254/365 (Sept 11, 2011) – What do you say on the anniversary of a horrific event committed in the name of religion. Kirk was flying back home from Indianapolis and I spent an hour wandering around Mountain View Cemetery this afternoon while waiting for his plane to arrive. Somehow it seemed fitting.
I wasn’t expecting the rows upon rows of military headstones. Another perspective maker. I have more respect for anyone who does something in the name of Country than I ever will the person who does something in the name of some fantasy being. Why? Because the person who gives their life in the name of Country is giving for the good of all the people who live in that Country, not just the ones that share a narrow set of beliefs.
As I woke up this morning and was thinking about 9-11 and it just made me angry again. Angry that in today’s age humans can still be so blind and mindless. That humans can still hang onto what amount to primitive beliefs that are fostered by men with nothing more than a desire to control and capitalize on the basic fears that exist in people frustrates me. And the older I get the less tolerant I seem to get of religion. It is wasted energy that could be so useful elsewhere. Why can’t we just be moral without it needing to be “in the name of” whoever? Can’t we just be good to each other for the sake of kindness and not need to couch it in some ridiculous salvation?
I wrote on my Facebook – If people could accept that because someone is not with you they are not, by definition, against you, maybe the world would be a better place and horrific events in the name of imaginary beings could be replaced by human consideration. Imagine where energy could be channelled if we did things simply for the sake of decency and ethical treatment for all humans rather than just accepting those that share a narrow view based on religious dogma.
Too many people see the world in black and white. The world and its people are so much more. There are so many shades of grey to celebrate, but humans need to put everyone in their box, and if I am not safely in your box then there is something wrong with me in your mind, and in the radical mind, if I can’t be in your box, then I have no right to exist. Moderate religion may be softer around the edges but the message is the same, if you are not one of us, then you must be lost. If you are not with us, then you must be against us. I am not against you, I just don’t believe the same things that you do. I believe in human decency, I believe in the power of nature, I believe in ethics and morality. And I don’t need a God to put it into some strange context. I appreciate things for the simple sake of appreciation.
Just imagine what we could do if we could release ourselves from the chains of religion.
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