A World Without Religion

What I'm about to tell you may shock you, and it may horrify you. I am an atheist. The reason I am an atheist is that I see no evidence for a higher being of any kind, be it Thor, Zeus or the God of Abraham. I also see the destruction that religion causes all over the world, from the recent attacks in France over a magazine depicting the prophet Muhammad, to Pope Benedict XVI condemning condoms in Africa in the face of rampant HIV/AIDS. I also find it odd that a group of totally celibate men feel entitled to tell women and gay people what is appropriate sexual behavior. I see the attack on stem cell research, and the attempt to force creationism into American public schools. I see the fight between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims, over which version of their totally unprovable doctrine is true. The Spanish Inquisition, the Salem Witch Trials, the Crusades. I could go on and on, but it would take all day.

My argument is this: before you pick up a Bible or a Qu'ran, or whatever, think. Why are so many people still insisting that we live our lives based on an ancient set of rules that do not work for the world we live in today? I think the world will a better place in a thousand years or so when, as a species, we've finally outgrown the need to live after we're dead, and have become content with living now, in this moment, in this life.

The Woman in Red

A man once said not to judge a person by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. But does the same thinking apply to the color of your clothing?

According the the University of Rochester, it does.

Scientists wanted to see whether or not the colors you wear have any affect on the way people perceive you. The findings are surprising, especially with the color red.

They found that when the model was wearing red, she was more likely to be thought of negatively, especially by other women. The respondents thought of her as promiscuous and more likely to try to steal a man from another woman.

In contrast, the male respondents were actually more attracted to the woman in red because they thought she would be more interested in sex and easier to get into bed.

Of course, these presumptions are ridiculous, but it just goes to show you, the stigma of the woman in red is still alive and well.

Fundamental Sickness

Last week, a tragic terrorist attack rocked the city of Paris, France. The attack was over a popular satirical magazine in the country making fun of the Prophet Mohammed. The magazine had been known for it's pointed digs at religion and fundamentalism in particular.

The problem is not just with Islam, it is with all forms of fundamentalist religion. It is Jerry Falwell. It is Pat Robertson. It is attacks on abortion rights and gay rights. It is the Westboro Baptist Church and Scott Roder.

The point is, Islam is not the only religion that has problems with fundamentalists trying to force their beliefs down everybody's throat. We need to recognize religious fundamentalism for what it is; a sickness which keeps us in darkness and keeps us in chains.

Holy War in the Holy Land

When we think of a holy war in the Middle East, we usually think of Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims, but there is another controversy going on that many outsiders are unaware of. That is the conflict between Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews living within the state of Israel. The conflict is this: the more conservative Orthodox are clashing with the more secular, liberal government of Israel, over issues such as Orthodox Jews putting up signs demanding gender separation in all of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The government ordered that these signs be removed. Another controversy in Israel is the issue of gay rights. Israel has the fourth largest gay pride parade in the world, which has taken place in Tel Aviv since 1999. In response, some Orthodox Jews have resorted to attacking some of the gay demonstrators, and have even been charged with hate crimes. If that were not enough, some members of the Orthodox community are upset with a popular new television show in Israel which they claim misrepresents their culture. It depicts scenes of lack of intimacy, spousal abuse and homophobia. One Orthodox rabbi even compared the government of Israel to the government of Nazi Germany. 

So, the question is, which form of Judaism will win out? Right now, it seems like the secularists have the power, but like many fundamentalists, the Orthodox community has large numbers of children, and many people are afraid that they could turn Israel in a much more right-wing direction in the future. I guess only time will tell in this sectarian struggle.

Whoopi Goldberg's Hypocrisy

Recently, on an episode of "The View," the panel was discussing Nikki Minaj's controversial video, "Only," because of complaints from some viewers that it had Nazi-like imagery. The video showed Minaj speaking in front of a crowd, of which I can only assume are her fans, with a red and white flag with the letter "M" on it. Understandably, this makes some people cringe. But the most surprising aspect of this is Whoopi Goldberg's response on "The View." Whoopi accused Minaj of being ignorant and not even knowing what the Holocaust was. She then went on to accuse not only Minaj, but her entire generation, of being ignorant of what the Holocaust was. This is odd coming from Goldberg, who in 2006 and 2010 relentlessly defended Mel Gibson when he was caught in antisemitic, homophobic and racist rants, in addition to violently threatening his wife. Goldberg said, "I know Mel, and I know he's not racist. I can't say that he's a racist, having spent time with him, in my house, with my kid, I can't say it." Newsflash, Ms. Goldberg: just because someone is nice to you personally does not mean that they don't have any internalized bias towards certain groups of people as a whole. Yes, the imagery in Nikki Minaj's video is decidedly problematic. But I think it's hypocritical, coming from Whoopi Goldberg, who seems to only say something when it's somebody she does not consider to be a personal friend.

Not Everything Has a Simple Answer

It seems to me that in America we seem to want a quick answer for everything. School shootings.. if you're on the right, the problem is lack of prayer in schools, if you're on the left it's guns, and somewhere in the middle, it's violence in the media. This is also the case when it comes to war. I remember George W. Bush's "They Hate Us for Our Freedom Speech" in the run up to the Iraq War.

So, the question is; why do we as Americans refuse to look deeper? It's almost as if we're afraid to. So we tend to want to narrow it down. It's as if, if we can find this one thing at the source of our problems, then all our problems would simply go away. But I don't think that's true. I think that if we don't start looking at the deeper problems like mental illness and American Imperialism, then we will not truly be able to function as a society. We'll never be able to understand or fix any of the problems.

Is America Dead?

     I once heard a story about a few brave men who believed that there could be something better. They lived in a place where they had no rights. That place was called America. But, they dreamed of something better for themselves and their decedents. They took a chance, even if it meant their lives.
     But today, that brave spirit seems to be gone from America. We are afraid of what may happen, not what will happen. We can't legalize drugs because that could possibly create a nation of addicts. We can't legalize gay marriage because that might lead to legalization of incest. We can't legalize prostitution because it may hurt our young women in some way. What would our founding fathers think of this America, where we're so afraid of what might happen that we're afraid to do anything. They would be ashamed and saddened of how far our country has fallen. The point is, America has always been about taking chances on possibly dangerous things. America has always been about doing what is right despite what may happen to us. America's always been about progress and making things better. Why have we lost that spirit in so many of us? Why are we so afraid of what has not yet come that we won't even try? So I ask any American who reads this to please remember that American spirit within each and every one of us.