ONE THING ABOUT RELIGION is that it makes people afraid of themselves. The recommendation from most mainstream religions seems to be that one should segregate aspects of one’s own personality and deny the parts that don’t quite equate with the righteous ideal, giving these cerebral offcuts a life of their own, personifying them, and distancing one’s *true* self from them. Evangelical Christians have often informed me that I’m full of demons and should get myself exorcised. In reality, humans are constructed as much of these metaphorical demons as they are of anything else, and to attempt to remove them would be as futile as trying to shake off an arm or a leg with the theory that it isn’t *really* yours. My normal response is this (normally in a raised voice as they’ve started gibbering in tongues by this point): “Don’t hassle my demons! I like them! It’s them who make me good at sex!”
Tori Amos recently penned a song called “Devils and Gods” that appears to stride purposefully in the same general direction:
“Devils and Gods now that’s an idea
But if we believe that it’s They who decide
That’s the ultimate detractor of crimes
‘cause Devils and Gods
They are You and I
Devils and Gods
They are You and I
Devils and Gods
Safe and Inside”
