Somebody's A Gullible Fool (and I don't think it's me)

I was at the theater today working with this guy who's putting on a one-man show next week. His name's Ehud, and he's a mentalist. But wait! He's not just a mentalist — he's also a Kabbalahist and claims to be a mind-reader. I don't believe him; he was being way too amiable for someone who knew what I was really thinking right then. Heck, the guy even invited me to lunch.

I don't know; maybe he is a fraud. More likely, he totally believes everything he says about the Kabbalah and mysticism, and it's me and my closed mind that are the problem. But seriously.... First of all, if Madonna's doing it, I simply can't respect it. Like how she wants to be called "Esther" now. Please. How about "One-Named Pop Star With a Senescent Image who Can't Keep Up with Eminem and Osama bin Laden When it Comes To Shocking Middle America"? Madonna could be going to the Sudan to stuff polenta in the mouths of every single one of the displaced Africans, and I'd be like, "Oh, look at her now. Feeding the Darfur refugees is so totally for posers." Of course, Madonna's not feeding the refugees — she's buying a twelfth-century Kabbalistic text and wrapping it up for Britney Spears' birthday, which I'm sure is exactly what God had in mind. And by the way, Britney Spears, Louisiana's only Jew, lends so much credence to Kabbalah. Like Maimonides in a halter-top.

Truth is, when I got home, my mom had to remind me that there are people in this world, probably including Ehud, who legitimately believe in Kabbalah and aren't in it for the fad. My bad to them, but I still don't think you should believe in something that's not supported by empirical evidence. Faith is for fools.

Anyway, just so I can look like more of a prick, Ehud says that he does his show to "bring people the [metaphorical, I assume] light," to spread happiness. He sounds so Elysian when he says it, too, and I sound like such a cynic. What could be wrong with making people happy? Well, get out your Vicadin; I'm going to tell you. The problem is that the world totally sucks ass. This isn't a state of mind thing where most people are about as happy as they make their minds up to be. It's just a goddamned fact: people, despite their good qualities, are largely greedy, ignorant, antipathetic — and there's no good reason for this! We could have a culture that discourages avarice and supports education, creativity, and reason, but in order for that to happen, we can't just be content with the far inferior way things are. No one who was high on Vicadin or Kabbalah or soma ever invented anything or discovered anything or made any improvement to the world that stretched beyond his own mood. Now, if you ask me, that's selfishness.

Finally, I need to end this blog entry with a link to James Randi's website.