Blog of Jeff

You know, ever now and then there is a song that sticks in your head that makes absolutely no sense. I heard America’s Sandman today and was singing right along with it but I ain’t got no clue what that song is about.

“’cause i understand you’ve been running from the man
That goes by the name of the sandman
He flies the sky like an eagle in the eye
Of a hurricane that’s abandoned ”

I mean, how exactly does an eagle fly in the eye of a hurricane? And, what kind of hurricane is an abandoned one? Of course, if you diagram the sentence and remove the prepositional phrases, I guess it could actually be the eagle that is abandoned in the eye of a hurricane.

Which still leaves the mystery of the Sandman which could be a reference to the old sci-fi classic “Logan’s Run” in which “Sandmen” referred to the police in charge of hunting down middle-aged people who didn’t report to their suicide chamber on their appropriate birthday. Or, the more traditional character from folklore that helps people fall asleep. But the song has a certain sinister feel to it that suggests being caught by the sandman is a pretty bad thing.

But anyway, it is a very catchy tune. Even if rhyming “man” and “sandman” is a extremely unimaginative and lazy rhyming mechanic. I’m starting to think this song is just a completely random bunch of words. But I’m probably going to end up buying it anyway now that it is totally stuck in my head …

Interesting. Is the selection of Rick Warren for the Inauguration a positive move designed to bridge the gap between liberals and evangelicals and demonstrate that policy disagreements should not prevent civil discourse? Or, is it an insulting slap to the face to those supportive of civil rights? Should we consider the positive aspects of Rick Warren even agreeing to speak at the Inauguration despite leading a congregation that is highly conservative? Also, when considered against the Jermiah Wright controversies, is this the continuation of a pattern of Obama being willing to tolerate any type of idiocy from any church leader? Many, many questions.

My overall conclusion is that Warren was simply a mistake but hopefully not a meaningful one. This inauguration represents such a historic step forward in terms of civil rights that it seems like a major blemish to have it kicked off by a guy who is tied directly and indirectly to a lot of anti-semitic and anti-homosexual views. Going back to Warren’s roots, he also has ties to some of the old racist evangelicals. A lot of people reeling from the unfairness of Proposition 8 will be travelling to DC with hope that Obama can and will make the world more tolerant, safe and fair for them. And for them to have to sit through Warren’s invocation, knowing that he represents and leads a big part of the movement to deny them their rights is downright horrible.

I hope Obama comes through in promoting an American resurgance in civil rights for all Americans but he is definitely setting a bad first tone. And it was completely unnecessary. As hard as it can sometimes be to remember, there are religious leaders out there that spend their time preaching compassion, forgiveness and tolerance instead of hatred, discrimination and judgementalism. It sure would have been nice to have someone like that lead the Invocation.

There was a very sad story of a heroic little puppy today on MSN (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18440403?GT1=9951). It’s about a little Jack Russell terrier in New Zealand. He was playing with some small children when two pit bulls rushed into the area without an owner. The terrier kept the pit bulls away from the children until some adults arrived. He was severely wounded and had to be euthanized.

It’s just one of those stories that makes you feel good about the loyalty and bravery of our four legged friends out there.

I came close to buying Christopher Hitchens’ new book “God is not Great” today, because he is a very intelligent guy and I suspect he makes a really good case for aetheism versus faith. There are excerpts on Slate (http://www.slate.com/id/2165033/entry/2165035/) that are pretty interesting.

However, I found a collector’s edition of the complete “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” novels by Douglas Adams and I suddenly realized that it pretty much made the same point about the evils associated with organized religion, but with jokes and smaller words.

So, I got the “Hitchhiker’s Guide” and left Hitchens on the shelf. As smart and talented as Hitchens is, he still writes like a self-righteous, pompous windbag showing off his vocabulary way too often. After all, if there is no God, then why spend precious moments of your one and only life struggling with never-ending essays about how precious your one and only life is?

I say have a beer and trust the guide. The universe is big, stupid and random. Enjoy it anyway.