The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is…

Saw this video posted on Facebook of Florida sheriff Wayne Ivey warning people that the terrorists are here and to arm themselves. I have only one response: Bravo! It’s about time someone told the truth. The terrorist infestation in this country is getting out of control. They’re worse than cockroaches. They’re behind every bush, around every corner. You’re not safe. Your kids aren’t safe. Your pets aren’t safe. Heck, even your plants may not be safe. You never know; a terrorist may want to rape and kill your rhododendron.

The only refuge honest, white Christian Americans have is in packing heat. The more guns you own, the safer you are. In fact, I think all licensing for guns should be suspended to make it easier for good, law abiding citizens to purchase an arsenal for home protection.

Everything you need for home defense. Or World War III.

Kim Davis Memes

Who wore it better?

I’m being lazy by posting these, but they’re funny and (gasp!) actually make legitimate points so… if a picture is worth a thousand words, this is a full essay for me. Enjoy (or scream and rant and rave, whatever floats your boat).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~V

 

Anarchy Devine

Would you vote for this man?

Huffington Post reports that Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, in his support for Kim Davis, the jailed Kentucky Clerk of Court, is now encouraging people to obey only laws they determine to be “right”. This is terrifying talk from someone who wants to sit in the White House and become the most powerful man in the land. It essentially encourages Christian anarchy. At a time when our nation seems more divided than ever, is this the kind of rhetoric we want to hear from our political leaders?

Does Huckabee actually think these things through? Is he so blinded by his faith that all reason has left him? (I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt that he at one time possessed the capacity for reasonable thought) Can he envision the world he’s suggesting? Our entire legal structure would crumble if this were to happen. Anyone could break any law with impunity under the guise of “Religious freedom” or simply “I don’t think that law is right.”

Imagine All the People

I’ve been watching the political race for the US Presidency unfold, and I’ve been thinking about some of the topics that have dominated US news for the past few months and I’m struggling to understand why we as a nation, as a species even, cannot seem to agree on certain issues that seem to me to be very plain and not controversial at all.

For instance, let’s take the popular topic of the hour: Cecil the Lion and the backlash against trophy hunting. I can’t see anyone making a reasonable, rational argument to support  killing endangered or nearly endangered species. Setting aside the discussion about shooting deer as a supposed method to thin the population to prevent starvation in the winter months when food is scarce, (that’s probably another topic altogether), hunting for sport is cruel and serves no purpose. As Ricky Gervais said recently:

“It annoys me that it’s called ‘trophy hunting’ because it has nothing to do with hunting. There’s a big difference with, you know, hunting for food cleanly and honestly, as we said before, and wanting to know what it’s like to murder a majestic animal for no reason other than the thrill of what it’s like to murder something… Why is bullfighting fun? Why is torturing an animal the fun bit? It’s not fun to do, it’s not fun to watch. I wonder about the psychology of the people that like seeing an animal in fear or tortured or its life snuffed out for no good reason.”

Isn’t this something that we could all agree upon? Is banning trophy hunting really controversial?

Book Banning: The Joy of Censorship

You can burn a book, but you can’t kill an idea

There are certain groups of people who seem to love banning books and censoring thoughts and language. Among the most notorious are conservative Christians and Nazis. (Although we could throw in Muslims as well, to be fair). Interestingly, while conservative Christians aggressively try to ban or censor anything they find that is objectionable to the Christian faith, they have no problem at all with defending freedom of speech when it comes to insulting Islam.

Over the years, many classic books as well as many benign children’s books have fallen under strict religious scrutiny and have drawn the ire of religious zealots who feel it is their duty in life to protect the rest of humanity from itself. Take a look at a sample of books that have been banned over the years:

I’m a Victim, You’re a Victim, Wouldn’t You Like To Be a Victim Too?

I’ve been told by numerous Christians that they are the most persecuted group in America and after checking the facts on this, I have to agree. For example, though it’s hard to imagine, there are still places in this country where loving heterosexual Christian couples are not allowed to legally marry. This is due to extreme intolerance from the gay community who feel that heterosexual marriage defiles the very sanctity of the institution and claim that marriage should be defined as one man and one man or one woman and one woman ONLY! The result of this is that many straight couples are unable to enjoy the legal benefits of marriage that their gay counterparts enjoy, such as being able to cover a spouse under health insurance and… wait… hold the phone. Let me just check something… Oh. Oh crap. Ok well… nevermind. Forget that first example. It seems I got my facts mixed up. Turns out it’s the other way around. It’s gay couples that can’t get married in some places and it’s Christians that are intolerant. Whoops. My bad.

The Challenge of Critical Thinking

How critical is our thinking?

I’ve been studying the concept and skill set of critical thinking as of late and while I would consider myself still a novice in this area, it has already opened my eyes to a number of biases I was previously unaware I had. The trouble with a bias is that it acts like a blind spot in our understanding of concepts. We assume we are seeing an issue clearly because we don’t know that our biases are blinding us from pieces of information that could potentially alter our perspective. I’ve always thought of myself as leaning towards the liberal worldview and when I would hear those whose viewpoints were decidedly more conservative speak about “Left Wing Radicals” I would dismiss those assertions with a wave of my hand assuming that perspective was an exaggerated construct and simply untrue. I no longer take that position.

The Walking Dead Theorem

Where’s Brad Pitt when you need him?

 

In a zombie apocalypse world, who would fare better? The liberal or the conservative? Post apocalyptic life would require innovation, efficient community and use of resources, a form of group oriented government and respect for and active involvement in the protection of the environment. Which group embodies those traits more?

My Moral Compass is Broken

Which direction is “Good”?

If you’re an Atheist, Jesus may love you but his fans aren’t so understanding. Recent comments by  two older, conservative Christian men have been making news. Phil Robertson, from the cable TV show Duck Dynasty is reported to have made some disturbingly violent comments about atheists. As reported by Right Wing Watch, Robertson was giving a speech at the Vero Beach Prayer Breakfast when he said the following:

“I’ll make a bet with you, two guys break into an atheist’s home. He has a little atheist wife and two little atheist daughters. Two guys break into his home and tie him up in a chair and gag him. And then they take his two daughters in front of him and rape both of them and then shoot them and they take his wife and then decapitate her head off in front of him. And then they can look at him and say, ‘Isn’t it great that I don’t have to worry about being judged? Isn’t it great that there’s nothing wrong with this? There’s no right or wrong, now is it dude?’”

The Pursuit of Knowledge

Can you know what you don’t know?

I realized after I finished my article on Agnosticism that I still had much more to say on the subject. And when an idea gets into my head, sometimes the only way to make it stop swirling around my brain, bumping into things and making a complete mess is to let it out to play. So if you enjoy philosophical discussions, debates, arguments, screaming matches or whatever you do, feel free to continue reading and let me know what you think (Please! I really want feedback on my blog.) If this topic is a bit too heavy for you, feel free to read my articles “Put on a happy face” or “5 Things that are better than stepping on a cat”. They are light and airy and just a bit silly. No deep thinking there.