Thursday, September 29, 2011

The Unbearable Cuteness of Atheists


All across the planet, there is nothing cuter than an atheist. We are the most adorable creatures that walk, crawl, slither, fly or swim on this earth. Loving, curious and playful, there is nothing that compares.

Think of all our distant and close relatives wandering the world; all atheists from the time they are born until the time they are dead. Living in a world of reality. Interacting with all life, they never consider heaven or earth. 

Too smart for the fantasy, they know better than us. 

Walt Whitman said it best:

"I think I could turn and live with the animals, they're so placid and self contained, I stand and look at them and long. They do not sweat and whine about their condition. They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins. They do not make me sick discussing their duty to god, not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things, not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago, not one is respectable or unhappy over the earth."

Whether tamed or wild, atheists rock. For your perusal, the unarguable and unbearable cuteness of atheists.

Cool little guys that will probably kick your ass when they get older, but not because they disagree with your religion, or lack of it. They will not premeditate messing with you, but if you get in their way; deal with it. Actually they are understandable, and the more knowledge you collect on habits and dangers, the safer you are.

We have billions of atheists on this planet. More numbers than any religion can claim.

Just think about the unwolfable cuteness of wolf pups, or the unrabbitable cuteness of bunnies, or all the other bad word games that I could play. I'll stop, but still, atheists will give you a cuteness overload.

Yeah, bunnies and ducklings, do they look dangerous? For being atheists they should be out raping and killing, but of course in their world, their actions are normal. It is not a sin for them to live, only for theists. As far as I can tell, atheism is the world.

Only a very small percentage of life reveres fairy tales from antiquity. No matter how well the story is told, in the end it is just a story. Real life embraces reality. Possibly triteness incarnate, but it is a fact.

Atheist cats and dogs, birds and fish, snakes and all manner of reptiles. Crawling beetles, marching ants; yep, all atheists.

I like being part of this family. It is the world in its innate form.

What could be better than this? Instead of wasting time with wishful thinking about everlasting life, we have our senses and evolutionary motivations to live. Life is eternal, what else can one know? 

Instead of worrying about offending invisible asshats, we revel in the workings of nature. We explore and discover. We give love to beings that deserve it, and those beings are part of our world. And even though we can love life that doesn't love back, we love that reality. Why waste emotional feelings on nothing? 

We are, as the rest of nature is, reasonable in our atheism. We are beautiful and we are kind, we are ugly and we are cruel; and we are real.

Perfect.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Don't Say a Word


Religion always refrains from calling freedom of speech a liberty that should be enjoyed by all. Religion says, "say this, ignore this, toe the line buddy or rot in hell." Good for them, making up arbitrary rules of behavior is where it's at. I can't blame them for the thought, if I were to make up some bullshit claptrap for fools to follow, then I should get to make the rules; simple as that.

Normally I am irritated by religion itself. The monstrous institution that lays down nonsensical laws from the main man is always at the top of the list of things I heartily disdain. Religion permeates and entrenches itself into every aspect of society. Given a chance, it will steal the minds of every culture. That is the main reason I despise those whose quest for power centers on belief instead of reason.

It is much easier to gain renown by making shit up than by examining the truth of the world that surrounds you.

At times though I do get pissed at the followers as well. The thought that any person I come into contact with can be so easily led is disturbing. They look like me on the outside. They usually talk like me. They usually love their family, hang on to friends, work and play; all just like me.

I mean really, forget about free speech itself. If your mind is imprisoned, how can freedom exist?

It's a thought that would appear to be true, how else could a reasonable society embrace creationism? How else could you dislike, or possibly even hate, your neighbor if your mind was free to explore a different possibility? Only the mandate of religion would make a seemingly nice person frown upon his nice gay neighbor, or nice atheist neighbor, or even another nice person that believes in his own god nonsense.

John Calvin stated, "that no idolatry, no blasphemy against the name of God, no calumnies against his truth, nor other offences to religion, break out and be disseminated among the people. . . . [Government must] prevent the true religion, which is contained in the law of God, from being with impunity openly violated and polluted by public blasphemy." He rants on, "Those who would spare heretics and blasphemers are themselves blasphemers. Here we follow not the authority of men but we hear God speaking as in no obscure terms He commands His church forever. Not in vain does He extinguish all those affections by which our hearts are softened: the love of parents, brothers, neighbors and friends. He calls the wedded from their marriage bed and practically denudes men of their nature lest any obstacle impede their holy zeal. Why is such implacable severity demanded unless . . . devotion to God’s honor should be preferred to all human concerns and as often as His glory is at stake we should expunge from memory our mutual humanity."

Calvin was a monstrosity, but only because he followed biblical law. So to some extent, followers do moderate some of the worst of the bible. Yet when I hear about anti-blasphemy laws trying to become man's law, not god's law, I think maybe religious culture is not becoming any more tolerant than in his day.

Is it only fear that keeps a rational mind from expressing his doubts? Or is it culture and a society that respects and engages in religion that denies freedom to criticize. Blasphemy laws would allow religion to run rampant, unchecked in it's ability to confuse and demean humanity.

A few states still have old blasphemy laws on the books. Even in Michigan it exists. In 2007 at a city council meeting in Montrose, a gentleman said "god damn" and was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and obscenity. Didn't hold up, but still they try.

The UN has tested the waters entertaining the thought of a world ban on defaming religion; good luck with that one.

Also posted at The Cranky Atheist. 

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Something Wrong

Audio here.


