Paralysis of the Mind

Yeah, you've heard the Mel Gibson DUI story by now.

And you've probably heard his apology -- without specifics -- and the floating news reports -- with specifics -- about what he actually said that he subsequently had to apologize for.

And no doubt, we'll be hearing all about "Mel Gibson: Anti-Semite or Jew Hater?" for the next news cycle. Of course, anyone who knows the least bit about history could tell you exactly how anti-Semetic the word "Passion" was when he used it. But hey, I'm not going to cast any stones. And if I did, Gibson would show them tearing his own flesh. In slow motion. And then they'd break the barbs out.

No, what really gets me about the whole story is Gibson's tearful apology over his drunken ways. Yes, Mel's been fighting the specter of alcoholism for years and years and despite his holier-than-thou antics after his passionate success, we find out he's human. And there's nothing wrong with that. We're all human. Nobody's perfect. And anyone who goes on and on and on about how superior their values are typically -- and often publically -- get exposed.

When someone who considers themselves holy falls, they perpetually blame it upon themselves. God is always the light, the way, and it is always the human that has failed. But the older I get, and the more I see the terrors of religion (and its ever-present flip side, religious intolerance), I wonder who really is to blame when we all fall down.

Mel Gibson has fought his alcoholism for years, with God (at least in his mind) on his side. It obviously hasn't worked. Did Mel let God down? Did God let Mel down? Nobody ever wants to answer the latter; it's something right out of the satanist handbook, I bet. But if Mel had a bad back, went to a doctor, and found that year after year, his back was not improving, nobody would cry, "Mel has failed the doctor!"

Nearly every religion has a "this is the one true religion" clause in it. And, nearly every religion has a "spread this religion" clause in it. Most religions have a "do not kill" sign on them. So, as Israel runs roughshod over Lebanon as Hezbollah fires rockets at civilians, who's failing what? And who's failing who?

It's easy to joke about Mel Gibson and his problems. But he is a fascinating test case for the general feel in America. He tapped into something huge with his movie. The megachurch revolution is terrifying -- especially when a pastor can speak out against the religious right making a mockery of actual Christian values and still see 20 percent of his flock leave in a hissy fit.

Who's failing who here? Jesus probably never gave a second thought to abortions or stem cells, but he certainly knew something about peace. And this wasn't it:

Mr. Boyd said he never intended his sermons to be taken as merely a critique of the Republican Party or the religious right. He refuses to share his party affiliation, or whether he has one, for that reason. He said there were Christians on both the left and the right who had turned politics and patriotism into “idolatry.”

He said he first became alarmed while visiting another megachurch’s worship service on a Fourth of July years ago. The service finished with the chorus singing “God Bless America” and a video of fighter jets flying over a hill silhouetted with crosses.

At the end of the day, that's extremism parading under a banner of religion. And when those who think they're religious parade out of a church that dares to question it, who has failed?

When George Bush speaks about the values of his faith, yet calmly sends troops off to their death in a war that few can explain... who failed?

As millions of unknown African children can die of starvation and diseases that were cured 100 years ago (for goodness sake... malaria!?) while the world looks the other way... why are we failing?

And as we live in a world where we continue to throw up barriers between each other, instead of being inclusive, who has failed?

I know I've got an answer.

So, when you get a gem like President Bush, our Dearest Leader, you've really got to try and showcase it.

For example, Bush made up his mind 5 years ago that stem cells were bad. Do you remember? In those innocent times before 9/11 when Bush went to his ranch for a month to think stem cells over? And the media, who hadn't become the cheerleading eunich squad yet, breathlessly reported about how it was such a deep moral decision, and Bush was trying to take his time?

For me, I thought, "Wow, this guy's in over his head."

But five years later, in true non flip-floppy fashion, Bush hasn't changed his mind one iota. Thank God, because, I mean... wow. Changing your mind is evil. Wrong. Several other bad things.

Even though Bill "I diagnose via video" Frist has changed his mind, even though most of America is behind stem cell research, Bush is happily prepared to preach to his 34% of the population choir by wielding his very first veto.

Now, here's the funny part.

Bush said: "I made [it] very clear to the Congress that the use of federal money, taxpayers’ money, to promote science which destroys life in order to save life, I’m against that."

We'll overlook the grammar issues and 1st-grade snytax. But consider this: Bush will not spend money which he feels will destroy life in order to save life.

So, immediately, my first thought was, "Wow! We're leaving Iraq!"

Yeah, no, not so much. See, Bush made an important distinction: It's only science that destroys life he's against. And that makes it all better, correct?

Although -- and I could be wrong -- I'm pretty sure weapons testing is still going to get funding. And I'm sure the next generation of nuclear warheads will be funded by our pals in the U.S. government.

So, then, of course, I think, "Wow. Irony is dead."

Then I think, "Wow. So are people with Parkinsons."

And I'll be honest. That last one isn't funny to me at all.

Why is it that so many people have such a difficult time admitting they've made a mistake?

It's one thing to do something obviously wrong but think you're completely in the right (*cough* Iraq)... that's an entirely different story.

But why, oh why is it so damn impossible to simply admit fault?

Everyone knows you're not supposed to lie. And many people are forgiving enough that a honest-to-goodness heartfelt apology will cover most trangressions. Yet somehow, that equasion doesn't lead to more sorries, it leads to more cover-ups.

The ultimate example, of course, is Bill Clinton. Love, hate or ignore him, he could have saved himself several years worth of trouble if, from the very beginning, he had simply said, "Yes, I did have sex with that woman. And I'm very sorry."

You don't have to be a genius to imagine what happens next in that universe. Clinton is reviled by the right, bitterly fought tooth and nail by Congress... but doesn't have to face impeachment charges of perjury and doesn't have to sit with Ken Starr to go into ridiculous detail of his sex life. In other words, nothing changes, except he gets most of '97 and '98 back -- and maybe he ties up more loose ends that he should have, such as Osama bin Laden.

All it would have taken was a simple sorry. Instead, "I did not have sex with that woman" has become the catchphrase for "Bullshit!" and Clinton *did* get himself halfway impeached and *did* become a national joke. Say what you'd like about the witch-hunt that brought Bill to that point, but the truth is that he really did it to himself. An unpleasant truth would have worked a lot better than his unsustainable lie.

While Clinton is an almost over-the-top example (I mean, how many of us out there want our sex lives getting riffled through by Ken Starr?) but the endgame of his lie is too true: Lies get found out. Bad lies almost always fall apart. And obvious lies make people want to dislike and distrust you.

So why even start down that path? Honesty might not always be the best policy, but it's always the best answer when you're backed into a corner.

And consider the wider benefits of honesty. If Americans held any human decency -- I mean, totally basic, barely-more-than-zero decency -- we could get rid of half the lawyers that pollute our legal system. We wouldn't need to see commercials featuring the "heavy hitters" who are out to get YOU rich. And yeah, it's easy to blame those lawyers and those who hire them, but in reality, it starts earlier, with the insurance company. Because their lawyers are making sure accident victims can be dealt with for as little cash as possible. And I don't blame the insurance company either, because -- of course -- there are the fraudsters who are looking for a quick buck.

Yes, illegal behavior is above and beyond the scope of admitting mistakes, but then, once you don't have to take responsibility for your actions, what is to stop you? Either you stand up for morality or you don't.

But, where's the examples of morality these days? It just doesn't happen much. And that sort of example is only going to embolden those who think they can get away with anything... be it a small screw-up at work, or, perhaps, an illegal attack on a large Middle Eastern country.

Because why not try to take the shortcut? Everyone else is doing it. And it seems like if you lie hard enough, you can get away with murder.