Suicide bombings, on average, probably aren't acts of desperation or self-sacrifice. A good deal of these people are religious fanatics, and to willingly die in the act of taking out a few infidels is really an act of cool-headed self-promotion. I would even go so far as to call some of these bombings purely selfish acts, with nothing glorious or heroic about them, though they are no doubt tragic. I'd also say that there is probably something of the suicide bomber in any soldier who truly believes, deep down, that he is risking his life for the glory of God, and that such an act will be pleasing to his God.
I was born at West Point, raised in the area, and all my life held military people in high esteem, and in some way, I suppose, I still do, though my feelings and thoughts on the matter have changed somewhat over the past two years. To speak ill of American soldiers, or any soldiers really, still makes a part of me feel ashamed and ungrateful. I've had an easy life. But wait, saying something like that, without doing at least a little explaining, could give people a picture of me which is highly inaccurate, so here goes: I don't mean that I have been sheltered, spoiled, over-privileged, or anything remotely like that. I come from pretty humble origins and I'm a blue-collar guy straight down the line.
What I mean by "easy" is that I have never been in any serious financial difficulty, I have not had to literally struggle to survive, though like anyone else I have my share of burdens and challenges. I've had to work, and I consider that a fair deal; but I've never had more than one job at any given time. I am also good at living within my means, and maybe that's partly because I'm a bit of a homebody and don't have any expensive hobbies or interests. My most prized possessions are my books and my music collection.
By easy I also mean that I was lucky enough to be born in a country where a workingman can survive and even live in relative comfort. Despite all the assertions to the contrary, this is still possible in the US. The fact of the matter is that a great many people simply don't know how to handle money, they don't know how to live within their means. And I'm sure that a significant percentage of people who become "down and out" are either lazy or just plain irresponsible: they can't hold a job for an extended period of time, or they squander their money on any number of frivolous activities, material extravagances (like paying nearly half their monthly wages on car payments), or mind-altering amusements.
And a great many people in general need to realize that there is no obligation to reproduce. If you can barely sustain your own existence without undue stress and worry, don't have children. Or, limit the number of children you have. I find it difficult to sympathize with people who have four or five children, and in many cases a great deal more than that, and then complain that they cannot makes ends meet. Child-bearing is an enormous responsibility, and it's plain that to some people it's not only that but a largely unrewarding burden, financially and emotionally.
I also have it easy as far as a general sense of safety and security: I live in a country where war is a thing people get on planes and fly off to. I was never in the military myself, and I realize how presumptuous it is of me to judge the purpose or behavior of any person who has been in combat, or even anyone who has done military service. I'm not a mind reader. I don't know for sure what compels the average G.I. or the suicide bomber. I can only go on the information I have and come to very general conclusions.
What is almost certain is that the idea of God is a major impetus behind some acts of patriotism or nationalism. In the US it is blatantly obvious that a great many people cannot make any real distinction between their faith and their love of country, which I consider to be an extremely dangerous state of affairs. Because of the general prosperity in the US, and because most Americans are Christian, it is naturally assumed that there is an obvious connection between the two, and in my opinion this is the most dangerous and disturbing thing about the United States.
Take a President like Bush, who is routinely and shamelessly careless with the seriousness of his office, who uses religious rhetoric at every opportunity, who seems to have no understanding of and/or no respect for the separation of Church and State, you mix that with a population which is not only notoriously nationalistic but which has suddenly been awakened to the reality of being vulnerable to the rest of the world, and consider that the greater majority of these people are steeped in their religious traditions already: you've got a giant, nervous and volatile herd on your hands.
That isn't to say that religious faith is bad and atheism is good. Recent history has shown that atheists can be dangerous idealogues too, and can wreak their own brand of bloody havoc on the world; and certainly there are religious people who are not highly nationalistic or patriotic, don't act like sheep, are intelligent and civil and humane. Probably, most religious people are decent and humane and only want what's best for everyone. What bothers me about American Christians, particularly the right-leaning, church/Jesus/family oriented folks who are out in force everywhere, if an informal poll of bumper stickers is any indication, is the fact that they refuse to acknowledge that the political philosophies which influenced the founding fathers had precious little, if anything really, to do with Christianity.
