Postcards of the Hanging

It's a crappy day to be protesting a war. Or to be marching for peace. I'm not really sure which they are doing. But there is some sort of event going on in downtown today. It is raining and is not a warm as it was last week. I thought about heading out that way. But I'm not sure. I'm not as young as I used to be.

I picked up a new book yesterday. How to cook everything vegetarian by Mark Bittman. http://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-Vegetarian-Meatless/dp/0764524836

It reads like the 'Joy of Cooking' for vegetarians. Excellent book. I made some Olive Oil and Salt Bread last night for dinner.

I would recommend the book for anyone that is interested in cooking without meat.

I stopped eating meat about 7 years ago. I can not really point to a reason why I did so. Often times these sorts of decisions are so complex and consist of so many factors that it does them injustice to attach a 'reason' to them. I had read 'Diet for a New America' by John Robbins. I was becoming increasingly interested in Buddhist philosophy and religion. It fit my political and economic ideals. But it would be wrong to point out any of these things as the reason for my quitting eating meat.

I even engaged in an experiment in veganism. The experiment lasted about 8 months. Cheez-Its did me in. No one can say that I am not patriotic.

About a year and a half ago I decided to try eating meat on for size. Again, I can attach no particular reason to this action. I wanted to test my reasonings. I had forgotten what it tasted like. I had a girlfriend that ate meat. I'll be damned if I could tell you why I do things.

The first bit of flesh that I ate was a trout that I caught in a brook somewhere in Berkshire County. I baked it with lemon, garlic and cilantro. It felt good to be nourished by something that I had procured with my own two hands. The next time I tried flesh was several months later at a Christmas party at the Dakota. Eventually I tried a variety of different kinds of flesh.

I stayed on this path until I moved to Oregon at the end of last summer. My experiment was beneficial in confirming my actions of the previous years. I do not wish to or enjoy partaking in animal flesh. However, it also loosened up my once hard and steadfast position. I now enjoy fish occasionally. This really comes in handy at sushi restaurants. Nor do I fret over whether something has beef or chicken stock in it. If I can help it I avoid these things. But no longer do I fret.

That is where I am right now.

I am nearly finished with Tolstoy's 'The Kingdom of God is Within You'. A great book is meant to be revisited every couple of years. You will always take something new away from a book as you yourself have grown over time. Several years ago when I read this book I was desperately seeking some sort of alternative to any religion that I had ever heard of. And that is what I took away from it.

Today I see very little of that in Tolstoy's work. Above all else Tolstoy is a Christian. He uses that position to critique government, nation states, the military, soldiers, citizens, violence, taxes, capitalism, the entire world in which we live.

He is deeply troubled by he fact that nearly every knows that to be a soldier is to be a murderer, governments exist in order to oppress, capitalism is unjust, taxes are unfair, modern churches are abominations of Christ's teaching and violence is wrong (He attributes this knowledge that everyone has from the teachings of Jesus and pays particular attention to the Sermon on the Mount) and yet everyone whole heartedly supports these institutions. It is not just that people do not resist. They actively support. They ignore the contradictions inherent in being a soldier or government official and being a Christian. They make up excuses or ignore the question when probed.

Tolstoy places the brunt of the blame on the individual. There will continue to be wars so long as there are people willing to serve. He also attacks what he sees as an indoctrination of children. In his 19th century Russian society that comes in the form of what is called 'religion'. In democratic societies this indoctrination to violence is called 'patriotism'. He sees this occurring first and foremost in schools.


He shows an extremely complex understanding of the political and economic situation of the world at that time. And, indeed, not much has changed. He uses Christianity, as he understands it, to lay a very detailed critique of the world in which we live.

It is not surprising that Gandhi lists the book as one of the most influential he ever came across in his autobiography.

I haven't finished quite yet. So more to come.

"How can children, youths and people generally be taught any kind of morality-not to speak of teaching in the spirit of Christianity-side by side with the doctrine that murder is necessary for the public weal, and therefore legitimate, and that there are men, of whom each of may have to be one, whose duty is to murder and torture and commit all sorts of crimes at the will of those who are in possession of authority."