Heroes and Zeros

Imagine that your family, friends, home and everything that you own has just been washed away.

You go to work because you don't know what else to do.  Once there, they ask for volunteers.  What they are looking for is about fifty people willing to work in the dark, using only flashlights and hoses.

Their job: To put out a highly radio active nuclear fire. 

It might take days and they will probably die slow and agonizing deaths.

Still, they ask for volunteers and then - fifty people step forward.

They are fighting tonight as you and I sleep.  They fight to save people they don't know.  They fight because someone must.

Thank God there are better people in the world than me.

There are other heroes out there as well.  Take the peaceful protesters in Egypt.  They showed that you could overthrow a government without raising a hand against it.  They were beaten and shot and still they came back to protest, day after day.  Family members grieved for ones lost to the sword and yet...there were no regrets.

I think that in the United States, a country filled with heroes, we sometimes give trophies to the wrong people.

We have a political party whose stated primary goal is to cause the existing administration to fail.  I'm listening to talk radio today and actually heard a guy praise the GOP party for such a great strategy.  They are his heroes.

To me, they are cowards.  Them, along with the "unmentionables" that spout made up statistics to support their rants.  They attack when they know there will be no counter offensive.  Turn on Fox news. The very first person you see, is lying to you.  That person is a coward.  I don't pay homage to them and I wish others would not as well.

"Unhappy the land that is in need of heroes." Bertolt Brecht 

Back to Japan.

I think of the pettiness here and then look at their heroes...and wish I was a better man. 

For those that lost their lives in peaceful protest; for those who are dying as they fight a nuclear fire - to these fallen and falling heroes, I say...

Up, up and away.

Jim

The Backhand of God

So, I woke up this morning to find that Japan has just received a smiting.

What's that you say?  God didn't do this?  Okay, but he did give Aids to gay people, right?

No?  That's not right either?

Well, maybe not today, but at one time, there were a lot of people that thought just that.

We believe strange things and we do so for strange reasons.  I think the strangest thing of all is that even when we don't believe, we still stand up and profess our convictions lest other find out our dirty little secret - that we, and we alone, know that the King has no clothes.

I remember as a young boy of maybe 7 or 8, I would go to Sunday school and think, "You have go to be kidding me."  They'd teach us that God gave us free will and then would smite us if we used it in ways that were not on God's list of "pre-approved" behaviors.  I'd then go into church and sing the hymns and feel all warm inside, forgetting my earlier doubts.

Most of us have read 1984.  I recommend that everyone go back and read through page 16.  Get through the part about the 2 minutes of hate.  Yes, even Orwell knew that we were all disbelievers and yet, the crowd could carry us away in a second.

What am I getting at?

Basically, I think all religion is made up.

Gasp.......

I believe in a Higher Power but when it comes to someone saying, "This is what God or Allah wants you to do." I am absolutely certain they are making it up, often to promote their own position.  Take a look at the "bling" being worn by preachers on TV.

And its not just religion.  Watch Fox news and tell me you don't believe.  While I can't mention the "unmentionable ones," I will tell you there are plenty of people that can say just about anything and we will believe them.  How could they say it if it weren't true?

I'll tell you why.

People lie.

Some do it compulsively.  Some do it because it gives higher ratings.  Some do it because it gives them power and religions do it to instill fear; the backdoor to power.

I think all religions should be treated as businesses.  They should have to put labels on their products.  For example:  The following parts of the Bible are made up.  (Gasp....he'll burn in hell for that one...)

For Muslims, they should be made to tell who is being converted into a terrorist. (Another Gasp...how dare he confront us with the fact that nearly all terrorists are Muslims).

I know many believe the bible is 100% fact.  Good for you.  I wish I had your faith.

As for the Muslim issue, no one doubts that there are factions that cast dirt into an otherwise clean pool of believers.  The part that I don't get is why the leaders of the faith don't come out against terrorism.  They don't need to come out against it...but I think at the very least, they should explain why they don't come out against it.

It comes back to belief.  Terrorists find those with soft minds and tell them what to believe.  In the absence of an alternative voice, the gullible ones have no choice but to believe.

Don't believe me when I describe how easily we can be manipulated...talk to someone that watches Fox news and then tell me you don't understand.

By the way, to make sure this isn't seen as an anti-Muslim rant, I feel compelled to point out the Catholic church promoted pedophilia by staying silent on the subject.

To me, most religions make me feel like I need to wash my hands. I wonder how many people have died in the name of religion.  How does that stack up against the number of people that die from smoking?

Now that all of you are certain I will burn in hell, here is what I do believe in:

There is a higher power and I call him/her/it God.  I don't know why I am so certain of this but I am.

My higher power cares for me, listens to me and guides me.

My higher power does not care if I cheat on my taxes or don't got to church on Sundays.

My higher power experiences my life with me and through me...and that is enough.

If I were to start my own religion, I would hang the following sign on the door:  Leave your fears outside.  Come in and be thankful, not to God, but to life.  No donations accepted.

Now, a moment of silence for Japan...

Up, up and away...

Jim