Deceived, discarded, tribeless, and virtually "homeless". Fatally jaded, now agnostic. This blog is for self-therapy. My time on Earth is up, but I'll be back (maybe). For now, find me on Twitter.
This instinctive yet unfortunate Mindless Tribalism has been in force ever since Homo Sapiens and Homo Neanderthalis encountered one another… we have an idea how THAT turned out (hint: Sapiens be Psycho, yo)!
Take a walk from prehistory and onwards into the present… The Dark Ages, WW1, The Holocaust, Tutsi vs. Hutus, Japanese vs. Chinese, South Africans vs Nigerians, Republicans vs. Democrats, Catholics vs. Protestants, Sunni vs. Shia, Light Skin vs. Dark, even Male vs. Female… Us Homo Sapiens are extraordinarily good at separating, vilifying, and eventually WIPING OUT other demographics or even entire species, based on even the most superficial of differences.
…and it almost invariably starts with “Let’s Blame Them For All Our Problems”. Behold 👇
Despite what irrelevant or distracting “feel good” nonsense we allow media to shove into our brains, “modern” humans – as a collective – are still more barbaric than we think. This pervasive “Digital Culture”, for all its gloss and undeniable utility, reduces Human Empathy, capitalizes on Natural hominid Fear, and exacerbates Instinctive Xenophobia.
Be mindful, dear reader… acknowledge your flaws, recognize your tribal biases, exercise your Natural Human Empathy, be mindful, and be kind.
Yeah I came in “hot” with wishing death on these selfish motherfuckers. Ideally, they – the Willfully Unvaccinated – should be required to sign a waiver, saying that if they get sick from COVID19, they waive their right to be treated at ANY medical facility in the USA.
Instead, they refuse the vaccine based on Identity Politics, wilful ignorance, and religion bullshit (no surprise there). Then, they almost inevitably get sick, and overrun the very same hospitals that they claim to not trust. Now, people with LEGITIMATE reasons for seeking medical care, cannot get hospital beds.
In my honest opinion, the SARS-COV-2 virus works TOO SLOWLY. In an ideal world, an unvaccinated person would be fucking “gone” within 5 days: catch it, get sick, death within 5 days. That would be AWESOME. If that were the case, these pointless, distracting, attention-seeking, air-sucking “debates” would be over within a few months. We have FAR bigger problems to solve in this country.
However, I’m not a “hater” – I recognize that all lifeforms – including microorganisms – have the same evolutionary mandates we mammals do: survive, reproduce and spread. And they cannot those things if their hosts are immobile and expire in too short a time. Hence the long incubation period and lack of symptoms for a long-ass time – while it reproduces and MUTATES. In fact, malicious microorganisms LOVE asymptomatic hosts, because not only are they great “labs and nurseries” for new variants, but these hosts go about their daily lives, congregating, often maskless, intentionally spreading the virus far and wide BEFORE falling sick and being quarantined. What lucky microorganism would NOT love that???
The unvaccinated are a virus’ best friend!
But I want to end this short article on a POSITIVE note. Let’s give Thanks and Praise to the Unvaccinated! Why? Because they are a wonderful “petri dish” in Earth’s attempts at wiping out this scourge known as the Human Race. These anti-human, selfish, un-American screaming toddlers are doing Mother Gaia a huge favor.
As of this article, there is a “Mu” variant, which is being watched closely by health officials. I cannot wait for the GammaX Variant, which might straight-up mutate our still-living cells. One can dream, right? I mean, not let us get some cool superpowers before the inevitable Omega Variant shows up and Mother Gaia finally succeeds in wiping us out 👇🏾😂
A friend in Latin America asked me to explain why the “red states” in America are bad. With my limited Spanish — often relying on Google Translate to fill in the gaps – I was unable to properly articulate it on-the-spot.
So I decided to write up a full response, with (hopefully) easily-digestible bullet points. Obviously these are broad strokes, since some of these “red states” have some town, communities, or individuals that do not fit the broader descriptions. However, as a collective, the “red states” in America are bad because:
Facts vs. Opinions (or Beliefs)
They tend to be anti-science and anti-fact, specifically any fact that clashes with their pre-existing world view. They are pridefully ignorant, and extremely stubborn. Red states have the lowest levels of literacy in the country. They believe that the only “school education” necessary is the bare minimum needed to get a job and feed their families, meaning that Broad Education and General Intelligence are bad and destructive. They consider open minds, broad horizons – or changing their beliefs based on new information – quite upsetting, and a “weakness”. They are often avoidant of, or hateful towards, anyone who is highly educated or an academic expert in their field.
