3 random things (torture, Carnival and "Christian Rock")

I have come across 3 things to make you aware of:

1. rant warning- Did you see this? The New York Times reports that 2 of the terrorism suspects were waterboarded 266 times. One of them was waterboarded 83 times, while the other (a bad man I do admit- but punishment is for the courts to decide) was waterboarded an astounding 183 times. I have a hard time believing each of those times were to get info, and none were for other reasons. But, however we feel about these individuals, how can one not believe that waterboarding someone 183 constitutes anything but torture? Seriously, how blind to your own nationalism or belief system does one have to be to think this is acceptable behavior, especially if one believes in the concept of American Exceptionalism (if you believe in this, you must see that what makes American "great" is its "values"- and the values expressed by this, are not particularly exceptional). And if you are a Christian and feel this is justified, you need to reexamine your belief system, because something besides Jesus and Scripture are guiding you.

Un-freakin-believable.

Rant over

2. Did you check out Bono's latest op-ed in the New York Times? While disjointed it is worth reading, covering Carnival, Christianity, lent and Easter for believers and non-believers. There are lots of great little quotes, including:

I come to lowly church halls and lofty cathedrals for what purpose? I search the Scriptures to what end? To check my head? My heart? No, my soul. For me these meditations are like a plumb line dropped by a master builder — to see if the walls are straight or crooked. I check my emotional life with music, my intellectual life with writing, but religion is where I soul-search.

and

So much of the discussion today is about value, not values. Aid well spent can be an example of both, values and value for money. Providing AIDS medication to just under four million people, putting in place modest measures to improve maternal health, eradicating killer pests like malaria and rotoviruses — all these provide a leg up on the climb to self-sufficiency, all these can help us make friends in a world quick to enmity. It’s not alms, it’s investment. It’s not charity, it’s justice.

3. Manchester Orchestra's second album dropped today. It is phenomenal, seriously. Wow. I was writing a review and then saw Paste's. It literally said everything I was going to say, only better. Imagine a bunch of young emo influenced Christians that showed serious potential their first time around, realizing they wanted to make a big rock-n-roll album while channeling everything good about Nirvana and not sounding derivative. This band could be a future Emergent Idol band if they continue on this trajectory. The lyrics are for anyone except those with sensitive Christian ears, easily offended by doubt. The opening line of this album is, “I am the only son of a pastor I know who does the things I do."

Anyway, here is the review by Paste. I really needed this album after so much navel gazing post-rock and folky stuff. I needed something smart and rowdy. It is the perfect combo of the holy grail- intelligence, melody and noise.

Mean Everything to Nothing is only $7.99 on Amazon (Cd or MP3) and iTunes.

Great Commercial

quite simply one of the coolest commercials I have ever seen. It was banned due to "violence." Of course, this is the kind of violence of 8 year old boys.*

If this had been on during the Super Bowl, people would have been talking about it for days (and copying it). Have fun.



thanks Huffington Post for the link and a list of other commercials.

* if your pacifism or anti-consumerism keeps you from laughing, you are no longer a pacifist. you are fundamentalist.

Memorial Day redux

To those on all sides of this war and war in general I offer this quote from Wendell Berry today;

"I think we must be careful about too easily accepting, or being too easily grateful for, sacrifices made by others, especially if we have made none ourselves. "

As I remember the losses of American soldiers today (and yes, today I focus on those lives apart from the losses of all others, which I see as equally tragic), I am reminded of a blog posting of mine from 3 years ago. I will reprint it below. I am also reminded of some of the Pacifist Mafia (I like this better than Tony Jones' term) and their disrespect for those fighting in a war they (we) disagree with and practicing a faith they (we) disagree with while serving an Empire they (we) disagree with.

There is a fine line which I am seeing people step over lately on the pacifist side. It is an arrogant disrespect for history and a new fundamentalism and orthodoxy that is being used as litmus test by some within the emerging church conversation. As one who lives in paradox I am bored by their arguments and frightened by their new systematic theology that bears more in common with the Ultra-reformed folks than I would like. To fail their litmus test is to be lumped in with the worst aspects of Empire, Consumerism and Modernity.

I will blog more on this later... anyway, here is the reprint:

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

What are we celebrating on Monday?

Memorial Day.

I am sure it is your favorite holiday of the year. The day we head out to National Cemeteries, American Legion Halls and retirement homes to listen to tales of innocence lost and lives cut down in their primes. The day we become grateful we can fight an extended war with no mandatory draft. The day we realize we can spend inordinate amounts of money on that war and still cut taxes.

