A comment on “A Flowery Prose in Shame”

A comment on A Flowery Prose in Shame:

This poem’s beginning line “Do not say: But for the Grace of God, Karma, Alhamdullilah” should not be taken literally. There is beauty in being grateful to God provided one understands that the relationship between us and God is a complex one involving each having the freedom and responsibility to act. For instance, in every scripture, God asks us to be good to others- the Grace of God is given through our freedom. In this sense, the injustice is in our choices. For us to give our choices the name of God’s grace without acknowledging our freedom in the result is abdicating our free will.

The reference to the forbidden tree; an old love and hate; both men and God playing roulette is again mystical and ought not to be taken literally.

We are the Hungry Games

This past Friday (March 24th) my son and I went to see the movie “The Hungry Games”. I really enjoyed it, partly because the little guy/gal wins at the end even though the system is set against them. I am assuming that most of you know that hungry games is a movie about a ruling class which forces competition to death between selected members of different poor districts in a selected location and this competition is witnessed on live Tv.

What struck me was that the child who is poor and starving in Somalia may see me and you- the ones who live virtually with our fancy gadgets while they starve-as if we are the perpetrators of the Hunger games. Now surely, I tell myself and hopeful you concur, we have no power. We are part of a system and this system allows for poverty, hunger, starvation, loss of limb and life, and lack of universal human rights and dignity, including universal (world) health care. We have no control.  Or do we? We play in the Hunger games by participating in the system. Perhaps the Occupy movement, though insignificant in its impact, makes a point- we, within the system, who are more privileged, will not step outside of our comfort zone because we are doing okay- we are the beneficiary of the Hungry games.