“Us” vs. “Them”
They are very tribal and xenophobic. Meaning, anybody who does not look like them, talk like them, and believe everything they believe… is automatically “The Other”, to be looked upon with suspicion, fear, or disgust. They view immigration and demographic diversity as a bad thing, detrimental to society. They would rather literally die, than share this country with “Them”. As a result, most people in “red states” are subconsciously or overly racist, especially against dark-skinned people.
Intimidation and Violence
Almost all domestic terrorists are White Supremacist, White Nationalist, or Neo-Nazis… the vast majority of whom reside in “red states”. They believe that the USA is for White Christian Males only, and everyone else should be second-class, stripped of their voting rights… in the case of Latinos, deported, and in the case of negros, exterminated or returned to slavery. Also, these people purchase and own a lot of firearms and ammunition, in hopes that they will someday be allowed to legally and openly murder anyone they deem not a “real American”. That it so say, they want another Civil War.
Fake Christians and Hypocrisy
They are hyper-religious, but not in a “Jesus Loves Everyone” way. They are religious in a “Jesus Loves You But Only If You Are In Our Tribe” way. They often seek to hurt or disenfranchise people who are not part of their tribe, that is, anyone who is “different”. In the case of physical violence against “The Other”, “red state Christians” will claim “God” told them to do it. Most “red state Christians” share the same view as white domestic terrorists. People in “red states” have twisted Christianity into hatred and evil, without shame, and with the full support of many wealthy donors across America.
It also happens that these people ALSO elect and control politicians. The very same “public servants” who make decisions that affect the ENTIRE country.
Taking these awful characteristics into consideration, is it any wonder that the COVID19 Pandemic will continue raging across the entire for the foreseeable future? Even while other countries get their cases under control and return to semi-normalcy?
This “United” States is devolving into a classic Failed State.
Let me paint a (sordid) picture for you. We have daily mass shootings. Global terrorism. Sexual assaults both legitimate and imagined. Needless and baffling political divisions, the rise of reality-denying cults and neo-Nazis. Tribal conflicts based on language, creed, phenotypical expressions, and even choices of entertainment!
To any functional, cognitively sound adult who has some global awareness, NONE of this is news.
And yet we continue just talking about these things. We just talking and fucking tweeting about this shit! Mainstream media outlets – even the legitimate ones – are still beholden to corporate interests, so they continue spread misinformation and fear, not exploring solutions. Meanwhile, said corporate interests and their Pet Politicians sit back and profit off the Fear and Chaos.
The human race is busy treating symptoms when we SHOULD be attacking the disease. The disease is a suite of obsolete evolutionary instincts. Our world’s leading neuroscientists – backed by appropriate funding – should be researching and developing Cognitive Adjustments (or whatever they decide to call it). Basically we need to get to a point where we have the following drugs and treatments:
Adjust (“nerf”) the Fear Centers of adult humans indefinitely. This shall reduce xenophobia, which is the main cause of racism, while increasing the rates of cross-tribal cooperation. Cuz seriously, this destructive “in group, out group” bias has GOT. TO. GO.
Reduce the libido of pubescent humans, for about 7 years. This shall reduce or eliminate sex-crimes related, especially in college. Enough with the fraternity sex parties and rapes. Enough.
Shut down the libido of adult humans for about 12 hours – basically the length of a workday + commute time. This shall serve to reduce/eliminate workplace harassment. We do NOT need any more Employment Whatever Right lawyers making money off of lonely horny human coworkers who simply dared to attempt courtship or dating in an environment in which they spend 90% of their youthful and vital years.
Adjust the part of the brain that controls hunger and satiety. This shall reduce needless greed, and possibly cure eating disorders. This would also address OTHER forms of substance addiction and abuse! Not to mention, a boon for the clothing and fashion industry.
Predictably, some people will clap back with “We just need to teach people Empathy and Self-Control, and over time, attitudes will change for the better”. Well, how’s that been working out so far? IT HASN’T. It CANNOT. That’s the whole POINT.
Education (“changing attitudes”) takes hundreds of generations, and is prone to major setbacks like re-education. Here’s a very clear and topical example: as of the day this article was published, there is a concerted push in the USA by some fearful xenophobic racist motherfuckers to erase or ignore parts of history from the textbooks, or act like those events didn’t ripple into the current day! Can you BELIEVE these disingenuous shit-heads? Anyway.
Evolution is even slower, taking MILLIONS of years, and is of course based on Natural Selection. To wit: even today, look around you… you will see shitty, regressive peoplegetting their choice of mates, making offspring, and passing their shitty attitudes on to the next generation along with their genetics. Their evolutionary instincts STILL guide their behavior, while more “civilized” progressive individuals might NEVER even meet a mate or procreate at all.
Meanwhile, modern human civilization and progressive attitudes – including aversion to war, condemnation of slavery, AND all the current “extreme woke” bullshit going on – has been around for JUST about 2,000 years. That’s like, a blink of an eye by societal development time scales.
