The Legacy of the Pope

"Of course there are also a very few people with genuine consciences who still call themselves Americans, but they really would be better off just calling themselves humans. Forget the national label. Let evil people call themselves Americans as they goosestep down the street for The Homeland. Patriotism is primitive tribalism. Nationalism is nothing more than collective egocentricity."
— From the freespeech.org network


Hello to everyone out there in TV land! It's been two weeks since I blogged — sorry to keep you hanging. During this time Terry Schiavo's feeding tube was removed and the Pope died. Both events provided raw meat for a bored and shallow press.

I'm not sure what to say about the Schiavo case — I mean, who really wants to die? But at the same time, what's the point of living in a "vegetative state." The husband was the legal guardian, he made the call, and it should have ended there. As for all this talk about "Culture of Life," give me a break. That is the most selectively used and hypocritical term I've ever heard.

As for the Pope, he mirrors religion as a whole — he did a lot of good, but his brutal "Culture of Life" positions will ultimately do more harm than good. Opposing condoms for people at-risk for AIDS in Africa, buying hospitals in the U.S. and then cutting off their family planning services ... well, what may seem like a Culture of Life now is really a Culture of Death. The long-term effect of human overpopulation will cause far more deaths and suffering in the long-run, yet the Pope and the upper echelons of his organization oppose ANY type of birth control.

Not to mention the refusal to ordain women — that sends out a message of ancient caveman male superiority. Nothing else. As for the glazing over of priestly pedophilia, well, I'm thinking that there may be a little problem with the entire institution.

"[The Vatican] also disseminated misinformation claiming that condoms could not stop the AIDS virus and condoned the burning of condoms in Catholic churches in AIDS-racked Africa."
— Caryl River, Women's News columnist

So, I commend the Pope for his social justice work, opposing the death penalty and Iraq war, and for reaching out to Jews and Muslims. These attributes make him a great spiritual leader. But, again, his War on Birth Control negates this good. My uncle died of AIDS in 1994, and I can tell you it is a horrible disease. And because of the Vatican's policies, many more in Africa have and will experience this horrible fate. So, when I hear the term "Culture of Life," this is what I think about. I also think about the dreadful future that our religious institutions are creating for us.

Yellow Canary