Archive for December 21st, 2008

The Last Temptation of Christmas

From the screenplay for "The Last Temptation of Christ":
EXT. TOWNSQUARE – DAY

PAUL — who we recognize as the Zealot Saul who killed Lazarus —
preaches to a handful of villagers. Standing straight,
radiating confidence, he speaks with the evangelistic fervor
of a born-again Christian.

PAUL
I used to be a sinner. The worst
sinner. I did everything. Whored,
drank, murdered. I killed anyone who
violated the Law of Moses. Then, I
was struck by a burning light and a
voice called to me, ‘Saul, why are
you persecuting me? Why are you
against me?’ ‘Who are you?’ I said.
‘Jesus,’ the voice said, and he gave
me my sight. I opened my eyes and I
was baptized and became Paul. I bring
the good news to every country.

Jesus comes closer, the Angel by his side.

PAUL
I bring this news. About Jesus of
Nazareth. He wasn’t the son of Mary,
he was the son of God. His mother
was a virgin. The angel Gabriel came
to earth and put God’s seed in her
womb. That’s how he was born. He
took on our sins, he was tortured,
crucified — but three days later he
rose again and was taken up to heaven.
Death was conquered, praise God!
Death was conquered, sins were
forgiven and the Kingdom of Heaven’s
now open to everyone.

Jesus can restrain himself no longer. He calls out:

JESUS
Did you ever see this resurrected
Jesus of Nazareth? I mean, with your
own eyes?

PAUL
No. But I saw a blinding flash of
light and I heard his voice.

JESUS
You’re a liar!

PAUL
His disciples saw him. They were
hiding in an attic with the doors
locked when suddenly he appeared.
Only one, Thomas, wasn’t convinced
but he put his fingers in his wounds
and gave Jesus some fish, which he
ate.

JESUS
Liar!
(to people around him)
He’s a liar!
Disgusted, Jesus turns and walks away. His angel follows.
In the background, Paul comes after him.

JESUS feels Paul’s footsteps drawing closer. He’s about to
explode. Suddenly, he turns on his heel, grabs Paul by the
shoulders and shakes him violently.

JESUS
(continuing)
You’re a liar! I’m Jesus of Nazareth.
I was never crucified. I never came
back from the dead. I’m a man like
everyone else. Why are you spreading
these lies?

ANGEL
Quiet.

PAUL
What are you talking about?

JESUS
I’m the son of Mary and Joseph, who
preached in Galilee. James and John,
the sons of Zebedee, were my
disciples. We marched on Jerusalem,
they brought me before Pilate, but
God saved me.

JESUS’ Angel doesn’t like this conversation; he tugs violently
at his sleeve. Jesus shoves him aside. Paul takes Jesus around
a corner where they won’t be seen.

PAUL
No he didn’t!

JESUS
Now I live like a man. I have a
family. I eat, work, have children.
Do you understand what I’m saying?
Don’t go around the world spreading
these lies about me.
(shouts)
Because, I’ll tell everyone the truth.
Now it’s Paul’s turn to explode.

PAUL
Look around you! Look at these people.
Do you see the suffering and
unhappiness in this world? Their
only hope is the Resurrected Jesus.
I don’t care whether you’re Jesus or
not. The Resurrected Jesus will save
the world — that’s what matters.

JESUS
The world can’t be saved by lies.

PAUL
I created the truth. I make it out
of longing and faith. I don’t struggle
to find truth — I build it. If it’s
necessary to crucify you to save the
world, then I’ll crucify you. And
I’ll resurrect you too, whether you
like it or not.

JESUS
I won’t let you. I’ll tell everyone
the truth.

PAUL
Shout all you want. Who’ll believe
you? You started all this, now it
can’t be stopped. The faithful will
grab you and call you a blasphemer
and throw you in a fire.

JESUS
No, that wouldn’t happen.

PAUL
How do you know? You don’t know how
much people need God. You don’t know
what a joy it is to hold the cross,
to put hope in the hearts of men, to
suffer, to be killed — all for the
sake of Christ. Jesus Christ. Jesus
of Nazareth, Son of God. Messiah.

Jesus is listening intently now.

PAUL
(continuing)
Not you. Not for your sake.
(pause)
I’m glad I met you. Now I can forget
you. My Jesus is much more powerful.

2008
12/21
CATEGORY
Obama
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Our American Depression

Why are so many of us depressed? Could it be that the problem is less individual and more communal? Is it global? And, if so, what has kept some individuals/countries immune?

A couple of weeks ago, my company, Young Living, hosted an International Marketing summit. Young Living is growing moderately in the United States, but more dramatically in our International markets: Europe, Japan, and Australia. So, the purpose of the summit, or so we Americans thought, was to provide US brand communication standards to these world offices for implementation. We put together our presentations, wrote our mission statements, bound our style guide, and we put it all out there with what turned out to be a naive sense of pride.

It turns out we were kind of late to the game. In the void that was our marketing effort, the International offices had taken it upon themselves to innovate on their own. Still dependent on us for superior photography, they stayed solidary to the US corporate office; but in matters of product marketing, each market presented deceptively small and effective ideas that humbled us. Why didn’t WE think of that?!

I think I know why: We were arrogant. More importantly; we were depressed. Even our leadership, on every level in this country, was arrogant and depressed. As someone who has experienced depression and it’s associated side-effects, I can attest to the isolated, defensive arrogance it can breed. In some ways, it’s narcissism.

Without going too much into narcissism (I assume everyone reading this has google, or similar), the problem with everyone being at least somewhat narcissistic (and, indeed, our leaders more acutely so), is the precarious nature of the race to the top of the corporate ladder. We had become less concerned with what we could do for our company and more concerned with what the company could do for us. And failing that sought-after vindication, we left old companies for new ones in search of some other route to the "top". We sulked in our cubicles, convinced that our individual corporate struggles were unfair to us alone. We didn’t bother to look across the hallway and notice our like-minded peers. Or, if we did, our discussions were disempowered discourse as to the unfair nature of our departmental microcosmos or even microcosmical companies/corporations.

Anyone who wasn’t depressed was simply arrogantly leading us off a cliff. Alas, maybe they, too, were depressed. In any event, we blindly and sheepishly followed, convinced there was no other way to make it "in this world". The film, Office Space, spoke to us for reasons we couldn’t describe beyond the "that’s so true!" conviction. I wonder how far back this depression dates.

The depressive arrogance is evident in every corner of our society, from the Hubris that has been the United States’ borrowed pride, to disparate religious institutions, to the "me me me" attitudes in our marketplace, advertising, and our families. It’s contagious. We see others "having it all" and intuitively strive for the same. I’m not a parent, but I do wonder, should we be surprised when our children act in kind? Won’t it do us all some good to lead with humility?

I guess I could segway into the argument for centrist politics, but I’ve been officially labeled insane by my close peers for suggesting that this radical centrism could be our awakening. I’ll reserve my rant for the series, "This Wasn’t Just Any Election" such that it’s title alone can serve to warn those nay-sayers against reading it. Is that a narcissistic rant?

2008
12/21
CATEGORY
Community
Economy
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