No contest: We simply cannot rely on Education or Natural Selection to course-correct our species. The simple fact is, human societies have advanced far beyond our relatively underdeveloped brains’ ability to adapt.
First was the Cognitive Revolution, then came the Agricultural Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and now some would say we are now in the Information Revolution. We have to at least TRY to jumpstart the next Sapiens revolution, else we risk stagnation and eventual self-destruction. We have to try SOMETHING, cuz right now – per the very first paragraph of this article – shit is kinda fucked, yo. Our evolutionary instincts continue to thwart our attempts to be a more civilized species.
We have to use our brains, to FIX our brains. It’s an interesting paradox.
Yes, I know that mammalian biology and human psychology are incredibly complex. Yes, the human brain is still one of science’s Greatest Mystery. Yes, I know that even if the technology existed to do so, the Powers That Be would never allow these “profitable problems” fixed. Yes, I know I am just smoking crack and fantasizing at this point 🤓
However, can you imagine what Future Humans will achieve, once they’ve conquered all these vestigial and obsolete evolutionary traits and instincts? Once they’ve broken free of these cerebral shackles holding the entire species back from true greatness?
Just imagine that amazing future, yo… just imagine.
Last week I had yet another setback. Another case of trust, passive deceit, and eventual disappointment. I seem to have a lot of these. This is problematic.
I’ve had a regular handyman (let’s call him “D”), whom I met in mid-2020 right smack dab during the pandemic. “D” does good work, and I’ve recommended him to several other people. Basically everything was fine – and sometimes even fun. I didn’t think I could enjoy working and chatting with an ex-con, ex-druggie white-guy handyman who also happens to have a nerdy streak – collectible baseball cards, stock market, sci-fi movies/shows, Marvel and DC stuff – so it was quite “different” for me, in a rather nice way.
A few days ago “D” came by to finish up a minor project in my house. When he was done with the work, we had our habitual 5 minutes of casual chat as he wound down.
During THIS particular conversation, however, he made some assertions that gave me pause. I asked follow-up questions, and…Well, it turns out he’s a solid QAnon follower and reality-denier 😔
Some of his deeply-held (and sometimes contradictory) beliefs include: we didn’t put a man on the moon, Tr**p was a great president and did nothing wrong, the January 6th insurrection was set up by the Democrats and AntiFa, the pandemic was/is a hoax, Biden/Harris administration is destroying the country, and so on.
I didn’t bother to dig deeper, because it was clear that he is one of those emotionally damaged, fully-entrenched reality-deniers – so my words and any appeals to the Scientific Method would be pointless. “You Cannot Reason People Out of Something They Were Not Reasoned Into“. I just kept quiet and played it cool for sake of my own sanity.
After that soul-crushing reveal, “D” left for the day, and I went back inside. I’m not gonna lie: I (a grown-ass man) was on the verge of tears. Tears of frustration and anger.
I’d let this person onto my property, into my house, into my bedrooms. I’d paid him money. Over time he’d endeared himself to me, and I thought I had a potential Friend… only to find out that he’s been cleverly concealing his reality-denying beliefs this whole time.
No matter how low I set my expectations, it seems “the hits keep on coming” in my life (this is a reality that I cannot deny). All this shit is why I have severe trust issues. I’m so fucking tired of being misled, deceived, flat out LIED to… or set up for abandonment.
Sometimes it feels like I’ve been the unwitting recipient of an ancient curse.
First, bear with me as I share with you my practical and grounded understanding of the historical figure we all know as Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Once Upon a Time, in Roman-occupied Nazareth (Israel), a sweet young lady named Mary, known to be a virgin and engaged to a humble carpenter named Joseph, had seemingly gotten pregnant out of wedlock. Instead of risking her being stoned to death, as was their custom back then, Joseph was inspired to “step up” and “take ownership” of the situation. This courageous act of husbandly responsibility saved Mary’s life, and by extension, that of her unborn child.
At some point, a Roman decree was passed requiring Joseph and a very-pregnant Mary to take a “census and tax pilgrimage” to Bethlehem. When they finally got there, accomodations were basically non-existent (tax season, waddya gonna do)… so they had to crash in the barn of some random hotel, where Mary gave birth to Jesus in a makeshift crib (“manger”), alongside random farm animals.
The reality was probably less glamorous, louder, and more “manure-y” than all those lovely nativity scenes portray.
Meanwhile, word had gotten to King Herod The Great of Judea, that some new kid was supposed to be the future King of the Jews. Fearing that the baby would grow up to take over his throne, he tried to locate and murder baby Jesus 😨
Joseph, Mary, and baby/toddler Jesus (wisely) stayed in Egypt until King Herod died.
