A Tree of Life

Once, upon that thing called Time, there was a world that showed up. And there were people who lived in that world. As people wandered around, trying to figure out what the heaven or hell was going on, they noticed a few things. One thing they noticed was there was a big sea that seemed to be in the middle of the world they knew, or thought they knew. So they named it tithe Mediterranean Sea, which means, I think, the Sea that’s in the middle of everything. In one of the lands that was shored upon that sea, enterprising smart people built great structures, incredibly impressive pyramids, which they knew would really impress everybody. Meanwhile, on the opposite shore, a different group of people put their heads together and tried to figure out where all this stuff had come from and why was it here and what should we do to make it all better. Not too far away from both of those places, on the eastern shore of the Sea, another group of people decided that only a God could have made all these arrangements that we call “the world”, because we are not really smart enough to figure it all out. So they asked God to show them what to do and how to live. And God accommodated them with a list of Laws and a priestly caste who would guide the people friom the darkness of ignorance into the light of living rightly. Meanwhile, back at the tranche, in other parts of the world, there were other people groups who were figuring it all out in their own way, and they had their part to play in the scheme of things to figure out how to best live and so forth and so on. In all these developments, one principle seemed to be true everywhere: Those people who controlled the resources and the assets seemed to have the run of things. And that was true, pretty much everywhere. Meanwhile, back at the American ranch, on the other side of the world, during what was called the 20th century, which was probably really the 20-millionth century, a singing group came along, composing songs to inspire a certain generation, my g-g-generation, the so-called baby boomers. And so they sang an old song—a song that goes way back in time—a song of profound truth, with a trace of tragic observation. The song was “All My Trials.” Here’s a clip of Peter, Paul and Mary, singing it, back in the day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMZJ950t8nc “If religion were a thing that money could buy, the rich would live and the poor would die. . . All my trials, Lord, soon be over.” In the realm of religion, there’s a lot going on. . . always has been. But one thing is true about the plight of our human race; the rich are still trying to claim the tree of Life for themselves by buying up all the religion they can get their hands on.

And this is what has happened in America in recent years. The trumpy magamaniacs tried to manhandle religion into doing their dirty work for them. But I got news for them, Donnie; It ain’t gonna happen. Devout Faith is to be directed toward the Lord alone, not toward any loud-mouthed billionaire who comes along and thinks he can manhandle his way into controlling this shit heap of heatlth and wealth that used to be called America. Because, I’m here to tell y’all. The true Lord says the meek shall inherit the earth. Blessed are the humble people who do not think they can call the shots. What’s really important is that folks help each other to get by in this world. Feed hungry people. Provide homes or shelter for homeless people. Visit the prisoners. Let the rich folks run their casinos and their their golden towers. But don’t let them just go out and shoot anybody who happens to be walking on 5th avenue, or on Main Street, or anywhere else. Glass half-Full