yestess

‘Tis the Season…

Posted on December 21, 2013 by tessarnold2

Since it is the season for goodwill towards men, (women and children I should like to add), thought I’d take a moment to talk about compassion.

Generally, I’m pretty sure the world would be a better place if people practiced more compassion.

(You’ll note, I did not say, “had more”, as I do not think compassion is an inborn quality, but a skill that one gets better at, like patience, or if you’re lucky, charisma.)

Here’s the thing:

I’m not speaking of compassion in the way we, as a culture, have come to think of it. I’m not talking about grand, world spanning, Christ/ Buddha-like, feeding starving children overseas, give up all your worldly goods, compassion.

I think that standard is too high, and just looking up at it gives people nose bleeds and makes them feel like they can never reach it.

What I’m talking about is simple, everyday compassion, for yourself, and for the people immediately around you.

(Let me add that compassion does not mean indulgence.)

Here’s an example:

A few weeks ago, I’m driving home from classes. I shift over to the presently empty deceleration lane for my exit. Plenty of room. No cars for more than a hundred yards either in front or behind me. And I do what one does in a deceleration lane, I begin to decelerate. A note here; I drive a small, 1989 4 cylinder foreign pick-up. It’s what I can afford and it gets better mileage than my last vehicle, but it doesn’t accelerate particularly quickly, and when going uphill, not at all. If you see my truck, the first thing that comes to your mind will probably be, “Well that’s a piece of shit”. And that’s fine with me because no one thinks to break into a piece of shit and I don’t have any payments.

So, here I am, decelerating, and in the rear-view mirror, I suddenly see a pick-up truck, three times the size of mine, barreling up behind me at an inconsiderate rate of speed.

(I generally follow the speed limit, not because I’m an old fuddy-duddy, but because my truck just doesn’t have the power to go fast, even downhill.)

And this asshat, in his huge truck begins riding my ass, all the way down the exit lane, never-mind that there is a completely empty lane beside me he could be in if he wanted to get around me.

This would have been an excellent opportunity for this wriggling sack of dicks to exercise the compassion I’m talking about.

Really.

Hell, if you see a piece of shit truck like mine, as opposed to engaging in some infantile display of status seeking/ bully behavior, take the opportunity to think,

“It’s bad enough he has to drive that piece of shit. Maybe I should slow down and not make him think I’m trying to run him off the road?”

That’s the kind of thing I’m talking about; simple, kind, considerate.

I think the world would be a better place if we did that more, if we tried to live up to that simple standard as opposed to thinking compassion has to be some grand, world encompassing gesture or thought. Start small. All things in the universe do. If you get good at the small things, bigger things will become easier.

Here’s a brief, and in no way comprehensive list of small ways to practice compassion:

– When driving, use your turn signal.

– Hold a door open for someone.

– Thank someone for holding the door open for you.

– Don’t stop your vehicle on top of the crosswalk.

– Don’t pull into the intersection when you know you’re going to be stuck there through the light.

– Don’t mistreat retail workers or food servers.

– Ask people questions about their day and be genuinely interested in their answers.

– Give a panhandler the loose change in your pocket,

(face it, most of us are just going to lose it in the couch or the washing machine anyways.)

– Listen to another human being as if what they are saying is the only thing you have to do for the time being.

– Let the old person get ahead of you in line at the grocery store,

(unless they have, like, 600 items, then to hell with that.)

– Take a moment to think before you speak.

(except when talking to yourself, because, fuck that guy.)

(Relax. Kidding.)

– When bad memories plague your nights or days, use it as an opportunity to practice letting it, whatever it is, go. It’s what your brain’s trying to do anyways.

– Figure out what’s bothering you and deal with it instead of taking out on someone else.

– Acknowledge the existence of the people around you, not just your family or friends. A little acknowledgement of human dignity goes a long way.

– Leave the house earlier, so you won’t be rushing.

(as rushing makes us inclined to see other people as obstacles instead of the fellow human beings they are.)

– Give yourself a break.

– Give other people the benefit of the doubt.

– Enjoy the simple fact that a good life does not mean you always have to be right about something.

– See your mistakes as learning experiences. Afford other people the same courtesy.

– Don’t take up more than one parking space, or park so close to the line that the next car can’t open the door.

– Don’t tell people you’ll “pray for them” unless you’re praying for their continued health, happiness, and future wealth.

(anything else is condescension and not compassion.)

Like I said, it’s not an exhaustive list. Feel free to come up with your own.

Little practices. Little things. They seem small, inconsequential even, but you’d be surprised the amount of difference it can make to another human being.

You’ll understand when something small like this makes a difference to you.

I hope it does.

I hope you do.

Until next time, when I will probably be ranting again, happy holidays, merry Christmas, and a happy New Year to you and yours.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged compassion, holidays, practice, small things for a better life | Leave a comment

The Limits of Free Speech, or…

Posted on December 20, 2013 by tessarnold2

…Fuck a Duck and See what Hatches.

So, I had planned to write something about compassion, given the time of the year, but reactions to current events have invoked in me a whole different topic.

I’m certain, if you consume media in any form, that you have recently seen all the uproar over the fake controversy surrounding a certain reality TV star and his comments in a certain magazine interview.

In brief, my views on that are:

Nope, don’t give a fuck.

Wait, let me check again…

…Nope, still no fucks given.

It’s a fake controversy and doesn’t matter at all to our daily lives on this planet. What goes on between him and his employer is between him and his employer unless some law has been broken, and so far, I haven’t been able to find one that has.

What has usurped my attention, as of late, is the various reactions to this non-event. In particular, the misguided uproar from segments of the populace about The First Amendment, and Free Speech, and even, holy shit, Religious Persecution. And to that I say…

…Jesus H. Tap Dancing Christ.

Really people? Fucking really?

Okay, I’m going to lay it out for you, in brief at first, in case you don’t have much of a reading window just now.

There are two limits to the Freedom of Speech. They are:

1) One’s speech cannot materially harm another.

(this is, in this country at least, enshrined in various laws; slander, libel, and the like.)

-and-

2) One can not shirk one’s responsibility for one’s speech.

(freedom of speech is not freedom from criticism.)

So, I’ll expand a little on that second one, as I think the first one is fairly self explanatory, and pretty easy to research on one’s own.

Here’s the thing, in this country, anybody can say whatever he/ she wants. We have laws that protect unpopular speech and forms of expression. That is important for the functioning of our democracy, and probably for the basic functioning of our society – if we are to live together in something like peace.

But in no case should a person have a reasonable expectation that his/ her speech will go without criticism.

If any one person can speak as he/ she wishes, then it must follow that any other person can do likewise.

Following me? Good.

You can say whatever you like, but you also have to accept the consequences of doing so.

It’s basic causality, with a dash of personal responsibility thrown in for flavor. And that is just the way it works. If you express a view at all, expect that there will be others, out in this increasingly connected world, who not only will not share your opinion, but may actively disagree with you and wish to say so publicly. And you know what?..

