red fuzzy jesus

Tales From The Cribs

I love to watch the show Cribs on Mtv. Like many I’m fascinated with how the rich spend their money. Some are tasteful. Most are tacky. All make me imagine myself rich. It’s human nature to desire wealth and envy those who have it. Those instincts can propel us to work hard and succeed or reveal deep flaws in character.

The stars featured on Cribs show off huge houses, multiple cars, and all manner of excess. Their homes tend to be full of security cameras, flat panel HDTVs, and guest suites. What’s troubling is that most of the homeowners are blinded by their own flash in the pan. Few performers with a sudden hit series on the WB or platinum single make it past two years of stardom. Fame is fickle and fortune is fleeting. They seem to spend everything they have on possessions not realizing the depth of their well – or lack thereof.

I once watched a few episodes with a friend of a friend named James. He described his imaginary episode of Cribs as one where he spends a few minutes showing off a modest home and car but spends the latter part of the segment flipping through his stock portfolio. The point is more valuable than Jingy’s bouncing Impala. True wealth is financial security, not the accumulation of things.

There are other ways to measure wealth. Also not shown on Cribs is the incalculable benefit of altruism. I guess it’s not the point of the show to demonstrate the affect of helping out a friend or raising up a stranger. But money often yields its greatest joy when given away. Another good friend of mine, Cyndi, once pointed out that the people on Cribs never show books in their homes. In her imaginary episode she would have shelves full of books. This makes another money point Cribs misses; the abstract value of life enrichment that education and travel provide.

Cribs never makes you think about the weightiness of wealth either. Our possessions by their nature can possess us. Big houses have to be maintained, large yards need to be mowed, all acquisition must be defended by attorneys. It’s easy to grab the gold ring and not think about how hard it is to keep up with. So many successful people get swallowed by mortgages and mutual funds and the need to work 80-hour weeks to maintain it all. So they long for the freedom of their youthful poverty. Connections with others and time to one’s self get pushed aside by the desire to own a boat.

What I would love to see is a ten-year follow up Cribs show. I picture B2K back on the block and that girl from Seventh Heaven forced to live with her parents who aren’t as forgiving as the TV version. I would like to see how and if people hold on to their money and how happy they are with themselves after spending loses its gratification. I guess that show sort of already exists. Its called, Behind The Music.

Essentially Cribs shows one concept of money management - vapid consumption. I prefer to think of money as a facilitator of freedom, thought, growth and most importantly, time. I don’t consider myself above material desires, just cognizant or their pitfalls. I intend to pursue wealth. I’m just hoping these inclinations help me feel fulfilled regardless of my account balance.

Whenever I feel frustrated financially I stop and remind myself that there is freedom that comes from a lack of crap and that the stuff that will really, truly make me happy cannot be bought.

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.” - Henry David Thoreau

THE KEYES TO WINNING GOD’S VOTE

"The battle is for us, but I have confidence -- because the victory is for God." (source)

With those words, former U.S. Diplomat and Presidential candidate Alan Keyes kicked off his campaign to be the next Senator from Illinois. Keyes has never lived in Illinois but that didn’t stop the RNC from convincing him to run after a long list of Illinois natives declined. Party officials looked to Maryland where Keyes has lost two previous runs for the U.S. Senate along with two failed bids for a Presidential nomination and a talkshow on MSNBC that was cancelled after three weeks. (Winning appeal is not a prerequisite when your party is desperate.) Keyes faces an uphill battle against rising Democratic star Barack Obama who wowed the Democratic convention so well that predictions of the first black president immediately followed. First he has to get elected to the Senate and to do that he has to campaign against a conservative icon and, apparently, almighty God.

The cornerstone of Keyes campaign is his assertion of Christian values. More accurately, the cornerstone of everything he’s done in public life has been religious. He is a devout Roman Catholic with sincere faith and he incorporates his beliefs into public policy. Good leaders make decisions based on values and values have to come from somewhere – what’s wrong with religion? Nothing, as long as you can differentiate between your viewpoints and the will of God.

Polls now show that regular church attendance correlates with likelihood to vote Republican. (source) Republicans have done a good job in recent elections of selling themselves as the party of faith and values. Terms such as ‘pro-family’ and ‘faith-based’ are attached to Republican initiatives while ‘secular’ is a polarizing pejorative used against the Democrats at will. Since evangelical Christians make up the largest minority voting block with Catholics a close second it’s no wonder strategists are concerned with the perception. The Kerry campaign made naked invocations of faith and family throughout the convention to win the majority of swing voters who live in the Midwest where religion is still personal and practiced. Despite strident efforts to make Kerry safe for the faithful, the jury is still out on whether they’re convinced.

W. on the other hand oscillates between political candidate and religious revivalist on the campaign trail. With the help of Carl Rove, et al., his words are rote recitations of popular leaders on the religious (read, Christian) right. It’s necessary to stir the party faithful. The point when this becomes offensive is when he or any other politician speaks as if channeling a religious imperative directly from the big guy upstairs. Through not-so-subtle inferences the message sold is that God’s laws, God’s will, Christian values are enacted when A is elected and immorality reigns when B is the victor.

The marriage of faith and party permeates into other areas. In recent months the Catholic Church has ordered clergy not to give communion to politicians that vote pro-choice or pro-gay rights; both Democratic stances. The assumption is that no politician can intellectually walk and chew gum. It is possible for someone to think abortion immoral but leave the legal right for a woman to decide her convictions herself. Teachings of the church forbid abortion and homosexuality so it almost makes sense that politicians who use their power to forward such things don’t get to participate in church. But, the papacy fails in applying its teachings even handedly. Catholicism denounces the death penalty but so far politicians who support it, primarily Republican, have not been denied their wafers. The Pope opposed the war in Iraq but no one who voted for it is shunned. The church also condemns premarital sex, adultery, and divorce. Would all politicians exempt from this exclusion please come forward? If such logic were applied across the board, the halls of congress and pews at St. Peters would be mutually exclusive.

If the Democrats wanted to play the religious card they could do so skillfully. After all, is God on the side of polluters and Halliburton? And how does Jesus feel about the indifference to the working poor evident in votes against raising the minimum wage or tax cuts for the rich? But Democrats choose not to “wear their religion on their sleeves,” as Kerry touted in his nomination acceptance speech. (source) Instead they embrace religious pluralism - which may be more politically advantageous in the long run as America becomes more religiously pluralistic. Tolerance does not equal amorality and acceptance of others is not faithlessness. If there is a universal truth and a being that embodies it, it is prideful for any flawed and limited human to pretend to speak its exact will. Christian humility might better be exemplified by the vigilant search for truth without the self-righteous battle cry.

As Barack Obama said in his speech at the DNC, “We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don’t like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and yes, we’ve got some gay friends in the Red States.” (source) Compare this to Keyes stump speech of “the victory is for God” and pray for an outcome in November that best matches your view of religion in politics.