I want to talk about religion. With so many movies regarding the subject looming in the horizon, as well as those other works of fiction that make their rabid followers destroy maim and kill their fellow man I decided that now was as good a time as any to state my opinion regarding these matters. Belief in something has a limitless range; it can be from that soccer team you feel so much passion for to whatever deity you worship and dedicate your life to serving. People always relate the term “religion” to this worshiping of a person or being who is not there… it’s the human race’s way of making sense and grasping the concept of having something to believe in… because belief makes people do incredible things.

By definition, religion is:

re·li·gion

n.

1. a. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. b. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.

2. The life or condition of a person in a religious order.

3. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.

4. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.

Nowadays anyone with a radical idea can be a spiritual leader. Cults you’ve never even heard of exist with as many motivations as there are people under the sun. Belief is a very scary thing… it drives people crazy. There’s nothing more dangerous than a person who thinks is right, no matter what they tell him nor the way reality actually is. That being said, When you stick two people in a room and both of these people have very radical viewpoints on the same subject and they’re both right, in their minds, you’ll eventually have a fight. If you up the stakes, make these people groups, or towns, cities, or countries the fight will inadvertently escalate to war. Ideas are very powerful, capable of convincing a man to kill another for them. With the whole Da Vinci thing already making a gazillion dollars, as well as another type of religion with a rabid sect who’s only truth is their own and whenever their interpretation is tweaked they’re headstrong in burning the perpetrators of the bastardization alive, “X-Men: The Last Stand” broke box office records. Movies are an excellent way to get the vast majority of the populace (those who don’t read) to catch up on the bigger picture (quite literally, I might add) by masking important events in an entertaining glossy wrapping. I take it you remember “The Passion of the Christ.” That fetish film was of no crazy consequence, yet people would walk out of the theater just like my friend HoneyBrown has said, crying out “Why did he have to die?!” Jackass, you know the ending to that movie. Just like you know the ending to Titanic, and that joke’s been beaten to death with clubs so I’m not even going to bother with it. Religion makes people take notice just as much as personal tragedy… it seems that regarding entertainment based on facts, and I see this as a Panamanian looking out to the American populace even though this happens everywhere, we’re much more comfortable with seeing other people suffer, but when the people being hurt in the movie is someone dear to us then for some reason it’s unacceptable.

Case in point: There is a movie called “Paradise Now,” where the movie follows two Palestinian men as they cross the border to Israel in engage in some suicide bombing of their own. I’ve yet to see this movie, but the premise alone makes me giddy in interest. Then, of course, you have the much talked about “United 93,” a reportedly gripping, honest interpretation of what happened in the plane flight that crashed in Pennsylvania that Tuesday morning in September, taking into account what’s probably the most exhaustive research I’ve ever read anyone doing. To complete the triple threat, and just because I believe the concept is brilliant, we have “Team America,” a puppet movie that makes fun of the American government, terrorism, Michael Bay movies and many other things by pooping out the awesome humor only Trey Parker and Matt Stone could do. All of these 3 deal with terrorism, which at this time is inexplicably linked to religion since according to what the American government wants everyone to believe is that terrorism begins and ends in the Middle East… and whoever doesn’t like it, is against freedom, peace and everything America stands for. And to prove they’re not joking they’ll bully the Middle East into surrendering to them to establish some good ol’ democracy, whether they want it or not.

By definition, “terrorism” is:

ter·ror·ismn.

The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.

So, if I want to be logical about this, according to the world’s greatest superpower judging by it’s actions then the only way to take down “terrorism” is by doing some terrorism of their own. Of course, since they’re the big boy in the yard then they’re right and everyone else is wrong. But then again, religion is anything BUT logical…

Even though “The Da Vinci Code” is fiction, the church went out of their way to discredit the story to anyone dumb enough to listen, inadvertently giving the movie free publicity. Absolutely brilliant, and the movie wasn’t that good anyway. Take “The Passion of the Chirst” then, amounted to what it’s essentially 2 hours of a man being savagely beaten, tortured and ridiculed publicly, every fetish lover’s fantasy, and the church stood behind it. It didn’t make the boatload of money “The Da Vinci Code” made, but everyone and their mom went to see it just to be a part of the phenomena taking place… personally, I liked “Braveheart” better. The story of William Wallace was more resonant to me than that of Jesus Christ. Mind you, I’m a catholic (loosey goosey) but I’m more invested in comic continuity than I am of the Holy Bible. I know about both, but it just so happens that comic books are more appealing fiction to me.

Whenever movies talk about Panama (the one that comes to mind every time I think about the subject is “Collateral Damage” with the Governator) it’s always that we’re full of druglords, bitches, we’re stupid, nothing more than a canal and a backdoor to Colombia. Of course, Americans don’t care since they’re not talking about their country. When someone calls the United States government on their shit then they can get offended and stick nukes up our asses, though? Nigga, please. That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard… but it’s that very same “I’m right and you’re wrong” stance that takes countries to war, always over silly reasons. Last weak I read about this story someone one time said, and I don’t really remember much of it but I’ll try to tell it with as many details as I can: There was once a town full of blind men and women, and they all lived happily together. One fine morning an elephant showed up at the front gates, and the king ordered 3 of his officers to go out there and figure out what there was outside. So, these three go up to the elephant and feel him up (stop thinking the wrong way, you dirty minds) when the first one screams out ” I believe it is a tree trunk,” as he hugs one of the elephant’s legs. “I believe it is a blanket,” says another as he holds the elephant by the ear. “I believe it is a hose,” the third and last official stated, holding the elephant’s trunk. The moral of this story, or better yet, what the story is trying to illustrate is how different religions have their own interpretations of the same thing… in this case, the elephant. Of course, there’s more to it and looking into it further it would just trump the whole meaning of the story but the way it is “as is” serves as a great metaphor for how silly holy war is. It’s just a struggle to see who’s interpretation is right… it kind of makes me see how people behave like children not only in Panama, but abroad and at a much, much larger scale… a very dangerous scale.

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