Friday, October 21, 2011

Movie Review - "The Concert" - A 6 out of 10 on the JWorld Scale


So I had mixed emotions about this movie.  I think this movie had and made a very important point.  However the plot was entirely implausible.  Now that would be okay, if it didn’t really try to have a plot….such as “Tree of Life”.  But this movie tries to have a plot.  It tries to play as a farce, but it is somewhat a tragic story of what suppression of art does to a person and a society.  I find farce and tragedy don’t always mix well especially if you want an inspirational ending….I wont even bother going over the plot, since it is ridiculous, but suffice it to say, I think a better ending would have been if he had been imagining the whole event from the Soviet Gulag. Ok, one point.  The story involves this ragtag group of musicians, who haven’t practiced together. playing a major symphony in a major venue. Dont ask how they got there.  So perhaps the message is that creativity finds a way to express itself. That may be true individually, but I think especially not with groups of people working together, like a symphony.  But perhaps I am looking at this too literally.

So having said all this, let me indicate the power of the movie. First, if you like the symphony, the ending of the movie has a wonderful symphony concert piece that makes the movie worth watching. In some ways, I think the movie is structured just for that very purpose.  The important point I think made in the movie is that creating art (in this case music) is transformational. It is not only transformational personally, but also societally.  And the stifling of art or the creative impulse, leads to self destruction, individually and societally.  When I think about the movie in a big picture way, I liked it a lot.  I just wish the story could have been told a little more creatively.   

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

A Government, by of and for the people - my thoughts on the occupy movment


I have been thinking deeply about the Occupy Movement.  I have committed to attend the event in Davenport next Saturday (22nd) to add my support.  I was curious when the movement started, and then surprised when I saw that it lasted as long as it did in New York.  I was astonished to see how quickly it spread. It is heartening to see the young people of this country become engaged.   I hope that the Occupy movement is not completely coopted by but rather integrated with other activist movements . 
I am not sure what the 1% slogan means.  I know it is a symbol for those in power, for the wealthy.  The average income of the top 1% of the people in this country is over 1 million dollars a year.  Is that what this movement is about?  I have had numerous discussions with family and friends about just what is middle class?  I have discussions with people who make over 100k a year who truly believe that they are middle class.  So that will be a discussion for another day.  My point is, where do you draw the line.  Does someone making 900k fit into the 99% Are we talking about lifestyle excess? Are we talking about lack of opportunity for all? Are we talking about our lack of ability to control our own fate? Are we talking about rage against a rigged system?  Or possibly all of the above?

I see a demonizing of business and businesspeople. Not all business are evil. Capitalism has often provided the incentive for tremendous creativity and invention.  On the whole businesspeople do not see themselves as evil.  Investors have risked capital and want to reap the rewards of that risk. They see themselves as playing by the rules of a game, and they are the best at playing the game.  I think that is the point.  The problem as I see it is that we have gotten to the point where the business people are writing the rules to the games so as to create a rigged game. 

As Theodore Parker, a Unitarian Minister in the 19th century said:

The idea that all men people have unalienable rights; that in respect thereof, all men people are created equal; and that government is to be established and sustained for the purpose of giving every man person an opportunity for the enjoyment and development of all these unalienable rights. This idea demands, as the proximate organization thereof, a democracy, , a democracy, that is, a government of all the people, by all the people, for all the people; 

I do believe there is a purpose for responsible business.  The goal of most investors though is to maximize profits. This however must be balanced by the common good of society.  Business has shown it has the inability to regulate itself. Therefore the only recourse for the citizens is for the government to be a counter measure of business so as to protect the citizens from the excesses of business.  The pendulum in this country has continued to swing back and forth throughout its history.  We never seem to find a balance. It just keeps swinging from one extreme of business run rampant (child labor, unsafe working conditions, no concern for the environment, etc.) to regulations that have diminished business’ creativity and inventiveness.  We need to find a balance.  A balance where the workers rights and rewards and the needs of the greater society are balanced against and linked to the investors risks and rewards.  In our current climate of fear and recession, business’  are using this as an opportunity to take advantage of the workers and taxpayers of this country. 