We are a secular nation in that our goverment is secular. Whatever we are in private is our own business. And "secular", despite the lies perpetuated by Christian Americans, does not mean opposed to religion, it just means that the goverment will make no formal recognition of any one particular faith, nor in any way endorse or denounce any particular faith, and by formal I mean "official", not private. Nor does "secular" automatically endorse atheism, which is another lie from the Christian camp. The goverment cannot officially endorse atheism any more than it can officially endorse Christianity. Christians argue that by not officially endorsing a particular faith they are therefore endorsing atheism, which is false. Neutral is neutral. The relatively recent concessions made to the religiously-minded, such as the mention of God in the Pledge of Allegiance, or the phrase "in God we trust" incribed on American currency, still do not concede to Christianity in any way whatsoever. God is God for the Christian, the Jew, the Muslim, the Twelve-stepper, even the Sub-genius. If Christians do not wish to acknowledge that fact, that's their own problem.
I think we might progress a wee bit as a people, and by that I mean a world-people, if this invisible means of support is recognized for what it really is: a non-existent means of support. We're all we've got. And, like Frank Zappa said, maybe this really is a one-shot deal. Maybe we don't fly into the arms of our sky-daddy when we die. Maybe he doesn't pat our heads and tell us what good boys and girls we've been. Maybe there are no virgins waiting for us, or golden cities with golden streets. No rivers of milk and honey. No wings, no harps, no cloud-hopping, no angels, no happy forever and evers. I notice a lot of talk from religious folks about death, but hey, come on, the majority of Christians don't believe in death. A lot of hot air about death, but most of them don't believe it exists. On the one hand they tell me that Jesus died for me, and on the other they say that he rose up three days later. Hint: that's not death. It's a nap. And why all this talk of death when the majority of Christians believe in some form of Heaven and Hell: that all souls exist forever in some indescribable but undeniably conscious state, either in bliss or in torment?
Death is permanent. It isn't the wages of sin, it isn't what we get because of our inherently depraved natures. We don't die because we have done something wrong. Death is not a punishment, dealt out by some deathless being whose main function is to remind us of how undeserving we are of life, of happiness, of pleasure. Death is natural. It's as natural as it gets, but it's also permanent. It isn't a point of transition between life and eternal life, it isn't a dreamless sleep that is trivially short, it isn't a three day nap behind a big rock. It's oblivion, non-existence, non-consciousness. It's a permanent return to the condition we were in before we were born, which was nothingness. Death is easy to understand. All you have to do is think about what you were doing when the Pyramids were built. You weren't doing anything, you were dead. You've already been dead.
If we're going to harp on the Muslims for their willingness to go to extremes for their religion, then let's remember that a lot of American Christians are driven by the same purpose, and by beliefs which are disturbingly similar. There are certain groups of Christians, not all American but largely American, who call themselves Dominionists, or Christian Reconstructionists. The driving force behind these groups is not a respect for human rights or political freedom, but a focused and purposeful desire to turn America (and the rest of the world, if they can) toward a Christian theocracy whose sole authority would be the Bible. These groups believe that their mission is to establish God's Kingdom here on earth, and they believe that Jesus will not return until far in the future when this Kingdom has been realized. We are talking about a society under strict Mosaic Law: Old Testament law. We are talking about executions for homosexuality, blasphemy, even wayward and uncontrollable youths. Some of these warped individuals have even advocated public stonings.
I don't want to sound like an alarmist, though I suppose that's inevitable. I realize that these groups are relatively small and are considered crazy even by most mainstream Christians, but there are certain disturbing connections between the mainstream religious right in America and the core issues that drive the Dominionists/Reconstructionists: the deliberate insistence that Judeo-Christian values and/or ethics are the necessary foundation for the concepts of political freedom and human rights, which is sheer nonsense, and the equally nonsensical attempt to curtail the freedoms of American citizens by citing the supposed desires of an ancient tribal deity. The United States cannot be run by appealing to the Bible: ultimately, it will only be destroyed by such an appeal. Mosaic, or Old Testament Law, if taken literally, would be like a deadly poison if it were consistently administered in the US, or in any civilized country.
