AVATAR – It Has Something To Say About Your Politics And Your Spirituality

Reading the various reviews, comments, and technical critiques of James Cameron’s genre defining blockbuster, AVATAR, I’m reminded that the best any of us can do when coming to a work of art is to see how it confirms or challenges our own built in preconceptions and assumptions. Such was my experience when I saw AVATAR twice this past weekend. I saw it first in 3D, then took my wife the following evening to watch it in 2D.

I can tell you that the 3D experience is real, visceral, and emotion-laden. Comparing it to my 2D experience the following night, I felt more engaged and part of the story while watching in 3D. This will change the way we view movies. As others have more eloquently stated, this is simply the most visually stunning movie I’ve ever seen. While the technology is astounding, in other hands the movie would have faltered. I cringed at the B-movie trailer for “Piranha 3D!” I shudder to think what Michael Bay would do with this technology. I agree with other movie critics: This is our generation’s “The Jazz Singer.” Go see it if for no other reason than to experience it as it is now, not later when you’re trying to fill your bucket list before you die.

Beyond the technology lies what some have called a simplistic story. It needed to be simple so that as many people as possible would feel the full impact of the message. Judging by all the Establishment criticism, even the Vatican weighed in, they felt it. I call it the classic hero meta-narrative. People will see in this movie what they want to see. Some will see a racist screed. Others see “Liberal” propaganda. Some will interpret an anti-Christian bias and plead with their fellow Christians not to see such trash. Understanding that I have my own biases, I see an allegory.

I am a Christian and I accept AVATAR as the fictional story that it is. We use stories to relate truths to one another and AVATAR has some good things to say if we can get past our rose-colored glasses.

AVATAR Has Something to Say About Your Politics

The Christian right, myself included, was taken in by fascist propaganda with the election of George W. Bush and especially after 9/11. We all believed that George W. Bush really was a Christian, and had God’s plans written on his heart. We listened to Sean Hannity rail against the lasciviousness of Clinton and longed for a change. Now we realize that Bush, while he may have been sincere at the time, has shown by his actions to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He did not hold a traditional Christian worldview. On the contrary, he embodies the worst of our Imperialistic Christianity that is Christian in name only. What has all of this to do with AVATAR? By Cameron’s own admission, the movie is a polemic against government-enabled corporate greed that rapes the environment and scrapes the people off the land. Those that see this movie as anti-American will shut off their critical thinking right there. And this is where I take a different path.

I started out as a Reagan Republican. I graduated from the Air Force Academy. I have served my country to the best of my ability. But along the way something has changed. I don’t know if I am only now discovering the neoconservative agenda that has been present in some form since before 1900; or, if the neoconservatives have finally gained power in the 20 to 30 years since I was a boy. But what is currently popularized as patriotism is nothing of the sort. It is more properly defined as Nationalism, or jingoism. America and other corporate controlled countries operate as imperial powers in the finest traditions of the colonial powers in the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries. AVATAR uses a familiar story to illustrate just what this looks like in 3D.

AVATAR, for me, speaks first to the political spectrum. It is not anti-American to challenge the corporate greed and lust for blood that has become the hallmark of American wars the last few decades. This is what Cameron is doing. He is challenging the assumption that resource acquisition at all costs is an amoral issue. Politically, I guess this puts me in the “Liberal Left.” I disagree with the label. Instead, we should be focusing on core beliefs and world views and how those views cause us to treat our fellow human beings. I applaud Cameron’s critique because the story, though often told, challenges our political assumption that whatever America is doing must be right.

While my politics have changed since I was in the Air Force, something else has changed in me as well.

AVATAR Has Something to Say About Your Spirituality

AVATAR is a great picture of new birth, new life, and second chances. This is precisely what is promised in the Gospel of Jesus Christ: that we will live forever with God and Christ in new bodies. I’m also reminded of the verse that talks about the whole creation groaning waiting for the revealing of the sons of God. In my understanding, the verse refers to people who will treat the earth and all of its life with respect. This bears out with the natural inclination of most people to care for a wounded animal. There is something tender in our hearts to other life and I believe that was put there by God. I know many have criticized the pantheism or ancestor worship of the film, but it led me to see what is true in the Christian tradition; that is, that we are to be stewards of the earth and not takers only. We are not to strip all of its resources and dump them in a hole or in the ocean when we are done with them.

So why do we support an economic model that treats as linear a finite, circular biology? I want to challenge the traditional American notion that we are to take as many resources as possible, by force if necessary.

I also challenge the notion that it is un-Christian and “Liberal” to support environmental causes. I tire of the language that we use to box ourselves in when the arguments belong in a different arena altogether. Let’s shed these monikers of Liberal or Conservative. Let’s stop demonizing one another because of our pet issues. Christians of all nationalities owe their allegiance to Christ first, not the state. I’m told the United States Marine creed is “Country, Corps, God, Family” in that order. What an affront to God! Christians should see that this is idolatry! Ah, but I digress.

