Opera and politics

A lazy Sunday afternoon on a cold, wet January day. I did my homework for the class I'm taking at church with 14 other women on embodiment and the Body of Christ. Very dense reading and a good challenge for my aging brain. Yesterday R. and I saw a splendiferous opera, "The Enchanted Island", thanks to the Metropolitan Opera's downcast into a local theater. It was as grand as "grand opera" should be with lovely baroque arias revitalized with English text that re-enacted Shakespeare's "The Tempest" with some shades of "Midsummer Night's Dream." Lots of literary license here, but all to the good!

I'm feeling pretty cranky about the absurd emphases and responses of the Republican "hopefuls" for president as they speak to issues that are deeply relevant to people's lives. They are not providing much hope to those who aren't "successful" or "hard working" and seem to relish the thought of pulling the rug out from under 40 million people who in 2014 would finally have health insurance, not because they have earned it, but because it's what a caring nation is willing to provide. To me, "Am I my brother's keeper?" seems the most relevant ? in politics today. When I watch the reactions in the Republican debates to some of what I consider the most outlandish statements, I feel like I'm listening to a rabid mob who would lynch me instantly for believing in the interrelatedness of all creation, especially all human beings. Individualism, The Market, and Free Enterprise have become gods that I don't recognize, because they have nothing in common with the One who died penniless and criminalized on a cross for all people, not just for the educated and well-do-do.