The truly scary thing is that when I talk to some Christians, they don't understand why living under Old Testament law would be a bad thing. They don't even know what would change. These dummies will deserve what they get.
I was born at West Point, raised in the area, and all my life held military people in high esteem, and in some way, I suppose, I still do, though my feelings and thoughts on the matter have changed somewhat over the past two years. To speak ill of American soldiers, or any soldiers really, still makes a part of me feel ashamed and ungrateful. I've had an easy life. But wait, saying something like that, without doing at least a little explaining, could give people a picture of me which is highly inaccurate, so here goes: I don't mean that I have been sheltered, spoiled, over-privileged, or anything remotely like that. I come from pretty humble origins and I'm a blue-collar guy straight down the line.
What I mean by "easy" is that I have never been in any serious financial difficulty, I have not had to literally struggle to survive, though like anyone else I have my share of burdens and challenges. I've had to work, and I consider that a fair deal; but I've never had more than one job at any given time. I am also good at living within my means, and maybe that's partly because I'm a bit of a homebody and don't have any expensive hobbies or interests. My most prized possessions are my books and my music collection.
By easy I also mean that I was lucky enough to be born in a country where a workingman can survive and even live in relative comfort. Despite all the assertions to the contrary, this is still possible in the US. The fact of the matter is that a great many people simply don't know how to handle money, they don't know how to live within their means. And I'm sure that a significant percentage of people who become "down and out" are either lazy or just plain irresponsible: they can't hold a job for an extended period of time, or they squander their money on any number of frivolous activities, material extravagances (like paying nearly half their monthly wages on car payments), or mind-altering amusements.
And a great many people in general need to realize that there is no obligation to reproduce. If you can barely sustain your own existence without undue stress and worry, don't have children. Or, limit the number of children you have. I find it difficult to sympathize with people who have four or five children, and in many cases a great deal more than that, and then complain that they cannot makes ends meet. Child-bearing is an enormous responsibility, and it's plain that to some people it's not only that but a largely unrewarding burden, financially and emotionally.
I also have it easy as far as a general sense of safety and security: I live in a country where war is a thing people get on planes and fly off to. I was never in the military myself, and I realize how presumptuous it is of me to judge the purpose or behavior of any person who has been in combat, or even anyone who has done military service. I'm not a mind reader. I don't know for sure what compels the average G.I. or the suicide bomber. I can only go on the information I have and come to very general conclusions.
What is almost certain is that the idea of God is a major impetus behind some acts of patriotism or nationalism. In the US it is blatantly obvious that a great many people cannot make any real distinction between their faith and their love of country, which I consider to be an extremely dangerous state of affairs. Because of the general prosperity in the US, and because most Americans are Christian, it is naturally assumed that there is an obvious connection between the two, and in my opinion this is the most dangerous and disturbing thing about the United States.
Take a President like Bush, who is routinely and shamelessly careless with the seriousness of his office, who uses religious rhetoric at every opportunity, who seems to have no understanding of and/or no respect for the separation of Church and State, you mix that with a population which is not only notoriously nationalistic but which has suddenly been awakened to the reality of being vulnerable to the rest of the world, and consider that the greater majority of these people are steeped in their religious traditions already: you've got a giant, nervous and volatile herd on your hands.
That isn't to say that religious faith is bad and atheism is good. Recent history has shown that atheists can be dangerous idealogues too, and can wreak their own brand of bloody havoc on the world; and certainly there are religious people who are not highly nationalistic or patriotic, don't act like sheep, are intelligent and civil and humane. Probably, most religious people are decent and humane and only want what's best for everyone. What bothers me about American Christians, particularly the right-leaning, church/Jesus/family oriented folks who are out in force everywhere, if an informal poll of bumper stickers is any indication, is the fact that they refuse to acknowledge that the political philosophies which influenced the founding fathers had precious little, if anything really, to do with Christianity.
