I was looking for my Bible this weekend because I have been toying with the idea of putting together my own audio version of the Book of Revelations. I can’t find the thing though – I haven’t been able to find it for months. It’s not the biggest deal in the world – I have plenty of other books that mean as much or more to me than the Holy Bible – but to not have a Bible is a glaring omission in any decent library.
Those of you who know me well know that I am not a religious person. I was raised by a family of “non-practicing Presbyterians,” the kind of family who shows up in church on the major religious holidays, and is always eternally grateful to be driving out of that strange, uncomfortable setting at the end of the service. I never read a single word of the good Book when I was a child. The only reason I ever picked up a Bible was because one of my literary heroes, the late great Hunter S. Thompson, mentioned that often when he was in hotel rooms he would pick up the Gideon Bible and thumb through the Book of Revelations. He mentions that he was enamored of the vivid, wild language of that particular book – it is a major mind-trip.
It is ridiculous that the Bible is not taught, in a literary manner, in our public schools. The idea that teaching the literary aspects of the Bible in school is the equivalent of promoting a particular religious belief is preposterous – it’s similar to suggesting that if I were to read the Odyssey I might suddenly start bowing down to Athena. Hey, stranger things have happened – but these are literary works of such extreme importance they cannot simply be shoved aside. What I mean is, you can’t claim to be a learned person if you don’t have a basic understanding of the stories enmeshed in the Bible. Genesis alone contains several of the stories that form a cornerstone of literature: Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, The Tower of Babel, Cain and Abel… These stories have been re-told and re-packaged throughout our literary history. When you are watching James Dean in Steinbeck’s “East of Eden” you’re seeing a modern re-telling of the story of Cain and Abel.
You’ve got to know the roots of the thing. It’s hard not to laugh when you hear someone re-telling a re-tell – when you know they don’t know the real, underlying root of the story. We get that a lot these days in this post-modern era because, let’s face it, post-modernism grants a lot of artistic license to people who may not really know how to drive. I suppose sometimes artistic naivety can lead to some nice finished products, but to my mind the artist who understands the layers and history that lead to today’s stroke on the canvas has a better chance of creating an enduring and complex piece of art; a piece that is going to draw the viewers in for reasons they may not even understand.
The Erin Andrews Controversy
So I guess some pervert used a “peephole camera” to take nude video footage of popular ESPN sportscaster Erin Andrews. That’s a big deal – but it wasn’t as big a deal as it has become until every major network started running this bit of criminal titillation as a feature story – along with excerpts from the leaked video. I wonder how Ms. Andrews feels about that? Its one thing to have someone videotape you unaware and post it onto the internet – but quite another to see the same footage being run prominently on the national news casts! Oh, but the networks all blurred out Andrews’ naughty bits – so I guess that makes it okay.
Of course as a result of all the national media attention the story has snowballed or “gone viral” as the kids like to say. The most popular search on Google the other day was “Erin Andrews Peephole Video.” Wow – entertaining and educational.
Things I Never Thought I’d Say…
Folks seriously, we are crossing a line here. When I am saying people are getting too pervy, then you know things are getting weird. Looking at these pictures and watching this video, just because it is there, is a violation of a person’s privacy. This isn’t a sex tape that was willingly made by the participants – and even those leaked tapes pose an ethical dilemma. This, the Erin Andrews tape, is a completely criminal act because Andrews is completely non-complicit. Watching this tape is watching, and by proxy participating in, a sexual assault. It is a complete abdication of morality in exchange for a cheap thrill.
madbob@madbob.com
No comments:
Post a Comment