so this past week in new york has been UNREASONABLY gorgeous. i am in love with this city! did i just say that out loud? well, im stickin to it. really, it is insane. so nice outside. i have enjoyed walkin the pups ive been sittin on & playing in the park. (note to self: some things are fun to experience in small doses, like wild animals, gelatin & children)
getting back to terry.....she said something interesting in todays interview with that gay bishop whose name escapes me. she asked him the difference between civil & religious rights. of course, the gay bishop "answered" the question based on the very specific issue of gay rights in a civic community vs in a religious one. he went on to ackn0wledge the newly passed new hampshire law that will legally recognize homosexual unions. now, this guy is pretty cool & i respect what he says about gender roles in society, homophobia & the lack of acceptance of questioning theology, philosophy, religion, interpretation & spirituality within religious societies. but he and terry were so entrenched in the specifics that they left this question to be kind of swept under the rug. and while homosexuality in the roman catholic church is interesting, the evolution of religion vs civil & social law is what stumped my thinking & made me ignore the rest of the program. i thought about that question in a broad sense all day. it reminded me of a class i took my junior year, where we were analyzing the fluctuation of power between the us court system & the legislative branch. there is actually some convincing evidence that democracy can work when politicians endorse and create laws that reflect their constituents and when the judicial branch is checked enough to enforce those laws. i can see how people think this system is a great idea. so, in remembering that class & how we went through laws from the 50s to the 90s that were (arguably) created due to a social movement/uprising vs laws that were written but ignored due to a lack of enforcement in the judicial system (because what does a piece of paper really mean?), i started to think about the difference between religious progression (i.e., gay bishop A) that is produced through a civic uprising (after all, a church is a business- unsuccessful if no one shows up- so at some point views must be tweaked to get asses in the seats) vs religious progression that is brought about within the non-secular community. based on what i learned in that class and in my experience with people in a religious community, if the secular community (meaning the mass who creates laws who sends people- religious or not- to jail for illegal acts) is like the us judicial system, then it might be the only check for people in power within religious communities who have no fear bigger than a questioning congregation. in dealing with yet another collision between the secular and the religious worlds (in the middle east or in south williamsburg), how can progression be a win-win situation?
ok....will leave you alone for now. i am house sitting and cant stay away from bret michaels and his search for a rock of love. ive been without tv for long enough to be shocked to find that all tv is trash tv these days. i loooove it. (again, in small doses)
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