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TechnographHeroism and All Hallow's Eve
By Brenda Kay Zylstra
Posted: 10/30/07 Section: Opinion Columns
Trick or treat
Do I look sweet?
Dressed kinda like a lady of the street
Somewhere during the hazy high school years, Halloween ceases to be a celebration of candy exuberance and transforms into an excuse to dress outlandishly while imbibing generous amounts of a different sort of treat. Butterfingers are out; butterscotch schnapps is in, or for the hardcore, just plain scotch. With the fairer sex especially, this is a prime opportunity to dress in the tradition of Julia Roberts' character from "Pretty Woman." Forget candy corn; how can I base a costume around those knee-high black boots in my closet?
And although Oct. 31 may have become a shallow pursuit of hedonistic revelry (not that I'm anti-Halloween; those black boots weren't hypothetical, but let's call a spade a spade), the day can be redeemed yet. Or should I say reformed?
Four-hundred and ninety years ago today, German monk Martin Luther nailed his "95 Theses" on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg as a public criticism of certain Roman Catholic doctrines. Luther stood up to the most powerful entity of his day and proclaimed the truth as he saw it, sparking the Reformation and irreversibly altering the trajectory of Christianity. As a result, he faced excommunication and exile. Regardless of your religious beliefs, Luther is a man to be admired, and the bold stand he took against the Roman Catholic Church is as relevant a lesson now as it was then.
Luther was able to challenge the church because of his education. Simply put, he could read the most important document of his time, the Bible, when most of those who believed in it could not. Luther had neither money nor power nor fame, but he masterfully wielded what agency he did have, demanding attention and change. This is the pragmatic side of heroism, not just standing up for that in which you believe, but using every tool at your behest to improve the quality of the world in which we live.
Heroism comes in ways big and small. About a year ago Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was murdered for reporting on Chechnya in a way that Putin's Russia did not appreciate. Two years before that, Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh (great-nephew of the painter) was shot eight times, nearly decapitated, stabbed twice and left with a 5-page note knifed into his torso by a self-identified jihadist. The catalyst was Van Gogh's piece "Submission," a 10-minute film about women in Islam. Politkovskaya and Van Gogh refused to back down despite the worst penalties the world has to offer and they used what power they had to shed light on truth.
Do I look sweet?
Dressed kinda like a lady of the street
Somewhere during the hazy high school years, Halloween ceases to be a celebration of candy exuberance and transforms into an excuse to dress outlandishly while imbibing generous amounts of a different sort of treat. Butterfingers are out; butterscotch schnapps is in, or for the hardcore, just plain scotch. With the fairer sex especially, this is a prime opportunity to dress in the tradition of Julia Roberts' character from "Pretty Woman." Forget candy corn; how can I base a costume around those knee-high black boots in my closet?
And although Oct. 31 may have become a shallow pursuit of hedonistic revelry (not that I'm anti-Halloween; those black boots weren't hypothetical, but let's call a spade a spade), the day can be redeemed yet. Or should I say reformed?
Four-hundred and ninety years ago today, German monk Martin Luther nailed his "95 Theses" on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg as a public criticism of certain Roman Catholic doctrines. Luther stood up to the most powerful entity of his day and proclaimed the truth as he saw it, sparking the Reformation and irreversibly altering the trajectory of Christianity. As a result, he faced excommunication and exile. Regardless of your religious beliefs, Luther is a man to be admired, and the bold stand he took against the Roman Catholic Church is as relevant a lesson now as it was then.
Luther was able to challenge the church because of his education. Simply put, he could read the most important document of his time, the Bible, when most of those who believed in it could not. Luther had neither money nor power nor fame, but he masterfully wielded what agency he did have, demanding attention and change. This is the pragmatic side of heroism, not just standing up for that in which you believe, but using every tool at your behest to improve the quality of the world in which we live.
Heroism comes in ways big and small. About a year ago Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was murdered for reporting on Chechnya in a way that Putin's Russia did not appreciate. Two years before that, Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh (great-nephew of the painter) was shot eight times, nearly decapitated, stabbed twice and left with a 5-page note knifed into his torso by a self-identified jihadist. The catalyst was Van Gogh's piece "Submission," a 10-minute film about women in Islam. Politkovskaya and Van Gogh refused to back down despite the worst penalties the world has to offer and they used what power they had to shed light on truth.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Drew
posted 5/13/08 @ 4:38 PM CST
I missed this gem when it came out.
The things you discover when you're procrastinating!
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