Useful

 

The illustration “Useful” depicts a man, assumingly a farmer, using an angel as a means of ploughing his field. While neither of the men's’ faces can be seen in the image, through their body language, it is quite easy to tell that the angel is being overworked. The angel is tired and struggling to complete the task at hand. The farmer, on the other hand, is showing no signs of having done any work at all. He seems very relaxed and rested.

This image, in my opinion at least, is unbelievably powerful and moving. One of the most controversial and most heavily debated topics today is regarding religion. Whether that debate is about which religion is supreme over all the others, whether or not any sort of God or gods exist, or interpretations of different religions’ holy books. I believe that this image is meant to represent the fact that many bigoted individuals today base their biases and hatred based off of their own interpretation of what their religions deems to be right or wrong. These bigoted individuals are using their religion as a means of allowing their hatred to exist.

Religion is meant to create a community of like minded individuals that can love and support one another. Religion is meant to give some sort of hope that we are not alone in the world. Religion is meant to create a sense of security that there is some sort of eternal peace and overbearing love after our time on this Earth has gone. However, for many people, religion is a breeding ground for hate. For instance, the Westboro Baptist Church is an extreme example of the force of religion being used for hatred. The members of the Westboro Baptist Church attend events such as Pride (gay pride parades and celebrations), and hold signs reading “God hates fags” and “fags doon nations.” This is unbelievably sickening and disheartening to hear. What is even worse is that the individuals participating in these activities use their religious beliefs to justify their actions.

The Westboro Baptist Church is, as I said, an extreme example of religion being used for hatred. Regardless, this is happening all over the world by millions of people practicing numerous different religions. Religion is being mercilessly abused by those that want their own bigoted wants, desires, and beliefs to have some sort of justification. While I do not practice any sort of religion, I find it incredibly disheartening for those that do practice that religion is being corrupted and misused. Religion should never be anything but a positive force and presence in the lives of those to choose to practice. I firmly believe that the message of Kuczynski’s image should be widely held by all religious individuals.

 Love is stronger than hate.