Jesus, eventually known as “Jesus the Christ” or just “Jesus Christ”, grew up to be a charismatic young man who really did believe he was the Messianic Son of the Abrahamic God. Both privately and publicly, he behaved according to his beliefs. Around age 30, his belief was so strong and charisma so high (over 9,000), that he embarked on his Ministry.
He spoke truthfully, and preached against dishonesty and lying (Matthew 15:18-20).
He said people should be good to one another, to treat one another like they would like to be treated (John 13:34-35).
He taught people to forgive transgressors, and to love their enemies (Luke 6:27-36).
He encouraged kindness, tending to the poor and vulnerable among us (James 1:27).
He strongly discouraged greed and usury. He spoke out quite vehemently against amassing vast material wealth (Luke 12:15).
He asked people to NOT be hypocrites (Matthew 7:5), and not to needlessly judge others (Luke 6:37).
In other words, he was preaching “don’t be an a$$hole”. More importantly, Jesus Christ practiced what he preached, and he merely asked his followers to do the same (John 3:18).
Jesus Christ’s message resonated with many people. So much, that he eventually amassed quite a following, with 12 of them being his most loyal disciples. His “entourage”, if you will.
Christ and his Twelve Disciples went around the countryside and various towns, preaching the “Good Word”, praying over people, performing so-called “miracles“, “healing” the sick (including lepers), “feeding” the hungry, and sheltering the poor and undesirables. On at least two occasions, Jesus threw predatory money lenders and merchants out of the Holy Temple.
He was just being an overall confident, unabashed Good Guy With Conviction Who Knows He’s Doing The Right Thing By His Fellow Humans.
However, his altruistic activities did not go unnoticed by the Powers That Be. Cue the ominous music.
Jesus Christ’s growing popularity, enthusiastic preaching, free prayers, free food, and other community-oriented, largely-pragmatic, genuinely charitable acts – performed at NO CHARGE – did NOT sit well with the local religious leaders and pharisees. He even publicly called them out for their hypocrisy, no doubt prompting them to think, “Who the HELL does this guy think he is?”
This Nazarene carpenter who called himself the True Son of God, a Jewish upstart “miracle-worker”, was becoming a Real Problem™.
When the religious leaders found out that he was ALSO messing with their congregation numbers and, by extension, their cash flow…?
Well. THAT was the Final f***ing Straw.
Many Jewish religious leaders got together with good ol’ King Herod – a cruel puppet of the Roman Empire, by the way – and conspired to “permanently remove” this threat to their socio-political and religious power.
Of course, all this noise reached Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea at the time, who became quite irritated at what was considered rabble-rousing, insurrection, and a threat to “Law and Order”.
With multiple authority figures now keenly aware of Jesus and his posse, the stage was now set for the awful events that would follow.
You see, one of the 12 Disciples was Judas Iscariot, a dude so shady that even Jesus himself predicted that Judas would sell him out for the right price. Well, that “right price” was 30 piece of silver, paid to Judas by The High Priest Caiaphas. With a single kiss (No Homo) Judas “marked” Jesus Christ at the the Garden of Gethsemane, at which point the high priest arrested Jesus and turned him over to Pontius Pilate’s soldiers.
They sold him out to the Romans.
Let’s be honest, nobody wants an insurrection in their province. Especially not Pontius Pilate, who was thinking about running for a Higher Office. So the Romans wanted to merely publicly discipline this Jesus Christ fella for essentially “disturbing the peace” and “making false claims of royalty”, or some other bullshit, standard rebellion-quelling stuff.
But no, the Jews wanted Jesus GONE. Not exiled, but dealt with permanently, mafia-style. In cement shoes, sleeping with the fishes. You know what I mean.
Even Pontius Pilate felt that this was a bit much, and suggested that Jesus be publicly tortured instead. So they did. Not gonna lie, dat sh*t was straight RAW, yo 😱
But that wasn’t enough to sate the bloodthirsty Pharisees.
Finally, Pontius Pilate tried the “Pardon A Criminal Before Passover” card, as was the political tradition back then. He brought out an actual criminal named Barrabas (I dunno why I love that name, but I just do) and gave the crowd a choice – pardon Jesus Christ, who did nothing wrong if you think about it for a moment, or pardon Barrabas… a bandit and literal murderer on Death Row.
Much to Pontius Pilate’s dismay, the Pharisees – and presumably, some pro-crime trolls – picked Barrabas to be pardoned, and insisted that Jesus be crucified. The Jews even said, “His blood be on us and our children”!
I mean, these people had a massive murder-erection (metaphorical but also maybe literal? I don’t know, I wasn’t there and I’m not gonna kink-shame)… they REALLY wanted to make an example of this self-declared “Son of God” who was making them look bad and messing with their money.
Let me be clear: Rather than lose more power, influence, and money… the local religious leaders – and their cult-ish followers – chose to pardon a murderer, and literally crucify an Objectively Good Man 😨
Let that fact sink in.
