Posted on Wednesday, December 03, 2014 - 09:58 pm:
Just...wow.
From a production standpoint, that is amazing. The time delay from the balcony, to the floor...the reflective surfaces bouncing the sounds all over that room...just incredible how well they overcame the environment. VERY nice musicianship, and a really cool production idea (looking at the actual youtube page, it appears they "do this" a lot).
From a personal standpoint...dammit, it made me cry like a little girl. That is a very moving piece of video, thank you for sharing it with us.
The folks in this band didn't demand that "God" be removed from the oath.
Nor do you know that they don't support the decision, either. They're just musicians.
I was a symphonic musician for many years. I played pieces that were both religious and secular in nature. I found beauty in all of it. The fact that I was part of a performance of a religious piece of music had absolutely nothing to do with my religious beliefs one way, or the other.
That kind of crap comes from above, driven by hate from below.
These decisions come from the fact that this country is founded on a separation of Church and State. There is no place for the affirmation of any faith in order to take an oath to support this country.
For perspective, this is from schwiing's profile page.
quote:
Christianity: The belief that a cosmic Jewish Zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat fruit from a magical tree...
The fact that I am a non-believer in the Christian lore has nothing to do with whether faith affirmation should be required in any of our official State functions.
As to the quote that Tom (Reindog) found on my profile page - it's a quote that I found long ago, and thought to be a humorous description of the Christian faith. It does not, however, state anything that isn't true to the beliefs of fundamentalist Christianity. Oversimplified, yes, but not inaccurate.
Steve posted a video of a beautiful event. I LOVE flashmob stuff. They usually bring a tear to my eye, and I hope to be fortunate enough to encounter one, some day.
I become frustrated when threads turn into conversations about how our government is threatening Christianity. ...now, I'm adding to the derailment. I apologize.
I've been a long time member of this board. Read it most every day, met a small handful of you in person, rarely post. There's a rare breed of person (regardless of personal belief) that frequents this place. I truly wish all of you a happy and safe holiday season.
"There is no place for the affirmation of any faith in order to take an oath to support this country"
Who is affirming a specific faith? Should they not acknowledge God at at all? That seems to be what you are saying, and if so, our Founding Fathers disagree with you. I trust them more than I trust you with respect to the meaning of our Constitution.
And an amazing place, my daughter & I spent a week in the DC area a few years back visiting all the Smithsonian museums. We spent a whole day at the Udvar-hazy center. A MUST TO SEE!!!
>>> this country is founded on a separation of Church and State. There is no place for the affirmation of any faith in order to take an oath to support this country.
Wishful God-hater thinking, but entirely false. Recognition of God is not a faith or a church. It's truth, and all our unalienable rights depend upon it. On atheism there is no true basis for any human rights other than might makes right, survival of the fittest.
That you couldn't help but inject your hatred for God into a celebration of Christ's birth is truly unfortunate.
That you imagine your petty little quote speaks to the truth of Christianity, proves your ignorance of the faith and its theology, and the truth of what Paul wrote to the church in Rome around 50 a.d.
I respect Steve's initial post that begins a thread about a beautiful performance. I don't want to hi-jack his thread into a conversation about religion/faith, or religion vs. government.
That being said, I bring no hatred. I've read many threads (here) about these subjects and wouldn't mind a courteous discussion with you (and anyone else) - just not here in this thread. If you'd like, start a new thread. I'll see it. I'm here regularly Mon-Fri.
(Message edited by schwiiing on December 05, 2014)
A different thread would be the place to discuss oaths, I agree. I will only say that an oath without a moral foundation that an oath is ones sacred word.... is not one.
Sacred is a personal thing. Principles, Deity or Deities, Beyond and Above self.
And I'm Pagan.
Beautiful music has been made by many cultures to praise the powers that many believe in.
And, like Schwiiing, I have been in chorus singing religious songs for the beauty, and for the entertainment of the audience.
The Carol of the Bells has always been my favorite. Even though the baritone part is mostly, "Ding, Dong, Ding, Dong"...
I've shared that vid with a couple of people, inadverdantly bringing tears to their eyes - very cool vid Slaughter.
We went to Udvar-Hazy a few years ago. My youngster and I were standing around checking out the Blackbird when an older gentleman walked up and started chatting us up, turns out he was in the AF and flew quite a few missions in the thing and discussed some info that was awesome to hear, even more so first hand. That trip was one of the most memorable things in my life, and while the USAF band didn't show up and may not during anyone else's visit, I highly suggest making time to spend a day there if you're able. Very cool place and often has ex-pilots walking around chatting up the patrons. Simply put, the place is awesome.
message edited for spelling that I still didn't get right
THAT was one of the best things I've seen/heard in a while, thanks so much, Slaughter, for posting!
My dad was USAF, Korea, and he couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. Makes me proud to say so, though.
By no means am I continuing any religion bashing or controversy, but- I was just thinking the other day about how much I love pork, and how sad it is that kosher/halal rules forbid it. On a similar note, I just have pity that for hardcore, Dark Age ISIS a$$hats, music is forbidden, much less allowing women to perform it.
Other than the obvious need to exterminate extremist ISIS/AlQuaida POS nuts, I just pity them. SO much joy, grace, and beauty of spirit is evident in this USAF performance.
God Bless you all, and have a great Christmas holiday season.
I've often thought the best way to deal with Jihadi is to play lots of Pink videos on all the tv channels in the region. Radio too. All female performances. ....... heavy on the Bangles.
Don't forget to check out Pentatonix's version of Carol Of The Bells and have a merry Christmas. ( yes I use the original word )