Monday, February 11, 2013

The Pope; Reality

So, Pope Benedict XVI is resigning from his elected position as the leader of the Roman Catholic church. Joseph Ratzinger is, after all, 85 years old, and has health problems. Being the leader and figure-head of such a large and complex political and religious machine must be extremely wearing on one's mind, heart, and soul. He feels he can no longer shoulder the burden of the world, and I believe, that since he feels and thinks that way, his resignation is a good thing. I did have to laugh when I saw a news story that asked if the Pope could, actually, resign...
  A wild and varied bunch of news headlines today, besides the Pope's resignation - a cruise ship adrift in the Caribbean, near the Yucatan , after an engine fire; shootings on Bourbon Street in New Orleans; shootings in a Wilmington, Delaware bank. It seems so unreal to me. - I mean, I grew up watching Western movies and TV shows, and I've seen plenty of action-adventure-thriller movies with explosions and gun fights galore - but I don't want to go out and shoot anyone. I admit openly that I love Bruce Willis in the role of John McClane in the Die Hard movie series, and I love Clint Eastwood in his Man-With-No-Name westerns and his "Dirty" Harry Callahan movies. It's nice to see the good guys win every once in a while, even if they don't do it "by the book" and the laws of our nation. .... But, this is fiction. It is actors and acting under the direction of others. It is not true life. It is escapism.... I'm beginning to wonder if the majority of young people today can actually tell the difference between reality and their fantasy worlds.

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