Jesus Leads Me to Angry Anderson

Last night I dreamed about "King Herod's Song" from Jesus Christ Superstar.  I don't remember the context. I have no idea why I dreamed about the song.

When I woke up, I was still thinking about the song. It was playing in my head.

As I worked on writing down my dream (that I barely remembered) I took breaks from that and looked for "King Herod's Song" on Spotify. I added multiple versions to my music—some to my general song list and some to my musicals list.  I Googled the names of the some of the singers to see if any of them were Australian.

That's how I found Angry Anderson.

I learned that Angry Anderson is a singer who became political...like Peter Garret. But while Garret is on the left, Angry Anderson is on the right.

Lord Wiki told me how Anderson was against asylum seekers, but then he had an experience via the show Go Back to Where You Came From, and that made him change his tune.

I learned that Angry Anderson has a blog. I thought maybe I'd add it to my list of blogs I read...even though I haven't yet added any other celebrity bloggers.

I started reading his first blog entry; then quickly closed it...in the same way I'd quickly close the unasked for porn that sometimes appears on my computer.

I didn't bookmark his blog.

I went back to doing something else.

But then I asked myself. Am I afraid to read Angry Anderson's blog because I'm afraid it will offend me? Or am I afraid to read it, because I'm afraid I'll agree with him on some things?

The thing is, lately I feel politically confused. I feel less anchored. It's not that I'm agreeing with right-wing people more or that they annoy me less.It's that the left is annoying me more.

No, I don't mean the left annoys me more than the right.

I mean I'm more annoyed by the left than I was in the past.

Both sides usually annoy the hell out of me.

Instead of saying I'm on the left-side, I'm going to say I'm on the side of fairness, open-mindedness, critical thinking, and confusion.

I'm using the word confusion for lack of a better term. Well, there might be a term, but I don't know of it. Maybe you can suggest one?

What I mean though is, I think it's better sometimes when we're less firm about our opinions. Or even if we are initially firm, I think it's good if we have the ability to change our mind.  I'm not for people changing their mind out of political pressure. But I do like it when someone changes their mind because of new things they've learned or experienced.  Like Angry Anderson changing his mind about asylum seekers.

I think it's okay to be confused and not know—to have an answer and then lose that answer; to change our minds; and to have the inability to make up our minds.

Here's an example of a dilemma that's been in my head.  I fully support gay rights—gay marriage, all that stuff.  I read about the restaurant in America that didn't want to cater a gay wedding.  I started thinking, well, I support gay marriage, but I also support people disagreeing with it. I'm SO open-minded, I support gay people and the people who do not support gay people. I support it all.

But THEN, I changed the characters in my head. What if it was not a gay marriage that was being refused by a restaurant? What if it were an interracial marriage? Or what if it was simply an ethnic group the restaurant owner didn't like. Sorry we don't serve Muslims, here. Take your business elsewhere.

I wouldn't be okay with that; so how could I be okay with someone refusing a gay couple?  People have the right to personally disagree with gay marriage and interracial marriage. And they have a right to be prejudice against any group they wish. But they do not have a right to discriminate. You just paste on a smile, ring up the order, and then later, when they're gone, you can roll your eyes, vomit, and have fantasies about their marriage failing.

The story continues.

There's a bakery in Denver that's being sued for refusing to make a cake with an anti-gay slogan.  I had to figure out if I agreed with this. If I feel anti-gay businesses should be required to cater gay weddings, shouldn't I also agree that gay-friendly businesses must be required to cater to homophobic groups?

Yes.

And no.

I don't think it would be right for a gay-friendly to refuse service to people, because they happen to know that these people are anti-gay.  But I don't think people should be required to write slogans which offend them.

Would I be okay with a baker refusing to make a cake with a Swastika? Yes!  Would I be okay with a baker refusing to make a cake that declares marriage should be only between a man and a woman? Yes!

But that means I have to also be okay with a baker refusing to make a cake with two women holding hands.

I have to be okay with someone saying. No, I won't make you a Walking Dead cake. I hate that show.

I'm not sure where the line should be drawn. And see this is what I'm talking about. I think it's OKAY not to know where to draw the line.

I think it's okay to be politically lost.  It's just a bit of a headache sometimes. I think it's easier for people who KNOW what they believe and stand firmly behind their believes.  But easier is not always better.

So yeah...anyway.

Angry Anderson's blog is added to my list. I can't promise I'll read the whole thing.  I DO definitely think we can discriminate when it comes to choosing what blogs we read. Although it is nice if we give blogs a try, at least.