I learned a long time ago that the surest way to upset others is to make negative comments about religion.  Any religion.  OK – be prepared to be upset.  And, what better time to do the foul deed than at the very time that a large percentage of the world celebrates their god by pretending that a virgin girl gave birth to a human form of god.  One that spent several years raising the dead, feeding thousands with almost nothing and other assorted miracles.  A human form that was later murdered, although it could not be killed.

Really, friends – even the US Government does not make such claims!

Then I am told that I should not say bad things about religion because so many people take such comfort from their beliefs.  Personally, the fairy tale I take the most comfort from is the tale of Pinocchio.  The very thought of a person’s nose growing when they lie is fascinating to me.  I sometimes daydream for hours about our Congress suffering such an affliction.  I picture them having to walk backwards, dragging their enormous noses along the floor.  But, I digress.  And, I know that Pinocchio was just a fable.

Why then do people like me object to others taking some comfort from an innocent fairy tale?  Simple. Because the results are anything but innocent.  I will spare you all the repetitous tales of bloody wars, mayhem and downright nasty behavior caused by conflicting religious beliefs.  No, my friends, my objection comes from the fact that, once a person lets unreality into their thinking process, they damage their capacity for rational, critical thought.

Why is that so important to me?  Simple again.  Because I am convinced that the only way people will ever live together in some manner of harmony will be through rationality.  Dealing with things as they really are, not as we wish they somehow could be.

As suggested in another post, I think freedom requires voluntary, universal adoption and adherence to a code of ethics and morals.  It requires that each of us realize that, to be fully and effectively free, we must allow our fellow humans to be just as fully, just as effectively free as ourselves.  It simply cannot work any other way.  If you think you can be free while others must do your bidding, you have accepted a form of despotism.  One that, inevitably will include yourself in the damage it does.

Well say you, the writer has just trashed religion then demanded a code of morals in the same few paragraphs.  Is this not a contradiction?  Not in the least.  For sure, most religions espouse some manner of moral code.  Usually these are a combination of rules for the good of mankind (respect the right of others to their lives, their property and their attempts at happiness), along with rules for preserving and protecting that particular religion (worship our god, not the other fellow’s god).

I submit that the important part of all these moral codes are:

1. So similar as to be essentially the same, and,
2. The products of rational thought, not divine commandment.

Which brings me to the root of this rant.  True ethics and morals are always the result of rational considerations.  Clearly (to me), if we discarded all our superstitions and relied solely on the products of rational thought, we would come as close as humans ever will to universal freedom.

My main objection to religious belief systems is that they, one and all, promote “magical thinking”.  That is, they require belief in / acceptance of things our rational minds would never accept as true.  For the simple reason that there is never any basis for them in reality.  No tangible evidence of any kind.  Just the repeated, embellished superstitions of those who went before.

One can almost forgive the ancients.  For instance, by all appearances, the sun seemed to retreat day by day until the earth grew cold and the food crops withered and died.  Then, the priests sacrifice a few virgins and voila, the sun starts coming back to warm and feed them again.  The gods must be pleased!  QED.

Today, we know better (or at least we should).  Yet the superstitions continue.  We may have stopped the bloodier parts of the rituals, but the underlying beliefs persist.

This all makes me very sad because it slows what a sorry job we have done of teaching our young the value and power of rational, critical thought processes.  Those thought processes that are, IMHO, the only true path to universal freedom and happiness.  Indeed, we have gone quite the other way, attempting at every turn to shield people from the natural, predictable results of ignorance and poor decision making.  Some may think they are doing their fellows a favor.  I say they are conditioning them for ultimate slavery.

It does not have to be this way.  Learn to think.  Learn and think.  Think your way to real freedom and happiness.  And enjoy this holiday season – but for all the right reasons.

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With all the corruption we see around us, in government and business in particular, it is easy to conclude that ethics are, and have been, on a pretty steep decline. Many causes / reasons / excuses are offered for this sad state. From lack of prayer in school to lack of adequate laws and enforcement.

I beg to disagree. I think the overwhelming reason is that we no longer hold people accountable in this society. Kill someone while driving drunk? Clearly the fault of the person who sold you the booze. Make your living mugging old ladies? Obviously a mean society denied you (whatever), causing your outlaw behavior. Got cancer from years of smoking? Damn that Big Tobacco, whoever that is. Life a mess? Not your fault. And on and on it goes.