Ahhhh, it's beginning to look a lot like Memorial Day.

Actually for most of us, it means nothing more than a Monday off from work, the beginning of summer and an excuse to fire up the old grill with friends and cheap beer. Memorial Day means nothing more to most of us (who did not lose a loved one) than a moment of guilt in the morning when we read the front page of the paper (like MLK Day) or watch the news and see the President laying flowers on the tomb of a man who died too soon.

As we prepare for this Memorial Day, please remember those who have died in war. They leave families grieving and expectations unfulfilled. As a believer in the Christian duty to practice the spiritual discipline of nonviolence, I still take time to remember those who have died and those returning to a home that has changed. As the child of a veteran of 3 wars, I have a daily reminder of the men and women who fought and returned. Some of those returning find themselves with no job, no spouse, no parents, no limbs, no support system and no home. It is tragic that these men and women must pay such a price for American security while we pay nothing (besides $.50 more at the pump).*

Link to Sojo's Action Alert to Support Returning War vets. You can find out how the present administration and Pentagon are lagging in their actual support and how we can help.

Link to Mark Shield's excellent Memorial Day commentary on how this is the first time in US history that Americans are not asked to sacrifice during a war, except for the soldiers who must make extra sacrifices during this time. It is a needed read for all War and Military supporters along with those against the war, as well as anyone with plans on Memorial Day.

*it is funny to think about gas rising $.50 cents by memorial day 2005. oh, for the good ole days.

the plight of Christians in the Middle East continues

In a number of areas* I have found some more excellent articles on the plight of Christians in Iraq and Palestine, two areas the Evangelical Church in North America routinely ignores while we support any policy to further Israeli or American interests, often at the expense of Christian brothers and sisters.

I remember one of the hardest Pastoral counseling sessions I have ever had. Like many reading this blog, I have counseled people in difficult situations, whether it was a suicidal teenager, an emotionally abused student trying to make it to 18, parents of a student shot and killed accidentally or member of our church with a terminal illness. However, a Christian teenager from Gaza I became friends with through my ministry in Boston (I worked closely with an Arab Church) was the hardest for me.

As I tried to encourage this young woman that was constantly in fear due to the bombing of her community by the Israeli government, trying to hide among a Muslim population with almost no Christian friends, I felt as useless as I ever have. She sought answers, but I had none. Platitudes, theological statements, Christian answers fell flat. The only hope for her state of mind was escape to the US or another safe haven... something she could not do until she reached 18 (she was 15 at the time).

We wonder why there are so few Christians in the Middle East, the place Christianity began. But, after hearing friend's stories of houses bombed, passports taken, friends and families kidnapped and killed (this is not just Muslim on Christian violence, especially in Palestine-where Muslims and Christians get along relatively well because they are both religious minorities), businesses stolen and constant threats, it is a wonder there are any left.

A few years ago I read Charles Sennott's The Body and the Blood about the Holy Land's Christian communities (he was Boston Globe's bureau chief for that area), an excellent book which comes to the conclusion that the only hope for the area (especially Palestine) is the presence of Christians as mediators and peacemakers. As I see the violence against Christians in the area since the Iraq War began, and the blood which stains the hands of the makers of American foreign policy, I hold out little hope for the future of this faith in the place it began.

While I am not naive enough to think there are easy answers and it is not a complex situation that bears much wisdom to navigate the maze of American political interests, stability in the region, internal politics and religious concerns, Israel's self interest, the words of Jesus and the plight of Christians in the area, I am also not naive enough to think that we must always support Israel or American interests when Christians are hurt by our inaction. We are culpable.

Here are some news links for your own research (there is much more out there on the web)

West Bank fence driving out Christians
Protection Promised for Iraqi Christians
Gaza Christians finding something scarier than Hamas
Christians that fled to Baghdad for safety
Christians flee to Northern Iraq
from earlier in the month, the murder of the owner of a Christian bookstore in Gaza
Violence makes life hard for Iraqi Christians

The Christians of Iraq website

* many of these articles are linked from Baptists Today, a newsmag bringing the plight of Middle East Christians to light.

to leave Iraq or Stay? Another Christian responds

For a number of years I have been advocating a position of active non-violence as a Spiritual Discipline for Christians, especially in a time of War. However, as one that stands with anabaptistic sympathies (and tendencies), but is also a realist trying to live within and walk within the tension (some would say ambiguity) of Scripture's teaching on peace, violence, war, etc, I realize the inherent paradox of this multitude of positions in the eyes of many.

