Posted in Commonplace Book

"I'm destroying a village to save it.  In this case, a penquin," Berkeley Breathed wrote.  "...We are about to enter a rather wicked period in our National Discourse... bad enough to make what we're in right now seem folksey and genteel.  The ranting side of my cartooning impulse will destroy the thing that makes Opus comfortable for his readers.  And me."

On October 6, 2008, Berkeley Breathed, the cartoonist best know for the synndicated strip Bloom Country, announced that he would discontinue his cute socio-political penguin cartoon of Opus.  To say I was a fan of this penguin is a bit of an understatement in that I didn't always "get" his cartoon nor did I want to kill brain cells to figure it out.  My boys had just watched the movie Secondhand Lions where it appears that the young actor in the film is playing a young Berkeley Breathed and to me, that seemed to explain A LOT as to why I didn't always understand his comic strip (however, I have found no proof either way that this is true or false).  In my curious state though I did find out that the man is a hugely private, self proclaimed atheist - possibly an agnostic, a total animal rights activists and (duh) a vegetarian.  I found it quite amusing that even this type of person would see the signs of the times a'changing and of course a person with these beliefs would see the world in such a bad state because it would seem to be an awful big mess without Jesus and without His hope.  I agree that we are headed for some awful times, if we aren't already there.  I think we (myself included) have made a huge mess of the world and it seems at least in my mind, that the only one who is left to fix it, is Jesus and not some president or penguin.  I can't even imagine putting one foot in front of the other without having Jesus so I can totally read the fear or resignation, behind Berkeley Breathed's words.  My dear Opus: "breath" and remember: 

Say to those with anxious heart, "Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you."  Isaiah 35:4 NASV 

© Copyright 2008 Jacque Ward http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/wacque/