The other day I was trying to figure out how it is that otherwise intelligent people who are rational on most subjects will turn to their God and give it credit when they are actually the ones that accomplished something.
It's blasphemy. It really is. I'd think they, of all people would understand how offensive it should be to their "God" that they cannot give credit to the very being it supposedly created.
The term "I am blessed" is particularly on my nerves. Why can people not accept that they prepared, they worked hard, and they did what was necessary to achieve a goal. Yet when they achieved it, instead of taking a bow, they turned to their mythical being and said, "Oh, no it wasn't me it was this being. It was "GOD."
I just have to borrow a line from one of my favorite blogs at this point cause not only is it funny, it's apropos to the subject.
- You remember "God", don't you? That imaginary super hero who watches out for all the little children--except the gay ones?-Richard Rothstein proceedatyourownrisk (LAUGH!!!??!?!? I almost wet my pants!)
What floors me on this point is that these good Christians NEVER do that to another human being. They never say "That person did a good job."'Nope! They say, "God helped him to accomplish what he did."
Bullshit, I say!
Why can't we acknowledge the difficult and oftentimes overwhelming effort we put into our accomplishments?
I think I may have a theory on that subject, particularly when it comes to Americans.
Not long ago I saw Michael Moore's film, Sicko. While he was looking into Universal Health Care in France he interviewed a person who, during the course of the conversation said something to the effect of, "In France the government is essentially afraid of the people, therefore when we demand something they react positively. In America the people are afraid of their government, and when the people demand something the government begins to weigh how this demand will impact on business and special interests. Therefore they react negatively."
See! We as human beings need comfort and sanctuary. We need to feel accepted and loved, and in the absence of any form of security or acceptance from our government we turn to the only other place we are familiar with where we can get that need met. It's a church.
Unfortunately, the church is playing us too. They're in it for their own gain and using us as their pawns. If it ever comes to their best interest or ours, we're the sacrificial lambs, I promise you.
So that's it. That's the answer to saving our collective asses from becoming a religious state as opposed to the secular state we are supposed to be.
Oh wait, Separation of Church and state already exists.
How come I didn't notice that?
Perhaps if we'd make clear that religion is a part of our spirituality and NOT part of our governance SOME people would start to get it. Of course there are those who can't separate the two, and of course for that inability I indict the completely inadequate public education system.
We're creating our own demise by not adequately educating our citizens. We're being so short-sighted as to look at what it costs right now to properly educate a child and based on economics, denying them that education. It'll be our ruination I promise you.
We already have a populace that is so easily lead to ruin that not only did most of them vote FOR "change," Change which hasn't even begun to happen yet, but the rest of them are marching in the streets loudly proclaiming that anyone who's not white, heterosexual, and Christian can't partake of the plenitude of benefits they already enjoy. And they're PROUD of what they're doing.
No, I am not the first person to predict the end of our civilization. I am not the first old guy to say the "kids" are running this place into the ground. I am not the first naysayer to go on and on about what "this country needs!" I wish I were.
And I don't agree that the "kids" are running this place into the ground. I have students who are very intelligent, thinking people. Who can reason a problem through and then come to an appropriate conclusion. But they think the bots at Apple are fine, they think that getting screwed by a major corporation is perfectly ok. They see no problem that the oil companies NEED billions of dollars EACH QUARTER to keep us in the dark ages. They've fallen for it.
It's only a matter of time, of course, when one sets out on a propaganda campaign such as those I've outlined above, that it becomes an accepted form of practice, and they usually succeed, with persistence.
So no wonder the sheep of the world have been brainwashed into the belief that they cannot accomplish anything on their own, that they need that mythical superhero "God" to get anywhere. The churches are the only place they get any solace from the constant onslaught of information and fearful predictions they cannot possibly understand because they're kept too damn stupid to even begin to comprehend!
Our religious crusade started by the self-righteous Moammar Khadafi we last had as president of these United States is not nearly over. Unfortunately, we are now powerless to stop the spread of religious fervor and governance.
And so it goes:
I also snagged this image from Proceed at your own risk, it was too delicious to pass up. Thanks Richard.
Love