I have stated that, while Christians should practice nonviolence, it is my belief that any nation/ state should not practice such a policy, unless it calls itself Christian.* A belief in pacifism or non-violence is against the natural desire for self preservation by a nation. Yes, this means there is a conflict between Christians and the nations they live in. However, we see clearly from the life of Jesus, his disciples and church history that there is always a tension between the witness of Christians living out their faith in public and a nation who must preserve order, safety, preservation, etc.

Unlike some of my pacifistic friends, I am comfortable living in this tension between the already and not-yet. Unlike some of my violence advocating Christian friends, I believe there must be a tension between our lifestyles and the needs of a nation/ state. While this may be obvious to some, and sheer insanity to others, it is a theologically consistent and historically orthodox position.

I am happy to find someone advocating a similar position that is much more theologically astute and well known. That way, we can be heretics or outcasts together. Below is a link to a wonderful response by Greg Boyd, pastor, author and critic of the Religious Right to the questions of whether or not to leave Iraq.

Like Boyd, I have been strongly against the present war* since it was an idea in the mind of the Administration. I have (sadly) been correct on almost everything I predicted and assumed.* However, unlike many of my friends, I have not been an advocate of sudden withdrawal of our troops from the area. For me, like Boyd, it is simple.* We created this mess. It is now our responsibility to make sure it is cleaned up, even if it costs us money and lives. It is a lesson my parents taught me and I try to instill in my children. Clean up after yourselves and don't make others do it. We have now tied ourselves to the Iraqi people and have a huge responsibility to help them. I wish we had kept out of their country and focused on bin Laden in Afghanistan. But, we did the wrong thing and there is a sacrifice and price to pay for our mistake. Yes, the implications of this position are huge for our foreign policy and the Presidential Races (and no one is dealing with this issue).

Here is the excellence article by Greg Boyd on What’s “the Christian Position” on Whether or Not the U.S. Should Immediately Withdraw its Troops?

* I have been advocating these things as long as I have had a blog, but I am not going to prove it through linking to previous posts unless people clamor for it (of course, no one has clamored for anything on this site).

**thanks to Jesus Politics for the link to Boyd.

The War on Christians in Iraq

It should be disconcerting to Christian conservatives supporting the War in Iraq, but the "freedom" brought by America to the region has been very costly to our brothers and sisters in Iraq. I guess they did not get the memo that they should be thankful for the apathy of their fellow believer George W. Bush regarding their plight.

Read here about Iraq's endangered minority (take the time to look at how bad it has gotten for Christians in that nation). Among the greatest sins of the United States and Christian supporters of the War is the lack of concern or action for the plight of these Christians persecuted due to the fiasco we created in Iraq.

At least one Presidential Candidate has stood beside Christians in Iraq (and his name is not Thompson, Huckabee, McCain, Romney- who should know something about religious minorities, Brownback or Clinton). Read here.

BTW, help me find some instances of the RR standing beside the Religious Minorities in Iraq (and standing up for what BO is doing on their behalf).

so, can a Pacifist like The Departed?

-Okay. I am back for a moment-

On his blog, someone directed a comment towards me, not understanding how someone that practices nonviolence and abhors its glamorization could find a film such as The Departed a positive storytelling experience. It seemed inconsistent with my world-view to enjoy such a film.

It is not inconsistent for someone to be repulsed by the glamorization of violence and find a film which is very bloody to be worthwhile watching. I know I have spoken on this very many times, but I ask for patience as I try to explain it once more (apparently I am not very cogent at this argument- which is in my opinion one of the key blind spots of modern Christianity- along with the embrace of materialism and consumerism)...

It is very simple. Films such as The Departed deal with the implications of violent acts upon persons and the world around them. They do not glorify violence. In fact, they deglamorize its usefullness in film and society (making it repulsive and shocking, thereby stripping it of its power) and they do not embrace The Myth of Redemptive Violence which is a very dangerous myth and controls much of American Christianity.

The myth that the hero attains the salvation of others through the use of violence has been around since pre-Biblical literature. However, it stands in marked contrast to the idea of Jesus and the early church martyrs. It has much more in common teachings within with Islam, Crusade and Inquisition era "Christianity" and our Mormon friends. Sadly, it is the dominant myth of present day society.

