A tree outside the seminary.There are all sorts of small bits of color around. Just small bits, though. Still lots of grey and black and brown and mud. Funny how new life comes out of mud and ugliness.
That's true of Holy Week. Easter only comes after immersing ourselves in the darkness and violence of our world through Jesus' crucifixion. But the crucifixion always seemed so grand to me! Dark, powerful, and overwhelming. Not like mud and sticks and grey - the awful dull deadness of early spring. But maybe I'm wrong about that. Maybe the crucifixion is dull and muddy and forgettable. Like most evil in the world - it's dirty, everyday reality.
I've gotten really upset this week about the TV show, 24, for that reason. I've never seen it, I admit. But I read an article that described the scenes of torture that occur in most episodes, torture that always produces results, for the patriotic Jack Bauer - who knows that torturing suspects is the way to save our nation from certain destruction. This scares the hell out of me. My brother and his girlfriend think I'm overreacting, that it's just entertainment and it doesn't matter. I guess I feel like it means our country is continuing to lose a sense of that evil exists, and that it begins inside the hearts of each one of us. Abu Graib and Guantanamo don't just belong to the military - the soldiers inside those prisons could be any one of us. We can all be corrupted to the value and integrity of other human beings. (Plus, torture pretty consistently doesn't work, i.e. here.)
I'm sure it's exciting to watch someone be tortured and punished for trying to nuke Los Angeles. But I wonder how this changes and affects us as people, how it defines our patriotism. Compassion is a discipline, not a faucet we can turn on and off. Evil is ordinary, not grand or distant. And I guess I believe everything that we do, every day, plays a part in choosing one or the other.
That's true of Holy Week. Easter only comes after immersing ourselves in the darkness and violence of our world through Jesus' crucifixion. But the crucifixion always seemed so grand to me! Dark, powerful, and overwhelming. Not like mud and sticks and grey - the awful dull deadness of early spring. But maybe I'm wrong about that. Maybe the crucifixion is dull and muddy and forgettable. Like most evil in the world - it's dirty, everyday reality.
I've gotten really upset this week about the TV show, 24, for that reason. I've never seen it, I admit. But I read an article that described the scenes of torture that occur in most episodes, torture that always produces results, for the patriotic Jack Bauer - who knows that torturing suspects is the way to save our nation from certain destruction. This scares the hell out of me. My brother and his girlfriend think I'm overreacting, that it's just entertainment and it doesn't matter. I guess I feel like it means our country is continuing to lose a sense of that evil exists, and that it begins inside the hearts of each one of us. Abu Graib and Guantanamo don't just belong to the military - the soldiers inside those prisons could be any one of us. We can all be corrupted to the value and integrity of other human beings. (Plus, torture pretty consistently doesn't work, i.e. here.)
I'm sure it's exciting to watch someone be tortured and punished for trying to nuke Los Angeles. But I wonder how this changes and affects us as people, how it defines our patriotism. Compassion is a discipline, not a faucet we can turn on and off. Evil is ordinary, not grand or distant. And I guess I believe everything that we do, every day, plays a part in choosing one or the other.
I've read the article about "24" that you mention and I agree with you that such things are dangerous. But for me it raises the question, does life imitate art or does art imitate life?
ReplyDeleteJohn
Heidi
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your question and must confess to having been an avid 24 watcher for all six seasons. I'm pulled in by the format as much as anything else. It is riveting television.
I wouldn't want Jack Bauer to be the one making decisions in real life. For me, seeing him and others make the choice to torture reinforces my aversion to it in any circumstances. I do feel sorry for those who he deals with.
Peace,
Milton