…That is their right, just as it was yours.

Period. Unless, of course, you want to be that arrogant prick that thinks he/ she should have rights that no one else should have.

You’re not that prick, are you?

Yeah, I didn’t think so.

So, back to the fake, stupid controversy.

At the very bottom, when you strip away all the nonsense that’s been piled on to the non-event, what we have is an employee, who represents the brand of his employer, speaking publicly in a way that could harm the brand. The employer, as is the employer’s right to do, suspends said employee.

That’s all there is to it.

Nothing else.

Just how much nothing else? Sure, I’ll tackle that one.

Firstly, (as is proper), The First Amendment Bullshit:

The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States protects citizens from oppression/ repression by the government. That’s all. Just the government.

The last time I checked, the government had nothing to do with this. They are, so far as I can find, in no way involved in this.

That’s that moronic crap debunked.

Secondly, the Religious Persecution Bullshit:

This man can call himself a Christian all he wants. No one is criticizing him for being a Christian.

He is being criticized because his statements show him to be a bigot. That’s it.

The fact that he is hiding behind his so-called religious beliefs just makes him a bigot and a coward.

Now, some of you may me asking, “But Tess, how would you, an atheist, know anything about religious beliefs?”

Well, because I wasn’t always an atheist. And because I have read three different versions of The Bible, (the N.I.V., the King James Authorized – original and revised -, and the Baptist Paraphrased Bible), and, whereas I cannot quote much chapter and verse to you, I can tell you, with a reasonable amount of certainty that Jesus is never reported to have said anything about or against homosexuals. Nothing. Not a word in three different Bibles. There’s probably nothing in the original Greek manuscripts either, given the nature of Greek society at the time of the writing of the Gospels.

But I can paraphrase a couple of things Jesus is reported to have said, namely: love one another as I have loved you – and – whatsoever you do for the least among you, you also do for me.

As for these people who want to devolve back to Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers, well, I wonder how many of them work on Saturday – the Sabbath – or wear blends of fabrics, or keep kosher, or sacrifice on the high holy days? Just how many of them will have Christmas Hams this year?

Yeah, picking and choosing what scripture supports one’s bigoted beliefs has never impressed me either.

The thing is, this man might consider himself a Christian, but he certainly isn’t acting like a follower of Christ. I don’t see love or tolerance in his words and deeds. I don’t see someone using religion to be more connected with God. I see someone using selective bits of religious doctrine to abuse others and to justify unjustifiable opinions.

Pretty sure that falls under the category of What Would Jesus Not Do?

And, I don’t know if you’ve figured this out or not, but we can know what a person values by his/ her actions. Words mean Jack and shit, and Jack has left the building. You can say whatever you like. What you do tells the rest of the world what you truly value, even if you don’t see it yourself.

Lastly, a Wake up Call:

Something that I am sure the people so vocally excoriating the TV network, for their response to this man’s public actions, do not realize when railing about free speech is that they, (the railers), are hypocrites.

I said it. What?

They’re hypocrites because they are defending one person’s right to “free speech” by trying to limit someone else’s.

My only solace in that is, I believe, these people are just too emotionally worked up to realize that fact. Maybe when they calm down, they’ll see it.

To defend one man’s right to express himself, and his views, by attacking another for doing the exact same thing – expressing their views – is the height of hypocrisy.

As a private enterprise, the TV network has the right to ensure that it is seen to be expressing itself in whatever manner it wishes. There’s a reason you don’t see Glenn beck on A&E. He would not represent them as they wish to be represented. And, as a private company, they have the right to make sure they, and their brand, are represented in a way that they think best expresses their values.

Got that?

Most Importantly, what worries me is a culture that can not see through this non-event. A culture that can not see the fact of the matter, and see that it really doesn’t matter.

Seriously, doesn’t matter. At all.

Stacked up against Man’s Inhumanity/ Indifference to Man, this isn’t even a blip on the radar. It’s not even a speck of rust on the crushing treads of that lumbering juggernaut.

You have a family, and friends, and hell, maybe even a day off or two coming up.

Please spend some time experiencing those things; love, companionship, rest.

Leave this Duck Bullshit to drown in the stagnant pond of its own irrelevancy.

Oh, and stop back by in the next day or two. I might just be able to get back to the subject of compassion for a word or two.

Either way, to believers and non-believers alike, have a happy holiday, a merry Christmas, and a happy New Year. You deserve it…

…Every one.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged catharsis, critical thinking, culture, First Amendment, Free Speech, freedom of speech, Media, reason, Religious Persecution | Leave a comment

Working for a… Living?

Posted on December 11, 2013 by tessarnold2

Well hell.

Finals are done for the semester, and now that some of the fog has cleared off my brain, I notice that this blog has gone, woefully, without new content for entirely too long. Time to fix that…

So, lots in the news lately – lots of things we could and probably should be discussing with one another. We aren’t, but that isn’t because nothing of interest is taking place. Nope, it’s the holiday season, and our minds are generally occupied with other things; generally things more monetary in nature.

So let’s talk about that for a second – money.

(No, not the money you’re likely spending, or wish you were spending on gifts this year. Relax. You have another whole month before you really get the chance to seriously begin enjoying your debt.)

No, I want to talk about the money we, as Americans, are earning, or not earning, as the case often is.

Maybe you have turned on the news at some point in this last year. And maybe, in some of that news watching time, you have seen a story, perhaps two, about low wage workers lobbying for higher wages. More likely you’ve seen some pontificating pundit pining on about how low wage workers should just shut up and enjoy their poverty, if they have any time off from their second or third jobs.

Seen a few of those myself. Again, relax. I’m not about to rant about how shameful and heartless these highly paid opinion makers are when they make these outrageous statements that seem to be so utterly lacking in compassion that the Grinch, high on Mt Krumpet, looks down in bewilderment and shock.

Sorry guys, this isn’t one of those posts.

(but don’t worry, it may still get a bit rant-ish towards the end.)

This post comes into being because, quite often as of late, I keep having a very similar conversation, both online and in person.

(I know, right? In person communication? Who would have thunk it?)

I also keep seeing these disparaging memes and posts on the internet.

Usually, I ‘m all for a good disparaging, provided the one being disparaged is truly deserving, you know, or the disparagement is really funny…

But everything I have been seeing seems to be attacking these workers who are doing nothing more than peacefully attempting to improve their quality of life. And that is a bit of a bridge too far for me, and too much like blaming the victim for me to put up with quietly.

So, here are my thoughts on the subject:

1) Most of the arguments against paying these low wage workers a living wage centers around the perceived worthiness of these jobs. I have heard, (and read), that these lower rungs of the employment ladder aren’t meant to be good jobs, because people aren’t meant to stay in them…

…And to that I ask, “Are you fucking serious?”

I mean, really guys, what kind of crack-pot, cheap-jack, pointless fucking argument is that? All it does is demonstrate an unforgivable amount of ignorance in any thinking human being.

