Superman and the Advent

Now that my exams are over, I’ve had a little more time to examine the season of Advent, which we’re supposed to be focusing on this time of the year.

Yesterday, as I was re-watching the latest version of the superman movie in the post-Christopher Reeves generation, one of the lines in the movie struck a very deep chord in me. I have no idea why it didn’t register when I first watched it 4 years ago, but this time round, it sure stayed with me.

Lois Lane, in the prolonged absence of Superman, had written a Pulitzer-winning article out of sheer pique, titled “Why the World Does Not Need Superman”.

So one fine day when Superman literally appeared out of the sky, he carried Lois Lane high up and right above the Metropolis, and asked her if she hears anything. Naturally, she doesn’t. And he says to her, that he does. He hears everything. Then he gives her the one liner that really screamed for my attention.

He said: “You wrote that the world doesn't need a savior, but every day I hear people crying for one.”

And it suddenly clicked in my mind, that what he just said summed up perfectly the spirit of Advent!! This is the season, where we are once more reminded that this world needs a savior, just as it needed a savior more than 2000 years ago.

I guess there is nothing in this life that we do not become numb to, at some point or another, unless we make the effort to especially retain its significance. And I think this season of the Advent, I have Superman to thank, for helping me to once again be reminded that the Advent is as real today as it was more than 2000 years ago. If nothing else, today we are more in need of a savior than we have ever been.

Crap Sunday

Today was the last service of the year. And it was the Christmas Message that was supposed to round off the Season of Advent, and usher in the new year. And maybe its because I had some higher expectations of my sunday service, that drove me to be so angry.

The passage today was Luke 2:25-35. Its about Simeon, and how he was the first to greet Jesus as the Messiah. What a great passage to be speaking on, to conclude the whole Season of Advent! That is, until my pastor somehow failed to get the memo, and seemingly missed the bigger picture.

He proceeded to give a sermon entitled "Your Time Is Now", and did nothing except deliver a Chicken Soup For The Soul session for 30 minutes. Some of his greatest hits include "Peter knew his moment had come, that's why he stepped out of the boat and walked out on to the water!". There was no scriptural referencing to the passage at all. Instead, he seemed to only have one point to make: "No manner how your life is shaping up to be, God still wants to bless and prosper you. AND YOUR TIME IS NOW. Are you willing to embrace THE MOMENT and respond to God?"

Never mind that there was neither any reference to the passage (He could have also read from the passage of Peter walking on water to deliver the same drivel), nor any reference at all to Christmas or the Advent. He seemed intent on merely stretching his one-point message as long as he could, with one out-of-context biblical example after another.

I know its Christmas, and I know he's dead tired. I should be more understanding. But I think even if he had opened up Matthew Henry's bible commentary and merely read from it, he'd have been 100% more faithful to the Word than he was this morning.

And I was musing to myself that my most likely course of action when I'm tired would be to seek out my comfort zone and count on stuff I'm good at to supplement my lack of time and energy to properly prepare. And if that was what he did, then I guess his Chicken Soup for the Soul message today only proves my point about how he doesn't really fancy the faithful exposition of the Word, but instead prefers the cosmetic exhortations that is more usually associated with more "liberal" churches.

I know I shouldn't be angry, but after all of us worked so hard to highlight the Advent, having this to end off the year leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth.

Wikileaks? What Problem?

A sudden idea that came into my head, inspired by how there are so many fake torrents that studios flood the web with, in order to deter users from downloading their media content.

Instead of trying so hard to pin allegations of rape on Assange, wouldn't it be so much easier for Governments to simply launch a massive misdirection campaign to discredit Wikileaks? Just hack into the website or create fake versions of Wikileaks with heaps of fake data, so that it actually loses credibility or public interest?

Grins.

Wikileaks Saga

The talk of the town for the past few days has been of Wikileaks, and how their release of a whole tonnage of US Govt cables has resulted in so much attention.

I wasn't so much interested in the content of the leak, as I was in the response people had towards the leaks. Predictably, there was the usual criticism by the parties that were affected or embarrassed by the leaks. Then there were those that supported Wikileaks, praising them for their efforts, and defending their actions by insisting that the Govt should be transparent in what they do. Most of the rest of us were just intrigued by the whole saga, being a bystander who absorbed whatever was being reported in the media, without actually coming out in support of it, or against it.

But here is where my own ideology comes into play: This is a perfect example of why I believe that democracy is not always the best option to pursue. I may be wrong, but I believe that it was Aristotle who said that the masses are like sheep, too stupid to know what's really good for them. Democracy assumes that everyone is perfectly capable of making good and socially responsible decisions, instead of selfish and irresponsible decisions. It supposes that everyone is able to think through situations, and come up with a sensible conclusion.

Of course we know that's not going to happen! Look at American Idol, for example. So often we look on with incredulity at how less talented performers advance whilst the more talented ones are the shock eliminations. When it simply becomes about the popular vote, and a case of "who is better at brainwashing", then the decision that results is seldom one that is sensible, right nor socially responsible.

Wikileaks might have been a good concept, albeit Utopianistic. Yet when it was acted upon, it became a double-edged tool. It brought to attention corruption that was hitherto covered up, highligted the need for humanitarian aid in some parts of the world, but also exposed a lot of people to harm's way. Naturally, the organisation takes a lot of credit for the good things done, but shirks responsibility towards any liabilities they cause. In the case of the Iraq War Diaries, they cleverly shifted the blame to Amnesty International, deflecting any blame at themselves towards them. When they were asked to censor names of personnel at at risk of losing their lives, they pushed the responsibility of doing so to a few organisations, and yet when these organisations didn't do so, they insist that they were therefore not responsible anymore for their own actions.

Yet such behavior is the ultimate result of democracy in action. People feel free to rid themselves of all social responsibility in the name of "freedom of expression". By condemning any form of censorship, they think they are therefore free to behave in any manner they please, as long as there is a group of people coming out in support of it. Any attempt at restricting its actions or behavior is inevitably met with some form of public disapproval, and since ALL public opinion counts, there is inevitably no sense of a "right behavior" anymore.

The implications of such a social system is frightening to behold. A world where right and wrong is relegated to relativity allows me to get away with anything, as long as I can convince enough people. Such a system will always be approved by men, since whatever restricts us the least is always the most attractive. Yet when we ourselves are on the receiving end of harm done to us, we will find out too late that we have become the victims of the system we helped create.

And that is exactly where the U.S. Govt finds itself right now.

Serves them right?

Maybe.

Its a relative opinion, after all.