There’s an online forum in which I occasionally participate.  The basic theme is religion, and there’s a new member who is being courted by representatives of a local faith who are trying to convert her to their beliefs.  That’s fine I suppose, but she is confused and looking for advice.  Apparently, she’s not buying into everything they say, and it’s upsetting her.  Other friends have told her to simply accept what they say and trust in her feelings.  Those of us on the board online however, know of that trap and its consequences, and are instead attempting to get her to trust her instincts and her sense of reason.  Reason and intelligence trump “feelings” every time, and emotions are illogical and can be harmful, especially in her case, since she’s in an extreme emotional situation. 

Everyone who really knows me knows how much I truly hate organized religion.  I believe there’s nothing more vile and evil on this earth, but that’s me.  This particular girl’s story upsets me though, because I (and some of the others) can see that she’s in no place to make these kinds of decisions at this stage.  She can’t think rationally at all, and these fine representatives are using that against her.  It sickens me, actually, but my question to all of you, faithful readers, is why should I care?  It’s none of my business, and none of my concern if she finds some kind of solace in religion.  Why does it affect me so?

Am I any better than these church representatives in expressing my opinions to this girl?  Obviously, the advice we’ve given her is to think for herself, and understand that every situation has two sides.  We’ve implored her to read and do research, and not take anything they say as literal truth until she understands all of the angles.  I’ve been a little more blunt, actually, in telling her that these representatives are only telling her what they’ve been told themselves to teach, and they most likely don’t even know the whole truth about which they speak.  She’s confused between the information they’ve given her, and the information we (on the board) are giving her. 

Am I too biased and opinionated to keep this conversation?  Am I in any way even qualified?  I’m pretty strong about my hatred for religion.  Does this color my perception too much?  Will I do more harm than good in this situation?

I really feel like I can help this person find the correct path.  But is it the correct path for her?

Since I’ve been on the No to Prop 8 bandwagon, I’ve recently begun to receive some interesting comments from the other side.  I want to share a couple of fun ones today, by a thoughtful commentator named Chris.

Here’s the first one.  I’ll italicize my initial words, and boldface his reaction.

The passing of Prop 8 has taken away those rights for a select group of people for no other reason than ignorance and hate. This is also a simple fact.
What is the evidence for this “fact”?

The evidence is in the fact that Prop 8 passed, and the reason it passed was, in part, because of the attitudes of those who voted for it.  These attitudes stem from ignorance about the issue, to outright hate of gay people because of what these people have been taught during their lives.  The fact is, the measure was passed primarily by people who have been brought to believe that homosexuality is a sin, and because of that, anything even remotely connected to homosexuality must be bad, therefore any way of countering it must be the right thing to do.  These people got this impression from listening to their pastors or their priests, their bigoted family or friends, or the lies spread by some of the supporting institutions.  If they actually had open minds and open hearts, they would have different perspectives because they would be thinking for themselves, and not just following their programming.  The only reason people think homosexuality is wrong is because they’ve been told to believe that.  That belief has no basis in fact, only judgmental ideals.

I will tell you right now that the religious majority is the reason that Prop 8 passed.  The second biggest reason is that a good number of the people who voted for it didn’t really understand the issue, or care about it.

I don’t care what your religion, tradition, or personal beliefs are. Discrimination is WRONG. People who voted yes on this should be ashamed of themselves, and really need to take stock of their values. Are you saying this based on your personal beliefs? Why should we consider your admonition given your own carelessness regarding the beliefs of others? …simplistic definition is based on outdated religious beliefs and pointless tradition, and is in no way applicable to modern times. You said that the definition is based on “outdated religious beliefs and pointless tradition” but these are just your opinions, and it seems your stance is that someone’s beliefs shouldn’t determine law…but you think your beliefs are correct…and should be made law…

Short answer:  Yes.  Yes, I believe my beliefs are correct, and yes, this is my opinion.

Long answer:  This is my blog.  I own the domain, the space on the server, and the content within.  I think that’s a good place to state my opinions, don’t you?  Of course, not everyone will agree with my opinion.  A couple of my best friends are almost always on the opposite side of my opinion, to be honest.  That’s ok, because that’s what makes this country great.  Everyone can have an opinion, and whether you wish to believe it or not, I do indeed care about the beliefs of others.  If I find them to be agreeable, I’ll incorporate them into my own.  If not, I’ll dismiss them.

