Why Can't We All Just Get Along

I wish everyone would throw partisanship out the window — I'm sick of it. Both of the major U.S. political parties have good things to offer. While I lean left, there are many Republicans that I am fond of, like my county commission chair Sam Olens, Rep. Ron Paul, and Gov. Mike Huckabee. There are things I like about Sarah Palin, and I like John McCain as well. Even though I don't agree with these folks on many issues, I respect and listen to them.

Greatest Lesson I Ever Learned
When I was in junior high school I took a political science elective. It was fascinating. We had regular political debates and had a practice election. I learned to enjoyed listening to my opponents and I gained a lot from it. What I learned was to KEEP AN OPEN MIND.

Another Amazing Experience
In my mid 20s I had the honor of serving on the Mayor's Task Force for Teenage Pregnancy in Atlanta. During this time church folks had drilled into me that "Planned Parenthood was bad." As I started working with the Planned Parenthood staff I realized that this was one of the many lies put into my head. The organization, in fact, is wonderful, and I have volunteered for them and worked with them, off and on, for 24 years. Also during this time I tried to get the religious and secular sides together to have an open discussion on teen pregnancy. It didn't work at all — neither side was willing to talk because of the strong emotions over abortion. Of course, I've always felt that the win-win solution to abortion was pregnancy prevention, but the religious folks I spoke with didn't want to hear about it. I learned a lesson.

Hollywood & the Media
I once heard an actor say something to the effect that, "We actors tend to be more liberal because we are exposed to so many different people and ideas." I am a former journalist and I can say that the suspicions are true — we journalists ARE more liberal for the very reason above. We are trained to question and look at all viewpoints, and, well, that makes many of us liberal. But people are liberals for other reasons as well, and liberals are NOT BAD as some would have you believe. Liberals just have a different worldview (and usually broader).

What To Do
Believe me, there are plenty of far left liberals that annoy me as much as hard core righties. The key is to accept and listen to others with a different viewpoint. More importantly, don't ever buy into dogma or a party platform without questioning it. I recommend looking at every issue, one by one, and making your own opinion. Don't just accept the rantings of a TV or radio personality. Nothing is sacred in this world and everything should be up for scrutiny.

Rationalism Required
If we can just RESPECT and LISTEN to people with differing viewpoints, then we've taken a major step forward to getting along. However, one of the biggest shocks of my life has been the irrationality of people. If people don't care about logic, and follow ancient dogmas or rely on unproven information to base their arguments, then any intelligent and productive discussion ends. Don't just accept what you are told. Question everything! It's always okay to question — question your government, your religion, and your corporations. Trust me, they all three feed you lies every day.

Fight Ignorance
Civil discourse is also difficult when one party is uneducated on an issue. I urge everyone to read the newspaper, read blogs, and get your information from a variety of sources. Don't rely on information from "slanted" sources alone. When debating an ignorant person, that person will typically fall back and rely on straw man and circular arguments or resort to ad hominem attacks — that's where the debater simply attacks the person instead of responding to the ideas.

And So ....
I have never liked labels. I don't care about someone's political affiliation, race, nationality, etc... We are all people on this planet and we are all strikingly similar. Our relationships and Democracy could all work much better if we buried the hate and bias and just learned to listen to the other side. Almost always it's possible to find common ground.

Partisanship may get the vocal elements of each party worked up, but it accomplishes little. Let's start working together and listening to one another, and let's start moving forward on critical issues like health care. Humanity has some serious issues to face now and in the near future, and if we don't start getting along and working as a team, then we will likely self destruct by our own hand.

Peace.

Teabaggery

Some violence will probably always be inherent in our society simply because a few human brains have faulty wiring. I just saw a grim example of that this past week in my community when a jilted boyfriend killed his ex-girlfriend's son and then himself — murder-suicide. The young boy happened to be co-captain of our high school football team and had a full scholarship to Vanderbilt University. Tragic.

