Ezra's Page of Reason

Elle Smith I Love You

2004-10-10T02:21:00.000-04:00

I Love Liz Smith - I am her Love Slave.

Dear God,

2004-09-22T14:10:00.000-04:00

From the Principia Discordia,

"Western Union Telegram
To: Jehova Yahweh
Care: Celestial Hotel (Suite #666)
Presidential Tier, Paradise

Dear God;
This is to inform you that your current position as deity is herewith terminated due to gross incompetence STOP Your check will be mailed STOP Please do not use me for a reference

Respectfully,

Malaclypse the Younger/Omnibenevolent Polyfather
POEE High Priest"

Politics as Usual

2004-08-30T18:07:00.000-04:00

If there is anything that we have learned from the Bush Administration, it is that, while he is a natural born leader, he is not a strict conservative. His deal with the AARP that produced the largest proscription drug benefits plan in history, that will no doubt bankrupt an already wasteful and inefficient Medicare Institution is just one example. Programs such as the No Child Left Behind initiatives are steps in the right direction, but appear to be offering very little in short term positive effects, nor give us any reason to be optimistic for the future of the program as a positive initiative, which has nonetheless cost the American Taxpayer billions of dollars and contributed to the unprecedented national debt and federal deficit.

Why isn’t the Republican Party focusing on key conservative issues such as Tax Reform and the reduction of federal bureaucracy? Never before has proposals such as a National Consumption Tax and a Flat Tax had so much national support and in a time of war and massive federal spending, never have we had such a cause for trimming the federal bureaucracy. The answer is that tiny minority of the American Public called the Swing Vote, or Moderates.

I believe, that in order for the Republicans to remain powerful within the government, they must give benefits to every branch, every vein and every capillary of the bureaucratic machine. This means, that instead of pushing for a more effective and efficient education system, the Republicans, like the Democrats, have no choice but to throw money at the bureaucracies and hope and pray that they do something productive. Spending on Welfare, Education, Healthcare, Medicare, Construction and Legislation increases every year. Yet, what improvements do we have to show for it?

If the George W. Bush wins in November, it will not be because of his conservative political positions, but because of his ability as a National leader in the war on Terror. If John Kerry wins, it will be because Americans no longer believe that we are the “good guys” and that they believe that we should be subservient to other Nations and National Organizations. The two major political parties are NOT looking out for the general interests of the American people or their liberty. They are locked into a political atmosphere that does not forgive the Great Sin of common sense and representative democracy. The American public has never before been so mislead about the real issues at hand, focusing on a War three decades old and on a propaganda machine and its pugilist mercenaries; the result of which is an election that has nothing to do with the good of the People, but the power of the Parties.

The Republican Convention

2004-08-30T12:36:00.000-04:00

The Republican Convention this morning, has frustrated me beyond belief, mostly for the same reason I was so aggravated by the Libertarian convention. Thus far, it has been a convention of Republican Values. The only real issue addressed has been a denouncement of frivolous suits. If the Republicans do not put forward a bold and unwavering plan for the future, their convention won’t mean anything. If they preach to the choir, they’ll lose this election. If they continue to send people up there, who say things like, “The Strength of our Nation rests in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ”, I’m going to be ill.

Killing the Abrahamic Religions

2004-06-28T13:18:00.000-04:00

The previous selection illustrates the nature of Christianity and the drastic effects it had on the modern world. Christianity, as an institution, is the greatest destroyer in history – a title that the Muslims seem intent on securing for themselves, though I doubt they have the intellectual ability to succeed. While the Muslims have a spirit of violence, they lack the deceptiveness and viciousness with which the Christians have established their powers and crusades throughout the years.

These religions are a plague. I hope that in my lifetime I am witness to a return to individualized religion and an end of Abrahamic intolerance and violence. The world suffered under a thousand years of Christian brutality and now we’re plagued with Islamic militarism. The Jews were no better in their brief moments of superiority. How long till we take seriously the threat these religions pose to peace, liberty and reason?

Now, the way to kill a religion is to kill their culture, by replacing it with something better. We can do this by readopting the humanist spirit, by preaching love, virtue, science, liberty, reason and individuality. Once we’ve taken possession of these, we must go about recreating society, allowing culture to flourish. (How long has art and music been impotent to inspire?) We need to start a movement away from the intolerance and violence of Organized Religion, toward the Reason and Liberty of Humanism and a pagan kind of religious tolerance (religion unique to the individual).

Christian Force, Fraud and Violence (From: A History of Pagan Europe by Jones & Penniick)

2004-06-28T13:15:00.000-04:00

“Constantine was baptized into Christianity by an Arian bishop on his deathbed, on Whitsunday 337. Constantine never followed the Christian sectarians in persecuting non-Christians, but his three sons did. In 340 a ban was put on Pagan sacrifices, ‘superstition’ and ‘unsoundness of thinking’ in the east, and in 342 this edict was extended to the whole Empire. In 346 public sacrifices were banned and Pagan observance was made a capital offence. The Pagans kept their heads down and waited for the tide of history to sweep the new sect away. The dualism of Christian thought was completely unprecedented and presumably incomprehensible to Pagans.

In 349, Pagan sectarians back the political rebellion of one Count Magnentius, commanding officer of the elite Jovian and Herculean legions set up by Diocletian. He was bought off by the youngest emperor, Constans, but renewed his efforts the following year, taking the whole of the western Empire. His Pagan regime was received with great rejoicing by the majority of the population, who obviously only needed a champion in order to reassert their own beliefs. Yet at the same time Christian conversations were multiplying rapidly, especially in the cities. It is at this time that the word ‘pagan’ ceased to be used by the Christians simply to refer to a cowardly non-combatant in the army of Christ, and regained its literal meaning: a country person, a rustic, a yokel who was too slow-witted to take up the religion of the modern age. Magnentius was defeated after some diplomatic realignment of forces by the eastern emperor, Constantius, in September 351 and committed suicide two years later in Gaul or Britain, to which he had retreated. In the campaign against Magnentius, however, Constantius had had to give power to the only male relatives (apart from his brothers) whom he had not butchered on his accession, his cousins Gallus and Julian. It was Julian who was to lead the next Pagan restoration.

Julian was a thoughtful young man, prickly and defensive, who eventually developed the eccentric habit of dressing like a Hellenistic philosopher, with an unkempt beard and wearing a rough robe. He and his brother had the courtly manners of a gentleman of whatever faith, but when called to military command distinguished himself as a brave leader, a fair disciplinarian and a just victor. When his duties took him to Greece the young prince reconverted to Paganism at the shrine of Athena of Ilium – once more the purported site of ancient Troy, the symbolic home of the mysterious Palladium. The following year he experienced an ecstatic vision during his initiation into the Mithraic Mysteries at Ephesus (the site of Maximin Daia’s shrine of Zeus Friend of Humanity), and became a committed Pagan missionary for the rest of his life. Clearly, private Pagan worship including the Mysteries was still going on, but Julian noted with bitterness the decay of the public temples.

Julian’s military appointment under Constantius took him as Caesar to Gaul, where the Germanic tribes, pressed by Gothic invasions from the east, had been ravaging the province. The new Caesar restored order and, it would seem, prosperity there, then duly rose against the emperor in what had become the time-honored way of taking power. After more diplomatic intrigue, Constantius died on 3 November, 361, naming Julian as his successor, and the new emperor marched into Constantinople on 11 December, 361. He did not institute a massacre of the Christians, which led them to complain that they had been cheated of martyrdom. He reduced corruption in the administration, repealed the laws of religious persecution, but prevented Christians from serving in the military (because their law forbade killing), from receiving grants and gifts (because their religion preached poverty) and from using Pagan texts in schoolbooks (because Pagan myths demonstrated Pagan ethics, which could only mislead Christian children). It is unclear whether these rulings were superbly cynical or naively sincere.

Under Julian the temples were reopened and the marauding bands of Christians who had become used to pillaging and destroying Pagan shrines became subject to the usual penalties of the law. Julian himself seems to have been a philosopher at heart, and this may have been the climate of the times, with people fighting over ideas, whether rational or revelatory, and seeking to put into practice an ethical rule of life. There is some evidence that Julian intended to set up a Pagan ‘church’ preaching Pagan ‘doctrines’, with authority imposed from above by himself as supreme pontiff. This is the religion of a Follower of the Word, whereas for the bulk of Julian’s subjects the many divinities of what we can now see as the Pagan religion were simply unseen presences whose existence was proved by their effects, numina whose presence people would be mad to deny. The climate of thought was changing whether because of the dogmatic preaching of the Christians and Manichees or as the precondition of this. Julian’s version of ‘Hellenism’ reflected the change in the times.

In 363 the emperor went to secure the eastern frontier against the Persians and died in battle. Christianity became the official religion once more, but Paganism was tolerated until the accession of Theodosius in 379. Meanwhile, Pagan art and literature had taken heart again in Rome and the so-called ‘Aristocracy of Letters’ flourished in that backwater until the Pagan rebellion against Theodosius in 394. After Theodosius declared Catholic Christianity the only permissible faith in 381, the western emperor, Gratian, snubbed the Pagans of Rome by declining the title of Pontifex Maximus and then enacting a series of deadly laws against the cults of the old Republic. State funding was to be withdrawn from Pagan shrines and ceremonies, the altar of Victory was to be removed from the Senate, and, perhaps worst of all, the Vestals were to lose their privileges and immunities and their sacred fire was to be put out. The Roman establishment was stunned. By the end of the year, however, Gratian was murdered by his barbarian Master of Cavalry at Lyons.

After Gratian’s assassination, a patrician called Symmachus became Prefect of Rome in 384. He fronted the Pagan party in the argument over the Altar of Victory, arguing that ancestral usage ought to be maintained, for different nations have different faiths. Rome should be allowed to live in her own way.

‘We ask peace for the gods of our fathers, peace for our nature divinities. It is only just to assume that the object of a ll people’s worship is the same. We look up to the same stars, one sky covers us all and the same universe surrounds us. Do the means by which a man seeks the truth really matter? There is no single road by which we may arrive at so great a mystery.’

The Christian emperor, under the guidance of Bishop Ambrose, refused to restore the Altar, Symmachus was assailed by a whispering campaign and resigned as chief magistrate in 385, just before Emperor Valentinian held his ten-year jubilee in Rome. That year, 386, saw Libanius publish his Defense of the Temples, but it also saw the fanatical ex-monk John Chrysostom appointed as archbishop of Constantinople. In 392, thoroughgoing laws contested by Christian heirs, banned all celebratory games and Pagan holy days, and forbade even the worship of the household deities in private. In the west, however, Valentinian was assassinated in 392 and Eugenius (392-394) restored the image of Victory in the Senate and payments to Pagan priests began again. Pagan shrines were restored ceremonially by senior officials, including that of Hercules at Ostia.

Theodosius had been principal emperor since 379 and in his eastern area of jurisdiction anti-Pagan legislation had been continuous. Given the unstable nature of the times, he had a horror of secret societies and of magic, so private Pagan rituals were forbidden from the start of his reign. Monasteries and nunneries had been founded in the east, and gangs of black-robed monks would roam the cities and countryside desecrating temples and inciting mobs to destroy them, while the civil authorities turned a blind eye. In 390 a mod burned down the library of Alexandria, an irreplaceable collection of documents dating back to remotest antiquity, and in the following year the Serapeium (temple of Isis and Serapis) was destroyed by order of Archbishop Theophilus of Alexandria. After decades of expecting the Christians to go away, the Pagans finally fought back. The old Roman habit of obedience to authority was perhaps weaker in the east, and there were battles in the streets. One Bishop Marcellus, having sent a party of soldiers and gladiators to destroy a temple, was seized by the local populace and burned alive. At Alexandria, some of the wreckers were crucified. But the Pagan cults were disunited, there was no concept of a general Pagan religion (Julian’s ‘Hellenism’ had not been tested for long enough), and Libanius’ ‘men in black, who show their piety be dressing in the clothes of mourning’ ultimately had their way, destroying most of the artwork and the learning of the ancient world in their zeal to discover and eradicate ‘sin’.

In 394, Theodosius took over the whole Empire and announced that the state could not afford to pay for Pagan rites, as the money was needed for the army. Official Paganism was forced underground, and Pagans were persecuted. The civil right of Pagans continued to be suppressed, culminating in 416, when Pagans were barred from the Imperial Service. But by then, the Empire was divided, raved by Goths, Vandals and Huns, moving west under pressure from the Huns who had recently been expelled from China. Many of these were Arian Christians. The Roman troops who defeated Eugenius, the Pagan emperor in the west, in 394 were under the control of an Arian, a Vandal named Stilicho, and included Gothic Arian mercenaries under one Alaric. Alaric next appears the following year pillaging and largely destroying the Pagan shrines of Greece. Some Pagan commentators of the time were convinced that this was a religious crusade. The Mystery shrine, still functioning at Eleusis, was destroyed then, and the Erechtheum, the shrine of Poseidon on the Acropolis, became the first Pagan site on the peninsula to be converted into a Christian church.

