Today, I was sitting amongst local farmers at the local gas station, enjoying the morning conversation for which such hubs of local connection are known. Flood waters in Cedar Rapids are receding - almost down 7 feet since crest on Friday, but still 4 feet above the last record crest prior to this flood (1929) – so guys are checking in with each other about how their kids made out (adult children) and sharing stories of wind, sump pumps, water gawking and more. (for stories and pics on historic flood, Cedar Rapids - http://www.gazetteonline.com/, (http://www.kcrg.com/; Iowa City - http://www.press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage; Des Moines - http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage.)
My small town suffered most from flash flooding, as from the storm Thursday night that brought almost 5” more of rain on already super-saturated soil, and almost every section (Midwest is laid out in a 1 mile by 1 mile grid, called ‘sections’) had roads under water for several hours while water thundered towards the rivers. I couldn’t go more than a half-mile from my house, in any direction, during that flash, water covering the road 2-5 feet deep.
One of the old timers came in, and sat down, listened to some stories, and then started his ‘sharing.’ “Yep…God is angry.” I thought he was being funny. “Jesus isn’t happy with us. He’s warning us. We better make things right with Jesus.”
Since I am a newbie to the group, having only been a part of the circle for over 4 years, I looked to the others to see what their response would be. No one responded to his comments. Meanwhile, this guy is sitting there, just as pleasant and happy as can be. Not a thing said…everyone just uncomfortably quiet.
Now…why is it in public spaces, amongst a community of old relationships, we can’t simply call such silliness on to the carpet and expose it for its weak theology, and pathetic images of a god and its creation? God destroys things to make us worship that entity? Believing a god does that, we still choose to worship it? This god is love and real heavy bitter nastiness?
All denominations of faith were impacted by this massive flood. Catholic churches up to their eves in swirling contaminated filth. Megachurches, most likely to teach such theology, with sandbag dikes falling feet short of stopping the water. Free churches. Storefront churches. White, black and brown. I don’t know of any synagogues (there aren’t many in the Heartland). Is that about being ‘chosen people?’
The record flood in Cedar Rapids prior to this one, crested at almost 20 ft, while this one crested at a little over 31. Beyond the 100 yr flood, and the 500 yr flood projections. People in homes that weren’t eligible for flood insurance, homes destroyed. Over 1300 blocks of Cedar Rapids, under water at some height. Some buildings had water into their second level that had never seen water in their 120 yr history. First estimates are over $736M in property, over $1B in agriculture damage. Over 2M acres covered in water, representing 20% of Iowa’s land mass. With 9 river watersheds in Iowa that are neither the Missouri (west border) nor Mississippi (east border), every river has reached record levels and beyond. And more is to come as these crests move down river. Lord only knows what happens as this water all hits the Mississippi, where record flooding is projected for the Mississippi as well.
And somehow, it makes people feel better(?) to think a god is punishing them/us for something unnamed and we ‘better watch out?’
Finally this guy left, shuffled off to church. I watched him, and suddenly everybody was back to talking like the guy hadn’t existed.
I’m always torn when I encounter such sloppy thinking in public spaces. They choose to make their thinking visible, audible…respond or not? When in the midst of old relationships that predate me, I opt for silence to let the relationships address it. No one did. Guy in his 70s…let him be?
I can’t imagine the burden of carrying beliefs where I believe intervention by a super-being is so random, so non-specific. Why believe at all if the creation is so ugly? Do you get an apology for all your worldly goods being swept away even though you were a believer? Or will we see a lot of homeowners whose neighbors were wiped out, they weren't, and this god must have been smiling on them?
What a squirrely, screwy species. Believe in a god, a book, and then choose the pieces that fit (wasn’t the rainbow sposed to be a promise to never use a flood again to mete out justice?) one’s own fears and biases about the world through which one moves.
Copy & paste to friend: (Click inside box; Ctrl + C to copy; Ctrl + V to paste)
|
|
read more blogs!
Blogs by observed50:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Angry Gods, Floods, and Reality… |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
buatbu
|
Jun 15 @ 8:36PM
|
|
|
You did the right thing by not attacking an older gentlemen. If he is wrong, so what, if he is right, you only would cause yourself grief.
|
|
missliss78
|
Jun 15 @ 8:42PM
|
|
 Remember that rule that we all say our mom's taught us?.....