Of our country's sick obsession with guns, which is best exemplified by the Teabaggers, makes violence by aberrant humans easy. Yes, talking about GUNS as part of the problem is almost taboo in the U.S. We don't talk about how easy it is for a sicko to blow away 20+ people at a university with GUNS, we only talk everything else. Almost always, the solution to GUNS is MORE GUNS, much to the delight of the gun manufacturers.

I did read an article today that said overall murders are down in the U.S., but domestic murders are showing a frightening spike. It's like people are stressed out now because of the recession, etc.. and appear more likely to snap and kill their loved ones, usually with GUNS.

Ode to the Teabaggers

Oh you pour little Teabaggers. You think those evil socialists are going to come take away your guns and raise your taxes. And you don't want to pay more taxes because you think the money will just go to "those people," yeah, those people of color that you feel are getting a free ride. Oh Teabaggers, if Sarah Palin is your leader, well, I'm not too impressed with your movement. You are angry, but very hypocritically angry. You vent your anger on mainly one political party, even though it was the OTHER party that started this mess. You selectively hear and believe what you want to ... oh, that's probably because you're religious and your brain has already been conditioned for that.

Oh ye Teabaggers, elect all those Republican pawns who are bought and paid for by corporate special interests. You Teabaggers are the brownshirts of the GOP — always willing to serve, and never willing to think. You are angry! Let that anger flow! Forget about crossing lines, reaching out, and doing all that silly Christian stuff like loving your enemies. No, it's more fun to follow the Holy Bible selectively, so it's just more exciting to bash gays, liberals, illegal immigrants, and all those other groups on your lengthy hate list. Let it out, Teabaggers. Let your reactionary, right wing anger FLOW.

Ode to the Scientologists

You guys are absolutely, totally nuts. Don't try to hide your insanity with good deeds. Your little minds have been rewired and you are now pawns of a bizarre cult that seems mainly interested in self-perpetuation. Oh ye weak brained, how did you let yourselves fall into that? You guys are almost as dumb as tobacco smokers (not saying that pot smokers are smart, but maybe they are).

The Solution

Let's crossbreed all those Teabaggers with Scientologists. The Teabagger children won't be angry anymore. The Scientologists won't be such space cadets. And this is all really, really funny. The point being is that on the fringes there will always be nutty people and mis-wired brains. That is part of life and must be accepted. The aberrations are simply evolution at work, and sometimes they will produce a benefit, but usually they will create a disaster. But the bulk of us in the pack, the semi-rational mainstream folks, well, we have to keep moving forward and progressing as a society. I, the Goose, can't end the violence, but maybe we CAN greatly reduce it by getting people to think rationally, opening up sacred subjects, and getting rid of a lot of these STUPID, HORRIBLE GUNS. There, I said it. Yikes.

Morality, Part II

What really troubles me is that I have led a moral life, but according to most Christians I must endure trillions of years of torture simply because I can't believe something that cannot be proven. This doesn't seem fair, but those are the rules, so I am screwed.

I blame my fifth grade teachers Mr. Delk and Mr. Copenhagen. They had a huge impact on my life because they taught me to think and question. I blame myself for having an open mind. I blame my early career in journalism where it was MY JOB to question and be skeptical.

Oh great, for all of that I have to swim around in a burning lake — it will be like that river in Cleveland in the 1970s. I'll be wading in the water with Hitler and a billion Muslims going, "Why couldn't I believe???"

Okay, my "new blog" is going to be more personal, so .....

I've ALWAYS lived a moral life so I'm really don't feel like I deserve Hell. I can think of six bad things I've done in my life, and five of them were before the age of 18.

Four of the bad things I did involved conducting "hate campaigns" against two ex-girlfriends and two neighbor kids, when I was a youngster. I'm not sure why I was hateful, but part of it was the "pack" mentality because my friends or cousins joined in or led. I deeply regret this behavior and tried to contact and apologize to three of these individuals — I was only able to find one, my senior prom date, who accepted my apology.

