For the Love of Rational Thought

If you've ever read Shakespeare, or have seen one of the adaptations on film, you might have recognized that he wrote about human behavior and human folly. The reason his plays still resonate, in my opinion, is because we humans haven't changed much since the time he wrote them in the late 1500's.

We still are jealous of power and wealth, and are willing to lie, manipulate, murder or go to war for a chance of being the most powerful, the richest person, corporation or country, and we still use religion as a weapon.

I watch as the wealthy and powerful in the United States use every trick to manipulate the citizens with fear tactics, (the OTHER is always a good boogeyman, and a great distraction...LGBTQ! Book Bans! Abortion rights!) bribery, (nothing beats having a few lawmakers in your back pocket when things get tough, right Clarence?) removal of human rights (an unborn child has more rights than the mother, and school children have less rights than a weapon) insurrection, and war (which side is politically more attractive and the most profitable?) and there is such an inundation of propaganda from all sides that facts and rational thoughts are hard to locate. What happened to moderation in thought and action?

But do you know one of the top things that bothers me? The Christian Card. I don't want any lawmaker to open their mouth and quote the bible to me. That isn't law, that's religion. Keep your religion in your heart, let it guide you in your personal life, but don't use it to govern. That is one slippery slope to Theocracy. Want an example of countries that are Theocracies? Vatican City, Afghanistan, Yemen, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Those countries are ruled by their religious leaders. Look closely at the US. We are now at a point where it's chic to quote the bible and kneel in prayer in the chamber of the senate floor, or to use your religious beliefs as a way to get elected, or to acquire a seat on the Supreme Court bench. The second thing that bothers me, which is somehow oddly tied to the Christian Card, is gun control. Somehow the people who are governed by their religious beliefs are also hesitant about gun control. Restrict women's rights? Anti abortion to protect the unborn? But then hypocritically, offer thoughts and prayers but take no action after elementary school children, high school and college students get shot with weapons so powerful that parents can't identify the body of their dead child. That is the most shameful inaction I've ever seen from the US governing body. The atrocities that are occurring on a regular basis still matter less than the campaign contributions received by the NRA. If there is such thing as Sin, then I think that can count as one.

The majority of Americans want some kind of gun control. The majority of Americans know that what books a child reads should be governed by the parent, not the school board. (I personally made sure my daughter got to read some of the banned books. She can make up her own mind about their content.) I even think a majority of Americans see the link between healthy sex education and lower abortion rates. (I mean...that's logical, isn't it?) But many have been bamboozled into believing the hype, and I am sorry for them.

Turn off the 24/7 news stations. All of them. Fox, MSNBC, all of them need to shut up. Find multiple news sources: BBC, API, Reuters are some of the more neutral in their news reporting bias. Have conversations with people who think differently than you, and don't damn them or call them idiots or evil just because they don't agree with you, and ask the same in return. Ignore the extremists in each direction, if you can. They're the ones that get the most airtime, because the media isn't here to help inform us, they are a money making system, and the drama keeps us tuned in. Study your candidates, get to know their voting record. Understand who it is you're putting in a seat of power.

I want to see humanity grow up, just a smidge, before I die. I doubt I'll get that wish, since we've had a LONG time to develop and yet we are still madly battling each other for supremacy. It's laughable, when you look at it from the perspective of the universe's vastness and recognize our miniscule and brief lives. We think so highly of ourselves, don't we? Ah me, as my grandmother used to say. Ah, me. Look at that full moon, and autumn leaves.