Yup, Still Here

[WilliamPitt]

(Photo: Thomas Hawk / Flickr)

Yup, Still Here
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed

Saturday 21 May 2011

But of that day and hour no one knoweth, no, not the Angels of Heaven, but the Father alone.

- Jesus of Nazareth

A few weeks ago, my wife and I took a drive to visit friends and family in her small hometown out in western Pennsylvania. It was what you'd expect from a region that has been dealing with economic recession since the steel and rail industries dried up and blew away forty years ago - sweet and beautiful in places, blighted and depressing in others, but with the first faint bloom of spring on the trees whispering of better days to come - except for one strange, glaring thing.

It was one of those digital billboards, looming and gaudy amid the neglected sprawl of Altoona, and displayed on it was something I'd only heard about in passing. According to that blinking monstrosity, Jesus was going to ride back to Earth on the wave of a planet-annihilating earthquake that would summon The Faithful to Heaven and consign the remaining mass of sinful humanity to the yawning doom of the damned. This was to happen on May 21st, roundabout six in the evening (Eastern Standard Time), and the last dregs of the un-chosen would be completely scourged from the Earth by October.

By the time we left for home, I had spotted three more billboards of varying sizes and technologies espousing the same apocalyptic message, and upon our return, I did some digging. As it turned out, these things had been popping up all over the country; even here in liberal Boston, I discovered the existence of one of these billboards not three miles from where I now sit. Something called Family Radio Worldwide, in the guise of a fellow named Harold Camping, laid out the scratch to buy all that billboard space across the continent, because ol' Harold had consulted his trusty Bible, done some wildly questionable math, and pulled the exact moment of the End Times out of his cash-filled hat.

Oh yeah, the money has by-God been rolling in ever since Mr. Camping sprayed his end-times predictions into a Family Radio microphone. But I'm quite sure that has nothing to do with anything. Those billboards were not an investment seeking future profits, and the incredible sum of money Mr. Camping has raked in as The Day loomed closer was just simple people trying to get in good with God before the elevator took them to the top floor.

Somewhere, P.T. Barnum is slapping his knee and giggling like a titmouse.

Well, guess what? It was already Sunday in Australia when the alleged Biggest Saturday Ever dawned across Eastern Standard Time, and that whole continent remained obstinately Down Under instead of rapturously Up Above. Maybe every single living person there is a blasphemous sinner, but the sun has been crawling across the northern hemisphere for long enough to convince even the most fervently devout that, mmmmmm, maybe they've had their pockets picked once again by yet another wolf dressed in sheep's clothing.

Forgive this leap to judgment, but I have a sneaking suspicion I know just exactly what type of person goes in for this breed of apocalyptic nonsense. Let me guess: you're a Christian of the evangelical stripe, white, and your ears are forever attuned to the dog-whistles of social conservativism. You voted for George W. Bush twice, and would have happily done it a third time if given the chance. It's almost certain your whole life is caving in around your ears, and you are utterly unable to cope. You can't make the mortgage payments, your job got outsourced to somewhere, and you seethe at the presence of non-English-speaking brown people around you, even when they mow your lawn and empty your trash and serve your food. You think Rush and Beck sit at the right hand of God, and you've been voting Republican ever since Ronald Reagan invited Jerry Falwell to the White House. You are a follower, an adorer of authority in all its permutations. You smell like fear.

Your life is caving in around your ears, to an incredibly large degree, because you have supported - with your time, your money, and your badly-spelled signs at Tea Party rallies - the very politicians, corporations and power-brokers who have savaged your future. You believe in the demigod of free-market capitalism (because Rush and Beck tell you so) even as that system steals from you, your children and their children to come. You see the writing on the wall and perceive it as runes carved there by devils and socialists and Muslim fellow-travelers, because you have been well-trained to do so. You would not know the truth of your life if it voided its bladder in your face, because you are inculcated with a world-view that is sustained by hatred, distrust, fear, and the clannish bonding of the cult-bound who think as you do, and so are "saved."