The other bad thing I did as a youth was steal building supplies from a housing development under construction. I did this partly to resist the new subdivision that was replacing a beloved orange grove across the street from my home (I grew up in Florida). It was my first act of radical environmentalism.

The sixth bad thing I've done in my life was get too close to a single mom with small children (and me being married). We did not have sex, so half the people I've polled do not consider this an "affair." However, I did "sneak" to see her many times, so that part was wrong.

I am not saying I'm a saint and I may have forgotten some things, but for the most part I've lived a moral, clean (albeit boring) life.

The visit ...

Recently, two guys from a local church paid me a visit on a Saturday morning. When they found out I didn't believe they basically said I was going to Hell and that they would "pray for me."

I tried to explain to them that the only thing that separated me from them is that I cussed and drank beer occasionally. That's it. I've held the same job for 19 years, I raised two good daughters, I pay taxes, I vote, I give to charity, I do LOTS of volunteer work. So, I'm good too, aren't I? Christians have a way of making me feel rotten. And, funny, because I would venture to guess that Christians aren't perfect either, but, oh yeah, they are forgiven.

So, I hope the ancient desert God of the Bible forgives me for the ratty ass things I've done above. In the conservative Baptist faith I was raised in, I could go out and murder 20 people, but as long as I "ask for forgiveness" and "accept Christ as my savior" I'm in heaven. It's a great deal.

I guess I won't be in heaven with Ted Bundy, the sicko who murdered all those women, but who was then "saved' by James Dobson, of Focus on the Family fame, just prior to his execution. So, yes, you can rape and murder all you want and then just "let Jesus into your heart" before the authorities inject you. Man, what a GREAT DEAL for all of you who are prone to act like brutal criminals.

Anyway, in all seriousness, I think conservative Christianity is totally contradictory, illogical, and nonsensical, and I pay ZERO attention to it. And as for the people I've wronged in my life, I deeply regret some of the things I said and did, and I try to make up for what I did by being more accepting, kind, and loving to others, every day. It has nothing to do with religion, and it has everything to do with my own sense of morality and what I feel is right and just in my heart.

— Todd

Morality

Morality evolved out of the need for cooperation for mutual survival. Or, morality evolved from the need to get a youngster to reproductive age. Pretty cut and dry.

The Big Three religions say that morality comes from a divine being. In Christianity, for instance, people tell me that morals come from the Bible. While the Bible has influence on our modern morals, the fact is that Christians "pick and choose" the morals they want to follow. The Bible says to put adulterers to death and condones slavery. These are "morals" that are not followed in modern society. Christians say that abortion is "immoral" but there is nothing in the Bible that forbids abortion.

I would say that "morals" are an agreed-upon code that keep society's fabric intact. Many of our morals are made into laws, while others are enforced by public opinion. For instance, it's not illegal to cheat on your wife, but breaking trust with your mate is seen as a character flaw, and if you commit this act others will make you feel like a rotten person. I do not think males, by nature, are monogamous animals, yet we must override our urges to gain society's respect. To give into our urges is a sign of weakness.

The problem with Christian morals is that God supposedly put them on paper thousands of years ago and they cannot change or adapt as human society evolves. For instance, the Bible and Koran both take a dim view of women, after all both books were written by chauvinistic men. But in the most modern societies woman are treated as equals, or at least they should be. Thus, there are two conflicting value systems. However, the Bible, for instance, DOES adapt to modern morals. To MAKE the Bible adapt, Christians just cherry pick different scriptures or re-interpret scriptures. SUDDENLY IT IS BAD TO OWN SLAVES AND TREAT WOMEN LIKE LIVESTOCK. Surprise!

Speaking of this, throughout both the Old and New Testaments it is evident that the God of the Holy Bible is definitely anti-gay, and He is also very anti-woman. In the New Testament it is made clear that a woman must be subjugated and she should remain submissive and quiet in church. Now just how convenient is that, you clever male authors .

