11/16/2010

Here’s something I don’t like:

Our country is wrongly referred to as a “Christian” nation, meaning that, by default, citizens are tolerant, patient, understanding, exercise self control, are not worried about money, casting stones only if they are without sin, and loving everyone, no matter their race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, or faith with the same love Jesus Christ would give them. That sounds like the United States, right? We may have been founded on some Christian standards, but it certainly was not with the development of a Christ-centered nation in mind.

Okay, we’re not a Christian nation, I get that. Because of this, we have to allow everyone the right to exercise the freedom of expression, especially when it comes to a faith foreign to our own. Easy, right? Personally, I have no issue with prayer being banned from football games and school. I have no issue with “under God” being removed from the Pledge of Allegiance. I have no issue with the president of the United States participating in Muslim religious ceremonies as an act of friendship and oneness with those of the Muslim faith. Heck, I wouldn’t even care if he was a Muslim himself!

Now, my issue: While I’m all for equally encouraging other faiths outside of Christianity, I think there comes a time when Christianity is, indeed, the outsider, the outcast, not the “norm.” I sometimes think that we get so obsessed with giving other religions, faiths and beliefs equal time in the media and public, as they should, that big bad Christianity gets pushed out completely, rendering the faith a minority.

This comes to mind today after a possible issue we may be facing at work, where the sect of US Government that provides our grant money may request a reedit of our latest work because of it’s Christian message, even though it is a person conveying their personal story. They have already requested a reedit of a particularly Christian comment in the trailer for our upcoming documentary. There is a line between political correctness and censorship, but where, exactly, is it drawn?

I’m not asking for a full blown Christian movement or hidden agenda. I’m not asking for special treatment as a follower of an apparent minority faith. All I’m looking for is equal time. The one thing everybody deserves and another reason I hate this country.

I’m also not moving to Russia, and you’re not the first person to think to say that to me, so I’ll go ahead and stop you there.

——————>>>

In other, happier news, today, Showbread, the band who, in many ways, saved my life, has released their newest studio album, Who Can Know It? on their new label Come and Live!. Did I mention the album is totally FREE? That’s right. Completely free. If you’re interested in a Flaming Lips / early Genesis flavored album with some of the most venomous lyrics from the band to date, uplifting your spirits and refreshing everything you thought you knew about Raw Rock…and you want to pay nothing for it, download it here.

As of right now, no word on the gentleman from Altar’d State about his furthered interest in getting Showbread to play, but rest assured that I will be posting the news, good or bad, once I hear something from them.

“When I die, whatever you might say, don’t say I’m ‘gone.’
‘Gone’ is not the word for someone who finally found his way back home”
-From the track You’re Like a Taxi found on Who Can Know It

Here’s the teaser trailer for the release of the album (today…So a teaser is goofy to show right now, but it’s cool…Enjoy!):