Yours is the church of cognitive dissonance - the more truth is presented to you, the more vigorously you reject it in favor of the pain-cave of your dilapidated ideals. This day of doom is your best option, and your greatest hope, because the spiraling dissolution of your stunted follower's faith leaves you no other options save the blessed simplicity of oblivion. You are thoroughly suicidal, at bottom, and when that end does not come for you (and, psssst, it's not coming), you will be forced to cope with the truth of Sunday's rising dawn, and the sad fact of your continuing existence.

I think you might live your whole life and die without taking responsibility for the pernicious nature of your influence on our culture, but I hold out hope for you. Jesus did not ring your bell today, and maybe that means it's time to re-evaluate your role in things.

I am a baptized Christian, and I have faith, insofar as I very much believe that within the first four books of the New Testament can be found a superior blueprint for living a good, moral life. I am educated, insofar as I know the Book of Revelation is coded language to the faithful under the shadow of ancient Roman repression, and not a literal roadmap charting the end of the world. I am not afraid of the dark. I am still here. So are you.

So I guess we still have to deal with the world as we find it.

http://www.truth-out.org/yup-still-here/1305923734

[kentuck]

1. Today is the beginning of the end...

of the rest of your life. :-)

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Nicely put, Mr. Rivers.

rec

[quaker bill]

3. While I don't believe in such things,

I did allow myself a moment to hope that should it happen, that Governors Scott, Walker, and Kasich passed muster and would suddenly vanish.

Well put post.

Thanks

[russspeakeasy]

10. I think it happened..I looked out my window at midnight

and it was really dark.

[Very_Boring_Name]

23. Oh please. If there is an afterlife, those three stooges sure ain't going up

[bjobotts]

64. BREAKING: A litttle over a 140,000 people worldwide suddenly disappeared today. Damn-missed out huh

[radiclib]

4. Five stars, Mr. PITT

Your best writing sings and vibrates. Kudos. :toast:

[seabeyond]

5. so, out of millions of christian, this one small group allowed media to create all this. wow. nt

[Skidmore]

8. Out of all of the millions of people in this nation, the Teabaggers

did some thing similar. The media sure knows how to miss the big story in the hopes of creating news.

[seabeyond]

9. true that. nt

[liberation]

36. You're right, it is always those false Scots who mess it up for the true ones...

[seabeyond]

37. i dont feel the need to diss any of the religious, or the non religious for that matter. nt

[liberation]

40. Technically, the fallacy is the bad stuff, not the pointing out of it...

[seabeyond]

41. i dont play the game. we like to "preach" live and let live but only the stuff we want accorded

to us

[liberation]

43. I do play soccer, and I like long romantic walks on the beach

[seabeyond]

46. ah... well, that does sound lovely. lol. nt

[UnrepentantLiberal]

71. If anyone REALLY believed in an afterlife, wouldn't you spend every

waking moment caring for others? Of course you would. I don't feel a need to tiptoe around any of this self-serving bullshit.

[seabeyond]

76. limited mind. and i am not talking about belief or not with a religion

but in all other things in your post. a very limited mind what you arrogantly "allow" of people, in all your sanctimonious non belief.

and take note... you are clueless what i believe or do not believe, before you decide for me.

[Skidmore]

6. I don't know, Will. The clock has not run out yet. We have until

6 pm any time zone. I wouldn't worry though. This is the second time this goober has sent up flares.

[trotsky]

7. "I ... believe that within the first four books of the New Testament can be found...

... a superior blueprint for living a good, moral life."

Really? Superior, eh? So does any other religion or perhaps non-religious philosophy have a plan for morality that is even moderately close to your superior religion?

[gater]

11. He said "a" not "the" superior... so I would guess there are plenty of paths.

Mr. pitt has merely recognized one with which he is familiar, not demeaning others. At least that's how I read his piece.

[trotsky]

12. su·pe·ri·or, adj.