Lest you think my entire counter argument rests with the ad hominem, allow me to elaborate a little…

Firstly, and I think I’ve mentioned this before, no one – to date – has been able to offer a coherent argument that convinces me that a calorie of energy expended doing work is any more or less worthy than any other calorie of energy expended doing any other kind of work. I don’t think an argument can actually be coherently and rationally made that does. And that cuts off the worthiness section of the argument.

Secondly, the statement often presupposes a view of low wage workers as high school or college kids, just trying to earn a few extra dollars for condoms and illicit drugs. (okay, I added that last part, but you were thinking it too.) However, what the research tells us is that the average age of, say, a fast food worker in America is 28. I don’t know about you, but under the normal timelines for such things, most people are both out of high school and college by 28.

(in this, as to college, I am an exception, as are many of my friends)

Let that sink in for a minute: 28 years old. That is, by all measures, a full-grown adult. One imagines they have other financial responsibilities than paying for latex-free rubbers and chipping in for the keg at the weekend party. These are people with bills. Rent. Healthcare costs. Transportation costs. Communication costs.

(I don’t know if you’ve tried operating without your cell phone for a week or two, but it isn’t easy. It can be done, but everything gets harder.)

Maybe they have a kid, and that means more healthcare costs, and childcare costs, and more in rent, food, transportation, clothing, etc…

Starting to get the picture?

Thirdly, as for the ‘lowest rung’ part of the argument. In short, completely bullshit. The lowest rung of the employment ladder isn’t there so one can see how bad it is at the bottom, and then be magically motivated to move up. It just does not fucking work that way. For one, there will never be enough higher-level positions, in any economy, to support the amount of workers looking to move up. And those are just the ones that can move up. Not everyone has the ability or capability.

It may not be a truth that’s popular, but truth doesn’t need to be.

Another thing that makes the ‘lowest rung, move up or you’re lazy’ argument insane is the fact that there will always be those lower end jobs, because there will always be a need for someone to run a register, or cook, or dry clean, or mop floors, or whatever. There will always be a need, and as such, there will always be those jobs. Therefore there will always someone who has to work those jobs. Always.

If those jobs will always be there, and someone will always have to do them, why is it, again, that those someones shouldn’t be paid a living wage for doing them?

That, again, is a question to which no one has yet to come up with a satisfactory, or even rational, answer.

2) The memes I see on the internet that show a soldier, in full battle rattle, with some other disparaging comment about striking fast food workers, or whomever it happens to be this week. Usually the text reads something like, “I don’t even get paid minimum wage, and you want 15 dollars for flipping hamburgers?”

Firstly, that is just some shameful shit to use images of our soldiers in that fashion, much less to attribute to them a point of view they may not have. If you’re one of the people posting this stuff, just stop. For whatever love you bear for humanity, just fucking stop.

Secondly, if your point can not be made without resorting to visceral imagery, that may, or may not even be connected to the issue, then you don’t actually have a point. You’re just trying to pull on people’s emotions to get them to think something that their own logic and reason probably won’t allow them to think.

Thirdly, beyond it being a shameful co-opting of a national symbol, (the American Soldier), it is also woefully inaccurate in its depiction of the facts on the ground. To wit…

Yes, it may be possible that some of the lowest paid soldiers in the military do receive checks that add up to less than the minimum wage, when you consider the amount of hours they work. I don’t know for certain. Feel free to look that up yourself.

But…

What that statement leaves out is the fact that a soldier does not have to pay for clothing, food, housing, or healthcare. And that’s not saying anything about communication costs, or the price of the occasional moment of entertainment.

(Again, if you don’t think entertainment is necessary to human life, please, go a week without any form of it what-so-ever. Feel free. I fucking dare you. No music, no t.v., no internet, no board games, no food that isn’t strictly meant for dietary survival, no cigarettes, alcohol, or any other form of recreational drug. No books or magazines. No theater, poetry, or dance, and damn sure no sex that isn’t strictly motivated by the need to procreate. You have all kinds of fun with that.)

A soldier does not have the everyday, incidental costs of a civilian, that’s why they get paid apparently less per hour.

Okay, I realize I’ve spent the last 1500 words or so debunking other people’s arguments and their general inhumanity to their fellow man. But what, you may be asking, is my positive argument for increased wages?

Glad you asked, because there are a few of them.

Firstly, just a quick reminder about there always being a need for someone to work these jobs, and about no one type of work being intrinsically more worthy than any other.

Secondly, if any person works a full-time job, that person should be able to live on the wages they earn from that job. Period. I don’t care what the job is, our time and effort should be worth a living wage for the simple reason that, if a person were left to their own devices – say there was no economy to speak of – that person would generally expend their energy in ensuring their own survival and the continued survival of their family. They could farm, hunt, fish, and forage for their food, build their own shelters, and make their own damn clothes – as opposed to some 13-year-old in a sweatshop in Indonesia, but that’s a rant for another time.

This is what we would be doing, absent the economy, as it exists now.

As it is now, we give up the opportunity to engage in those subsistence activities and instead direct our efforts towards obtaining means and resources via employment. and that brings up my next point…

Thirdly… we engage in labor that, almost to a person, serves to make someone else money. (money, in the modern instance being our stand in for resources.) We enrich another with our expenditure of energy. Why should we not also gain some measure of enrichment from the expenditure?

Almost every time some politician – usually a Republican, (sorry guys, you went on record) – talks about cutting welfare benefits, or some other aspect of the social safety net, or wants to rail against a raise in the federal minimum wage, you will likely hear this phrase,

“the dignity of work.”

This phrase is said so often, I don’t think people know what it means anymore. And let me tell you, that suits the politicians just fine. Because the phrase, “the dignity of work,” used to mean there was dignity in doing work to support yourself and/or your family. That implies that the work you’re doing pays you enough to do so…

…Nowadays when you hear a politician or pundit trot out that hoary old phrase, they mean it more like, “the dignity of just having a job.”

Certainly, there is some measure of dignity in having a job. But that dignity is greatly eroded when you realize that the job you have and the result of your labors is that someone else lives a better life while you struggle to survive, making decisions like, “do I go to the doctor for this nasty cough, or do I pay to keep the power on?”

Not much dignity in having to make those decisions.

Lastly, and this one is especially for the flag-waving, red-blooded patriot types out there:

Not earning a living wage makes it impossible for a citizen to do their duty and participate in this democracy.

(Some of you will say, “But everybody’s got the right to vote.” And that is mostly true, but it’s also completely a dodge. Don’t worry, I’ll explain…)

Here’s the thing about democracy: it requires free time.

It does.

A citizen needs sufficient time to consider policy and candidates, or even become a candidate his/ herself. In this space of time, the citizen should not be too exhausted from work to be able to consider the course of this government.

That means not having to work two, or three, or four jobs.

(You think four jobs is a joke, but I worked four jobs at once when I was 19. There were no full-time jobs that I could get, and I never slept.)

Being able to effectively participate in this democracy means more than just having the option to vote, it means having the time to educate yourself, to consider possible outcomes, to deliberate with other citizens, and to petition the government to hear your concerns.