It is not violence in film which I reject. It is the glorification of violence in popular culture I reject. It is the dehumanization of our enemies, which leads to seeing Iraqi kids as collateral damage and torture as a needed evil in present war. It leads to seeing some people as deserving their violent ends, such as a murderer or gangbanger. It slowly dehumanizes us, which separates us from Christ.

Some of my favorite films, such as The Departed, Three Kings, Schindler's List, The Proposition, Unforgiven, V for Vendetta, Children of Men and Pan's Labyrinth are terribly violent. They deal with violence in a serious, thoughtful, even handed manner. It is not something to be embraced or celebrated. It is something with human and societal costs. It dehumanizes the person doing the violent act more so than the person murdered. It is not something to be cheered, laughed at or embraced. It is to be rejected. The hope in these films comes from the rejection of the dominant myth and embrace of hope (I might say that the opposite of violence is not peace, but hope- is there a need for redemptive violence when hope is there?).

On the other hand we have the Die Hard films (which I loved as a child, yet turned away from as an adult), Rambo films*, 24, The Sopranos, Sin City, Grindhouse, the Saw trilogy and pretty much every horror and action** film at the cineplex. The myth of redemptive violence in film reverberates throughout our cities like an Adhan, calling the faithful to prayerfully embrace its ideal in its moviehouses and televisions weekly.

We are a marked contrast to other cultures, which see these films as another form of pornography, one (dare I say it) which is even more damaging to our lives. What is the difference between the pornography of sexuality and the pornography of violence? They both lead us away from the way of Jesus towards materialism (in the Marxist assessment) and the death of our humanity.

Although I seem to be a cynic, I must embrace the hope which came through the destruction of the myth of redemptive violence by Christ. I have no choice.

Here is the ironic part...

...I am still inconsistent to some degree. I think Pulp Fiction, which simultaneously embraces the myth and revels in its absurd destruction is among the greatest movies ever made. I accept it because of its superior storytelling skills and acting. Greatness in film will trump conviction, you know.

*Speaking of Rambo films... one day I will tell you about my moment of clarity revolving around the murder of Vietnamese and its glorification sickening me as a young teenager.

**Think even of Jason Bourne, one that does not embrace his darkness and runs from violence when possible and does not indiscriminately kill. He is a marked contrast to Jack Bauer and Tony Soprano.

Obama on VT/ Kennedy on Senseless Violence 40 years ago

In his speech on Monday, Barak Obama responds to the VT massacre. While some of it is rambling and stretches "violence" in a way that will cause others to call him inarticulate or dismiss the main point, there are some wonderfully powerful themes, many of which he takes from the great Robert Kennedy (kudos to Obama's researchers). Barak and Robert make the same points I have regarding our love affair with violence in America and its consequences, but without the incoherence, typos and pathos.

from Kennedy's speech (quoted by Obama):

'Whenever any Americans' life is taken by another American unnecessarily -
whether it is done in the name of the law or in the defiance of the law, by one
man or a gang, in cold blood or in passion, in an attack of violence or in
response to violence - whenever we tear at the fabric of the life which another
man has painfully and clumsily woven for himself and his children, the whole
nation is degraded.'

and

'Yet we seemingly tolerate a rising level of violence that ignores our common
humanity and our claims to civilization alike. We calmly accept newspaper
reports of civilian slaughter in far-off lands. We glorify killing on movie
and television screens and call it entertainment. We make it easy for men of
all shades of sanity to acquire whatever weapons and ammunition they
desire.'

Here is the text of the Obama speech.
Here is Kennedy's original speech On the Mindless Menace of Violence (tour de force and sadly topical 40 years later).



tip of the hat to Jesus Politics.

btw, in case you think I am being partisan, I was impressed and moved by George W. Bush's words at yesterday's convocation.

I hate the Immediatistas, part 1 (24 hour news and Virginia Tech)

There are many things I love about the Internet in general and blogs in general. However, when pressed, I can tell anyone what I consider to be the greatest flaw in the Internet and blog revolutions. While misinformation is bad enough and a serious flaw of the blog, it has been around for a long time.

However, when coupled with the need to get information out first, this becomes a great danger to the world around us. We see this phenomena in the 24 Hour News Channels also. Instead of doing good investigation of sources and information, we trust whomever will give us the information we want, the way we want and the quickest. When this is absent, we always have innuendo, perfected by the folks at FoxNews (see Swift Boats and Obama is Muslim) and the political blogs- and seen at every outlet this week.

