Easter Basket-Case
"'History,' Stephen said, 'is a nightmare
from which I am trying to awake.'"
James Joyce, Ulysses
Continuing my annual
Good Friday tradition, this afternoon I'll crucify
myself with Rusty Nails (Drambuie and scotch),
descend with a hangover into
Hell on Saturday, and try to resurrect myself
Sunday morning. I'm sure I'll be a
basket-case this Easter, as I am on most
holidays, because for the last several
years I've found it difficult to let go,
relax, and have fun. So much to do... So
much to worry about...
The ongoing slaughter
of Balkan Muslims (the euphemistic "ethnic
Albanians" in Kosovo) by the Serbian Christians,
and the bombing efforts of
NATO, is the "worry" of the moment.
I'm not so much concerned with
NATO's action (which I fully support), as
much as the inaction by Muslim
countries. I'm confused when I think
of OPEC nations getting richer by the
day, yet not spending a dime to help their
spiritual cousins. The terrorist
organization headed by Osama bin Laden,
as well as his punk hosts, the
Taliban, regularly decry America and the
West, but don't seem concerned with
the atrocities being committed in the Balkans.
Iran, Iraq, and Libya, for all
their posturing about Muslim justice, aren't
doing anything (though there are
reports that Iran is providing some cash).
All the Muslim countries from
Africa across to the Pacific are ignoring
the mass-killings of fellow Muslims in
Kosovo. Sure, it's good that NATO
is doing something, but it's going to be
even more difficult than it has been when
dealing with Muslims from now on.
Not only do they have bad attitudes, but
they seem to be selfish and willing to
sacrifice their own, rather than ...help.
I guess that's always
been one of my biggest global fears--that certain
groups of people would turn away from belonging
to some greater whole.
Growing up during the latter two-thirds
of the Cold War actually wasn't very
stressful on me. I never believed
the atheist Soviets or China would do
anything stupid, as both countries have
national pride and, to a certain degree,
care about their people. I was, and
still am, frightened of smaller countries
with religious agendas.
Ethnic and religious
hatred usually festers on a local level, as for example in
Rwanda and the situation of the Kurds on
the border of Turkey and Iraq, but
may also be found outside of the pubs in
Northern Ireland, as well as here in
the United States with the sick increase
in various hate-crimes. I really find no
difference between the clashes of Hindus
and Muslims in India and Sri Lanka,
and America's violence against queers, the
hypocritical guilty verdict against
Dr. Jack Kevorkian, and the continued bombing
of abortion clinics. One group
says they possess the truth and attacks
another group which holds a different
truth. Is that religion? Death
to difference? I'll take science, thank you...
I wonder how Yugoslav
President (read: ex-communist, tyrant and
mass-murderer) Slobodan Milosevic will celebrate
Easter. Maybe he'll join his
family for a traditional Serbian Orthodox
Easter Mass, try not to fall asleep
while the priest talks about Jesus, and
afterwards return home to a nice lamb
dinner. As much as I admire Jimmy
Carter, when I think of monsters like
Milosevic, I really wish Jimmy wouldn't
have outlawed political assassination
during his presidency. Instead of
all these bombs, just send over a CIA agent
for some wet-work. I know, it's not
very Christian of me to wish for the death
of another human being, but this is not
a perfect world and I'm not even
standing outside of the building where someone
inside is holding an index card
with a description of what it means to be
perfect. In fact, I'm nowhere near
the building... I'm at home, in front
of the computer, wishing Milosevic was
dead.
George Santayana
was correct to warn: "Those who can't remember the
past are condemned to repeat it."
Milosevic first came to prominence as
president of the League of Communists in
the early 1980's Soviet-controlled
Yugoslavia. His "nationalist" agenda,
from the beginning, was based on
revenge for the 700,000 dead Serbs in WWII
and a proposed "ethnic
cleansing" of his homeland, i.e. the killing
of Balkan Muslims. Towards that
end, Milosevic initiated the horrible war
in Croatia and Bosnia, and now
continues his "master plan" in Kosovo.
Somewhere, somehow, added to
centuries of tension between Muslims and
Christians in the Balkans, it became
part of Serbia's national propaganda that
Muslims (and Catholics) were
responsible for the Nazi-allied fascist
Ustashi slaughter of Serbians during the
Second World War. This is the first
I've heard about Balkan Muslims being
Nazi and fascist collaborators--I've always
thought that the Nazis and fascists
killed the Balkan Muslims as well. [Note:
for the Serbian Orthodox Church
version of history, click here.
For Amnesty International's take click here.
]
So, the killing
of "ethnic Albanians" in Kosovo is, in some way, revenge for
the fascists of WWII. And, with Milosevic's
communist background and the
well-known hatred communists hold for Nazis
and their sympathizers, the
"ethnic cleansing" might be seen as some
odd, political backlash, albeit 55
years later. But, in all likelihood,
it's just comes down to religion... Christians
killing Muslims... That's not right.
The Jewish scriptures,
partially based on common Mesopotamian and Near
Eastern law, instructed all not to kill.
Unknown early Christian "gospel"
authors scripted Jesus to have advised all
to turn the other cheek. ...We are
such violent animals. Well-dressed
animals, to be sure, and capable of
imagining that GOD somehow backs our selfish,
spiteful, controlling ways.
Such an evil deception--to believe GOD backs
hatred and death.
So, this Easter,
with death in Kosovo and too many other places in the
world, I turn close and look in the faces
and hearts of those around me. Do
you hate people whose skins are a different
color? Would you jail or harm
people who have different sexual or personal
practices than you? How can
you respect yourself, if you don't grant
someone else the right to die, manage
their body, or steer their own future?
What books are you reading? Who are
YOU fighting for?
If only there was
an Easter Bunny... If only Jesus did come back from the
dead... Can you say metaphor?
hopping along now,
Rick