Saving Grace – or – reflections on religion

I've been a fan of TNT's "Saving Grace" since it began. I've been lucky to catch it on-line while in Prague. One thing that really resonates with me has been the relationship between Grace and Earl, her Last Chance Angel. He's pretty no-nonsense. This season they are tackling the issue of capital punishment. What has really struck me has been that the man on death row, Leon, is Muslim. His last chance angel is also Earl. Grace is Catholic. They share an angel. I really like that. The subtle, yet somewhat obvious, concept that Christian God is the same as Muslim Allah. We forget that fact. Abraham has two sons – Isaac and Ishmael. His god – Jehovah, Yahweh, Allah, whatever name you choose to call Him – is the foundation of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. I know this is an obvious post/statement. But we forget sometimes. When I was a freshman in high school, our World History teacher, Mr. Pohl, told us that holy wars are the most vicious, most bloody because if both sides have God on their side, the other must have Satan (or something to that effect). The tv show "Saving Grace" reminds us of this fact – that of our shared belief in one God – through the most popular genre of television today – the cop show. It's really quite brilliant in some ways. The show, based in Oklahoma City, is attractive to an audience that can be the most negatively based towards non-Christian beliefs. There is a sense of good old boy mentality in the show. But then, it brings in Allah. And Earl, the angel, is just as respectful of Allah as he is of Yahweh/God. I guess this shows a little bit about my religious foundations. I love being Catholic. Walking into the church on Easter morning, as the Czech Mass was finishing, and the English about to begin, the air thick with incense - I love the smell of church incense – lifted my spirits. The tradition, the history – I know, not unblemished – draws me and keeps me. As an adult, I have the option of converting or choosing another faith or practice or worship. But I CHOOSE to remain with the Catholic Church. Okay. But I respect other faiths. When I was a young teenager, I read the Narnia Chronicles for the first time. 20 years ago, a parable struck me and has stayed with me. A man who worshipped the satanic figure in the story, saved, in the name of the satanic god, a drowning man. Is the first man good or evil? The answer, as says Aslan, is good because he did an act of good, even if in the name of an evil god (ironically, I recently bought and read the Narnia Chronicles again and did not find this story in the books so am wondering about the recent editions…). Now, please do not think that I am saying that Allah or Buddah or any other god is evil through this example. What I am trying to say is that God takes many forms and goodness will be rewarded in the end. We have to make sense of life in our own ways. So, I guess, you could call me a Golden Rule-er. Do unto others…goodness and a good heart will be rewarded. We just might have some really ugly baggage that it's bound up in.

What I am also "enjoying" if you can call it that, is the portrayal of death row. What it means for the man, since most are men, on it, for the people who fight against it, for the family members...when I was working at the University of Maryland, they chose "Dead Man Walking" as the freshman book. They brought Sister Prejean to speak. I read the book. I heard her speak...I have yet to see the movie. But I am against the death penalty. Add to the fact that poor defense lawyers and discrimination in the various justice systems around the US increase the number of poor and minority men on death row. Again, the show is targeted at those who are most in favor of the death penalty. It's a ballsy show and I give it respect for making people think instead of just go with the flow.

Americans in Prague -or - Obama Sunday

Today was an awesome day! President Obama gave his speech in Prague. Being Palm Sunday, I thought I'd play up the Messiah-complex that followed him around during the campaign but really don't have the energy to do it. I will say, that just hearing he was going to visit the city and speak on the top of a hill, did bring out the masses though ;)

Earlier this week, we were informed that the Fulbright office had tickets for an event, which we later found out was actually to a special place "up front" for the public speech. Not sure what that meant, we got our tickets and hoped that it would truly be up front. The night before, my friend Kari and I had some time to kill so we went up to the castle and scoped things out. The speech was held in the castle square. We found out that the place was seriously up close but were still a little unsure that we'd be able to get where we were supposed to, even after we talked to some embassy folks. Fingers crossed, we shared our intel with the rest of the group and planned to gather at 6am to walk up to the castle. The gates opened at 7am. Here is how the rest of the day went.

