Angry Atheists

I am an Atheist, and am not shy to say it. I do not believe in the existence of a higher power, god, or spiritual force. I don't believe in ghosts, ESP, psychics, or any book written by a man who believed the words in his head were god. Now what I don't often talk about is how I, when first coming to confirmation of my beliefs, did not want to associate myself as an Atheist. The reason for this is that I didn't really think that a non-belief could be labeled and that most Atheists generally got a bad rap for being loud and boisterous. The reason I bring this up is because I was reading an article written by a Minister who, quite correctly, called out a lot of Atheists for being hypocrites.

The closest thing Atheists have to a figurehead is Richard Dawkins, a brilliant man who I tend to find myself agreeing with many times. He's often seen arguing against any and all organized religion, and believes the abolishment of it would be beneficial to humanity as a whole. He's well spoken, puts reason behind his arguments, and generally seems like a well rounded guy when it comes to his belief. He's not some raging lunatic spewing out half truths he read on some disreputable news source, so whats the problem with him? Well, he's loud. He's very loud, and him shouting how he knows that God cannot exist comes about as well received as the Pope saying condoms should not be used to prevent HIV in Africa because he knows God disapproves. It's two people who know something that cannot truly be known, and while I may side with Dawkins, I'm not about to refute that he does the same thing that any other zealots do.

That was my original problem with Atheism, the zealousy I hated in organized religion being thrown out from the very people I was supposed to identify with. Another came from the people I call the Angry Atheists... These are the people that aren't truly Atheist, they're not people who came to the very personal belief that God doesn't exist through personal exploration and study of the world around them, they came to it because they are angry for some reason. A personal travesty, the atrocities that happen by man or nature, the glaring conflicts from scripture to practice. In essence, these are people who do believe in god, but are upset with him and reject him out of spite. And these are the people who are truly damaging to other non-believers. These are the ones who hoot and howl out at anything even remotely religious, and a reason for a lot of people to just not confirm their beliefs as Atheist, like me.

But I did come around, and realized that a spade is a spade, and I am an Atheist. I'm a man of logic before faith, I need to know there's evidence of something before simply accepting it. And I am not a zealot, I have many times stated that if true proof of the existence of a higher power were to emerge, I'd accept it. When an issue of religion comes up in the news in America, like God in the Pledge or the Ten Commandment's in front of a court house, I don't argue against religion, I argue for the Constitution stating that the Government will show no preference to any faith. I don't hate religious people, I hate zealots, even when they're part of my own group.

But sometimes, and this is only sometimes, I can't blame them. A study from the University of Minnesota found that Atheists are the least trusted minority in America, and adult Atheists make up only 2% of the population in America and is on a steady rise. This is a fairly new phenomena as more people flock to a group that is not truly understood by the majority. When the loudmouthed Atheist flies off the handle after being told he's going to hell for the fiftieth time, can you blame him? I don't condone it, but this is a group of people united by a lack of something trying to get their message out just like anyone else. And with any group of people the loudest and most controversial are the ones who get the spot light, and we level headed many have to shake our head at it. All in all, some people's fist reaction to being poked is to poke back.

“No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered as patriots. This is one nation under God.” George H. W. Bush

Some Lines and Questions

It's out of control, this spinning wheel of life.
You try to slow it down, dig your heels in, cling to the foundations.
You can't. You won't. You shouldn't, in all honesty.
Why try control something so beautiful, so wild?
Let it go, watch it fly. And follow.



That's all the artsy I have in my system right now.

Will's been writing a lot of great articles lately, important articles....

And I've been.... bleh.

I'm burnt out.

Maybe it's being sick.

Maybe it's actually having a life and a child to look after.

Who knows. I'm tired and I have nothing useful to add to this blog right now.

So maybe I'll try my hand in some articles.

Write about important things, important people, important ideas...

Leave me some suggestions of topics you'd like to hear about.


Or, if none of you do that, I'll just be forced to analyze some philosophy until I get my mojo back.


Here's a parting thought;

The more I learn about this country, this government, these laws and people; the more cynical I seem to get.

Individually, I tend to hope for the best. And when I hear thoughts on black people being inferior, gays going to hell or women being second class citizens; my heart tends to break.

When I thought of intolerance, I never thought I'd think so close to home.


Now here's a question for anyone reading this, Will included:

Is there a place for homophobic thoughts, racist beliefs and sexist ideals in our modern society?
I'm not talking about the people who force these ideas onto others, I'm talking about general beliefs.

Is there room to be tolerant of fear?

Is there room to be tolerant of intolerance?


Leave your thoughts, please. I'd honestly like to know.

Right to Discriminate?

It's post number one hundred on this little site here and I found myself looking for something really good to talk about. Unfortunately nothing came up in my search, BP continued to pop up, German millionaires volunteering to a Rich Tax, sixteen year old lost at sea... Many interesting topics, but none that jumped out at me, none I felt I could really discuss. Then I found an article, it's topic one I've discussed a few times before, and interestingly enough... I may find myself on the other side.

