DESPAIR DOWN IN WEST (BY GOD) VIRGINIA?!

I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.  [Novelist Umberto Eco (The Name of the Rose), 74 years old today.]

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TRAGEDY IN WEST VIRGINIA -- DID RELIGIOUS EXHUBERANCE LEAD TO CLIMATE OF BAD REPORTING, UNREALISTIC HOPES?
American Atheists EXCERPT by Conrad F. Goeringer

In the process of being cautious, we allowed the jubilation to go on longer than it should have...  [Ben Hatfield, mining company owner]

"We had a miracle and it was taken from us." [Woman who lost her cousin in W.V. mine collapse]

It was a drama that kept many Americans glued to overnight cable
television news coverage, and fueled prayerful hopes of a "miracle" on
behalf of endangered coal miners in West Virginia.

 

Did network anchors go over the top, buoyed by the religiously-charged
euphoria and claims of a "miracle"? ...Even in the wake of this embarrassment, religious claims and sentimentalities go reported yet unchallenged and, for most people, totally unquestioned.  Perhaps understandably, the relative of one victim lamented, "We had a miracle, and it was taken away from us."

Also generally unreported was the ugly, combative atmosphere at the
Sago Baptist Church when people learned that the "miracle" was no
more.

A lone AP story noted, "Chaos broke out in the church and a fight
started.  About a dozen state troopers and a SWAT team were positioned
along the road near the church because police were concerned about
violence.  Witnesses said one man had to be wrestled to the ground
when he lunged for mining officials."

The truth was hurtful and tragic.  It is known that rescue workers
conveyed the information that they had located twelve bodies.
Somewhere between this news, the command tent, and the intense,
emotionally-charged atmosphere at Sego Baptist Church, the word
"alive" became part of the reportorial mix and no one thought to
question.

We can confidently predict that there will be a hunt for someone to
blame.  This often occurs when individuals, and especially groups of
people bonded around common belief systems, find themselves the
victims of trickery or simply confusing, chaotic circumstances.
Writer Dorothy Thompson many years ago wrote of the public reaction in
the hours and days following Orson Welles' brilliant radio play "The
War of the Worlds."

"People were furious," she recalled, as they thrashed around for an
easy target, never once admitting their own credulity.

If there is "responsibility" for what occurred in West Virginia, it
must certainly be shared by many.  Everyone seemed to want, then
expect a "miracle," although rescue and mine officials maintained a
sober and almost guarded stance throughout the whole incident.
Media was in frenzy; and many people turned to the refuge they often
seek out in times of tragedy, devastation and stress -- religion.
Alas, god did not answer.  Religious faith became an instrument of
unrealistic expectations and tragic self-deception.

As Atheists concerned about the human condition, we sympathize with
the fate of the victims and survivors.  Tragedies like this confirm
the obvious -- minimizing the number and impact of such devastating
events is up to human beings, not the fates and deities of religious
faith.  We can and should empathize with the profound grief of
relatives and loved one who have endured an enormous loss.  In times
of catastrophe, however, unrealistic expectation in the name of god
can magnify human suffering for survivors and warp the objectivity of
important social institutions including the news media.

I watched in awe as I watched in awe as a a self-professed "Christian" - a fairly articulate middle-aged female relative of the dead miners - exclaimed on MSNBC:

"Some of us don't know whether there is a Lord or not..."

 

 (Speaking of Palestinians) their Jewish antagonists are the quintessential carriers of progress in the Middle East, those damned Zionists with their advanced science-based economy, independent judiciary, free press, hi-tech military in which individual soldiers still take responsibility and command respect, and promotion in the ranks by competence and ingenuity in the defense activities of the state.  [ Martin Peretz ]

 

ISRAEL MUST LEARN TO LIVE WITHOUT SHARON

As this was written - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was fighting for his life in an Israeli hospital after seven hours of surgery to remove blood from his brain following a burst blood vessel, or hemorrhagic stroke... Experts say his chances of recovery are slim...

DEBKAfile Special Report
January 5, 2006

...It soon became evident Wednesday night, Jan. 4, that prime minister Ariel Sharon was very ill indeed. After he went into emergency surgery at Hadassah Ain Karem hospital to drain the blood flooding his brain, his close aides would only say: We are praying for a miracle. Minutes after he was admitted to the hospital, acting prime minister Ehud Olmert assumed his powers. This time there was no hesitation, unlike after his stroke three weeks ago. The rabbis and religious parties added to the sense of crisis by asking the public to pray for him. Everyone began to understand that, even if the operation was a success, Ariel Sharon would not be fit to resume his duties for months – if at all. Israel without Ariel Sharon as prime minister will have to adjust to important changes:

1. Up until the March 28 general election, finance minister Ehud Olmert takes over full prime ministerial authority. He is expected to call a cabinet meeting in the coming hours to assume the reins of government and demonstrate continuity. Israel, bitterly divided by political strife and rivalries, badly needs a unifying hand at the helm, a role which it is hard to see Olmert filling.

2. He will be called upon to perform a strong, unifying function for Kadima, the new party that Sharon fashioned in his own image, but without him lacks cohesive cement. He may be challenged by more popular figures. Many of its leading lights may think hard about returning to their parent-parties – Likud or Labor – or retiring from politics. Kadima is likely to reach the election a shadow of the party that, until Wednesday morning, shot to the top of all the opinion polls with prospects of between 40 to 50 seats in the 120-Knesset.

3. The security situation hangs in the balance. Defense minister Shaul Mofaz and chief of staff Lt-Gen Dan Halutz obeyed Sharon’s guidelines to the letter, even when this meant confronting the country with grave difficulties. Neither appears capable of rising above this submissiveness to fill the leadership vacuum left by the stricken prime minister. Olmert may have to look around for a strong figure in defense to compensate for his own lack of experience and instill in the country the sense that security is in capable hands.

4. Sharon’s absence from the prime minister’s office will also have an effect on the Palestinians who are sunk in anarchy under the weak leadership of Mahmoud Abbas. Sharon had tacitly indicated that Israel would not interfere with Hamas’ participation in the Palestinian general election in 20 days. Now, Hamas is fully capable of taking advantage of Israel’s political weakness for a full-scale terror offensive.

5. Until Wednesday night, the most significant strategic game in progress) in the Middle East (aside from Iraq) was the US-French drive against Syrian president Bashar Assad, which is far from over. Now, with George Bush’s faithful ally in Jerusalem incapacitated, the pieces have shifted to new places on the regional board.

Meanwhile, it must be kept in mind that rapid Islamization is overtaking the Palestinian terror movement as key groups succumb to al Qaeda penetration.

  

This from THE FIX @ SALON:

(Bigot Bill Donahue's) Catholic League has persuaded Comedy Central to remove the "South Park" season finale involving a menstruating stone statue of the Virgin Mary from its rebroadcast lineup...

My passing familiarity with "South Park" makes me wonder if the creators would cave so easily for liberal (or secularist) pressure group?!



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WHOOSH!!  Richard Thompson wrote and sang about it; and Del McCoury proclaimed his love for the VINCENT Black Lightnin' - 1952.  And we roll out o' the Last Chance Garage and head on down to Oregonia on a clear day - with hair flyin' free in the wind.

"Red hair & black leather - My favorite color scheme..."

Good fortune. COMMENT!! Please spread the meme. Don't smoke in bed...