You have to give the GAP a big round of applause! In the perfect slap across the face to the supposed “War on Christmas” crowd… you know… the CNP’s voting base… the O’Reilly, Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity loonies? Well, let’s just say that the word is these folks aren’t happy about this commercial!
Two thumbs up (and if I had a third or fourth thumb, they’d be pointing up too) to the GAP! I normally don’t like commercials, but this one is FUN! Happy Holidays!
(Editorial Comment from the American Heathen® radio show – Air Date 11/20/09)
What is “being smug”? I’ve been called “smug”, but I’m not quite sure what that means. Could it be that I’m being accused of something, and the accusation is accurate? According to the dictionary, the word “smug” means to be contentedly confident of one’s ability, superiority, or correctness. I guess that means the accusations are correct. But, just who are the accusers, and why have they made the accusation to me and thousands of others? Is it bad to be “smug”? Is it a crime to be “smug”? If so, why is it a crime to be “smug”? What is the punishment for being “smug”? Are there degrees of being “smug”? Is “smug” good or bad? Is “smug” a compliment or an insult?
What exactly am I “smug” about? Well, according to the accusers, I’m smug about things like, evolution and religion, separation of church and state. I’m smug about science. I’m smug about the non-existence of a skydaddy. Hmmm… I guess I stand guilty, proud to be accused, tried and convicted of being “smug”.
It seems to me that being “smug” is a very good thing. I mean, at the very core, “smugness” requires certainty, and certainty requires knowledge, and knowledge requires study, and study requires understanding, and understanding requires observation, and observation requires eyes, ears, noses, hands, feet… Oh yeah! And, a brain! The brain requires input, and a way to sort out all the input data. Sorting the data requires logic and reason! Hey, whada ya know! I must be “smug”! Wow! What a revelation! “Smug” isn’t so bad after all!
But, on the other hand, there are people, a lot of them, who try to appear “smug” without a solid foundation, without reason or logic. I wouldn’t call them truly “smug”. More like, self-righteous, self-absorbed, delusional, misled, incapable, deaf, dumb, blind, ignorant, fools. While they may appear “smug”, they lack the reason and logic, the data sorting capabilities for true “smugness”.
Skydaddy worshipers are always trying to find ways to subjugate people outside of their dogma. They insist that all people dumb themselves down a notch or two. Subservience to fallacy is their play. Knowledge is bad if it threatens to reveal truth. Reason and logic are damned when they get in the way of faith. But, when the faithful don’t get their way, they break out the only ammunition they have in their toolbox. In the bottom of their dirty, greasy box of deception, right next to their Bible – a tome of useless dribble and bile – and their Norman Rockwell fantasy poster, their only weapon sits quietly waiting to be unleashed. The faithful take it out, plug it into their mouth and let it rip! The weapon? Insults. Yes, insults. But, one of these “insults” is misused, mis-characterized, used illogically, as it’s definition is not derogatory. It’s complimentary. That so-called insult is the word “smug”.
Indeed, I am “smug”. When religious wackos take pot shots at me, when their Biblical babble falls way short of doing anything other than annoying me, they start hurling insults like rice at a wedding. My “smugness” becomes their target, and their insultatious mantra. “You’re so smug! Like you know it all!” Well, of course I don’t know it all, but, I do know that religious dogma is full of shit! If they’d do some reading, engage the mass of bio-material between their ears and apply logic and reason to sort it all out… Sure! They can be smug like me too. They too would see the massive errors in their dogma and how stupid and asinine it really is!
Being “smug” is a really great thing my friends! It holds the key to opening the doors of life and it’s greatest mysteries, mysteries that are not revealed through ignorance, but through rigorous study, healthy skepticism, and the application of science, logic and reason. Being “smug” indicates a willingness to be open-minded, a willingness to challenge one’s self, to never be satisfied until all things have been carefully considered, sorted and analyzed. It’s certainty in logic and reason and the rigors of scientific method. It says, “I’m confident in my ability to separate bullshit from fact, truth from fiction, reason from irrationality, science from myth. Being “smug” means never having to apologize for being “smug”. Why apologize for confidence and certainty based in science, logic and reason? Fuck that! You’ve earned the title! Be “smug”!
