Religion

Religion.

I have been thinking a lot about it lately. It is hard not to when you see the direction the world is taking.

Religion is great when it creates a compassionate community that records and celebrates human rites of passage. It is also helpful when it provides a sense of peace and well-being in the lives of individuals. Religion was used to a tremendous effect by Dr. Martin Luther King in the civil rights movement or farther back in the Abolitionist movement.

Much like all human institutions and inventions, religion can be a positive force or a negative force. Sadly, there seems to be more misery and ill effects from religion these days. More people are taking what is beautiful about their belief system and skewing it to exclude, divide, and treat their fellow human beings as lesser peoples. In this country, "Christians" are actively working to single out a group of citizens for unequal treatment under our laws by excluding gays and lesbians from marriage and adoption. It is un-american and immoral, since it is immoral to ask one group of citizens to suffer a law that you yourself would chafe under. These "Christians" want to re-institute a culture of shame in our society and give birth to extremists like Rev. Phelps who protest at vets funerals saying that they deserve to die because their country tolerates gays. Crazy immoral!

Sure, the first settlers were crazy witch-burning puritans, but can't we evolve? Oh, wait. They don't believe in evolution! (that is another post)

In other parts of the world religion is used to keep down and abuse women, kill innocents, and carve out territories to fight over.

To the folks who use their religion to hurt, exclude, and generally being a prick, you do not bring honor to your religion and you are a toxic presence in the world. If there is to be shame in the world, the shame should be reserved for these people. Mind your own business! Spend the time taking care of your own spiritual journey and leave the rest of us alone.

Persons of faith are under the obligation to speak out and fight against those who do dishonor to their religion.

Lose-Lose

Despite what Bush says, there were no winners in the Hezbollah v. Isreali conflict. How many people were displaced? 1.5 Million. How many people were injured and killed? How much infrastructure and commerce was destroyed. All for what? Isreal still didn't get their soldiers back, nor did they render Hezbollah impotent. All it accomplished is another generation of righteous anger and hatred on both sides that will only fuel the next generation of conflicts. The world should of stepped in and kept both sides from escalating a conflict -- and have them take a deep breath.

Diplomacy is the tool of the strong and violence and military action the tool of the weak and inarticulate. Real strength is the courage to wage peace when it is the toughest -- when real harm has come to you. Diplomacy requires the strength to absorb blows and the intelligence to navigate through the nuances and complexities of geo-political relationships and strike the right deals that will undermine the extremists in the world.

It is the reality of modern military conflict that state militaries cannot really deal a decisive victories anymore. That was lost in the nuclear age and the emergence of the concept of war crimes and crimes against humanity. It was lost in the electronic age where the planet has a front seat in any conflict. States need to worry that a conflict can spiral out of control into a nuclear exchange or have the world community hold us accountable for crimes against humanity.

Instead all we have is low intensity but nasty guerilla wars that fester and cause human misery and grudges with no satisfying conclusion and no winners.

Bush's declaration of victory shows how ignorant and how a negative influence he is in world politics. A fragile peace has been created, we do not need someone making this into favoring one side or another. It helps no one and it is absurd thought to think anyone won. It is why the Middle East doesn't see us as an honest broker in their region. Bush would have been wise to just shut up or at least acknowledge the human suffering that has occured on both sides and welcoming the halt in that suffering. This is the unhelpful and unstatesmanlike behavior of this President that swaggers and blunders that makes me embarrassed for our country.

Into the Jungle

There are more blackberry vine to cut through in the jungle that is our backyard. It has tangled itself though the trees that line our backyard. So I play my ipod boombox with sixties tunes and the Grateful Dead. I tied my hair up in braids since it is great way to keep it out of my face and keep cool in the hot sun. It also will put a nice wave in my hair as well. Ah vanity!

Yahoo Chat Blues

Getting my hair done is so girlie-cathartic.

Been trying the whole yahoo chat thing, but it is sort of frightening. There is such a sexual undercurrent to most of the chats that it really alienates me. I am married...geez. I am so not into that scene. I talk to guys about politics and tv, but then I worry that their significant others will think, "What is this chick doing talking to my man!"

Can't we just chat about ideas? So if you IM me, read my profile. Novel concept I know. People who do, get a generous response unless I am busy or going offline.

Peace. No, really. Peace.