Darfur Savior George Clooney Comes Clean
Superstar Superactor Superhunk Super-bring-attention-to-bad-things-in-really-rotten-places-across-the-globe-guy George Clooney had his superpersona splashed all over the cover of this week's Time magazine. Inside was a full spread about him, some more of him, and a few other things about him.
As I make a feeble attempt at humor here, please know that I don't dislike Clooney at all. I actually like his movies, I do think he's a fine performer, and all the rest of it.
In fact, with the wife and kids out seeing the grandfolks and me with a league basketball game late tonight, I rented Michael Clayton which my wife had already seen with a friend. I haven't seen it yet but I plan to just before my game. I get the idea this is about a lawyer who gets mixed up in some kind of shenanigans that high level people get mixed up in, and he's looking for the truth that others don't want him to see, and there are some twists and thrills and all that. I also know about the tag for the film: "The truth can be adjusted." Oooo, how're they going to do that? Annnd the film got critical acclaim and was picked by some to win big Oscar night if it wasn't for No Country for Old Men.
Anyway, this blog post is about George Clooney, and something quite profound that he said in the Time piece. Before that, I do want to mention that last year at about this time, my webzine's home page piece was about Darfur and how impotent the World is at actually even thinking it could do anything about the tragedy there. So impotent, in fact, that the World itself makes it like that so the most visible operatives can pretentiously spout about how much they're trying doing to try to see if they can try to make it so people can try not to have things bad like it is in Darfur. And all that.
George Clooney is just one of the most visible exploitees who can't see the World in action as it really is. He righteously seeks to end the horrors in Darfur, and I'm not being facetious about that at all. It is righteous, more power to him. He is bringing attention to it. He is doing at least a bit with his Not on Our Watch group. He is getting some money donated and relief provided. That's great, it really is.
But he said something in that Time piece which is stunning, given his commitment to ending all bad things everywhere. And I'd venture to say all people who want to end bad things everywhere and are also a bit honest about how much they are truly spinning their wheels would feel the same way Clooney did as he confessed to Time.
Here is what he said, shortly after returning from a humanitarian stint:
"I've been very depressed since I got back. I'm terrified that it [his Darfur advocacy] isn't in any way helping. That bringing attention can cause more damage. You dig a well or build a health-care facility and they're a target for somebody. A lot more people know about Darfur, but absolutely nothing is different. Absolutely nothing."
The despair just screams from that quote.
As well as the truth.
The truth is not compicated at all, but, well, wait. It may be very complicated for people so abjectly ensconced in the World that they can't see the Grace of that Truth.
That would be Jesus Christ.
Not the Jesus Christ of the World out valiantly trying to rescue Darfur. That Jesus could be anybody, it could be George Bush, George Clooney, George Washington Resurrected who'd lead a U.N. brigade to machine gun to death all the janjaweed, yay! It could be George of the Jungle for that matter, but it won't make a lick of difference.
All these Jesuses will only spit a slobber of something that may be kind of nice on these Darfur folks, and nothing else. They're still destitute in the most horrific way, as Clooney so honestly admits.
The Real Jesus, as shown through the flesh and bones of those not contracted with the World--He is the One who fully liberates, fully provides, fully enriches, fully blesses, and fully all the other things that make us truly joyous and vibrantly prosperous.
All that stuff going on in Darfur, is really just the ruinous effects of widespread institutionalized value extraction. I mention that value extraction stuff because it is the subject of my latest home page piece.
Think human sacrifice is thing of the distant past? Nah. It's around today, all over the place, just repackaged to make it more palatable.
Although... Those victims in Darfur...
That human sacrifice seems pretty awful to me.
Would George Clooney see that and perhaps give it up to The One who'd actually do what he'd like to see there? I dunno. He'd probably have to give up being on Time, maybe even being Superhunk of Hollywood. Intractably of the World, they'd have nothing to do with a Clooney who'd be Jesus' flesh and bones.