If ya can't say something good.....
Sounds to me like that was the rule all of the ol' guys were following.
|
|
observed50
|
Jun 15 @ 9:18PM
|
|
buatbu & MissLiss> I notice both of you read my desire to respond to sloppy thinking as either a.) attacking, or b.) something akin to saying something not nice - i.e., attacking. I had to re-read my blog to see if I had actually said something in that vein...
Phew! I hadn't thought I had, because it wouldn't have been my approach.
I've worked in community issue politics most of my life, and responding to sloppy thinking in public spaces is for me, similar to responding to it in a classroom. The object isn't attack, but rather illumination. Sloppy thinking occurs in large part because we hang out in groups who think/feel like we do, and as a social group, we don't question certain things in the group. So outrageous things are said as a reflection of our beliefs, our fellow herd members slap our back, and we think we're insightful, intelligent, clever, when in fact...we're simply good at thinking like others do and not critically taking apart the foundations of our sloppy selves.
If we approach our elders as simply cute muddle-headed characters from whom we expect little - the 'so what' approach to their beliefs and assertions - at what age do we stop treating them as meaningful participants in the community dialogue or interpersonal dialogue? I'm 54. Does that happen at 60? 65? Isn't that a sense of disrespect for our elders, where we feel their impact on the world is 'so what?' You know a believer of such theologies as above have targets about whom they believe their god is angry, and it probably isn't their religious group. In the US, its most likely to be gays, lesbians, and people somehow involved with abortion rights.
And I don't worry about being wrong. If such a god exists...so what? 
Liss> I think the old guys were following 'lets not talk non-mainstream religion'. They said nothing to this guy, until he got up and left. They simply smiled and looked around. Classic avoidance behavior. 
|
|
SallyF
|
Jun 15 @ 9:46PM
|
|
|
simply cute muddle-headed characters Is that a bit like wearing a purple hat with red shoes? Can hardly wait---and I'm getting 'close'. j/k
Glad to hear that you are OK---at least OK enough to be in community with your neighbors and blogging for your MD neighbors. Methinks there is enough stress with the natural events.....choosing to not call the guy on his beliefs was a kind path to take.
|
|
Jankia
|
Jun 15 @ 9:56PM
|
|
Curiosity leads me to ask,would you have been just as "torn" if that gentlemens "sloppy thinking" said this instead?
Mother Nature isn’t happy with us. She’s warning us. We better make things right with Mother Nature.”
|
|
observed50
|
Jun 15 @ 11:05PM
|
|
Sally> Thanks for the sharing of concern for the area and me neighbors! For whatever reason, the guy came in, said his piece, and was gone just as quickly. I don't know if I would have been so easily 'kind' if he had persisted. Such theologies have real targets, and normally, those targets are unknowingly (to the speaker) related to people sitting there listening. I see no kindness in allowing people to be psychologically 'violent' in their world with the arbitrary nature of people's beliefs.
Jankia> That is a good question. Normally, people making 'Mother Nature' remarks like that aren't serious (in my circles of interaction)...its more of an anthropomorphizing of natural events...giving natural-law events a human-intent explanation. If I thought they were serious, I would be just as likely to question such sloppy thinking as well, because as we all know, the sun shines on the just and the unjust, the rain falls on the just and the unjust. The amount of such rain and sun doesn't change the lack of concern by weather events for guilt, morality, or similar human social constructs. At the same time, such comments attributing retribution to Mother Nature are less onerous than the comments about gods because again, the god comments are usually generated to target specific social groups from who the religious group wishes to distance themselves, as per Falwell, Robertson, and Hagee over 9/11 and gays, lesbians and abortion.
|
|
redtigr
|
Jun 15 @ 11:18PM
|
|
|
So outrageous things are said as a reflection of our beliefs, our fellow herd members slap our back...
Actually, you said no one responded to him at all. Quite often, no response is just as effective in making a point as a direct challenge.
I'm certain it is not your intent to sound condescending, but there is a note of it in your blog. Though I agree with your views on a vengeful deity, I would not have responded to the gentleman either. People often voice cliches or banalities expecting others feel the same - or just to fill their own need to say something. And humans seem to have the need for a balance; a reason for bad things to have happened. Denied that, they seek to place blame somewhere.