This phenomena of getting an opinion out there first has come to a head in my mind this week. The Immediatistas* (it is always hard to spell a word you just made up) offered up their judgements on gun control, campus security, one guy's mental illness and the problems of freedom in America within moments of the massacre. The worst being a National Review writer calling VT students to task for not being brave enough (about 24 hours after news broke of the event)

Instead of listening, we speak. Watching the news conferences and the questions asked by some members of the media (all looking for the real scoop, which never happens at news conferences- don't they know this?) frustrated me beyond belief. However, seeing some blogs and news agencies disseminating false information, in hopes they got it right and would win the Scoop War (no one remembers when you are wrong and you can change history if you speak wrongly loud enough- see FoxNews and the 2000 election) is sickening. There is never any accountability.

No bloggers or commentators should have had anything about the VaTech massacre for at least 24 (heck 48) hours apart from straight news reporting or condolences. There should be a moratorium on opinion until the facts are in. I know, I know.. I am a dreamer.

That said I offer 2 things (since it has been more than 48 hours)

1. Nothing will change regarding gun laws. We are a cultish society that worships the idea of Gun Rights and will stop at nothing to keep any sane laws off the books (we even try to tie Jesus to gun freedom). We are a violent society and violent societies with absolute freedom have consequences. Decide what you want to do with that freedom, but there are unintended consequences for everything (I am not advocating anything, just offering a thought- of course my opinions on America's facination with violence are posted below).
2. My only connection to this story is my time in (and love for) Virginia. As a student minister for half a decade, Virginia Tech was the number 1 school my students ventured to each fall upon graduation from area high schools. Thank the Lord all of those students and their siblings are safe. Also, my father-in-law works for Virginia Tech. He is an Agriculture Economist and works directly with farmers and is rarely on campus. That said, I am terribly saddened by this story. But, I cannot get the idea out of my head that such horrible death and destruction is happening daily in Iraq, mainly due to US presence. With 100 civilians killed daily in Iraq, mostly by car/ suicide bombers and ethnic cleansing, parents are mourning the loss of their children daily (children with futures as bright as those at VT). That is 3 VT massacres per day in Iraq. Our world must expand to care deeply for those lost souls and we must not forget that, ever.

*Immediatistas are those in the media and blog world that must report an opinion on a subject before anyone else does (or report on news before it is verified). Whether it is hard news or reporting on music (my next rant) without properly digesting it, they offer no service besides the stroking of their own ego. They get to be first, but rarely are they best or long lasting.

This is why you may notice I am usually a day or 2 behind news on my blog. It is why I may review a film after seeing it twice or an album after listening a number of times. It is about proper digestion (I don't eat fast food and don't want fast news). Its purpose is not to get to something first, but to post on a subject when I have had a chance for reflection and thought. I am sure it does not make what I say any more insightful, but hopefully it is not even less insightful.

Darfur on Google Earth

Google is using its Earth mapping software to bring light to the crisis in Darfur. It uses icons to show where atrocities have occurred. It was formally released yesterday as part of a project led by the Holocaust Museum.

Here is an older story.

Here is a posting from an important Sudan blog.

Download Google Earth here.

article on the marketing of violent horror films

read this as a companion piece to my posting from yesterday. Richard Corliss of Time magazine looks closely at the marketing of today's horror films to young teenagers. link

Some telling quotes regarding our descent into the abyss of violent imagery led by the marketers of film and television include...

Protecting the children. That ritual has been played for ages across the generations. Parents fret about what their children see/hear/read, and the youngsters shrug it off until they have kids of their own and renew the worrying cycle. Parents hate violent movies, so kids just have to love them.

That's why horror films don't need stars. One letter sells the movie: R (meaning kids are restricted from seeing it unless accompanied by an adult). Another lure is the MPAA description of offensive elements, like this one for Saw III: "strong grisly violence and gore, sequences of terror and torture, nudity and language." Parents read this as a warning, kids as a come-on. "'Terror and torture'? I'm there!" Can't see it? Must see it...

Rule No. 2: Expand your consumer base. Do movie companies try to lure 11-, 13-, 15-year-olds to their violent movies? Of course: that age group is their prime market. And with the Internet, it's easy and cheap to do. If the Saws and Hostels were never seen by young teens, they'd lose a big slice of their audience.

The MPAA needs the teen market. Tougher than most other national ratings boards on sexual images in movies, it's far more lenient when it comes to violence. In many countries, Saw was forbidden to those under 18. In the U.S., your 17-year-old could go and chaperone his younger siblings. The argument may be that sexuality is real and disturbs kids more than pretend maiming. But these ratings teach that sex is forbidden and killing is cool. They also tell the world that America is a place where violence rules.