So, to keep the peace, Pontius Pilate basically did what the Jews wanted, gave the order that Jesus be crucified, and publicly washed his hands of the whole matter.
The rest is (literally) history.
Time for a Thought Experiment. What if Jesus Christ, as earlier described, really WAS a magical Higher Power, and fulfilled his promise by returning? What if he made his presence known to self-identified Christians in the USA, and pushed the very same “love your neighbor” rhetoric for which he is well-known?
Jesus preached sharing and taking care of the poor and vulnerable, so the majority of so-called Christians would IMMEDIATELY label him a Socialist. Then they’d tell him to cut his hair and “Get a real job, dirty hippie”.
Jesus preached shedding material wealth, so the mega-churches and “prosperity gospel preachers” would disavow and discredit him, and call him a “phoney”. Jesus was also anti-usury, so of course Wall Street and PayDay Loan Companies would just laugh their asses off and ignore him.
Jesus preached against hypocrisy, he preached truthfulness and honesty, so tabloids (and FOX news) would naturally look for ways to smear him, call him “fake Jesus” or “false god”. Even if they couldn’t find anything on him – because he, y’know… descended from freakin’ HEAVEN – they would just make shit up on Facebook.
The “Messiah” would be so bewildered by this unexpected (but not unprecedented) treatment, he wouldn’t even bother to perform any of his so-called “miracles”. Even if he did, the Powers That Be would NEVER allow the information to be publicly validated, as that would threaten the status-quo.
Eventually, Jesus would be dismissed and deported, or mysteriously “die” while in custody. Even if he “ascended” again, the government would NEVER admit it. Within a few days the mysterious disappearance would be eclipsed by some new scandal, or yet another picture of Kim Kardashian’s naked butt and labia, both majora and minora.
Sound familiar?
If you’ve been paying attention to World Affairs for the past decade – with emphasis on the USA – you know this hypothetical scenario is quite accurate to how things would play out. Deep in your heart, you know it.
(You’re welcome for the link, by the way, you perv 😂)
We’re finally at the “What’s Your Point” section. Do you identify as Christian? Yes? Well, I’m going to speak directly to you for the rest of this article.
You see, for several years in my youth, I was a Practical Christian (as opposed to a “Lip Service Only” Fake Christian or “cultural Christian” as many people call it). Why do I call my past self a Practical Christian?
Well, I’ve read the Holy Bible cover-to-cover one-and-half times. I was raised Catholic, so I’ve taken holy Communion AND Confirmation. At some point I switched to being a “Born Again” Christian, since they were doing more outreach and “practical” Christianity. I’ve unabashedly stood up and preached the gospel on buses going to and from school. In school I was sometimes bullied for being a “goody two-shoes”, and I’ve ALSO stood up for victims of bullying. I did my best to live my daily life – both the major things and the little things – with the question “What Would Jesus Do” going through my mind every hour…. and when possible, DO IT LIKE THAT.
Some years after relocating to the USA, I “cooled down” from my religious zealotry, but I still kept up the religious habits and overall “Decent Human Being In Practice = Good Christian” mindset. I often skipped church service, so I could go volunteer at a soup kitchen, homeless shelter, or Domestic Abuse shelter. Up until about age 35, I’d attended so many different churches for years at a time, I lost track. I even took some random short online course on Theism.
The point is, I’m VERY familiar with the Christian Religion, several of its’ various flavors (denominations), and the people who proudly self-declare this as their belief system.
From all indications both literal and experiential, the majority of so-called Christians today have NEVER read the Bible cover-to-cover, nor have they dived into the Theism and History of it all. Many of them persist in decidedly un-Christ-like speech and behavior, while simultaneously claiming to be “deeply religious”.
Furthermore – as illustrated earlier in this article – most church leaders secretly DO NOT want their congregation studying the Bible THAT hard… why? Because that might inspire them to QUESTION things.
Specifically, religious leaders don’t want anything or anyONE threatening their power, control, and cash flow. Just like the Pharisees of yore, they “have a good thing going”, and will do ANYTHING to protect it. Including lying and manipulating their weak-willed congregations.
To be fair, statistically speaking, there exists some authentic, truly Christ-like practitioners of Christianity… a near-mythological demographic RARELY spotted out in the real world.
However, the vocal majority of self-identified Christians do NOT live or even THINK the way Jesus Christ “our Lord and Savior” prescribed. In fact, they are often the opposite of Christ-like, both in word and in deed.
Researchers have long known that white supremacists, such as adherents of Christian Identity (a racist, anti semitic religious philosophy) and racial Nordic mythology, use religion to justify acts of violence and condone criminal activity. Lesser known are the ways other white supremacy groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Creativity Movement (formerly known as the Church of Creator or World Church of the Creator), incorporate religious teachings, texts, and symbolism into their group ideology and activities to justify violating the law and committing violent acts.