Does “smug” mean I’m better than someone else? No. Not really. It does mean that I choose to know more. I choose to open my mind. I choose to challenge and engage my mind. I choose to carefully sift through the input data that graces my senses. And… I’m also ready to put everything back through the rigors of science, reason and logic over and over and over again.
Yes. I’m “smug”. I like being “smug”. You can call me “smug” anytime you like! I consider it a compliment, and I’ll gladly thank you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must continue being “smug”.
File this under “Why Christian Nationalists hate science”.
(Editorial Comment from the American Heathen® radio show – Air Date 11/13/09)
The tragic event in Fort Hood, Texas has revealed the bigotry and self-righteous indignation that the Christian Nationalist Party (read Republican Party) has for any religion other than their own. It is crystal clear, to me, that we have reached a dangerous new plateau in religious and political discourse in this country, one that could literally blowup in our faces, and tip the scales toward the purging of American Liberty.
When all is said and done, it is religion, no matter the flavor, that bares the responsibility for thrusting this nation, and the world, backward in time. Myth has now replaced fact, fiction has replaced truth, and supposition has replaced evidence. No longer can we rely on science, reason and logic to prevail in matters most important to the advancement of humanity. Indeed, they have been readily discarded, and the dogs of war are snarling, foaming at the mouth, pulling against the leash of their religious masters, ready to crush their adversary in the jaws of hypocrisy. The time has come to brace for an all out, religiously driven, bigotry ridden conflict. One that will end with dire consequences.
It has been suggested by people within the ranks of the CNP that the U.S. Military must be “purged” of Muslims. It has been said that “devout” (note the word DEVOUT) Muslims cannot be trusted, that they pose a threat to the safety and security of our nation. Those on the religious right claim that the Muslim religion is violent, willing to sacrifice themselves for their religion, and their God. Bryan Fischer, of the right-wing American Family Association stated a day after the Fort Hood tragedy:
“It is time, I suggest, to stop the practice of allowing Muslims to serve in the U.S. military. The reason is simple: the more devout a Muslim is, the more of a threat he is to national security. Devout Muslims, who accept the teachings of the Prophet as divinely inspired, believe it is their duty to kill infidels.”
Fischer goes on to say:
… As soon as Muslims give us a foolproof way to identify their jihad-is from their moderates, we’ll go back to allowing them to serve.”
Fischer called this idea “Islamo-realism”. Realism? Maybe in the parallel fantasy world of christo-jihadists, but not in a society where Liberty is supposed to be the primary focus. What Fischer and the CNP fail to address is the hypocrisy of this disdainful and reprehensible idea of “purging”. Some of their “devout” interpretations of bible bile sanctions violence against anyone who doesn’t believe the way they do. The bible calls for it. And before the believers in my audience start chanting apologetics, I will remind you that I know the bible bile better than you. I can easily produce verse after verse after verse to rebuke your claims of a loving skydaddy. So don’t even get me started.
Anyway… Fischer and his ilk support in some manner, and or fashion, the murdering of abortion doctors, the banning of gays from the military, from marriage and civil rights. They give silent AND noisy lip service to insurrection, succession, and they use the bible as their ultimate authority. They also have a stranglehold on our military, forcing soldiers to endure their “devout” proselytizing of their version of a skydaddy, under a variety of threats and discrimination. Fischer says he wants someone to give him a “foolproof way” to identify “jihad-is from the moderates”. Really? Well then, let’s do that, and apply this idea to Christianity as well! What’s good for Islam is good for Christianity, and Judaism, and every other religion! Let’s come up with a fool-proof way to identify religious zealots who threaten the security of our nation, our Constitution, and our Liberty! The fact is, a foolproof way to identify religious extremism in this country already exists. Extremism is visible, it’s in the open, and it’s reflected in a religion’s desire to tell human beings how to live, and to be to governed by myth. The physical detector is the U.S. Constitution and the Separation of Church and State.
Take a good look in the mirror Mr. Fischer. Take a hard look in the mirror CNP. Take a close look in the mirror religious America. Religious terrorism isn’t exclusive to one version of a skyaddy myth. Christianity is at the forefront in this country. It runs rampant, unchecked, and in the open. From the halls of Congress to the halls of Justice. From the Electorate to the Legislative branch. From C Street to Wall Street. It’s right in front of our noses. From the issues of Abortion and Planned Parenthood, to Gay Marriage and “Don’t ask. Don’t tell”, from Prayer in Schools and Intelligent Design to the Ten Commandments, the extremes of religion take advantage of every opportunity to terrorize anyone who doesn’t believe the way they do. It’s obvious. And it’s religion’s purging of American Liberty.
