Not that I'm a Grinch, but I've always seen Christmas as environmental genocide. People pack the stores to buy imported Asian junk, which they give to their friends and loved ones. It's usually stuff they don't need, and ends up in drawers, closets, or landfills. Once in the landfills, the junk deteriorates, gives off methane gas, and further warms the planet. However, the good part about Christmas is getting to be with loved ones.
As I look back on this past year, there's plenty to be happy about. I love the positive things I'm seeing:
- Trend toward "buy local," humane, and organic farming.
- More solar panels and wind turbines.
- Advances in gay rights.
On the downside, I'm saddened by:
- Continued extreme violence everywhere.
- Our dysfunctional and impotent U.S. Congress.
My hope for 2013 is that we all muster the political will to fix our broken Congress. We can start with:
- Term limits.
- Removing the "personhood" from corporations.
- Removing the lie that cash is "free speech."
- Stopping the gerrymandering.
One ongoing problem in our society is the domination of cults, which promote irrational thinking. The religious cults are perhaps the worst, and should always be met with facts and reason. Most cults have doomsday scenarios, but my future will always be one of hope. I know that people have within them the ability to do the right thing. It's just a matter of shaking off all the stupid memes and cultural baggage, and having the courage to think rationally, even when it flows against the grain.
What entertains me about cultists is that they are so confident that what they believe is "the one right way" that they don't even question it. Perhaps the one positive thing I can do in life is to put cracks in their hard-held beliefs. Just letting them know that everyone doesn't agree with them serves a purpose.
Hurray for the two states that passed gay marriage laws in November. This is a sign of hope. The entire War Against Gays is completely made up from nothing. When people cherry pick verses from the Old Testament to justify their war and hatred, I simply retort by saying, "You either have to accept all of the Old Testament or none of it. God don't like cherry pickers." That would mean you can't eat shrimp and would have to put adulterers to death, plus dozens of other dumb rules.
To all humans, if Christmas means "hope," then I'm all for it. Let us hope for peace, social advancement, and environmental sustainability.
2 comments:
hear hear .... and dare i say, happy holidays? tf
Sorry, I've had to turn Word Verification back on because cleaning out all the spam was getting tiresome.
Post a Comment