solomon {dissident}

i've spent the last few years spreading the idea that religion is just part of the human condition, neither right nor wrong, merely a code of conduct to bring us closer to "god". the lowest common denominator of which is to be a decent human being. kindness, compassion, love, and above all HONESTY are the only way to get through this life. i am a hopeless romantic, and rabidly politically active, i write several letters a week to my congressmen and various statewide editorial pages. i am an aspiring singer/songwriter--what had originally started as a career in scathing protest songs has evolved into a mellower affair--songs of unrequited love and love lost...demo should be coming soon... IMG src="http://www.londonist.com/attachments/londonist_mark/bil lhicks.jpg"

"The world is like a ride at an amusement park. And when you choose to go on it, you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round. It has thrills and chills and it's very brightly coloured and it's very loud and it's fun, for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question: Is this real, or is this just a ride? And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, they say, 'Hey – don't worry, don't be afraid ever, because this is just a ride ...' And we ... kill those people. Ha ha, 'Shut him up. We have a lot invested in this ride. Shut him up. Look at my furrows of worry. Look at my big bank account and my family. This just has to be real.' It's just a ride. But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok. But it doesn't matter, because – it's just a ride. And we can change it anytime we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings and money. A choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one. Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead, spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace. Thank you very much, you've been great." [several gunshots ring out, Bill mimes being hit and falls to floor, motionless.] (Onstage closing comments of Hicks's Revelations special from 1993)