Reality in religion runs parallel to what’s truly real. In the religious world view, an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing, all-hearing, supernatural entity, has given a few the power to dictate the whole of humanity in its name. This entity has supposedly placed conflicting tomes in the hands of power mad zealots and ignorant masses, and is watching the conflict on his terrestrial plasma flat-screen, with a bowl of popcorn, a beer, and a cigar close at hand. It’s the best in skydaddy entertainment! It’s the feature presentation! Skydaddy Productions, in association with Son of God Films is proud to present “Blood-fest Earth”! You see, this isn’t reality. But, what religious zealots refuse to do is ask themselves why they need to do the dirty work for a skydaddy in the first place? Believe me, they won’t ask. They’re living in a fantasy, a sickly delusion, and unfortunately it’s not a game. In true reality, a world which religious zealots do not live, America is the land of the free, and home of the brave. In the fantasy world of religion, America is the land of dominion, and home of self-righteousness. And they want anyone who doesn’t believe the way they do purged from this land.
Who should really be purged from our military and our government? Liberty or Religion? Religion, period. Make no mistake my friends. The wars we fight today are not about political ideologies. They are religious wars. And they are fought, not only in Iraq and Afghanistan, but around the world and right here at home. They are fought between religious ideologies masquerading as political issues. And you are soldiers, reliable for your ignorance, and expendable in your complacency.
Whether in the military, civil service, or a citizen… If you allow Liberty to be purged, you too, can and will be purged.
(Editorial Comment from the American Heathen® radio show – Air Date 11/06/09)
Atheism 3.0. They call it a kinder, gentler Atheism, devoid of malice, anger, and confrontation, but prominent and open. It’s a form of Atheism that embraces religion as a positive contributor to the human condition and the world. On the other side of the godless fence stands the New Atheism. It is bold, confrontational, relentless, and calls religion out, holding it responsible for its hypocrisy, self-righteousness and bigotry. Some are calling these two different views a schism, a fracture in the foundation of non-belief. I call it bullshit.
I ascribe to the New Atheism ideal. I refuse to allow religion a free pass. For centuries, religion has run roughshod over political and social justice. It has denigrated the human spirit and ripped reason and logic from their rightful place in human endeavor. Religion terrorizes, conquers and destroys in the name of mythology. It does so with malice and contempt. It knows no bounds in its totalitarian crusade to rid human beings of independent thought and action.
Yes, there are two ideals here. But, they aren’t the only ones. It has been said many times before, Atheists are like cats. Trying to get us together on any issue is like trying to herd cats. We’re far too independent and skeptical to follow a single train of thought. Indeed, it is the very nature of non-belief that pushes us away from a single, static thought process, and that keeps us just outside of arms reach of one another both politically and socially. There are plenty of ideas, as many as there are Atheists, Humanists, Agnostics. While we may share a few points of interest with one another, by no means do we share much more than that. There is one ideal that is shared by all though. And that is independent thought.
The so-called “fracture” within Atheism is an aberration. It’s an attempt to define and categorize the already basic human behavior of fight or flight. As I see it, the Atheist either chooses to stand and fight against repression, aggression, discrimination, and the lies and misinformation of religion, OR the Atheist chooses to capitulate, endear themselves and surrender to religion under the utopian notion of perfect peace and harmony. It really is that simple. Stand and fight, or Stockholm Syndrome.
The New Atheism is not really new. The war against religious tyranny has been raging for quite some time. It wasn’t until some prominent men and women opened their mouths in the public square that the war came into full public view. Madalyn Murray O’Hair, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, Penn & Teller, Bill Maher, and a whole host of others, stepped out and spoke openly about non-belief. Others have since followed, and the truth about non-belief has become front page news. This New Atheism is not new. It’s simply louder, prouder, and more open than its earlier renditions. No longer contained in the dark corners of the individual’s mind, it has escaped from the cell of religious bigotry and fear. This so-called “New Atheism” is calling religion out to account for its claims. It’s standing toe to toe, face to face, against religion’s fables and demanding evidence. It’s exposing long-standing religious bigotry and showing itself as more ethical and humane than any religious ideology.