Stilicho the Vandal, a naturalized Roman, was now chief of staff under the western Emperor Honorius (395-423), who instituted the long-feared decree to destroy the temples in 398. The law attacking the temples was, however, repealed, and the Empire relapsed into its previous state of confusion. At some time after 402 Stilicho burned the Sibylline Books, perhaps to demonstrate his contempt for the Pagans’ explanation of the chaos as a consequence of abandoning the ancestral deities. In 405 more than 200,000 Goths, under a Scythian Pagan called Radegais, flooded into Italy from the northeast. They were defeated, but only just, by Alaric. More pretenders to the throne arose and were defeated, Stilicho was executed on a pretext by Honorius, and then in 409 Alaric found himself on the receiving end of a new persecution. The administration was to be purged of ‘barbarians’. Briefly, Alaric, although Christian, set up a new Pagan Imperial administration in Rome, but the experiment failed to impress Honorius, and in a fit of frustration on 24 August, 410 Alaric sacked the city.

As a Christian, Alaric allowed one sanctuary to be spared, the church of St. Peter on Vatican Hill. In it were kept the valuables of as many Christians as could get them there, and their girl children. The new city was set up as a Christian foundation. Further edicts referred to Pagan practices as an error on the part of Christian believers, rather than as a part of a separate and independent religion. One thousand years of Pagan tradition had come to and end.

However, the common people remained Pagan in fact if not in theory, as decrees and the writings of observers show. The writings of Church fathers from Augustine (354-430) through to the antiquarians of the nineteenth century variously condemn, bewail or simply observe the remnants of ancient belief and practice among unlettered folk. The temple of the Mother of Heaven (i.e. Isis) at Carthage, disused and overgrown by the early fifth century, was made into a church. But in the year 440, bishops noticed that worshippers there were continuing to worship the old goddess, and had the temple demolished.

A few Pagan intellectuals managed to salvage and transmit the learning and values of the past during that first bleak century. We have already mentioned Zosimus the historian, writing at the end of the fourth century, whose account of Roman civilization fills out with its own bias the biased record of his Christian contemporaries. In addition, the lawyer Martianus Capella, a contemporary of Augustine at Hippo, compiled the Marriage of Philology and Mercury, a great compendium of what became known as the seven liberal arts, including long quotations from Classical authors. Platonic teaching continued in Alexandria, a hotbed of Christian missionary zeal, but in 415 the head of the school, Hypatia, was torn apart by a Christian mob on her way to the lecture theatre. In 4320433 a young visionary called Proclus studied in Athens under the Pagan philosophers Syrianus and Plutarch. After further wandering under the guidance of his Goddess Hecate, the divine patroness of his birthplace, Byzantium, Proclus himself became head of the Academy in around 450. He wrote and taught voluminously, and when in 529 the eastern Emperor Justinian closed down the Pagan schools in Athens, the remaining philosophers, rather than recanting, fled to Persia and taught at the university of Jundishapur. Greek learning was thus preserved and built upon by the Persians and also by the Arabs, who had received it through centuries of interaction with the Graeco-Roman Empire. It was eventually returned to the western world when the Christian Frankish Empire clashed with the Islamic Moorish Empire in Spain in the ninth century.

Cultured Christians such as Boethius and Cassiodorus were rare but invaluable in the transmission of learning. Boethius translated Aristotle into Latin, wrote several treatises on logic, music and arithmetic, and used quotations from Classical authors freely in his work The Consolation of Philosophy. By applying philosophical categories to questions of Christian theology, he prepared the way for the later readmission of intellectual speculation into the theological fold. Cassiodorus was a pupil of Boethius, who extended Capella’s work on the seven liberal arts and eventually founded a house of contemplatives which included a well-stocked library of many ancient texts. Boethius and Cassiodorus gave medieval philosophy the intellectual nicety for which we respect it today, much of which is derived from Pagan thought.

After the death of Emperor Theodosius in 395, the old Roman Empire with its two Christian capitals split once more into east and west. This time there was to be no coordinating authority. In 381 Theodosius had declared the eastern patriarchate in Constantinople equal in authority to the western patriarchate in Rome, and after that the two Christian dominions went their increasingly separate ways, as the political strength of the western Empire diminished following the sack of Rome. Despite localized fanaticism, such as that of the Christian mobs in Egypt, the Byzantine Empire retained the Greek respect for intellectual and visionary information, and preserved many ancient documents as well as incorporating some mystical teachings into its form of Christianity. By contrast, as Neoplatonism grew during the second century, the Christians in Rome had abandoned Greek, their original liturgical language, and began to distrust it as sophistical and dangerous to honest minds. Western Christianity based on Rome was politically active, considering itself a moral counterbalance to the ignorance of its new political rulers, the one-time warrior nomads who knew little of urban civilization, but in its initial years it also set itself against speculative thought, both intellectual and mystical.

Divided by conflicts between Catholics and Arians, the western Empire grew increasingly weak, its last emperor being deposed in 476 in favor of a barbarian king of Italy. The Goths and Vandals who held Italy and Spain, however, saw themselves as custodians of an ancient civilization which they, as newcomers, did not share. This civilization was, of course, Pagan. The Catholic Church in these countries adopted many of the outward forms of Pagan ceremonial. For example, the Goths wore their hair long and their tunics short, but Christian priests retained the short hair and long robe of a Roman gentlemen. A shaven head had been characteristic of a priest of Egyptian religion, so much so that St Jerome (b. 348) stated that Christian priests should not appear with shorn head lest they be confounded with priests of Isis and Serapis. Yet by 663, the Synod of Whitby included an argument not over whether priests should be tonsured, but over what style of tonsure to adopt. Christianity was vehemently opposed to the worship of goddesses. Yet one of the earliest churches dedicated to Mary Mother of God was on the site of the temple of Diana at Ephesus. A synod held at Ephesus in 431 first designated Mary as Mother of God. The procession torches, as were once used in the processions of Diana. The use of holy water passage marking the turning points of human life, the veneration of local saints, and the great feast of the dead, the annual Christian Parentalia on All Souls’ Day, can all be seen as direct imitations of Pagan tradition.

St. Augustine proposed the ‘christening’ of Pagan objects as well as of Pagan people, to convert them to Christian use. Notoriously, in 601 Pope Gregory I advised his missionaries in northern Europe to do the same thing with holy places. We have already seen the unexpected result of an early attempt to do this (the temple of the Mother of Heaven at Carthage, above). In Rome, the Litania Major of the Catholic Church was held on St Mark’s Day (April 25), the day of the Roman Robigalia. In that city, it included a procession that took the same route as the Pagan procession. During the following centuries, Church directives became full of orders to Christian priests not to allow, for example, ‘carols’ of dancing and singing, especially by young women, in their churches. Priests even took part in the rites of the Calends of May. The orders were mixed and ad hoc, because they were fighting against the inevitable. The Roman midwinter feast of Saturnalia (17 December), the winder solstice or Brumalia on 25 December and the New Year feast on the Calends of January persisted in their Pagan form through an accident of Church doctrine. In theory they were Pagan holidays, not Christian ones. New Year celebrations had been inveighed against by Bishop Martin of Braga in 575:

‘You shall not perform the wicked celebration of the Calends and observe the holiday of the Gentiles, nor shall you decorate your houses with laurel and green branches. This whole celebration is Pagan.’ (Acta Conciliarum V.iii399, quoted in Tille (1899), p. 103 n. 2)

In 742 the Northumbrian missionary Bishop Boniface warned his German converts against celebrating the solstice. However, they said they had seen the same done in Rome outside St Peter’s Church and not forbidden. In fact, the winder solstice or Brumalia, by now the feast of Mithras and the Unconquered Sun, had been associated with the birth of Jesus in 354 by Bishop Liberius of Rome. This move had been made in order to accommodate the new doctrine, one move in the continuing battle against Arianism, that Jesus had been divine from his birth rather than receiving divinity when he was baptized by John, which latter occasion was celebrated as the Epiphany on 6 January. The new feast of Christ’s mass at the winter solstice was exported to Constantinople in 379, and in 506 the Law Book of Alarich designated it as a public holiday. As we have seen, in the time of Constantine, the new faith of Christianity was taken to be similar to that of the Unconquered Sun, whose feast day, together with that of Mithras, was also at the winder solstice. Why Bishop Liberius chose the winter solstice as the birth of Christ we do not know, but we can assume that his choice took account of the historical conflation of Christ, Mithras and Sol.

What is certain is that once the choice was made the old Pagan celebrations were almost bound to attach themselves to the new data. The name of Saturnalia died out, but its celebrations, such as decking houses with evergreens, giving presents and feasting, were attached to Christmas. Some features of the New Year, such as the keeping of a perpetual fire in the hearth and the laying of a table for the goddess Fortuna (later for local spirits or for Father Christmas), were transferred to the new feast. But New Year, which corresponded to a genuine turning point in civic life each year, also remained as a (heretical) feast in its own right and was never assimilated by the Church. It is not generally true to say that the Church adopted Pagan feast days as its own feast days, but it did adopt the celebrations of adjacent ones, such as the Saturnalia, into its own liturgical year, and it did lend its blessing to local events which would have been celebrated anyway, such as Plough Monday, St. George’s Day, beating the village bounds, and May Eve, as we shall see.

The Western Empire was broken up eventually by the continuing rivalry between Catholics and Arians. In 534, the eastern Emperor Justinian reclaimed Africa from the (mostly Arian) Vandals and was hailed as a liberator by the Catholic Church there, and between 535 and 555 he took Italy back from the (Arian) Goths, all in the name of religion. The wealth and infrastructure of the country were almost destroyed in the process, and it did not have time to recover before the next wave of barbarian invasions, led by the Lombards in 568. Any pretence at a western Empire was now over, and yet the ideal remained, to be revived as the Holy Roman Empire by Charlemagne the Frank (741-814). The eastern Empire remained politically and liturgically intact (though held by the Franks on behalf of Rome for fifty years until 1261), until it fell to the Islamic Turks in 1453. After that the self-appointed championship of the Holy Roman Empire of the east, with its Orthodox rite, differing from that of the Catholics, was taken on by Russia.”

Intention

2004-06-27T07:00:00.000-04:00

I have found that most people do not understand how to achieve the things they desire most and when it comes to the basics, it all comes down to intention. Intention is like the adrenaline of the will. When applied it can accomplish feats that seem impossible or, at least, nearly so. Intention, though, does not live in a vacuum and it often needs to be fostered. Merely desiring something is not what I mean by intention. An individual must surround themselves with idols in order to continuously stimulate the subconscious and to remind it that there is a desire that requires more than just a conscious attention.

People often become what they surround themselves by and it is no wonder then that social classes are what they have become. If you are born into a city and you surround yourself with drugs, guns and violence, then drugs, guns and violence will be the essence of your life. However, if you surround yourself with books and magazines, if you act the way you think the person you want to become would act, then you are that much closer to actually being that person. Acting, in this sense, is not the same as being “fake”. Instead, it is a way of training the subconscious to think the way you’ll need to think when you finally realize your dreams and the position you desire.

In Alcoholics Anonymous there is a saying, “fake it until you make it”, and this is sound advice for more than just those who are suffering with an addiction. This is true for everyone who wants to be something more than who they are. Subconscious intention is what is being effected by the pretending or faking; because you are already acting as though you are who you want to be, your subconscious mind will begin to operate as that person, giving you the drive and motivations from within that you’ll need to succeed and overcome diversity. If you surround yourself with idle pleasures, then you will live an idle life. If you surround yourself with “great things”, you will have a natural inclination towards greatness. What you take into your subconscious mind will have an effect on your instincts. Therefore, if you surround yourself with a positive attitude, you will develop positive instincts, but you’ve got to fake it till you make it.

In my own life, I have found that everything worth doing took a great deal of practice and the more dedicated I was to the practice, the better I was at the work. The better I was at the work, the better I thought of myself…and this is how one comes to feel pride, self-esteem and ambition. Ambition and Intention are like one iceberg in an ocean. Ambition lives at the surface. It is the conscious mental energy and virtue that overcomes the distractions and pushes itself toward a goal. Intention is the great majority of the same iceberg that isn’t seen. It is subconscious and it is what grants energy to your ambitions. This can be either good or bad, because whatever your real intentions are in the subconscious, so too will be your ambitions on the conscious level. Now, this is not the way it always is, many times we go through deeply personal struggles trying to get what we want “deep down inside” to work with our conscious ambition and when they are in fact contradictory, it causes a great deal of stress.

The important lesson here is, that intention is subconscious and it is a part of the vast information your brain takes in without bothering to disturb your consciousness. Everything you surround yourself with is collected and stored as information in your brain, whether you know it or not; so if you surround yourself with clutter, organization will be a struggle. If you surround yourself with friends who have no ambition, ambition will be a struggle. If you surround yourself with common things, great things will be a struggle and so forth.

Almost every individual I know who went from being “nothing” to being “something” did so by living and thinking as though they had already accomplished their goals. They shaped their intentions which fueled their ambitions…and they thrived.

The Gospel of Steven

2004-06-26T12:21:00.000-04:00

For thousands of years our religions have preached hypocrisy, filled with the terrors of hell and the bliss of heaven. Arrogance has filled the hearts of the faithful and they have believed they understood the will of the gods, but I think it is not a coincidence that their beliefs have always been entirely self-serving. The Muslim believes that God will bring them power, riches and dominion over the earth. The Christians believe they will receive immortality and the Power of Christ on Earth, they believe that God will slaughter the souls of those who oppose their Christian Will and that all on earth will be made to suffer, save the Christians. The Jews…well, the Jews believe themselves the chosen people of God! Yet, the faithful think of themselves as humble and with the sword of hatred they sentence those who would not believe, to an eternity of hell.