But now, gays are the favorite target of the Christians, who always need an "enemy" to unite their base. Yet, homosexuality does occur with other animal species. Most notably there are lesbian lizards and gay sheep. Of interest, I recently learned that the whiptale lesbian lizards must be "lesbian" to reproduce. So, if "God hates gays" why did He create those gay lizards in Arizona, or allow them to evolve? Of course, these gay lizards have a big problem because without the mixing of genes they are simply creating clones, which limits their ability to mutate. So, I guess there is a purpose for us guys after all.

In summary, the moral of this story is that humans decide for themselves what their moral code will be, based on where they are with their social evolution. For instance, I have heard the argument many times, "If we allow gays to marry, then the next thing will be bestiality." Naw, I don't think that's coming any time soon. Even liberals are grossed out at the idea of having sex with animals. And, because of our growing respect for animal rights, well, I don't think anyone is going to go for it. But in regards to gay marriage, you have two humans who love each other so much that they want to make a public commitment saying "we want to be together for life." I think that is a very beautiful statement and a good thing. So, yeah, I strongly support gay marriage and I think probably around half of my fellow citizens are with me on this. So, again, our morals are evolving.

A New Direction

After 300+ posts I've decided to take my blog in a new direction. Since 2004 this has been an "issues" blog where I've focused solely on the environment and peacemaking. Favorite side-themes from these discussions have been religion and population.

I'm still going to rant and ramble about my favorite themes but I want to open this blog up a little. I want to start including more personal stuff and more general subjects going through my balding head. In effect, this journal has become a log of my journey through life — my observations and thoughts. Of course, I will provide plenty of my ever-famous cynicism and satire, which some people like and others do not.

I am now at age 49. It was at age 37 when I began "waking up" and it was another seven years before I started putting things on paper.

I can say that the last few years of my life have been very interesting, in a good sort of way. There has been good and bad and a few unexpected surprises.

Join me for the rest of the journey ...

Life at the End of Empire

We send our warriors to die to protect the financial industry, the health care industry, the defense industry, the ... well, you get it.

I wish for a happy ending to our recession, but it's not looking good. See, the United States has lost most of its manufacturing base. Why? Because, thanks to overpopulation, there is an infinite supply of cheap labor in other countries. Because the supply of labor is so plentiful, the VALUE of labor declines. In the U.S. you have a worker who wants health care, a pension, and a bass boat, and this guy is competing against some Malaysian guy who works for a bowl of rice and a fish, and, well, guess where the jobs go.

So, without manufacturing, Mother America turns to her second way of making big money, which is new construction. Mother America whores away her greenspace, encourages mass immigration to grow the population, and BUILDS! The immigrants provide both the cheap labor as well as more consumers. Thus, we have the Housing Bubble. The criminal organization known as the Federal Reserve keeps the Housing Bubble going as long as they can. The financial industry is making the most money off the scam, not the poor Mexican laborers. The financial industry is the number one contributor of campaign contributions to Washington. Thus, Washington is paid well to look the other way as the Housing Bubble expands. The Left screams, "Affordable housing for the poor," and the Right scream, "Less regulation so that business can prosper."

And even when the Housing Bubble should have died, the scammers keep it going by offering sub-prime loans and giving houses to people who shouldn't own houses. Sure, there's a risk, so the big banks bundle hundreds of loans into packages, knowing that if a few mortgages are foreclosed, it won't hurt the overall bundle. And then that bundle of mortgages is sold to big investors like China.

But it's a Ponzi Scheme and soon the entire thing starts to collapse. But no worries, because the financial industry has spent $3.8 billion to buy the federal government, who promptly bails out the big financial institutions, and some executives even GET REWARDED! And then our government feeds us this big lie called "TOO BIG TO FAIL."

And due to this recession, I have neighbors and friends who are out of work, but for some strange reason they don't feel the rage that I don't do. They don't understand how the system has completely screwed them. And at my job I work with many small businesses that are suffering greatly due to this recession. Where is the rage, and the demand that we do a major reform of our government and economy?

