Sunday poetry

Pietà 


I hunted heaven
for him.


No dice.


Too uppity,
it was. Not enough 


music, or dark dirt.


I begged the earth empty
of him. Death


believes in us whether
we believe


or not. For a long while
I watch the sound


of a boy bouncing a ball 
down the block


take its time
to reach me. Father,


find me when
you want. I’ll wait.


~ Kevin Young

My God

Simon and Garfunkel - Old Friends

Reconnecting

I’m writing about last night because it was really cool.

Anita and I drove to Grand Rapids, an hour or so away from our home, to have dinner with a guy with whom I worked in the governor’s office back in the 1980s and hadn’t seen since. My former co-worker – let’s call him “Cal” – had earned his law degree, moved up north and become a prominent and successful defense attorney in the years since we toiled in cubicles in the Hollister Building on Allegan Street in downtown Lansing.

On the way to west Michigan, I told Anita I was looking forward to seeing Cal again because I didn’t think I was as kind or friendly to him as I should have been in the past and I was glad to have the chance to make amends. Anita found a parking space on the street adjacent to the restaurant – we were meeting Cal at the elegant Chop House on Monroe, across the street from the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel – and soon we were seated at a large round table underneath an ornate chandelier, talking and laughing and reminiscing and getting reacquainted.

The food was delicious, the waitress excellent and the conversation surprisingly relaxed considering that decades had passed since we last spent time together. We talked about “What’s the Diehl?” and writing and religion and criminal defense law and Facebook friends and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Cal’s wife and daughter and three horses and our four kids.

Cal complimented me on my writing skills and told me he appreciated how I did my job when we worked together. I told him I was impressed by his success, regretted not being nicer to him before and loved being able to discuss hot-button issues like God and the Bible without anger or defensiveness or disrespect, as we did. (We couldn’t be further apart on the topic of spirituality but no one’s blood pressure increased during our conversation.) Cal’s generosity was notable – the expensive dinner was his treat – and I repeatedly offered to reciprocate and at least contribute toward the tip until Anita kicked me under the table and told me to stop.

We really had a wonderful time.

I was reminded of a few things last night. I realized that my perception of the past may not be the same as that of others who populated it. I was made aware that it’s never too late for acquaintances to become friends, that some successful attorneys are modest and quite likable, and that the Chop House’s Grilled Hearts of Romaine Salad is so good it should be illegal. And I was reminded of how lucky I am to be with someone as beautiful and charming as Anita, who looks as good in fancy restaurants as she does at home.

The only thing that could have made the evening better is if I had memorized the special code to the new keyless lock on our front door so that my tired spouse wouldn’t have had to wait on the porch for 15 minutes upon our return until I stumbled upon the right combination. I’m thinking of suing the lock company now that I’m friends again with a lawyer from Marquette.

And your point is...?

Bon Jovi - Living on a Prayer (Acoustic)

Praying for Reason

“I prayed for 20 years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.”

~ Frederick Douglass, escaped slave and leader of the abolitionist movement 

I like the idea of a National Day of Reason.

Even when I was still religious, I was uncomfortable with the whole “National Day of Prayer” thing. I didn’t like how it violated my understanding of the concept of church/state separation. I didn’t like how politicians of all stripes and persuasions pandered to the prayer-mongers among us. I didn’t like how it took what I always thought was a selfish, lame activity – talking to a possibly nonexistent being about our wishes and desires as opposed to doing things that might actually cause our goals to be achieved – and elevated its legitimacy.

Now that I’ve come to believe organized religion is a sham and my Higher Power is my family, I find a National Day of Prayer even more ridiculous – and the efforts of public officials to glorify it distressing.

Although the National Day of Reason was started in 2003 by the American Humanist Association and the Washington Area Secular Humanists who thought government participation in the National Day of Prayer was a violation of the separation of church and state, I just heard about it yesterday. Scheduled on the same day as the National Day of Prayer (Thursday, May 3), the NDR is when people who don’t need religion in order to be good hold blood drives, launch voter registration efforts, march, rally and socialize.

Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA) even issued a proclamation in the U.S. House of Representatives acknowledging the National Day of Reason. His proclamation states in part, “Our nation faces many problems – bringing our troops home from Afghanistan, creating jobs, educating our children, and protecting our safety net from irresponsible cuts. We will solve these issues through the application of reason. We must also protect women’s reproductive choices, the integrity of scientific research, and our public education system from those who would hide behind religious dogma to undermine them.”

I’m all for that.

I see the similarity between prayer and meditation and therefore begrudgingly concede that it’s not wholly without benefit. But falling to one’s knees in the end zone after scoring a touchdown and embracing official proclamations that designate certain days as being best for communicating with the Bearded White Dude Who Floats on Clouds and Awards Grammys are beyond silly. Teaching our kids that submitting requests to an unseen mythical entity is in any way productive makes about as much sense as teaching ‘em that an obese dude in a red pantsuit who travels the world in a flying sleigh once a year will place just what we want under the dead tree in our living room as long as we leave milk and cookies next to the fireplace.

If I were the type to wear a tin-foil hat and believe in vast conspiracies, I might even entertain the notion that pacifying and distracting the masses is at the heart of the National Day of Prayer. Why else would politicians and “news” outlets trip all over themselves to promote participation?

It’s pretty simple. If someone wants to kneel at his or her bedside and participate in one-sided dialogue every night before retiring, that’s his or her prerogative. If entire congregations want to bow their heads and send fervent pleas to the Object of Their Worship, that’s fine with me. But I’m not happy about the use of public resources to promote an activity that’s more akin to a cult ritual than the behavior of competent adults. Our problems and challenges are real. Shouldn’t our responses be as well?

"Faith means not wanting to know what is true."

~ Friedrich Nietzsche

“Human decency is not derived from religion.  It precedes it.”

~ Christopher Hitchens

“Lighthouses are more helpful than churches.”

~ Benjamin Franklin

“Those who believe absurdities will commit atrocities.”

~ Voltaire 

Sources: Huffington Post, American Humanist Association.