In other words: The majority of self-identified Christians in the modern era, are either passively and blissfully devoid of Christ-like attributes, or are actively Bad People shamelessly using the historical figure of Jesus Christ – a bona-fide Good Guy – as a smoke-screen for their various iniquities!
Co-opting religious labels oughtta be illegal.
Writer Walter Rhein said it eloquently in a recent powerful Medium article: “If there are no examples within an individual’s behavior that indicate s/he is committed to following a path of humility, charity, and self-sacrifice, then we should not allow that person to make a self-declaration of their commitment to religious observation. They are liars, frauds, charlatans, and they tarnish the good name and reputations of true people of faith.”
Modern-day “Christianity” is mostly “Belief Not Behavior”. It promotes and foments HUGE amounts of bigotry, hypocrisy, and in some unfortunate cases, sociopathy – The literal antithesis of Jesus Christ’s ministry.
So, how does ANY of this apply to you? Glad you asked.
You just read a grounded and realistic summary of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, a Good Person. You know that many religious leaders are fraudsters. You also know that the “Christian” label has long since been co-opted by hypocrites and Bad People.
Do YOU recognize this huge ideological paradox? CAN you publicly admit this huge facade and distortion?
If not, then perhaps you are living in a comfortable bubble, under a rock, or just came out from a multi-year medical coma. Perhaps, and more likely, you’re being intentionally obtuse, automatically defensive of your closely-held belief system. Believe me, I get it – I’m human too, with emotional defense mechanisms and metaphorical Personal Comfort Blankets.
Either way, if YOU are a good human being who at least sincerely TRIES their best to live according to JESUS’ instructions… then WHY oh WHY on Earth, would you want to associate yourself with a group of CINOs, zealots, bigots, anti-humanists, and terrorists?
Why would you do this to yourself? Is being associated with this “in group” truly worth your dignity and reputation?
Fact: You can be a Good Person without invoking organized Religion.
Fact: You can be a Good Person without using the same “in-group” label appropriated by the “passively or culturally Religious”, White Supremacists, anti-Semites, the Ku Klux Klan, random Racist Uncles and Aunties, and other Fake Christians.
So how about putting some literal and metaphorical distance between you and those Bad Actors?
My dear religion-leaning Humanist, I challenge you with this Call to Action: Pick a different label. Preferably one that the aforementioned Bad Actors would have a harder time co-opting.
How about “Christiple” (“Christian” + “Disciple”)? Or “Neo-Nazarene”? Even a strong modifier could work, like “Progressive Christian, “Christian In Deeds”, or “Jehovah’s Jocks n’ Janes”, if you wanna have a little fun with it. In fact, there’s already a List of Christian Synonyms, start there.
Whatever works, just TRY something. Just don’t give up and say, “But there’s no other label – ‘Christian’ is the best word and it’s all we have!”, because you know damn well that the human species has the “superpower” of Complex Language, you know that Language evolves, and you know that we make up new words and phrases ALL THE TIME.
Fight the brainwashing, you can do this!
That said… if, after reading this article, you STILL keep embracing the “Christian” label…? Well, that’s your prerogative. Obviously there will continue to be social consequences, both short and long-term, in various media. But you already knew that, and presumably you’re confident enough in your choices, to accept it. Good for you, I suppose.
Just hope and “pray” that when your eyes are finally opened, it won’t be too late for you to course-correct and shed the unnecessary and tainted label (Matthew 5:29).
That’s it. I’m done. Have a nice day. And remember, “Jesus Loves You”!
From the outside looking in, we always thought that the United States of America was nigh-immune to Third-World country shenanigans, but clearly we were wrong.
Amidst their usual barrage of disinformation (censorship through noise) and straight-up lies, The Trump Administration is overtly telling us that they’ll make it very difficult for us to do mail-in voting this year, because more civic engagement will most likely translate to another “Blue Wave”.
No, they didn’t use coded language, nor did they hide or engage in the usual political bluffing. No, they used PLAIN ENGLISH, to go along with their ACTIONS.
Basically this administration is saying, “Your vote won’t matter, we won’t count it, and we’ll keep our Orange Cult Leader in the White House. Who’s gonna stop us? Nobody. So you might as well f*ck off and enjoy your upcoming dictatorship.”
Shame doesn’t work. Confrontation doesn’t work. Impeachment doesn’t work. The Democrats are still impotently bound by Rule of Law, so the current political system has been ineffective in stopping or even slowing the nakedly immoral and unconstitutional actions of this White House. The military has been quiet, meaning they are mostly OK with the situation… and even those who ARE alarmed by the spectre of a fascist state, are still bound by Article 88, severely limiting their Free Speech and public rhetoric. Obviously, no other country is inclined to intervene, middle-east style, to ensure a free and fair 2020 Presidential Election in the USA. Even if Wakanda was real, they’d not dare encroach on another nation’s sovereignty.
