Damned if we do

...'But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, "We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we wailed you did not mourn." For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "he has a demon"; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!" Matthew 11:16-19

Jesus gets us, doesn't he? Although I do not know the specific circumstances to which he is speaking here, it is not hard to imagine, is it? We're kinda like this aren't we? We may not know what we want but at least it won't takes us long to get over it.

It was 14 degrees in Charlotte yesterday. The view from the Portico is bleak. So I figure it's either Lou Reed or Tiger Woods. It's been a day or so since I've heard a talking head or read an Internet headline referencing our latest hero turned villian so perhaps it's safe to offer some considerations about this blood bath.

Actually, I did see one blurb about Tiger, it was a quote by Mel Gibson. "I feel sorry for Tiger Woods...Why are we talking about this when we're sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan? ... He's being used as a diversion, and it just drives me crazy."

I came by this via a CNN headline but the link took me to an article that had actually come from "People" Magazine which was apparently quoting Britain's, "Mail on Sunday Live." I will save all that for a warmer day but you might want to go back and read that last sentence just so you can see it in your mind... That's CNN tagging "People" on a juicy connection in which it was citing a lesser known tabloid. In case you're counting, that's fourth-hand news reporting. And what's the news? That would be one recent media-maligned celebrity commenting on another.

Anyway, I liked the quote. Not that the statement is terribly profound but that it is coming from one of the last guys we crucified. It looks like Mel Gibson is still kicking and he has a new revenge movie out so he's either been resurrected or at least sufficiently mutilated to merit our collective satisfaction.

I recently heard someone say that if Tiger would just "confess and repent" then the American people would forgive him. The person was entirely serious--as though Tiger might stand up on public television and tell us all how sorry he is and that by doing this, it will allow us to get back to the good ole days where he is winning and he is our hero. I heard someone else say that Tiger is a Buddhist. Is that right? (I'll check "People.") Anyway, let's set that aside for now. So this must be how it works. We, the attentive public are the new priesthood. Guided by the tabloids, we worship. We learn when to look up and when to look down... When to gather stones for the altar and when to cast them at whoever we've placed upon it...

I suspect that what is really going on here is just some kind of vile consumption--of anything and everything. Celebrities have become both the saviors and the sacrificial lambs of our time...

If i could stick my pen in my heart
And spill it all over the stage
Would it satisfy ya, would it slide on by ya
Would you think the boy is strange? ain't he strange?

If i could win ya, if i could sing ya
A love song so divine
Would it be enough for your cheating heart
If i broke down and cried? if i cried?

I said i know it's only rock 'n roll but i like it...

If i could stick a knife in my heart
Suicide right on stage
Would it be enough for your teenage lust
Would it help to ease the pain? ease your brain?

If i could dig down deep in my heart
Feelings would flood on the page
Would it satisfy ya, would it slide on by ya
Would ya think the boy's insane? he's insane

I said i know it's only rock 'n roll but i like it..
(m. jagger/k. richards)