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?"
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-11-04 01:11 pm (UTC)Now that my initial desire to get out of the country has subsided a bit, I'm thinking seriously about getting more involved politically here--there seems to be a renewed spirit on many peoples' part to get more involved. Alone, I felt like I had no idea where to even start, but now that I'm starting to see that I'm not the only one who feels this way, I hope to be able to find a way to help.
Not to say that I wouldn't still like to tour the world (Scotland, Japan, New Zealand...), but they should still all be there in four years if I really do end up deciding to move out for good. That's not a decision I would make lightly at all--and with some of the murmurings that I hear echoing across the Internet now, it may prove to be unnecessary.
About the only thing that I've made up my mind about right now is that I'd like to become better informed, and that I'm going to start trying to keep a closer tag on local politics... we'll see where I go from there :)
*grin* A lot of it is also going to be spent in trying to develop better understanding with and compassion for the "other side" (I think the Buddhists call it "lovingkindness")--because without that, how can we ever hope to communicate? My ultimate goal here (being the foolish idealist that I am ;) would not be to elect one particular party over another; it would be to help this country to live in what I perceive as the spirit in which it was founded. I know that I was cynical about this in my original post, but that's because it seems like we keep slipping farther and farther away from it. What I really hope for is life, liberty, and happiness for everyone. I've been taken aback at how these seem to be falling by the wayside as priorities, displaced by security and anti-terrorism, but perhaps we can get the focus back on them. In a country where everyone lives freely and happily, and lets others do the same, it seems unlikely that there would be much trouble with security and terrorism (though this definitely bears looking into--mental note to self: research situations that give rise to or provoke terrorism).
Anyway, I'm rambling again so I will close by sending love, hugs, and best wishes!
Take care of yourself :)
Center of it All
Date: 2004-11-08 10:47 am (UTC)XOXO,
Crystal