All of that takes free time.

How much free time do you think a person with two jobs has?

(please, when you’re doing the calculations in your head, allow for enough sleep to avoid illness and hallucinations. Thank you.)

How much free time does a person with three jobs have? Even if they’re part-time jobs?

Now we see a major part of the problem, one you will not hear about on television, (unless by some odd miracle I get interviewed on a major broadcast, and if that happens, go buy lottery tickets immediately).

The problem is when you’re poor in this country, you have the right to participate, but often, you don’t have the ability.

I don’t know about you, but having the right to do something, but not the ability to do it, seems pretty mind-bendingly, tearing-at-your-hair-in-frustration, utter-fucking-ly useless.

Now, just for a giggle, I’d like to see someone try to justify that. Please. Try to justify depriving a whole demographic of the populace of their ability to effectively participate in their own government. In a democracy.

Just do me a favor, if you can manage to do it with a straight face, stop calling yourself a patriot.

You aren’t one.

So, those are some of my thoughts on that. If you made it this far, congratulations, and thank you.

See you soon…

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bad arguments, compassion, democracy, politics, rants, wages, Work | Leave a comment

In other news…

Posted on November 17, 2013 by tessarnold2

Now that the semester is winding down, and there is a little more room to breathe, I’ve been meaning to post something substantive about any number of the things that flit through my head on a regular basis…
…That being said, I asked my girlfriend to marry me, last night, and she said yes. So, my brain power is otherwise occupied at the moment. I promise I’ll get back to talking about something else, and soon.
For those of you still reading: Thank you.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Sleep is Important…

Posted on October 2, 2013 by tessarnold2

…And because I haven’t been getting much of it lately, due to my new work/ school schedule it’s been hard to have more than two or three coherent thoughts in a row.

Thanks to that, and the inevitable irritability that comes with sleep deprivation, I’m going to take a page from the notebooks of one of my heroes: George Carlin.

This is Just a List of Things that Have been Pissing me Off:

(Here’s my list)

1) The Government Shutdown

Really? You spend millions of dollars to get a job in government service to do what? To shut down the government at the first chance you get? Fucking really? Infuriatingly, many of these same stately knaves have been claiming that the president is the one trying to destroy America. That is the aneurism causing definition of Irony. Forget for a second that shutting down the business of government is, by its very nature, undemocratic. Why in hell would you even take a job in government if you have no desire to see it work? I’d have more to say about this, but I need to take a break to rinse the bile out of the back of my throat…

2) Entitled Douchebags

Yes, I know it’s trendy to hate on douchebags, but I’m not talking about orange-skinned, steroid munching, entirely too much hair gel sort of dudebro here, I’m talking about the unmitigated vinegar and water washes you likely see all day long. I’m talking about the type of person, male or female, that when you hold a door open for them, doesn’t even bother to acknowledge your existence. I’m talking about the kind of old fashioned bag-and-tube-hanging-over-the-shower-rod combo that speeds through a parking lot, and then takes up two spaces because their vehicle is just too precious to be too close to anyone else’s car. I’m talking about the walking on the beach talking about not feeling so fresh type of jack off that lives in an apartment, and doesn’t seem to realize that, no matter how nifty their surround sound system is, that their neighbors might not want to hear a Micheal Bay movie’s worth of explosions, rumbling through the floor at 1am.

3) People Wearing their Headphones in Public

You know who I’m talking about, self important douche-nozzles walking around with electronics stuffed in their ears 24 hours a day.

I’m not talking about people out running and listening to music to help them keep motivation and pace. You people have both my sympathies and my respect. In fact, go you. Get your fitness on.

No, I’m talking about regular people, not engaged in any type of fitness activity, walking, standing, driving, and riding the bus who are so visibly uninterested in the rest of the world that they have to shut it out. I think visibly is the key word here. It’s not enough for them to be uninterested in the rest of humanity, thronging around them. No, they have to show off how uninterested they are. And more than that, we have to hear how uninterested they are, because apparently not one of these disaffected drain-clogs knows how to keep their earphones at a volume level where we, the surrounding masses, aren’t forced to listen to whatever shitty music they’ve decided they’re supposed to like this week. I’m sitting on a bench, out in nature, trying to read a book, or just relax in the relative silence, and mister or miss, ‘look at how much I’m not interested in the rest of the world,’ has to sit down next to me and jam out to some brainless rhythm tracking, or Bruno Mars.

Related to these mooks are the newest versions of the Bluetools. These idiots with one ear piece connected to their phone like they’re listening to a rebroadcast of the 1976 World Series at work and trying not to get caught by their bosses. Invariably, I’ll find myself in the company of one of these cyber-maniacs and they’ll start talking; always too loud for the space they’re in. And of course, if I’m the only one there, I naturally assume they’re talking to me. So I’ll make eye contact and say something. Only then do I realize that they’re on their precious device. It doesn’t embarrass me, I’ve done way more embarrassing things. It just pisses me off, because, suddenly, they always seem to get offended because I’ve just unwittingly intruded on their conversation. The nerve of me, thinking someone in physical proximity to someone else would actually talk to them. So sorry, must have forgotten where I was. Oh, no, that was you.

4) Clever Motherfuckers

Of the particular type I mean is the assbag that joins a conversation only to show how clever he/ she is. This person isn’t really interested in what the conversation is about, or enlightening anyone on some point of fact, just on showing how neat they are with the brains and stuff.

Here’s the thing: if you can be clever, you can be intelligent. You have the capacity, and intelligent is better – every-fucking-time.

Don’t, for the love of human dignity and sanity, say something just because you think it’s cool to be looked at as someone who says things like that. Say something with meaning. Say something with purpose. Say something that elevates the conversation, illuminates it in some heretofore unseen way. If what you have to say fits those criteria, I welcome you to the conversation. If it doesn’t, just have the decency and courtesy to shut the fuck up. Either that or suffer a facial burn when the cigarette I’m smoking cannons out of my mouth, due to the force of the profanity I am now shouting, (because I will be shouting), and the burning ember of tobacco lands, hopefully, directly in one of your eyes.

So, not really an exhaustive list, but I have to get ready for work now.

Hope your day is going better.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged douchebags, impolite people, major psychotic hatreds, pet peeves, rude people | Leave a comment

The Decline of Western Civilization…

Posted on August 20, 2013 by tessarnold2

Okay… What the hell is this entry going to be about?

I’m all ears.

Good, glad to have you with us.

I’ll get to the title of this thing eventually. But first, come on a little journey with me, won’t you?

A couple of weeks ago, here in sometimes sunny Knoxville, TN, I had to occasion to be out driving. On my trip, I happened across an overpass on which there were several people, (more than four, less than twelve), holding signs. They were waving these signs at the interstate traffic passing beneath them. Many of the vehicles, seeing these signs, were honking horns in support.

Quite often, when I see people standing on an overpass with signs, I, like many of you, pass by without paying any attention to what those signs say. I mean, come on, it’s traffic and I have somewhere else to be.