We walked up to the castle and saw the crowd so we joined in, hoping that we were in the "special line" that we were told about. But the crowd grew and grew and it got a little scary at points. Then the police and anti-conflict team (seriously, it's what their jackets said) tried to get us all pushed back about 20 meters but no one wanted to give up their place towards the front of the line. Finally, we heard someone say that people with special tickets should move forwards on the right, along the wall. Luckily, that's where we were so we pushed forward to the security tents. After that it was easy.

Me standing in "my spot" - it was actually much closer than it looks. I was in the second row! There there was about 10 feet of open space, then the stage and the podium!

We were packed in pretty good, as you can see. These are some of the friends that I went with.

The square was full - I read that it could fit about 30,000 people.

We were in place by 7:30am and the speech didn't start until 10:00. What did we do? We talked about how tired we were. We chatted with the strangers around us. We listened to some of the music they played over the loud speakers. We chatted with the Secret Service guys when they came over.

Then a little after 9am - excitement! The Obama's have arrived. We couldn't see them but they were on the jumbotron and we could hear the two national anthems being played.

We passed around the Czech and American flags they passed out. We were told later by Secret Service that we couldn't have them in our hands when the President came around...apparently, they could be used as weapons.

Anytime someone went to the stage we gave a cheer - a little out of boredom, a little out of anticipation. When they came out to attach the presidential seal to the podium, we knew time was close.

So we waited some more until the pre-show. A band started to play some pop songs - Czech country & western, Bob Dylan in Czech. Then the non-live music - some Kanye West, U2 and we saw the Czech leaders come out to shake hands.

PM Topalenek - the man who said that the US steps agains the economic crisis are a "road to hell" - and President Klaus (above) came around. A couple of young Czech women were near us, who we were chatting with a bit. One of them really hated Klaus and booed him as he came around. She asked us if it were McCain would we still be here, and we said "yes" - national pride, etc. Later, when Obama came on stage, she was in tears.

And then...

There they were! It was surreal to see Barack and Michelle Obama so close - they didn't seem real. Now, I admit, I've been caught up in the hype - they have rock star celebrity and I'm all for it. It feels really good to have a President and First Lady that people around the world like! And I like them, too. Intelligent, articulate, great role models...what more do we need?

The man, who paraphrasing a predecessor, "brought Michelle Obama to Prague." His speech, you can read for yourself, but some reactions from my Czech friends. One sent me a text asking if I was there, saying that he seemed very sympathetic. Another, I chatted with on the way out, said that he was glad that Obama discussed our friendship between the two countries based on shared values, saying that there are still a number of people in parliament turned towards Russia.

I love this little Czech lady. She is on the front row. Was there as early as we are. Waited hours to hear this speech...and smiled the entire time!

When the speech was over, Michelle came back out (okay, I gotta say that I am not a big fan of the big, floppy bows but oh, well, it's in style these days...)

And then, they came to shake hands.

He worked his way down, surrounded by Secret Service and then he got to us...

and I shook his hand...

Then we realized that Michelle was coming around too and a little delighted gasp went up as we scurried for our cameras.

I shook her hand, too.

It was mad - crowded and excited. After hours of waiting, it was worth it to experience this piece of history. I met former President Bush (43) when he was Governor, but this is the first time I shook the hand of a sitting US President and it was one of most exciting moments of my life. I admit it, I am proud to be an American. So, sue me.

The rest of the day was a bit anti-climactic. We had to get out, following the crowd. We got lunch and went for a picnic in the park.

The statue of TG Masaryk - the first Czechoslovak President. He had strong ties to the US and worked for democracy. I like the idea that he was watching over it all.

If you want to see all the pics I took, check out my flicker album - Obama in Prague '09.