To me, it naturally follows that, if people are not held accountable, by their peers and fellow citizens, then the illegal acts we see everywhere slowly become commonplace, ergo sort of acceptable. So much so that it causes a major disruption, like a melt-down of our economy, to get people to pay even a little attention. Then, when the brown stuff hits the fan, we all squeal like baby pigs being taken away from their mother whining “why didn’t somebody do something?”.

But, with the possible exception of G W Bush, nobody is ever to blame. (This said tongue in cheek and with a lot of sarcasm.)

Lately, our rage seems particularly focused on executive compensation at large companies. While I do not wish the law to intervene in corporate pay and incentive schemes, I will admit that there are an increasing number of executives who treat their company’s treasury like a personal piggy bank.

Why, you ask, am I rehashing all this crap? Simple. If one follows the main-stream media, our current distress is all about the money. Money we poor folk would surely have were it not for the nasty fat cats who unfairly took it.

I can see why this angers people, especially those who are losing their incomes because of the melt down. However, there is something far more important than money at stake here and I fear few among us really understand what it is. In a word, it is freedom. Allow me to explain:

First, it is not hard to understand that, when governmental power grows, through additional laws, regulations, and confiscation of wealth, we the people are left with less freedom. After all, freedom is ultimately about who gets to make the choices that determine the course of our lives.

The more any individual is allowed to make their own decisions, for their own reasons, the more free they are. Conversly, the more decisions made for an individual by the state, the less free they are. Fair enough so far, is it not?

Now consider this. Whenever people consistently show themselves incapable of voluntary restraint (self discipline if you prefer), eventually those who see themselves as victims of this unrestrained behavior will demand government intervention. Obviously, this leads to more laws and regulations, more government spending, funded by ever more confiscation of wealth, ending with more governmental power. As we showed above, this translates to less freedom for the individual.

Bottom line, these folks are not just picking your pocket, they are helping squander the freedom that is your birthright. And too many of us cheer the government on as it happens.

The essential truth is that freedom can only exist in a society that practices voluntary restraint. One that voluntarily adheres to an agreed upon code of ethics and morals. It simply cannot be any other way. For those of you who might prefer a world in which everything is decided by the existence and strict enforcement of a comprehensive set of laws, let me remind you that such a society is known as a “police state”. Do you really want this?

So, you ask, what can be done without leveraging the power of government? Plenty. Once upon a time, societal acceptance was a stronger force than any law has ever been. How hard would it be to simply let your fellow citizens know that certain behavior is not acceptable? Then, if they persist in thier unacceptable behavior, to simply deny them the comfort and priviliges that go with good standing in society. For instance, tell your children that it is not acceptable to go about dressed in rags with profanity printed all over them. Tell your peers that cheating, stealing, and failure to contribute their fair share on the job and in the community is simply not acceptable. Then act accordingly.

You don’t have to shoot them, you don’t have to beat them up. You simply withhold your approval and acceptance.

Yes, that would require that we start acting like a community again, rather that a huge number of individuals that have no involvement with each other. But, would that be so bad?

Oh yes, one final thought. Start by gaining the approval of the person you see in the mirror. Remember that, it is your behavior as a citizen that determines what our society will be like, what it values will be. Over the years, I have known a lot of folk who would devoutly attend Sunday services, then threaten to run you over in their haste to get home. Which of these acts speaks the loudest?

Just a thought.

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Since only 2 of you seem have the nerve to respond to my outbursts, let me start by saying “Hi Dave and Dae.”

You will have noticed a deafening silence from these parts the last few days or even weeks.  That is because I try to keep this blog within the bounds of rationality and, it is increasingly hard to make a rational comment on the irrational behavior of our country.  However, I am learning some new ideas.  Such as:

1. There is no problem so off-the-wall, so stupid, or so obviously self-inflicted that it cannot be solved by blasting it with reams of federal dollars.
2. Every business seems to want into the act, including many I once respected.  Such is the power of dependency.
3. As a people, it seems we are now devoid of any semblance of honor, integrity, pride, or sense of responsibility.

