conjuror
2005-10-22, 19:45
I volunteered at a weekend camp for mentally and physically handicapped adults earlier this October.
One of the campers was a man named Scott. Scott is one of the highest functioning adults at the camp. He is articulate, aware, fully mobile, and can take care of himself. He has certain speech mannerisms that let you know he's a little off balance and probably needs more help with some things, but overall he's in great shape.
He can hold a normal conversation and he has a nice personality, but you can tell he's a little impatient and immature.
Scott worships Johnny Cash. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Cash) I'm serious. Scott is a devout worshipper of the dead country music icon.
He wears images of Johnny Cash on his clothing. When he is confused, he asks, "Oh Johnny my boy, what should I do?" When he needs some good luck he'll mutter aloud, "Come on John, help me out here."
And if good fortune does, in fact, come through? "Thank you, Johnny."
At the Saturday night dance at camp, Scott draped his sweatshirt with a photo of Johnny Cash over a chair so that Johnny Cash could watch over him while he danced with some pretty ladies.
He carries cassettes of Johnny Cash's music everywhere with him, and sometimes a tape player. He enjoys his music and loves dancing and singing along. Sometimes he takes the songs and applies them to his own life.
For example, Scott sang some of Johnny Cash's love songs to girls at the camp that he was trying to hit on. He told me, "That's exactly how I feel about this girl." Or when Scott feels like he's been scorned, he relates to the lyrics of a song where Johnny Cash sings about being cheated on.
On Sunday morning, the camp held an optional religious service with a visiting priest or minister. Scott attended, but got up and left quietly right in the middle of it. He saw me back at our cabin and said, "I had to leave, I can't take that stuff. He kept talking about all that heaven crap."
I think by now you all see where I'm going with this.
It's a natural human feeling to want to be watched over. It's ingrained in our human psychology to want a higher power watching over us, protecting us, offering us guidance, and answering our prayers. Sounds good to me.
And if one doesn't exist, we make one up, and it serves exactly the same purpose.
If people truly believe that a higher power--whether it's Yahweh, Jesus, God, Allah, Jehovah, or Johnny Cash--is watching out for them and telling them how to lead a good life, they feel a whole lot better.
It's the Thomas Theorem: "A situation defined as real is real in its consequences."
Sure it seems absurd that Scott wears Johnny Cash clothing everyday, but is it any weirder than wearing a crucifix around your neck all the time?
Sure, it seems a little weird for a grown man to be asking guidance of man that died on September 12, 2003, but it's the same concept as praying to a man who died over a thousand years ago.
Hey, if it feels good, do it. I'm not saying people should stop believing in a higher power. I'm just saying it's probably a little absurd.
There's nothing necessarily wrong with absurdity, or even taking absurd things seriously. Heck, that's what I'm all about.
But don't take it so seriously that you're gonna ban gay marriages and start forcing Intelligent Design to be taught as a scientific concept in public schools, and hijacking planes and crashing them into buildings, or blowing yourself up to kill others--solely in the name of your higher power.
That is some fucking absurdity we need to live without.
Maybe we'd do better to worship Ben Harper, who sings, "My choice is what I choose to do / And if I’m causing no harm / It shouldn’t bother you / Your choice is who you choose to be / And if you're causin’ no harm / Then you’re alright with me."
That song, "Burn One Down," is about smoking weed, by the way, but you get the idea.
If you're not quite sure what to make of all this, just take a moment and ask yourself, WWJD?
And if you do know what to make of this, please reply.
Regards,
conjuror (http://caught22.com)
One of the campers was a man named Scott. Scott is one of the highest functioning adults at the camp. He is articulate, aware, fully mobile, and can take care of himself. He has certain speech mannerisms that let you know he's a little off balance and probably needs more help with some things, but overall he's in great shape.
He can hold a normal conversation and he has a nice personality, but you can tell he's a little impatient and immature.
Scott worships Johnny Cash. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Cash) I'm serious. Scott is a devout worshipper of the dead country music icon.
He wears images of Johnny Cash on his clothing. When he is confused, he asks, "Oh Johnny my boy, what should I do?" When he needs some good luck he'll mutter aloud, "Come on John, help me out here."
And if good fortune does, in fact, come through? "Thank you, Johnny."
At the Saturday night dance at camp, Scott draped his sweatshirt with a photo of Johnny Cash over a chair so that Johnny Cash could watch over him while he danced with some pretty ladies.
He carries cassettes of Johnny Cash's music everywhere with him, and sometimes a tape player. He enjoys his music and loves dancing and singing along. Sometimes he takes the songs and applies them to his own life.
For example, Scott sang some of Johnny Cash's love songs to girls at the camp that he was trying to hit on. He told me, "That's exactly how I feel about this girl." Or when Scott feels like he's been scorned, he relates to the lyrics of a song where Johnny Cash sings about being cheated on.
On Sunday morning, the camp held an optional religious service with a visiting priest or minister. Scott attended, but got up and left quietly right in the middle of it. He saw me back at our cabin and said, "I had to leave, I can't take that stuff. He kept talking about all that heaven crap."
I think by now you all see where I'm going with this.
It's a natural human feeling to want to be watched over. It's ingrained in our human psychology to want a higher power watching over us, protecting us, offering us guidance, and answering our prayers. Sounds good to me.
And if one doesn't exist, we make one up, and it serves exactly the same purpose.
If people truly believe that a higher power--whether it's Yahweh, Jesus, God, Allah, Jehovah, or Johnny Cash--is watching out for them and telling them how to lead a good life, they feel a whole lot better.
It's the Thomas Theorem: "A situation defined as real is real in its consequences."
Sure it seems absurd that Scott wears Johnny Cash clothing everyday, but is it any weirder than wearing a crucifix around your neck all the time?
Sure, it seems a little weird for a grown man to be asking guidance of man that died on September 12, 2003, but it's the same concept as praying to a man who died over a thousand years ago.
Hey, if it feels good, do it. I'm not saying people should stop believing in a higher power. I'm just saying it's probably a little absurd.
There's nothing necessarily wrong with absurdity, or even taking absurd things seriously. Heck, that's what I'm all about.
But don't take it so seriously that you're gonna ban gay marriages and start forcing Intelligent Design to be taught as a scientific concept in public schools, and hijacking planes and crashing them into buildings, or blowing yourself up to kill others--solely in the name of your higher power.
That is some fucking absurdity we need to live without.
Maybe we'd do better to worship Ben Harper, who sings, "My choice is what I choose to do / And if I’m causing no harm / It shouldn’t bother you / Your choice is who you choose to be / And if you're causin’ no harm / Then you’re alright with me."
That song, "Burn One Down," is about smoking weed, by the way, but you get the idea.
If you're not quite sure what to make of all this, just take a moment and ask yourself, WWJD?
And if you do know what to make of this, please reply.
Regards,
conjuror (http://caught22.com)