But there was a lot of honking going on, and since I found myself spending an unentertaining few minutes stopped at a red light, I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

The people, ostensibly protesting on the overpass, were not trying to draw attention to the plight in Africa, nor towards the plight here in the U.S.

No.

They were holding up signs that read:

“Honk if you want to impeach Obama.”

(and various misspellings and atrocities against grammar to that affect)

And, well, that annoyed the shit out of me.

(If you guessed that I’m about to tell you why, Ding, Ding, Ding, we have a winnner!)

(Disclaimer: Yes, I voted for Obama, twice. I did so because he was the only candidate who spoke to some of my issues. Incidentally, if you vote for a candidate for any public office, for any reason other than that person speaks to your issues, you’re a damn fool. If there isn’t candidate that speaks to your issues, don’t vote. Or, and this takes more energy, become an activist and/ or run for public office yourself. Voting, simply to vote against someone is a hollow satisfaction and, I think, runs counter to the whole idea of democracy. But I digress…)

What pissed me off about this rampant display of ignorance, (other than the seemingly endless amount of vehicular support it seemed to be garnering), was this:

Impeach Obama?..

…Really?…

…For what?!

I’ve heard a few arguments in favor of impeachment, and none of them hold water. In fact, many of them simply boil down to, “We don’t like him/ He’s ruining the country.”

Now, you are perfectly welcome to feel that way about your President. You are. And, it’s really not worth my time to dissuade you from your feelings about the current administration. Feel them, or not, as you like, doesn’t really bother me.

What bothers me is, does anybody in the general public fucking know what the constitutional grounds for impeachment are anymore?!

Fucking Anyone?!…

Certainly not these poor fools, wasting their time in the Tennessee heat.

The grounds for impeachment, of a President of the United States of America are: High Crimes.

Specifically, Article II, section 4 of the Constitution states:

“The President… …shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

That’s it folks. That’s all there is. You can’t impeach a government official, especially the President, because you neither like nor agree with his/ her positions on an issue.

As an example, the House did not vote to impeach President Clinton because they did not like him, or even because he got a blow job from an intern. They voted to impeach him because he lied to Congress about it. Perjury is, by definition, a high crime or misdemeanor.

Someone want to explain to me what high crime/ misdemeanor President Obama has been indicted or convicted of committing?

I’ll wait…

…Anyone?

Yeah, didn’t fucking think so.

(Now, to be clear, I have my own problems with how the current administration is handling some issues: warrantless spying on Americans, drone warfare, the war on drugs, privacy, the big banks & Wall St, the list goes on. Don’t for an instant think that this missive is meant to be some flag waving counter-propaganda. That just isn’t my bag.)

What I want to talk about here, and thus the title of this piece, is why, at this point in history, it seems less people know these facts – about how our government is supposed to run/ govern – than really should.

(Optimally, in a government of, by, and for the people, everyone of voting age should know this information, and much more besides.)

We have the internet, and widely available books, and this thing called mandatory primary education in this country. Why don’t more people know and understand this information?

(I expect some rocks to be thrown after I say this, but as far as the statistics show, Americans, on average, aren’t any less intelligent than in years past. They may be less skilled at critical thinking, but no less intelligent.)

And so, I see the problem as being two fold:

1)There are people too ignorant and too unskilled at critical thinking to

properly understand and digest this information, so as to make better use of it.

-and-

2) There are people informed enough and skilled enough to know this, and

choose to willfully ignore it in favor of baseless yet inflammatory rhetoric, in order

to achieve some political end.

The first class of sand in the machinery of democracy can be fixed with proper education. (and I am not talking about the nonsense, learn to the test paradigm we are mired in at present.)

The second class…

…Well, there will always be con men. Always charlatans out to bilk and manipulate an unwary, uneducated, and unsuspecting public. Unfortunately, for our species, it has ever been thus, and may well ever be; whenever a system is created, a small population will always seek to subvert, use for their own gain, and generally go against the spirit of that system. Thankfully it’s usually a small percentage of the populace as a whole.

So, how do we fix that?

Easy.

The same way we fix the first class: education.

The more we educate our populace on how our government actually works, the more we teach people how to think critically and for themselves, the more people learn that there is a difference between facts and rhetoric, the better this country will get.

How?

Because a well educated and thinking populace will be less likely to succumb to baseless nonsense, even if it stokes the fires of their visceral reactions. And, in time, the instances of the media/ government/ religious institutions using rhetoric to sway the masses will dwindle. They may never disappear, but once people begin to see that they aren’t useful to achieve their particular ends, these tactics will stop being used – as much – in favor of something that actually works.

Ask just about anyone you meet, from any strata of society, about what they think is going to cause The Decline of Western Civilization.

Go ahead.

You’ll probably get a whole host of differing answers and opinions: rock music, people moving away from the church, big business, big government, ad nauseam ad infinitum. Everybody seems to have an opinion about why things are circling the drain. Maybe some of them are right. But how will we know?

How will we know if we lack the education, knowledge, and critical thinking skills necessary to separate the useful facts from the dross. Without those faculties, how will we even know what the useful facts are?

The answer is, in a sea of stormy rhetoric and pseudo-science, we won’t.

We just fucking will not know.

It is my feeling, from watching political debates, the media, and the populace at large, that this unfortunate end is exactly where we are headed…

…The continuing decline of western civilization; a depressing destiny.

Maybe not. Maybe you’ll surprise me.

It could happen.

People could wake up. They could sit up and take notice. They could learn and think and participate. And, after that, the general trend could be reversed.

A part of me hopes for that; works toward it.

But a part of me is afraid it’s already too late.

But that’s me.

Where are you? What do you think?

More importantly…

What are you doing about it?

Are you waving signs over the interstate, or are you educating yourself and the people you care about? Are you learning the Constitution? Are you speaking with/ writing letters to your local and federal representatives?

Are you taking the legal steps to keep this beautiful and fragile experiment from slipping into the sewer?

Or, are you just bitching about it?

Well, are you?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged activism, con men, education, government, ignorance, politics, the decline of western civilization | 2 Comments

Beliefs: II

Posted on August 8, 2013 by tessarnold2

I got on a particular kind of roll yesterday, and forgot to talk about something…

…So, if not so much an update, consider this an addendum.

There are a lot of things I don’t believe in. If you read the last post, you know some of them already. But here’s the thing: I may not believe in them, but I still have a deep love and interest in them.

I know, crazy talk.

As an insanely curious person, I love to learn about all manner of topics. And I’ve learned a lot of stuff in my 35 years so far. I’m particularly fond of any thing having to do with the supernatural. It is my first love. Has been for as long as I can remember.

So, following that curiosity, because I was never really told not to, I went on to learn – and continue to learn – an enormous amount of information concerning things supernatural.

(I.E. ghosts, spirits, angels, demons, gods, monsters, miracles, and magic – of all sorts.)