So, I'm not sure how the story will end because I have a lot of faith in Americans. We are a smart and savvy people and can likely find a way to reinvent our economy. However, things will probably never be like they were before.

The bottom line is that our world and resources are not infinite. You can't keep building, throwing McNasty wrappers in the trash, and burning coal indefinitely without some kind of consequence. Our comfortable dream life, you know, the one we destroyed the environment for, is an illusion. And the millions who pursue it are full of DElusion.

— Todd

"We" Instead of "I"

Love one another, and remember that America is superior, and that everyone else in the world is corrupt and basically sucks. And don't worry about those uninsured U.S. citizens, yada yada.


I just saw the movie "Sicko" by Michael Moore. I don't understand why so many people hate him — I love the guy. The one thing that sticks in my mind is his comment, "It should be about 'we' and not 'I.'"

That's a theme I try to always push, but people don't get it. I was at a leadership conference recently and somehow got into a discussion with this guy about "working together as a team" and that the United States was arrogant. He said he was totally against the U.S. working through the United Nations or working with other countries because he did not want to support "corrupt dictators."

First, what "corrupt dictator" is he talking about? Or is he just parroting Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, like most people do around here.

Secondly, earlier, the guy was talking about being a Christian, church guy type. Wouldn't Jesus want us to "work together" to address the world's problems. No, I guess not.

I'm not sure where this "I" American attitude comes from, but I'm totally sick of it. We are an extremely selfish people, and at the same time we talk about "family values." Yeah, this is the nation where the dumb masses don't want public health care — we just want to keep the insurance companies and pharmaceutical firms filthy rich. You know, the ones that have purchased Congress. And where is the Christianity in all that? What about helping the downtrodden and poor?

Basically, I'm sick and disgusted with this entire country, and the level of hypocrisy I see is mind-boggling. Most in the U.S. have selective smelling — they can't smell their own shit.

One thing I'm sure of and that is our "great" nation will fall, and fall hard and soon. Hopefully, more humble nations will rise to assume world leadership.

President Obama has been one of the few bright spots I've seen lately. And the hate I've seen aimed against him is unparalleled. To have vision and an actual concern for the poor, well, damn, that is SO UNAMERICAN. And as for President Bush, he sold out the American people many times, and most unforgettably, he sold us out with the prescription benefit plan — a nice gift for the giant companies that own America. In fact, so many industries own America (pharmaceutical, defense, banking) that I'm sure our Congress is totally schizophrenic.

And one thing is for sure, and that is BEING AMERICAN means your head will be full of stupid lies, like CUBA IS BAD, FRANCE IS BAD, CAPITALISM IS ALWAYS GOOD, etc.... No one in this country seems to have the ability to question all the lies — probably because they are living so many lies themselves. After all, most Americans are delusional and believe that some guy in the clouds is watching over them. Maybe not. Maybe it's time we all work to help each other rather than putting so much trust in our imaginary God-man, our imaginary good government, and those beloved corporations. Americans, you are totally duped. WAKE UP.

Sinking, Spiraling, Fading

Depression is not something you can control. It just comes out of nowhere and hits you, and suddenly you find yourself falling into a dark abyss. Each day I watch the world go by and I feel that I'm just sitting in a movie theater watching a show. Half of me does not want to be here, but the other half does, so that I can keep gazing at the stars.

Lately, my cynicism has only gotten worse. I did not follow Copenhagen closely because I already knew the outcome. I am so cynical that I'm suspicious about everything — the Afghan surge, health care reform, etc... Every time I read something in the news, I think "follow the money" or "who's on the take." I know that true idealism has been left to the preachers and poets, and that what really motivates our institutions is self-interest and greed.

As for humanity, the extreme violence really drags me down. The story of the Mexican drug criminals who murdered the grieving family of the sailor who died in the drug war is beyond belief. The tireless terrorism of the Muslim wackos is also beyond belief. Setting off a bomb to murder and maim innocent people is beyond belief.