1. higher in station, rank, degree, importance, etc.: a superior officer.

"A" vs "the" has nothing to do with it. If one says something is superior, they mean it is better than the rest. But I'll let Mr. Pitt explain, should he choose to, what he thinks his bible/faith/morality is superior to.

[Sal Minella]

17. "A" vs. "the" has everything to do with it.

And a "blueprint" is not a "religion."

Have a nice day.

[trotsky]

24. Superior to what, then?

The other people who extract morality from the bible, but disagree with Mr. Pitt on what that morality is?

[truth2power]

21. I think you're putting too fine a point on it...

I don't identify myself as a Christian, although I think the Bible has some useful things to say. As do the sacred writings of many other traditions.

There are many paths...I think you and I can agree on that.

That said, I think this is one of Will's better offerings (and I don't always agree with him). I'll cut him some slack over one word. I don't think it's that big an issue, because from what I know of Will, through his writings, he doesn't feel that he has the only truth.

[nolabear]

14. That's word-twisting. He never said the religion was superior, or that it was "the" blueprint.

I'm an atheist, myself, but I think it's important to know the difference between babies and bathwater. There is nothing wrong with extracting the gold from the dross. All right, that's two cliches in a row. I'd better have more coffee now.

[WilliamPitt]

16. Don't bother.

The trotter isn't interested.

[trotsky]

20. Oh I'm quite interested.

Just wanted to know what YOU meant when you said "superior moral blueprint." Superior to what?

[WilliamPitt]

33. Heh

It's always easier to quote someone else than to speak your own mind.

I can always count on you, trotter, to be predictable.

[liberation]

39. And it is waaaaay easier to claim victim status than to answer a simple question

Religious debates always devolve into fast and furious no true Scotsmen fallacies. In the same sense that you are certain that your projection (or interpretation) on the set of uncorroborated fables which make up the bible is the "correct one." You are simply doing the same those rapture nutjobs were doing; they also assumed their projection and selective readings of those fables were the correct ones.

One characteristic of all religious persuasions is that, when it comes to face the fact that the problem could possibly be caused with the whole basing things like morality and behavior on uncorroborated fables to begin with (and not with selective interpretations of said random uncorroborated stories). Appeals to victim status are more likely to spring, before the individuals in question accept the intellectually honest consequences of the whole picture. And thus the logical dissonance kicks in.

[trotsky]

48. Precisely.

Thank you.

[WilliamPitt]

49. Glad to have introduced you two.

If you're waiting for me to apologize for being a Christian, I invite you to hold your breath.

And yeah, that was a very un-Christian sentiment. You just inspire me so, trotter.

[liberation]

54. Who was saying anything about you apologizing for being a Christian

technically the previous poster was simply asking for a direct answer to his query.

[trotsky]

74. I assure you, Mr. Pitt, no apology is necessary.

From what I've observed, your behavior is most decidedly Christian indeed.

[Sal Minella]

51. Okay.

Where the heck did you get the "victim status" phrase from?

You guys are amazing. You take something perfectly simple and make a Gordian knot out of it.

[liberation]

55. "victim status" is a common fallacy, usually discussed in basic philosophy books

as well as other related disciplines. Usually described as being a close cousin of the common red herring argument. That is where I got it from.

Maybe you should take your own advice about making Gordian knots about perfectly simple stuff?

[Sal Minella]

58. Some of us ain't all up on the eclectic jargon of the AirYouDight.

Some of us operate with words that haven't been rendered useless by those who dwell in the magical lands of the ivory towers of Academe.

[WilliamPitt]

61. (facepalm)

[Javaman]

13. The day isn't over yet! LOL nt

[Mopar151]

15. This should be on every front page in America.

and on every TV set. Boomhower should have a Come-to-Jesus moment over it on King of the Hill. (Hank could have a breakdown when he finds out who he's owned by

[chervilant]

18. Deal with the world

AND deal with each other. Think how profoundly we could change our current course.

