Sunday, March 05, 2006

Waiting for God-ing

          Estragon: Looks to me more like a bush.
          Vladmir: A shrub.
          Estragon: A bush.+
                --Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot



just for you, for us, the good of all
the god-mongers* are alarming
the god-mongers are altering
the god-mongers are arming
the god-mongers are authorizing

the god-mongers are banking
the god-mongers are blaming
the god-mongers are blurring
the god-mongers are bombing

the god-mongers are calling
the god-mongers are campaigning
the god-mongers are combatting
the god-mongers are coercing

the god-mongers are demonstrating
the god-mongers are denying
the god-mongers are disseminating
the god-mongers are distributing

the god-mongers are electing
the god-mongers are eluding
the god-mongers are enrolling
the god-mongers are establishing

the god-mongers are financing
the god-mongers are firing
the god-mongers are flaming
the god-mongers are framing

the god-mongers are gaining
the god-mongers are gendering
the god-mongers are glad-handing
the god-mongers are grabbing

the god-mongers are handling
the god-mongers are hacking
the god-mongers are heckling
the god-mongers are hiding

the god-mongers are identifying
the god-mongers are ignoring
the god-mongers are imitating
the god-mongers are interpellating

the god-mongers are jawing
the god-mongers are jeering
the god-mongers are joining
the god-mongers are not joking

the god-mongers are keeping
the god-mongers are kicking
the god-mongers are knitting
the god-mongers are knocking

the god-mongers are ladling
the god-mongers are law-enforcing
the god-mongers are law-making
the god-mongers are lending

the god-mongers are mailing
the god-mongers are mandating
the god-mongers are marching
the god-mongers are mobbing

the god-mongers are naming
the god-mongers are nationalizing
the god-mongers are nominating
the god-mongers are nuking

the god-mongers are observing
the god-mongers are occupying
the god-mongers are operating
the god-mongers are ovulating

the god-mongers are pandering
the god-mongers are picketing
the god-mongers are planning
the god-mongers are phoning

the god-mongers are quashing
the god-mongers are quadrupling
the god-mongers are questioning
the god-mongers are quoting

the god-mongers are raging
the god-mongers are recruiting
the god-mongers are rioting
the god-mongers are ruling

the god mongers are scouting
the god-mongers are selling
the god-mongers are spamming
the god-mongers are stealing

the god-mongers are taunting
the god-mongers are testing
the god-mongers are turning
the god-mongers are training

the god-mongers are unbending
the god-mongers are unblushing
the god-mongers are unwilling
the god-mongers are usurping

the god-mongers are validating
the god-mongers are veneering
the god-mongers are voting
the god-mongers are vowing

the god-mongers are waging
the god-mongers are waiting
the god-mongers are watching
the god-mongers are wire-tapping

the god-mongers are X-ing
the god-mongers are X rating
the god-mongers are XX rating
the god-mongers are XXX rating

the god-mongers are yachting
the god-mongers are yammering
the god-mongers are yawing
the god-mongers are yoking

the god-mongers are zapping
the god-mongers are zeroing
the god-mongers are zipping
the god-mongers are zoning
just for you, for us, the good of all







Notes:

+ "Shrub," and "bush" echo recent media nicknames for George W. Bush.

* By "god-monger" I mean only those whose organized religion takes as its goal aggressively obliterating ideas and practices with which they disagree, as well as the co-opting and imperializing of others. The term does not refer to individuals who are generous-minded and respectful of the co-existence of variety in kinds of spirituality and religion.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~poem by chris murray o~o/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



I wrote the poem posted above over something that happened here yesterday at my apartment complex--which mostly houses folks who live near poverty level or are immigrants. Employees of the complex pinned posters to all our doors announcing that the owners of this complex have partnered up with "Crown Financial Ministries" to "implement a program" of "meetings for residents." The "mission" of this program of meetings?--"To Teach People God's Financial Principles."

So this is one of the outcomes of the Bush administration's move to put churches in charge of helping those in or near poverty. This Crown Financial company has a website that is not a dot COM, as might be expected, but a dot ORG (I guess because they are a religious organization as well as a company?).

Their website states, in part, that

"Scripture address every area of handling money. ...God gave us over 2,350 verses in the Bible dealing with money and property management? Crown Financial Ministries helps people learn these ... . Please prayerfully accept our invitation to partner with us."

and

"Crown Financial Ministries exists to equip people to learn, apply, and teach God’s financial principles so they may know Christ more intimately and be free to serve Him. ... Your faithful, monthly support as a Crown Outreach Partner provides necessary resources that result in lives being touched for Christ around the world. The financial freedom people gain through Crown frees millions of dollars to be used to help reach our world for Christ. As a Crown Outreach Partner, you will help challenge people to live with a strong commitment to God’s priorities. Most of all, because of your increased participation, you will personally experience a deep and lasting joy from helping thousands of people. People from your neighborhood, your city, your nation, and around the world."


I have to say, you know, that I have great respect for people's commitments to differing forms of spirituality and engagement, but I have strong reactions to coercive socialization processes and practices--also to rhetorical (ideological) devices of interpellation used with the goal of profiteering or taking advantage of the vulnerable... I've a loathing of manipulation in general. Usually the junk this complex tacks to our doors is just junk. But this time it seems insideous, beyond belief even in today's draconian western-cultural environment, insideous in its god-mongering. Especially the implication of imperializing the world made me want to vomit.