But a time is approaching when the Religions of Abraham will indeed be humbled, when the armies of faith will tremble in wake of reason. For among the pagans and atheists, a voice has arisen, “love and virtue, my children, are the possessions of no religion, but to every person who seeks happiness”. Do not be fooled by the children of Abraham! They have seen the malice of their work and, to protect themselves, claim that God judges the heart and forgives all sin. Have they not yet learned that sin is a reflection of the heart? That what the mind believes, it does?

Morality is this, to love and be virtuous, but morality is not the only drive in the souls of men. There are dangers and prizes around every turn and the seas of reality must be navigated. The children of Abraham navigate these seas by faith alone, and look at where it takes them! The Muslims live a thousand years in the past, in the deserts and caves…they have not found within themselves the ability to achieve. Progress does not come by faith, but by reason. Reason is the logic of the gods inside us all. Reason is that which sees, hears, feels, smells and tastes, it is that which names and understands, it is that which knows and enables us to act. The religious of today live in fear and have become utterly dependant upon their Faith, for without reason nothing is certain and they live in darkness. They pray into the night for guidance, but when it comes they do not understand it, because they have hardened their minds; and without the mind the heart hears only confusion, it hears the whispering of the instincts and the affect, but it cannot interpret them, because it cannot think. The religious feel deeply, but they do not know. They love without knowing how to love. They want without knowing how to want. They desire justice, without knowing the meaning of the word.

Because they cannot think, they cannot evolve, and so they are left to worship ancient scriptures…mere relics of an arduous and bewildering age. God is found in our rational experience of nature, in our science and in our books, in the exploration of the human condition, of the condition of the Earth, of the condition of the stars. Knowledge is affirmation that what we have believed is true. Every time we act with reason, we improve our chances of success. My friends, the gods are not perfect, they are not themselves the totality of the divine! Everything evolves or is diminished. The children of Abraham have proven incapable of evolution and they have foreseen their own destruction, but before they are chosen for extinction, they will unleash hell on earth. Be prepared to survive them.

Be prepared to use your minds to overcome the wrath of the crumbling Temple, but throughout the coming age, do not forget the only truth that kept the religions alive for so long; the truth of love and virtue. Without love and virtue the world of men is cold and dark, we become too easily consumed with our irrational desires and the mind falls prey to immoderate and excessive decadence. Do not forget the poets who wrote so passionately of love. Do not forget to cherish the touches, the kisses, and the union of souls and never let your passion for life decline. Love is passion and Virtue is the logic of relationships. We must learn to love each other and to be virtuous unto one another because it is right and true, not because the God of Abraham has threatened us with violence, evil, hell and high waters!

I foresee a future world where everyone will have their own religion and where the gods will once again find peace in the peaceful hearts of men. I foresee the decline of Abraham and his progeny, for they have forsaken what makes men great and traded love for judgment, virtue for ritual and reason for mere faith. My friends, we can all enjoy the Love of God in our hearts, when we first learn to love ourselves. Do not buy into the lies of the New Testament, that the law is to love God and to love others. No. First learn to love thyself and love of the gods and of others will follow.

Happiness is knowing what one wants from this life and spending every minute of every day trying to achieve it. Knowledge is not procured by faith…it is procured and secured by reason, the mind of the gods in Man. Nature teaches us this: To know thyself, to know others and to know the world. To love thyself, to love others and to love the world. When you do this, you will learn the meaning of virtue, for virtue is not a matter of universal morality, but of reflecting upon those behaviors that increase the joyfulness of men and of your self. Happiness is available to those who will take responsibility for their own lives, to live by Reason and the capabilities of their mind, to find in every day the joy of life, the awe of the universe in its’ grandeur and mystery, but most of all, to find in each other, partnership and cooperation, that we must not navigate this life alone and as a family, work together for the mutual benefit of all.

The hour is approaching when the love, virtue and reason of sensible men will be the tools of salvation from those who preach dependence, fear and pity. The walls of Religion will crumble, because they have no foundation in the mind.

Smile --> The world is going mad.

2004-06-24T12:51:00.000-04:00

There is a kind of spirituality in instinct that allows us to look upon the world with a peculiar enchantment, as such the universe becomes absurd and everything appears clichéd. All the classifications, the language and naming of things, the self-righteousness, the wealth, the power, the outrage, the suffering, the fear, the pity and the sadness all seem to reflect something so oddly human and unnecessary that it takes discipline to remain steadfast in ones’ ability to reason and not commit themselves to chaos.

I realize that there is no universal justification for any one standard of judgment of either value and virtue, and that all we can do is to establish what we believe is the most important ‘thing’, actually or conceptually, and then to derive from that standard our core values and ambitions. While most of us find ourselves annoyed and disturbed by the imperial piper and its’ fools, there is really very little we can do to change their tune. Throughout history, ideas continually have evolved from a mere thought, into an institution, to an extreme and then towards destruction. Like all things, ideas are born, they live and they die. The Age of Social hysteria and outrage is at hand and the idea that we all have a right to happiness, equality and a life of fairness and ease is now alive.

Those of us who see the frivolousness and danger of this idea are forced to watch as governments and institutions, once again rise to power, and we see the individual once again wane in the wake of the Imperialization of poverty and dependence. The best we can do is to carve out our strongholds within the fabric of change and try to hang on to our liberties for as long as we can, to continue to live our lives by the virtues of reason, liberty and character so that when the Piper finally leads his quarry into the abyss of absolute dependence, we will remain prepared to rebuild all that we had lost.

Yet, one lesson that we have yet to learn is to find peace in disaster. I have spent most of my life outraged by what I saw, but recently, I’ve begun to find a real peace in the face of all this social hysteria and political folly. Reflect with me, for a moment, and see if you too do not come to the same conclusions as I.

Why do we love liberty and reason? We love liberty because it is the truth, because everything is born free and only acquires its’ shackles with age. We love liberty because we feel that it is the most productive and beautiful state of being. We love reason, for in a state of liberty, one must possess reason to survive. Reason is the tool we use to navigate the seas of reality, pushing back the fears and superstitions of old and allowing ourselves to learn how things work best and trying to duplicate the process as much as possible. We love liberty and reason because we want things to work. We want to work. Much of our happiness comes from the work that we do, from our ambitions and desires and struggles. The greatest feeling we can feel is that of overcoming obstacles that prevented us from succeeding and to finally taste the fruits of our labor. We find no joy in pity or fear and feel that everything that is possible is possible for us, so long as we have a will for it, we can always find a way to achieve it. And we are happy living our lives by a simple creed: When first we know what it is we want, we work hard to achieve it and when we succeed we are pleased. We find happiness, contentment and peace of mind in the process of Life, because for us, life is not something that is owed to us, but it is the Divine Itself! Life is what we do with every breath and every action. We have realized that in death we are all equal and only in Living can we be great and we strive to become so.

But now, we are faced with a world that wants to take away our reason and our liberty and replace it with religion or government or mob-rule (depending on the oppressors personal taste and whim). How can we still be happy knowing that we may well lose those things most precious to us? I believe the answer can be found in the Shrugging Off of those who are enemies of liberty and reason.

I fear that many of us spend a lot of time entertaining feelings of outrage, anger, frustration and the like, because we know the direction Man is taking is wrong and disastrous, but why should we be stripped of our happiness and joy, because of the actions and policies of Fools? So long as we are not following the Piper, consumed with its sweet tune of “the State Will Protect Thee”, we still have our own personal liberty and reason intact. I can find happiness in solitude. I believe that many of you understand what I mean. We do not value ourselves because of the way others see us, but rather because of the way we see ourselves. As long as we continue to do what we want to do, to achieve the lives we want to live, our happiness is something that cannot be taken away from us.

In the last two or three days I have caught myself smiling at the fact, or thought, that I can survive anything. That reason and liberty, for me, are instincts. Many of you may agree that we are incapable of acting out of dependence, pity and fear – and if this is true, then we already have everything we need to be happy! Even if things get worse or even to the point of being really, really bad. Aren’t we the ones who will be more than happy to fight to restore liberty? Aren’t we the ones who have spent our time in study and in learning from experience? Doesn’t this make us capable of dealing with whatever it is the world throws our way?

A problem with politics today is that everyone is angry and everyone is outraged. I believe that it would be a great credit to us, if we could begin to express ourselves with a sense of lightness and peace of mind as we try to whittle away at the arguments and lies that lie at the heart of the Pipers’ tune…that if we are truly rational people, we have no need to rely on anger to make our points stronger. That if we have logic, our points and arguments would be just as strong coming from a smiling mouth that laughs at the absurdities of liberal thinking. I won’t have a bad turn in this country make me a bitter man, instead, I desire to rise above the absurdities of some and practice the art of happiness that comes from knowing what I want to do and doing it.

Now, I’m not accusing anyone of being angry other than myself, but if there is anyone who has felt outrage and is tired of feeling that way, I just wanted to offer my reflections over the past couple of days in the hope that they would bring a smile to your face and a lightness to your soul. J

Question

2004-06-22T23:02:00.000-04:00

Alright, for the few people that actually check my sight ( J ):

Why are people so fond of being dependant upon government?

Walmart: A Policy of Gender Discrimination?

2004-06-22T21:06:00.000-04:00

I was watching Fox News earlier this morning and I saw a report about these women that are suing WalMart for sexual discrimination with regard to the promotion process. Now, I believe that there is still some sexism left in the work place, but I believe that this is an example where women want to be treated equally without actually being equal. Some of the things that employers look for in management are assertiveness, ability to speak clearly and directly and the ability to reprimand workers who are slacking.

I’ve worked in Walmart stores and for other like corporations and I have found that women tend to be more “understanding” of people’s situations when evaluating a job poorly done. Women also do not put themselves out there and really push for a promotion. It seems that some women have a naïve expectation that being good at their job is enough to warrant a promotion to management and it is not. I’ve worked for many women who took no bullshit, were direct and clear about what they expected and made it to management, not because they worked hard, but because they worked harder than everyone else.

My fear is, that if these women win this lawsuit against WalMart, that corporations will be forced to promote women who do not have what it takes to do things like firing employees, reprimanding someone for doing a poor job or showing up late and being able not to care what their employees think about them personally. If I’m working for someone who is more interested in being liked by me than they are about my job performance, well hot damn!, I’ve got a free ride baby.

Hopefully I am not accused of being sexist. I am only trying to point out what MAY be the case and as I am not privy to the facts of the case, obviously I cannot pretend to know if these women fit the description I gave above, however, my hunch is that they do.

Wicker Baskets

2004-06-22T20:54:00.000-04:00

Wicker Baskets

I want to touch your harness
And mingle in your brunette forest
I want bygones to not by bygones
I want soapy bath water across my skin
I want Athenian delusions of grandeur
And to follow you into your past
So that I can smell the places you've been
And leave sweet kisses on your historical skin
I want to leave impressions that last
And sweet-nothing whispers that pass through you
And back to me again,
I want to fashion a childlike lollypop grin
I want to hold your figure
For a thousand forevers inside my mind
I want to touch your fever
And to make your passion mine
I want to touch your idol
And make your soft side smile
I want to curl up inside your flowers
Whistling dark ballads - like so many heads in wicker baskets
I want to be a basket case
A displaced ambition wasted on indecision
I want to be your infatuation
And soak the violence from your skin
I want to feel your fingers upon my chest
To midnight dance like lionhearted heroes
I want to share my depths with you
And let my battle shields down too.

The rare occasion of feeling calm.

2004-06-22T15:48:00.000-04:00

There comes a time when even the most passionate advocate of reason, settles down and calms himself with the virtues of simplicity and balance. One can only begrudge their culture's ignorance for so long, before they settle in and watch the comings and goings with a kind of queer amusment.

Check out this article. This is really cool.

2004-06-21T11:06:00.000-04:00

Private Spaceflight

Ambition

2004-06-21T10:55:00.000-04:00

After reading the discussions on Sicilian's site, I've found that people have a general distaste for the idea that a virtue can produce something bad. This seems to be rather naïve, in my opinion, as almost every ‘virtue’ can produce negative consequences when the intentions are misguided and the consequences are retroactive to the spirit of virtue in general. We’ve all heard the question, “Is it right to tell the truth if the result is your death or the death of someone you love?” If we viewed virtue as producing universal ethics and universal goods, then this question would cause an ethical conundrum.

However, when virtue is governed by reason, it is no longer a matter of universality. Rather, virtue is way of trying to create optimal ends through the most civilized means available; and while this does not necessarily translate into Aristotle’s Golden Mean, it takes us somewhere along those lines.

In the example of ambition, it has been argued that Ambition is not a virtue so long as it drives evil people, like Hitler or Osama, to create horrors in the world. However, insofar as ambition drives us toward stopping people like Hitler and Osama, it creates good. In my view, virtues are simply faculties of reason aimed at achieving the goals of individuals. What governs our virtues? If it is reason and liberty, than virtue shall prevail in creating good, but if it is force and fear, then virtue shall prevail in creating evil.

Ambition, as a virtue, is the ultimate means to an end. Ambition, as a virtue, is the activity of individuals who know what they want and are determined to get it. It means taking responsibility for your own life, for all the means and ends and in between, for realizing all the dreams you ever had; and as such, ambition is the path to happiness for those whose virtue is governed by reason and freedom. No virtue is good in and of itself. Nothing in this universe is good in and of itself, not even survival. Everything is good as it relates to a measurement of its’ value and how we measure value is predicated upon our most fundamental philosophical beliefs.

Either way, virtue is not, in and of itself, a good. Virtues are tools.

