Reading about Bush makes me weary. . .

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5301720.stm

The latest speeches by Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney and other government officials have done nothing whatsoever to inspire me or restore my trust in them, rather, it has made me feel weary and saddened about the U.S. involvement in the world.
The president keeps using language of "victory and defeat," he even goes so far as to say: "Despite their differences, these groups form the outline of a single movement, a worldwide network of radicals that use terror to kill those who stand in the way of their totalitarian ideology," and also, "The war we fight today is more than a military conflict. It is the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st Century."
But is it really? What really IS his goal, beyond all of this empty and ambiguous rhetoric? It still seems so much like empty promises to me, not to accomplish peace by any means, but rather to establish our power and authority (or perhaps HIS) in the Middle East and the rest of the world.
I honestly don't know very much about the conflict(s) in the Middle East, all of the history and social struggles that go into this very polemic and complicated issue, but there HAS TO BE ANOTHER WAY. I sometimes wonder where are the other voices that are asking that. Not just the pissed-off liberal opponents of Bush, because by making fun of him and bitching about him constantly, they accomplish nothing. But where are those who are truly questing for peace? Asking the real questions that expose the nature of the situation and our attitudes concerning it? How will I continue to respond to this very prevalent issue?

A song that was given to me by a friend a few days ago has been playing nonstop in my head and on my cd player. It's by Derek Webb, who is considered by many "proper" evangelicals to be an apostate on account of the questions he asks. The lyrics to this song echoed much too perfectly the questions that I want to put to Bush and all of the religious right:

A New Law
don’t teach me about politics and government
just tell me who to vote for
don’t teach me about truth and beauty
just label my music
don’t teach me how to live like a free man
just give me a new law
i don’t wanna know if the answers aren’t easy
so just bring it down from the mountain to me

i want a new law
i want a new law
gimme that new law

don’t teach me about moderation and liberty
i prefer a shot of grape juice
don’t teach me about loving my enemies
don’t teach me how to listen to the Spirit
just give me a new law

And in the very next song on the album, one of his lines says:

there are two great lies that i’ve heard:
“the day you eat of the fruit of that tree, you will not surely die”
and that Jesus Christ was a white, middle-class republican
and if you wanna be saved
you have to learn to be like Him


AMEN.

It's been all summer. . .

I have not posted on this blog all summer, and I was almost wondering if it would cease to exist in cyberspace on account of my lagging schedule of posting.
This summer has not been lacking for much reflection and contemplation on themes of life and existence (since that seems to be the underlying mantra of this blog), and not lacking for outlets of writing; I cannot even say that I have come to any significant epiphanies or realizations about such themes. Being out of college and just existing in the "day job" circuit has given rise to much thought about purpose and vocation and the attempt to better the shitty world in which we live, and much of my reading repertoire this summer has given me many questions and half-muddled clarity about what my life ought to be centered upon as I embark into more young adulthood.
Quite a few times in the last few days, I have been wrestling with the inevitability of change, as many friends are embarking on extended excursions abroad or to grad school or away from our immediate community. I sat with a fdear riend last night at an all-night cafe and discussed the question of effecting our world. I sat on my porch a few short minutes ago with two housemates, smoking and talking about changes and questions and reality of life. I shared one of my last embraces with one of my very best friends today, as she is about to depart tomorrow for a year in Africa. I don't have any gigantic revelations on account of these interactions, but I enjoy a strange contentment with having (or soon NOT having) these individuals in my life; people who ask the same questions, smoke the same cigarettes, enjoy the same music and poetry, read the same kinds of books, and yet we all do it in our own way, trying to understand the world and ourselves and each other, and being together in the process of doing that.
I almost allowed myself to become nihilistic about remaining in the Twin Cities for another year (or two) after college, because I wasn't doing anything "of significance" to match the ideals that I solidified through academic study. But I have come to realize that one of the most worthwhile things about this period in life is the PEOPLE. The people I will know more deeply and spend more time with over the coming months and next year, that is the reason that I will and must stay here in Minneapolis. Day job or financial difficulties aside, never again in life will I be among friends like these, or be able to change and develop in such ways. Despite my perpetual discontent about being here, it is all made worthwhile for the people I am privileged to know. . .