I’m by no means the foremost expert in any of those fields, but unless you’ve done your homework, if you ask me about any of them, prepare to listen, a lot.

(Did I mention my favorite holiday is Hallowe’en? No? Well it is.)

And, maybe, learning about these things has made it so I can’t believe in them any more. I’m okay with that. I still think they’re magical, and spooky, and thrilling.

And this is one of the reasons that the fiction I write tends to be genre fiction, of one form or another. Because the world doesn’t have real magic – outside of illusionists – or real monsters of the non-human variety.

(At least, not in my experience.)

In genre fiction I can imagine a world where these things are real, and have a real impact on life. And, if I write it well enough, I can create that world, allow it to be inhabited by wondrous creatures and, hopefully, entranced readers, (and myself), at least temporarily.

In that, I think the impermanence is necessary. If it lasted forever, it would lose its spark, its sense of somehow being special because it only happens so often and never lasts for very long.

(This is one of my biggest bitches about the ever-stretching of the holiday seasons. It spreads out the wonder and magic so thinly that it becomes ordinary. And there is nothing worse than an ordinary thing that used to feel extraordinary. Nothing so depressing as having the magic wrung out of life. But I digress.)

Back to impermanence.

I, regardless of what I believe or don’t believe, really wouldn’t want those things I write about to be real, and/or a consistent part of our reality. I just wouldn’t.

Can you imagine a world where magic is real? I’m not talking about illusion, but the actual restructuring of reality by ritual and force of will?

Picture the insane amount of trouble people would get into with that kind of power, which might be exciting to watch if isn’t your house being eaten by some nameless horror your neighbor’s teenage son has summoned up from the abyss in order to get back at the girl who dumped him at homecoming.

And that kind of thing would probably sort itself out. The casualty rate would be high, along with the collateral damage, but eventually the world would reach equilibrium.

What would we have then?

A world plus magic.

And utter boredom.

Think about it. If you consider magic as just another form of technology, and realize how quickly popular and useful forms of technology become ubiquitous, and how that leads to a decline in attention, eventually, after all the portals to hell dimensions closed, and people got tired of rubbing lamps and making wishes, the world would settle back down. Everyone would have magic, and it would be no big deal…

And then I’d have to write adventure stories about accountants.

(Okay, if I wanted to drift into the horror genre I could make them about tax accountants battling the dark sorcerers at the IRS, but it would still be about accountants.)

(By the way, I have nothing against accountants. Let’s face it, someone has to protect us from the wicked necromancers that wield the power of the Infernal Federal Tax Code. But I digress…)

I really don’t want to write stories about accountants.

I want, and endeavor to write stories that have that spark of magic in them; that feeling I had, as a child, listening to ghost stories, watching the jagged silhouettes of Autumn leaves whipping in the wind outside my window when the nights grew cold and shadows grew long.

I want to create magic in the hearts and minds of my readers, and myself, for just a short while.

And this is as close to a supernatural thing as I have ever experienced.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged belief, impermanence, learning, magic, supernatural, writing | 2 Comments

Beliefs

Posted on August 7, 2013 by tessarnold2

In my last post about Atheism, I mentioned being a skeptic. Maybe that’s why, of the myriad of things that could be occupying my mind, I find myself pondering belief lately.

For those of you that don’t know, being a skeptic roughly means that I don’t tend to accept things without sufficient evidence.

(I say mostly. I’m not perfect.)

I can not say that I have always been a skeptic, but my life is more interesting since I became one.

I realize that statement seems odd. Stick with me.

Most of the time, people think being a skeptic means that I find no mystery, no magic in the world. In some cases this is true. I’ll get to that in a minute. The important corollary to that idea is this:

I also don’t worry about a lot of things most people worry about.

Turn on the news, for even 5 minutes, and you will notice that people – especially in recent years – are up in arms about a lot of shit. I mean really tearing their hair out over issues.

(To be sure, some of these issues are worth a little hair pulling, but as I have found, not nearly as many or as frequent as seems to be the case in the general populace.)

And here is where my skepticism does me a wonderful turn: if I cannot find evidence that a thing is so, I don’t have to accept that it is so, and therefore, I can be at ease about it. This allows me to focus on things that are, so far as I can find evidence for them, actual and deserving of my energies.

Also, I have this personality flaw wherein I don’t like to think of myself as gullible.

(If this begins to wander a bit, please keep going. I’m pretty sure I’ll tie it all together in the end.)

So, I’ve been thinking about beliefs. More to the point, what people believe and the actions they take based on those beliefs.

There are numerous stories in circulation about the insane things people do based on their beliefs. Christian scientists letting a child die because they decided to pray away an illness that should have been corrected by surgery or medication. The dietary restrictions of any faith causing people to go hungry rather than eat a certain proscribed food. People giving their money to supposed mediums and psychics in order to talk with the dead. The list goes on. An it’s not just the religious. Take a look around and you’ll find plenty of stories about someone doing something detrimental – to themselves or to others – based on an irrational belief. Hell, I have a fair share of it in my own history.

It seems that belief, and the sometimes insane things we do because of it, are just a natural human tendency. But it’s not a tendency we’re stuck with.

Also, ingrained in our brains, is a deep curiosity; a thirst to solve problems and to know why. This, I think, works both for us and against us at times.

So, I ask myself: is belief just an evolved tendency to attribute agency? Does it do us, as a species a good turn at this stage of our evolution? Or is it an artifact of our development that we need to temper with reason and logic?

I don’t have much in the way of superstitions, (which are just beliefs about the nature of reality that tend to be ground in self confirmation bias). I walk under ladders, if it’s the shortest route to get where I’m going. I love black cats, and have had a few in my day. I don’t believe in jinxes or hexes or curses. I don’t believe in ghosts, spirits, angels, demons, or magic. I don’t make sure that my right foot is the first to cross the threshold or to touch the floor when I get out of bed in the morning. I don’t say prayers, throw salt over my shoulder, avoid stepping on cracks, and the only bad luck I think a broken mirror brings is if you cut yourself while cleaning up the glass. I don’t believe in God, the Devil, or any deity. And I don’t believe in Fate or predestination.

There are a lot of things I don’t believe in, and not because I’m being contrary, but because I’ve seen no good evidence to suggest that those views of reality are actually true.

This is my skepticism. It also extends to thoughts and assumptions within my own head. Every once in a while I will stop to think about what I think, or believe, and see if there is any reason to continue to think it. Sometimes, I find I have new information which gives lie to an old belief.

So, what about belief? Is it a good thing? Does it help us more than it hurts us?

It’s a complicated question. And one you’ll hear a lot of opinions about. I certainly have. But a lot of those opinions are based on anecdotal evidence; some story or personal experience which gives it the weight of truth to the teller. Those are interesting to listen to, sometimes, but I don’t think anecdote can be used as actual evidence. There are just too many conflicting anecdotes, for any given situation or event, to come to some kind of reasonable consensus. For every anecdote I’ve heard given in proof of some thing or another, I’ve heard just as many given as proof to discredit that thing or event.