The Resolve of the American People must be Renewed!

2004-06-18T15:05:00.000-04:00

On behalf of the Americans that have died at the hands of Islamic fanatics, I would hope to say that your murders will be revenged, but somehow I doubt it. To all of the Americans killed in Iraq on behalf of Iraqi liberty, I would like to believe that you have somehow made a difference, but I doubt it. The sacrifice of American life has done little to stir even the American Mediocrity, whose ambivalence to violence over seas seems to resemble a reaction to modern cinema. The loss of American life is not theater, nor is it entertainment. These acts against American civilians in Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries cannot go unpunished. The resolve of the American people must be renewed with a violence and rancor that will put Hiroshima and Nagasaki to shame.

In war, there is no moral high ground. In war, there is no winning over the hearts and minds of your enemies. There is only the death and defeat that eventually leads to peace when one side or the other is no longer capable of fighting. This is five thousand years of military history talking. If Americans have any love at all for their country, if we have any respect in the slightest for the human life and liberty of our people, then we must shrug off our moral sensibilities and set a fire across this earth unlike any other in history!

I cannot tell you how long I’ve tried to remain calm in the face of terrorism, how long I have tried to believe in the ability of Muslims to take back control of their religion and of their fanatics, but now it has become clear that this will never occur. Terrorists have hijacked Islam. They use clerics and mosques to shelter and support terrorists. My friends, this simply will not do. The time has come for Americans to begin pressuring our government to once and for all relay a message of American strength and determination, such that the world will tremble before the tenacity of our people, the power of our liberty and the righteousness of our technology.

An announcement should be made to the people of the Islamic world, “Take power from your governments and clerics, return your lands to civility and peace, or suffer our righteous retribution.” How can Americans watch as they behead us, one at a time, and not feel compelled to launch our bombs and lay waste to their cities? How can Americans see the common people of Muslim countries dancing in the streets every time we Americans suffer a defeat, without seeing that we must tear out the roots of Islamic terrorism?

We cannot sit idly by as our government continues negotiations that don't work. After the June 30th handover, our troops should be pulled from Iraq and settled in Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia. A few years down the road we’ll deal with Egypt and Pakistan, but we must continue tearing down the Safe Havens of Terror around the world until these governments and religious leaders realize that we will not stop until our people are safe. For every head they take, let us reduce our nuclear arsenal by one. For every bomb they detonate on the side of the road, let us napalm two city blocks. For every organized military force, let us invade and conquer and entire country.

If Americans are not yet outraged, then I say we are asleep. Maybe, after a few more terror attacks on our own soil, we will wake up and realize that our enemies will fight until they have no more countries to support them, no more Mosques to hide in and no more oil money to live off of. With the number of bombs our military has, we can fight wars without setting foot on foreign soil. We must lose this whole FUBAR concept of moral high ground now, or are their innocents more valuable than our own? Life and liberty are not ideals, people. Freedom CANNOT co-exist with tyranny.

DNC is C R A Z Y

2004-06-17T19:13:00.000-04:00

I pulled this quote off of the DNC’s website.

“It's still the economy, stupid! Don't the Bushes ever learn? Bush inherited record surpluses, a balanced budget and steady job growth -- and he's blown it. The budget deficit is ballooning, job growth is non-existent and the stock market is faltering. Even Republicans are disgusted with Bush's handling of the economy. It's time to ask yourself the classic question: Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”

O.K. How about some facts.

· Nationwide, more than 1.1 million jobs have been added since August, with 8 consecutive months of gains, and the national unemployment rate stood at 5.6% in April, below the national average of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
· The national household survey shows a similar increase in jobs, up 1.3 million since August.
· The national unemployment rate edged down to 5.6% in April – falling 0.7 percentage points from a peak of 6.3% in June 2003.
· National manufacturing employment increased 21,000 in April, and was revised up for February and March. Manufacturing employment has risen for three consecutive months
The unemployment rate is down to 5.6%. In January of 1993 it was 9.7%.
Payroll Employment is up 248,000 in May of 2004.
Hourly Earnings are up by 5 cents.
Productivity is up 3.8% in the first quarter.
So what the hell are these Democrats talking about anyway? They need facts.

Ten Years Ago, 800,000 people died in 100 days.

2004-06-17T13:01:00.000-04:00

According to the BBC, “A former Rwandan mayor has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for organizing the slaughter of 20,000 people during the 1994 genocide. Sylvestre Gacumbitsi led the massacre of thousands of people sheltering in Nyarubuye Church, which was one of the worst events in the genocide. He distributed weapons and urged ethnic Hutus to kill and rape their Tutsi neighbors. Some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in 100 days in 1994.”

What kind of people can be so easily stirred up and sent out to rape and kill 800,000 people within a three-month period? Just under a million people dead in three months. Jesus. Ok, now…my problem.

The American News institution does not report on stories of this kind. Americans have no idea how crazy the rest of the world still is and worse yet, they don’t want to know. What is it about the American People as a whole that makes them so disinclined to entertain the slightest bit of knowledge of what is going on in the rest of the world? Believe me, the rest of the world has a pretty good idea of what is going on over here.
Fox News has a segment called, “Around the world in 90 seconds”. Let me get this straight…during an entire day I only get 90 seconds of world news from the most “Powerful Name in News”? You have got to be kidding me!

Worse yet, I’m not entirely sure I know what is going on in THIS country. I know who killed who, who fucked who, who slept with whose sister and contracted which STD…but I don’t know what is going on in state politics, outside of Virginia, Maryland, New York and California. The national news never discusses State Politics, unless it somehow contradicts Federal Law, the US constitution or what little remains of the news organizations common sense.

There was a time, I believe, when Americans were interested in knowledge, science, news, politics and so on.

Ten years ago 800,000 people died in 100 days.

Clarity

2004-06-10T13:12:00.000-04:00

I wanted to respond to this comment in full, in order to make certain that I won’t be so badly misunderstood in the future due to a lack of clarity on my part.

“I respectfully disagree with part of what you said. Early on in your essay, you made the argument that sacrifice and joy/happiness are not connected. Sacrifice for one's family, country, or others may not be pleasurable, but it brings with it a deepening of character and a sense of meaningfulness. You don't become happy by indulging your every whim and craving. You speak of liberty without realizing that thousands have offered up their lives, fortunes, and personal security so that YOU haven't had to--YET. This life might require more of you than beer drinking and pool lounging, dear friend.”

First, sacrifice is not directly connected to happiness. It is not as the Epicureans believed, that a man can be happy on the rack, nor will he be happy when he is forced to fight for his freedom. Secondly, the bottom half of my previous post was intended to convey that the only thing greater than our individual happiness is the environment necessary to sustain it. I will not be happy to defend my liberty, though I most certainly WILL do so when it becomes necessary, but that is not happiness. It is not happiness to be forced to sacrifice your own life to protect what should have already existed. It is not happiness to sacrifice your sons and daughters to the cause of liberty in war. Sacrifice is not happiness. Sacrifice is Pride. Pride in the heart of the mother whose three sons went off to war. Pride in the heart of the woman who went to jail in protest against the violations of her civil liberties. Pride is what we feel when we sacrifice for liberty, not happiness.

A sense of deepening character and a sense of meaningfulness is not happiness. That is called peace or flourishing. I am very aware of the price of my liberty, my fortune and my security. I am also very aware of the likelihood of loosing it to the rise of Mob-Rule. Upon further reading of other posts and posts to come, I am sure that you will realize that I am not ignorant either of where we came from or where we are going. I can understand why one would make the assumption that was made in the comment above; however, I wanted to make clear that I am not naïve in these matters. Sacrifices must already be made if we are to preserve our liberty from socialism and terrorism, but don’t ever knock the beer drinking and pool lounging we do in our spare time Love, it’s what keeps a free man sane in these darkening days. ;)

A Purpose Drive Life

2004-06-08T15:12:00.000-04:00

Ladies and gentlemen, dare to dream of happiness and true inner prosperity. There is nothing greater than the feeling of knowing what you want to do and doing it. There is in fact, no greater meaning to this life than to do what you want to do. In evaluating your own personal philosophy, most people will discover that they are living their lives either out of necessity or idealism, but too few of us are living for happiness. Too few of us know what it is that will make us happy. I would like to encourage everyone to take seriously the importance of considering what it is, ultimately, that you want to do with your life. You only have a limited amount of time to work toward anything on this earth, so knowing what you want to do with the time you have is the first step toward happiness and flourishing. Once you’ve taken this step, your whole life becomes a journey in pursuit of this one desire, to realize your dream and discover your happiness. It has been over two thousand years since philosophy and religion both agreed upon the individualist dream. The life of purpose, joy and happiness is available to us all, if only we could set aside our shortcomings and idealisms, our addictions to drama and struggle, and to set oneself and ones’ own happiness as the greatest ideal of all. This is how joy is brought into the world, not through suffering and sacrifice, but though a truly purpose driven life, towards the realization of who you want to become! There is nothing stopping you from becoming everything you want to be, but your fear and insecurity. Shrug of fear at every turn. Look toward your dreams with courage and optimism. Become what you want to become. This is true happiness. There is nothing more to life than this: to realize the divine in yourself and to conquer every obstacle in the way of your dreams.

For those who desire this life, there is a fight we all must fight. There is a war that has been raging for six thousand years for the hearts and minds of men and the natural liberty that is continually being threatened by tyranny and fear. Liberty and individuality is a lifestyle, but it is also a philosophy, a political ideology, a religious dogma, a spiritual truth and an emotional certainty. The ability to realize our dreams depends upon our political freedoms and our rights as individuals. Without freedom we are subject to the will of a King or Mob, and I will not trust the course of my life more to a Mob than to a King. Within the fabric of democracy lies a threat against our liberty, for a people can always choose against their good when ignorance becomes the hallmark of the day. This is what we face. This is the greatest obstacle to overcome! If liberty is your religion, then you must be willing to fight for it. You must be willing to live your entire life in pursuit of strengthening it. You must despise every assault against it. For those of us who love our liberty, but who lack the courage to stand for it, we are constantly working against ourselves. This is unacceptable. This is a time to take seriously the assaults against the very things that allow us to be happy, our individual sovereignty and liberty. The future of our freedom hangs by the thinnest of threads. If the life of individual purpose and happiness is the life you want to live, than you are obligated to fight on behalf of the liberties that make such a life possible. Make a religion out of liberty and fight for it as fiercely as any religious man or woman fights for what they believe. For many of us there is no afterlife. The time we have on this earth is all the time we have in eternity. For us, this world is the best of all possible worlds. This life is the only time we have to realize Joy. We do not have the time to stomach tyranny, even when it becomes the will of an ignorant and anxious people.

Please, Read this, its' funny. Kind of.

2004-06-06T00:08:00.000-04:00

"If D-Day Had Been Reported On Today"

by William A. Mayer

"Tragic French Offensive Stalled on Beaches (Normandy, France - June 6, 1944) - Pandemonium, shock and sheer terror predominate today's events in Europe.

In an as yet unfolding apparent fiasco, Supreme Allied Commander, Gen. Dwight David Eisenhower's troops got a rude awakening this morning at Omaha Beach here in Normandy.

Due to insufficient planning and lack of a workable entrance strategy, soldiers of the 1st and 29th Infantry as well as Army Rangers are now bogged down and sustaining heavy casualties inflicted on them by dug-in insurgent positions located 170 feet above them on cliffs overlooking the beaches which now resemble blood soaked killing fields at the time of this mid-morning filing.

Bodies, parts of bodies, and blood are the order of the day here, the screams of the dying and the stillness of the dead mingle in testament to this terrible event.

Morale can only be described as extremely poor--in some companies all the officers have been either killed or incapacitated, leaving only poorly trained privates to fend for themselves.

Things appear to be going so poorly that Lt. General Omar Bradley has been rumored to be considering breaking off the attack entirely. As we go to press embattled U.S. president Franklin Delano Roosevelt's
spokesman has not made himself available for comment at all, fueling fires that something has gone disastrously awry.

The government at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is in a distinct lock-down mode and the Vice President's location is presently and officially undisclosed.

Whether the second in command should have gone into hiding during such a crisis will have to be answered at some future time, but many agree it does not send a good signal.

Miles behind the beaches and adding to the chaos, U.S. Naval gunships have inflicted many friendly fire casualties, as huge high explosive projectiles rain death and destruction on unsuspecting Allied positions.
The lack of training of Naval gunners has been called into question numerous times before and today's demonstration seems to underlie those concerns.

At Utah Beach the situation is also grim, elements of the 82nd and 101st Airborne seemed to be in disarray as they missed their primary drop zones behind the area believed to comprise the militant's front lines. Errant paratroopers have been hung up in trees, breaking arms and legs, rendering themselves easy targets for those defending this territory.

On the beach front itself the landing area was missed, catapulting U.S. forces nearly 2,000 yards South of the intended coordinates, thus placing them that much farther away from the German insurgents and unable to direct covering fire or materially add to the operation.

Casualties at day's end are nothing short of horrific; at least 8,000 and possibly as many as 9,000 were wounded in the haphazardly coordinated attack, which seems to have no unifying purpose or intent. Of this number at least 3,000 have been estimated as having been killed, making June 6th by far, the worst single day of the war which has dragged on now--with no exit strategy in sight--as the American economy still struggles to recover from Herbert Hoover's depression and its 25% unemployment.

Military spending has skyrocketed the national debt into uncharted regions, lending another cause for concern. When and if the current hostilities finally end it may take generations for the huge debt to be repaid.