I believe that all government does is stop the excesses of our insane civilization. Without government, people could do anything they wanted, so they would just do the worst — rape, torture, murder, and looting. Once our civilization collapses, the world will be run by warlords, who will be vicious at first, but will then take on a form of idealistic righteousness — we see that right now with the Taliban. Eventually, the warlords will form city-states and small kingdoms, and eventually these will be united into nations by the strongest warlords, and thus the cycle will repeat.

As for humans, we are both beautiful and amazing, and disgusting and evil, all at the same time. But most unfortunately, we are also extremely ignorant. Most people are so hung up on pop culture, sports, and their white religious powder that they forget we live on a planet. They are clueless and only believe what Glenn Beck tells them, so that they don't have to actually research and think for themselves.

A few of us are self-aware, and that gives us the ability to look around and say, "WTF." Some of us become activists and dedicate our lives for a cause. As for the environmental activists, I respect and admire them with all my heart, but I'm wondering if their fight is in vain. And to even think that makes me feel like a rat, but I have just seen too much, and I'm understanding human nature more and more.

But something inside tells me to continue the struggle, not for victory, but because we find satisfaction in doing what our heart tells us to do. Maybe by doing what we know is right, we will find happiness, and that's something everyone seems to be searching for.

This last decade flew by. I look back and think of my accomplishments. I made a few, and I did some neat things, and had some fantastic experiences. I have no regrets, probably because I just don't care. In fact, I care less and less about things as I grow older.

Idealism is the most wonderful attribute to hold inside you, so I hold on to mine for the simple hell of it. I long for my soul mate, and I long for the time when I can just rest.

Courage

The woman in this video is Maryam Namazie, an activist against Sharia Law. Sharia is the brutal fundamentalist law enforced by many Muslims.

Maryam has great courage. She is risking her life to fight for social justice and to make life better for others, especially women. She's a great speaker. And she's not just talking behind a webcam or writing on a keyboard — she is out there in public, talking with great passion, and inspiring others.

Many people do nothing for social or environmental issues, and some do a lot. But few risk their lives for their causes. To me, these are the very greatest people in the world. Maryam has my extreme, deepest respect.

I have demonstrated before and have even done some civil disobedience to defend the environment. I have been arrested and threatened with arrest. But never have I been in fear of my life. Those who risk their lives are the true champions. I hope there is a time in my life when I can test my courage like Maryam and others. When the real test comes, I'm not sure how I'll stand up, but I hope that I hold firm. If I pass the test, I might not be able to celebrate because I may be dead.

To the activists in repressive countries like Iran, China, and other nations, I applaud and salute you. To the activists who stand up to the tyranny of Islam, you have my greatest respect of all. Your oppressors are not very nice and have no problem justifying extreme violence for their faith. To me, that's an awfully sick faith.

Please remember Maryam in your thoughts. Or, better yet, support her cause.

One Law For All - No Sharia Campaign

Left Behind

"You little baby-killing, liberal freak. Don't tell me about evolution. I know darn well that I didn't come from a monkey. I came from God."


This week I attended a professional leadership training, and at one of the meals I was sitting around a group of people who were talking about church and Christian authors. This made me feel uncomfortable, especially when they were talking about the "Left Behind" series by Tim LaHaye. In other conversations, a guy was telling me how he thought the United Nations was evil, and their comments about the Sierra Club, were negative, but at least respectful.

All this made me realize that when I chose to become a nonreligious progressive in 1997, I really isolated myself. I am particularly isolated from my super religious siblings and mother, and it's a sinking feeling when my sister gives Glenn Beck books as gifts to family members.

So, why DID I DO THIS TO MYSELF????

Because when I was a college student I started asking questions, and when you start questioning EVERYTHING, you can never, never turn back. In my 20s I became suspicious that my religion was completely made up, so I started doing research. The first thing I did was read the entire New Testament and nearly all of the Old Testament. At the time, I WANTED the Bible to win, and I was searching for the "magic bullet" or "smoking gun" that would prove to me that the Bible WAS REAL.

