i'm on facebook. less friends on my list there than on here, but that only make sense, i've got nude photos on this site. 
oh wait, now i've got them on there, too...
anyhoo,
avowed atheist that i am, on my friend list i have christians, muslims, buddhists, wiccans (i think- some sort of space agey neo hippy crap) and jews, including chassidich jews. (don't tell anybody about that last group because i think they'll get stoned by their families). even an ex-and possibly soon-to-be-born again amish. i mean, there's diversity!
so some people are quiet about their beliefs, some post often, but every once in a while some Inspirational Dumbassery will float across my page. you know exactly the type of thing i'm talking about, uplifting quote, lots of mountain or beach scenes, fade out fuzzy filter around the edges, like you've just awoken from a rough night, and bleary eyed and contritely promising you'll never drink again, happened to open your laptop and read this soulful bit of helvetica font. my personal favorite being
"are the things you are living for worth jesus dying for?"
in all it's glorious disregard for grammar, and with what appears to be a close up of a georgia o'keefe tulip painting.
and sometimes, even if they're family, or friend's family, i just can't resist. this has resulted in a 30 comment thread that may or may not have contained a tearful "leave my daddy ALONE! he worked in a sewage treatment plant for 20 years and lost his job and he's a GOOD CHRISTIAN MAN!"
so, you'd think i'd learn my lesson.
what would be the fun in that, i ask you?
so when someone posted this smarmy quote, complete with cut n paste cross and white dove o peace,
" When life knocks you down on your knees,
You're in the perfect position to Pray"
of course i type. "or give head. perfect position for that, too".
because that's the kind of mind-in-the-gutter girl i am. i showed restraint, because how i really feel is that prayer is the worst kind of societal virus there can be. you see a hurt in the world, an injustice, a time of need, and what do you urge people to do? to pray. to literally whisper words in their head. you haven't urged them to donate, or volunteer, or effect change in any way. but, you've given them the feeling that they have, and can now cross that world hunger problem off their list. prayer handicaps forward momentum. when not used for personal meditation and focus, prayer is apathy.
so, the next time someone passionately urges you to do something like "pray for cancer", feel free to respond as i would, (maybe pointing out that that we should be praying to end cancer, as praying for it seems counter-productive) because, really, humor is the best medicine.
and, the next time you find yourself down on your knees, give someone head, because then you're really making a change in the world that someone can appreciate.
oh wait, now i've got them on there, too...
anyhoo,
avowed atheist that i am, on my friend list i have christians, muslims, buddhists, wiccans (i think- some sort of space agey neo hippy crap) and jews, including chassidich jews. (don't tell anybody about that last group because i think they'll get stoned by their families). even an ex-and possibly soon-to-be-born again amish. i mean, there's diversity!
so some people are quiet about their beliefs, some post often, but every once in a while some Inspirational Dumbassery will float across my page. you know exactly the type of thing i'm talking about, uplifting quote, lots of mountain or beach scenes, fade out fuzzy filter around the edges, like you've just awoken from a rough night, and bleary eyed and contritely promising you'll never drink again, happened to open your laptop and read this soulful bit of helvetica font. my personal favorite being
"are the things you are living for worth jesus dying for?"
in all it's glorious disregard for grammar, and with what appears to be a close up of a georgia o'keefe tulip painting.
and sometimes, even if they're family, or friend's family, i just can't resist. this has resulted in a 30 comment thread that may or may not have contained a tearful "leave my daddy ALONE! he worked in a sewage treatment plant for 20 years and lost his job and he's a GOOD CHRISTIAN MAN!"
so, you'd think i'd learn my lesson.
what would be the fun in that, i ask you?
so when someone posted this smarmy quote, complete with cut n paste cross and white dove o peace,
" When life knocks you down on your knees,
You're in the perfect position to Pray"
of course i type. "or give head. perfect position for that, too".
because that's the kind of mind-in-the-gutter girl i am. i showed restraint, because how i really feel is that prayer is the worst kind of societal virus there can be. you see a hurt in the world, an injustice, a time of need, and what do you urge people to do? to pray. to literally whisper words in their head. you haven't urged them to donate, or volunteer, or effect change in any way. but, you've given them the feeling that they have, and can now cross that world hunger problem off their list. prayer handicaps forward momentum. when not used for personal meditation and focus, prayer is apathy.
so, the next time someone passionately urges you to do something like "pray for cancer", feel free to respond as i would, (maybe pointing out that that we should be praying to end cancer, as praying for it seems counter-productive) because, really, humor is the best medicine.
and, the next time you find yourself down on your knees, give someone head, because then you're really making a change in the world that someone can appreciate.
VIEW 21 of 21 COMMENTS
My opinion is that cultural and moral relativism, while important and valid concepts, especially for historians and philosophers do little for current debate. While it's fair to ask what civil rights leaders of the past would have thought about today's topics, it's no more determinative than what "the founding fathers" would have thought. Today, and our current values, are what should define the debate. But I like to think that King, despite his biblical foundations, would look to the innate worth of the individual as paramount.