In so many ways 2024 is already starting to crash and burn: Gaza, Trump, 25% of Americans think January 6th was an FBI operation, another school shooting, the Epstein documents...you continue to fight the good fight and it’s appreciated.
Sarah, you are wonderfully thought provoking and keenly aware of so much.
“None of this has anything to do with God”
I’m not so sure. I had to think about this.
The belief there is a ‘better place’ has fueled unrelenting indifference to the real place we actually live in.
We are told this world is “evil.” And it took me 50 years to realize this was one of the cruelest lies a mind could come up with. Yet it is common in my former Christian way of seeing things.
I have left all of that now.
This world is heartbreakingly beautiful and I doubt there is a better one in any case. It is no irony to me that a ‘holy land’ would become a place frothing with the deepest hatreds.
If god exists he is as indifferent and cold as the statue Of christ of the ozarks - not worthy of the stone he’s carved in.
You are so correct. Paradise is right here before our eyes, yet so many don’t see it and refuse to do anything that makes it better for all humanity and animals. Hatred has become a cancer and too often religion fuels this on many fronts.
Excellent, thoughtful, and compelling writing as always. Sarah, that you can express your thoughts so eloquently and yet and the same time with such clearness and plainness is remarkable.
Your writing is inspiring, I've recommended to my early-20's daughters, British but US-educated, who asked to understand more history after seeing the Anne Frank Haus earlier this year. Before Christmas I took them to Berlin to understand the impact of Hitler, and Stalin. Berlin has turned the Nazi police complex into "The Typography of Terror", a mesmerizing account of the Nazi take-over. We ended at the Sachsenhausen camp. The Germans have a word, Vergangenheitsbewältigung, meaning "public debate within a country on a problematic period of its recent history." The US needs more people like you to tell the truth as you do, not only about history but about today.
Too bitterly truthful for most people, but truthful none the less. I do hope that millions of people will read this, especially those in the tainted halls of our American government and its President, who is now aiding this massacre.
Oh my goodness what a story you have told! Sarah, keep up with your writing as it’s medicine for all who read it! Maybe one day we’ll all get on the same page and get along with each other! I realize that’s a bit far fetched, but “maybes” keep us alive and positive!
This -> “I’ve got that bad curiosity that some call a conscience.”
Me too!
While reading today’s post, I started to feel that this whole situation—genocide in Palestine, specifically the murder of children—seems like a strange kind of paradox with a religious flavor. A feeling I have determined to be the usual hypocrisy. Deeds versus actions. Simple pattern recognition.
Here in America, denying woman their freedom of agency, and the newborn child any material support—human rights, education, etc, the Pro-Life movement cries “Save the Children” while calling abortion murder. And, at the same time supporting the carpet bombing of a whole culture, including that culture’s children, murder by the thousands.
It’s a bizarre disconnect to be able to say, “Look, I’ve saved you from infanticide”, at the same time neglecting to tell them to watch out for the wolves.
Two very different references jarred up by this latest inspired essay of yours that so seamlessly blends humor with horror. First, do you remember Frederick, the misanthropic professor from "Hannah and Her Sisters," saying, "You missed a very dull TV show about Auschwitz. More gruesome film clips and more puzzled intellectuals declaring their mystification over the systematic murder of millions. The reason why they could never answer the question ‘How could it possibly happen?’ is that it's the wrong question. Given what people are, the question is, ‘Why doesn't it happen more often?’" (Woody Allen also gives him the immortal line, "If Jesus came back and saw what's going on in his name, he'd never stop throwing up.") Second, probably more obscurely but perhaps even more appropriately, have you ever heard "Jesus Hits Like an Atom Bomb"? If not, you definitely should -- a perfect hymn for the interminable "Cold" War that we keep finding so many ways to continue waging. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x50rSEEN1w
Evocative as always, but the weaving in of so many current troubling motifs that plague our world is what makes the writing so powerful. It isn't all new of course. The US government has many times been involved with murderous regimes, but exposing the intersectionality and malevolent actors, I think, helps break up the noise, the propaganda, that clouds the information pipelines. It matters.
Leave it to you to find these things, these stories. I don't think your travels are going to take you to Disneyworld and riding rollercoasters. We need your traveling. Thank you.
Dang! The naked boasting of Gerald L.K. Smith. These guys know what they are up to. So intriguing how these stories often circle back and close the loop in a creepy way, isn't it?
Fantastic! Ever seen Rock City in Tennessee? I grew up in East Tennessee and never saw it. Never visited Graceland either. What a bizarre shrine you visited. Milk carton Jesus. “HAVE YOU SEEN THIS SAVIOR?” on a milk carton just popped into my head. You’re spot on about Israel, Netanyahu, the US government. I reckon the song “Plastic Jesus” could appropriately be in served here.
We stopped by Rock City on a road trip years ago. It's actually pretty cool for a trip break, a system of walking paths built by the CCC back in the Depression. I bet it has some interesting stories too, though.
In so many ways 2024 is already starting to crash and burn: Gaza, Trump, 25% of Americans think January 6th was an FBI operation, another school shooting, the Epstein documents...you continue to fight the good fight and it’s appreciated.
Sarah, you are wonderfully thought provoking and keenly aware of so much.
“None of this has anything to do with God”
I’m not so sure. I had to think about this.
The belief there is a ‘better place’ has fueled unrelenting indifference to the real place we actually live in.