One of the most damning books I read was about the Dead Sea Scrolls, which convinced me that Jesus was a plagiarist. Now, if you are God descended from Heaven, I'd have to assume you are pretty damn smart and wouldn't need to steal from 200-year-old literature for your sermons. Yet, that's exactly what Jesus does with his Sermon on the Mount. This information is readily available and in the public domain. To me, that evidence right there is a death blow to Christianity.

However, it took me years to unravel the rest of the Biblical mythology. I finally found the clues I needed in 2003 when I stumbled upon the work of Acharya S. I now own most of her books, and have spent countless hours reading her website, articles, and blog. The essence of her work is that ALL religion evolved from ancient astrological worship. And yes, I believe the Zeitgeist movie is true, and a lot of information in the religious segment of the movie comes from Acharya's research.

In addition to religion, I've also studied evolution and astrology, which gives me an entirely different take on the world.

Ignorance is bliss ...

It would have been easier to go through life in lockstep with the masses, but now I have broken out and entered a new, and lonely world. I am different. I believe that ALL religion was created by men (sorry, not women) and that evolution explains the origins of life. I find evolution wonderful and fascinating, and I'm not going to attribute the miracle of nature to a God story. Rather, I will say that Earth is a one-in-a-billion wonder, and we are extremely lucky to live on this beautiful Planet, yet we are destroying it as fast as we can.

The debate ...

But herein lies the problem. It is difficult to have any discussion with religious conservatives who have such a vastly different worldview from my own. Unfortunately, rather than engaging in meaningful debate they simply get defensive, angry, and they DON'T LIKE YOU. For instance, many Christians get offended by evolution, saying, "My ancestors were NOT monkeys." Well, your ancestors are NOT monkeys — we simply have a common ancestor.

And left behind ....

The ones with the conservative religious worldview are the ones in the driver's seat, at least here in Georgia. I have massive philosophical differences with these folks. They are deeply offended that I support choice, and I am offended by their total unconcern for the environment. We have vastly different values and views. And as we've seen, the Left and the Right can't even work together on the most basic issues, like health care. It is sad, but I believe that once a person holds onto one mythology, such as religion, he or she is prone to hold onto many more. Their entire lives become a myth. As for me, I've spent my entire life trying to separate the Reality from the Myths. I wish more people would join me and do the same.

War Is Insane

A colleague sent me a book about his experiences in Vietnam. Last night I was reading about all the guys who purposely shot themselves to get out of combat. They typically staged the shooting as a gun cleaning incident. To keep from getting arrested they had to make the accident look real, and they obviously put a lot of time into thinking it out.

There has been a lot of talk lately about what is moral war. President Obama said the following four reasons are moral:

1. Self defense
2. Defense of another nation that's being attacked.
3. Humanitarian (civil war or regime that's killing its own people)

Well, I would definitely strike out #3. As for the first two, there are shades of gray. For instance, did a nation provoke another nation to strike? Did one nation engineer an incident as a pretext for "self defense?"

I will say that MORAL WARS are rare. The only real exception is World War II, which is the only moral war I can think of. If I had to fight in any war, it would be that one because you wouldn't have to struggle with the morality of the conflict — it was a no-brainer. Just look at how the Axis Powers treated the people in their occupied territories, and that alone justified the morality. The atrocities committed by the bad guys were unimaginable.

Iraq was NOT a moral war at all. Evidence continues to come out that Britain and other nations knew that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction, but the Bush Administration was relentless in their push for war.

Afghanistan IS a moral war because the Taliban aided Al-Qaeda, the mysterious terrorists that attacked us (at least that's what we're told). So, in Afghanistan and Pakistan we are up against a group of religious fanatics who believe that extreme violence is an acceptable method to obtain their political goals. Of course, they get a lot of funding from rogue Saudi princes who, in turn, get their money from us — you know, when we fill our Hummer gas tanks.

