Stupid should Hurt

  I'm not especially comfortable talking about religion.  There are a lot of different beliefs in this country, and I don't want to offend any of them.  I'm don't consider myself an atheist or a believer, but I don't really fit the mold of an agnostic either.  Personally, I just don't care if there is a supreme being, or collection of powerful deities.  It doesn't occupy my mind.  I don't tell people their gods don't exist and by and large, no one tries to convert me.  I like it that way.  If your god wants to pay me a visit, he or she is more than welcome.  Just make sure he doesn't scare the dogs and knocks first.

  I do find myself in many religious discussions because of my own strong beliefs on the subject.  My problem with respect to religion is that some of the leaders and their immediate followers seem to think that because I am not a part of their religion and do not live my life according to their beliefs, and I do so openly, I am somehow a threat to them.  Because I don't believe that a public school is the place to teach religion, because I think science has no business teaching creationism, or because I don't think our country's laws should be determined by the moral compass of a faith, but of proven ideas and concepts, I am a dangerous heathen, un-american and only one or two steps away from being a terrorist.  Creationism is once again in the news, Fundamentalist Christians seem to be very popular in politics now, and across the pond, in the centers of the Muslim world, they preach death to heathens and point their fingers straight at us, not distinguishing between political parties, Christians, atheists and agnostics or any of the other political or religious divisions in this country.

To all religious people out there I say this to you.  I will say it once, here.  I will refer to this in any discussion that turns to religion and save everyone time and effort.

Here's the deal:
    I am not automatically an immoral person because I don't worship in your church.  I don't kill people or drink blood.  I have no horns or tails or wings.  I don't steal.  I don't seek to control other people.  I try to live my life with honor, compassion, respect for others and as much tolerance as I can, not because any god tells me to, but because I feel it contributes to the society's overall health and development, and I reject any human or deity who would condemn people for that.  I am not your enemy.  We are allies in many ways, but I am not a slave to belief.  I seek to understand what I can about the world.  I was raised to believe in the freedom of the individual, the respect of my fellow man, the honor of treating all people the same until they reveal their character, not to follow power, but those who demonstrate their desire to improve life.  I reserve the right to judge your religion as it applies to my life, to apply the same conditions of respect to your god as I do to my fellow man.  Your god has no right to be worshiped by me simply because of his power over me.  I do not accept that from any person, and I will not accept that from any god.  Your god has no right to be worshiped by me because of what he has done for me.  I did not ask for his help.  It was unsolicited.  It may be appreciated, but it cannot be turned into a debt.  I do not tolerate that from other people, and I will not tolerate that from any god.  A friend helps you without making demands.  If he demands anything from you as payment, he is no friend.  My soul is mine.  If your god will judge me, then it will be against what I do, and how I live as if he did not exist.  If I live in fear of damnation as the ultimate failure or if I live with heaven as the ultimate victory, it invalidates everything about my life and who I am.  If I am compassionate because I think it is right, then it tells more about my character than if I am compassionate because I want someone else to like me, or if I fear punishment if I am not.  If that means that your god rejects me, then he does not deserve me.  Wherever I go after death, if I go anywhere, it will be to be with others who believe as I do.  That cannot be the Hell you seek to frighten me with, even if it is a prison.  If this upsets you, or if you think I am deluded, then I am sorry.  I will not change my mind, and I believe that with as much determination as you have for your faith.

    I do not ask much.  I will not hide what I am, but I will not force you to believe as I do.  I will not try to destroy or hide your teachings as dangerous to my children.  I respect your beliefs enough not to shove mine in your face.  I desire only that you do the same.  In return, I will defend your right to believe as you do.  I will protect your teachings from hate, from oppression, from discrimination.  I will fight for your right to keep you and yours as you would, to teach your children as you wish and to live your life according to your own moral laws.  I will do this for as long as I am able.

    That is my deal.  Freedom is a responsibility as much as it is a right.  We can only guarantee freedom if we ALL have it.  My beliefs stop at my door.  Outside, I must prove my ideas to other people.  That only works if we don't try to force our beliefs on each other.  I am not a threat to you unless you treat me like one.

Well, the mid-terms are all over but the shouting. Another election full of misappropriated, lost, folded and mutilated votes. Another election where the United States failed to learn from its mistakes. Another two years of the same old same ole, except possibly fewer deaths than the last two years, and also probably less money all around, except perhaps anyone with money in the oil business.

It never ceases to amaze me how the Republicans and the Democrats can bitch about each other so much during an election and then the loser turns around and tries to make everyone believe that they really were for all the things the winner was for. The really amazing thing is that the public accepts this as normal and never calls their party on it. I don't believe the Republicans or Democrats will ever change, and I don't think either is qualified to run the country.

Now the Democrats seem to have won both the House and the Senate back from the Republicans. They will go about dismantling everything Bush did, and so much needs to be dismantled. If things improve, both sides will take credit for it, and if things don't improve, both sides will point at the other claiming that they are responsible for it. Neither side takes responsibility for their actions (or inaction) and while the Republicans hold the record for the severity and scope of their scandals, the Democrats only look good by comparison. Ultimately it is the public who will draw the short straw in any kind of fix one side or the other comes up with. Our job to implement their plan, and their's to take credit if it succeeds, and to point a finger if it fails. To hear the Democrats tell it, this election was the day we finally took back the government and showed the Republicans they can't subvert our country, neatly avoiding the discussion of how the Democrats subvert our country, only they aren't as good at it as the Republicans.

I don't know what will happen in the two years until the next election. Obviously, the Republicans will try to make a comeback, and although they don't have a lot of credibility right now, they've been in worse straights. All in all, I think the Republicans are the worst of the two, if only because of their ambitions, but with the Democrats in control of the House and Senate, and the President in control of most of the Supreme Court and the Executive Branch, my gut tells me not a lot will get done unless one has a big play yet to make. Time enough to make another effort to get people to see that neither one of them is right for the country. Another effort that will no doubt fail.