It goes to the very roots of our civilization and religions; the need for answers, justice, a reason why.
|
|
DRACULA_VwV
|
Jun 15 @ 11:54PM
|
|
You are right about how the generation before us dumps it's garbage on our laps and expects us to eat it with a fake ass smile on our face and say it's good, and if we don't pass it down to our offspring, then we are filthy trash ourselves. It's oppression, and I shove oppression back up the asses of those who oppress, and age holds no reason to stop me. Remember the words, have respect for your elders. That means perpetuate the garbage and keep your mouth shut.
Just two nights ago I was at the bar, and there sat two soldiers, in their early twenties, you know the typical I'm a bad ass mentality, so I said what's your take on Vlad, They looked at eachother for a few seconds and one said to the other what did he say, and the other told him, he said what's your take on Vlad, and I could tell that the smaller one was the bigger one's puppet. The bigger one replied, he's not a threat. I smiled. Because now I knew that they both were blind puppets. Now it was time to have a little fun with these two young ones. I said he's not a threat, well then why are you guys standing on the boarder of his Iranian territory as he tells your leader to sit the fvck down and shut the fvck up and stay out of Iran or we will be provoked into war. And the bigger one said we'd wipe Iran out. And I said oh, do you think that Russia will just allow your leader to take their oil without a fight. He said we're not worried about Vlad. I gave the bigger one respect, because my intent was not to provoke him to fight, it was to provoke thought. But I can see that the smaller one was getting enraged, I can see into his christian eyes as his crucifix pupils started to invert. That's when I knew that their goat was mine. As I held my finger on my Devil's 9. (9mm). I wasn't breaking the law, it's freedom of speech, I was only practicing what I preach. So I went to the restroom and let them stew for a while. I came back and sat sat down and said, you're not worried about Vlad, you think he's worried about you. Are you familiar with a tactical nuke, he said yes. So you don't think if you step into Iran that Vlad won't supply Iran and their Eastern allies with these tactical nukes to wipe out hundreds of thousands on the battle field. Setting off a nuclear chain reaction. Vlad knows that he Is no match for England and America. But he also knows that he has China and the Middle East, and he'll use them. Because he put America on the global spotlight when he said that if you step into Iran you start world war three, not me. By this time they were swallowing their beers. You know, to put out the fire in their hearts about what I was saying to them. And trust me, I wasn't worried one bit about their jar headed mentality. For they knew that the conversation never breached any legal boundaries. And they both were chastised buy their own system they defend. I made generals do the same thing. But that's another story. So I went to the restroom once again. By this time they were begging for attention from the sexy little barmaid. So that they wouldn't have to confront themselves with my heavy conversation. So I said to them that little battles advance technology, but global wars change the world. And he said yes. I said how many people did you kill. He replied, more than you have friends, I said I don't have any friends, I said well maybe one. One little friend. He got the message, you know, scarface, say hello to my little friend. That's when he knew I had a 9. So did he. By this time his smaller christian buddy was glaring at me with his inverted crucifix pupils now blazing with fire. I saw his soul engulf through his windows. And I sais it again, how many people did you kill, they both stopped their replies. So I said what a hundred thousand, and the big one said that's just sick. The bar maid was trying to defuse the flames at the bar and said it doesn't matter. As the smaller one kept staring at me as I sat behind my Ray Ban sun glasses in the dead of the night. With a Demonic grin on my face and my hand in my pocket with my finger on the trigger of my Devil's 9.
So do I have to fight to prove I'm right. No. You know when you're right, when their soul turns to fire, and if they cross the line, it's their funeral pyre.
|
|
observed50
|
Jun 16 @ 8:56AM
|
|
Tigger> Thanks Tigger for your insights to the condescending. In rereading the blog this morning, I can see what you see. Always a good idea to give writing a moment to cook to see if you can hear all the nuances of one's emotions that run through a blog.
I wasn't suggesting anyone slapped him on his back, but where he learned to suggest gods punish today in floods, that group would slap his back for saying such things. That's the reinforcement we receive. And in the world of belief, silence is often interpreted as acceptance as much as it might be interpreted as anything else, because the believer assumes others see the same things, or want to see the same things.
Drac> Always interesting! 
|
|
|