REM's Song Finds More Fuel
In '98, Michael Stipe & Peter Buck prophesied about the photo below. I don't know if they realized they were, but it wouldn't surprise me.
There's something so screwed up about the idea of this bumber sticker/magnet that I'm not even sure where to begin. I'll try:
1. How on earth can these people not see how this is going to be interpreted as deifying President Bush? To the outside observer, hell, to any observer, replacing Jesus with a human leader, is an act of worship. In fact, this is a perfect example of civil religion.
2. Why is it necessary for church and government to be linked? Even if one agrees with the thesis that the so-called Founding Fathers were Christian, why does that mandate we link Christianity and government so closely? If we look to earlier "Founding Fathers" like Roger Williams of Rhode Island we see men committed to an ideal of religious liberty & separation of church and state.
3. Bringing the previous two together, where in this bumper sticker do we see the original subversive message that fish symbol implied? Where is the implicit message against empire? This doesn't speak of a new emperor and a kingdom-turned-upside-down, rather it's a modern example of reinstituting the imperial eagle on the Herodian temple.
4. I'm ordering 50, you want one?
pax,
jefe
PS- there's a great article at the Ashram that shows bushfish is not the end of the word as we know it, click here to read it
There's something so screwed up about the idea of this bumber sticker/magnet that I'm not even sure where to begin. I'll try:
1. How on earth can these people not see how this is going to be interpreted as deifying President Bush? To the outside observer, hell, to any observer, replacing Jesus with a human leader, is an act of worship. In fact, this is a perfect example of civil religion.
2. Why is it necessary for church and government to be linked? Even if one agrees with the thesis that the so-called Founding Fathers were Christian, why does that mandate we link Christianity and government so closely? If we look to earlier "Founding Fathers" like Roger Williams of Rhode Island we see men committed to an ideal of religious liberty & separation of church and state.
3. Bringing the previous two together, where in this bumper sticker do we see the original subversive message that fish symbol implied? Where is the implicit message against empire? This doesn't speak of a new emperor and a kingdom-turned-upside-down, rather it's a modern example of reinstituting the imperial eagle on the Herodian temple.
4. I'm ordering 50, you want one?
pax,
jefe
PS- there's a great article at the Ashram that shows bushfish is not the end of the word as we know it, click here to read it
posted by jefe at 8/11/2006 07:36:00 PM
1 comments
