Fish and loaves or Fish and chips
A new survey by YouGov finds that only 44 percent of Britons believe in God. The survey reveals little evidence of hostility towards either religious people or beliefs. A majority of British people neither hopes nor fears for a life after death. Only a third of respondents believe in Heaven, and even fewer believe in Hell and the Devil.I'm not stunned by these results, based on a modest amount of information about the country, but it is stunning to me how two countries- theirs and ours- that share so much of the same culture can have such desparate beliefs. A Gallup poll in November showed that somewhere between 85 to 90 percent of Americans believe in God. It's also interesting that as recently as 1968, the number of Britons who said they believed in God was 77 percent.
The hidden difference here, I believe, is that Americans have found a way to make religion profitable. It never ceases to amaze me how much money poor people are willing to give to their church. You can drive through Oklahoma and Arkansas and see these extraordinary steeples rising up alongside the interstate. There's often no other significant industry in town. The minister, by extension, wields more influence than the politicians or civic leaders. Economic inequality, which the US has in spades, becomes a useful recruiting device. They use modern science of public relations to create the illusion of oppression, like the bogus issue of public nativities. It's a very sophisticated effort.
It may appear by my comments that I'm anti-religion. Maybe. I consider myself an agnostic. For me, the unknowable is simply that- unknowable. (Homer Simpson might be right- if I pick the wrong church, then every week I keep making God madder and madder.) What has surely become a problem in the country, though, is this growing sense that we don't control our destiny, that we need to surrender ourselves completely to the higher power. We have a situation now where only 35 percent of Americans believe that Darwin's Theory of Evolution is "supported by the evidence." Regardless of whether God is out there or not, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have given us these brains if she didn't want us to use them.
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What would make America better is if every person had their own theme song. Your music would play everytime you walked into a room. I'm just shooting the shit here, but I think a good theme song would be "September" by Earth, Wind, and Fire. It's got a peppy open and a crescendo into the first lyric. It would build nicely as I arrive on the scene, glad-handing and forearm bashing friends and family. I would start with that one, until I got sick of it myself. Then I would probably wail one of the big bands for a while, like Count Basie. Something with a big horn section. Oh yeah, you should also be able to change your song anytime you want.
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This month, they had a profile on former Detroit Tigers firstbaseman Cecil Fielder on Bryant Gumbel's HBO sports show. Fielder is millions of dollars in debt to one of Donald Trump's casinos, and he's become estranged from his wife and family, including his professional ballplayer son, Prince. He didn't cooperate on the story, but the family is talking because they've been locked out of their home in Florida. Tough situation. I'm sure of one thing after watching the story. If there were a cable channel that devoted 24 hours to stories about ex-baseball players, I would have much less time to write this blog. It's fascinating. What do these men do with the last 50 years of their lives? I work with a woman who grew up in Arkansas with former Met/Padre/Royal Kevin McReynolds. She's kept me abreast of McReynolds' life over the last five years. He's married for a second time (after much cajoling) with a blended family, and he owns a hunting club. A couple years ago, he traveled overseas as part of Rick Aguilera's retirement party. They have a lovely Christmas card this year.
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By the time you read this, the Rams may be eliminated from the NFL playoff race. Watching Monday Night Football, it's evident that "September" by Earth, Wind, and Fire would be a good theme song for Rams rookie running back Stephen Jackson. I would be willing to share it with him.
posted by CM @ 8:41 PM
6 Comments:
How dare you...
Signed,
Your Grandpa
Chris, this is another great title for a blog. I'm convinced that you start with a title and then build your commentary around it.
When I enter a room I'd like to hear the understated, simmering chords that begin "Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith. In the past, I may have answered with a song that begins more thunderously like Springsteen's "Born to Run" or Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower", but that'd be too much. I don't think I could live up to the hype. I'd rather keep expectations low.
When I enter a room I hear "Green Onions"
The personal theme song was used well by the title character on the old Alley McBeal TV show if anyone ever saw that show during college. Now if I could only remember a few of the "Fish-isms" TA
Vonda Shepard, the piano player on Ally McBeal, is probably looking for work.
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