we fought your wars with all our hearts
you sent us back in body parts
you took our wills with the truth you stole
we offer prayers for your long lost soul

…

there is no flag that is large enough
to hide the shame of a man in cuffs
you switched your signs then you closed the blinds
you changed the channels and you changed our minds

Now I don’t know what stopped Jesus Christ
from turning every hungry stone into bread
And I don’t remember hearing how Moses reacted
when the innocent first born sons lay dead
Well, I guess God was a lot more demonstrative
back when he flamboyantly parted the sea
Now everybody’s praying
Don’t pray on me.

What if everything around you isn’t quite as it seems?
What if all the world you think you know is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection, is it all you want it to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks?
Would you find yourself, find yourself afraid to see?

just when i thought i couldn’t have any more respect for Joss Whedon and his amazing, wonderful ability to express himself …

I was watching this Q&A session extra on the Serenity dvd last weekend, and Joss was asked by one of his fans what he has against people being Christian.

“I don’t actually have anything against anybody, unless their belief precludes everybody elses. I am an atheist and an absurdist and have been for many, many years. I’ve actually taken a huge amount of flak for that. People who have faith tend to think that people who don’t, don’t have a belief system and they don’t care if they make fun of them. It’s actually very difficult: Atheists are as a group not really recognised by the American public as people to be taken seriously. This does not mean that I rail against religion, however the meaning of life and the meaning of what we do with our lives is something that is extremely important to me. I have included characters from many different religions particularly in [Firefly], but also in the other shows as well, because I’m interested in the concept. I think faith is an extraordinary thing. I’d like to have some, but I don’t and that’s just how that works. [...] There’s one other thing I would mention, which is from Angel actually: One of the few times I really got to sort of say exactly what I think about the world was in the second season of Angel, episode 16 ["Epiphany"] when he’d gone all dark, because he does that, and he was getting better, and he basically decided - he’d been told: “The world is meaningless, nothing matters.” And he said: “Well then, this is my statement: Nothing matters, so the only thing that matters is what we do.” Which is what I believe: I believe the only reality is how we treat each other. The morality comes from the absence of any grander scheme, not from the presence of any grander scheme. [...] So the answer is: “Nothing, unless you’ve got something against me.”

The above text was copied from the Joss Whedon Celebrity Atheist page.

Where’s the line between art/photography and pornography?

Where’s the line between displaying the beauty of a child and exploiting it?

The politicians of this country have said that Bill Henson has crossed these lines.

Maybe it comes down to the eternal age of consent debate. Is or is not a child under 16 entitled to decide who can and cannot see their body?

Is or is not an older man allowed to view / display a child’s naked body, if said child wishes to display it?

Can a healthy, well adjusted adult look at a naked teenager without becoming aroused? Or are we all just creatures of uncontrollable lust?

Is there such a thing as a healthy, well adjusted adult who chooses to look at artistically- minded photos of naked youths? Or is such an intent born from depravity?

Children should be able to live a life free from abuse …

Men, women and children should also have the right to express themselves freely …

Where’s the line?

* Title is from a Dead Kennedys song. If in doubt, trust in Jello.