There’s literally no one to save us.
History tells us that those in power almost NEVER willingly give it up. The Extreme Right – including Religious Nationalists and Evangelicals, AKA Fake Christians – know that their time in human history is drawing to a close, so with the help of their dirty Republican acolytes, they are doing EVERYTHING possible – including illegal things – to try and stay in power.
It looks like the 2020 Presidential election – if we have one – shall be decided by the Supreme Court, or the blood of many American Citizens. Probably both.
It’s quite saddening, especially for immigrants who have always seen the USA as “the shining light atop the hill”. I ask you, dear reader, to call upon your Basic Human Empathy, and imagine this:
You escape a highly corrupt quasi-dictatorship, fascist country, awash in lawlessness and religious terrorism. You make it to the USA legally, you work really hard, obey all the laws, and finally become a US Citizen, ready to participate in Civics at all levels…
…only to be presented with the very same consequence-free corruption, rampant voter disenfranchisement, human-rights abuses, and high-level blatant criminality from which we fled. Blatant criminality for which we usually disparage and mock developing nations, AKA “shit hole countries“.
Just imagine.
The 2020 Presidential Election – if we’ll even be able to call it that – just might mark the end of Democracy in the USA as we’ve historically known it. And without major intervention from within – or even from without – there’s not a damn thing we can do to stop this slow boil to a dictatorship. Not a THING
It is really demoralizing, folks, I’m not gonna lie.
A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below.
She shouted to him,
“Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”
The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, “You’re in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above ground elevation of 2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.
“She rolled her eyes and said, “You must be an Obama Democrat.”
“I am,” replied the man. “How did you know?”
“Well,” answered the balloonist, “everything you told me is technically correct. But I have no idea what to do with your information and I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help to me.”
The man smiled and responded, “You must be a Republican.”
“I am,” replied the balloonist. “How did you know?”
“Well,” said the man, “you don’t know where you are or where you are going. You’ve risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You’re in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it’s my fault.”
An Open Letter from Film Director and Activist Michael Moore, June 1, 2009
I write this on the morning of the end of the once-mighty General Motors. By high noon, the President of the United States will have made it official: General Motors, as we know it, has been totaled.
As I sit here in GM’s birthplace, Flint, Michigan, I am surrounded by friends and family who are filled with anxiety about what will happen to them and to the town. Forty percent of the homes and businesses in the city have been abandoned. Imagine what it would be like if you lived in a city where almost every other house is empty. What would be your state of mind?
It is with sad irony that the company which invented “planned obsolescence” — the decision to build cars that would fall apart after a few years so that the customer would then have to buy a new one — has now made itself obsolete. It refused to build automobiles that the public wanted, cars that got great gas mileage, were as safe as they could be, and were exceedingly comfortable to drive. Oh — and that wouldn’t start falling apart after two years. GM stubbornly fought environmental and safety regulations. Its executives arrogantly ignored the “inferior” Japanese and German cars, cars which would become the gold standard for automobile buyers. And it was hell-bent on punishing its unionized workforce, lopping off thousands of workers for no good reason other than to “improve” the short-term bottom line of the corporation. Beginning in the 1980s, when GM was posting record profits, it moved countless jobs to Mexico and elsewhere, thus destroying the lives of tens of thousands of hard-working Americans. The glaring stupidity of this policy was that, when they eliminated the income of so many middle class families, who did they think was going to be able to afford to buy their cars? History will record this blunder in the same way it now writes about the French building the Maginot Line or how the Romans cluelessly poisoned their own water system with lethal lead in its pipes.
So here we are at the deathbed of General Motors. The company’s body not yet cold, and I find myself filled with — dare I say it — joy. It is not the joy of revenge against a corporation that ruined my hometown and brought misery, divorce, alcoholism, homelessness, physical and mental debilitation, and drug addiction to the people I grew up with. Nor do I, obviously, claim any joy in knowing that 21,000 more GM workers will be told that they, too, are without a job.
But you and I and the rest of America now own a car company! I know, I know — who on earth wants to run a car company? Who among us wants $50 billion of our tax dollars thrown down the rat hole of still trying to save GM? Let’s be clear about this: The only way to save GM is to kill GM. Saving our precious industrial infrastructure, though, is another matter and must be a top priority. If we allow the shutting down and tearing down of our auto plants, we will sorely wish we still had them when we realize that those factories could have built the alternative energy systems we now desperately need. And when we realize that the best way to transport ourselves is on light rail and bullet trains and cleaner buses, how will we do this if we’ve allowed our industrial capacity and its skilled workforce to disappear?