We are told this world is “evil.” And it took me 50 years to realize this was one of the cruelest lies a mind could come up with. Yet it is common in my former Christian way of seeing things.
I have left all of that now.
This world is heartbreakingly beautiful and I doubt there is a better one in any case. It is no irony to me that a ‘holy land’ would become a place frothing with the deepest hatreds.
If god exists he is as indifferent and cold as the statue Of christ of the ozarks - not worthy of the stone he’s carved in.
You are so correct. Paradise is right here before our eyes, yet so many don’t see it and refuse to do anything that makes it better for all humanity and animals. Hatred has become a cancer and too often religion fuels this on many fronts.
Excellent, thoughtful, and compelling writing as always. Sarah, that you can express your thoughts so eloquently and yet and the same time with such clearness and plainness is remarkable.
Thank you!
To your significant strengths, you are reminiscent of the great Joan Didion. You’re patently wrong about Israel. But you’re still fantastic. 🙏🏻🙂
"… We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar
Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion; "
T S Eliot
So spooky.
Your writing is inspiring, I've recommended to my early-20's daughters, British but US-educated, who asked to understand more history after seeing the Anne Frank Haus earlier this year. Before Christmas I took them to Berlin to understand the impact of Hitler, and Stalin. Berlin has turned the Nazi police complex into "The Typography of Terror", a mesmerizing account of the Nazi take-over. We ended at the Sachsenhausen camp. The Germans have a word, Vergangenheitsbewältigung, meaning "public debate within a country on a problematic period of its recent history." The US needs more people like you to tell the truth as you do, not only about history but about today.
Too bitterly truthful for most people, but truthful none the less. I do hope that millions of people will read this, especially those in the tainted halls of our American government and its President, who is now aiding this massacre.
Oh my goodness what a story you have told! Sarah, keep up with your writing as it’s medicine for all who read it! Maybe one day we’ll all get on the same page and get along with each other! I realize that’s a bit far fetched, but “maybes” keep us alive and positive!
I have learned so much from your books. I appreciate these regular posts that keep me balanced day to day.
This -> “I’ve got that bad curiosity that some call a conscience.”
Me too!
While reading today’s post, I started to feel that this whole situation—genocide in Palestine, specifically the murder of children—seems like a strange kind of paradox with a religious flavor. A feeling I have determined to be the usual hypocrisy. Deeds versus actions. Simple pattern recognition.
Here in America, denying woman their freedom of agency, and the newborn child any material support—human rights, education, etc, the Pro-Life movement cries “Save the Children” while calling abortion murder. And, at the same time supporting the carpet bombing of a whole culture, including that culture’s children, murder by the thousands.
It’s a bizarre disconnect to be able to say, “Look, I’ve saved you from infanticide”, at the same time neglecting to tell them to watch out for the wolves.
“A big fan of Jesus!” too.
As always, thanks for the dose of sanity.
I meant “words versus deeds”. 🙃
Two very different references jarred up by this latest inspired essay of yours that so seamlessly blends humor with horror. First, do you remember Frederick, the misanthropic professor from "Hannah and Her Sisters," saying, "You missed a very dull TV show about Auschwitz. More gruesome film clips and more puzzled intellectuals declaring their mystification over the systematic murder of millions. The reason why they could never answer the question ‘How could it possibly happen?’ is that it's the wrong question. Given what people are, the question is, ‘Why doesn't it happen more often?’" (Woody Allen also gives him the immortal line, "If Jesus came back and saw what's going on in his name, he'd never stop throwing up.") Second, probably more obscurely but perhaps even more appropriately, have you ever heard "Jesus Hits Like an Atom Bomb"? If not, you definitely should -- a perfect hymn for the interminable "Cold" War that we keep finding so many ways to continue waging. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x50rSEEN1w
Thank you again and again, Sarah.
Good post. Agree with all you say.
It would be interesting to compare Christ of the Ozarks with his counterpart overlooking Rio De Janeiro on Sugarloaf Mountain.
Evocative as always, but the weaving in of so many current troubling motifs that plague our world is what makes the writing so powerful. It isn't all new of course. The US government has many times been involved with murderous regimes, but exposing the intersectionality and malevolent actors, I think, helps break up the noise, the propaganda, that clouds the information pipelines. It matters.
Thank you!
Leave it to you to find these things, these stories. I don't think your travels are going to take you to Disneyworld and riding rollercoasters. We need your traveling. Thank you.
Thank you for all your posts. I love these essays.
Dang! The naked boasting of Gerald L.K. Smith. These guys know what they are up to. So intriguing how these stories often circle back and close the loop in a creepy way, isn't it?
Fantastic! Ever seen Rock City in Tennessee? I grew up in East Tennessee and never saw it. Never visited Graceland either. What a bizarre shrine you visited. Milk carton Jesus. “HAVE YOU SEEN THIS SAVIOR?” on a milk carton just popped into my head. You’re spot on about Israel, Netanyahu, the US government. I reckon the song “Plastic Jesus” could appropriately be in served here.
We stopped by Rock City on a road trip years ago. It's actually pretty cool for a trip break, a system of walking paths built by the CCC back in the Depression. I bet it has some interesting stories too, though.
Wow. It seems the CCC were quite active in East Tennessee during the Great Depression. Near my TN home town there was a lot of CCC built parks etc.
And also in Pittsburgh! It was quite a program.