As I think about this, what strikes me is the uselessness of trying to reason with people of strong religious/fundamentalist faith.  As I continue to explore the Buddhist perspective on things, it seems to me more and more that American Christians, those who identify with the values of our present “regime,” use their faith as a barrier against things that frighten them—like people who are different and the transient nature of existence.  I have had more arguments than I can count—and it’s something I will no longer engage in—with those who think my “lifestyle” is a “choice.”

Most recently (this is not an identical but a parallel situation) I have a student in my choir who, once I translated two 16th-century madrigals that are somewhat sexually graphic, has refused to sing them because the texts make her uncomfortable.  She is extremely religious and was home-schooled as well and thus has a very narrow perspective on a lot of things.  I initially tried to encourage her to make the distinction between “art” and life, to explain that these are old words that are light-hearted and standard for their time, that they are not “advocating” anything, but to no avail.  She stands across a fence, securely wrapped inside her cape of “values,” and no amount of educating, no creative, cajoling construction of words on my part will bring her across.  Never mind that she was perfectly happy to sing them before she knew what they were about.  She sees no irony in that.  In fact she specifically requested that I translate them for her so she could “put more feeling” into her singing.  Hah!