Ok, let's get this out of the way: there is NO god. I attended my share of churches and asked questions for over 20 years, and not one convincing answer has come forth. In fact, despite my best efforts to believe, what I've found is hypocrisy in action from deceptive religious leaders out for money, sex, power, and whatever else they could grab under the guise of a representative of the man upstairs (and people too much in love with the idea of false eternal life that they don't even want to question anything dished from the pulpit). Let's just say that to too many "religious" folk god in America isn't hope and peace and love thy neighbour, god is fear and shock and awe in the guise of a savior and some man allegedly stuck up on two pieces of strong wood (note: I will see Mel Gibson's movie however, because it intrigues me why some people are so hung up {ha.ha.} on what's supposed to be a factual event). Just because a particular ethnic group may have committed atrocities in the past doesn't make them at all responsible in the present (Unless they as a whole continue to be responsible for similar crimes). Guilt in religion has probably been more responsible for man's lack of advancement as human beings than any other issue. Do you tell on the priest or pastor or rabbi who stole or molested, or are you fearful of retribution from above and below because you ratted on a representative of the lord?
Why is the mainstream media so deathly afraid to touch this topic? In fact, you have reporters practically going out of the way to profess some sort of belief in god with not a single dissenter among the bunch. I'd probably guess it's because not every newscaster or reporter in America actually believes in god, and the ones that don't just want to keep their jobs. Personally, I'd LOVE to see god appear on national Tee Vee on... oh, let's say Friday night, 8:30pm. He could tell us just when he's coming back just so his followers have a better idea of his world tour dates and can stop waking my ass up on Saturday morning when they come a-knocking on my door to tell me about the end of the world. To all those who believe in these so-called "end of days", a little advice: why don't you all kill yourselves now, go up and get the good seats in heaven and leave us heathens alone with our video games and bad movies (although, I'd KILL for a decent Hollywood movie and not the crap that's focus tested to idiots these days). That, or just take all that money you can't take with you and either buy your own island nation or head off to colonize the moon (you'll be closer to your version of god).
How many millions or billions of human beings (and other creatures) have died in the name of any variation of this so-called higher power throughout human history? What did the many cultures who where forcibly converted to any number of assorted Christian or non-Christian religions believe in before god was found? Think of those Native Americans minding their business hunting and living off the land before Mayflower parallel parked in the VIP zone, Pacific Islanders enjoying their own tropical drinks and scuba-less diving, those Africans who would later become slaves (and whose future generations would turn in to devoted Sunday-go-to-meetin' movers and shakers), and so forth and so on- just how did these cultures lose their identities and become sheep to a flock of billions of disorganized individuals with a mass delusion? Also, why do too many Christians try to hide (or not hide) behind their smug "my god is better than your god" mask when discussing other faiths- It's really offensive to see ignorance in action, and even more so when it gets airtime constantly. Freedom of religion in America? Yeah, right- Only if you go to certain churches, boys and girls...
The so-called "religious right" is against gay marriages and this latest crusade is so, so very wrongheaded and even more ignorant than usual screed. Homosexuality existed LONG before religion, and will exist after we blow ourselves into ashes (because the bible says so? Unbelievablevable). I'm not gay, but I really feel for anyone who is in America, or anyone who wants to have a sex life (you're next on the hypocrite hit list, by the way). What this move is going to do is force even the most right-wing, god-fearing closeted gay men and women to live even more a lie, and yes, some of them will do just this to keep their piece of the pie from a bible thumpin' fly on the wall. And as for the polygamists and bigamists who want to jump on the "we have rights, too" bandwagon, NO, you don't- you're just all quite ill upstairs. All you want to do is knock up as many gullible young women who you can convince your penis is god's staff, and her right is only to bear you happy children and stay at home caring for them. Bullshit.
But let's move onward- Hundreds of priests raped and molested children and adults for who knows how many years in every Christian religion, and it gets covered up or blamed on homosexuals abusing the cloth! Why are people so blind to the truth when it's there for all to see? Fear probably, mixed with that guilt I mentioned above. We're one of the few countries that has such a massive hang-up about sex in general that it completely paralyzes and polarizes us. Look at Japan for a minute- NO puritan repression, and sex isn't generally seen as vile or dirty. Well, it's more of a business arrangement for some folks there, LOL, but that's another story. Hell, they have a LOT less gun crime as well, but that's for another blog- this country we live in is insane with paranoid people and their blued steel penises. You don't want sex (masturbation is a sin in most religions), yet the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue gets it's yearly pump on national TV, and Playboy is sometimes considered a good career boost for women trying to make a name for themselves. We have child rapist/killers lurking throughout the land, yet still continue to sexualize underage children through music and "fashion" culture. Pornography is considered degrading to women, yet major companies in this country make millions of dollars by supplying it to those who want it in hotels and motels. There's no sin in pleasure, but there sure is pleasure in telling someone he's a sinner, it seems...