Vietnam was not moral at all. I was a kid during that war, and I was told we were containing Communism. It was simply drilled in me that Communism was bad, and I didn't seriously question it. Only recently, after reading an Internet article, did I understand what Vietnam was REALLY about.

See, Vietnam was about a small group of rich people, who were once in collaboration with the French colonists, who controlled most of the land and wealth. The Viet Cong were dirt poor civilians who favored land redistribution. The American public wasn't really told that. Instead, we just called them "gooks" and "Charlies," and the idea was to "light them up" with M-16 rifles. And not to mention the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which was used as justification to expand the war. Overwhelming evidence now shows that the reporting of the naval engagement was full of half truths and lies.

So, the moral of the story is when we send our boys and girls to war, really question what's going on. Don't just listen to what your political leaders are telling you. And don't think it is unpatriotic to question because patriotism is one of the world's biggest lies. Don't give your allegiance to any state, but rather give your loyalty to the planet and humanity in general.

As for what's REALLY going on in Afghanistan, I don't know yet. Who is bankrolling the bad guys? What do corporations have to gain from this war? Maybe it really is a moral war. My gut feeling is that it is. And, honestly, I don't have any respect for a group of people who treat their goats better than their women. I do believe that sometimes you must make war to make peace, but those situations are rare. May the current "surge" in Afghanistan truly be one of those times.

Waste Madness

I enjoy eating out and try to stick with places that use real china and silverware, like Waffle House or the Chinese buffet.

On occasion, I will eat at a fast food joint and it's a total guiltfest because I'm looking at all the waste going into the landfill. Part of me is saying, "I gotta completely avoid these types of restaurants," and another part of me is saying, "Everyone else is doing it, why fight it?" The worst offender is the Chick-Fil-A chain, you know, that Christian organization. My oldest daughter loves their food so we often go there for father-daughter time. But when I see all the empty waste on the tray, and when I look around at everyone else's tray, I am appalled. And yes, I'm ashamed of myself for patronizing such an anti-Earth establishment. But it's like an addiction because I know I will go back there — the food is wonderful, and I love their carrot salad. So, yes, I'm a hypocrite — I am the first to admit it. But unlike many religious types, I can smell my own shit.

At home, even though I live a relatively simple lifestyle and recycle whatever I can, my family and I still generate a lot of waste. Just look at all the food packaging! Some of the wrappers and boxes and crap can be recycled, but most of it can't. So, even an enviro-conscious family produces a lot of waste. And if I am producing THIS MUCH WASTE just imagine the waste that the typical American super-consumer creates. It is overwhelming.

So, where does the waste go?

All the plastic wrapping and containers end up in the landfill. Some landfills have liners, so they are basically a giant crap bowl. Others do not, and chemicals from the waste seep into our ecosystem.

All the cups, shrinkwraps, McDonalds toys, and everything else slowly deteriorates. This massive decay creates a lot of heat, and it also creates methane gas, which is one of the worst global warming gasses because of its ability to hold heat. Some of the methane is sucked from landfills and used for "green" energy, but most of it goes into the upper atmosphere, where it traps heat and makes our warming planet even hotter.

This begs the question ....

As our population continues to explode, and as millions more people are discarding millions more tons of crap, will we at some point reach a breaking point? Or can we just go on this way forever? I know the religious folks just think God will zap them out of their shoes, but does anyone else worry about this? I sure do.

We all can help ...

I once met a super recycling guy. He and his wife only threw out one small bag of garbage a month. The rest of it was either recycled, mulched, or they bought items with minimal or no wrapping to begin with. That is a good role model for us all.

I do need to make more of a commitment to shop at farmer's markets, however even these places put your produce in paper bags. So, the ideal solution is to visit a local farmer's market and bring your own bags or boxes. This is something I needed to do better at.

And finally ....

For those of you who are still using plastic bags at the supermarket, my gosh. BRING YOUR OWN! Just about every store is now selling reusable bags, yet most people STILL aren't bothering to use them. It's like people are not willing to take the minimal extra effort to bring their bags from home. Americans are a shameful lot. I mean, really.