It is time for America to get into a garment to be used only once in a lifetime and beg for candy. Aka Halloween. Said garment is identified as a costume and can be time consuming to procure and wear depending on the level of enthusiasm of the beggar. Usually children; some adults who still milk this tradition hiding behind a mask.
This time as before I have oft wondered about the idea of costumes. I get when you are on stage in a play or a movie that costumes are integral to the framing of the story.
You need Stallone to have lot of ketchup marking the spots he is bleeding and the shirt needs to be ripped enough to show his ripped rib cage else we cannot believe he just fought like a badass.
But today when I read about the Pope appointing a first ever black American as Cardinal I was struck by the same question. Especially as I read the story with some graphics and photos of the two.
The Catholic religion as any other preaches the virtue of being human. Above all be kind, be empathetic and help fellow human. Not bad.
But then why wear fantastical garbs to do the preaching? Would the message get diluted? Is theater part of the message? Are people so gullible that without they would wander off like sheep?
Is it not inherent to the faith to see beyond the superficial? Vexing to say the least.
This is true of many religions and memberships where a certain suit or coat gets you privilege and a polo shirt with shorts not. Many customs are just that. Embedded in the occult, superstition or past rites.
Why a large part of the Arab world masks themselves, women especially so? One could argue it protects them from the quirks of nature when a massive sand storm might choke you and a garb around your entire face might be prudent. But I have not heard of this being a recurring phenom in Saudi Arabia. So it is largely a dictat.
I have witnessed the believers in St. Peters in front of the current Pope. A prayer service called the Papal mass. It is an almost somber yet elegant gathering. Faithful dutifully gather in the plaza and listen to hours of sermon or some sort of praise the lord and his message.
The current Pope is from Argentina and seems to be a forward looking one. I understand from reading about him that he has already tracked away from lot of ritualistic image management activities and eschewed certain garments or ornaments common to the papacy.
Although one often wonders if he could be spotted in an Adidas track pant sipping a coke and munching down a pastrami sandwich while watching football. At least on some big game day.
The film 'Two Popes' was a theatric glimpse into his election by his predecessor pope and was a watchable movie.
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