Standing tall is not a bad thing. Standing proud and demanding evidence is the right thing. Exposing the fraud of religion is a good thing. These ideals are not new to Atheism. They are a time-tested antibiotic to the bacterium that is religion. But religion, unlike real bacteria, doesn’t evolve. It cannot stand against the assault of science, reason and logic. It merely changes shape, but never function. It does not adapt.
New Atheism? No. But, it is time for a re-issuance. It’s time for the Evolution of a Godless Revolution. And, I’m here to tell you… Religion cannot hide.
Atheism 3.0 is a fad, a brief, unrealistic utopian dream. It is the raising of the white flag by a few, fearful of reprisal, destined to serve, to be enslaved by religion’s dominionist crusade. It is ignorance for ignorance sake. Turn the other cheek, only to be whipped more severely than before under the lash of religion’s crop. It’s appeasement from fear. It will not last. Confrontation is truly the only way to purge religion’s designs for conquest of humanity. Confrontation and demand for proofs of divine existence must dominate our discourse with religion. The time for diplomatic gestures has passed. Blasphemy, heresy, mockery, disdain, fact over fiction, evidence over faith, these are the weapons that will enlighten the weak in faith, and force others to question their faith. These are the tools that will free the human mind to embrace the intrinsic human entitlement of liberty for all.
(Editorial Comment from the American Heathen® radio show – Air Date 10/30/09)
Ghosts, goblins, spirits of the dead. It’s Halloween, and it’s a recipe for fun! At least, for those who dismiss the spooky, supernatural aspect of it. Not to say that there aren’t folks out there enjoying the holiday. Candy, costumes, parties… Who can resist? There are many who believe in the supernatural who still manage to enjoy the festive nature of the event. They ignore the fundamentalist rabble over the supposed connections of the celebration to Satanic rituals and evil. To most, it’s just a holiday. But, there’s something haunting the deep recesses of the minds of the faithful. It eats at them everyday and causes them great distress. That something is death. The end of life… or at least in their mind, the end of this life.
A popular belief for most religions is life after death. Human beings are attracted to the idea that one can live beyond this mortal coil, forever wandering the heavens alongside their skydaddy. They seem to think that the mind and the body are two independent entities under the command of a god. When the body dies, the mind/soul is supposed to be magically transported to a celestial criminal court, where it will stand trial for its crimes. If it doesn’t beg for the mercy of the judge and ask for forgiveness, it will be convicted, then sentenced to live for all eternity with a bunch of Freddy Krueger’s, Mussolini s, and Hitlers. Makes a great Halloween story doesn’t it?
Well, cheer up my believer friends. I’m about to scare the shit out of you for the sake of the holiday. But, I’m also going to teach you that death is assured, permanent… and nothing to be afraid of.
Dualism. It’s the idea that the mind and body are independent of one another, that our consciousness transcends time, space, and the body. Some call it our spirit, our soul, our essence. Sounds kind of quaint doesn’t it? It sounds so reassuring. But why is that? It’s because a lot of people are simply afraid of death. What better way to sooth this fear than to place a barrier between the biology of the body and our consciousness? But, there’s a serious scientific problem with this. The brain, and ALL of its functionality, is dependent on the rest of the body to operate. The brain needs blood and the oxygen it contains. Without oxygen the brain cannot function. It’s called Cerebral hypoxia. The brain requires approximately 3.3 ml of oxygen per 100 g of brain tissue per minute. Initially the body responds to lowered blood oxygen by redirecting blood to the brain and increasing cerebral blood flow. Blood flow may increase up to twice the normal flow but no more. If the increased blood flow is sufficient to supply the brain’s oxygen needs then no symptoms will result. However, if blood flow cannot be increased or if doubled blood flow does not correct the problem, symptoms of cerebral hypoxia will begin to appear. Mild symptoms include difficulties with complex learning tasks and reductions in short-term memory. If oxygen deprivation continues, cognitive disturbances and decreased motor control will result. The skin may also appear bluish (cyanosis) and heart rate increases. Continued oxygen deprivation results in fainting, long-term loss of consciousness, coma, seizures, cessation of brain stem reflexes, and brain death. [wiki]
Brain death. Yep, the end of life. Notice the important losses associated with cerebral hypoxia? Loss of consciousness, coma, seizures, cessation of brain stem reflexes… the thing that makes you YOU no longer functions. Your consciousness is only as good as the gray matter machine that produces it. Once the machine stops functioning, you stop functioning, and your reality disappears. The “I”, the “Me”, the “You” ceases to exist. What makes you who you are isn’t a separate entity, a soul, a spirit or magical thing. It is a culmination of experiences, saved off in memory centers of the brain, a natural process of biochemical/electrochemical reactions. Human death is not unique. It is really no different from any other biological death. After death, your body becomes a mass of slowly decaying bio material at the end of a natural life cycle, governed by the laws of nature. Easily and simply put, you’re dead. End of story.