What must be done?
I think first and foremost we need to repeal the Citizen’s United decision. Corporations are not people. They do not have the same goals or ends as the citizens of this country and thus they should not have the same rights as citizens.  The rage that I sense within the Occupy movement is that Business is controlling the government.  Business has rigged the system in their favor.  This has been exacerbated by the unlimited funding of political campaigns by business. We need to get business out of the business of choosing government officials. Secondly we have to enact some lasting campaign reform and term limits for government officials to obviate entrenched special interests. 

If we are to survive and stay strong as a country, we need to avoid excesses and find balance.  The pendulum has swung too far.  The Occupy movement is the step to bring us back into balance. This is why I will support the Occupy movement. A Government, by of and for the people, not a government by of and for the corporation. 

Saturday, October 08, 2011

Yom Kippur Service


I went to Yom Kippur Kol Nidre Service last night for the first time in 35 years.  I attended at the reform temple here in Davenport, Ia.  I had met the Rabbi a number times at inter-faith meetings.  I don’t know why I attended.  The last time I went to any Jewish service was about 7 years ago when in Orlando the reform temple was having a Kaballah service.  I had been reading about Kaballah and wondered what a service would be like.  The service was mostly singing in Hebrew, and the people were generally unwelcoming to me as a guest. The last time I went to Kol Nidre service I was 18 or so. I had not been to Temple in a few years and out of respect to my parents I decided at the last minute to attend.  I did not have a ticket though, and asked to be let in. They did not turn me away, but the Rabbi, at the beginning of the service made a point to comment sarcastically how many people just show up at the last minute without a ticket and expect to be let in.  I didn’t let the door hit me on the way out. I have talked to other Rabbis over the years and they often have this same disdainful attitude toward unpaid visitors.   Now 35 years later, here I am again, an unpaid visitor, who at the last minute decided to go to services.  Some observations follow:

  • ·         There was a police officer at the entryway.  A reminder that I am not in New York anymore and that Jewish people are in a deep minority here which I assume creates some fear.
  • ·         No one asked if I had a ticket. (I did call in advance and ask if visitors were welcome)
  • ·         The people in general were friendly and welcoming and willing to strike up a conversation.
  • ·         They service book is now written left to right as opposed to right to left when I last went.  I actually do think going from right to left in some way helps train the brain differently.
  • ·         There is at least an attempt for some inclusive language in the prayer book compared to how I remember it as a youth
  • ·         There is little transliteration of Hebrew to English in the prayer book, so if you cannot read Hebrew (which I don’t anymore) you cant follow along
  • ·         There seemed to be a lot more Hebrew in the service than I remember (this could be my memory)
  • ·         The s have become t at the end of many Hebrew words
  • ·         Chants of prayers had different tunes than I remembered (not unusual or surprised by this)
  • ·         There were some prayers and songs that I still remember by heart from when I was 17 years old.
  • ·         The sermon was excellent, much better than I remember ever hearing as a youth.  This probably has more to do with age, and where I am in my spiritual life than anything else. But the sermon was one that I think could easily have been given in a Unitarian Universalist congregation and was very relevant and moving.  The sermon also included a guided meditation which was excellent.  It was clear that the congregation was uncomfortable with the guided meditation, but I found it powerful.
  • ·         There was a lot of talk about God. I understand this due to the theology, but it was ongoing and unending.  Rarely using the word God in Unitarian services made hearing it constantly somewhat unusual.  In some ways by constantly using and repeating the word, seemed to minimize the meaning of the word for me. Further reflection needed on this topic for me.
  • ·         There were words used like grace, and holy spirit that I had always thought of as specifically Christian that were used in the liturgy.
  • ·         I was a little surprised by a lack of reverence by the attendees.  Maybe I am remembering this with a child’s memory, but this was always a serious time in my family. Last night,  throughout the service, people were chatting, and a few even walked out early. I tried to imagine they were ill and had to go to the hospital.  I could never imagine leaving a Kol Nidre service early except for something that extreme.
  • ·         There was a hauntingly beautiful cello performance of Kol Nidre.

 Overall it was a good experience.  Some of the readings were powerful.  There were many readings that included calls for justice.  However the reality is that the theology still doesn’t resonate with me. It never did.