On the planning end of things, experts wonder privately if enough troops were committed to the initial offensive and whether at least another 100,000 troops should have been added to the force structure before such an audacious undertaking. Communication problems also have made their presence felt making that an area for further investigation by the appropriate governmental committees.

On the home front, questions and concern have been voiced. A telephone poll has shown dwindling support for the wheel-chair bound Commander In Chief, which might indicate a further erosion of support for his now three year-old global war.

Of course, the President's precarious health has always been a question. He has just recently recovered from pneumonia and speculation persists whether or not he has sufficient stamina to properly sustain the war effort. This remains a topic of furious discussion among those questioning his competency.

Today's costly and chaotic landing compounds the President's already large credibility problem.

More darkly, this phase of the war, commencing less than six months before the next general election, gives some the impression that Roosevelt may be using this offensive simply as a means to secure re-election in the fall.

Underlining the less than effective Allied attack, German casualties--most of them innocent and hapless conscripts--seem not to be as severe as would be imagined. A German minister who requested anonymity stated categorically that "the aggressors were being driven back into the sea amidst heavy casualties, the German people seek no wider war."

"The news couldn't be better," Adolph Hitler said when he was first informed of the D-Day assault earlier this afternoon.

"As long as they were in Britain we couldn't get at them. Now we have them where we can destroy them."

German minister Goebbels had been told of the Allied airborne landings at 0400 hours.

"Thank God, at last," he said. "This is the final round." "

Libertarians taking the wrong road?

2004-06-05T11:07:00.000-04:00

"One of the bigger controversies going into the convention was over the invitation of an Iraq War booster, Atlanta-based radio talk show host Neil Boortz, as a breakfast speaker. While "boot Boortz" buttons were spotted here and there, no organized protest interrupted his speech. Boortz chose to talk about eminent domain violations, an issue that he believes will somehow succeed for the LP and resonate with more voters than, say, medical marijuana (an issue that tends to be quite successful and often victorious when real voters get a chance to consider it)." - From: "http://www.reason.com/links/links060304.shtml"

I cannot express more vehemently my disappointment in the position the libertarian party, my party, has taken on the Iraq War. Libertarians seem to be getting in bed with the democrats on this and many other issues, without so much as considering the realities of our world today. Idealism is not what will make the libertarian party a serious alternative to the debaucheries of the republican and democratic parties. We cannot avoid the war on terrorism and on rogue regimes around the world. Fundamentalist Islam has declared war on liberty and America and what, I ask you, does the libertarian party stand for, if not the liberty of America? Can they not recognize that the war in Iraq is about preserving liberty across the world and to create an international atmosphere friendly to our constitution and love of freedom?

Neil Boortz is as rational, patriotic and libertarian a citizen as I have ever heard and to think that he no longer represents the mainstream values of our party is disheartening. As a national party, we cannot afford to put all of our resources into fighting against the drug war and the war on terror. We cannot afford to continue harping on marijuana rights and international sovereignty issues, while ignoring those issues that resonate most with American voters. Such as, ending the income tax, property tax, the welfare state and so forth. We should be trying to free up more access to Canadian prescription drugs and to ending the reign of frivolous lawsuits against HMOs and doctors. We should be focused on reducing the size of our governments’ bureaucracy and allowing citizens to become more actively engaged in the private sector. We need to be focusing on punishing CEOs for illegal white color activities that damage the spirit of free enterprise and equitable competition. We need to fight against Corporate Welfare and oppressive international treaties that harm American business. We need to focus on broadening and simplifying the legal immigration process so that more people can come to our country legally and we need to get serious about punishing those who come here illegally.

Fighting against the Drug War is as simple as electing representatives that will continuously decrease its’ funding on the state and federal level. We cannot, however, afford to allow all these other issues to be ignored in the shadow of a libertarian opposition to War!

I hope that this negative direction is short lived and that the libertarian party becomes more serious about national campaigns, so that we might have a little more success reducing government and the oppression of its’ unfair tax system and its’ socialist cultural agendas.

By the Way: Did you hear about the district outside Boston that just Banned Cupcakes from Public Schools that used to be given to children for their bithdays, because cupcakes aren't healthy? Now you get a pin and a pencil. Ugh. Christ. Liberals amaze me. On one hand, the government is allowed to stop kids from eating junk food and on the other, is perfectly fine with scraping fetuses out of a woman's womb. I'm not saying I think abortion should be illegal, at least, not necessarily, but I am saying there is a certain level of hypocrasy in that you can kill a child before its' born, but afterwards - NO CUPCAKE FO' YOU!

The Errors of Dogma

2004-06-04T22:33:00.000-04:00

Religious belief is a cultural and metaphysical philosophy concerning the nature and purpose of our position in the universe and of the universe itself. Primarily, religion is composed of spirituality, ritual, symbols, an understanding of the divine, a dogma about the after life, a universal code of ethics and a metaphysical system for interpreting experience, especially those concerned with strange and seemingly miraculous events. Religion is the institutionalization of these beliefs. The reason why religions develop as they do is primarily predicated upon the natural process of institutionalization.

When certain sets of beliefs become institutionalized they become Dogma, as religious experience is no longer left up to superstitious interpretations. Rather, it becomes necessary to interpret religious experience through a particular paradigm. This paradigm is found in books referred to as Scriptures. In order to gain real power, these Scriptures are often said to be the direct Word of a God. Believing in the actual divinity of scripture is the first step away from individual spirituality and toward religious dogma. One must suspend a certain amount of liberty and reason to believe, that only through the experiences and stories of a few men, at certain specific times in history, can one find the Truth of God.

However, once a Scripture has been established as the word of God, it is inevitable that certain ambiguities within the text will cause different interpretations of its’ meanings. A religion must have theologians and priests to uphold specific interpretations of religious scriptures in order to pursue the philosophies within; and whenever an agreement cannot be reached, a new religion, or sect is born. Murder and war have often resulted from differing opinions, because Religion is as much about forcing a specific social philosophy, or way of life, on its’ subjects as it is about bringing the individual closer to the Divine. In fact, most religious people are so caught up in this way of life, that they rarely have time to attempt a closer relationship with their God. This is the second step away from individual spirituality and toward the strengthening of a religion.

The most important aspect of any religion is the adherence to a certain way of life. If you live the way the scriptures tell you to live, than you are adhering to the word of God. If you do not, you are acting heretically or sinfully. The obsession with Sin and Righteousness is evidence of this fact. It is also evidence that the prophets, the messiahs, the priests and the clerics have been the most successful moral philosophers of every age. Religious men are constantly fighting for their “way of life” and anyone who stands in their way are categorized as being “evil”, or as living against God. They can prove this by showing that these evil people are not living in accordance with the Scriptures and are therefore going against the word of God.

The authority of the Scriptures is so important, because once a priest or cleric allows one person to deviate in one area, who is to stop five, ten, a hundred or a thousand people from doing the same, but in different areas, in such disorganized fashions as to base their interpretations on their own individual experiences? Now, nobody denies the seemingly obvious reality of experience, therefore, most religions create devils and demons to deceive us. Furthermore, our own nature is evil and wants to deceive us and so long as we want to deceive ourselves, we need to trust in God’s Divine word in order to make sure that we are grounding our beliefs in the Truth.

Without evil and a flawed human nature, there is nothing to stop individuals from believing in their own personal ability to judge for themselves the nature of God and the universe through their own experience. With the invention of evil and sin-nature, it is natural for believers to desire salvation and redemption. Now, because our individual nature is flawed, we cannot trust our own desires and instincts. So we organize ourselves into fellowships in order to better our chances at understanding the Truth, through a kind of democratic fraternization of followers. I don’t think this ever really works that well, but it works well enough to keep the flock in check.

A religion is hard to hold together, because it goes against the natural inclinations of man; and to keep it together, a religion must exert immense power over its’ followers. This can be done through force and violence, fear, shame, pity and uncertainty. Now, they say that you can’t ever disprove a rumor, and that is basically what the idea of heaven is. Nobody has ever been there and come back, so no one can really be sure it exists, but you also cannot be sure that it doesn’t. Because heaven is such a wonderful place and hell is such a terrifying place, our uncertainty helps keep us in line. We became afraid that we’ll burn in hell for all eternity, then we do whatever our religious leaders tell us to do in order to keep from going there.

With so many religions competing for the souls of men, their dogmas and their afterlives must be marketed. Those religions with the easiest path to heaven and the most attractive way of life typically do much better than those religions that are difficult to practice and uncomfortable to live. This takes us back to the way of life. As a religion, you’ve got to sell your way of life. The Christians advertise their God as being Love and basically, in order to spend eternity in paradise, all you have to do is believe that God loves you enough to allow your sin to kill His Son (don’t feel too bad, he rises from the dead). This is wise, because most human beings understand the feeling of Love and can generate that feeling through worship and prayer and fellowship. Therefore, by associating the Divine with the most powerful human emotion, they make the religion seem all that much more true.

Now, you’ve got to be able to explain things like sadness, misery, tragedy and war. These are blamed on “evil”, “sin” and “human nature”. But who controls “evil”? Devils and Demons and Mischievous Sprites, Oh MY! It doesn’t take a PHD in psychology to see that this is a brilliant play on people’s fears and superstitions. “There are demons all around you, trying to make you do evil things. Surrender to God!” Surrender is a very popular theme amongst the religious. What are we to surrender? Basically all of those things that would make us question the Dogma. “Do not trust in the knowledge and wisdom of Men”, they’ll say. “Trust in the wisdom of God”. Basically, what you are supposed to be doing is trying to generate love feelings. (this is in essence spiritual – but it is not the main purpose of a religion). We must surrender our will, our wisdom, our instincts and desire and follow the Word of God. If this gets you into trouble, don’t worry; you’ve got a People now. You are not alone!

Fellowship is the single most sustaining quality in religion. It unites people. It helps people build relationships with each other and gives them something in common. Instead of hanging out at the local bar getting into bar fights together, they have house church, luncheons and the like. Also, it is much easier to live in the same manner that your peers are living. So you get all these people to believe generally the same thing and you get them to act the same way. This is beneficial for two reasons. First, because this does make it easier to assume the behavior of the group, and second, because you are more afraid of being looked down upon for being different. Religion would call this “positive peer pressure”, but it’s really just the good old-fashioned variety.

Basically, Religion is a large-scale means of systematic brainwashing intended on fostering a specific social and metaphysical philosophy and Way of Life. Religion does its’ best to foster spirituality, but once people start getting exceptionally spiritual, they start thinking that they know better than the Scriptures and they inevitably become heretics, mostly because they think they can actually have a unique experience of the Divine.

I have no problem with spirituality, but religion is just plain violent, divisive, deceptive and cruel. Just listen to the Dogmas religious people believe and you’ll see that they really are insane. You have to be some what insane to believe in talking snakes and bushes, people rising from the dead, walking on water, getting 72 virgins in heaven when you die for killing in the name of God, and so on. Why people feel the need to believe in all this madness is beyond me, but it is not beyond religion. If you can get a person to believe that God created the world in six days, but has spent the entire course of human history trying to get men to behave, with only minimal success, then you’ll believe just about anything.

Alright, Now You Can Panic!

2004-06-02T22:07:00.000-04:00

Women, when asked, “What do you look for in a man” with regard to relationships, have a variety of answers, some of which actually come close to a kind of piebald honesty. It is important to remember that what women want and what women need from men are different and often times difficult to package. Women are often times referred to as being irrational and excessively emotional, making it nearly impossible to understand them. Nothing could be further from the truth and a perspective of this sort is derived from judging women in the same way we men judge ourselves.

A majority of women fall into two categories: women who want a man for what he is and women who want a man for who he is. Now, remember, the only thing stronger than logic is instinct, and women have been subjected to a male dominated world for most of the last ten thousand years. As a result, women are naturally drawn toward strong, wealthy, ambitious men of high social status. This is instinct, mind you, and many women are confused why these men that they find so attractive are such assholes, failing to connect selfishness and a less-than-monogamous attitude with strength, wealth and power, in men who, for the last ten thousand years, have been quite able to possess a wife and a variety of mistresses. Emotional commitment is not in the nature of a man who can have whatever and whomever he wants. This type of man is uncommon, but not what you would consider as rare, and is often successful. His main desire is achievement and amusement. It is no wonder then, that he desires a woman whose beauty is equal to his success and who is capable of entertaining him. He does not desire a deep emotional connection, because his emotions are not his fuel. They are a distraction. Regardless, because it is a woman’s beauty that he desires to possess, he will make her feel like a queen before men, like royalty before the peasants of his world. Women want to feel beautiful.

A man, who is accustomed to possessing things, will often desire to possess a woman, something women are becoming rather disinclined to entertain. Women aren’t stupid and after a couple disappointing relationships they’ll test more intellectual waters. Sadly, men of this sort are a little too boring for the average woman’s taste, not to mention too self-righteous.

At younger ages, women typically just date guys who are fun and exciting. They try to avoid the obvious assholes and instead of focusing on intellect or personality, will find guys who are putting their intelligence to a social use: hence the attraction to artists, musicians, athletes (yes, they require intellect) and actors. These guys are often highly intelligent, dramatic and exciting. However, women will often find themselves eternally in second place to a man of this type’s real first love: his art, his music, his writing, his acting, his sport and so on. Women want attention. It is extremely important to a woman that she feels like the most important thing in a man’s life. The truth is, women are rarely the most important thing in a man’s life. This is where men begin thinking that their women are too emotional and irrational. Men don’t understand why women have such a problem with them spending all their time at work and with their hobbies, generally because they figure women have their own obsessions. Dude, you are THEIR OBSESSION! Women are phenomenal with relationships.

