Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop

Reckoner - Radiohead (Cover)

Irony

I've been thinking ... again. Why are so many Black Christians liberal democrats? Obviously, the party's platform is not in line with a lot of "Christian" dogma. I mean the party is largely: pro choice, pro gay marriage, pro gay rights in general, pro civil liberties, anti prayer in schools, anti death penalty, anti gov't/church make out sessions.

And yet, most Black people are decidedly Christian, liberal, and democratic.

My conclusion? I think we, as a demographic, talk pretty big shit. BUT we don't really mean most of it.

I think we're too smart to mean it. We understand that outlawing all abortion is nonsense. That gay love is the same as straight love. That civil liberties were not always for everyone. That prayer in schools can cause all sorts of problems (What if someone wants to pray to the Devil or "Speak in tongues" or stuff like that?). That the gov't has no place in the church and vise-versa.

That while we, on paper may be republicans, are, in reality, quite democratic.

My new apartment

So, here's my new apartment. Its in Hillcrest Heights; which really means its technically in Maryland but literally in DC. Its okay for the money and proximity to the metro. My neighbor is pretty quiet. I say neighbor because I live on the top floor, next to the penthouse. My other neighbor is a stairwell. I guess in the grander scheme of things, its pretty much perfect.

Wait no, there are no restaurants here! But the abundance of single chicks more than makes up for that ... and no, i'm not saying that they are only good for cooking.

Terror From the Heavens --- no not terrorist

It occurred to me yesterday, as I was watching a documentary on volcanoes, that we, as humans, really give ourselves too much credit. I often joke that although we have created billions of dollars and countless technological advances, we still base every currency on shiny rocks ... almost the same way we did thousands of years ago.
The thing is this. I was watching the documentary on volcanoes and was struck by the narrator's observations of the people of Pompeii and their acts after the volcano erupted. Essentially, most of the survivors claimed that the gods had been responsible for the terrible force of nature. They, of course, prayed for relief and were not rewarded.
I had a revelation! I remember seeing pastors like John Hagee on television saying that Hurricane Katrina was an act of god and that it was punishment for sin a la Sodom and Gomorrah.
I began to see that this isn't an uncommon notion ... that is attributing forces of nature to gods.
Things look bleak for the humans. What have we existed for maybe 15,000 years? And with all that time to develop, we're still staring up at the sky and attributing forces of nature to an invisible man in outer space.