Of course, horror films aren't the only place kids can go to for their violence fix. Eli Roth, director of Hostel, an R-rated film about a European backpacking trip gone horribly wrong, knows that kids under 18 are seeing his films. He thinks they should be 15 or 16 to see the Hostel sequel, due out in June. "Kids that age have seen enough TV and real-life violence by then that they understand the difference," he says. "You can turn on Fox at 9 p.m. and see someone drilling into someone's head [on the series 24]. You can turn on CNN and see soldiers who have been tortured. As the violence on TV gets more extreme, the violence in movies has to top that to keep getting people into theaters."

It is going to continue to get worse, especially if American Christians (and thoughtful Americans in general) continue to approve of violent entertainment, especially with their pocketbooks.

Who would Jesus Shoot?

I am moralizing today (sorry if you do not like that, but remember I have no job or pulpit presently from which to expound). So, you, dear readers, are subject to such whims of fancy from a particularly bothered DJ Word..

From Cynthia Tucker comes this wonderful quote on America's misguided love affair with firearms:

"This folly will continue, fueled by a perplexing cultural ethos that worships individual gun ownership. A century from now, anthropologists will look back and wonder what in the world this was all about. They'll sift through the ruins of the historical record, in much the same way anthropologists today puzzle over cannibalism and the sacrifice of virgins in long-dead civilizations. they'll wonder how a highly advanced and sophisticated culture allowed unchecked personal gun ownership, despite the carnage."

This article points out the increase in violent crime the past few years, especially gun related violence. The NRA has let us know that we would be foolish to think guns have anything to do with gun violence.

Of course, I am sure the increase since 2005 has nothing to do with daily images of Americans at war, dehumanization of our enemies, the approval of the destruction of those we disagree with and violent rhetoric from pundits and politicians (especially Cowboy Presidents)....

....coupled with entertainment bent on culturally conditioning us to accept any amount of blood and gore with no questions to our own sense of humanity loss. With television and film violence unparallelled in human history, whether it is the torture fantasies of 24 and The Sopranos or the gory spectacles of dismembered teenagers with large breasts and bulging biceps of sickening "entertainment" like Saw I, II and III and the films of talent waster supreme Quentin Tarantino or the bloody genius Mel Gibson, we are on the precipice inches from acceptance of snuff films and public death. Of course, I am sure first person shooter video games have had no affect upon millions of young adults and their love affair with violence.

Sure, I am sure I am just a prudish Nanny stater foolish enough to think these things are connected (well, besides the video games- I know the right wing hates those, as long as they are not War games or Left Behind killfests).

Sadly, just like divorce, dealing with poverty, plastic surgery and materialism Christian beliefs and behavior related to violence are no different from that of our non-Christian neighbors. How can we talk of a Prince of Peace when fighting for a Gun Culture, supporting the destruction of an entire race of people (Arabs) and justifying the embrace of extreme violence in entertainment because we are "'merican Christians?"

What will it take for Christians to embrace the teachings of Jesus and take our history seriously. Will it take violence against our own kind for us to see that violent culture is more damaging to a true "Culture of Life" -our Cowboy President's words- than those issues used by Dobson, The SBC and radio pundits to increase their coffers and attendance; knowing that speaking the truth on these issues would affect their bottom line and challenge their followers in a manner that would get less Amens and more people walking out because their toes are uncomfortable.

* I am sure many of us can try to justify the violence in anything we watch by stating something about the deeper meaning or that it really shows the impact of violence. While I believe this is true in many war films or westerns such as The Proposition and The Unforgiven, we cannot have it both ways with a shows like The Sopranos and 24 which no longer give viewers a lesson in morality concerning the consequences of the actions of the main characters, as they lose their humanity due to their actions (see Crimes and Misdemeanors or Matchpoint, both by Woody Allen, for such moral fables- or V for Vendetta, a violent film with a point).

When Jack Bauer kills innocent persons for the "greater good" he has lapsed into a new territory, like that of Tony Soprano when he strangles an enemy because of the opportunity in Season 1. At this point we can no longer say it is really about workplace politics. It is insulting to say such a thing.

BTW, I am not rooting for Tony Soprano to be murdered this year. I am hoping the creators have the guts to have him pay the consequences for his actions and rot in prison for the rest of his stinking life.