And America is NOT a Christian country, nor should it bee seen as such. The people who were here first spin in their graves on a daily basis at the atrocities committed upon them (and more than a few of you are paying now by sucking down cheap cigarettes and shoving dollar after dollar into Mohegan Sun and other Native American casino royales). The constitution was written for the people who came here, not for those who were here originally- something we seem to forget. This document and its amendments are abused on a daily basis every time a CEO or CFO who's stolen millions of dollars from shareholders takes the fifth, or a gun "collector" claims his right to obtain what should a banned weapon for his "protection collection". Call me crazy, but doesn't the passing of time mean that rules and laws change for the better of society? We're going so far backward to some bizarro world where belief in something that's becoming more vague and intangible is going to become law, and that's scarier than any terrroist action. How many cultures throughout whichever version of history you choose to believe have fallen because the people became fat and passive and dependent on someone else to make sure things were peachy-keen? And how many have fallen because too many people became disenchanted with the status quo and secretly plotted and planned to change things (not necessarily for the better, as one evil is replaced with another)?
One amusing thought: Anyone out there who believes in god and is a sci-fi fan is NOT going to heaven! Think about it: your scriptures say that god created heaven and earth, and nothing else resembling man or intelligent life exists in the universe. If you're a Star Trek geek that makes the trek to st. peters every week, your own faith says that you will be burning your buttocks off in hell when the second coming finally arrives. If aliens DO exist, and ever decided to visit here and make themselves known publicly (highly unlikely), all hell would break loose as every church in the land would be flooded with question after question about just what was happening (good luck on explaining that, padre)...More later...
Part 2: it's later, so here's more.
Here's some more nonsense to consider: If this is a Christian country run by leaders who believe the word as written in the bible without any deviation, then as free people, we're basically screwed. First first of all, back to the book of revelation, which says that we're all toast fries with cheese (unless you believe in that particular god, whereupon you'll be guaranteed a place at the bar called heaven). This means that no matter who we elect into office, this person in his heart knows that we're all supposed to go down in flames, so why even have the pretense of any sort of reasonable disarmament policy? Sure, we cut down the production of new nukes ages ago, but there are still enough tons of nuclear waste to kill us all dozens of times and irradiate the surface of the earth for centuries upon centuries! Those aliens will land on the moon and see the footprints and garbage the Apollo astronauts left behind and think we lived there because earth will be nothing but a fluorescent green ball, LOL.
As for the prez- Who cares what anyone believes "deep in their heart" or how sincere he is if he's WRONG about what needs to be done to keep the country (and the world) from going down the toilet? When are the preemptive strikes going to happen to other potential threats to our "American way of life? Who's next on the hit parade? Inner city drug gangs that terrorize residents in projects and kill over turf and the right to sell deadly drugs to all comers? Peaceful protesters looking to get their point across a bit too loudly? Anyone and everyone who disagrees with any policy regarding these ridiculous marriage "laws" that, should they be passed, spell the beginning of the end to sexual freedom in this country? Well, at least one of these is a problem that has never been addressed properly and only keeps the level of paranoia in this part of the world so high that people refuse to even consider a smart alternative to incarceration except to buy more guns.
Speaking of prison, why aren't those folks sitting on their asses with multiple life terms turned over to science for some form of medical research? Symbolic sentences are ridiculous in this day and age, and in fact, may be psychologically damaging to certain victims' families and friends. Some of these people have to go to their graves knowing that the person or persons who killed a family member will outlive them, and that's not quite right, I say. Who really needs to hear Charles Manson rambling on and on during parole hearings when we could be discovering how to curb any future madness like the kind he caused? And don't get all right-to-life on me, folks- Almost all of you are addicted to some form of drug or want that magic pill to lose weight, improve your sex life, gain back lost hair, or make yourself look younger in a second, without a carfe on just what sort of research and testing goes into your favourite "magic pill". This is a culture full of insecure, narcissistic people who are afraid to age gracefully; instead they have POISON injected into their faces and other parts to remove the tiniest of imperfections! self-loathing and lack of confidence make men and women in droves seek out plastic surgery, yet no one considers the long term issues that go with it. Give me a real woman unafraid of gravity, cellulite, with her own hair and eye colour, not in therapy, and without a goddamn cell phone glued to her hand and I'll be a happy man...
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