anne's dispatches from sydney

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heyas

i guess this blogspace is outdated since i am no longer in mexico, the US or canada... maybe i should go somewhere else...

posted by: anneinchaosland at 09:59 | link | comments |

Since the concept of God (as constructed in the discourse of this historical period) is unfamiliar to me at this moment, I suspect i may be in a state of moral degeneration, since I can't speak the language of the holy people- I just get impatient with it.

My family bases much of its understanding of what is 'good' on the specific imagery and the language of Catholicism. So when I start to feel alienated from their words and their prayers, I fear that I also lose the basis on which my ethical system was previously constructed.

The problem is that the mystery of some of the very 'holy' people in my life (such as my mum) has seemed to have gone, and it is easier for me to dismiss them. I respect their incredible commitment to other people- their commitment to love humanity and their families (with so much loyalty and unconditional acceptance), but I also feel that their worldviews are very limited and domestic, and even myopic. (here i am judging them and not reciprocating the acceptance)...

I feel that the worldviews of Christians in public life are being aggressively pushed, but they actually are extremely different to MY worldview, so there is a massive epistemological mismatch, which makes me think "What do they mean when they say god" etc... since you are claiming that your religion is this religion that excludes people on that basis, does that mean I am excluded??? How do you have the right to say what you say?

Anyway, another contrast was reflected today when I left a protest at Villawood refugee detention centre to go to the Good Friday ceremonies, (half an hour late). St Patricks church at Guildford was spilling out with people standing boredly outside with their arms folded, talking to friends (while the ceremony was going on), whilst a woman with a wavering voice sang old, seemingly outdated songs. I wore a T-shirt that said 'fight refugee detention' which i hope challenged some people. But I just didn't feel like the ceremonies were that important in my life. The Passion's imagery of death and impending resurrection is something that I sometimes find to be symbolic and seemingly passive, and difficult to relate to an active approach to life and to politics. Anyway...

So in summary(!) are many conflicts of worldviews in my mind, on the question "How should one/we live?". ...........

When I work it all out, I'll tell you.

posted by: anneinchaosland at 09:55 | link | comments |