I have a question for Christians who support what America is doing right now in Iraq: “What is so Christian about dispossessing people of their land and resources, killing them if necessary to obtain it?” What was so Christian about destroying the Native American cultures in the 1800’s to make room for white settlers? What was so Christian about the British East India Company (and later Britain) subjugating the continent of India from 1612 to 1948? If the U.S. truly cares about nations, why have we intervened in Afghanistan, but not Rwanda? I will tell you why. Rwanda had no strategic diplomatic benefit, nor did it have any resources important to the United States. This should be a big eye-opener to Christians that the United States government does not make decisions based on a Christian understanding. They behave as nation-states have for hundreds of years: in their own self interest. Even though AVATAR uses a well-known story, that doesn’t make its critiques any less impactful. Indeed, a simple story is what’s needed to shock people out of their slumber.

AVATAR allowed me a fantastic glimpse of what Heaven could be like. It led me to examine what is promised to Christians after death. Pandora is allegory for Heaven. I know the depictions aren’t biblical, especially with all of the fierce creatures waiting to eat you, but it did emphasize Christian themes: community, respect for all life, respect for elders, respect for proper authority, and courage to challenge immoral authority. Those things don’t need to be told in a setting that matches what the Bible says. An intelligent person should be able to separate story from reality.

AVATAR makes a strong statement. Politically, it challenges nation-state hegemony. It challenges unchecked corporate greed. It personifies the evil of taking what you want, consequences be damned. Spiritually, it leads me to the best of Christian traditions: courage, community, honor, and humility. (Jake humbled himself and admitted when he was wrong) I see a hero literally born again into a new body. This parallels the Christian understanding of new birth when you are saved and then new life and a new body after death. The story challenges us to become better stewards of our own earth. The story inspired me about the joys of living in a vibrant community that respects life.

As I stated in the beginning of this article, the critics will see what they want to see in this movie. I saw a triumphant vision of what life could be like. I saw a people unashamed of their traditions. I saw a hero transformed from a broken servant of the company into a man of courage, conviction, and moral clarity. What’s not to like about that? Would that we all could have the courage of our convictions, fight for what is right, and be unashamed of who we are as humans, as Americans, and as Christians.

We're not in Kansas anymore!

The headline is an homage to The Wizard of Oz. I mean to convey the irony of thinking we live in a type of society that just doesn't exist anymore. At the time of the Wizard of Oz, we were full of hope, determination, grim entry into WWII, and people coming together for the common good. We've replaced The Wizard of Oz, It's a Wonderful Life, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington with The Patriot Act, The Military Commissions Act, Presidential Signing Statements, The Ministry of Homeland Security (oops, sorry for the Freudian slip) I mean the Department of Homeland Security, TSA, Tasers, The Police State, Blackwater, and possible Martial Law.

In recent weeks, I've tried to extricate myself from all of the negativity of the news items, blogs, and political issues I follow. I've tried very hard to tell myself to just be positive. Things cannot be all that bad. I went and counseled with a couple of mentors recently and they advised that I stop being so angry and just serve at the discretion of the companies who pay my paycheck. What they don't realize is that what we've been called to as "servants" is serfdom. Now before I go too far on this rant, these individuals had the best intentions and I know what they said was good advice for prospering under the current system. And I do thank them for the advice, because it does work. However, for me, it comes with a cost tag attached. Namely, my spirit. Now on to the rest of the rant.

You remember serfdom right? It's that archaic state of being that has been coming back into vogue since the dawn of the industrial age.

Wikipedia defines it well:

Serfdom is the socio-economic status of peasants under feudalism, and specifically relates to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery seen primarily during the Middle Ages in Europe. Serfdom was the enforced labour of serfs on the fields of landowners, in return for protection and the right to work on their leased fields.

More and more, this describes the current state of middle class America. When I bought my house, I only bought the right to live in the house. I don't actually own the land underneath the house. The state retained mineral rights to my property. I have to ask permission to dig or be slapped with a fine.

The lack of real choice extends further than any of us realizes. There is a legal tenet known as parens patriae that grants to the state the ability to usurp the rights of the natural parent. Under this theory is born the justification for mass public schooling. Even now, this is being applied to force vaccinations on students under threat of jail for the parents. This is happening in the United States of America. We have a very real class system that determines who will be poor, who will be middle class, and who will be in the elite. Your income determines where you will live and the level of education your children will receive. And worst of all, power is being consolidated into the hands of the twin central power brokers. Can you guess who they are? The Government and the Corporatocracy. In ages past, people feared the Church. What has been proven is that tyranny is no respecter of philosophies. Tyranny is inherent in the size of a ruling body. Such are the problems we are faced with today.