My father was diagnosed with terminal cancer on December 23, 2006 and died on February 2, 2007. He was 65, almost 66 years old. I spent the last week of my dad’s life with him. I watched the process of death carefully, and with a keen eye applied to his lucidity. When I first arrived at his bedside, I took note of his mental faculties. He was sharply aware, in some pain, and somewhat cheerful. Physically, he was incapable of eating and was wasting away. He couldn’t hold anything down. Even fluids were a challenge for him. He was not only being consumed by the cancer that had spread throughout his abdomen, but he was also starving to death as a result. Anyway, the first thing I asked my father when I sat down on the edge of his bed was, “Are you afraid?” His exact words were, “A little”. Then I asked him why. My dad looked at me, propped up on his right side, his pillow tucked under his arm, and said, “I don’t know”. I smiled at him, and he returned the smile. I said, “Do you remember being born dad?” He said, “No”. Then I asked him, “Do you remember anything before you were born?” He smiled again and replied, “No”. I looked him straight in the eye and said, “Dad, if you don’t remember being born, or anything before you were born, then you’re not going to remember dying”. My dad looked down at his hands as he pondered what I had just said to him. When he looked back up at me he cracked another smile and said. “Yeah, you’re right”. I replied with a smile, “Then what is there to be afraid of? Nothing?”
I spent the week talking with my dad, asking him questions about how he felt physically and emotionally. We talked about old times and good times. As the week slowly passed, I noticed changes in my fathers behavior. Each day his mental faculties decayed. He began to hallucinate. He would have visions of Indians coming through the walls, storming a wagon train. Dad liked western movies. Occasionally dad would play air trumpet, his eyes closed, his fingers moving to the sounds of the Big Band music playing softly in his room. My father had been a fantastic trumpet player when he was young. Pretty soon, dad would slip in and out of consciousness in the middle of a talk, then awake suddenly, resuming a conversation we’d never had. He would mistake me for his father, his mother, my brothers… I went along. Even in this state, he seemed happy, content, and unafraid. In the afternoons I would lie down on the bed next to him and nap, my hand holding his, the two of us quietly sharing his last precious moments. I was not distressed, nor was he.
By the end of the week, the family was having to endure sudden, minor outbursts, as my father would try to get out of bed on his own to go to the bathroom. Each time he would collapse to the floor, lying in the fetal position as he drifted in and out of consciousness. Even though we checked on him frequently, dad would still manage to get out of bed. Sometimes he’d make it to the doorway of the bathroom, other times he would make it into the bathroom but never to the toilet. Dad really didn’t have to urinate or defecate. His digestive tract didn’t have any food in it, and very little water. But, the cancer had quickly spread to his bowels that week and was sending a signal to his brain that he needed to go. Anyway, my brother and I would run into the room, at my step mother’s every call, and carry dad back to bed. Occasionally dad would raise his voice in anger when we tried to pick him up. But, we did it anyway. Dad was now barely conscious when “awake”, and his hallucinations had stopped. He would simply drift away as his mind decayed, his brain dying of starvation.
My brother and I left on Sunday, January 29th. We had to return home. At my urging, my step mother and step sister called the hospice nurse and asked that they come and get dad. He needed to be looked after 24/7. My step mother’s blood pressure had become dangerously high during the week , the stress getting to be too much, and dad was trying to wander away from his bed at all hours now. The nurse agreed that he needed constant care and should be moved. That afternoon my father was transported to a hospice facility. Four days later, he was dead.