You see I still don't know how I feel about this story. Up in British Columbia an elderly couple is under fire and being taken to court for discrimination. It seems that they run a Bed and Breakfast, and refused to allow a gay couple to stay in their home. They're Christian and feel that allowing the two men to share a bed in their house would conflict with their personal religious beliefs. It seems at first glance that this is barely an issue, these people are clearly in the wrong, right? Well, I don't know.

We can easily see the counter argument here, that the fact that the two men are gay really shouldn't effect the couple's beliefs in any way, this is a business relationship, and the two men are customers. By refusing to serve them they are in fact pushing their beliefs onto other people, which is generally a bad business practice. I have to wonder to myself if they would allow someone of a different faith into their home, someone Jewish, Muslim, or perhaps a belief system that works with Witchcraft like Wicca. Would these things, that cannot be told about a person without asking, be something the couple wouldn't allow into their home?

I don't think this is really about discrimination, because if it is there's no argument, the couple is blatantly discriminating. I'm more along the lines on whether or not they should be penalized for it. I know, you're thinking I've gone mad, but here me out. Here in the States, a private organization or business can refuse service to anyone as long as it goes against the bylines of that business practice or organization. It's this reason that the Boy Scouts of America can refuse membership to gay, Jewish, or Atheist boys. They're personal bylines state that they feel these attributes do not go along with their own beliefs, and the government cannot force them to accept those people. They should be forced to on the fact they they accept government money and land, but that's a different story.

But how far does this go I wonder? I remember reading a story years ago about a woman of strong faith working at a pharmacy that refused to give out any form of birth control. Now due to her religion, she felt that selling this product would be along the same lines of supporting it... Now this is where the line seems to blur slightly doesn't it? This is a woman of faith, a faith that must be respected, if not agreed with. Wouldn't forcing her to sell Birth Control be intolerant of her beliefs? But she works in a Pharmacy, this is her job... She is being paid by a company to sell their product. Where does the line fall?

Should these people be forced to accept business from a Lifestyle they do not morally agree with, or should they be allowed to run their private business as they please? It's an issue I find myself on the fence with, for as much as I think the couple is wrong for believing what they do, I'm not about to ask the government to force them to think the way I do. But where do the rights of the customers take hold then? They're being refused service based on something they cannot control, which is flat out unfair. Though even if they were able to stay there, they'd be staying at a Bed and Breakfast where the hosts are quite obviously uncomfortable with them, which I think would ruin any real enjoyment of a vacation.

This issue has me waning on my own thoughts, I see the civil rights issue, but I also see the private business issue. I feel myself leaning more towards the civil rights, as I do see business as something that should be static and free of personal beliefs, especially when offering a service to many people, some who will undoubtedly be people you do not find fit with your personal beliefs. But as of now, the B&B is closed, and there seems to be some legal precedent for both sides of this case, and I'm not sure I'll be happy with either side winning.

What do you believe?

The Chance I Waited For

My love, I saw it all!

Dancing around my head,
The scenes of what will be,
The scenes of what we are,
The scenes of what will come;
They are beautiful.

Small gestures of kindness;
Smiles where there are none,
Grateful sighs and slow kisses,
Embracing for no other reason than to feel,
The small moments that I've craved so long...

From the time I was small,
I dreamed of rain and kissing,
Cold noses and warm cheeks,
Sweet fingers brushing away wet tracks,
Broken words to form such strength.

And now, my love,
I've seen it all,
I've wanted it all,
I've yearned it all,
I've lost it all.

And now, my love,
And now it's there.
In my reach,
In my grasp.
You're offering it to me again.

And now I'll live my dreams, my love.

Ground Zero Tolerance

As you all know, I've talked about race, religion, and culture over the time that I've been on this site. Now while I may not agree with a lot of people who tout the necessity of these things and may actively argue against them, I try not to have any blind hatred for these people. I never generalize that all people of a particular faith are bad, just those handfuls that use their god's words as a justification for persecution and prejudice. People tho do this, who hate and generalize, they make me sad, they make me angry, so you can just imagine how sickening it is to me to hear about the protesters of the Mosque at Ground Zero.

Now first things first, this Mosque is not going to be at the world trade center site, it's going to be two blocks away. Secondly, it's not really a mosque, it's a Muslim Community Center that will have a Mosque as a part of it. But the simple fact that it shares some general real estate with Ground Zero has people in an uproar. A huge protest was thrown on June 6th and I must say I just couldn't believe it. I mean, it's been nearly ten years now, I know it still hurts but haven't we as a nation come to a clear enough mind to separate Muslims and Terrorists in our collective minds? I thought this, I honestly did. Then I clicked the article.

