Why is Jesus Camp held in Devil's Lake?

I struggled and fought to not take any notes during this film. I hoped to just take it all in without comment. And then, a line that could only be seen as a, um, gift from the heavens was uttered and I couldn't get to my notepad fast enough.

"You don't make heroes out of warlocks."

(More on that later ...)

You may have already heard about this film, but if not, here's a quick summary. A documentary shot in 2005, Jesus Camp follows and features three children who are being raised as evangelical Christians, including a glimpse into their home(/school) and church lives. Its title is derived from the main focus of the film - these children as they attend the Kids of Fire summer camp in (not making this up) Devil's Lake, North Dakota.

The holy trinity:

• †Levi : 12-year-old boy. Already a preacher. He was saved at 5 because he "thought there was more to life." He has the most fantastic baby mullet, perhaps, ever. And he visits evangelical pastor Ted Haggard, who is the most creepy man, perhaps, ever.
• †Rachael: 9-year-old girl. Perpetually dispersing literature to those she thinks might be helped by it (i.e. everyone, except Muslims - trust me - stay for the credits.) Believes Jesus can help your bowling score.
• †Tory - young girl. Forgot to write out her age because she was rocking out so hard when we first saw her on screen. She won't "dance for the flesh." If they do a "where are they now" in about 10 years, I hope I don't find out she's a stripper. (I'm going to hell for that, aren't I?)
  

It really is a fascinating film. It's the kind of film where you find yourself laughing in a "kids said the darndest things" kind of way. But also in a "wow, that's so uncomfortable that I have to laugh" way. When I wasn't laughing, I could have caught insects, my mouth open wide at what I was witnessing.

Just a few of the insect catching moments:

1. Camp leader Becky Fischer ending a conversation about sinning with "and while we're on the topic, I want to talk to you about Harry Potter. You DON'T make heroes out of warlocks!" (That quote, and her conviction during delivery, rule. But I have to split hairs with her. Harry Potter is a wizard.)
2. The church congregation welcoming George Bush (aka a cardboard cutout of George Bush) to their church and praising him, er, um, the cardboard cutout.
3. A speaker at the camp essentially telling the children that more of them could have been there, but 1/3 of them had been aborted. And then they had the children wear little plastic babies rubber banded to their hands.

The filmmakers made a lot of effort to step back and let the evangelicals speak for themselves. And they spoke loudly. I'll just say it - I believe evangelicals give Christianity a bad name. Most would agree that anything taken to its extreme is not a good thing. The ways in which Christian values have been perverted by this branch are infinite. And separation of church and state be damned.

But it's not the extremist thought that bothers me the most. It's seeing the manipulation and resulting guilt that harnesses many of these children. Early in the film a question was posed of the congregation. I don't recall the question now, but it was the equivalent of "raise your hand if you believe that Jesus is the way" or something. Hands shot up. And the camera caught a mother raising the hand of her toddler. The message was there - "this is what you believe."

We learn from our parents and then later try to figure out if what we've learned works for us. Watching kids be told they are "fakers" because they don't feel or believe what they are being told they should? It made me cringe. Should you have to try that hard to have faith?

I really can't wait for the "Where Are They Now?"

Paris Syndrome

"Around a dozen Japanese tourists a year need psychological treatment after visiting Paris as the reality of unfriendly locals and scruffy streets clashes with their expectations, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

"A third of patients get better immediately, a third suffer relapses and the rest have psychoses," Yousef Mahmoudia, a psychologist at the Hotel-Dieu hospital, next to Notre Dame cathedral, told the newspaper Journal du Dimanche."

You can develop psychoses if your expectations are not met? Does this work for anyone, anywhere?

Damn. I think it's time to adopt an "expect the worst, hope for the best" attitude, folks.

Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sisimpur?

Despondent as I may be these days, it's nothing some Muppets (and Jameson) can't help for a little while.

Most everyone I grew up with spent hours with PBS programs, including Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, The Electric Company, 3-2-1 Contact, and the mothership, Sesame Street. I'll bet most of you can recall something you learned from Sesame Street as a child. For me, it's the little bit of Spanish I still know (abierto = open) and that I occasionally refer to people talked about but never seen as "Snuffy."

