. Words only have meaning in conjunction such as society has given them meaning. So the words in the bible, believe what you may about God's role in the whole thing, still have to be interpreted through the lens of life in 2007. Which is why we have english bibles. To read the biblical text in Hebrew and Greek and Aramaic as an english speaker still typically requires you to interpret those languages into idiomatic English. For example, any verse in the Old Testament that contains the word "Let" followed by a subject ("Let the heavens rejoice...") stems from a usage of the Hebrew verb that cannot be brought into English - so translators chose "let" to be the idiomatic complement, thus interpreting the Hebrew text into English.

Go home and place your bible on your bed, table, floor, etc. and listen. If it says something, let me know. Otherwise stop making an idol out of it with your language. Anyways, remember, the bible says not to do that.

Newsmaker

Here is a song I made at work today with Garage band. I played all of the parts on the computer keys, and sang the vocals. Enjoy.

PLAY

Ryan

Wow Ryan

K that was an answer that went beyond what any of us thought Abbie was asking, eh?
A good answer though. A well-worded one.

And I never misspell anything. ;)

Today and man/woman (I honestly couldn't tell which) asked me for some change for coffee.
The person complimented my necklace, and after I said it came from Costa Rica, he/she said "Ohh she's been all over the world."
Of course I haven't been anywhere; it was a gift from Sara, who has traveled.
I believe that person, who society says is beneath me in class and income, has seen more of the world than any of us care to... and a side of the world we should all glimpse at least once.
All I had was a dime so I offered that and apologized I couldn't give more... which I meant but it isn't completely true. There has to be more we can do.

Sharon Creech reminds us: "Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins."

But who really takes the time and has the courage to switch shoes?

(In all honesty, I'm only posting this because I don't want Ryan to out-do me... even though I meant everything I said above. I guess he doesn't want our blog to be boring after all.)

Connect-i-cut

Firstly, to respond to Abigail's question - growing up in CT never allowed me to misspell the state name - we learned it as "If you Connect, I Cut." I don't know about Leah though. Today I thought about New Haven and Yale. Yale owns most of the property downtown as of now. Somebody told me that they liked the downtown because it is a lot safer than it used to be. Safer for who? The owners of the businesses downtown are mostly white, and are mostly upper class, which allows them to pay the sky-high rents that Yale charges. So all the folks that find downtown safe are probably white. Yale has done an excellent job at moving all the riff-raff and undesirable business to outlying areas like Fairhaven, the Hill, and Newhallville. Leah and I live on the border of Fairhaven and a half-mile up the road the buildings degrade, the businesses end, the streets fill up. How easily do we sequester ourselves from things we believe (true or not) to be unsafe? Why do we worry about a starving man in Fairhaven breaking into a car because his family is hungry or because he hasn't worked in three years; or about a woman selling her body for the money to keep her children alive? Why not worry about the vultures who cry for oil in Saudi Arabia, or the robber barons who run what they believe are "honest businesses?" We can't sequester them. We think we need them and their services. We don't think we need people breaking into cars or selling their bodies. Maybe we do though. To remind us. I am talking to and about people like myself. White, upper-middle class, educated. The maintainers of the Status Quo. The ones who keep things the way they are because we are too afraid of what they might look like otherwise. God help us destroy ourselves. Or even just to remove that last part of our state, the "I Cut" part.