22 August 2010

The one where friends need restraining



Have you ever been out with friends, well, men probably have experienced this more than women, but you never know. You're out with friends, and maybe you all have been drinking, and one of your friends sees something he takes offense at and starts in to teach the offender a lesson. And you and the others try to dissuade him from making a fool of himself, yet he persists, so you and the others try to restrain him from his intent. Your friend maybe gets angry at you and snaps at you and might even take a swing at one or more of you because you have violated his ethics. He thinks that dude over there needs to be taught a lesson, and you aren't letting your buddy go over there and teach it to him. The end result can go either way. He might break free and proceed to make a fool of himself by trying to "straighten out" the offending individual, with success falling nowhere near perfect, or you might succeed in restraining him from that dangerous outcome. That's kind of how I feel about christians in the United States. 


Though they believe they are defending American society, they are introducing innovations that contradict the body of experience garnered by the American people over the last 400+ years on this continent. They are gleefully ripping to shreds the core principles of the Republic founded by people who wanted freedom without coercion. The fundamentalists say that those who do not submit to the precepts of their religion are exercising undue pressure on them to abandon their religion, because the modern christian right equate the nation with their religion. They see no division between state and religion, and this is because they read the Hebrew Scriptures (“Old Testament”) as a literal blueprint for a successful and blessed society. Not following the Hebrew Scriptures results, in their minds, to the destruction of the nation by the same vengeful god of the bible who dismantled the Jewish nation at least twice. The rest of us have varying opinions on this ranging from “we've got to stop these maniacs” to “don't hit them too hard.”  We're the friends who are trying to hold back another friend from making an ass of himself. The christian right are hell-bent to rip this country to shreds. You can see it all around. The polarization did not start with the liberal left. Anyone who knows what liberals stand for knows that we do not like polarization. We want a diverse society of people who enjoy their differences yet respectfully allow others to choose different paths. We liberals want a society where people can present their viewpoints as options, not edicts.  Our resistance to the right is not polarization; it's the desire for self-determination.  We are not the ones who say “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing.” The radical right has removed all pretense at reconciliation or tolerance. Those of us who are trying to talk sense into our out-of-control friends are being attacked as the problem, as people who have abandoned morality, because we don't let the religious right take over and “set things straight”. Religious people: sleep it off!  If you had your way, you'd be sorry for it within a month.


The bar fight picture I can't find the creator, but I tried.  The cartoon is from Atheist Eve at yoism.org.

04 August 2010

The one where I mock jingoism.

There is a competition waged in America lately, a subtle combat gone virtually unnoticed even though its effects appear on jacket lapels, lawn ornaments, bumper stickers, and flagpoles across the country.  Who can wear the biggest or best pin?  Who can squeeze one more sticker on the car? Who is the most patriotic by flying the biggest flag in town?  I'm half expecting some community to start remodeling rooftops so that they create a large American flag effect when seen from above.  It wouldn't surprise me in the least.

At last, I have grown accustomed to tipping again.  No longer do I walk out of the restaurant without dropping a few dollars extra on the table for the waitress.  However, tipping might be getting a little out of hand when a drive up coffee kiosk wants a tip for...
for...
for what exactly is this little tip bucket dangling here in front of me?

My visit to America is drawing to a close.  As usual, I'm reluctant to leave, but simultaneously anxious to get home.  My travel bags are stuffed with goods unavailable in Korea, and I've said most of my good byes.  It was a good holiday for the most part, but I will certainly be happy to get back to my home, sleep in my own bed, and cuddle my sweet little kitties again.