It becomes a dangerous game of he said/ she said, and which are we to accept as real?

You see my quandary.

I think, generally, that belief can be beneficial to us when it is moderated by reason.

(And reason, far from being the end all – be all, is generally more beneficial when it is moderated by our emotions. We have both for a reason – that being the continued health of our organism, in case you were thinking I was speaking of some ineffable, unknowable divine plan.)

(As an aside, what is the use of saying there is a divine plan – of any stripe – if it is ineffable and unknowable? A plan is only useful if it allows one to predict an outcome. Calling it a plan after the fact is just silly, and a tautology.)

A belief in one’s self, for instance, is highly beneficial so long as it is tempered by reason. You, if you live in this world at all, have seen the numerous negative consequences of people that either do not believe in themselves enough – and thus never achieve their potential or add to the whole in any meaningful way, or the ones that believe in themselves so much that they cause harm to not just themselves but others, and the whole in general, due to the actions based on their unmediated belief.

There are quiet, lonely people out there, with talent and vision and something to add to the whole, who do not do so simply because they were conditioned not to believe in themselves, and therefore, to not try.

And there are loud, crazy fuckers who generally wreck the place because they are so convinced of their own worth that the idea that they may be wrong never even enters into their heads.

If you’ve survived to adulthood, you’ve undoubtedly met one or two from each category, even if you have never left your hometown.

An unreasoned belief in agency, of any sort, can have negative consequences.

I know that, because I am an Atheist, some people will think that I am talking about god(s). Partly I am, but more pernicious, more detrimental to human happiness – I think – are the unreasoned beliefs that are not founded in any religion; even if they are sometimes based in religious thought.

People believe odd things, like, if they deprive themselves of some form of enjoyment now, it will atone for something in the past, or ensure something in the future.

This only works, so far as I can tell, with dieting.

It’s pretty much useless for everything else, save for the rare occasion where it generates the Placebo Affect in the believer, and thereby has a beneficial influence.

(If you’re counting on the Placebo Affect, congratulations, you’ve already talked yourself out of it.)

I knew a guy once who lost his job. Instead of trying to figure out why he was fired, and correct that character flaw – he tended to act like an entitled dick – he decided his best course of action was to go on a pseudo-fast. It wasn’t a real fast, like you would do for a cleansing ritual, spirit quest, or some other mystical practice. No. It was a, “don’t allow myself to enjoy some of the things that give me comfort and that will square me with god/ universe” sort of thing.

(He didn’t actually use those words, he used about three thousand more. I’ve shortened it for your convenience.)

And you know what?

It didn’t work.

(Now, the more religiously inclined will say it didn’t work because he was not severe enough or sincere enough in his choice of atonement, or whatever. I tend to think it didn’t work because what he did had fuck all to do with the problem he was encountering at the time. But I’m just kooky like that.)

I knew this girl once, she was attracted to a friend of mine, but wouldn’t go out on a date with him because she was also attracted to this other guy.

(I know, for young people, this isn’t so strange.)

Here’s the strange part about her unreasoned belief, this other guy, the one she was saving herself for, had no romantic interest in her. (I asked him, some years later.)

(This is also, not terribly unusual for the young.)

But it was her belief that, if she dated someone else she liked, she would never have a chance with this guy who wasn’t interested in her. Like the universe or luck or the Fates or some other fucking thing would disapprove and, (in a fit of supernatural pique, I guess) ensure that she would never get that thing she wanted, namely, Mister Disinterested.

(By the way, she had never gone up to said dream guy and made any kind of approach, and didn’t seem likely to.)

She was just hoping that, if she abstained from the correct things, the universe or god, or whatever, would throw the two together, like the climax of a bad 80s romantic comedy.

(Also, by the way, my friend -who was infinitely more sensible than I was at the same age – did the smart thing and stopped talking to the girl. I’d have to check, but I don’t think he’s spoken to her since. That’s something like 16 years. Gotta’ admire that level of dedication to principle.)

Why do I illustrate the point with these two stories? Because they both serve to show people depriving themselves of some measure of happiness in order to satisfy an unproven belief.

(Also, in both cases, neither of them got what they wanted because they held to unfounded beliefs rather than doing the work they needed to do to get what they wanted.)

And these are just a few examples. Think for a couple of minutes and I am sure you can come up with some that you’ve encountered in your own experience.

So, do I believe in anything, and if so, what do I believe?

(That depends on your definition of belief, really, but let’s give it an ill-defined whirl.)

But, yes, even being a skeptic, I do believe in some things.

I believe that life is hard and short, and that we suffer enough random pain in one lifetime that to deprive one’s self of joy, (so long as it doesn’t infringe on the rights or safety of another), is so foolish as to deserve ridicule, and only adds to our sorrow.

(My sense of decency – yes I have one – tends to keep me in check when I get in a ridiculing mind. You’ll notice I didn’t reveal any names or dates in the preceding anecdotes. And really, people are unhappy enough as it is without me adding to it.)

I believe that the universe is random, and that random events can both help and harm us. (notice I said the universe, not people.)

I believe that you do what you can, with what you’ve got, where ever you’re at.

I believe that we are the cause of a great deal of our own suffering, and that we often regret things we have no control over.

I believe that time is short and we never have enough of it to do the things we think we should.

I also believe that fact should not stop us from trying.

I believe in me, but hopefully just enough to do some good in the world.

And I believe in you.

If that sounds too sappy, it shouldn’t.

The follow up to that statement is:

“Even though sometimes you people make it damn hard to believe.”

You might say my belief in humanity is unfounded. But I’ve seen enough evidence to suggest otherwise…

…And so – because I’m tired of typing – I leave this meandering missive at a “You say/ I say” stopping point. Because, really, how many discussions have you had that don’t end up stopping there?

Which belief are you going to accept as real?

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Atheism, a FAQ…

Posted on July 30, 2013 by tessarnold2

So, I’m an Atheist.

I’m not coming out, or anything. Most everyone I know and care about already knows this about me.

But, in recent months, and very much lately, I’ve found myself in the position of having to explain, and more often, to correct misapprehensions about Atheism.

(The only reason I capitalize the word is because my spell checker tells me the name of every other religion is misspelled when I don’t capitalize them.)

As far as I know, there are no particularly good books one can read if one wishes to learn about Atheism. This is primarily because the lack of a belief doesn’t really warrant a book length manuscript. Many, if not all of the books one sees in circulation, regarding Atheism, tend to be about why it is preferable to religion, or why some person in particular is an Atheist, or an Anti-Theist.

(I’ll get to Anti-Theists in a moment.)

And there are a lot of words in print, by a lot of authors, about their own Atheism. Bertram Russell’s, “Why I am Not a Christian” springs to mind. Sam Harris has a few good ones. Likewise Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, and Richard Dawkins. Also, for historical perspective, check out Epicurus, Percy Shelly, Voltaire, and the list goes on…

Pretty much any of these books are a good read, and worth the look.

But me, why am I an Atheist?

