138 Inflation of Life

A life isn't worth much these days. A Muslim life, that is. I, as a Christian, may - and perhaps must- say that.

While the stabbing to death of a pregnant Egyptian woman in a German courtroom by one of the millions of Stalin's souvenirs that are waiting to let loose their version of "Helter Skelter" on the European population evoked a minuscule fraction of coverage in the German press that a Jewish or "Christian," or simply non-Muslim victim would have eked out, American war heroes make a sport of bombing Afghan weddings and paying relatives of the victims 2000 bucks for each victimized child, the "most moral army" in the world seated in the Promised Land explains to the world why it's totally legitimate to kill Palestinian civilians in order not to risk the life of an Israeli soldier.

Relatives of American victims of war receive a fifty-fold sum of what Afghan (or Pakistani) relatives of victims are paid off with, by the way.

Slavery may have been abolished (although I seriously doubt it when I watch the masses trot to their working places and back every day), but the value system of human life is till intact.

On the slave market of the 21st century, the price tag on an American reads "100.000$ (delivered in oak)."

An Afghan or Pakistani child: "2000$ (plighwood)."

An Egyptian woman and her unborn child: "3 lines on page 5."

A homosexual American pop star and child abuser: Front page coverage and more pages and pages on every Western tabloid, magazine and online news service for weeks in a row.

An Israeli soldier: "1000 Palestinean pairs of eyes and sets of teeth, just to make sure one of ours won't lose his."


Ah, it's great to live in such an enlightened, modern and democratic society, isn't it? It makes my chest swell with pride, the way we proclaim freedom from shore to shore in our own special, little, Western way.

After all, it must be pride, or simply unfathomable arrogance that enables so-called "evolved" human beings with half a brain to come up with such an intricate system of values.

It's true, I have my own issues with Muslims. Since they have become the epitome of "Terror" under the Bush administration (or was any non-Muslim ever attacked during that glorious "War on Terror?") they've had to go on the defensive.
They've started reading the Koran in order to find out what they're being haunted for, and unlike the hundreds of thousands of lukewarm Christians lulling themselves to sleep on their pews, they have some fire and devotion for their religion. That is, of course, very bothersome and aggravating for our society of pew warmers.
I would also prefer to see them all converted to my own Christian faith, (although I'd hate to see another billion of pew warmers, to be honest).
But at the current rate, I'm afraid our method of enlightenment isn't cutting the cake.

In fact, if I were a Muslim, I wouldn't trust a Christian any further than I could throw my 40 year old pick up truck, not to mention members of other Western "enlightened" religions currently on the market.

I guess if you would fall into my country, kill a million of my people, and then hold a gun to my head and say, "Join our wonderful, enlightened Western society that is bringing freedom and democracy to your country and your whole bunch of backward pagans," I would reply, "In the name of Allah, shoot!"

But that's just me. The millions around me in my country couldn't care less about what's going on around them, much less in a far away desert or even in a Berlin courtroom. Maybe that's why I don't really feel at home in this world, nor am able to eke out the remotest resemblance of patriotic feelings for the life of me.

Which is why my own life probably isn't worth a dime, either, according to the current slave market rates.
I've never been a very good slave, I admit. At least not to Mammon.

But thus is the inflation of life...
None of us knows what they'll be worth tomorrow, or how much they'll be willing to pay for us next year.
I suppose what really matters is not to be found wanting when God pulls out the scales to measure what our life was really worth, according to His standard, not ours...

095 Freedom's Just Another Word for...

There's a seemingly insignificant line in an old song written by Kris Kristofferson, made popular by the Sixties Legend Janis Joplin, that has turned out to be a revelation of truth, proven time and again: "Freedom's just another word for 'nothing left to lose'" sings the chorus of "Bobby McGee."

Since we get to play for a lot of well-to-do people, and sometimes for the extremely wealthy, it has been our observation that if what Kristofferson wrote there is true, that the free people must live somewhere else.

Last night we observed another confirmation of Bobby McGee's profound truth, as we played in the luxurious home of a prestigious artist, towering over a spectacular view of the probably most beautiful part of the lake of Constance with a garage full of century old cars, each of which worth a multiple sum of all our meager possessions put together.

It's funny, though, that once you get to know enough of this sort of extravaganza, it pitifully ceases and fails to impress at some point, especially when it becomes apparent that the essence of what really constitutes a rich and fulfilled life is missing from the picture of such abundance.

Most rich people we've had the pleasure to play for so far, usually made an effort to at least try to create an air of equality between themselves and their staff, or any other human beings from strata of society less materially blessed, but that effort was being purposely avoided in this situation, apparently with the intention to impress the laden guests all the more, which gave the unbiased observer the slight impression that perhaps slavery has not been abolished yet down here in the south of Germany.

It gets one thinking. Where is the point where people start building walls of separation between themselves and other humans that set them apart from them, as something - exclusively in their own minds - "better" than their fellowman? What is the sum that one needs to own that entitles them to the claim of being on a higher level than those other, "mere mortals?" - Because it's obvious that such semi-gods deem themselves immortal, or at least they behave in such a way that they would never expect having to stand before their Creator at any point, Who, as it is written, is no respecter of persons, and does not have any preferences based on material criteria.

Maybe "the love of money is the root of all evil" because it's the primary building material for the pride of life that erects those walls around us. After all, it's usually rich people who send their subjects off to kill their fellowman in other countries, and - as it usually turns out - not at all for the noble reasons they claimed their war was necessary for...

It's not that it's wrong or a sin to be rich, but what matters is what your money makes you become, and whether one has the maturity to keep in mind that no amount of possessions will make a difference between themselves and others that will last. Obviously, it takes some folks less to get to the point where they think themselves better than others and separate themselves from "the rest of the mob," or elevate themselves to some self-erected mental shrine of some sacred state above the crowd, and I find it helpful to regularly remind myself of Kris Kristofferson's little piece of wisdom and ask myself, how free am I today? What have I got to lose today?

There's an old German fairy-tale called "Hans im Glueck" (roughly translated "Lucky Jack" or "Hans in Luck"), about a boy who finds out that the more he possesses, the more miserable he becomes, and that the way to happiness is giving it all away. Of course, like most people, I detested that story as a kid. Before I learned the lesson from "Bobby McGee," that is, which happened rather recently.

Jesus put it like this: "A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." Or in modern English: "Your life does not consist of the bunch of things you own." In fact, a life that consists exlusively of the value of the material things one possesses always turns out to be an empty life, an "empty shell, groomed and fed so well..."

One would think that we, the enlightened society of the 21st century would have grasped such basics of life by now, but since that's obviously not the case, I'm afraid it only proves just how enlightened we really are...

"What would it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" Jesus asked 2000 years ago. The answer is, obviously: nothing. The same amount that would have ensured your happiness during your life-time. So, it all comes back around to nothing. The only difference is whether you'll fall for the illusion of "something" or even "a whole lot," or not.