Thus, as GM is “reorganized” by the federal government and the bankruptcy court, here is the plan I am asking President Obama to implement for the good of the workers, the GM communities, and the nation as a whole. Twenty years ago when I made “Roger & Me,” I tried to warn people about what was ahead for General Motors. Had the power structure and the punditocracy listened, maybe much of this could have been avoided. Based on my track record, I request an honest and sincere consideration of the following suggestions:
1. Just as President Roosevelt did after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the President must tell the nation that we are at war and we must immediately convert our auto factories to factories that build mass transit vehicles and alternative energy devices. Within months in Flint in 1942, GM halted all car production and immediately used the assembly lines to build planes, tanks and machine guns. The conversion took no time at all. Everyone pitched in. The fascists were defeated.
We are now in a different kind of war — a war that we have conducted against the ecosystem and has been conducted by our very own corporate leaders. This current war has two fronts. One is headquartered in Detroit. The products built in the factories of GM, Ford and Chrysler are some of the greatest weapons of mass destruction responsible for global warming and the melting of our polar icecaps. The things we call “cars” may have been fun to drive, but they are like a million daggers into the heart of Mother Nature.. To continue to build them would only lead to the ruin of our species and much of the planet.
The other front in this war is being waged by the oil companies against you and me. They are committed to fleecing us whenever they can, and they have been reckless stewards of the finite amount of oil that is located under the surface of the earth. They know they are sucking it bone dry. And like the lumber tycoons of the early 20th century who didn’t give a damn about future generations as they tore down every forest they could get their hands on, these oil barons are not telling the public what they know to be true — that there are only a few more decades of useable oil on this planet.. And as the end days of oil approach us, get ready for some very desperate people willing to kill and be killed just to get their hands on a gallon can of gasoline.
President Obama, now that he has taken control of GM, needs to convert the factories to new and needed uses immediately.
2. Don’t put another $30 billion into the coffers of GM to build cars. Instead, use that money to keep the current workforce — and most of those who have been laid off — employed so that they can build the new modes of 21st century transportation. Let them start the conversion work now.
3. Announce that we will have bullet trains criss-crossing this country in the next five years. Japan is celebrating the 45th anniversary of its first bullet train this year. Now they have dozens of them. Average speed: 165 mph. Average time a train is late: under 30 seconds. They have had these high speed trains for nearly five decades — and we don’t even have one! The fact that the technology already exists for us to go from New York to L..A. in 17 hours by train, and that we haven’t used it, is criminal. Let’s hire the unemployed to build the new high speed lines all over the country. Chicago to Detroit in less than two hours. Miami to DC in under 7 hours. Denver to Dallas in five and a half. This can be done and done now.
4. Initiate a program to put light rail mass transit lines in all our large and medium-sized cities. Build those trains in the GM factories. And hire local people everywhere to install and run this system.
5. For people in rural areas not served by the train lines, have the GM plants produce energy efficient clean buses.
6. For the time being, have some factories build hybrid or all-electric cars (and batteries). It will take a few years for people to get used to the new ways to transport ourselves, so if we’re going to have automobiles, let’s have kinder, gentler ones. We can be building these next month (do not believe anyone who tells you it will take years to retool the factories — that simply isn’t true).
7. Transform some of the empty GM factories to facilities that build windmills, solar panels and other means of alternate forms of energy. We need tens of millions of solar panels right now. And there is an eager and skilled workforce who can build them.
8. Provide tax incentives for those who travel by hybrid car or bus or train. Also, credits for those who convert their home to alternative energy.
9. To help pay for this, impose a two-dollar tax on every gallon of gasoline. This will get people to switch to more energy saving cars or to use the new rail lines and rail cars the former autoworkers have built for them.
Well, that’s a start. Please, please, please don’t save GM so that a smaller version of it will simply do nothing more than build Chevys or Cadillacs. This is not a long-term solution. Don’t throw bad money into a company whose tailpipe is malfunctioning, causing a strange odor to fill the car.
100 years ago this year, the founders of General Motors convinced the world to give up their horses and saddles and buggy whips to try a new form of transportation. Now it is time for us to say goodbye to the internal combustion engine. It seemed to serve us well for so long. We enjoyed the car hops at the A&W. We made out in the front — and the back — seat. We watched movies on large outdoor screens, went to the races at NASCAR tracks across the country, and saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time through the window down Hwy. 1. And now it’s over. It’s a new day and a new century. The President — and the UAW — must seize this moment and create a big batch of lemonade from this very sour and sad lemon.
Yesterday, the last surviving person from the Titanic disaster passed away. She escaped certain death that night and went on to live another 97 years. So can we survive our own Titanic in all the Flint Michigans of this country. 60% of GM is ours. I think we can do a better job.