Simply put, I do not believe in any deity. Period.

Here’s a good definition of Atheism:

The lack of belief in a deity.

As the old song goes, even my religious friends know what it is like to be an Atheist with regards to Zeus, or Thor, or… pick your god(ess).

Here are some of the main misconceptions I’ve run across – in conversations with religious people – regarding Atheism: (I’ll deal with them as I go.)

1) “Atheists believe there is no god.”

This is wrong. It is not that I have a belief that no god exists. That’s Anti-Theism. It is simply that I have not yet seen sufficient evidence to accept the proposition that a god, any god, exists. It’s the skeptic in me. Go figure.

2) “Atheists are just mad at god.”

Also wrong. Sorry people, but I, and most sane people, generally do not get angry with something they do not believe to be real. Try being angry that elves didn’t come and fix your shoes in the night. Go ahead. I’ll wait…

…See what I mean?

3) “Atheists just don’t like religion because god set forth the moral law and Atheists just don’t want to be told what they are doing is wrong.”

Huh?

Seriously, this non-argument often dovetails with the argument that Atheists can’t be moral people, because it takes a deity to hand down morality, and people have to be afraid of punishment to be good.

These are both oblivious, at best, and utterly stupid at worst.

Morality and ethics are not the sole purview of a deity. Want to know how I know?

Cool, thought you might. Here goes. Stick with me if this gets a little strange or new to you:

All people make decisions, on their own authority. There. That’s it.

Even if you follow a god’s commandments, you are still doing so on your own authority; because you think/ believe it is the right thing for you to do at that time.

In this way it is very much like asking for advice. You may ask for it, but it’s always and only up to you, the individual, whether or not you act on it.

Same goes for religious commandments. Sure, the belief that an all powerful deity handed down those commands gets weighed in your assessment, but in the end, it is the individual – as a moral actor – that makes the decision to follow or not follow any given stricture.

You, and just you. Got it?

If a god made you do something, you wouldn’t be moral, because morality implies the choosing between what is right and what is wrong in any given situation. Choosing. And if god is making you do something, you are not choosing…

…Unless you want to give up on the idea of free will, but that’s a subject for a different post…

Where was I? Oh yeah…

4) “There are no Atheists. There are only Agnostics.”

Interesting dodge, and also wrong.

Whether or not one is an Atheist or an Agnostic are answers to different questions….

Atheism deals with one’s belief, or lack thereof, about the nature of reality. In philosophy this fall under Metaphysics.

Agnosticism deals with whether or not one can know if a deity exists. Also, in philosophy, this falls under the subject of Epistemology; which is a study of how we know things, and if we can ever really know a thing.

Two different questions. One can admit not knowing a thing and still believe in it, as demonstrated by nearly all religious folk in the world today. Little children never personally experience the magical elf known as Santa, and yet – for those in the paradigm – they believe just as completely. I know I did when I was small.

5) “Atheists are hateful and evil.”

This seems connected to number three, and often ends up in badly debated arguments. It’s also wrong.

There are as many rude Atheists – as a ratio – as there are rude Jews, rude Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Pagans, etc…

This has less to do with what one believes and more to do with how one was raised. Rude parents make rude children, regardless of what they believe.

Some people are assholes, and some people aren’t. It’s part of the human condition, and was ever thus…

As for the “evil” thing.

Really? Evil? By what standard?

Here’s my standard, and forgive me if I’ve mentioned this before:

“Morality is the concern for the well-being of conscious creatures.”

(My thanks to Sam Harris for coming up with a definition of morality that doesn’t include the words “I” or “believe”.)

This is where, I think, my tolerance of believers comes from. Not from pity, or a sense of superiority, but simply from the idea that if one believes something, and it lifts one up, makes life better, helps one to live a better life, and does not infringe on the rights or safety of another, then go for it. You’ll not hear me complain about your belief. It’s not my business anyways.

To me, it is just that simple.

My Atheism doesn’t affect others negatively. So long as their beliefs don’t cause a negative affect, why should I, or anyone, rightfully care?

(As an aside, I’ve met as many flaming asshat religious folk as flaming asshat Atheists. More, actually, but that is only do to a higher population density of believers. Sorry guys, sometimes being in the majority means there are just more of you to act like screaming douche nozzles. I try not to judge you by their actions.)

(Also, if we’re talking population density, the religious commit more crimes than the non-religious, hands down. As an aside to that, and because of population density, again, Atheists, do more to help the needy, per capita, than religious people.)

( See how statistics can fuck you? Maybe take that into consideration next time you want to tout one set of numbers or the other. Statistics, as much as we need them, are dangerous and should be viewed with as much skepticism as any other claim.)

There is something else I’d like to say about belief, in general.

No one picks what they believe.

We just don’t.

It’s the same with romantic love. No one chooses who they actually fall in love with. That shit just happens to you.

Belief works like that, or so I have observed.

For me, I was raised Episcopalian – actually, more like non-denominational Christian, but definitely not Catholic. I believed, because I was told by people I trusted, that these things were true. But they believed for much the same reason.

And I continued to believe, even though that religion did not answer my questions.

So, I researched, first other versions of Christianity, then the other Abrahamic faiths – Judaism and Islam – then Neo-Paganism, then I branched out to the Eastern traditions of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism.

Still, my questions were not answered.

And, as I learned, and learned how to think critically and logically, I found I believed less and less.

For a while, I fancied myself a Deist, but after a while, I realized the only reason I said that to people was because I was afraid of what they would think of me if I told them this terrible secret: that I did not believe in god, any god.

After dealing with that for a while, I said “fuck it”, and started telling people – only the people who asked, mind you – that I was an Atheist.

And that’s where I am, well, mostly.

You see, I don’t believe in any of the gods we have been told to believe in, even the ones that, ostensibly, no longer exist. But that doesn’t mean that I discount, entirely, the possibility of the Divine. I don’t know if such a thing is out there. I don’t even know, at this moment, how to define something as nebulous as “The Divine”.

But, I look for it.

And that, in technical terms, makes me a mystic.

(Although, for me it is often times more about altered states of consciousness and altered perception of reality, in order to discover if there is, in fact, some fundamental thing called Truth out there.)

It’s a hobby, and it doesn’t break any laws or hurt anyone. So, bonus.

Before I leave this missive, let me state one more thing:

I have plenty of friends who are religious, in one doctrine or another. Even my girlfriend is a Christian. It leads to some interesting conversations, on all accounts, but I only try to have conversations with people who know how to respect themselves and one another during those types of conversations.

And we get along, at least in terms of religions, just fine.

My Atheism doesn’t hurt them, and their various beliefs don’t hurt me. And we tend to enjoy each others company.

See? It is possible.

Maybe in some other post, I’ll talk more about my questions, my search for answers, my loss of religious faith, and about free will.

But not today.

Send me a comment if you have questions.

(Asshats, the Rude, and Screaming Douche Nozzles need not apply.)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Atheism, belief, burning questions, morality, non-belief, The New Atheists | Leave a comment