Thursday, January 1, 2009

Nouveau America

Nouveau vs Neuf

"nouveau is used to mean that something has changed, while neuf indicates that something is newly-made."

Baby Lamb I Relate to Pictures, Images and Photos


"Baptism, from Greek βαπτίζω (baptízô), is a religious act of purification by water usually associated with admission to a Christian church. Although the primary meaning of the Greek word for baptism is dip or plunge, the term was used also historically to mean perform ablutions.

The Christian ceremony of baptism evolved from the Jewish tradition of purification by immersion in a ritual bath. John the Baptist performed baptisms "for the remission of sin" and Jesus and his disciples seem to have inherited this tradition from John. After Jesus' death, however, Christians began using the ceremony of baptism as an initiation rite into the Christian faith, symbolizing dying to one's old self and being "reborn" in Christ. Since then, baptism has come to play a key role in the sacramental tradition of Christianity, and various Christian traditions of baptism have evolved among different denominations.

In a broader sense, the word "baptism" can also be used for any ceremony, trial, or experience by which one is initiated or purified."

Sally Mann Pictures, Images and Photos

purify
Verb
[-fies, -fying, -fied]
1. to free (something) of harmful or inferior matter
2. to free (a person) from sin or guilt
3. to make clean, for example in a religious ceremony

rights Pictures, Images and Photos

to free from sin or guilt

Woman Rights Pictures, Images and Photos

to free from sin or guilt

"By doing so you have emphasized that Matthew was a human being with all the rights and responsibilities and protections of any citizen of Wyoming." -Denis Sheppard, Father of Matthew Sheppard, as he addressed Wyoming government. Matthew Wayne Shepard was a gay American student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and subsequently murdered near Laramie in 1998.
Matthew Sheppard Pictures, Images and Photos

free from sin or guilt.


a purified soul, a baptized soul, will not hungrily hold boundries, will not fearfully draw lines, will not find the differences between human beings as terrifying as the cold pushing of ocean water eating our shores, will not be afraid of assimilation: a purified soul will know the individual spirit of each human being is the glorious gift of our life here on Earth, but the connective tissues that produce our very humanity are our ability to relate to one another, to care for one another, to pull briars from our children's hair because we know what pain is ourselves; we must grant freedom and rights to our fellow human beings black, gay, woman, man in order to free ourselves: we are born sinless, guiltless, and those of us who impose authority on other human beings out of intellectual stagnation, fear and emotional smallness are making our own short lives smaller, further away from anything Christlike, Buddha like or humanist: what we grant to others we brand on ourselves.

i pray in 2009 we move closer toward each other.

xo maggie
steenky bee said...

Beautiful post. You know, I saw that the Matthew Sheppard story is going to be on Lifetime soon. I scheduled it to record. I haven't thought about him or his tragic story in so long, but in two days, BAM, there it is. The universe it telling me something. And on a personal note, I missed ya! Mwah! I'm back, but I'm a tad bit rusty. I hope your holidays were lovely!!

Maggie May said...

i'm so glad you're back! i missed your feisty internet racy broadness.

xo

Jason, as himself said...

This was a brilliant, heartfelt post and I loved it. You're a wonderful person.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful post Mag. Ten or so years ago, a woman I was living with got jumped by three 6' + University basketball dudes, after she'd refused their drinks at a bar. The cops we wonderfully sympathetic to a young beautiful feminine blonde woman until she asked them to call me, 'her partner'. Somehow, there was no follow up. Not so long ago, you know?! I hope, much like you that things will continue to get better. MUCH LOVE WOMAN!

Jenny Grace said...

A noble prayer indeed.

Anonymous said...

:( I love your posts although they often lose me in my thoughts. You are so fantastic.

Lola said...

Beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Lovely post... Had never heard about the Matthew Sheppard story - so sad.

Hope you had a great nye!

Captain Dumbass said...

Slowly but surely.

Maggie May said...

i keep getting stuck looking at his face and filling with a horror at the things that human beings can do to one another. i mean look at him. he was his parents baby son. their smart bright beautiful boy who also happened to be gay. the fact that differences can provoke withholding of civil rights- or murder- needs to be relentlessly kneaded until it is worked out of our society.

Megan said...

Oh Matthew Sheppard, what a loss and a horror. People are so cruel to each other. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Th Childrens Hospital was a wonderful book, I loved it. Super suggestion. I may read it again! The others, definitely am putting on my list.

You blog is great, your children? They sound like spectacular humans, good on ya!

Desiree said...

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog!
I appreciate your support! ^_^

Unknown said...

Beautiful post. One can only hope that our prayers are answered sooner rather than later. p-

ConverseMomma said...

Maggie, this post was incredible. Sometimes I can not look out my window, read the paper, or turn on the television, without a fit of tears and such rage. The woman, lesbian, victim, gang raped by those men, I don't know what to say, and Matthew...Matthew, sometimes the pain just does not go away.

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