PBS recently aired a documentary as a part of their amazing Independent Lens series called The World According to Sesame Street. (I also recommend catching these two programs if you can - God bless TiVo.) The documentary showed the amazing efforts of Sesame Workshop to localize their program around the globe, with the goal of providing education to every child in the most culturally and socially relevant way possible. As one of the Sesame employees noted, "It's not if kids learn from T.V., but what."

Specifically, they focused on the creation of the program in Bangladesh (Sisimpur), Kosovo (Rruga Sesam and Ulica Sezam), and South Africa (Takalani Sesame). The documentary chronicled the process in each of these territories, from the initial brainstorming (what kind of street will it be? what will the puppets look like? what issues do we want to address?) to the struggles to get the completed programs on the air. You see the creation of the first HIV+ muppet, Kami, trying to help tackle the African AIDS epidemic. You see the struggles of trying to start a dialogue between Serbian and Albanian producers in war torn Kosovo. You see the battle to secure a contract with the only broadcaster in Bangladesh.

The documentary was amazing - global, inspirational, educational, nostalgic, and fun. No more than 15 minutes into the airing, I was mentally making plans to screen it at work and pass on the "we can make a difference with the children" euphoria to our production team.

I highly recommend checking the program guide to see if it will air in your neck of the woods any time soon.

Regarding Kevin Tillman

Most of you have seen this letter by now. If not, I hope accessing this blog allows you to read it for the first time. It's scathing. It's painful. And I think it's necessary.

I, like many, perhaps, am still reeling from the misappropriation of power and morality after 9/11 that made it permissible to equate not wanting to invade Iraq with "not supporting the troops." And I think this letter brought all of that to a head for me again.

There are so many things in Kevin Tillman's letter that elicited a response from me, occasionally a visceral response. One part that hit me was when Tillman talked of the ways civilians showed their support (the drawings of a 5-year-old, the bumper stickers, etc.) I think that section really got to the root of what troubled me the most: the sense of helplessness.

I know his goal wasn't to belittle efforts of those who were doing what little they could to show support. But I also know that as I have sent care packages, signed petitions, walked down Market street with thousands of others, and been mindful in the voting booth, ultimately, I've still felt like I wasn't doing much at all that was having any sort of impact.

For some reason, many of the states in this country who are sending men and women to Iraq have been pledging their allegiance to the people who aren't protecting, nonetheless supporting, the members of our armed services abroad. I can't create a plan. I can't make sure the troops have adequate materials to be protected. I can't make sure the benefits they receive now and for the rest of their lives are tantamount to their sacrifices and injuries. Sorry, but that's basic shit that should be a given. (Going to war? Plan? Check. Helmets? Check.) I felt the premature grey hairs pierce my scalp during a conversation with my father running up to the '04 election; I had to hear him complain about his veterans' benefits being cut right before he said he was voting for the current administration.

I can't comment about what it's like to be in the military. I can only describe what I've seen/heard of the people in the military around me. My grandfather's time in Hawaii during WWII. My uncle who still won't talk about the time he spent in Vietnam. The three people I can think of off the top of my head that I went to school with who have spent at least one tour abroad.

Are those guys brave? Sure - they have to be. Did they enlist thinking about going to war or sacrifice or serving the country? Not necessarily. In fact, I don't know if I recall any of them talking about a "desire to serve." Their enlistment had much more to do with perceived options, or rather, lack of options. The commonality among all of them, including the members of my family, is that they enlisted very young and very much with a sense that there wasn't much else for them to do. As the song goes, "Mediocre people do exceptional things all the time." (Before I get my head bit off, I'm not saying anyone is "mediocre." I'm saying they weren't striving for something grand; it was thrust upon them.)

It's such a sacrifice, to put your life on the line for the ideals of your country. And if, God forbid, you are a member of the armed forces and are sent to serve, that's an amazing commitment to stem from "not having anything else to do" or "wanting to travel." I just ask with all I am that the people in command make sure that as they send these great people abroad that they make sure they really are fighting for the ideals of our country. And most importantly, that they take care of the troops in all the ways I can't.

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Tillman's eloquent letter was showing up across the web just a few weeks after reading this response from a high school friend serving in the Armed Forces; he was responding to a mass email sent by my brother, who was announcing his new address:

"Hey Jay, I wish like hell I was back, lost two the other day. Clearing all around Sadr City. Just seeing the words New Albany make me home sick."

Be well abroad, all.