Since we now live in exponential times, we are experiencing the inception of our demise, even as we blog about it. We're too late to stop global climate change, and must 'go along for the ride.' We are also witnessing the MIC and energy cartel pulling out all stops to guarantee we'll continue our insane addiction to oil, coal, and nuclear energy--all of which fatally pollute our planet every second of every minute of every day of every week of every month of every year that we exist.

The fact that SOME of us are aware of these realities simply makes this discussion all the more poignant. I have said hereinbefore that I'm glad I'm in my twilight years. I know that's selfish of me, but I've spent 38 of my 55 years on this planet as an activist--often ridiculed and belittled by family and friends--and I still feel as though talking to that wall over there would have been just as productive.

Nevertheless, I WILL continue my activism. I don't anticipate that a fairytale massive quake will destroy us. We are doing that all by our little lonesomes.

[mountainlion55]

72. My sentiments exactly.

Concise and accurate great reply!:smoke:

[Duval]

19. Too cool, as ever, WRP

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it! We're still here, too, and welcome you back to NC whenever! Thanks for making our day! :):kick: :grouphug: :yourock: :applause:

[Broderick]

22. Just Felt my seat rumble!!!!

nope, no earthquake. Just that damn bean burrito.

[Generic Other]

25. "coded language to the faithful"

I find it sad how little people have learned from the documentation of historical events in ancient texts.

You are absolutely right about the nature of mystery cults. Their doctrine was usually veiled in language only the faithful could understand. Your suggestion that Revelations represents subversive revolutionary thinking makes much sense.

[mntleo2]

26. Megachurches know ~ scaring = money

...this is their secret weapon. Scare the crap out of their parishoners and CA-CHING! This is not only true of wingnut evangelists with dollar signs in their eyes instead of Jeeeeeeezus. It is also true of wingnut politicians and other liars who want to bring in the bucks in exchange for making up scary crap.

As disgusting as it seems to make money off ignoring a great prophet's deeds and words, looks like Family Radio is just wanting more bling ~ again. When are their donating idiots gonna get a clue?

Cat in Seattle

[CaliforniaPeggy]

27. Perfect, my dear Will...

Thank you for your level-headed take on things...

Recommended.

[Dreamer Tatum]

28. Didn't realize he was so desperate for material nt

[Zorra]

29. And we are all Will Pitt.

:hi:
Absolutely Fabulous Piece.

You tapped into collective consciousness big time.

[Raven]

30. One of your very best, William.

[11 Bravo]

31. You heathen bastard! Everyone knows the Rapture operates on Eastern Daylight Time!

The major NY and DC media markets insisted on that. We aren't doomed for another 4 hours and 13 minutes.

[cmd]

32. God of Fear v. God of Love

I have the world divided into these two groups of people. Right wing evangelists preach the Fear of God. Their followers tippy toe around spreading fear, sinning and getting redeemed for the same sin over and over again. They love to judge other and point fingers. They are conservative, fearing that someone is going to get their money, and vote Republican.

Those who believe in the Love of God go about life without having fear hanging over every step they take. They know they will stumble, but they also know that God will be there to help pick up the pieces. They are tolerant of other and believe in fairness. They are Liberal, share their wealth without complaining and vote Democratic.

I prefer a God of Love.

[Amonester]

65. They fear so much that someone is going to get their money that, in the end,

someone DOES get all their money: when it's not the repuke they vote for himself (who always votes for his corporate masters at their expenses), it's someone else like that camping charlatan.

The Projection syndrome does that to its (either brainwashed, willful or just plain ignorant) victims.

[Tuvok Obama]

34. "You would not know the truth of your life if it voided its bladder in your face..."

I love that line, and as is often the case when I read your work, I am slightly jealous that I can't come up with gems like that.

But fortunately, it's not 100% true. It's probably more like 99.9% true. I was a Republican and a fundamentalist Christian for many years. I don't know why I finally started relying on my brain, my eyesight, and my experience (rather than the words of political and religious leaders who do not) to discern reality and morality, when so many others have not, and may never do so.

