But my weekend took an interesting turn, not just because I got on a cleaning spree (it was cleaning weekend...my bedroom never looked better, LOL)...but because what I was watching and listening to as I was cleaning my very own house rang true...so loudly that I couldn't ignore the message that my soul's gut just couldn't ignore.
As I was cleaning, I was catching up on a series that I love: Gotham. It's the pre-Batman stage-set, and I got through the last season's finale, where Batman "begins". So of course, I had to watch Batman (1989) and I did. My own time clock is all screwed up this weekend, anyway, so I started watching "Batman Returns", but my Internet was doing screwy things, so I perused Netflix, and a docu-series caught my eye:
The Family.
So at about midnight, I started watching this series, and...to tell the truth, couldn't stop watching it. Finally, at about three in the morning, I had fallen asleep, but did resume watching the series with my Sunday morning coffee (and continued house-cleaning...)
Here are my thoughts:
Yes, I was born into this world as (quite honestly-speaking) a Native American half-breed. I was adopted and raised in a white, Mormon (LDS) household in the good ol' town of Riverton, WY.. The opportunities I had to excel in music and writing would have never been realized had I not been adopted into a family who could afford to give me the kind of love, support and dedication it took for me to excel as I did throughout my formative years and more...grade school, Jr High, High School. I will be forever grateful to my adopted family, as they made it a priority to keep in touch with my Native family. They knew my heritage was very important, and they respected it. Because of this, I can be proud to say that I AM a "half breed"...yet, the negative connotation for those on both sides of the Native-White controversy remains.
Turmoil does lie within me today; I've been here before. When I left the LDS church, I went from the frying pan into the fire of Evangelical Christianity. I even wrote a book about it; I did a book/singing tour. I was overwhelmed with people asking me many questions about what it was like being in a "religious cult." I did radio interviews, wrote for Christian publications...told everyone that I was "born again"and "found Jesus"...
All it took...was time. And here are my thoughts:
I don't care about cabals, religion or cults. I care about my family, my community. I care about First and Second Constitutional Amendment rights. I care about the separation of Church and State. About what really makes "America great". Free speech. Free press...to address grievances. Freedom of religion, to believe what you will...whether it's in God, Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Krishna...or little space men that came down to build the pyramids. I might have been born into the Northern Arapaho tribe...but I'm also proud of my Welsh immigrant heritage. I believe in the US Constitution (we actually have one, yes), and what it had, does and said it promised.
Those promises have been broken.
So what now? Here comes US Christianity, promising prosperity, justice and explanations done to [what they called] "heathens"..."filth"...
Still, no explanations.
Here comes Christianity, saying they're all about love, justice, peace, mercy and love. And there is still no justice, peace, nor love. Epic fail, without explanations. And just what is the "evil" that is defined here? You expect me to believe in some "Jesus Christ" that makes such awesome promises...but doesn't ever deliver? How does that "save" ANYone?
I've been saturated in Christianity all my life...on so many fronts, for so many years. I've seen the good and bad. I've seen the hurt and pain. I've seen the rich and poor, the joy and the angst. And now I come to realize that the MEN who have risen to power with a "Jesus" I have never known, nor would ever support...have been knowingly and secretly ushered in. And not only that...TAX dollars are spent spreading their "Word".
It makes me want to puke. And I haven't felt this way since leaving the LDS Church. Think about that, those of you who thought Mormonism was a cult. So many Christians point the finger at the LDS church, saying they're not "real Christians"...yet, so many Christians are not real Christians!
Where is the love? Where is the faith? Where is the hope? Where is the justice for victims? Two thousand years, and we still haven't figured it out.
I recently posted on a good friend's Facebook wall that, if you vote for Trump, and you claim to be a "Christian"...you're a hypocrite. Yes, you are, and you know it! Given my long-life history...because the Jesus (I thought I knew) would never condone imprisonment of children, Jesus would never backbite and call good evil and evil good. The Jesus I know even spoke against such! Jesus would never condone the building of a "wall". The Jesus I thought I knew would never justify killings or abuse of any kind. The Jesus I know would never condone anything less than "love God, love your neighbor, love your enemies." Jesus would never condone what Trump is doing, and everyone knows it!
But, oh...who cares? We've become so desensitized, NO one cares, anymore. We just care about what we're told...what's on our phones, on TV, on social media...whatever is "out there".
I don't know who your "Jesus" is, but...Trump's "Jesus" certainly isn't mine. Gift of the silver tongue or not, he certainly has his way with things...because the masses give him the power to do so. And that's on us, as "We the People". We voted him in. Just as We the People voted Obama in...and every President in our lifetimes.
But it's not about the Presidency, and I hope that "We The People" can get that. We don't have to agree on everything, but...can we at LEAST agree that we don't want World War III happening any time soon? That we don't want a Hitler-like figurehead controlling our thoughts, our lives, our every move?
Wyoming. One of the last of the "frontier"states, one of the most sparsely populated US states, only second to Alaska.
What do I want out of life?
I want to roam the prairie. I want to watch the stars in the big sky. I want to watch my garden grow, my corn get past my own shoulders...I want to come home from a good day at work and say, "Hey, I had a good day." I want to help my neighbor, my friend, my co-worker. I want to give peace and love and hope, wherever I can.
But I can't do ANY of this if the leaders of the United States of America will not...and use "Jesus" as a cloak and device for the ignorant...for someone's agenda.
In hindsight...I wish Batman could swoosh down and save the city...
This is Coffee Pong. Because good coffee deserves some balls.
(Hey, ya got that out there, Big Brother? I just put garlic powder on my asparagus spears...)
Say it. I welcome your comments.
Carol Harper
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| South Pass on a sunny day... |
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| Thunderstorm out of Rock Springs, Wy |
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