June 28, 2007: Jesus was a Capricorn

Jesus was a Capricorn

"Jesus was a Capricorn, he ate organic foods.
He believed in love and peace and never wore no shoes.
Long hair, beard and sandals and a funky bunch of friends.
Reckon they'd just nail him up if He come down again.

'Cos everybody's got to have somebody to look down on.
Who they can feel better than at anytime they please.
Someone doin' somethin' dirty, decent folks can frown on.
If you can't find nobody else, then help yourself to me.

Egg Head's cousin Red Neck's cussin' hippies for their hair.
Others laugh at straights who laugh at freaks who laugh at squares.
Some folks hate the whites who hate the blacks who hate the clan.
Most of us hate anything that we don't understand.

'Cos everybody's got to have somebody to look down on.
Who they can feel better than at anytime they please.
Someone doin' somethin' dirty, decent folks can frown on.
If you can't find nobody else, then help yourself to me.

Help yourself, brother.
Help yourself, Gentlemen.
Help yourself Reverend."

I Love Kris Kristofferson, although I know he doesn't have the most beautiful voice, his songs have always been so evocative to me. Actually, this song was written by John Prine, another fav of mine.
Anyway, what inspired me to write about ol' Kris? Well, it was watching Hardball with Chris Matthews last night. He had Ann Coulter on, and she was unpardonably obnoxious and repulsive! I don't understand what is happening to the world/US when people such as her are held up as pundits and knowledgeable. She has made fun of John Edwards' son's death, called Arabs 'ragheads' and called Edwards a 'faggot'. She has said that the US should invade the middle east, kill the leaders, and convert everyone to Christianity.
She is supposedly an educated person, which makes her hate-mongering that much more pernicious, and she has a huge, supportive audience.
What I can't understand is why do people feel placated by hate? Is it necessary to hate the 'other' in order to be content?
I guess some people can only view themselves worthy juxtaposed to the 'enemy'. And who is the enemy du jour? Right now, it seems to be the Muslims, oh wait, not all of us, just the 'fascist Islamist'. Although, in my life, I have seen it be African Americans, 'hippies' (or liberals), Jews, etc.
People are choking with hate and looking for a place to release it. 'Radical Muslims' are the group that it is ok to hate now. Of course, in the US, most people are not knowledgeable enough about Islam to be able to differentiate between Muslims, and think that the Muslims who drink alcohol and act like 'regular Americans' are the only kind of Muslims who are ok.
The sad thing is that there is a void. On the one hand, there is the lack of media coverage of American Muslims speaking out about what Islam really is, and on the other, there is the continuous coverage of the vociferous, hate-filled speech of other Muslims lashing out at who they deem 'the enemy'.
Nothing is as clearcut as it seems. People who hate, hate from a simplistic, ill-informed opinion of the unknown other. It is easier than searching out, learning for oneself. What does the Qur'an say? (paraphrasing here...) "Had I wanted to, I would have created you all the same, but I created you with differences, so that you might come to know each other."