Cynical? Me?
Nov. 4th, 2004 07:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tcepsaThe Declaration of Independence states that all people have certain rights, among them the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It never says we have a right to actually catch happiness, though...
It's amazing to me how much I have changed in the past eight years or so. Eight years ago, I was posting on an athiest message board trying to get them to see the error of their ways, and to show them that there really were logically possible explanations for all of the stuff in the Bible (a lot of these logical explanations involved the word "metaphor" ;) Regardless, I thought that if they would just open their hearts to god's love, they would be able to live their lives much more happily.
Ultimately, they converted me.
Not to athiesm, but far, far away from most forms of Christianity. I treasure the experience of debating with them; they taught me a lot, about religion, about critical thinking, about self-awareness and scrutiny and also about standing up for yourself. That's where I first started to believe in myself enough to make that break with my Roman Catholic upbringing and begin exploring what I really believed instead of trying to make it fit with some pre-packaged religion.
One of the things that really helped drive me away from organized religion was many of the other posters on the board who, like me, were trying to make a case for their religion. Many of them used hateful rhetoric and dire proclamations of hellfire and damnation upon all of us in that den of sin. That always struck a discordant note with me; if you tell me that I'm a lesser person because of my interests or philosophies or sexual orientation or preference, you're not going to get very far with convincing me that your way is better.
Now it seems that those people are firmly entrenched in leadership positions in this country--and that the majority of the country is OK with that. In the 2000 election it didn't bother me that much, because I figured it was a fluke with the mess in Florida and everything. This time, though, there doesn't seem to be any contest about the will of the majority. Even after the things that this administration has done (or failed to do) in the past four years, most of the people in this country still support it. That's a wake up call for me. Many more of the entries here will probably be along political lines for the next few weeks as I turn over some of these thoughts in my head and figure out how I really feel about the whole thing and what I think the implications might be. Right now, a lot of them don't seem good. The papers are claiming that it looks like this country is making a solid shift towards conservativism. I strongly believe that any people who are as devoted to each other as a husband and wife should be entitled to the same privileges as that husband and wife, regardless of their gender. Several states now have it written into their constitution that not only can a only man and woman call it "marriage," only a single man and a single woman can claim the benefits of such a union. Most people seem to be in favor of this. I know not everyone is. But this country, as a whole, has seen fit to give power to people who are. That's just one big example of things that are starting to add up to something that I'm not sure I am willing to endure.
I guess the big question for me right now is, "Now what?"
That, and, "What next?"
It never says we have a right to actually catch happiness, though...
It's amazing to me how much I have changed in the past eight years or so. Eight years ago, I was posting on an athiest message board trying to get them to see the error of their ways, and to show them that there really were logically possible explanations for all of the stuff in the Bible (a lot of these logical explanations involved the word "metaphor" ;) Regardless, I thought that if they would just open their hearts to god's love, they would be able to live their lives much more happily.
Ultimately, they converted me.
Not to athiesm, but far, far away from most forms of Christianity. I treasure the experience of debating with them; they taught me a lot, about religion, about critical thinking, about self-awareness and scrutiny and also about standing up for yourself. That's where I first started to believe in myself enough to make that break with my Roman Catholic upbringing and begin exploring what I really believed instead of trying to make it fit with some pre-packaged religion.
One of the things that really helped drive me away from organized religion was many of the other posters on the board who, like me, were trying to make a case for their religion. Many of them used hateful rhetoric and dire proclamations of hellfire and damnation upon all of us in that den of sin. That always struck a discordant note with me; if you tell me that I'm a lesser person because of my interests or philosophies or sexual orientation or preference, you're not going to get very far with convincing me that your way is better.
Now it seems that those people are firmly entrenched in leadership positions in this country--and that the majority of the country is OK with that. In the 2000 election it didn't bother me that much, because I figured it was a fluke with the mess in Florida and everything. This time, though, there doesn't seem to be any contest about the will of the majority. Even after the things that this administration has done (or failed to do) in the past four years, most of the people in this country still support it. That's a wake up call for me. Many more of the entries here will probably be along political lines for the next few weeks as I turn over some of these thoughts in my head and figure out how I really feel about the whole thing and what I think the implications might be. Right now, a lot of them don't seem good. The papers are claiming that it looks like this country is making a solid shift towards conservativism. I strongly believe that any people who are as devoted to each other as a husband and wife should be entitled to the same privileges as that husband and wife, regardless of their gender. Several states now have it written into their constitution that not only can a only man and woman call it "marriage," only a single man and a single woman can claim the benefits of such a union. Most people seem to be in favor of this. I know not everyone is. But this country, as a whole, has seen fit to give power to people who are. That's just one big example of things that are starting to add up to something that I'm not sure I am willing to endure.
I guess the big question for me right now is, "Now what?"
That, and, "What next?"
A little more than two cents (ok, a LOT more) vol. 1
Date: 2004-11-04 10:40 am (UTC)I am still struggling with separating God from his well-intentioned but fallible followers because my childhood church family has framed my experiences with God. I don't yet know how to be with God other than by doing what the church tells me or rejecting what the church tells me. But God's truth and love are forever unchanging. People appropriate His name for all manner of ignoble reasons but this is not an endorsement from Him. In fact, in Revelations (which I'm sure you would find fascinating if you haven't read it already) the anti-Christ is prophesied to be someone that everyone believes is of God but truly is not. Sounds quite a bit like a certain White House administration I can think of.
I learn a great about Bush voters and how they think by observing my mother. She is a devout Christian who constantly reminds me I am a "stray sheep." She is chair of the Missions Committee, runs the elderly persons fellowship, established the junior high Sunday school program, serves as a sermon translator, gives old people rides to church, hosts prayer meetings in our home, etc. Yet I am sometimes astounded by her lack of compassion for the unfortunate. She despises social welfare programs feeling like she shouldn't have to shoulder the burden for those who haven't "helped themselves" as if she is somehow superior to them simply because she has been blessed to not have dire want. She has, indeed, worked hard all these many years raising me single-handedly and remarkably, serves far more than some other church members whom you would think should be able to serve more than my mother due to greater income and support at home. But my mother forgets that she was born into an educated family. That my grandmother was patient and gentle and always put her children before herself. That she did not suffer the indignities of growing up needy and abused. That she is by nature smart and disciplined and practical. And I marvel at how someone as generous and big-hearted as my mother has proven herself to be can be so cold to those that Jesus exhorted people to love the most. Jesus ate with tax collectors and whores and was murdered by the Pharisees and his own friends. Her behavior, like those of the Bush supporters, is a selectivity that picks which parts of the Gospel one will uphold because they are easy for her to follow and denies other parts that are difficult to her. It is easy to serve those you love. It is easy to denounce gays and protest abortions and believe everything your president tells you. It is hard to serve strangers who may be smelly and dirty and ugly and have scary diseases. It is hard to love people who are different from you and to make genuine, concerted efforts to help women carrying bastard children to mitigate their dismal situations and to exact the truth amidst propaganda and outright lies.