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that rather mirror your own:
Why are so many Americans affected by the movie “The Passion of the Christ?” Could it be that many of us have built neat little walls around our emotions? Why isn’t it OK to weep over all the civilians killed in Afghanistan by US forces? Why are we not allowed to cry as the city of Baghdad is bombed in a "shock and awe" campaign that killed countless civilians and forced so many human beings, from infant to adult, to suffer the horrors of the bombs, the shaking ground, the ear-shattering explosions and the deaths or dismemberment of family and friends? Are we afraid that if we feel emotion over something like that maybe there is something wrong with us? Like we're not patriotic, or we're weak, or something? Why do we ignore the millions of people who starve to death around the world? Why not share a little of our food with them before they die of hunger? Maybe if we do it right we will find a way not to overeat to the point of endangering our own lives. Why are we as a nation the most medicated people on the face of the earth, tens of millions of us taking antidepressants and countless other drugs to just make it though the day? I do believe some people have such good souls they need medication to cope, but for many people, it is just a way to avoid reality. So then, maybe it’s OK to cry over a fake Christ, covered in fake blood enduring fake suffering 'cause gosh, it’s just a movie. The whole Passion-movie-thing allows people to take down the emotional wall for a couple of hours, which in some cases may be only time in a lifetime when some people actually have felt strong emotion and empathy. Maybe while the walls are down people should keep them down for a couple of extra hours to take a look around at all the real suffering in the world, suffering that need not be if people would simply follow a few of the teachings of the real Christ. Yes, it is hard to love one's enemy, to share with those less fortunate, to turn the other cheek or to forgive those who have harmed us, but these things are the real message of Christ, the message of Christ is not contained in some gratuitously gruesome movie about the crucifixion. Reality is painful, but without reality, one misses the best parts of living.
Don’t be like Barbara Bush, wife of President George Herbert Walker Bush and mother of George W. Bush who recently stated: “But why should we hear about body bags and deaths and how many, what day it's going to happen, and how many this or what do you suppose? Oh, I mean, it's, not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?”
I think Christ wanted us to use our beautiful minds to do something to stop the body bags, the hunger, the suffering. Humans have free will, at least for now, so we can each choose to escape reality or we can be part of reality, and work with others to make the world a better place for everyone. And we must do this soon, there is truly only so long humans can ignore the sufferings of other humans and other creatures on this planet before the suffering, the catastrophe, the starvation and environmental devastation become universal. We have the ability to help, not to hinder, if we just can open up a little and take a clear look around and decide to DO SOMETHING.
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