Sunday night, I read Kurt Vonnegut's
A Man Without a Country, his rambling thoughts on his life and the world around him. It is a pretty short read, but there are numerous wry and wise observations made throughout. Much of the book is written in response to the Bush Administration, and some of it is a justification of his own socialism, humanism and pacifism. One part I thought hit the mark, after quoting
Eugene V. Debs, 5 time Socialist Party candidate for President, Vonnegut follows with this:
How about Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes?
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
And so on. Not exactly planks in a Republican platform. Not exactly George W. Bush, Dick Cheney or Donald Rumsfeld stuff.
For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course that's Moses, not Jesus. I haven't heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere.
I have long been puzzled that people justify so many political issues through the Old Testament or Saint Paul's epistles, but often don't quote the Gospels. I guess it's maybe because they think Jesus sounds like a hippy. But it seems odd to be a Christian, but not listen to Christ.
Well, wasn't Jesus a hippy? He traveled with a drum circle, made friends with social undesirables and spread an uplifting message. Not exactly Christian Conservative material.
ReplyDeleteDoes Vonnegut use semi-biographical Kilgore Trout in A Man Without a Country or does he write as himself?
He writes as himself, but he does have at least one conversation with Kilgore Trout, whom he describes as his friend, the out-of-print science fiction writer. They discuss GWB's 2004 State of the Union address.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the conversation he writes,"And I said goodbye to my friend, hung up the phone, sat down and wrote this epitaph: 'The good Earth-we could have saved it, but we were too damn cheap and lazy.'"