One Night in Bangkok...

The pastor of Trinity Episcopal Church, Karen Siegfriedt, gave an excellent sermon this past Sunday. You can read the entire sermon by clicking here; but there was one part in particular that caught my ears:

"...let me tell you about my own struggle to resist fear and my desire to grow in wisdom. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, I was in a heightened state of anxiety. I did not want to overreact but rather had an earnest desire to understand the complex issues that gave rise to such an attack. I had many questions such as: Why there is there so much unrest in Muslim countries? Why do some people commit suicide in order to fight against what they perceive as injustice? Here is what I learned:

• The unemployment rate among young men in their 20’s and 30’s is enormous in many of these Muslim countries. Whenever there are scarce economic opportunities, people are more easily influenced by radical political movements like fundamentalism whose adherents promise a better future. So if you are wondering why fundamentalism is on the rise in this country as well as in Muslim countries, take a close look at the economy and put yourself into the shoes of those who are feeling insecure in this new world order.
• Many of the children in Pakistan are hungry. Hunger causes great instability in a society. There are radical terrorist groups who have constructed schools and feeding programs for children in Pakistan. Parents begrudgingly send their children to these schools to be fed even though they do not agree with their teachings. If they had other options to feed their children, they would choose them over having their children brainwashed in these schools.
• Finally, those who resort to suicide bombings are those who believe they are powerless against the powers of the world that corrupt and destroy the creatures of God. They believe they have no other recourse than self-sacrifice.

Given these insights, I wonder if we allowed fear rather than wisdom to guide our response to the terrorist attacks. If the core of the problem was economic, why didn’t we spend more of our resources on food and economic development, rather than implements of war and sacrificing the lives of thousands of soldiers?"

To be honest, I can't stand election years. I did not vote four years ago, and I will not be voting this year, either [insert audible gasp here]. I don't know, maybe when there is major campaign reform (http://www.acrreform.org/, http://www.acrreform.org/, http://www.realcampaignreform.org/). Maybe when the majority of voters actually read their voter information guides instead of being swayed by corporate media's twists and spins. Maybe when people start acting and reacting to the issues with rationality and wisdom, rather than anger and fear. Maybe when there are candidates worth voting for. That might help me crawl out of my cave on November 6th.

Many, many years ago (back when I was a Mormon)...I directed a combined adult/children's choir for a "fireside" (church event...there was no fire, call off the FD) at the Wilkinson Center at BYU. Gordon B. Hinckley was the keynote speaker that evening (this was before he became the president/prophet of the LDS Church), and there was a lot of prep involved. I was told by [then] BYU president Jeffrey R. Holland and his wife that, never in the history of BYU had a children's choir ever sung at a BYU Fireside, so it was kind of a big thing. I was poor, tired and pregnant, living in BYU Family Housing off-campus, but I adapt to my environments pretty quickly, and especially a trooper when it comes to preparing for music productions. So I took the reins and flew.

Two hours before the event, I had a chance to get familiar with the event center's organ, rehearse and sound check the choir, and get the kids settled in and settled down. Then I was to meet Hinckley and his entourage in the green room for a "Meet and Greet" and to go over the program. I was having some hot flashes, so I stepped outside for a moment to get some air. I knew I had some water in the car, so I fumbled for the keys in my purse, and just as I did so, about three or four big shiny black cars approached the entrance, and I knew I wouldn't have much time to catch my breath, let alone get the water. I was both excited and nervous; I like to "suspend in the moment" sometimes, and so I simply stood there and watched as I saw Hinckley and his peeps exit the vehicles, my eyes skimming from car to car, trying to distinguish the Mormon celebrity and "who's who".

I felt the car keys in my hand in my purse, and for a moment, I froze. I can still remember the feeling to this day as my eyes went from the "papalrazzi" to my little sky-blue, chipped paint beater Chevy Citation in the parking lot about a dozen yards away (hey, when you're pregnant, it might as well be miles). Back and forth, back and forth...Chevy Citation...Limos...Chevy Citation...Limos. A chord had been struck in me; a moment in my brainwashed mind had sunk down into my gut as I stood there looking at celebrity and nobody, rich and poor, many males and one female. Then snap. I remembered. Water. Air. Organ. Choir. Program. I was back on the gerbil wheel.

Religion is a powerful thing. Through the centuries, it has both built and crippled communities. As I ponder today about 9/11, and how religious zealots took the day away from so many of us in the world, I can't help but think back to the day I put an ordinary man (who pissed in a toilet like any one of us), up on a pedestal. Popes, presidents, pack leaders. Obama. Osama. Mitt Romney. Marion G. Romney. Neil Armstrong. Snooki: http://www.news-panel.com/news/weekend-wrapup-neil-armstrong-dies-snooki-delivers-baby-boy-rihanna-and-joan-rivers-feud

Where are we, America? Have we been so enamoured by corporate media and their numerous red herrings that we fail to look from limousine to Chevy Citation and back again? Are we so blind that we cannot read?

As Editor of this little community e-newspaper/blog, my "choir"...I wonder if my non-partisanship has turned heads away. The Amador GOP did not renew their supporting advertisership with me this year, an election year. I wrote to the California GOP, and said [paraphrase]: "Hey, the Amador GOP didn't renew their $50/year advertising with me. I'm all about balance here...what gives?"   Not a word back. Granted, I walk a figurative tightrope, I know. I lean neither right nor left. I don't care about your agendas, your campaigns, your warm fuzzies or your cold pricklies.

Before I'm an American, I am a human being. So "you better go back to your bars, your temples...your massage parlors..."  Me? Chess game on. I'll fumble for my keys and watch.

Bangkok! Oriental setting, and the city don't know what the city is getting
The créme de la créme of the chess world in a show with everything but Yul Brynner

Time flies, doesn't seem a minute since the Tyrolean spa has the chess boys in it
All change don't you know that, when you play at this level, there's no ordinary venue
It's Iceland or the Philippines or Hastings...or this place!

One night in Bankok, and the worlds's your oyster
The bars are temples but the pearls ain't free
You'll find a god in every golden cloister
And if you're lucky then the god's a she
I can feel an angel sliding up to me

One town is very like another
When you head's down over your pieces brother
It's a drag, it's a bore, it's really such a pity
To be looking at the board, not looking at the city
Whaddya mean? Ya seen one crowded, polluted, stinking town...

Tea girls warm and sweet

Some are set up in the Somerset Maugham suite
Get Thai'd! You're talking to a tourist
Whose every move's among the purest
I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine

One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok an the tough guys tumble
Can't be to careful with your comapny
I can feel the devil walking next to me

Siam's gotta be the witness to the ultimate test of cerebral fitness
This grips me more than would a muddy old river or reclining Buddha
And thank god I'm only watching the game, controlling it

I don't see you guys rating the kind of mate I'm contemplating
I'd let you watch I would invite you, but the queens we use would not excite you
So you'd better go back to your bars...your temples...your massage parlours...

One night in Bangkok and the worlds's your oyster
The bars are temples but the pearls ain't free
You'll find a god in every golden cloister
A little flesh a little history
I can feel an angel sliding up to me

One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bankok and the tough guys tumble
Can't be to careful with your company
I can feel a devil walking next to me
--Murray Head, "One Night in Bangkok"

(Okay, so I'm a product of the 80's. Shut up.)

Carol Harper