Post by Jim Newman

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Part of my trip away from home, the internet, and computer, the last two weeks was a double birthday celebration, myself and my uncle. Now his friend has cancer and they have been struggling with this the last two years. In a too-rare, quiet moment, we had a talk in the kitchen. While he dissed his partner’s belief in the resurrection and he knew, being a gardner and working with compost, where people go when they die he still couldn’t imagine there was no meaning to life. He prayed for his partner’s health twice a day and felt bad that this task was becoming less frequent as time went on.

I did feel his pain and his confidence that he could speak about it to me. I also say he felt compelled to tell me of his witnessing to faith. It seems like everyone wants to witness their faith to me. Indeed, at dinner, my spouse remarked that I attract religious discussion like bankers to poor people to which he replied he understood why. I don’t as I often don’t even say I’m an atheist but I must have the look or smell or something. I like to think it’s because they see me as a smart and moral person and that is a sign of a freethinker, unbound by blatant, bilious, biblical bullshit! My sweetie was  most struck when we were buying shrimp in a walk-in cooler in Florida and the Shrimper, after being paid, grabbed our hands, and spoke in tongues for a minute or so (was it an hour?). She threatened not to return. I found it humorous–I’m used to it and besides it’s more proof of how idiotic religion is and my sweetie is too accepting of comforting idiocy, for my own comfort, as a perfectly fine means of getting along in the world. However, her sense of propriety and privacy were accosted and that’s what she reacted to. She’s old school, think renaissance court–religion, politics, sex, and even disagreements are a private matter.

For my uncle I knew not what to say other than shut up and take it. He didn’t need a response. He needed acceptance, concern, and compassion. Besides I have little to say against deism. He probably doesn’t know how to define his belief but he doesn’t practice religion, follow rituals, use the language, or show any other sign of belief other than occasional random references that are so universal it doesn’t matter. Occasionally saying “in the next life” is about as obnoxious as saying “they act like a capricorn”, or some other trivial nonsense. He certainly doesn’t spew positivity bullshit like “if you ask for it, it it will come to you” or even jingoism like “today is the first day of the rest of your life” so it was an anomaly and I only felt sympathy for his pain.

Unlike the idiotic patronizing, condescending, patriarchal yet spineless, bank boy Romney. A recent poll says it doesn’t matter whether Romney is Mormon. Undoubtedly, these people have done their own research and found his religion to be as shallow, fake, and unbelievable as their own. Deservedly, the conservatives are pissed, and for once they are in the typical liberal position of having to vote against someone rather than for someone. I for one am happy to vote for Obama again though I think he has been too namby pamby. But I more than get how fear for assassination might dampen the president’s mood for change–his love of transparency, inclusion, and compassion are anathema to the right anyway and frankly democrats would like to taste a little neoconservative blood as well. Especially considering how conservatives willingling fuck with justice and humanity to preserve their “get mine and screw you” economic policy and then make the poor feel guilty as if they were responsible (blame the unions, welfare, and regulations). Ted Nugent wants to bring a rifle to DC and local yokels here say tar and feather the nigger and chase him out of town.

Even Morgan Freeman is running around saying Obama isn’t the first black president, his momma was white. Is this his equivalent of saying “your momma wears army boots” or “you’re not really Native American as you don’t have a BIA number”?

Meanwhile Rick Santorum like a bed bug on steroids won’t go away and claims that liberals are intolerant because they say to boycott Chick-fil-a. Frankly I thought it was “divine” justice that killed their PR man. No matter that Ricochet, I mean Rick, believes gays should go to hell for eternity, atheists should’t be allowed to run for office, and the US should be led by a protestant pope–there’s Christian love for you. Yet, liberals declaiming the liberal boycott under tolerance for free speech shot themselves in the foot, as suddenly the discussion changed from Chick-fil-a’s intolerance to Chick-fil-a the victim and bearer of free speech rights. I haven’t experienced such head-turning double speak since marching Nazi’s were suddenly the bastion paradigm of free speech. Of course you can’t say the seven deadly cuss words, libel, or threats other than figurative phrases. But it’s OK to march the streets and spew wanton hatred or demands to join a terrorist group whether jew-hating or secularist-hating or gay-hating or black-hating or spanish-hating.

Yes, it’s good to be back in civilization where I can watch the current western version implode in a fog of animosity disorder disguised as purity, wisdom, and the necessity of getting what you can before the lifeboats swamp. Yes, and Muller, the Koch funded (a measly 150 grand) says “oops”. He was wrong. He now believes climate change is human induced. His bad. But, hey like Reagan said when the ozone layer was turning to celestial lingerie, it’s just an opportunity to sell more suntan lotion and hats, what’s the problem? Just think, coastal flooding, asphalt buckling, rail track kinking, and power station overload, are great opportunities for the Insanely Rich, huh, I mean the free enterprise system. Besides we’ll just add more tolls, user fees, and add-on charges to the Already Poor. It’s not a problem, it’s a vast money-maker! The Insanely Rich don’t even need to do the work, they’ll just loan the money and gamble on the derivatives. Passive income is the greatest!

Has anyone noticed the striking similarity between bankers, loan sharks, and mafia insurance salesmen? They create the problem, provide the solution, wreck havoc on the neighborhood, pay off the police, never get punished, and die rich.

Jim Newman, bright and well

www.frontiersofreason.com www.brightpride.com