Saturday, April 15, 2006

God _less America

Hey!! I resemble that title!!

It says "Godless" as though it's a bad thing. Actually, it says "liberalism" as though it's a bad thing too. As one of the godless, I have no reason to hate and murder hundreds of thousands of people because they have a different philosophy than mine. I have no need to convert anyone to my (lack of) beliefs. You can believe whatever you like, as long as you're not hurting anyone. That's the meaning of freedom, and one of the main things that brought about the founding of this nation. Just don't think that you have the right to shove your philosophies down my throat. Theocracy is a building block of Fascism. Religion applied wrongly is the cause of most hatred and killing in the world... always has been.

People seem to picture the godless as crazed, insane people who have no conscience and go around doing as many bad things as possible because there are no repercussions (and would have been right at home as the wackos in Reefer Madness). Well of *course* doing bad things in life brings repercussions. Duh!

My ethics and morals come from inside, they come from my thoughts and feelings and what I decide to do with life's lessons, not from some "being" out there who is impossible to comprehend (that's a given even for most believers, isn't it?) I want to make the very best of this life, and do all the good that I can with it, and be as good to the earth as I can, and be remembered fondly when I am gone. That's because I think that this is it, guys. There's no magical mystical place to go after the here and now. You're lookin' at it, so make the best of it. What to make peace with "God"? Make peace with yourself. Love yourself and you can learn to love others.

I don't need to worship some being whose existence cannot be proven, and who requires blood sacrifice before being able to cast a glance my way because I'm just a hideous lowly creature and soooo not worthy.

I'm *really* not dangerous. I don't own a gun. I don't eat animals or wear them. I brake for cockroaches, for cryin' out loud (if they're big enough to see from behind the wheel... heh heh). I became a non-believer after years of soul-searching and thought after being a former believer, fundamentalist, born-again, slain in the spirit, the whole lot of it. Yup.

I've been there.
Glad I made it out.
Never going back again.

Instead of relying on a blood sacrifice to chase away the demons, how about these things to make the world a better place:

  • Don't be a mean person. Mean people suck.
  • Don't waste your time on unworthy causes.
  • Help out when you can.
  • Give what you can, keep what you need.
  • Be good to critters (people are critters too)
  • Dance.
  • Smile.
  • Cry when you need to.
  • Believe whatever you want, but try to understand why it is that you believe it.
  • Share the chocolate.


- - -

3 comments:

Ptelea said...

Thank you for stating so well many of the thoughts I have about being godless - oh the misconceptions! Your words here are a wonderful set of guidelines for living a meaningful life. From reading your blog, I would guess that you meet your goal - that of making the world a better place!

Blueberry said...

Thanks. It was a late night ramble... well, kinda late anyway. So much hatred and intolerance out there. I guess I'm intolerant of intolerance. :-O It's tough to try and walk the walk... but good exercise.

Coeur Mechant said...

Your blog entry serves as another reminder for me to read this book.

The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason
by Sam Harris
ISBN 0393035158

It was the winner of the 2005 PEN award for nonfiction. Check out the book at the author's web site.

http://www.samharris.org/