Weekend Onesie: Happy (?) Easter

Weekend Onesie

Happy (?) Easter

This photo perfectly captures the diametrical nature of Easter.

It's a strange marriage, an uneasy alliance not unlike the one for the Xmas season.

The myth of the Easter Bunny juxtaposed atop the myth of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection.

That's a lot to unpack.

First the fun stuff...

The Easter Bunny

Wikipedia
Originating among German Lutherans, the 'Easter Hare' originally played the role of a judge, evaluating whether children were good or disobedient in behavior at the start of the season of Eastertide, similar to the naughty or nice list made by Santa Claus. As part of the legend, the creature carries colored eggs in its basket, as well as candy, and sometimes toys, to the homes of children. As such, the Easter Bunny again shows similarities to Santa (or the Christkind) and Christmas by bringing gifts to children on the night before a holiday. 

Easter Eggs

Wikipedia
Eggs have been used as fertility symbols since antiquity. They became a symbol in Christianity associated with rebirth as early as the 1st century AD, via the iconography of the Phoenix egg, and became associated with Easter in medieval Europe, when eating them was prohibited during the fast of Lent. A common practice in England at that time was for children to go door-to-door begging for eggs on the Saturday before Lent began. People handed out eggs as special treats for children prior to their fast. Later, German Protestants retained the custom of eating colored eggs for Easter, though they did not continue the tradition of fasting.

And then, that other myth...

Well, to be honest? I've lost any and all passion for telling that story.

Look, if you need to believe in such things in order to cope? You do you.

For me? It confused and veiled real issues. All that energy? Time? Money? To feel worse about yourself? The guilt. The drama. 

I think people get swept up in the pageantry of it all, so excited to take part and perform. 

No, thanks. I'll take life straight up, as is, on my own. 

That kind of community? I believe it's called a cult.

That said, I've come to the conclusion that the religious fairytale is not all that different, or any more relevant, than the Easter Bunny.

When I look back at it... it seems a strange thing to expose children to. Talk about a bunch of mixed messages. The stations of the cross plays out like some public BDSM fantasy reenacted in visceral ritualistic detail. Then there's that basket of sugar to be inhaled accompanied by lip service to an ancient fertility rite, culminating in the celebration where we witness the reanimation of the dead. 

And don't get me started on the whole 'eat my body, drink my blood' thing.   

It plays with your head. Especially as a kid.

And ties you in knots.

On this side of it? I see how messed up the whole belief in a magical being - be it a higher power or the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus - is, in the end.

Think of the unrealistic expectations the promise such a being creates in the hearts and minds of people - and children, especially? Being born into a religious institution is a little like slowly poisoning one's brain. 

"They know not what they do." No, shit sherlock! They're clueless; lambs to the slaughter. That's not guidance. That's being force fed some seriously messed up propaganda.

Children are literally given no time to define themselves or the world on their own before being exposed to this crap. I certainly wasn't. I was told to blindly believe. To have faith. 

"And what a bitter disappointment that turned out to be."

I don't blame my mother. Or her mother, for that matter. They were both indoctrinated from day one. Learned to fear and regret, be subservient, accept their lot in life and hate themselves for it. The Catholic Church is built on the backs of self-loathing women and the terrorized children they raise.

Religion tells us... if you do this, if you behave in this manner, if you pray hard enough... then you will get what you want. But it doesn't work that way at all. 

Life is unfair. And being told otherwise is cruel. There is supposed to be an advantage to being virtuous. But if that's true, then why do all the assholes have all the money and enjoy the best things in life?

Fact is, life is full of paradoxes. And our time and energy would be much better spent learning to cope with that. The world is currently inundated with hypocrisies, contradictions, paradoxes - and thoughts and prayers? Ain't gonna cut it.

We see with our eyes, hear with our ears, and work our minds to reach an understanding.  We believe we 'know' something, but then are confronted with an incident or occurrence which flies in the face of it or  an alternative view or told that the opposite is true based on some creative bits of illogic. 

Is that what 'faith' is all about?

Can something be both logical and illogical and exist in the same space, residing comfortably side by side? 

Isn't that what being 'human' is all about?

As human beings go, we're not very adept when it comes to accepting grey areas. We want things defined. It is 'this' or... it is 'this.' Ambiguity frightens us. So we invent finite answers to quell our fears. To make sense of the senseless. 

And when it becomes too much... then we start seeking 'answers' outside of ourselves. We want to hand the irreconcilable aspects of life and living over to someone else. 

I think that's how deities are born. I think that need is the basis for theological doctrine.  

And, let's put aside, for now, all the charlatans and shysters who take advantage of this situation by exploiting people's weakness and need for certainty, enriching themselves in the process. 

It's not that religion, in it's purest form, is evil. It's intentions are good. It's meant to reassure. "Oh, yes, when you die you go to heaven and live forever. Oh, yes, you'll see your dead husband again. Oh, yes, if you do as we say, behave as we ask, live as we tell you, then you will be rewarded  - maybe not in the way you hoped, but then 'God' works in mysterious ways."  

What the hell is that supposed to mean? 

Is that a built-in escape clause?

In other words; be prepared to be disappointed, now cough up 10% of your income, these gold robes don't come cheap. 

No, the show is not free, folks. 

In the end, everybody pays for a ticket, one way or another.

But, hey... grab a seat!

Happy (?) Easter.

Hang on folks.

This pastel nightmare is almost over.

Well, until  we revisit it again, next year.

- uptonking from Wonderland Burlesque

Here Comes Peter Cottontail - Danny Kaye