What was my father is no more. There’s nothing left of him but memories in the minds of the living. For the dead, there are no memories, for the memories need a brain to exist, and when the brain no longer functions, the “I”, the “Me” no longer exists. That’s what death is. Non-existence. The hardest part about facing the reality of death is facing the reality of nothing, of non-existence. Nothing, non-existence, a concept that’s hard to wrap your head around, doesn’t warrant fear because there’s nothing to fear of nothing. What most folks don’t realize is that they’ve been dead before. Dead, being the opposite of alive, is one of only two states of being. All of us have already been non-existent, dead for all intents and purposes. Hell, just watch any movie or any television show that was produced before you were born, and then make an effort to realize, to acknowledge to yourself, that at any moment in the program you’re watching, you didn’t exist. You weren’t you. You didn’t exist.
Everything dies eventually. It is the nature of things. But, how you decide to deal with it has consequences, both good and bad. If you believe, for instance, in an afterlife, you are selling your life short. Period. You need to ask yourself, ‘How much more living would I do if I didn’t ascribe to souls, spirits, ghosts, goblins, angels, demons, heaven and hell?’ More importantly, think about this… Do you really want to live forever? The myth that is heaven doesn’t have the trappings of life. How could it? Rest assured, television, radio, movies, books, cars… hot chicks in bikinis, or hot guys in Speedos, won’t exist in this fictitious heavenly abode. All the things that make life worth living, like family, friends… these are worth living the here and now for! Because,when they’re dead, they’re dead, and when you’re dead, you’re dead. Heaven really is a fiction and the here and now is real. And, the good in embracing the finality of death, the reality of now, is living life to its fullest NOW. Don’t hold back. Live it, love it, but don’t become too attached to it, because it eventually disappears. Now, enjoy the Halloween celebration! It’s all in fun! But always remember…
Death is assured…and it’s permanent.
This Friday’s “American Heathen®” show will be a very special…
When you think about Halloween frights, you think of names like Jason Vorhees, Freddy Krugger, and Michael Meyers. You think of mindless zombies and diabolical serial killers. But there was one name and one event that in its day that truly scared the world. What is it? You’ll hear it THIS FRIDAY at 8pm Eastern, 7pm Central, on ShockNet Radio!
(Editorial Comment from the American Heathen® radio show – Air Date 10/23/09)
The background noise of thousands of years of ignorance has deafened humanity. The vast majority of humans believe in supernatural beings, beings that don’t subscribe to the natural laws they supposedly created, and harbor all human imperfections and traits. The blind faith of the masses, coupled with a convenient amnesia for the thousands of gods and goddesses that came before the big three monotheistic creatures, has not been to the benefit of humankind. One only has to look at the history of human advancement, and those who have discarded faith, to see that the answers to humanity’s greatest questions haven’t come from the din of religious static.
Static. It means different things in different contexts. But, there are two meanings that present themselves in the context of my commentary. The first is the “Static” of not moving, frozen, still. The second is the “Static” of the din of background noise, cluttered, undefined, noisy. The first meaning is assigned the dubious task of maintaining the status quot. Bound to the word “tradition”, this “static” is the idea that what once was must continue to be despite innumerable and profound changes in the world around us. It is not moving, it is frozen, still. This perfectly defines the foundation of religious belief. The second meaning is assigned to the din of background noise created by the thousands upon thousands upon thousands of religious views polluting the minds of millions of human beings, and striking them deaf to the answers of life’s questions that are answered everyday through scientific inquiry. It is cluttered, noisy, undefined. There is no order, no single definitive meaning, no central cognitive value. Opposing views abound, striking discord between the millions of interpretations, becoming a dissonant clash of supernatural views and rhetoric, a toxic mishmash of ancient, primitive dung.
There are 6.7 billion human beings occupying this planet. Of those, over three-quarters possess belief in the supernatural. But, it is from within the remaining one-quarter of the population that we find the anechoic effect of science and natural law. The static is minimal. Tradition does not flourish. There is little noise or clutter. It is a place where humanity’s greatest achievements flourish, and progress thrives. And, it is a place that we find reason and logic at work, striving to understand the world and humanity’s place in it. Freedom of inquiry, unbounded, unrestricted, unbiased, far from tradition and free of the din of religious noise, it is here that progress is born and nurtured, based in natural law, not in the myths of the supernatural.