But it's not just me. I know a handful of others who have done the same--have come from the same background, were True Believers for a long time, and have now rejected the same falsehoods. Sometimes reality just keeps beating the shit out of you so hard that you either have to acknowledge reality, or turn into something like one of these Harold Camping disciples.

[BobbyBoring]

35. As Aways

A++++++++

I can't imagine how desperate someone has to be to wish the end of all things so they can escape the drudgery of their lives.

I think drudge has a dual meaning~

[AuntPatsy]

38. A pleasure to read, one of your finest.....

[Fuddnik]

42. Not for long!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43121772/ns/world_news-europe/

[freshwest]

44. Thanks, Will. Once again, your words enlighten all who read them.

[cliffordu]

45. Great name for a band...

Titmouse Giggle.

[woundedkarma]

47. actually I know those people

And even they think it's a bunch of bullshit.

"you're a Christian of the evangelical stripe,etc.."

[leeroysphitz]

50. tl;dr

[Swede]

52. Me too.

[mckara]

53. Read: The Decline of the West. Oswald Spengler. Especially, Volume II

[Joe Fields]

56. I have little use for those who claim to be "christian."

I have found that they are long on talk and short on action. Most are blowhards and hypocrites. As I understand the term, one who professes to be a christian chooses to be christ-like, that is to say to live a life in such a manner that Jesus would approve. I know no one that fits that bill. Worse even, many who profess to be christian are just the opposite. It just sounds good to say that you are a christian, but really, I know of no one who really work at it.

[jerseyjack]

57. The shame of it all is,

Camping is going to wake up tomorrow, 89 years of age and with millions in the bank. Millions that were given to him by suckers who believe in bullshit.

Simultaneously, there will be hundreds, maybe thousands of people who gave up their job, gave away stuff, dropped everything to follow his teachings and spread the false word. But tomorrow, they will end up poorer and disappointed.

Maybe its a form of Social Darwinism. Maybe they even deserve what they get for being ignorant. Or should we feel sorry for them? I would be more likely to feel sorry for them except that in their haste to follow fundy nonsense, they push for laws that lessen the quality of life for the rest of us.

[BobTheSubgenius]

59. Absolutely first rate, Will.

A near-perfect encapsulation of my opinion of that malignant, twisting bag of snakes that is the Religious Right. It's a theme that really speaks to me, and written in a style that would be my own, if I but could.

[Dj13Francis]

60. Aw damn.

I was hoping we'd be rid of all these assholes.

[placton]

62. you can fool some of the people, all of the time? n/t

[paparush]

63. Worst rapture EVER!

[bjobotts]

66. Kindness and goodness are not bound by religion or rejected by any sort of God.

[Beartracks]

67. Code of the Revelation

"the Book of Revelation is coded language to the faithful under the shadow of ancient Roman repression."

Wow, never thought about it that way. But it makes sense.

--------------------------------

[Mopar151]

68. I don't always take Kurt Vonnegut literally either.....n/t

[gtar100]

69. Thanks. Just got home from my daughter's day of graduation and was looking for this on DU.

In pains me to see these "christian" people being so duped, more so because they inevitably drag the rest of us down with them. A true rapture would probably have been as much a disappointment to them as this false one.

[Skittles]

70. exept for misspelling the word "conservatism"

PERFECTION :thumbsup:

[Highway61]

73. Very well stated

I think Mr Camping should give all that money back...now.

[proud2BlibKansan]

75. Those billboards are expensive

That money could have fed a lot of hungry people.

[WilliamPitt]

77. Monday morning kick

For those away over the weekend.

Glad you're here. ;)

[lightningandsnow]

78. One of my Christian lefty friends...

decided that, at 6 PM, she was going to update her facebook to make it look like her and her family had been raptured.

:rofl:

[HappyMe]

79. Always a pleasure.

:thumbsup:

[deaniac21]

80. Hey, if you transpose 21 it is May 12!