So during my morning news checks I come across the following tidbits. First, I learn that Wal-Mart has pursued and won on appeal a court case to recoup medical costs from a former employee. What did this woman do wrong? She trusted that companies have some kind of moral responsibility not to screw it's workers 10 ways from Sunday. Some of that restraint may have been evident in previous decades, but those shackles were thrown off long ago as greed has worked its way more deeply into our society. I can only wistfully think that Sam Walton is rolling over in his grave today. To think that the legacy he left his children is being usurped by those same children of such unsavory character as to allow a case like this to pass without comment, without compassion.

But the atrocities don't stop with the compromising corporations. Oh no. They learned it first from the new government "above the people, disdaining of the people, and undermining of the people." Yes, our wonderful government might as well just re institute the draft. It would be better than the false promises of bonuses and college educations. What good is a college education if you're not alive to attend? You see here, the good ol' US of A is claiming that since enlistees cannot fulfill their military obligation, they are not entitled to the bonuses that secured their enlistments in the first place. But it's not surprising since many of these men and women are viewed as little more than cannon fodder. And why should the U.S. government worry about good publicity? They don't have to. We are their captive audience and there is no where else we can go to complain.

You see, the moral of this story is that no contract with a large organization is ever going to be in your favor. You have no power. You are a Serf to "them." "Them" includes any organization that has grown large enough to be out of touch with the responsibility and accountability of it's services to those it means to govern or sell products and services to.

It is folly for us to believe that simply "voting with our dollars or votes" will change anything. The economic concept of Economies of Scale dictates that a large enough enterprise can withstand a large amount of disruption without seriously endangering the life of that entity. In layman's terms it means that the U.S. Government and many large corporations such as Wal-Mart have gotten too big for their britches. It's time we do something about it.

I'll bet you think I'm going to advocate a call to arms. Join a militia. Move to Vermont or some such. Are you crazy? Don't you know that Big Brother (read NSA) is monitoring all of our communications? Didn't you see what happened to Ruby Ridge? Waco? New Orleans? No. I'm smarter than to advocate that. But there are some things all of us can do.

First, get out of debt. I'm as deep in it as the next person so I feel your pain at the thought of resolving that problem. But the fact remains that the debtor is truly slave to the lender. You have no voice until that happens. Second, learn to live simply and work with your hands. Do you really need that McMansion? Do you really need the new iPhone? Sure it's cool. But do you NEED it?!? There are stories floating around about some people who are protesting the war by paying zero taxes. How do they do it? They have no taxable income. You can read about one of them here.

Next, pull your children out of public schools. They are not there to give your children an education. They are there to inculcate the children with the values of the state, regardless of the wishes of the parents. The children are indoctrinated as much as possible to give allegiance to the state first, God and and Family second. Did you know that our model for public schools comes from the Prussian model of a militarized state? How is it that the American populace was better educated and better informed in the late 1700's and early 1800's than they are today when there were no public schools as we see them today? It's a question worth considering. The school system today is designed to turn out workers for the corporate system. It is clearly not designed to educate. It may be different at the elite Ivy League schools or some obscure Christian colleges, but the great majority are designed for job specialization and indoctrination. I wouldn't really know because I attended a school of military indoctrination known as a Service Academy. It's taken me years to claw my way back to some semblance of critical thinking. For more on the history of our educational system, I highly recommend John Taylor Gatto's book, The Underground History of American Education. You can find it and other information at his website here.

Finally, we need to invest in one another again, without the meddling of a middle man. We need to buy our food locally. Or better yet, we need to grow our own food locally. We need to shop at companies that share our values instead of trampling on them. How can we sleep at night knowing we shop at a company that cares more about money than the life of a human being? We need to know our neighbours. We need to know our merchants. There is an investment idea known as Solari. I haven't really researched it so I don't know exactly what they are selling, but the central idea as I understand it is to invest in one another instead of through the bank. We have power in our local communities if we simply stop giving our money to the "Mega Mega Big ___ You Corporation" and instead use it to invest in each other. I don't know if Solari is advocating this, but why can't we pool our money for local car insurance? Why don't we pool it for local health insurance? What about a community supported farm in the neighborhood instead of just playgrounds? Instead of going to the bank for investment capital, why don't we go to our local community with the business idea that needs some funding? As we re-localize, I believe we can all decide to stop feeding the rat race machine and then decide to get off together.

This is my dream. What's yours? Remember the Monster.com commercial during the Super Bowl some year ago? You had the ironic children wishing to grow up and be middle managers and "yes" men. Of course, none of us dreams of that when we were children. So why do we settle for it now? As long as we have breath, it's not too late to start making the changes we know we need to make.