Try as I may, I simply cannot understand how so few among us seem to have even a clue as to the non-sustainability of our current situation.  (In case there are any products of modern government schools reading this, non-sustainable means “this crap can’t go on much longer”.)

However (you knew this was coming, didn’t you?)… several thoughts have occurred to me lately.

The first is that the notion of a large percentage of our populace being ignorant, uninformed and uninterested is nothing new.  I have been reading a bit about the founding era, in addition to watching the HBO series on John Adams.  Was a large percentage of the population, at that time, ignorant?  Beyond doubt.  How did they handle the great unwashed and uninformed?  Simple, they ignored them, assuming it only natural that such people depended on their betters to think for them.  And, while they made much of the notion of universal equality before the law, they harbored no illusions about equality of outcome.  Indeed, the original concept of American self governance was that it would be designed and administered by those of property.  The notion of property indicating some degree of success in life.  Even though said success may have been that of an ancestor, it was assumed that the mere possession of property gave one a stake in the outcome of governance, much different from that of those without.  As other of my contributions have indicated, I see nothing whatever wrong with this attitude.  Indeed, as stated before, letting the “takers” decide how to manage the pubic treasury is a form of insanity.  If the orgy of greed driving the current (IMHO fatal) assault on the treasury does not prove this, nothing ever will.  Yet, even those who know better continue to loudly exclaim the fact of our democracy, even though the closer we get to that sad condition (democracy), to more we become like moths circling ever closer to a flame.  In both cases, the outcome can be well known in advance.

The next thing I have been pondering is the “herd effect”.  The obvious fact that most humans are content, even eager, to be part of a herd, despite their capacity for independent thought.  Imagine a herd of asses.  Let one ass in the herd bray with conviction and all the others react emotionally, even though they probably haven’t a clue what the braying is all about.  Ditto the bleating sheep, the mooing cow or neighing horse.

Why ever would a creature capable of independent thought want to join a society of brayers, bleaters, etc?  Consider this… in a truly wild herd, a member of the herd gets to be the leader.  Usually this is the one who has demonstrated the best ability to kill or injure its peers.  Humans were once like that, in fact, are still like that in many primitive societies.  But, with more advanced societies (more domesticated herds), A herdsman is called for.  We call these by various names: shepherd, cowherd, etc.  In the case of human herds, we use terms like king, feudal lord, dictator.  But, is this what we really want?  For many, the apparent answer is “yes”.  Does it not follow that those who are capable of self government and who understand the fatal flaws of dictatorship have some responsibility to organize a governing structure for the herd, if only in self defense?  I say yes, because, otherwise, the kings, lords and dictators will use the herds against the rest of us.

The last of my mental wandering about is why humans seem so intent on behaving in a self-destructive manner.  It is obviously driven by some very powerful inner urge that we all have, to some extent or other.

Some of the sciences attribute it to the mindless urge to spread our genes through breeding.  In other words, the sex urge.  Powerful, for sure, but not totally convincing.

Many religions attribute it to greed, to the lust for treasure.  Again, powerful but even less convincing.

So, what is it then?  Well, I have found an answer that I, for one, find convincing.  The overwhelming urge, common to all humanity, is the urge to control the other fellow’s behavior.  Just that simple.

Not only simple, but, it explains the motivation behind so many human actions.  Dictatorship, religion, democracy.

Yet this still does not explain why.  Do we somehow validate ourselves by making others appear to be like us?  Are we so sure we have it all figured out that we wish to share our conclusions with others, even if it injures them?

I sense a slim possibility here, even though I haven’t a clue how to implement it.  How can we somehow teach humans to channel that need for control into a compulsion to control the only human any of us can ever really control?  That, of course, being ourselves.  Just think how empowering that would be to all of humanity.  For each of us to be the king/queen of ourselves.  To accept both the power to do what we will, but the responsibility that comes with doing it.

Naw.  Far easier to believe in Santa Claus, in Jesus Christ, in Mohammad, in the Tooth Fairy, in advanced beings from space that will bring us all the answers, in an all-powerful government.

So, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.  (Yes, we atheists say that.  After all, it was OUR holiday first!  Ah for the smell of roasting beasts and the sound of young virgins being sacrificed!!)

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