We are a secular nation in that our goverment is secular. Whatever we are in private is our own business. And "secular", despite the lies perpetuated by Christian Americans, does not mean opposed to religion, it just means that the goverment will make no formal recognition of any one particular faith, nor in any way endorse or denounce any particular faith, and by formal I mean "official", not private. Nor does "secular" automatically endorse atheism, which is another lie from the Christian camp. The goverment cannot officially endorse atheism any more than it can officially endorse Christianity. Christians argue that by not officially endorsing a particular faith they are therefore endorsing atheism, which is false. Neutral is neutral. The relatively recent concessions made to the religiously-minded, such as the mention of God in the Pledge of Allegiance, or the phrase "in God we trust" incribed on American currency, still do not concede to Christianity in any way whatsoever. God is God for the Christian, the Jew, the Muslim, the Twelve-stepper, even the Sub-genius. If Christians do not wish to acknowledge that fact, that's their own problem.
I think we might progress a wee bit as a people, and by that I mean a world-people, if this invisible means of support is recognized for what it really is: a non-existent means of support. We're all we've got. And, like Frank Zappa said, maybe this really is a one-shot deal. Maybe we don't fly into the arms of our sky-daddy when we die. Maybe he doesn't pat our heads and tell us what good boys and girls we've been. Maybe there are no virgins waiting for us, or golden cities with golden streets. No rivers of milk and honey. No wings, no harps, no cloud-hopping, no angels, no happy forever and evers. I notice a lot of talk from religious folks about death, but hey, come on, the majority of Christians don't believe in death. A lot of hot air about death, but most of them don't believe it exists. On the one hand they tell me that Jesus died for me, and on the other they say that he rose up three days later. Hint: that's not death. It's a nap. And why all this talk of death when the majority of Christians believe in some form of Heaven and Hell: that all souls exist forever in some indescribable but undeniably conscious state, either in bliss or in torment?
Death is permanent. It isn't the wages of sin, it isn't what we get because of our inherently depraved natures. We don't die because we have done something wrong. Death is not a punishment, dealt out by some deathless being whose main function is to remind us of how undeserving we are of life, of happiness, of pleasure. Death is natural. It's as natural as it gets, but it's also permanent. It isn't a point of transition between life and eternal life, it isn't a dreamless sleep that is trivially short, it isn't a three day nap behind a big rock. It's oblivion, non-existence, non-consciousness. It's a permanent return to the condition we were in before we were born, which was nothingness. Death is easy to understand. All you have to do is think about what you were doing when the Pyramids were built. You weren't doing anything, you were dead. You've already been dead.
If we're going to harp on the Muslims for their willingness to go to extremes for their religion, then let's remember that a lot of American Christians are driven by the same purpose, and by beliefs which are disturbingly similar. There are certain groups of Christians, not all American but largely American, who call themselves Dominionists, or Christian Reconstructionists. The driving force behind these groups is not a respect for human rights or political freedom, but a focused and purposeful desire to turn America (and the rest of the world, if they can) toward a Christian theocracy whose sole authority would be the Bible. These groups believe that their mission is to establish God's Kingdom here on earth, and they believe that Jesus will not return until far in the future when this Kingdom has been realized. We are talking about a society under strict Mosaic Law: Old Testament law. We are talking about executions for homosexuality, blasphemy, even wayward and uncontrollable youths. Some of these warped individuals have even advocated public stonings.
I don't want to sound like an alarmist, though I suppose that's inevitable. I realize that these groups are relatively small and are considered crazy even by most mainstream Christians, but there are certain disturbing connections between the mainstream religious right in America and the core issues that drive the Dominionists/Reconstructionists: the deliberate insistence that Judeo-Christian values and/or ethics are the necessary foundation for the concepts of political freedom and human rights, which is sheer nonsense, and the equally nonsensical attempt to curtail the freedoms of American citizens by citing the supposed desires of an ancient tribal deity. The United States cannot be run by appealing to the Bible: ultimately, it will only be destroyed by such an appeal. Mosaic, or Old Testament Law, if taken literally, would be like a deadly poison if it were consistently administered in the US, or in any civilized country.
The truly scary thing is that when I talk to some Christians, they don't understand why living under Old Testament law would be a bad thing. They don't even know what would change. These dummies will deserve what they get.
No comments:
Post a Comment