You know what else makes this country great?  Equal rights.  Of course, we don’t really have equal rights, because there are those who don’t believe in such.  Oh, they may think they do, but when it comes to a vote, their superstitions or their programming will kick in and equal rights will go right out the window.  Two of the big groups who swayed Prop 8 in favor of the “yes” position were the Latino population and the black population.  These are two groups who should KNOW BETTER, yet instead of remembering or sympathizing, they let others do their thinking for them, and in turn, made the wrong decisions.  The biggest group however, was the older population, who have a lifetime of habits and traditional perceptions.  It’s the baby boomers who ruined it for everyone.

So am I right?  Well, I believe so.  So do millions upon millions of other people.  Time will tell, of course.  But if history proves anything, we know how that’s gonna turn out, now don’t we?  The FACT is that It’s not about religion or homosexuality or my opinion or your opinion, it’s about equality and the rights of the people.  It’s just a matter of time.

Before I link to this article, let me throw out a quote from one of the participants.  This particular man is named Joel Fanti, and he’s a resident of Brunswick County, North Carolina.  His little nugget of ineptitude sparked a discussion during a meeting by the school board over teaching Creationism in public schools.  And I quote:

“I wasn’t here 2 million years ago,” Fanti said. “If evolution is so slow, why don’t we see anything evolving now?”

One would think that Mr. Fanti would be an educated person.  If he’s at a school board meeting, one would also assume he’s a parent.  In my opinion, he is qualified to be neither.  The sad thing is, Mr. Fanti was allowed to speak past his allotted time, and he ended his swan dive into stupidity with cheers from the audience.  Mr. Fanti must be proud that everyone else is apparently as stupid as he is.

Now the school board of Brunswick county, which, by the way, struggles with low test scores, poor graduation rates, and a history of inappropriate conduct, is trying to pass a measure instituting the teaching of Creationism within its schools.  They claim that it is unfair to teach Evolution as fact, because it’s a “theory” that can’t be proved.  Huh?

the·o·ry

Function:
noun
Inflected Form(s):
plural the·o·ries
Etymology:
Late Latin theoria, from Greek the?ria, from the?rein
Date:
1592
1: the analysis of a set of facts in their relation to one another

Evidently, the school board of Brunswick county, North Carolina needs to find a dictionary and learn the meaning of the word “theory.”

Here’s the article if you want to read it for yourself.

I’m not going to go into the whole Creationism vs. Evolution debate here.  Chances are, you’ve made up your mind (as you should) about this yourself, and nothing I say will (or should) change it, but I do want to bottom line it.

Evolution is science.  Period, end of discussion.  There should be no argument about what Evolution is, what Evolution does, and the fact that Evolution is real.  There is NO ARGUMENT.  This needs to be taught to our kids so that they can grow up to be sensible, educated and intelligent beings who exist on this planet in this age.  A theory is NOT a guess, is is a scientifically-proved fact, understood to the best of our knowledge, but subject to change if proved different.

Creationism is religion.  Religion is NOT science, and should NOT be taught as such to our children in Science class.  Creationism should be taught to our children in Religious Studies class, or Church.  Not only that, but know that there are lots of different creation stories.  Our children should have the opportunity to learn them all.  This is called “knowledge”, and this “knowledge” is hopefully what keeps our children from becoming brain-dead cretins like the school board of Brunswick county, North Carolina.

And if that wasn’t definite enough, the Constitution of the United States of America says that there is a Separation of Church and State, which in this case, in simplified terms, means that it is ILLEGAL to teach religion to our kids in a public institution.  PERIOD.

Why does this argument persist?

George Carlin died today.

Everyone knows who George Carlin was.  Not everyone liked his particular brand of humor, which was always sharp and punctuated with crisp four-letter words and divergent thoughts, but to me it wasn’t always about his humor.  What I liked about Carlin was how razor sharp his mind could be.  How he took everyday topics and shone a light down upon them, making them brighter and more defined, and forced you to look at them in ways you never thought about.  He was a master of logic and thought, and never let even the small details go unnoticed.  No one was safe.  Nothing was safe.  Everything and everybody was fair game.

And he was right. 

I’ll repeat that:  He was right.

No one pushed the envelope more than George.  No one had more balls.  The greatest comedian in my lifetime.  One of the greatest thinkers ever.  An inspiration to me most definitely, and many millions of others.  One of the smartest people who ever lived.  Ever.

The whole world is dimmer somehow…

Carlin on language.

Carlin on environmentalism.

Carlin on religion:

Carlin on voting:

Carlin on intelligence and fat people:

There are so many more moments.  Do yourself a favor and watch them all.

Bye George.  We miss you already.