Swami Uptown - Grace Notes

The War is thus the primary spiritual event of our time. Rooted in fraud, destined to fail, it is a death factory for Iraqis and Americans alike. Everyone who calls himself or herself a spiritual leader ought to be screaming about the real cost of this war--the price our souls pay for the lies told in our name, the deaths of women and children we don't bother to count, the wounds we are inflicting on our planet. And the press should be asking what's next--something in Syria? the bombing of Iran? And you, out there in America, should be marching in the street, calling--in the name of Christ, Buddha, Muhammad, Krishna--for the killing to stop and our kids to come home. Jesse Kornbluth for Swami Uptown at beliefnet.com

I'm not usually superstitious, but this Friday the 13th is a real downer. I feel like I broke a mirror. Walked under a ladder. Ran over a black cat. Lost a daily muse ... hold on, that last one actually happened.

My friend Jesse Kornbluth drew the curtain on his daily Swami Uptown act today, and not with a swan song, but with an aria -- exactly what you'd expect from a man who makes music with words. You've sampled a coda of his eloquence above. And if you're smart, or lucky, or both, you've been listening carefully to his cantos of enlightenment for a year.

This is my BRAVO! -and my eulogy- to The Swami Concerto. Its creator lives, bless his weary soul, but his heart got so heavy it could no longer beat the drums of righteous anger and alarm. So this is also a call to others to take up Swami's cause with renewed vigor and purpose. Because it's our cause too.

For the past year, Swami Uptown has illuminated the spiritual blogosphere with a clarion vision. He's been a steady beacon of sanity. A dauntless defender of truth. A passionate believer in hope. And a peerless champion of Do The Right Thing. Every day, five days a week, he's waged war on ignorance, arrogance, indifference, pomposity, mendacity. And on war itself -- the ultimate destructive force.

He's done it with moxie, charm, passion and wit. He's got brio. He's got cojones. He's got game. For a full year he's been the head cheerleader for a team of ideals, values, uncompromising standards. But sadly, appallingly, his team -OUR team- is losing.

God knows, Buddha knows, Krishna knows it's bloody hard to be the voice of reason in a world of babbling idiots. Jimminy Cricket knows, Swami knows it's a thankless task trying to be the conscience of a body politic that's lost its moral center. But Swami's persevered. He's blasted the blowhards, pummeled the prevaricators, fumed at the fools, reproached the reprobates and eviscerated the egregiously evil.

He led the charge for a year. Now he says, I feel my biggest accomplishment here was to give comfort to readers who feel as I do; if nothing else, this blog says "You are not crazy." Of course we're not crazy. WAR is crazy. Swami gave us more than comfort, he articulated our collective rage and despair, stepped up and spoke out, gave voice to the holy concept of Right Vs Wrong.

So it's our turn. Let's go get the bastards who wore Swami down, bummed his bliss, and betrayed us all with their greed and hubris in creating and sustaining this profane war. Let's do it for Swami, but most of all for the future of our planet.

Once a week, Swami will still have our backs. And, one hopes, continue to be our touchstone for this most righteous cause: NO MORE WAR.