Very risky, very risky indeed.
But hey. Maybe he'll get tired enough of seeing the truth adjusted in real life.
As I make a feeble attempt at humor here, please know that I don't dislike Clooney at all. I actually like his movies, I do think he's a fine performer, and all the rest of it.
In fact, with the wife and kids out seeing the grandfolks and me with a league basketball game late tonight, I rented Michael Clayton which my wife had already seen with a friend. I haven't seen it yet but I plan to just before my game. I get the idea this is about a lawyer who gets mixed up in some kind of shenanigans that high level people get mixed up in, and he's looking for the truth that others don't want him to see, and there are some twists and thrills and all that. I also know about the tag for the film: "The truth can be adjusted." Oooo, how're they going to do that? Annnd the film got critical acclaim and was picked by some to win big Oscar night if it wasn't for No Country for Old Men.
Anyway, this blog post is about George Clooney, and something quite profound that he said in the Time piece. Before that, I do want to mention that last year at about this time, my webzine's home page piece was about Darfur and how impotent the World is at actually even thinking it could do anything about the tragedy there. So impotent, in fact, that the World itself makes it like that so the most visible operatives can pretentiously spout about how much they're trying doing to try to see if they can try to make it so people can try not to have things bad like it is in Darfur. And all that.
George Clooney is just one of the most visible exploitees who can't see the World in action as it really is. He righteously seeks to end the horrors in Darfur, and I'm not being facetious about that at all. It is righteous, more power to him. He is bringing attention to it. He is doing at least a bit with his Not on Our Watch group. He is getting some money donated and relief provided. That's great, it really is.
But he said something in that Time piece which is stunning, given his commitment to ending all bad things everywhere. And I'd venture to say all people who want to end bad things everywhere and are also a bit honest about how much they are truly spinning their wheels would feel the same way Clooney did as he confessed to Time.
Here is what he said, shortly after returning from a humanitarian stint:
"I've been very depressed since I got back. I'm terrified that it [his Darfur advocacy] isn't in any way helping. That bringing attention can cause more damage. You dig a well or build a health-care facility and they're a target for somebody. A lot more people know about Darfur, but absolutely nothing is different. Absolutely nothing."
The despair just screams from that quote.
As well as the truth.
The truth is not compicated at all, but, well, wait. It may be very complicated for people so abjectly ensconced in the World that they can't see the Grace of that Truth.
That would be Jesus Christ.
Not the Jesus Christ of the World out valiantly trying to rescue Darfur. That Jesus could be anybody, it could be George Bush, George Clooney, George Washington Resurrected who'd lead a U.N. brigade to machine gun to death all the janjaweed, yay! It could be George of the Jungle for that matter, but it won't make a lick of difference.
All these Jesuses will only spit a slobber of something that may be kind of nice on these Darfur folks, and nothing else. They're still destitute in the most horrific way, as Clooney so honestly admits.
The Real Jesus, as shown through the flesh and bones of those not contracted with the World--He is the One who fully liberates, fully provides, fully enriches, fully blesses, and fully all the other things that make us truly joyous and vibrantly prosperous.
All that stuff going on in Darfur, is really just the ruinous effects of widespread institutionalized value extraction. I mention that value extraction stuff because it is the subject of my latest home page piece.
Think human sacrifice is thing of the distant past? Nah. It's around today, all over the place, just repackaged to make it more palatable.
Although... Those victims in Darfur...
That human sacrifice seems pretty awful to me.
Would George Clooney see that and perhaps give it up to The One who'd actually do what he'd like to see there? I dunno. He'd probably have to give up being on Time, maybe even being Superhunk of Hollywood. Intractably of the World, they'd have nothing to do with a Clooney who'd be Jesus' flesh and bones.
Very risky, very risky indeed.
But hey. Maybe he'll get tired enough of seeing the truth adjusted in real life.
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