I remember as a child watching old black and white sitcom reruns with my family. The shows adults in my family grew up with. No matter what the genre, if it included a family, there was always one common denominator; only one person, normally the male, worked. One working person in a household was able to support a family, have a decent home, a decent car and a decent life.


As I grew older those shows changed. As trickle down economics made its way into the conscious of the American public all of a sudden all these shows had two income earners. At the time, I didn't think anything of it, just how life was. Didn't effect me, I was on my own making a dollar the best I could. Not living the good life, but definitely living.

When I was first married, the one income family example was no longer seen as an American ideal, or even a possibility. There were some successes still. Blue collar workers were making decent money in factories and construction, but that disappeared as my life progressed. By my second marriage, it took two of us earning wages to have the things we wanted. A decent home, decent vehicles, decent clothes; all the trappings that go along with the image that many of us wanted to cultivate. Third marriage, (and no comments are necessary), we both worked, and our surroundings got better. We were at the top of our respective fields. We had health benefits, a retirement plan and savings.

A lot of life spent acquiring things and making sure there was life after work.

Now I look around and see children living with their parents. Everyone working to make that American dream happen. No benefits or retirement make it almost impossible, unless you work from morning to night seven days a week. A horrid thought that is coming back thanks to the dismantling of the only protection workers had; the unions. I think these circumstances have been deliberately imposed upon americans by politicians and the wealthy. What will it take in another generation to live the life that so many Americans enjoyed in the past? Will extended family all be living in one home to be able to afford the trappings of success?

The wealthy control the politicians, and the politicians control the country. Do we notice anyone making an effort to create good paying jobs? I've watched the democrats make an effort every so often, but except for a few, it doesn't seem like they really have their hearts in it. Right now we have another jobs bill going to congress, hopefully that will go through. I watched the republican debate to see what they offer as a new direction. They don't have one. It is the same vision that has turn single earner families into multi earner families. Nothing I see changes the downward direction of the middle class; we've been raped by the rich and conservatives wish to continue the plundering of the country.

With jobs and a bleak economical future being forecast, what are the talking points of conservatives that ring true to their base? Is there something that we need from conservatives these days? Apparently there is something that excites their base. By now most of you have seen the video showing the conservative audience at the debate loudly applauding the death penalty.

Something wrong, or is it just me?


Also posted at Atheist Universe.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Say Your Prayers


A little ballad, a bit of southern rock. Listen here.

The land is scorched by a climate torch
loosed upon the land by unlearned hands
the future is unclear for everything you hold dear
because those who were created are never sated

Get on your knees that's all it takes
Say your prayers with the rest of the fakes
or
Get on your feet get out on the street
this is the season for people of reason

While the earth burns and the oceans churn
the land is poisoned by the unreasoned
the air is fouled and the wealthy chuckle
animals slide into extinction because of our dysfunction

Get on your knees that's all it takes
Say your prayers with the rest of the fakes
or
Get on your feet get out on the street
this is the season for people of reason

Earth's resources dwindle as we use as kindle
to feed the gluttony of those whose destiny
is eternal life with what they think is no strife
those who worry need to be warriors

Get on your knees that's all it takes
Say your prayers with the rest of the fakes
or
Get on your feet get out on the street
this is the season for people of reason

Will we wait too long to write the song
will we be gone before the dawn
can those waiting for a savior ever change their behavior
I do not fear but think our doom is near

Get on your knees that's all it takes
Say your prayers with the rest of the fakes
or
Get on your feet get out on the street
this is the season for people of reason

Get on your knees that's all it takes
Say your prayers with the rest of the fakes
or
Get on your feet get out on the street
this is the season for people of reason

Get on your knees that's all it takes
Say your prayers with the rest of the fakes
or
Get on your feet get out on the street
this is the season for people of reason


Also posted on Atheist Universe.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

In Your Head

Conservatives continue to frame talking points out of, well, nothing. 

I was in a quick weird conversation where I have family members all yelling that forty some percent of the U.S. populace doesn't pay taxes. Okay, and?

And nothing. Nothing at all. I think it's one of those things that you just shout out, and that's it. Is it supposed to be a bad thing? Is there a breakdown of those who don't pay? Are you saying revenue could be raised by taxing the unknown?

Why the fuck can't conservatives say something that means something. Why do they yell inanities and then shut up when someone questions meaning?

So there I am, surrounded by conservatives, looking up this crap for the lazy bastards. Walking purveyors of nonsensical points. I know that labeling a thought as meaningless is a logical fallacy, there is meaning in words, but I can't figure it out. If I press the issue with questions, usually the final response is a loud, "I don't know."

I don't know? Then why are you talking? If you don't know, please shut the fuck up and stop confusing everyone. 

A quick glance shows that the majority of those who pay no taxes are those who make less than twenty thousand a year. When I make this comment, I get deaf ears and blank looks. That's why conversing with minds lacking the will to follow a thought through is so frustrating.

So I say, "then you think we should tax the poor?" What response do I get? A loud, "I don't know! 

Then why are you speaking? Fucking crazy land.

If I give percentages of income levels and those in the income groups that pay no taxes, do they have a response. No!

How can you speak if you have not put any effort into explaining your thought? How can you converse with someone who doesn't understand what they are saying, that only parrot what they hear?

I think every problem conservatives have with everything they hate is all in their big empty heads. They only look at the surface of a thought, no time or inclination to actually delve into it. Oh no, just scream and yell you're hatred bigots, it's all you have, and just so you know, that sucks.


Also posted on "Atheist Universe."