Most good relationships are those where the man doesn’t get in the way of what the woman wants to do. This is not because she is smarter, better, wiser or whatever. It’s just because she thinks about the relationship a hell of a lot more than he does; inevitably she’ll have a better idea about where things should go. Men who let women rule the relationship are wise. Any arguments over equality are bullshit. Men don’t think about “where the relationship is going”. We don’t. Women do.

Regardless of what women want (which will be closely tied to their social groups and subcultures), what they need is attention and affirmation. There are many different kinds of attention, such as: romance, affection, lust, money, emotional intimacy and adoration. If you romance a woman, if you lust after her, if you are affectionate and intimate with her, if you adore her…she will feel loved. However, women are as dedicated to their activities as men are to theirs. Women need affirmation – this is why flattery works. Women want to be told that they are beautiful, intelligent and funny. They want to know that you enjoy them, that you value them and the things that they do.

The quickest way to lose a woman is to forget to make what is important to her, important to you. (I doubt I’ll ever get this down, but it’s true).

There is a ton of bullshit in the early stages of a relationship, but if you make it beyond this point, you will need to learn to pay attention and to give affirmation. Ok, LISTEN UP! This is important. It is not good enough to give her just any kind of attention. Every woman is different in the manner in which she desires to be noticed, treated and so on.

Some women mainly just want to be considered. When you do something or go somewhere, ask them if they’d like to come along, or better yet, before making plans, ask her if there is something she’d like to do and then if she is otherwise engaged, then feel free to make plans. By consulting her before making plans, you will make her feel that she is the most important thing.

Some want to be talked to, frequently…really, really frequently. My only advise is to learn to listen and to try really, really hard to care about what it is she talks about.

Some women want to be included in your activities and desire to include you in theirs. Take an interest in her interests. This will show her you love her. Most women will desire you to take an interest in their friends and when you get married, she’ll want you to try your best to make friends with her friends husbands. She’ll want you involved with almost every important part of her life. (There are many parts of her life that she wants you to stay the hell out of! Figure out what these are and don't touch). You don’t have to be enthusiastic, just interested. By showing an interest in her interests, you are letting her know that you value her and all she does.

Some women need to be kissed and hugged often. Women who are insecure about their sex appeal will often fall into this type. By constantly kissing them and hugging them, you let them know that you desire them and that they are loved.

Some women want you to spend time alone with them. This will be their main focus on the relationship. If this be the case, learn to set up dates, or even make one particular night of the week a date night. Women like this are typically very interested in family and she’s most likely picked you because she thinks you’ll make a great dad. Women who take the time you spend together seriously, take the relationship very seriously. If you respect them at all, don’t screw around with them. This type of woman needs a guy who has a lot of time to spend with her.

Some women are more like men and want respect. These women desire you to give them their space and to meet them on an equal playing field. Men who want to possess a woman, this is not your type of girl. Try to change her and you might just find yourself possessed by her! Women of this sort like to spend time with men doing something productive, they are also far more open and aggressive sexually, but guys, don’t get too excited, she’ll have extremely high expectations for your performance.

A woman will expect her man to be a part of whatever is most important to her. If a woman’s religion is extremely important to her, then no matter what she tells you, she will eventually try to convert you and she’ll be disappointed, not in herself, but in you, if you fail to convert. Don’t worry though; typically women who make religion one of the most important things in their lives only date within their religion. What you have to worry about are women who convert during the course of the relationship. They’ll need affirmation of their newfound faith…you can show this to them by converting…or else.

Take women seriously! One of the things women hate about men is our nonchalance about the whole relationship thing. They start getting the idea that we’re just after sex, because we, for some reason, appear to only pay attention to them when we’re “in the mood”. If you are in a serious relationship, you damn well better learn to take a woman and all of the important things in her life seriously.

Be prepared to take an interest in her day, in her passions and in her hopes and dreams. If you do this, you’ll find a loyal woman. If you do this not, she’ll find someone who does.

Here's the Rub. Most women...honestly, want you to do all of these things. So buck up. Quit cho' bitchin' and if you really love the girl, do all of the above; and if you don't and you're just looking for a hot chick to take home at the end of every night, fake all of the above.

In closing, they say that all you need is love, but if you suck at this, it wouldn’t hurt to buy a Mercedes-Benz E-class and a sharp-looking suit.

Don't Panic!

2004-05-28T22:35:00.000-04:00

Don’t Panic! Ladies, after six thousand years of social evolution the nature of men has remained somewhat ellusive to you. I intend to shed some light on the nature of men, in hopes of dissolving certain misrepresentations and faulty estimations on the part of women. To begin with, men are simple creatures; we will feign complexity if we feel pressured to provide the truth to women in regard to things we’d rather keep secret. Rule number one: Men are only complex when they are trying to hide their true intentions. The only exceptions to this rule are genius and insanity.

From women, men desire primarily three things. Listed in order of importance: Companionship, Respect and Sex. Men do not have the same fundamental need or desire to be loved that women have. Men primarily view themselves as being masters of their domain and as such, seek the companionship of equals. Men do not ever try to date women who are “better” than them, as a woman of this sort would have no cause to respect them. Furthermore, because sex is always of essential importance, it is easier to find mates that are “below” us. Men, being somewhat obsessed with instant gratification, will sacrifice companionship for respect and sex, and even so far as to sacrifice respect for sex.

However, a man will never find lasting satisfaction with a woman who he does not himself respect as an equal, who doesn’t respect him as a superhero of sorts and who doesn’t provide him with what he views as an adequate sex life. The sex life need only be adequate, mind you; a man will always embellish the vivacity of his sex life with his friends and will expect you to live up to his illusions if questioned by them.

A man’s self esteem is directly connected to his sense of self-respect. Anything a woman can do to bolster a man’s self-respect will win her his loyalty. Anything a woman does to lower a man’s sense of self-respect, especially in the company of his friends will serious hurt the relationship, if not out right ending it. Rule number 2: The worst thing you can do to a man is to belittle him, especially in front of his friends. He’ll hide his anger, but he will have his revenge.

Another point of significance is that men change much more slowly and less often than women. One of the most dangerous fallacies that exist in the mind of a woman is that she has the ability to change her man; and one of the most dangerous fallacies that exist in the mind of a man, is that his woman will never change. Be careful to avoid these fallacies and you will avoid many disasters.

As far as companionship goes, a man desires a woman who shares his interests and his passions. If your man becomes “friends” with a woman who shares his desires and passions, look out! Furthermore, if she “looks up to” him for his abilities in these areas, don’t even worry about looking out, its’ over. You’ve lost him.

As far as sex goes, keep in mind the importance of a man’s self-respect – call it pride if you will -, but always remember, that if something needs to be changed in this area, find a way of changing it, without implying that he is lacking or deficient in some way. There will always be another woman willing to praise us for our sexual abilities and we will find them and leave you for them. Do not be afraid of this, however. To see real pleasure on the face of a mate brings more self-respect to a man than you can imagine. So helping us to make you happy is the greatest gift you can give us in this area, just be polite and never insulting.

Men draw an enormous amount of self-respect from their ability to make you happy. If the relationship has evolved to the point of companionship, believe me, he does desire to make you happy. If he is not, it is because he is lacking in knowledge or tact. This you can give to him without fear of looking “stupid” or “silly”. He will thank you for candor and will begin working towards your happiness immediately.

Men love an adventure! Anything you can do to make the relationship an adventure will do much to increase his enthusiasm. Men do not handle boredom well, most men get enough of that at their jobs (we are typically more bored at work than women because we are less social at work than women – all other things being equal).

Men will take advantage of you if you let them. I don’t know why this is. It is wrong and immoral and it seems to be an apparent reality amongst nearly all of us. Do not spoil your man if you desire him to be able to take care of himself. We adapt quickly to being cared for and we will show about as much appreciation for your troubles as we showed our mothers when we were kids. Furthermore, if you fall into the “caring for you” position, you will lose your sex appeal. The psychology being, that you have taken up the role of Mom around the house or apartment and that just ain’t sexy.

More to come on this topic, I hope it has been of some help. Also on its’ way, What Men Fail To Understand About Women.

We Must Relearn what we have Forgotten!

2004-05-28T00:13:00.000-04:00

Years of studying philosophy has led me to the belief that life is the process through which the disorder of the soul, through the taking up of purpose, becomes ordered and the natural chaos of perfect liberty becomes the organization of civilized freedom. Without purpose, the soul is never ordered and is therefore constantly prone to wandering in pointless and dangerous directions. Once a purpose is clarified and order is achieved, then men are faced with the problem of conflicting purposes. For thousands of years this problem has been solved by the use of force; murder and war for example. Therefore a nation, like an individual, must have its’ own purpose, otherwise disorder within that nation will prevail, liberty shall remain too dangerous and tyranny too attractive.

The moral philosophers’ stone, as it were, would be for the world to unite under one purpose and thus civility and order would prevail. Though, if we are honest with ourselves, we’ll admit to each other that this cannot occur and no utopia ever achieved. Thus, the reality of human life is, that we must first find our own purpose, to free ourselves from the shackles of internal chaos. Without a purpose, an individual has no foundation upon which to build a life upon. Nothing they do will ever fulfill them, because it is not apart of a plan and therefore cannot achieve success. The tiny pleasures received from obtaining those enjoyable trivialities with which we are all acquainted, will never add up to satisfaction and it will not take long before the individual falls prey to despair and ruin.

Once the individual is liberated and has achieved purpose, it becomes their task to learn to live peacefully with other individuals, both those with their own purposes and those without. It occurs to me that several things are necessary for this interaction to be successful. Each individual must be allowed the right to pursue their purpose, insofar as the means of their pursuit in no way involves the undue use of force or fraud against anyone else. However, because goods are finite in number, a system of peaceful competition must exist in order for the process to function efficiently, and here is the virtue of capitalism and currency. Capitalism and currency require liberal allocations of rights to individuals with regards to property and personal sovereignty. Property rights ensure that a person’s property is to be treated in the same manner as the person themselves and that no harm should come to it by either force or fraud. Personal sovereignty, however, is much more difficult to ensure, but the first step in this direction is the establishment of an objective justice system and the assurance that no individual shall be subject to arbitrary acts of justice by their government nor through any majority. The establishment of a system of law that ensures the protection of individuals against the arbitrary punishment of government is brilliantly outlined in the American constitution, which I might add is not a document that is concerned with the Rights of Government, but rather with the rights and liberties its’ citizens possess for their protection from the government.

For this type of society to function, its’ citizenry must possess an attitude of equitable selfishness. That is, the belief that there is nothing without work and that no one should possess that which they have not earned. The absence of this attitude undermines the entire foundation of property rights and individual sovereignty, as we have seen happen in America over the last seventy some odd years. The competitiveness of the social and economic system must remain out of the hands of a powerful Politic, in order to insure that wealth will neither be used as a means of bribery, as we have seen with special interests, or as a means of political advantage, as we see prevailing in the Welfare State and the governments activities in the redistribution of wealth.

The concept of equality must never be allowed to infringe upon the importance of equitable selfishness. By that I mean, that we must not allow any group the right to subvert the theater of competition by requiring the most successful athletes to carry the burden of the least successful, as this will decrease the most successful individuals ability to produce as effectively as were they autonomous, thus decrease the productivity of the able and increasing the dependence of the inept. Such a process will continue until productivity ends and a people are so entirely dependant upon the work of the few, that they will no longer be capable of surviving on their own; and when the few are no longer able to work with so many obstacles and burdens placed in their way, they will have no means of saving the society from the disgrace that it purchased on behalf of equality. Equality does not work. It is a lovely dream, but a dangerous philosophy. Equitable selfishness is the attitude that ensure the highest levels of productivity and achievement; and so long as the few are able to produce, they will need workers to do the producing and these workers will then demand more goods, which will enable the few to produce more goods that require more jobs and so on. This is a lesson we must learn now, before it is too late.

This type of system only allows us as individuals to conquer the disorder of the soul and bring order to a culture. Now, even a system as effective as this will fail without a moral backbone. Without reason, virtue and pride, without strong families and communities, that is to say, without a strong culture, no political or economic system will thrive. The absence of reason, virtue and pride, strong families and communities will create problems that will eventually work against the natural liberty necessary in order to maintain the system; and if the institutions of government, religion and media do not take it upon themselves to encourage these principles in the culture of their people, they will ensure the corrosion of that culture and the decay of their system.

If we ignore this, more and more individuals will find themselves without a purpose and will feel a sense of pointlessness and meaninglessness in life. They will not seek to produce anything, because they will care about nobody but themselves. They will not have learned to take pride in their work or discovered the pleasures of using reason to produce something, to make something valuable out of seemingly worthless parts. Without strong families and strong communities, tragedy will be all the worse and people will be forced to petition the government for aid! If we do not learn to treat each other honestly, respectfully and compassionately, if we have no concept of how to love, then what good will our purposes become? All they will do is create wealth, but then what good will come from that wealth ? What good will that wealth serve?

If a people are forced to choose between giving up their liberty and punishing the greed of those they envy, they will always give up their liberties just to delight in the suffering of the people they’ve grown to hate. This again is a threat to the equitable nature of a competitive system. We must learn to live together, but we must get ourselves straight first. We must pull ourselves together out of this terrible funk we’ve become so content with these days. We must relearn what we have forgotten.

