Rescue Journal

i was misinformed

Carol  ·  Jan. 21, 2008

i just watched "jesus camp" which i was told was funny, so i took that to mean, funny ha ha, not funny weird. so here i was expecting a lighthearted comedy, and what i got was a very serious education.

i am not even going to talk about religon here cuz even tho i grew up in a home where my father was an anglican priest, i know next to nothing about organized religon. i just have these strong but undefinable personal beliefs that pretty much don't specifically match what i was taught in sunday school but maybe fit with the overall, broader picture (but i am not sure about that either). my dad always said it was his job, his passion, not necessarily his family's. my passion was and still is animals...i think maybe, i find god in the eyes of others.

what i found interesting tho in watching this documentary, was the similarities between far left religon and animal rescue. different doctrine with the same key words...there is only one way, the right way. wow. where does this come from..this absolute certainty, without any doubts or questions, about how things should be?

imagine a world where all the right answers are laid right out in front of you? no thinking, no strugging to understand or to get it right or to really painfully feel all sides of the issues...just the correct cheat sheet to get the perfect A+ on that life exam in all that you do.

did god hand out cheat sheets in rescue, just like apparently he did in politics, religon and all other aspects in life? and where the heck was i? cuz i didn't get one.

and really i don't want one either. i want to learn thru my life that i am living, and i want the real people and real animals around me to help me to learn. and maybe i won't ever get that perfect A+ and know every single answer...but i might get something better...i might actually learn what the real questions mean.

that movie for me was so disturbing on so many different levels and now i have even more stuff to ponder about. sheesh, a silly and pointless comedy would have been more relaxing.

Comments

Susan from Chicago

Hello Marisa - I too have read Carol's blog from the very beginning to the present - it was like a great book I could not put down! I look forward to new entries and feel like I know the animals and all the people involved. It should be mandatory reading, for the education, for the much needed inspiration, for all of the laughs and the unavoidable pain that goes along with it all.

I haven't wanted to come out publicly that I have read the entire blog until I saw I was not alone! ;)

Thanks Marisa and thanks Carol!

Carol

thank you marisa, you post means alot....you must be a very brave woman to wade thru the ups and downs and utter insanity of this blog, even the thought of looking at it all as a whole, scares the crap out of me.
i wish you peace of heart in your own rescue work..heck, i wish it for me too!

Marisa

Carol,

I have just finished reading your blog from the very first entry to today. It has taken me months but now I'm actually caught up and in present time with you, the animals and your volunteers. What a journey!
There have been many times when I've wanted to comment but realized I'd be months behind and the point would be moot. So, now I finally get to comment!
I love how you write about Saints. I love your honesty and your humour and your anger and your passion and your frustrations all laid bare for everyone to read. I feel you give the most accurate portrayal of what it's truly like to run a rescue for animals. Your blog should be mandatory reading for anyone considering setting up their own sanctuary!
And I love that you allow those of us far away to get to know the animals, to be exposed to their fears and foibles and shortcomings as well as their sensitivity, joy and beauty. It saddens me that as I finally get up to date Dexter may be passing away. The words you and your volunteers write about him have settled deep beneath my skin and whenever I think of Saints I picture his chocolatey face staring back.
I, too, am heavily embroiled in animal rescue and all the questions you ask reverberate in my own head because I am always searching for answers as well. There seems to be so much negativity and back-biting in the rescue community which is why I suppose I find your blog refreshing. I think my friends get tired of hearing me say, "Well, Carol in B.C. thinks..." :-)
At any rate, a month or so back, I believe you were questioning the purpose or usefulness of this blog and the tone you used on it and I just wanted to let you know that there are only 2 rescue blogs to which I'm addicted and yours is one of them. For those of us navigating the perils and pitfalls of animal rescue and contemplating where our energies might best be spent your blog is not only a wonderful educational tool and a lively conversation starter but it is a swift kick in the butt when we get too complacent or self-satisfied or judgemental. Plus your poodles dress in funny clothes and that's just cute. :-)

Meagan

I loved that movie, it was very disturbingly funny. I like how they teach Creationism at home. Scary. That Levi kid is terrifying in his zeal.

Nicole

hey now, i'm sure i told you it was funny in a very scary kind of way, not funny haha.
i'm bringing you out super troopers this weekend - it is a silly and pointless comedy. and you WILL enjoy it.