It amazes me that so many of us are so ignorant and feeble, and so few of us are so educated and empowered. One has to wonder where humanity would be today if rigorous inquiry didn’t have to defend itself against attacks by primitive minds, minds that have sought to stifle knowledge at every turn. Would disease and poverty be relegated to extinction? Would bigotry and hate have fallen at the hands of enlightenment, knowledge, and understanding? There are so many questions that can be asked of this travesty of human experience. But, asking “What if?” is no longer relevant to the “here and now” facts. The fact is that this nation, the United States of America, suffers from a regression. We are quickly devolving to a critical state of ancient ignorance.
More than two-thirds of Americans don’t believe in the scientific fact of Evolution. Yet, the process of Evolution takes place everyday; influenza, bacteria, dogs, cats, mammals of all kinds, plants, insects…the list goes on and on. Everyday we see the “here and now” of the evolutionary process, and new discoveries are made everyday. Forget the mountains of evidence supporting the Darwinian model. Forget the fossil and geological record. Forget that science is the very foundation of human progress. None of this matters to religion. No matter what the flavor, no matter what extreme, religion stays static, creates static, and remains immovable in the face of hard facts.
But, what has religion ever discovered? What has religion ever done for the advancement, the progress of humankind? Nothing. When has religion ever subjected itself to rigorous scientific inquiry? When has it ever tried to prove, scientifically, the existence of the supernatural? Never. Why? Because if it did, religion would fail every scientific test. Religion cannot survive scientific inquiry. And, this is why religion continues to wage a war against inquiry and knowledge.
Answers to life’s questions are not found in religious static. They are found in the vast expanse of human inquiry and the rigorous testing of each and every idea. Without this tenet, food, clothing, electricity, cars, boats, TV, PS3, health care, vaccines, antibiotics… these things would not exist. And what has religion offered? Prayer? A game of begging for something and getting a yes, no, or wait? You can play the same game with a jug of milk and get the same answers. Worship? Worshiping jealous gods hoping they don’t condemn you to an eternity in hell for not wearing the right clothes to church, tugging on your willy, thinking about the hot neighbor, or questioning a skydaddy’s existence? What has religion really offered humanity? Food, shelter and clothing to the downtrodden? Of course! For the right to shove the myth down helpless throats at the expense of individuality and freedom of mind. Sure! Why not! But, where did the food come from? Did the food magically appear? Did the clothes magically appear? Did the cars and trucks that brought the food and clothes magically appear? More importantly… Why didn’t the supernatural entity, who invented natural law, and supposedly has infinite power, simply feed and clothe everyone to begin with?
I’ll tell you why. Because answers don’t come from static.
This is a really great documentary about someone that we’ve been talking about a lot on the radio of late.
For those of you who did not know who McCarthy was, this will get you up to speed.
If you’ve been listening in on ShockNet Radio’s “American Heathen®” program, you’d know that RJ and I are libertarians. I am also an on-and-off card-carrying member of the Libertarian Party. Yes, libertarians HAVE their own political party and it really is one of the largest in the third-party groups. Its strength comes from LOCAL elections, not from federal ones.
Yes it seems hard to imagine that there would be someone other than Dems or Christian Nationalists in office, but it is true. And one of those “Big-L” Libertarians, Patrick Dixon of Texas, recently came out with a GREAT article in the Austin Post talking about his efforts in local government.
Here’s a quick sample:
Besides serving as the Libertarian Party state chairman, I also am serving my second term on the city council of Lago Vista, TX. Last night at our council meeting we had a discussion about having religious advertising on a sign paid for with taxes. Can you guess what my position is?
I will add that this is one of the strongest Republican Party areas in the state of Texas. If you ask most city council members or voters around here what party they support, it will be obvious to you. I can tell you the predominant sentiment of our council is that we should not be afraid of the ACLU and that religious material is fine.
Well on this matter I am proud to stand with the ACLU. As a matter of fact I often stand with the ACLU where Republicans and most Democrats dare not go.
He also had something to say about political courage…
It is easy to stand on the sidelines and call yourself one thing or another. The true test of your identity is when you are outnumbered but refuse to compromise your principles.
Well thank you Councilman Dixon for standing up for your principles and doing what is RIGHT!
Go ahead and read the rest of the article to see what he has to say about church-and-state issues. I think you’ll like what he has to say.
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