The Great Struggle

Remember when I said that people have to stop comparing any unfortunate event or opposing viewpoint to Hitler? Well, it should also be stated that comparing yourself to a holocaust victim is 1,000 times WORSE.

I went to church yesterday, which I hadn’t done in awhile. Well, that’s not entirely true. I’ve been to church four times in the past couple of weeks (quadrupling my yearly attendance for the past decade or so), but I haven’t been to an actual Sunday service in years. I don’t want to say I was guilted into attending, though that’s probably the most convenient explanation. The most accurate though would be to say that the addition of a second service on Easter afforded me the luxury of sleeping in ‘til 10 and still being able to attend church. In spite of my cynical view of organized religion and uncertainty of the existence of a higher power, I still like to attend my family’s church. It’s a building I grew up in, and continue to carry warm feelings about. I don’t necessarily thing it’s wiping my palate of sin clean or that I’m saving myself, but it’s nice to listen to a sermon impartially. I allow me to think a lot more of the world and where I see myself fitting in it. I don’t think I’ve ever actually gotten any answers, but the meditation is pleasant nonetheless.

The church is pretty tiny and liberal for its denomination, but yesterday’s sermon involved what I would assume is common for an Easter service, namely the topic of resurrection but also the ambiguous topic of good vs. evil. The pastor mentioned the God of love, and what struggle it is to find this God when so many acts committed his name would seem antithetical to the notion of love.

And that right there pretty much espoused all that I hold in contempt of organized religion. The stances that would have placed Jesus in the palace, hanging out with those in power and having a grand old time. Jesus was overwhelmingly in the minority. He was persecuted for his beliefs, which were based in an empathy and compassion that is not to be found in many of the stances of the modern church. It’s unfortunate that so much of today is based on clinging dearly to what we perceive as ours. It’s unfortunate that many of the most prominent people in this country in particular who wear their religion like a badge of honor owe so much of that prominence to the exploitation of the poor or by aligning themselves with those who would.

But I’m getting off track. Because throughout the whole sermon when this good vs. evil came up I was reminded of a lesser appreciated Alan Moore script. Anyways, the whole scene in question is based in these two characters getting their molecular structure fused together in a teleportation accident (bear with me here) and, as they lay dying on a rooftop, begin to question the validity of their lives and deaths. The one is an average guy who was in the car with his wife, who was vaporized instantly in the accident. The other character is this giant horse thing that can only be described as a player ("Kapela, the Western Cavalry of the Great White") in the “great game”, a large war that is only mentioned in passing, but is clearly some sort of interstellar battle of light and dark. He speaks slowly and clearly and notes to the police officer covering the scene that he knows he is dying, and that someone should notify the gray scorekeeper, so that the immense board of lights can be adjusted.

A few moments later the stranger is asking the attending officers about religion. He's describing his wife's religion, which he doesn't quite understand; he's dying, and he's trying to come to peace with himself. "Existence" the great horse-guy he's fused with says, "is simplicity. There is Black and there is White".

that he is dying with wonders what the hell he's talking about and asks. Kapela tells him to look above him into the sky: "Do you see? That is the called the immense board of lights. There is the great Black... and, strewn across it, small and surrounded and vulnerable and brave... there is the great White. "

"You know, that's perfect". The guy looks at this and starts to laugh at the apparent futility. "That's really perfect. And the Great White...I mean, there's so much more Black. A-are we losing?"

"No". Kapela is also succumbing "There once was only Black. We are winning. All is right. We can go."

It's just one of those things that is so simple, yet I think of it so often. It's not only completely fictional but utterly impossible. There's no specification that the side we are hearing is even the correct one. But nonetheless it gives me hope in a lot of ways that writing letters to Senators and the last 4 minutes of a Chomsky lecture could never come close to. It also serves as a pretty great example why I read these damn things.

Sonny Sharrock is usually listed as an avant-garde guitarist, which I don't really subscribe to, largely because avant-garde to me translates as"unlistenable shit". He's pretty well known for composing the theme song to Space Ghost Coast to Coast shortly beore his death, and also blowing the fucking doors off side two of Miles Davis' Tribute to Jack Johnson (my favorite recording in jazz history and an album I have bought and lost three times now). He played on many, many recordings by other artists and put out several albums of his own, but these are from his last album Ask the Ages, where he's joined by the great Pharoah Sanders and Elvin Jones, both from the Coltrane band. The songs are a bit long, and not really what most people would think off, when hearing the term "jazz", but it's great atmosphere and what I happen to be listening to right now. He died in 1994 after just starting to gain a third wave of fans. So listen to the man.

"As We Used to Sing" - Sonny Sharrock

"Once Upon a Time" - Sonny Sharrock

Buy Ask the Ages on itunes or something, because actual CDs of this run pretty expensive .

I can't describe how hard I was laughing today at the Wikipedia entry for fictional films from Seinfeld.

I just finished typing this and I know how poorly put together it is, but fuck it I'm exhausted an I need to get in front of something mind-numbing immediately. I'll try to keep it simpler and better next time.