I found myself staring at a woman holding up a sign, it said "You can build a Mosque at Ground Zero when we can build a Synagogue in Mecca", I was awe struck. My mind reeled at the ignorance of that statement. The 'Yous' and 'Wes' rang out as this woman certainly didn't consider anyone of Muslim faith apart of her small minded world. I went on to the article to read that at this protest, two Egyptian men speaking Arabic were accosted by an unruly mob. They shouted at the men and told them to get out, the two men were able to escape the crowd with the aide of police, and were in fact two Christian men there to protest the Mosque as well.

I have rarely seen such a unabashed showing of hatred and racism in my life. The idea of freedom of religion and practice, the laws governing property ownership, simple human decency to let others live as they will, all of these things blatantly forgotten by these men and women, if they had ever had concept of them after all. I found myself not satisfied by the one article, and moved to another. I read more of the hate and came across the worst quite I have ever read that was spoken with utter honesty... Mark Williams, a Tea Party leader put this on his personal blog "The monument would consist of a Mosque for the worship of the terrorists' monkey-god." And continue to say "In the meantime I have a wonderful idea along the same lines as that mosque at Ground Zero thing… a nice, shiny new U.S. Military Base on the smoldering ruins of Mecca. Works for me!"

My jaw dropped. It literally hung agape as I stared at the words, I couldn't believe it. I was incapable of believing these words came from a human being. I checked the actual blog, and as I could not find these direct quotes, though the articles he post do seems to be 'updated' quite often, he does in fact refer to Islamic people as savages and post disturbing depictions of Muhammad. The sheer hatred in these people sickens me, they look and see terrorists in every person with brown skin. They call anyone Arabic savages, and completely ignore the fact that whatever they happen to believe, that the people building the community center have a right to build whatever they damn well please as long as they have the blessing of the New York City Council, which they do.

I may not agree with the Muslim faith as I do not agree with any other faith. But I'm also not going to stand around and tell these people they don't have a right to build a Mosque, in the same way I won't stand in front of a Catholic and tell them they can't build a Church. It's not right, it's racist in the worst way. These people these horrible horrible people scream terrorists, they're drudging up hatred and fear that I thought was long since gone in the public mind. I thought we were passed this, that America didn't look at an Arabic man standing in a Walmart and wonder if the guy has a bomb strapped to his chest anymore. I thought in the past nine years out collective anger over 9/11 had calmed to the point where we could all be people again.

I guess I was wrong.

Snap!

Riveting, the human nature that controls,
The instinct of rash emotion and snap judgment.
Even those of us that pride ourselves on being calm,
Being the reasoning creature among insanity,
Fall to the complete overwhelming urge to snap.



I have nothing else to say today besides this;

I am disappointed.

Fresh poetry on Wednesday.

-Manda

Cultural

In a previous article I alluded that I would one day give my insight on my ideas of culture. For a long while I held off on this one, because I didn't really have any sort of counter ideal to put up against the social norm, but today my mind was centered on the gaming community and more importantly gaming culture. Here we have millions of people all coming together, all finding a common interest. These people from all walks of life, all shapes, sizes, religions, races, all with something to share with each other. They all take pride in their culture, but you know what? It's open to any who wish to join, and that's my problem with Heritage and National Pride.

I am Irish, Irish-German actually, but only a small part German so lets just go with Irish for now. I am American, I am an East Coaster, I am a Jersey Boy, all of these things describe where I come from, none of these things mean anything to who I am. Already I can feel the hatred of some who hold a particular pride in their heritage or region of birth... But why? As the great late George Carlin would say, pride should be reserved for something you achieve, not a happenstance of birth. The fact that my great grandparents were born in Ireland makes me no more Irish than a man who's great grandparent's were born in Africa.

And the very same can be said about the land you were born into. I'm American, and I'm glad I was born here. I do honestly enjoy my country, but I would never show pride in the simple fact that I was born here... I had no control of that. Now I can be proud of America, even though there are times I am not, but to be proud to be an American, well it leaves the unintended implication that it is shameful to be anything else. You have people, as much alike as they are different, beating their chest in their pride, in their invisible link to land. They all draw the sand around each other, and tout how much greater they are than the others.

Culture should not be all inclusive. To draw a line in the sand, to limit a community to one, it simply creates ego and segregation. Culture needs to be about a common interest, not a common birthplace. Culture needs to be about people sharing something, whether it be pride in gaming, food, music, science fiction, sports, or anything else. It should invite new people to keep the culture ever growing and ever evolving. It needs to be something that's as diverse as it is unique.

Now I am not saying that heritage and national cultures are a bad thing, but they're not something to be prideful of, they're something to be respected and explored. But when you're prideful of something that no other can join, that is where hate and racism blossom, to build a community that is made up of one destroys diversity. The idea that where your ancestors have come from has any impact on you as a person today to me is offensive, and the forced ideology that you must therefore have pride in those people you don't know is something I simply cannot comprehend.

Respect who you were, be proud of who you become.