Nothing Without Work

2004-05-27T18:43:00.000-04:00

"Philosophy is harmonized knowledge making a harmonious life; it is the self-discipline which lifts us to serenity and freedom. Knowledge is power, but only wisdom is liberty."
- Will Durant

The current disposition of the so-called civilized world is one devoid of wisdom. The foundations of civilization were built by men who believed in a hard days work, in being practical, in producing something of value to trade for something else of value.

Now, we live in a world were people feel they are owed certain values by virtue that they exist. People believe that need equals a right. This is so fucking dangerous as a world philosophy. To enslave the able on behalf of the unable is the ultimate triumph of slave morality over virtue and reason, the triumph of that Christian utopia - the meek shall inherit the earth.

Whatever happened to "Nothing Without Work".

Someone must please tell me where the line between Communism and Liberalism is drawn.

" A similar movement is going on before our own eyes. Modern bourgeois society with its relations of production, of exchange and of property, a society that has conjured up such gigantic means of production and of exchange, is like the sorcerer who is no longer able to control the powers of the nether world whom he has called up by his spells. For many a decade past the history of industry and commerce is but the history of the revolt of modern productive forces against modern conditions of production, against the property relations that are the conditions for the existence of the bourgeoisie and of its rule. It is enough to mention the commercial crises that by their periodic return put the existence of the entire bourgeois society on trial, each time more threateningly. In these crises a great part not only of the existing products but also of the previously created productive forces, are periodically destroyed. In these crises there breaks out an epidemic that, in all earlier epochs, would have seemed an absurdity--the epidemic of over-production. Society suddenly finds itself put bad into a state of momentary barbarism; it appears as if a famine, a universal war of devastation had cut off the supply of every means of subsistence; industry and commerce seem to be destroyed. And why? Because there is too much civilisation, too much means of subsistence, too much industry, too much commerce. The productive forces at the disposal of society no longer tend to further the development of the conditions of bourgeois property; on the contrary, they have become too powerful for these conditions, by which they are fettered, and no sooner do they overcome these fetters than they bring disorder into the whole of bourgeois society, endanger the existence of bourgeois property. The conditions of bourgeois society are too narrow to comprise the wealth created by them. And how does the bourgeoisie get over these crises? On the one hand by enforced destruction of a mass of productive forces: on the other, by the conquest of new markets, and by the more thorough exploitation of the old ones. That is to say, by paving the way for more extensive and more destructive crises, and by diminishing the means whereby crises are prevented.

The weapons with which the bourgeoisie felled feudalism to the ground are now turned against the bourgeoisie itself.

But not only has the bourgeoisie forged the weapons that bring death to itself; it has also called into existence the men who are to wield those weapons--the modern working class--the proletarians. The Communists disdain to conceal their views and arms. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workingmen of all countries, unite!"

Marx and Engels, The Communist Manifesto.

My Religion

2004-05-27T18:29:00.000-04:00

If religious beliefs are those beliefs that identify what you hold to be the most sacred in nature, then my religion is full of gods, insofar as a god is the essence of a sacred thing. I believe in the gods of reason, love, chaos, order, ambition, earth, wind, fire, water and stars, but most of all, I believe in the goddess Life and her insatiable desire to flourish, in whatever environment she finds herself. Whether in the veins of a tree or in the spirit of a man, Life always pursues its’ very best. Now, there are demons in my religion as well, such as mediocrity, thoughtlessness, rage and all senseless passion, self-hatred, altruism, nihilism and helplessness, but the most dangerous demons of all are fear, pity and dependence.

I believe deeply in these goddesses and gods. I believe that through our experience of them, the course of mankind and, more importantly, the course of an individual’s life are shaped. I meditate on the nature of reason and love and chaos and order, ambition and pleasure, earth and wind and fire and water and stars. I find wisdom through analogous introspection and religious value in learning through such intuitions. For example, when a man looked out over a river, he remarked to himself that he could never place his foot into the same river, for it was always changing and that the universe may well be like that river. A man was given over to experience and reasoned about that experience and derived wisdom from that experience. What more could we hope for in a moment of thoughtfulness?

I believe in symbolism as a reminder of those virtues held most precious to Man. An Oak for strength, and Eagle for freedom, a young woman for innocence in youth and so on. Symbols are fluid and change throughout time, but once a symbol takes on a meaning for the individual, it lasts as a reminder of his most sacred beliefs. Symbols are a natural part of humankind and all of us surround ourselves with symbols. Hippies surround themselves with pot-leaves and peace signs, while those thick in culture will surround themselves with great artistic achievements. I surround myself in books; my rooms are literally surrounded in books where the floors meet the walls. I surround myself with knowledge to remind myself of the virtue of self-education and the unappeasable lust for wisdom and truth that has been the obsession of all great men throughout time.

This is just a brief outline of my religion and it is my religion alone. I do not seek to convince anyone to experience the world through my eyes. I ask that those who trust their eyes give credence to their experience and to the value of this world and to the natural liberty in the heart of every woman and man. I, as most people, wish for a virtuous, peaceful and happy world, but in the absence of peace and in the presence of force I desire justice, retribution and war if it is necessary. I desire people to act in accordance with their best sensible judgment. I desire people to respect, always, the liberty of others.

I believe in the noble character as the rightful government of mankind and that all other forms of government are consequences of a lacking, somewhere, in that cultures noble temperament. Religion and politics are inescapable realities, and though my disdain for them as I find them now grows with each passing minute, I would be a fool to hope against them. Instead I must hope for their refinement and for a return to reason, to liberty and to pride. Upon these three are the other virtues based. Upon these three are all great civilizations born and in their absence, destroyed.

What the Bible says about Faith

2004-05-27T15:44:00.000-04:00

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see"(Heb. 11:1, NIV).

So let me get this straight. Faith is a belief predicated on hope and grounded in the admitted absence of observation; and people look at me like I'm crazy for not having "Faith". Damn.

Philosophy

2004-05-27T15:26:00.000-04:00

The desire to practice philosophy comes from a general interest in everything and specific interest nothing, from an addiction to furthering our knowledge and understanding and not from a desire to support what is already assumed to be true. For these reasons people look down on philosophy as being nothing more than idle cynicism, but all progress has its’ roots in philosophy, all science, all religion, all politics and opinion has its’ roots in philosophy. Were it not for those philosophers that thought little of the status quo, we’d never have moved beyond the age of superstition to the age of reason, we’d have never liberated science from religion and religion from politics and we’d never have had the will to possess the ideals of freedom and self-reliance. Philosophy liberates mankind from the past, by ever pursuing a more enlightened future.

Points by Dennis McKinsey

2004-05-27T14:16:00.000-04:00

The following is Dennis McKinsey's response to a critic and is one of the best retorts against the argument to original documents. The real genius of the three Abrahamic Religions is their followers ability to subvert obviousness with arguments and conclusions that can neither be scientifically verified or objectively studied. What seems obvious through faith, appears absurd to reason and for the religious to expect the non-religious to accept arguments predicated on not only irrational claims about the inerrancy of the Bible, but on claims that cannot be verified, is extraordinary. The entire concept of making a claim that you cannot prove and placing the burden of proof on those who disagree is a perfect example of religions irrational method of thought. Anyway, enough of my rambling. Read on.

From Biblical Errancy's Website - http://mywebpages.comcast.net/errancy/issues/iss147.htm

(The fifth question on our pamphlet asks how 2 Kings 8:26, which says Ahaziah began to rule at age 22, can be reconciled with 2 Chron. 22:2, which says he was 42. In responding to our question fundamentalist Rev. BB says--Ed.),

In my NIV Bible the 2 Chron. 22:2 text is described as a variant reading favored by SOME Septuagint and Syriac manuscripts, and can be explained by textual criticism, perhaps as a "scribal error." It is certainly NOT indicative of an inconsistency in the original autographs.

Editor's Response to Letter #605 (Part l)

As I said in regard to the "you have to go back to the originals" defense on my 20th TV program, "When it comes to the inerrancy of the Bible, its advocates are required to provide adequate evidence of the inerrant originals, because certainly everything that comes after them is full of errors and contradictions. Why on earth anybody would assume the originals have no mistakes, when all of the copies reek with errors and contradictions is beyond me. That's a leap in logic that only the irrational can fathom. Of course, the problem lies in the fact that there is no logic involved. If you have never read or seen a book, how can you be sure of what it really says? No living human being has ever read a copy of the original Bible and that's assuming there was an original Bible. The entire 'you have to go back the originals' defense is basically the mark of a desperate man trying to defend a hopeless position. People who want to return to the originals are using that as a defense, a subterfuge. They know there are contradictions in the writings facing them. That's obvious. But, they say there are no contradictions or inaccuracies in the originals, knowing full well the originals can't be produced by anyone no matter how hard they may try and hoping that will provide seclusion. As Peter Ruckman, founder of the Pensacola Bible Institute alleges, 'it is nothing but cowardice and desertion in combat'."

Reason, Liberty and Pride

2004-05-27T11:58:00.000-04:00

The greatest shame of our time is the collapse of the noble character, the productive worker, the resilient family, the inventive spirit, the self-reliant will, the generosity within communities, the resistance of government and the desire to believe in truth. We have betrayed these virtues by tolerating the demise of reason, liberty and pride in our culture. Religion and politics are not the most powerful institutions within a society. Culture is the most powerful institution of all and it is the dawdling, but continuous, corrosion of American culture that has allowed the foundations of virtue to erode.

Reason, liberty and pride are the blood and life of virtue, upon which all great things are founded. Yet, our world tells us to trust not the reason of man, but to put our faith in the God of Abraham. Our world tells us to forget our egotistical desire for liberty and to practice political compassion through redistribution of wealth. Our world tells us that Pride is a sin, that all men intend to do what is good and valuable, and as such should be as well esteemed as a man who was “lucky enough” to succeed.

I used to wonder if our countrymen had lost their minds, but now, I realize that our countrymen have simply given up trying to use them. Instead, we are to be compassionate. Objective, rational action is seen as being inferior to any action that intends to make another person happy. People believe that they have a right to be cared for by others and they intend to use the ever increasing power of the imperial federal government to ensure that those with the means to care for the plight of the impoverished do so, if only at the point of a gun. The American people continuously work towards increasing the number of people who are dependent on the government, when just 300 years ago, we fought and died so that more people could be Independent of the government.

People know Freedom, the way a child knows Santa Claus!

2004-05-27T02:24:00.000-04:00

"The war for liberty never ends. One day liberty has to be defended against the power of wealth, on another day against the intrigues of politicians, on another against the dead hand of bureaucrats, on another against the patrioter and the militarist, on another against the profiteer, and then against the hysteria and the passions of the mobs, against obscurantism and stupidity, against the criminal and against the overrighteous. In this campaign every civilized man is enlisted till he dies, and he only has known the full joy of living who somewhere and at some time has struck a decisive blow for the freedom of the human spirit."
- Walter Lippmann

Damn Republicans!

2004-05-27T02:19:00.000-04:00

"If the Soviet empire still existed, I'd be terrified. The fact is, we can afford a fairly ignorant presidency now."- Author: Newt Gingrich

Points of Note on American Politics

2004-05-26T20:07:00.000-04:00

"A politician who portrays himself as "caring" and "sensitive" because he wants to expand the government's charitable programs is merely saying that he's willing to try to do good with other people's money. Well, who isn't? And a voter who takes pride in supporting such programs is telling us that he'll do good with his own money-if a gun is held to his head." P.J. O'Rourke

America practices a politics of ambitious greed. That most Americans are willing to elect a politician to do what a policemen would arrest them for doing, namely taking money form others without their consent and spending it on those who would make them powerful, is as scandalous a process as has ever been established by government, and that, my friends, is an extraordinary feat. Advocates of liberalism and big government have no political philosophy. All they have is compassion, ignorance and a complete disinterest in the conceptualization of domestic political affairs.
America was founded as a nation that prided itself on self-reliance, self-discipline and hard work. Now, it is a welfare state, grounded in pity, envy and self-hatred. How did this happen?

"I apprehend no danger to our country from a foreign foe ... Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence, I must confess that I do apprehend some danger." Daniel Webster, June 1, 1837

American democracy is representative of only the minority of Americans that vote. How, in a country whose men fought and died for self-governance and representation, have we become a country that scoffs at political affairs with the absurd rationalization of, “my vote won’t really matter”. We are a country of fools and brigands. The gravest danger facing our country is not WMDs and terrorism, but the political apathy of the American people!

Philosophy Vs. Faith

2004-05-26T18:17:00.000-04:00

Why are the religious so afraid of philosophy and knowledge? Is it not religion that travels the world killing in the name of God, while the philosophers and men of reason protest? Is it not the religious who hate the philosophers so much that they would condemn us to an eternity of torment in Hell? I know of no ill fate preached by either pagan or atheist concerning where the Christian goes when she dies. Am I not clearing space for others in your perfect heaven, from the heights of which you all may delight in my eternal suffering? So why the fear of philosophy? We've never had any success in our attempts at destroying organized religion. Fear not! We know your faith is strong...and terribly amusing.

