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 ...