HispanicVista Columnists

Blame it on the Italians!

By Steven J. Ybarra, JD/HispanicVista.com

April 20, 2005

OK, so I have been a sloth and not paying attention to my loyal reader.  I know that there are those who want my opinion to stir discussion and debate about the serious issues of the world.  Let us do a little history review.  I think that the Italians are the bane of the existence of mankind (read more about this slight exaggeration).

Once upon a time a Jewish council had a problem with an upstart rebel.  This rebel, among other things, wanted the people to be able to communicate with their god without the intercession of a bunch of robe wearing, holier than thou.  So in order to remedy their problem the council went to the Roman governor (appointed by the Italian government) and asked him to put this rebel to death.  The reason that the council had to take it to the Italians was that they had no death penalty in their Jewish legal system for this crime!  So the Italian governor Pilate put the Jewish rebel to death.  Now begins the problem.  From this legacy came a series of religions de jour, as well as the consequential wars.  

Today, because of the decision of one Italian governor (OK – it is not that simple, but let us pretend) we are embroiled in fights worldwide over ideology, including whether people can live or die without governmental interference. There is after all the whole issue of the sanctity of life. This all happened while we all watched to see if the bishop of ROME would be kept alive by artificial means and he was! 

I am further amazed by the hypocrisy that abounds around the issue of life and death from the one god point of view.  A friend of mine was talking about Christians and abortion.  He wondered how is it that Republican Conservative Christians who oppose abortion, bomb clinics, kill doctors, and threaten nurses and legislators could shop at Wal-Mart.  Here is the conundrum.  Wal-Mart sells mostly Chinese manufactured goods and it is well known that China has a mandatory abortion policy for families with one child!  So what is the deal!  If there is going to be consistency, boycott Wal-Mart all you anti-abortion religious bombers!

Here is the question of the day.  Do you think that the new bishop of Rome is going to stop the flood of parishioners from fleeing the Church?

Apparently the new Pope describes Buddhism as “autoerotic.”  He opposes the use of local languages in certain Catholic ceremonies and wants women back in the home raising their children.  You can guess where he stands on the use of condoms to prevent the spread of disease in Africa.  He even has Cardinal Law saying mass on worldwide TV!

Let us face it - you either listen to your customers or they go somewhere else.  Much like the conundrum facing the Democratic Party on its customer services issues.  It will either listen to the laity or become irrelevant in a new political world.

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©Steven J. Ybarra JD, a contributing columnist to HispanicVista.com (www.hispanicvista.com), is a retired civil rights attorney who operates a consultant company in California.  He is a member of the Democratic National Committee and a long time political activist.  Contact Steven at: sjybarra@aol.com.  This article is copyright by Steven J. Ybarra JD, originally published in http://www.hispanicvista.com/ but permission is granted for reprint in print, email, blog, or web media if this entire credit paragraph is attached.