On truth and lie in an extra-moral sense: Thoughts of Nietzsche

2004-05-26T18:16:00.000-04:00

"What then is truth? A mobile army of metaphors, metonyms, and anthropomorphisms -- in short, a sum of human relations, which have been enhanced, transposed, and embellished poetically and rhetorically, and which after long use seem firm, canonical, and obligatory to a people: truths are illusions about which one has forgotten that is what they are; metaphors which are worn out and without sensuous power; coins which have lost their pictures and now matter only as metal, no longer as coins.

We still do not know where the urge for truth comes from; for as yet we have heard only of the obligation imposed by society that it should exist: to be truthful means using the customary metaphors - in moral terms, the obligation to lie according to fixed convention, to lie herd-like in a style obligatory for all..." N.

'On truth and lie in an extra-moral sense,' The Viking Portable Nietzsche, p.46-7, Walter Kaufmann transl.

In the words of Thomas Paine: New York, August 15, 1806

2004-05-26T17:19:00.000-04:00

On Death(A Letter to Andrew Dean)

"I received your friendly letter, for which I am obliged to you. It is three weeks ago today (Sunday, August fifteenth), that I was struck with a fit of apoplexy, that deprived me of all sense and motion. I had neither pulse nor breathing, and the people about me supposed me dead. I had felt exceedingly well that day, and had just taken a slice of bread and butter for supper, and was going to bed.

The fit took me on the stairs, as suddenly as if I had been shot through the head; and I got so very much hurt by the fall, that I have not been able to get in and out of bed since that day, otherwise than being lifted out in a blanket, by two persons; yet all this while my mental faculties have remained as perfect a I ever enjoyed them.

I consider the scene I have passed through as an experiment on dying, and I find that death has no terrors for me. As to the people called Christians, they have no evidence that their religion is true. There is no more proof that the Bible is the Word of God, than that the Koran of Mahomet is the Word of God. It is education makes all the difference. Man, before he begins to think for himself, is as much the child of habits in Creeds as he is in plowing and sowing. Yet creeds, like opinions, prove nothing.

Where is the evidence that the person called Jesus Christ is the begotten Son of God? The case admits not of evidence either to our senses or our mental faculties: neither has God given to man any talent by which such a thing is comprehensible.

It cannot therefore be an object for faith to act upon, for faith is nothing more than an assent the mind gives to something it sees cause to believe is fact. But priests, preachers, and fanatics, put imagination in the place of faith, and it is the nature of the imagination to believe without evidence.

If Joseph the carpenter dreamed (as the book of Matthew (i) says he did), that his betrothed wife, Mary, was with child by the Holy Ghost, and that an angel told him so, I am not obliged to put faith in his dreams; nor do I put any, for I put no faith in my own dreams, and I should be weak and foolish indeed to put faith in the dreams of others.

The Christian religion is derogatory to the Creator in all its articles. It puts the Creator in an inferior point of view, and places the Christian devil above Him. It is he, according to the absurd story in Genesis, that outwits the Creator in the Garden of Eden, and steals from Him His favorite creature, man, and at last obliges Him to beget a son, and put that son to death, to get man back again; and this the priests of the Christian religion call redemption.

Christian authors exclaim against the practice of offering up human sacrifices, which, they say, is done in some countries; and those authors make those exclamations without ever reflecting that their own doctrine of salvation is founded on a human sacrifice. They are saved, they say, by the blood of Christ. The Christian religion begins with a dream and ends with a murder.

As I am now well enough to sit up some hours in the day, though not well enough to get up without help, I employ myself as I have always done, in endeavoring to bring man to the right use of the reason that God has given him, and to direct his mind immediately to his Creator, and not to fanciful secondary beings called mediators, as if God was superannuated or ferocious.

As to the book called the Bible, it is blasphemy to call it the Word of God. It is a book of lies and contradictions, and a history of bad times and bad men. There are but a few good characters in the whole book. The fable of Christ and his twelve apostles, which is a parody on the sun and the twelve signs of the zodiac, copied from the ancient religions of the eastern world, is the least hurtful part.

Everything told of Christ has reference to the sun. His reported resurrection is at sunrise, and that on the first day of the week; that is, on the day anciently dedicated to the sun, and from thence called Sunday - in Latin Dies Solis, the day of the sun; and the next day, Monday, is Moon-day. But there is no room in a letter to explain these things.

While man keeps to the belief of one God, his reason unites with his creed. He is not shocked with contradictions and horrid stories. His bible is the heavens and the earth. He beholds his Creator in all His works, and everything he beholds inspires him with reverence and gratitude. From the goodness of God to all, he learns his duty to his fellow-man, and stands self-reproved when he transgresses it. Such a man is no persecutor.

But when he multiplies his creed with imaginary things, of which he can have neither evidence nor conception, such as the tale of the Garden of Eden, the Talking Serpent, the Fall of Man, the Dreams of Joseph the Carpenter, the pretended Resurrection and Ascension, of which there is even no historical relation - for no historian of those times mentions such a thing - he gets into the pathless region of confusion, and turns either fanatic or hypocrite. He forces his mind, and pretends to believe what he does not believe. This is in general the case with the Methodists. Their religion is all creed and no morals.

I have now, my friend, given you a facsimile of my mind on the subject of religion and creeds, and my wish is, that you make this letter as publicly known as you find opportunities of doing.

Yours, in friendship,

Thomas Paine"

Some Problems I Have with Religion

2004-05-26T11:00:00.000-04:00

I believe in gods. That is to say, that I believe in the divine nature of things and the force which governs the life of all things. What I detest is any religion that presumes to be the center of all things Divine, as if God created the world for Man and not for the animals and trees, the planets and the stars, the rocks, the oceans and hurricanes. I have difficulty finding any sense in assuming that the Divine is One God and that this God is a thinking, feeling, loving being. There is nothing in nature or in human experience that could lead to such a belief, excepting the fear of insignificance and despair. Only fear and despair are powerful enough to allow Man to believe in something so contrary to nature that it requires absolute and perfect faith.

The organization of power structures, called religions, to govern the religious beliefs of men is certainly the most despicable and evil of institutions. Religion appears to be more of a response to a psychological defect than to a deeply intuitive connection with the divine. Fear, pity, doubt, self-hatred and helplessness all lead to religion. Fear of death leads to a belief in an afterlife. It is our pity of great suffering that leads to the belief in an ever-loving God. Doubt leads to faith. Self-hatred leads to the belief in an innately evil human nature. Helplessness leads to an inclination to depend entirely upon this imagined God.

Yet, when you have no fear, life seems to be sufficient for contentment, god becomes nature and everything is divine. Through benevolent selfishness comes a desire for liberty, justice, self-reliance, discipline, knowledge and wisdom. We desire to do good, because the good is its’ own reward and the bad is its’ own punishment. We do not fear evil, because we are willing to conquer it with noble temperaments, not with alms, tithing, praying, bowing, crying or desperation. We are not helpless against evil and there is much we can do on behalf of goodness that requires nothing but a kind heart and an active mind. In the absence of fear is independence and yet, in religion is the ultimate dependence.

The paradoxical theology of the Christian Church, that a dependence on God is freedom, is so profoundly ridiculous, that it could only be accepted with perfect faith and thoughtlessness. The concept of desiring forgiveness from a God that created a world of opposites is absurd. God hides deep within the human psyche, like a voice crying out against the madness brought on by a persons’ inability to deal with life. The One God is an imaginary friend, an insanity, an absurdity and a tragedy. Were religious belief not bound so tightly to faith, maybe the religious would not feel so desperately compelled to defend their beliefs.

The most obnoxious part of religious dogma is the concept of Hell, wherein the believer may delight that those who mock him for his absolute faith will burn for all eternity in the most horrible of eternal torments. This desire to see people, who differ only in their estimations of the divine, suffer such a terrible fate is curious. Whether this is malice or hatred, or just another result of fear, I’ll never know. Most religious men I know do not seem filled with malice or hatred, so I assume that their belief that I will suffer eternal damnation is merely a way of converting nonbelievers into believers by placing doubt in their minds of a peaceful death. Once convinced that they could suffer eternal torment in hell for disbelief, the person will never rest until they accept the grace of God.

Thankfully, no one has yet stripped me of my faith in a peaceful death, but I could not imagine a life filled with such a fear of death! Were I to possess this fear, I too would fall into faith, if only to save my immortal soul. Again, thankfully I do not believe in my own immortality. I believe in the beauty of birth, the sanctity of life and the wisdom of death. I will one day pass away, but a new breed of mortals will rise in my place. Men will pick up the torch and hopefully improve upon our world, just as I hope for my generation to improve upon the world left to us by our ancestors. In the absence of a fear of death exists optimism in life. Those who are by nature fearful, invent a heaven to ease their anxieties. Those who are by nature unafraid, invent nothing.

Almost as obnoxious as the concept of Hell, is the way in which the religious flaunt their holiness before us and before each other. All they can talk about is how much love and joy they have in their lives, as though, if they keep telling themselves over and over again that they are happy, that eventually that happiness will become genuine. I have never seen such sadness, misery and despair than within the walls of a church. My heart breaks as I listen to the depth of the people’s pain and suffering, and sometimes I pray with them, “God, I don’t believe in you, but this lady does. If whatever it is that you are can ease her pain, take pity on her and save her from her troubles”. Do you see how easy it is to fall to pity? A few minutes in a church and I’m already angry at the world for treating this poor lady with such cruelty, petitioning God for justice.

The religious love to talk about service, selflessness and duty to God, but all of it seems to be aimed at making them feel better about themselves. I see no selflessness in a religion designed to give a people the power of God and an eternal paradise! If God and Heaven exist, nothing could be more selfish than to believe in it! Then, I would be the selfless one, choosing eternal torment on behalf of my principles and love of reason. What is so frustrating is that a minority of “believers” are “called” to serve because they genuinely love people and it becomes difficult to tell these honorable people from the depraved. Though, I suspect that we will always be able to identify the depraved by how often they flaunt the fact that they serve, while the genuinely virtuous person goes about their business quietly and honorably.

I believe that religion only succeeds because of the tiny minority of truly inspiring, virtuous, honorable, loving and sincere followers. It is those who have found true spirituality in religion that cause me the most difficulty, because spirituality is personal and private and should not be used to bolster the foundations of organized religion. Were these sages to denounce organized religion, they could set the whole world free from the chains of dogma and all men and women would be free to meet the divine on a wholly personal level. Yet, when these men advocate a religion, they create dissension and disunity amongst men. They force others who would follow in their footsteps to become their enemies, because they do not share the same religious label. Pity that. Be outraged at that! By rejecting reason, by giving license to fear, religion places a burden on our world that none of us were meant to carry. Spirituality should be a matter of Reason, not of Faith. Until it becomes such, it will remain a bane on all civilization.

Quotes Concerning Religion

2004-05-26T10:25:00.000-04:00

"Man is the religious animal. He is the only religious animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion –- several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat, if his theology isn't straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother's path to happiness and heaven." - Mark Twain

"If God kills, lies, cheats, discriminates, and otherwise behaves in a manner that puts the Mafia to shame, that's okay, he's God. He can do whatever he wants. Anyone who adheres to this philosophy has had his sense of morality, decency, justice and humaneness warped beyond recognition by the very book that is supposedly preaching the opposite."
- Dennis McKinsey, newsletter Biblical Errancy

"Atheism leaves a man to sense, to philosophy, to natural piety, to laws, to reputation; all of which may be guides to an outward moral virtue, even if religion vanished; but religious superstition dismounts all these and erects an absolute monarchy in the minds of men." - Francis Bacon

"Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear." - Thomas Jefferson

"Faith is often the boast of the man who is too lazy to investigate." - F. M. Knowles

"A certain sense of cruelty towards oneself and others is Christian; hatred of those who think differently; the will to persecute. Hatred of mind, of pride, courage, freedom, libertinage of mind, is Christian; hatred of the sense, of the joy of the senses, of joy in general is Christian." -Friedrich Nietzsche

"We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates Humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes." - Gene Roddenberry

"This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it." - John Adams, U.S. President

"What we imagine as order is merely the prevailing form of chaos." - Kerry Thornley

"Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet." - Napoleon Bonaparte

"God so loved the world that he made up his mind to damn a large majority of the human race." - Robert G. Ingersoll

"Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and tortuous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness with which more than half the Bible is filled, it would be more consistent that we called it the word of a demon, than the word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind; and, for my part, I sincerely detest it, as I detest anything that is cruel."
- Thomas Paine The Age of Reason

"I believe in God, only I spell it Nature." -Frank Lloyd Wright

"What do I believe? As an American I believe in generosity, in liberty, in the rights of man. These are social and political faiths that are part of me, as they are, I suppose, part of all of us. Such beliefs are easy to express. But part of me too is my relation to all life, my religion. And this is not so easy to talk about. Religious experience is highly intimate and, for me, ready words are not at hand." - Adlai E. Stevenson, speech, Libertyville, Illinois, May 21, 1954.

"Lighthouses are more helpful than churches." - Benjamin Franklin

"Religions are many and diverse, but reason and goodness are one." - Elbert Hubbard, The Roycroft Dictionary and Book of Epigrams, 1923.

"The essence of religion consists in the feeling of an absolute dependence." - Friedrich Schleiermacher

"Religious suffering is at one and the same time the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.

The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is therefore in embryo the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo." - Karl Marx

"I have an everyday religion that works for me. Love yourself first, and everything else falls into line." - Lucille Ball

"Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in your reading have been like the blast of triumph out of Shakespeare, Seneca, Moses, John and Paul." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Chaos often breeds life when order breeds habit." - Henry Adams